KEEPING QUIET, BY PABLO NERUDA CBSE GRADE 12, ENGLISH CORE

KEEPING QUIET

BY  PABLO NERUDA

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Read the following extracts and answer the following:

1. Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.
(a)Name the poem and the poet of these lines.
(b)Why does the poet ask us to count to twelve?
(c)Why does the poet ask us to keep still?
(d) Find words from the line which mean.
(ii) Say number (iii) Quiet and motionless.
Ans:
(a)It is from “Keeping Quiet”, by Pablo Neruda who was a Nobel Prize awardee for Literature
(b)Number 12 is an important number in the calendar. There are only twelve numbers on the clock to measure hours as well as 12 months in a year. Therefore, the poet indirectly asks us to count till the day or an year ends.

(c)The poet asks us to be silent because too much rush and unwanted conversations will lead us to the dark pits of misfortune

(d) (i) count (ii) still

 

2. For once on the face of the Earth let’s not speak in any language, let’s stop for one second, and not move our arms so much.
(a) What do you mean by “on the face of the earth”?
(b) ‘Let’s not speak in any language’, says the poet. Why?
(c)What should we not do for a second?
(d) What is the poetic device in the line “not move our arms so much”?

Ans:
(a) It means all over the earth
(b) The people use different languages in the world. Different languages keep the people in different strata. Because of the ego and the people indulge in wars and make their world insecure. If they do not talk too much, there will have peace and harmony.

 (c) We should not shake our arms for a second; it means we should not use arms and ammunitions for harmful activities

 (d) “Arms” means our hands. It also means weapon, including bombs, guns etc. Here, the poetic device is “pun”.

3. It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines, we would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
(a) What do you mean by “exotic”?

 (b)What will happen if there is no rush or sound of machines?
(c)What sort of moment will it be?
(d)How would all of us feel at that moment?

Ans:

(a) Unusual, enticing, attracting

 (b)There will be peace of mind and pleasure.

(c) It will be a very enticing and beautiful moment.
(d) All of us would enjoy the sudden strangeness of that moment. There would not be war or enmity.

 

4. Fishermen in the cold sea would not harm whales and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.
(a)What do fishermen usually do in the cold sea?
(b)What does the poet ask fishermen not to do?
(c)What has happened to the man gathering salt?
(d) What should the man gathering salt do?

Ans:

(a)Fishermen usually catch fish, particularly big fish in the cold seas.
(b)The poet asks fishermen not to hurt or injure the whales in the seas.
(c) While gathering salt the man has injured his own hands. Pieces of salt are sharp edged
(d) He must take care of his hurt hands and introspect.

5. Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their
brothers in the shade, doing nothing.
(a) What do you mean by green wars?
(b)What sort of wars is mentioned in the above lines?
(c)What kind of victory will it be?
(d) How should the lovers of war behave?

Ans:

(а) Green wars are wars against the environment. They would kill the environment.

 (b) In these lines the poet mentions with wars with poisonous gas and fire arms like bombs
(c) Victory without survivors will not be a victory. Without survivors how one can celebrate victory, it will be a colourless and meaningless victory.

 (d) They should put on clean clothes and walk holding their brothers’ hands to some shades in a peaceful air and sit under the trees doing nothing.

 

6. What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity. i Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness of never understanding

ourselves and of threatening ourselves with death.

(a)What does the poet want? What should it not be confused with?
(b)Explain: 7 want no truck with death’.
(c)What do people pursue single-mindedly? Which is the better course the poet suggests?
(d)When can a huge silence do us good?
Ans:
(а)The poet is advocating for silence or stillness. Stillness should not be confused with total inactivity or death.
(b)Total inactivity brings death. The poet refuses to associate with death. Thus, he is not advocating for death. The death and inactivity are different
(c)The People pursue single-mindedly on only one thing that they keep their lives moving. ..The poet suggests that it would be better if they give themselves rest for some time.
(d)A huge silence can do us a lot of good when we are disappointed at not understanding ourselves or threatening ourselves with death.

