Taniya class 12 all chapters [Autosaved].pptx

• Settingof the Lesson The Last
Lesson
• The story is set in a French village in Alsace district of France, with the backdrop of the
Franco-Prussian war in which France was defeated by Prussia (then consisting of Germany,
Poland and parts of Austria). The Prussian rulers order that French will no longer be taught
in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The story tells how M.Hamel, a school teacher in
Alsace, his students and the towns people react to this news. There is an atmosphere of
hopelessness and regret in the classroom. For the first time the defeated French people in
the village realize their mistake in not learning their own language. The setting is
appropriate, as the story relates to a bygone era of French defeat in the hands of the
Prussians.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The importance of language and its connection with nationalism are the central themes of
the chapter “The Last Lesson.” The protagonist of the narrative is a little kid, Franz, whose
teacher, M Hamel is compelled to flee his native town in France’s Alsace region because
German settlers are annexing it and making German its official language. Now the mother
tongue, French will not longer be taught in the schools of Frech districts of Alsace and
Lorraine. Even though it is obvious that his students won’t be able to speak French in the
future, the narrator’s French teacher, Monsieur Hamel, is determined to give them one
more lesson in the language. The teacher emphasizes that language is an integral element
of one’s identity and culture and that its suppression constitutes an act of oppression, as
done by the enemy country. The French villagers realize that they have been overpowered
by the enemy soldiers because they did not value their country and their mother tongue.

• Franz started for school very late that morning. He was afraid of being scolded because M.
Hamel was to question them on participles, and he did not know the first word about them.
He thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. The warm bright day, the
chirping birds, and the Prussian soldiers drilling in the open field back of the sawmill were
tempting. But he resisted the temptation and hurried off to school.
• There was a crowd in front of the bulletin-board near the town-hall. Wachter, the blacksmith
asked Franz not to go so fast. He assured the boy that he would get to his school in plenty
of time. Usually there was a great bustle when the school began but that day everything
was as quiet as Sunday morning.
• Through the window Franz saw his classmates, already in their places and M. Hamel
walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm. Franz opened the door and
went in. He blushed and was frightened. M. Hamel very kindly asked him to go to his place.

• Franz noticed that their teacher had put on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt, and the
little black silk cap, all embroidered. He wore these only on inspection and prize days. The
village people were sitting quietly on the usually empty back benches. Everybody looked
sad; and Hauser had brought an old primer.
• M. Hamel said that it was the last lesson he would give them. Henceforth, only German was
to be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master would come the next
day. This was their last lesson of French. He wanted them to be very attentive.
• Franz felt sorry that he had not learnt his lessons properly. The idea that M. Hamel was
going away made the narrator forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was. Now Franz
understood why M. Hamel had put on his fine Sunday clothes and why the old men of the
village were sitting there. They had come to thank the master for his forty years’ faithful
service and to show their respect for the country that was theirs no more.

• M. Hamel asked Franz to recite, but he stood there silent. The teacher did not scold him. He
confessed that his parents and he (the teacher) were at fault. Then he talked of the French
language-the most beautiful language in the world—the clearest, the most logical. He asked
them to guard it among them and never forget it. Their language was the key to their prison.
• Then they had lesson in grammar and writing. The pigeons cooed very low on the roof. Franz
thought if they would make even the pigeons sing in German. All the while M. Hamel was
sitting motionless in his chair and gazing at one thing or the other. His sister was packing their
trunks in the room above as they had to leave the country next day.
• After writing, they had a lesson in history, and then the babies chanted their ba, be, bi, bo, bu.
Even old Hauser was crying. All at once the church-clock struck twelve and then the midday
prayers. At the same moment the trumpets of the Prussians, returning from drill, sounded
under the windows. M. Hamel stood up. He wanted to speak but something choked him.

• Then he took a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard as large as he could “Vive La
France!” After this he stopped and leaned his head against the wall. Without a word, he made
a gesture with his hand to indicate that the school was dismissed and they might go.

• Summary of The Lost Spring – Stories of stolen Childhood – The
author tells us stories of her interactions with children from deprived
backgrounds. She describes their poor condition and life in an
interesting manner. The story touches the reader and is thought-
provoking.