 7. Perhaps the Earth can teach us as when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

(a)What can the Earth teach us?
(b)What remains alive when everything seems dead?
(c) “and later proves to be alive” What does it mean?
(d)What does the poet ask us to do?
Ans:
‘(a) The earth can teach us a lesson on how to live on it and that it will never die (b)Only the earth remains alive when everything seems dead.
(c) It means when everything seems dead the earth proves that it will never die.
(d) He asks us to keep quiet while he is counting up to twelve.

SHORT ANSWERS

1. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem? 

Ans: We do not understand ourselves and do rash actions. All disasters and calamities are created by man. Man becomes his own threat and enemy. It is a sad state and disaster of his life.

2. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?

Ans: The poet wants to show that under apparent stillness, life can still exist as a seed which is in the state of stillness. But it has life in it. One day it will grow. To prove his point, he invokes the earth as a living symbol. The earth will never die. This idea is beautifully explained in the following lines – “as when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive’.

3. How will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us? 

Ans: Keeping Quiet for duration of counting up to twelve will provide us a short peace of mind and also one can introspect oneself. Most of the problems are caused due to hurry and rush. They will create angry and violence. Hence, keeping still gives us peace and happy.

 

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX, CBSE ENGLISH CORE (301), GRADE XII

 

CBSE GRADE XII, ENGLISH CORE (301)

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX

BY. KAMALA DAS

EXTRACT BASED ANSWERS AND SHORT ANSWERS

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Read the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. Driving from my parents’ home to Cochin last Friday morning,

I saw my mother, beside me doze, open mouthed,

Her face ashen like that of a corpse

And realized with pain

That she thought away and looked but soon…..……..
Questions
(a)Where was the poet driving to?

Ans: The poet was driving to Cochin Air Port, from where she would go to Calcutta and meet her husband who was working there.
(b)What did the poet notice about her mother?

Ans: The poet noticed that her mother was dozing, open mouthed. She also noticed that she was very tired and wan.
(c)Why was her mother’s face looked like that of a corpse?

Ans: Her mother was very old and tired. Her face seemed to be ashen like that of a dead body because she was wan and pale

(d)”That she thought away” means what?
Ans:  It means ‘she was about to die’

 

2 She looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at Young Trees sprinting,

the merry children spilling
out of their homes,
Questions
(a)What did the poet realize? How did she feel?
Ans: The poet realized that her mother might die soon. She felt sad and pain.

(b) What did she do then?

Ans: She looked out through the window of the car in order to take away the attention from her mother. She felt sad that her mother's health was very bad.
(c)What did she notice in the world outside?

Ans: Outside the car there was life and happiness. She saw young trees were sprinting and merry children were spilling out of their homes.
(d) Why were the young trees sprinting?

Ans: Young trees were not running but she felt it so because of the speed of the car. It is a personification. The poet states here, the difference between the young and the old.

3 but after the airport’s security check,

standing a few yards away,

I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,

but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,

all I did was smile and smile and smile
Questions
(a)What did the poet do after the security check?

Ans: After the security check, the poet stood a few yards away in the airport and watched her mother who was standing outside of the airport.

(b)Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?

Ans: The late winter’s moon is a pale moon having without brightness. Her mother’s face is compared to the late winter’s moon as her face was wan and pale.
(c)What was her childhood fear?

Ans: she feared that her mother would depart her by and large and without her mother’s acquaintance she wouldn’t survive.

(d)How did the parting words of the poet and her smile present a contrast to her real feelings?
Ans:The poet didn’t want to express her sadness to her mother. She thought that her mother would not bear it. So, the poet pretended happiness and smiled. She wanted to encourage her mother that nothing would happen to her till she would come back from Calcutta.

Short answers

1.What kind of pain does the poet feel?

Ans: The poet feels that her mother has gone very old and has become very wan like that of a corpse. The poet is also caught her old familiar childhood's fear that her mother will depart her one day or other.

 

2. Why are the young trees described as 'sprinting'?

Ans: The young trees seem to be running in the opposite direction of the car. Here, trees are personified. It indicates that there are vitality and life outside the car. That’s why they are sprinting. But inside the car, there is stillness as her mother seems to be ashen like of a corpse.

3. What do you mean “the merry children spilling out of their homes”?

Ans: The poet depicts a comparison between life and death. Outside the car there is life, but inside there is dull and clumsy. Her mother is dozing with open mouthed like that of a dead body. The happy children are playing with full of joy; to them life is beautiful.

 

4. Why is the mother compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?

Ans:  The late winter’s moon is a dull one which will disappear shortly. It will not cast any pleasant light. The poet compares her mother with the late winter’s moon as both of them are nearing to their death bed.

 

5. What are the parting words of the poet and why does she smile?

Ans: The parting words of the poet are “See you soon, Amma”. It indicates her love towards her mother. She encourages her mother to be brave and assures her that nothing will happen to her. They will meet again soon.

 

 

 

                                      

ON GOING PLACES, GRADE 12, ENGLISH CORE (CBSE)

SHORT ANSWERS AND LONG ANSWER

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Q1. What were the dreams of Sophie? Why did Jansie discourage them?  Ans: Sophie wanted to open an amazing boutique in the city. At the same time, she wanted to be an actress and have the boutique as a side business. She also wanted to be a fashion designer. But Jansie asked Sophie to be sensible and stop dreaming impossible things because both of them earmarked to be apprentices in a biscuit factory.

 Q2.Did Geoff believe Sophie when she narrated her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans: No, Geoff didn’t believe what Sophie had narrated about her meeting with Danny Casey. He said, “It can’t be true”. Then he repeated, “I don’t believe it.” Sophie then said that how Danny Casey came and stood beside her. Geoff asked her, “What does he look like?”  Her answer didn't convince him that she met Danny Casey.  

 Q3. Did her father believe her story?

Ans: No, when he heard that Sophie had met Danny Casey, he looked at her with disdain. When Sophie remarked that Danny was going to buy a shop, her father murmured that it was her another wild story 

 Q4. Why didn’t Sophie tell Jansie the story about Danny?

Ans: According to Sophie, Jansie was nosey who wanted to know other people’s affairs. She would spread the news in the whole neighbourhood. So, Sophie didn’t want Jansie to know about her story with Danny.

Q5. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?

Ans: No, Sophie did not meet Danny Casey. She was highly fascinated by the young Irish footballer. She imagined him as her lover. She sat in the park, waiting for him. She knew that he would not come. She felt sad and it became a hard burden to carry. She was in her dreamy world where she imagined Casey was with her.

Q6. When did Sophie see Danny Casey in person?

Ans: When she was watching  the football match on Saturdays, she got to see Danny Casey, the Irish footballer. On all Saturdays her family would go to watch football match. The last Saturday, she met the Irish genius going round with two big defenders on the edge of the penalty area.

Q7. What is the difference between the characters of Sophie and Jansie?

Ans: Sophie and Jansie are different in their characters. Sophie is a day dreamer. She dreams a lot and floats in the lake of dreams. But Jansie is a realist. She knows that she belongs to a middle class family. She also knows that she is earmarked for a biscuit factory. She advises Sophie to be sensible and practical. But Sophie considers Jansie as a nosey girl.

Q8.Describe the character of Sophie’s father

Ans: Sophie’s father is an industrious man. He is looking grimy and sweaty. He doesn't seem to be an educated man. He is a realist and doesn't believe his daughter's wild stories. He likes football matches. He is a fan of Tom Finney, the great  footballer. He also believes that Danny Casey will be as good as Tom Finney. He looks after his house well and good.