• The author described two of her encounters with children from deprived backgrounds.
Through them she wants to highlight the plight of street children forced into labour early in
life and are denied the opportunity of schooling. Also, she brings out the callousness of
society and the political class towards the sufferings of the poor.
• “Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage’ The author comes across Saheb every morning.
Saheb left his home in Dhaka long time ago. He is trying to sponge gold in the heaps of
garbage in the neighbourhood. The author asks Saheb why he does that. Saheb mutters that
he has nothing else to do. There is no school in his neighbourhood. He is poor and works
barefooted.

• There are 10,000 other shoeless rag-pickers like Saheb. They live in Seemapuri, on the outer
edge of Delhi, in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin but devoid of sewage,
drainage or running water. They are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. They
have lived here for more than thirty years without identity cards or permit. They have right to
vote. With ration cards they get grains. Food is more important for survival than identity.
Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents that become transit homes. Children grow up in
them, and become partners in survival. In Seemapuri survival means rag-picking. Through the
years rag-picking has acquired the proportions of a fine art. Garbage to them is gold. It is their
daily bread and a roof over their heads.
• Sometimes Saheb finds a rupee or even a ten-rupee note in the garbage-heap. Then there is
hope of finding more. Garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents. For
children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival.

• One winter morning the author finds Saheb standing by the fenced gate of a neighbourhood
club. He is watching two youngmen playing tennis. They are dressed in white. Saheb likes the
game but he is content to watch it standing behind the fence. Saheb is wearing discarded
tennis shoes that look strange over his discoloured shirt and shorts. For one who has walked
barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true. But tennis is out of his reach.
• This morning Saheb is on his way to the milk booth. In his hand is a steel canister. He works in
a tea stall. He is paid 800 rupees and all his meals. Saheb is no longer his master. His face has
lost the carefree look. He doesn’t seem happy working at the tea-stall. II. I Want to Drive a Car
The author comes across Mukesh in Firozabad. His family is engaged in bangle making, but
Mukesh insists on being his own master. “I will be a motor mechanic,” he announces. “I will
learn to drive a car,” he says.

• Firozabad is famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making
bangles. Families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making
bangles for women. None of them know that it is illegal for children like Mukesh to work in the
glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light. They slog their
daylight hours, often losing the brightness of their eyes. If the law is enforced, it could get
Mukesh and 20,000 children out of the hot furnaces.
• They walk down stinking lanes choked with garbage, past homes that remain hovels with
crumbling walls, wobbly doors and no windows. Humans and animals, co-exist there. They
enter a half-built shack. One part of it is thatched with dead grass. A frail young woman is
cooking evening meal over a firewood stove. She is the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother and
already in charge of three men-her husband, Mukesh and their father. The father is a poor
bangle maker. Despite long years of hard labour, first as a tailor and then as a bangle maker, he
has failed to renovate a house and send his two sons to school. All he has managed to do is
teach them what he knows: the art of making bangles.

• Mukesh’s grandmother has watched her own husband go blind with the dust from polishing the
glass of bangles. She says that it is his destiny. She implies that god-given lineage can never
be broken. They have been born in the caste of bangle makers and have seen nothing but
bangles of various colours. Boys and girls sit with fathers and mothers welding pieces of
coloured glass into circles of bangles. They work in dark hutments, next to lines of flames of
flickering oil lamps. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. They
often end up losing their eyesight before they become adults.
• Savita, a young girl in a drab pink dress, sits along side an elderly woman. She is soldering
pieces of glass. Her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine. Perhaps she does
not know the sanctity of the bangles she helps make. The old woman beside her has not
enjoyed even one full meal in her entire life time. Her husband is an old man with flowing
beard. He knows nothing except bangles. He has made a house for the family to live in. He
has a roof over his head.