Q9.What are the indicators of Sophie's financial status?

Ans: Sophie belongs to a lower middle class family. She has wild and impossible dreams. She dreams of things she can’t have in real life..Geoff's occupation is their main economic source. He is an apprentice mechanic. His jacket is shapeless. Her father may be an ordinary employee in a factory . It means she belongs to a lower middle class family

 

Q10. Why does Jansie say : “Soaf, you really should be sensible” ?

Ans: Jansie knows Sophie’s financial position. Both of them are earmarked for a biscuit factory. Sophie dreams of big and beautiful things like having a boutique. To have a boutique she needs a lot of money and experience. Sophie has neither of them. So Jansie tells her to be sensible.

Q11. How does Geoff differ from his sister Sophie?

Ans: Geoff is a grown up boy and an apprentice mechanic. He has to travel to his work site each day to the far side of the city. He speaks little but listens to his sister’s ‘wild stories’. But he is not a day dreamer like her. He knows the financial limitations of his family. He advises Sophie not to entertain dreams for a celebrity like Danny Casey.

Q12. Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence?      
Ans: Geoff was a grown up boy. He spoke little. Words  were precious to him. Sophie was jealous of his silence. She knew that when he was not speaking, he would be away somewhere else. She thought that he was out in a place where she had never been. She wanted to get her brother’s affection and love.

LONG ANSWER.

1. Every teenager has a hero / heroine to admire. So many times they become role models for them. What is wrong if Sophie fantasizes about Danny Casey and is ambitious in life? (CBSE AI 2016)

Ans:  Teenage period constitutes major changes in one's life. During the phase a boy or a girl learns many things. He / She sets his/her career goals. During this period they have high peer pressure. More over they want to be adults and fantasizing wild dreams. It is true that a teenager lives in a world of dreams.

It is wrong to say that dreaming or fantasizing is nonsense. It is based on realistic aims and the world gives them ample opportunities to achieve their dreams. If one has confidence, positivity and optimism, he or she cannot be defeated.

Here, Sophie's fantasy about Danny Casey is not a matured one. It is a child's longing and a one way affection. He is a celebrity footballer and she is a simple school girl. We can dream but should not grow mad. Sophie should be a realistic and sensible girl.  

LUBURNUM TOP, GRADE 11, ENGLISH CORE (CBSE) POETIC DEVICES AND SHORT ANSWERS

 

LUBURNUM TOP, GRADE 11, ENGLISH CORE (CBSE)

POETIC DEVISES AND SHORT ANSWERS

mkchandran.blogspot.com

 Literary Devices

1. Alliteration - Repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more consecutive words is called Alliteration. For example

(1) September sunlight

(2) tree trembles

2. Simile – comparison between two things using like or as.

Sleek as a lizard

3. Metaphor – an indirect comparison between two things. Generally, a quality is compared.

(1) “She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up” - the noise created by the movement of the birds is compared to the machine’s noise
(2) “It is the engine of her family.” here the sound is compared to be an engine.
(3) “Showing her barred face identity mask”

4. Personification – the attribution of personal nature characteristics to something non-human

The whole tree trembles and thrills. Here tree trembles like a human being.

 5. Transferred Epithet – the figure of speech where the adverb is transferred to another noun

her barred face identity mask.

See an another example not from your poem.

Cruel bars: The door of the jail is barred with iron rods. It is not cruel. It is a door of the cell. But the poet says cruel bars. The poet gives the feelings of a human being to the door. Is the door is cruel?  How the door becomes cruel? .

Questions and answers

1. What do you notice about the beginning and ending  of  Laburnum top in this poem?

Ans: At the beginning and the ending of the poem, the laburnum tree was standing still and silent just like death-like. It is patiently awaiting gold finches to come and sit on her branches.

2. To what is the bird’s movement compared to?

Ans: The bird’s movement is compared to a lizard because it was abrupt, sleek and alert. It is a simile.