• Little has moved with time in Firozabad. Families do not have enough to eat. They do not have
money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles. The youngmen echo
the lament of their elders. They have fallen into the vicious circle of middlemen who trapped
their fathers and forefathers. Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability
to dream. They are unwilling to get organised into a cooperative. They fear that they will be
hauled up by the police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal. There is no
leader among them. No one helps them to see things differently. All of them appear tired. They
talk of poverty, apathy, greed and injustice.
• Two distinct worlds are visible one, families caught in poverty and burdened with the stigma of
caste in which they are born; the other, a vicious circle of money-lenders, the middlemen, the
policemen, the keepers of law and politicians. Together they have imposed the baggage on the
child that he cannot put it down. He accepts it as naturally as his father. To do anything else
would mean to dare. And daring is not part of his growing up. The author is cheered when she
senses a flash of it in Mukesh who wants to be a motor mechanic.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• This lesson is taken from William Douglas’ autobiographical book “Of Men and Mountains,”
which deals with the subject of conquering fear. He talks about how he finally overcame his
early phobia of the sea. The incident in the swimming pool where a bully nearly drowned
him as a youngster and the boyhood experience of being knocked down by the waves at
the California beach contributed to a dread of water that haunted him even as an adult. He
ultimately made the decision to face his anxiety because he was unable to enjoy swimming,
fishing, or boating like others. His further attempts to get over the fear, demonstrate his
guts and willpower. Therefore, the message being sent to us is that one must get above
their fear.

• The story has been taken from the author’s autobiography- ‘Of Men and Mountains’.
In this piece, he tells about his fear of water and how he conquered it by determination and
willpower.
• William Douglas recalls a misadventure of childhood. It had happened when he was ten or
eleven years old. He had decided to learn to swim. There was a pool at the Y.M.C.A. in
Yakima, which was safe. It was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end and nine feet
deep at the other. The drop was gradual. He got a pair of water wings and went to the pool.
He hated to walk naked into water and show his very thin legs.
• The author had developed an aversion to the water when he was three or four. His father
had taken him to the beach in California. They stood together on the surf. The waves
knocked him down and swept over him. He was buried under water. His breath was gone.
He was frightened. His father laughed, but the overpowering force of the waves filled terror
in the young author’s heart.

• Unpleasant memories were revived when he went to the Y.M.C.A. pool for the first time.
Childish fears were stirred. But soon he gathered confidence. He watched other boys paddling
on water with their water wings. He tried to learn by imitating them. He did this two or three
times on different days. He was just beginning to feel comfortable in the water when the
misadventure happened.
• When he went to the pool, there was no one else. So he sat on the side of the pool to wait for
others. Shortly afterwards a big boy, a boxer, came. He was probably eighteen years old and
had beautiful muscles on his legs and arms. He called the author ‘Skinny and asked how he
would like to be plunged in water.

• The boxer boy picked Douglas and threw him into the deep end. He struck water in a sitting
position. He swallowed water and at once went to the bottom. He was frightened, but did not
lose his wits. He made a plan. He would make a big jump when his feet hit the bottom. He
would come to the surface like a cork, lie flat on it and then paddle to the edge of the pool.
• Those nine feet appeared more than ninety. Before he touched bottom his lungs were ready
to burst. When his feet hit the bottom, he made a great jump upwards, but he failed to reach
the surface at once. He came up slowly. His eyes and nose came out of water, but not his
mouth. He moved around his legs on the surface of water. He swallowed water and choked.
He tried to bring his legs up, but they hung as dead weights. He again went down to the
bottom of the pool.

• He was shrieking under water because terror had seized him. He was paralysed under water, but his
heart and the pounding in head told him that he was still alive. When he hit the bottom, he jumped
with his full might. The jump made no difference. The water was still around him. His arms and legs
wouldn’t move. He trembled with fear. He tried to call for help, to call mother, but nothing happened.
Then he rose up. His eyes and nose were almost out of water. He sucked for air and got water. He
started going down a third time.
• Then all efforts ended and he relaxed. A blackness swept over his brain and wiped out terror. There
was no more panic. He felt drowsy and wanted to sleep. He gave up all attempts. He forgot
everything. When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on his stomach beside the pool
vomiting. The boy who had thrown him in said, “I was only fooling.” Someone said that the kid had
nearly died. Then they took him to the locker room.
• He walked home after several hours. He was weak and trembling. He shook and cried when he lay
on his bed. He couldn’t eat that night. For days a haunting fear was in his heart. He never went back
to the pool. He feared water and avoided it whenever he could.

• A few years later, he came to know the waters of the Cascades. He wanted to get into them.
Whenever he did so, the terror that had seized him in the pool, returned. His legs would become
paralysed. An icy horror would grab his heart. This handicap remained with him even as time
passed. Wherever he went, the haunting fear of water followed him. It ruined his fishing trips. It
deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, and swimming.
• He used every method he knew to overcome his fear. Finally, he decided to get an instructor and
learn to swim. He went to a pool and practised five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor
put a belt around him. A rope attached to the belt went through a pulley on an overhead cable. He
held on to the end of the rope. They went on this way for many weeks. On each trip across the pool a
bit of panic seized him. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and the author went
under water, some of the old terror returned and his legs froze.

• Some doubts still remained. So he went up the Tieton to Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Trail to
Meade Glacier. He camped in the high meadow by the side of Warm Lake. Next morning, he dived
into the lake and swam across to the other shore and back. He shouted with joy, and Gilbert Peak
returned the echo. He had conquered his fear of water.
• Some doubts still remained. So he went up the Tieton to Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Trail to
Meade Glacier. He camped in the high meadow by the side of Warm Lake. Next morning, he dived
into the lake and swam across to the other shore and back. He shouted with joy, and Gilbert Peak
returned the echo. He had conquered his fear of water.
• At last Douglas felt liberated. He was free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to ignore
(dismiss) fear.

• Theme of the Lesson
• The potential of kindness and human connection to change even the most hardened and
distrustful people is the central topic in Selma Lagerlof’s “The Rattrap.” The narrative
chronicles the travels of an elderly vagrant who receives a little rattrap from a generous
and caring hostel owner. The tramp encounters several individuals along the way who, in
spite of their own challenging situations, are kind and generous to him. The tramp reflects
on his own life and actions as a result of this encounter, which finally inspires him to make
amends and improve himself. The underlying message is that everyone is capable of
change and that even the smallest act of kindness can have a big impact on someone
else’s
life.

• The Rattrap is a story about a rattrap seller who leads a very poor life as his earnings are
very low. He has to resort to thievery and begging to make both ends meet. He is alone in
this whole world and leads a miserable life.
• So he starts knitting up various kinds of thoughts. One of these thoughts is of supposing
the whole world as a big rattrap. His views are that the world offers us various types of
baits in the form of comforts of life. This in return traps us into the rattrap of the world
and leads us to various types of miseries.
• Every night, the peddler had to search for shelter as he has no home.
• One dark evening he was walking slowly with heavy steps when he saw a little gray cottage
by the roadside. He knocked at the door to ask shelter for the night. The owner was an old
man. He had no wife or child. He was happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness. He
served him porridge for supper and gave him tobacco for his pipe. Then he got out an old
pack of cards and played “mjölis” with his guest till bed time.

• The host had been a crofter at Ramsjö Ironworks in his days of prosperity. He had worked on
the land. Now he was unable to do day labour. It was his cow that supported him. This
extraordinary cow could give milk for the creamery everyday. He informed the stranger that last
month he had received all of thirty kronor in payment. The crofter showed his guest three
wrinkled ten kronor bills, which he had taken out of a leather pouch hanging on a nail in the
window frame.
• He felt pleased with his smartness. Then he realised that he dared not continue on the public
highway. So, he took to the woods. He got into a big and confusing forest. He kept on walking
without coming to the end of the forest. He realised that he had only been walking around in
the same part of the forest. He thought that he had let himself be fooled by a bait and had been
caught. The whole forest seemed to him like an impenetrable prison from which he could never
escape.

• It was late in December. Darkness increased the danger as also his gloom and despair. He sank down on
the ground as he was quite tired. He heard the sound of hammer strokes. He summoned all his strength,
got up and staggered in the direction of the sound. He reached a forge where the master smith and his
helper sat near the furnace waiting for the pig iron to be ready to put on the anvil. There were many
sounds—big bellows groaned, burning coal cracked, the fire boy shovelled charcoal with a great deal of
clatter, the waterfall roared, a sharp north wind whipped the rain against the brick-tiled roof. On account of
all these noises the blacksmith did not notice that a man had opened the gate and entered the forge until
the stranger stood close up to the furnace.
• The blacksmiths glanced only casually and indifferently at the intruder with a long beard, dirty, ragged and
with a bunch of rattraps dangling on his chest. The peddler asked for permission to stay. The master
blacksmith nodded a haughty consent without saying a word. Just then the ironmaster who owned the
Ramsjo iron mill came into the forge on one of his nightly rounds of inspection.