3. Why is the image of the engine represented?

Ans: An engine is the source to run the machine. The bird is compared to an engine because she is the feeding her children. As a machine cannot work without an engine, her family can’t survive without her.

5. What does the phrase “her barred face identity” mean?

Ans: The phrase “her barred face identity ” indicates that the bird’s face becomes her identity and symbol of recognition. The people identify the bird by noticing its barred face. There are some bars on its face

 

6. Find out suitable words from the poem for the followings
1. the sound birds
2. the movement birds

Ans:

i.                        Twitching, chirruping, chitterlings, and  trilling

ii.                        Starts up, flirts out, launches away, trembles and subsides

 

POETS AND PANCAKES, GRADE 12 ENGLISH CORE (CBSE), EXTRACT BASED ANSWERS, SHORT ANSWERS AND LONG ANSWER

 

 

 

 

POETS AND PANCAKES

BY ASOKAMITHRAN

GRADE 12, ENGLISH CORE (CBSE)

EXTRACT BASED ANSWERS, SHORT ANSWERS AND LONG ANSWER

mkchandran.blogspot.com

 

EXTRACT BASED ANSWERS

1. "In all instances of frustration , you will always find the anger directed towards a single person openly or covertly and this man of the make-up department was convinced that all his woes, ignominy and neglect were due to Kothamangalam Subbu"

A. Who is the "Single person" referred to?

Ans: Kothamangalam Subbu, a tailor-made for films.

B. Who is the frustrated man here?

Ans: The office boy of the make-up department. He is forty years old but his designation is an office boy.

C. What was the frustration of the office boy?

Ans: When he joined the Gemini Studio, he thought that he would become a star actor, a top screen play writer or at least a lyrics writer. But he couldn't reach anywhere. This made him frustrated.

D. Who was the source of the office boy's woes?

Ans: The office boy thought that Kothamangalam Subbu was the entire source of his woes

 

2. "He couldn't have addressed a more dazed and silent audience-no one knew what he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. The whole thing lasted about an hour; then the poet left and we all dispersed in utter bafflement-what are we doing"

A. Who was the mentioned speaker?

Ans: The British poet, Stephen Spender. Once he visited Gemini Studio to know the progress of communism in India.

B. Why was the audience silent and confused?

Ans: The audience was silent and confused because they couldn't understand anything. Stephen Spender's accent was not digestible to the poor workers of Gemini Studio.

C. Why did Stephen Spender select the Gemini Studio?

Ans: According to Asokamithran, no one welcomed Stephen Spender except the Gemini studio. So he selected it.

D. Who was the audience of Stephen Spender?

Ans: His audience was six hundred workers of the Gemini Studio.

SHORT ANSWERS.

1. How did the Gemini Studio become first in the matter of national integration?

Ans: The make-up department of the Gemini Studio became the first in the national integration of India. Before the AIR and the Dooradharsan were broadcasting on national integration awareness, the make-up department of the Gemini Studio practically showed it.

Under the roof of make-up department there were many make-up men from all over India and they worked together without any bias and prejudices. They showed the unity of Indians.

2. How was the make-up room in the Gemini Studio?

Ans: The make-up room was in the upstairs of the building. Formerly, that building was Robert Clive's stables. The make-up room was connected with many incandescent lights which would produce extreme heat. There had many mirrors on the walls. The room was very uncomfortable because of the heat from the light and it was a fiery misery.

3. What was the hierarchy in the make-up department?

Ans: The chief make-up man would do make-up of main heroes and heroines. His senior assistant would do the second heroes and heroines. His junior assistant was entrusted to do make-up of comedians and so on. The office boy had to do the make-up of the crowd actors.

4. What was Asokamithran's job in the Gemini Studio?

Ans: Asokamithran's job in the Gemini Studio was to cut a wide variety of newspaper clippings and file them for the future reference.