• The ironmaster saw that a person in dirty torn clothes had moved so close to the furnace that steam was
rising from his wet rags. He walked close up to him, looked him over very carefully. Then he tore off his
hat, which had a wide flexible brim, to get a better view of his face. He called him ‘Nils Olof and wondered
how he looked.
• The man with the rattraps had never before seen the ironmaster at Ramsjo and did not even know what
his name was. He thought that the ironmaster might perhaps throw his old acquaintance a couple to
kronor. So, he did not tell him that he was mistaken. The ironmaster observed that he should not have
resigned from the regiment. Then he asked the stranger to come home with him. The tramp did not agree.
He thought of the thirty kronor. Going up to the manor house would be like throwing himself into the lion’s
den.
• The ironmaster assumed that he felt embarrassed because of his miserable clothing. He said that his wife,
Elizabeth was dead, his boys were abroad and only his oldest daughter was with him. He invited the
stranger to spend Christmas with them. The stranger said “no” thrice. The ironmaster told Stjernstrom, the
blacksmith that Captain von Stahle preferred to stay with him that night. He laughed to himself and went
away.

• Half an hour later, the sound of carriage wheels was heard outside the forge. The ironmaster’s daughter
came there, followed by a valet, carrying a big fur coat. She introduced herself as Edla Willmansson. She
noticed that the man was afraid. She thought that either he had stolen something or else he had escaped
from jail. She, however assured him that he would be allowed to leave them just as freely as he had come.
She addressed him as captain and requested him to stay with them over Christmas Eve. She said this in
such a friendly manner that the rattrap peddler agreed to go with her. The fur coat was thrown over his
rags and he followed the young lady to the carriage. On the way the peddler thought why he had taken that
fellow’s money. He was sitting in the trap and would never get out of it.
• The next day was Christmas Eve. The ironmaster came into the dining room for breakfast. He thought of
his old regimental comrade whom he had met so unexpectedly. He felt satisfied and talked of feeding him
well and giving him some honourable job. His daughter remarked that last night she did not notice anything
about him to show that he had once been an educated man. The ironmaster asked her to have patience
and let him get clean and dressed up. Then she would see something different. The tramp manners would
fall away from him with the tramp clothes.

• Just then the stranger entered in a good-looking suit of clothes, a white shirt with a starched collar and
whole shoes. Although he was well groomed, the ironmaster did not seem pleased. He realised that he
had made a mistake last night. Now in broad daylight, it was impossible to mistake him for an old
acquaintance. The stranger made no attempt to dissemble. He explained that it was not his fault. He had
never pretended to be anything but a poor trader. He had requested the Ironmaster to let him stay in the
forge. He was ready to put on his rags and go away.
• The ironmaster thought that it was not honest on the part of the man and wanted to call the sheriff. The
tramp then told the ironmaster that the whole world was nothing but a big rattrap. All the good things that
were offered to him were nothing but cheese rinds and bits of pork, set out to drag a poor fellow into
trouble. The sheriff may lock him up for this. He warned the Ironmaster that a day might come when he
might want to get a big piece of pork, and then he would get caught in the trap.

• The ironmaster began to laugh. He dropped the idea of informing the sheriff. However, he asked the tramp to
leave and opened the door. Just then his daughter entered and asked her. father what he was doing. That
morning she was quite happy. She wanted to make things for the wretch quite homelike. So, she spoke in
favour of the vagabond. She wanted him to enjoy a day of peace with them—just one in the whole year. She
knew that there was a mistake but they should not chase away a human being whom they had asked to come
there and promised Christmas cheer. The ironmaster hoped that she wouldn’t have to regret that.
• The young girl led the stranger upto table and asked him to sit and eat. The man did not say a word but helped
himself to the food. He looked at the girl and wondered why she had intervened for him. Christmas Eve passed
at Ramsjo just as it always had. The stranger did not cause any trouble because he did nothing but sleep. They
woke him up that he could have his meals. In the evening, the Christmas tree was lighted. Two hours later he
was around once again to eat the Christmas fish and porridge. After getting up from the table he went around
and said thank you’ and good night’ to everyone present. The girl told him that the suit he wore was to be a
Christmas present and he did not have to return it. If he wanted to spend the next Christmas Eve in peace, he
would be welcomed back again. The man with the rattraps did not answer. He only stared at the young girl in
limitless amazement.

• The next morning the ironmaster and his daughter got up early and went to Christmas service. They drove
back at about ten o’clock. The young girl sat, and hung her head even more dejectedly than usual. At church
she had learnt that an old crofter of the iron works had been robbed by a man who went around selling
rattraps. The ironmaster feared that the man might have stolen many silver spoons from the cupboard. As the
wagon stopped at the front steps, the ironmaster asked the valet about the stranger. The valet told him that the
stranger had left. He had not taken anything with him at all, but he had left a package for Miss Willmansson as
a Christmas present.
• On opening the package, she gave a little cry of joy. She found a small rattrap, and in it lay three wrinkled ten
kronor notes. There was also a letter addressed to her. He did not want her to be embarrassed by a thief but
act as a captain. He requested her to return the money to the old man on the roadside, who had money pouch
hanging on the window frame as a bait for the poor wanderers. The rattrap was a Christmas present from a rat
who would have been caught in this world’s rattrap if he had not been raised to captain, because in that way he
got power to clear himself.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The chapter displays the importance of effective leadership in improving
the lives of people. The author tells us a few reasons which made
Mahatma Gandhiji famous and loved by the masses. He was concerned
about the plight of the poor and fought for their rights. He also made
efforts to uplift them and taught them self-reliance.
• The lesson gives us a message that leadership along with empathy are vital
for someone to become a people’s person.

• The story is based on the interview taken by Louis Fischer of
Mahatma Gandhi. In order to write on him, he had visited him in
1942 at his ashram- Sevagram where he was told about the
Indigo Movement started by Gandhiji. The story revolves
around the struggle of Gandhi and other prominent leaders in
order to safeguard sharecroppers from the atrocities of
landlords.

• Louis Fischer met Gandhi in 1942 at his ashram in Sevagram. Gandhi told him how
he initiated the departure of the British from India. He recalled that it in 1917 at the
request of Rajkumar Shukla, a sharecropper from Champaran, he visited the place.
Gandhi had gone to Lucknow to attend the annual meeting of the Indian National
Congress in the year 1916.
• In December 1916 Gandhi went to Lucknow to attend the annual convention of the Indian
National Congress. There were 2,301 delegates and many visitors. A peasant from
Champaran, Rajkumar Shukla, asked Gandhi to visit his district. Shukla followed Gandhi,
wherever he went. In 1917, Gandhi and Shukla boarded a train for Patna. Shukla led
Gandhi to the house of a lawyer named Rajendra Prasad. They could not see him as he
was out of town.

• In December 1916 Gandhi went to Lucknow to attend the annual convention of the Indian
National Congress. There were 2,301 delegates and many visitors. A peasant from
Champaran, Rajkumar Shukla, asked Gandhi to visit his district. Shukla followed Gandhi,
wherever he went. In 1917, Gandhi and Shukla boarded a train for Patna. Shukla led
Gandhi to the house of a lawyer named Rajendra Prasad. They could not see him as he
was out of town.
• Then Gandhi arrived in Champaran. He began by trying to get the facts from the secretary
of the British landlords’ association. He refused to give information to an outsider. Gandhi
said that he was not an outsider. Next, Gandhi called on the British official commissioner of
the Tirhut division. The commissioner started bullying Gandhi and advised him to leave
Tirhut. Instead of leaving the area, Gandhi went to Motihari, the Capital of Champaran.
Several lawyers accompanied him. A large crowd of people greeted Gandhi at the railway
station. It was the beginning of their liberation from fear of the British.