5. What was the work of the office boy? Why was he disappointed?

Ans: The office boy was also a make-up man. He had to do the make-up of crowd actors. He would mix the paint and the pancakes in big vessels and slapped it on the crowd players.

He was disappointed because he couldn't become a main actor, screen-play writer, director or lyrics writer.

6.  Who was Kothamangalam subbu? What was his special qualities?

Ans: Kothamangalam Subbu was No. 2 in the Gemini Studio. He was a tailor made for films. He had proved his identity as a poet, story teller and actor. Thillana Mohanambal was his novel. He was very kindhearted and improvident man who helped more than a dozen people by providing them food and shelter. He had solutions of all the complicated problems connected to film industry. 

7. Did the employees at Gemini Studio have any particular political party?

Ans: No, but they liked Gandhi. They wore khadi dhoti and khadi shirt. They were against communism because they thought that communists were considered as godless men and against the conjugal love.

8. What was the job of the lawyer in the Gemini studio?

Ans: The lawyer had no job in the Gemini Studio. He was registered in the story department. But he didn't prove anything worthwhile in the story department. He was known as the legal adviser, but he never visited the court and justified his position as an advocate.

9. Why did the poets like the Gemini Studio?

Ans: The poets liked Gemini Studio because there had an excellent mess that served good coffee at day and the first half of the night. The poets like S.D.S Yogiar, Sangu Subramanyan, Krishna Sastry and Harindranath Chattopadyaya frequently visited the studio. The studio also provided a creative mood to the poets.

10. What do you mean by M.R.A? Why did the people attract M.R.A?

Ans: M.R.A means Frank Buchman's Moral Re-Armament army. It was a counter movement to international communism. It consisted of two hundred people. They staged two plays named 'Jotham Valley' and 'The Forgotten Factor' Those plays became  super hits because they were played in a professional manner. Later Tamil amateur drama troops copied their settings.

11. Briefly describe Stephan Spender's visit to Gemini Studio?

Ans: Stephen Spender, an English poet from England visited Gemini Studio. But his visit was a flop show. Nobody knew who he was and what his purpose was. The communication between the employees of the studio and the poet was a failure because his accent was not digestible to the poor employees. His purpose was to study how communism was spreading in India.

12. How did Asokamithran learn about the identity of the English poet?

Ans: One day Asokamithran visited the British Council Library for searching a copy of "The Encounter", a magazine published from London. Stephen Spender was one of its editors. In this way he understood the identity of the English poet who visited the Gemini Studio.

13. What do you know about "The God That Failed"?

Ans: 'The God that failed' is a book on communism. The book was written by six eminent writers who narrated their experiences with communism and God. Once they attracted to the God, but soon they disillusioned. They were Stephen Spender, Andre Gide, Ignacio Silone, Richard Wright, Arthur Koestler and Louis Fisher.

14. What did the Gemini people think about communists?

Ans: According to the workers of the Gemini Studio Communists were godless people. They had no filial or conjugal love. They were cruel, even they were ready to kill their father and son for their party. They spread violence among the innocent and ignorant people.

LONG ANSWER     

1. Describe the make-up department of the Gemini Studio.

Ans: The make-up department of the Gemini Studio was situated in the upstairs of the building.  On the walls there hung half a dozen mirrors and it gave an air of a hair cutting saloon. There had many incandescent lamps that produced unbearable heat. The make-up room was an uncomfortable place to those who engaged in the make-up.

The make-up department was headed by a Bengali. When he left the job a Maharashtrian succeeded him. The people from all over India were assembled under the roof of the make-up room. They were from different castes, creeds and religions. The make-up department showed the correct slogan for National Integration.

The make-up department followed a strict hierarchy. The chief make-up man made ugly the main heroes and heroines. The senior assistant make-up man dealt the second heroes and heroines. The junior assistant did the make-up to the comedians and so on. The office boy painted to those who were as crowd actors.