• A peasant had been maltreated in a nearby village. The next morning Gandhi started out
on the back of an elephant. Soon he was stopped by the police superintendent’s
messenger and ordered to return to town in his carriage. Gandhi complied. The messenger
drove Gandhi home. Then he served him with an official notice to quit Champaran at once.
Gandhi signed the receipt for the notice and wrote on it that he would disobey the order.
Gandhi received a summons to appear in court the next day. At night Gandhi telegraphed
Rajendra Prasad, sent instructions to the ashram and wired a full report to the Viceroy.
• Thousands of peasants gathered around the court house. The officials felt powerless. The
authorities wished to consult their superiors. Gandhi protested against the delay. The
magistrate announced that he would pronounce sentence after a two-hour recess. He
asked Gandhi to furnish bail for those 120 minutes. Gandhi refused. The judge released
him without bail. The court started again after a break. The judge said he would not deliver
the judgement for several days. He allowed Gandhi to remain at liberty.

• Gandhi asked the prominent lawyers about the injustice to the sharecroppers. They consulted
among themselves. Then they told Gandhi that they were ready to follow him into jail. Gandhi
then divided the group into pairs and fixed the order in which each pair was to court arrest. After
several days, Gandhi was informed by the magistrate that the case had been dropped. For the
first time in modern India, civil disobedience had triumphed.
• Gandhi and lawyers conducted an inquiry into the complaints of the peasants. About ten
thousand peasants deposed. Documents were collected. Gandhi was summoned by Sir
Edward Gait, the Lieutenant-Governor. He met the Lieutenant Governor four times. An official
commission of inquiry was appointed.
• Gandhi remained in Champaran initially for seven months and then came for several shorter
visits. The official inquiry assembled evidence against the big planters. They agreed in principle
to make refunds to the peasants. Gandhi asked only 50 per cent. The representative of the
planters offered to refund up to 25 per cent. Gandhi agreed. The deadlock was broken.

• Gandhi explained that the amount of the refund was less important than the fact that the
landlords had been forced to give some money and their prestige. The peasant now saw that
he had rights and defenders. He learned courage. Events justified Gandhi’s position. Within a
few years the British planters abandoned their estates. These now went back to the peasants.
Indigo sharecropping disappeared.
• Gandhi wanted to do something to remove the cultural and social backwardness in Champaran
villages. He appealed for teachers. Two young disciples of Gandhi, Mahadev Desai and Narhari
Parikh, and their wives volunteered for work. Several more came from Bombay, Poona and
other distant parts of the land. Devdas, Gandhi’s youngest son, arrived from the ashram and so
did Mrs. Gandhi. Primary schools were opened in six villages. Kasturba taught the ashram rules
on personal cleanliness and community sanitation.

• Health conditions were miserable. Gandhi got a doctor to volunteer his services for six
months. Three medicines were available : castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment.
Gandhi noticed the filthy state of women’s clothes. One woman told Kasturba that she
had only one sari. During his long stay in Champaran, Gandhi kept a long distance watch
on the ashram and sent regular instructions by mail.
• The Champaran episode was a turning point in Gandhi’s life. It did not begin as an act of
defiance. It grew out of an attempt to lessen the sufferings of the poor peasants. Gandhi’s
politics was closely connected with the practical day to day problems of the millions. He
tried to mould a new free Indian who could stand on his own feet and thus make India
free.

• Gandhi also taught his followers a lesson in self-reliance. Gandhi’s lawyer friends thought
that it would be a good idea for Charles Freer Andrews, the English pacifist, to stay in
Champaran and help them. Andrews was willing if Gandhi agreed. But Gandhi opposed it
forcefully. He said, “The cause is just and you must rely upon yourselves to win the battle.”
Thus, self-reliance, Indian independence and help to sharecroppers were all bound
together.

• Poets and Pancakes
Introduction
• The lesson is taken from the book ‘My Years with the boss’ written by
Asokamitran. In this excerpt, he talks about all the elements that kept
Gemini Studios running. From Pancake make-up to the office boy of the
make-up department, from Subbu to the lawyer, every element
helped in making Gemini Studios a successful film producing
company.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The chapter tells us about the different ways in which people work
together despite having a dislike for each other. We also come to know
the difference between reel life and real life. The narrator gives us an
idea of the back stage happenings that took place at the Gemini studio ,
the relationship between the various artists, poets and other team
members. The process for preparing the artists to perform in movie
roles is also talked about.

• The essay, “Poets and Pancakes” is an extract from Asokamitran’s book “My Years with
Boss.” The Boss was S.S. Vasan, who founded the Gemini Studios which produced a
number of films that influenced every aspect of Indian life.
• Asokamitran talks about his days at Gemini Studios. He is known for his humour and gende
satire. He explains us about a make-up material. The brand name of this material was
Pancake. This material was bought and used up in the studios. He gives name of few
actresses who used that material. He suggests that the make-up department was located in
a building which was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stable. However, there were
several buildings associated with Robert Clive’s residence but this was not true as Clive’s
stay in India was very shortlived.

• Further, he gives a description of the make-up department as a symbol of national
integration and the make-up room as a hair-cutting salon. Pancake and many other lotions
made actors ugly as it was necessary to make them presentable in a movie. In the make-
up department, there was a forty-year-old office boy with dream of becoming a star-actor or
director or lyrics writer. His dreams remained unfulfilled, making him frustrated. For this, he
blamed Subbu, who was No. 2 and a favourite of the boss.
• The writer tells about poets who used to wear khadi and believed that Communists were
monster^. He even tells about legal adviser who had been the member of the story
department. He was at odds in the department and lost his job with the closure of story
department. The legal adviser had even once brought an abrupt end to the promising
career of a talented actress.

• The Gemini Studios even hosted a two-hundred strong Moral Rearmament Army (MRA)
which showed two plays in the most professional manner. The plays became a good
success and left their impression on Tamil drama. Later, the writer however, learnt that
MRA was actually a counter-Communist movement.
• The writer even tells us about Subbu, a man of many abilities and kind-hearted person.
However, the office boys felt jealous of him, and cursed him.
• The writer humorously tells of an English poet’s visit to the studios. Though royal
preparations were done but the purpose of his arrival was a mystery for long time to come.
At the studios, they had never heard the poet’s name before. Further, they did not
understand what he spoke. The poet also perhaps felt baffled.

• Asokamitran’s duty at the studios was to cut newspaper clippings on several issues and
store them in files. However, anyone who saw him tearing newspapers thought he had no
work. Thus, everybody wanted to deliver some work to him.
• The author saw a notice in The Hindu. A short story contest had been organised by a
British periodical called, The Encounter. The writer desired to send an entry. However, he
wanted to know status of the periodical. For this, he went to British Council Library. There
he found it. He learnt that the editor of the periodical was Stephen Spender, the poet who
had come to Gemini Studios.
• After his retirement, he came across a book titled, The God That Failed. It had six essays
about failure of Communism. One of these essays was written by Spender. The mystery of
Spender’s visit to Gemini Studios was cleared. Perhaps it had something to do with his
anti-communist perspective.

• The Interview
Introduction
• The Interview by Christopher Silvester is an excerpt taken from his
Penguin Book of interviews. In this, he talks about various opinions of
the celebrities regarding an interview; its functions, methods and merits.
It also consists of an excerpt from an interview with the infamous
writer Umberto Eco.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The interview has two stories. In story one the narrator tells us about the reaction and
views of celebrities towards an interview. Most of the famous personalities find them to
intrude on their personal lives and some have never given an interview all their life.
The story has the theme of how the freedom of the press can curtail an individual’s
privacy.
• The second story is a part of an interview of the famous writer and academician
Umberto Eco. In this story we get to know the various qualities of time management
used by the famous writer. He gives the details of the various aspects which contribute
to a person’s success.

• The chapter starts with the author introducing us to the method of an interview. We learn
that it is pretty common in journalism and its origin dates back to 130 years before. He
expresses that unsurprisingly, various people carry different opinions about the concept of
the interview and its uses. Some people think of it very highly while others cannot bear
giving an interview. The chapter tells us that an interview can make a lasting impression.
Moreover, as per an old saying, when we make perceptions about a particular person, the
original identity of their soul is taken away. We learn how the most popular celebrities have
criticized interviews.

• Similarly, Rudyard Kipling’s wife writes in her diary about how two reporters in Boston
ruined her. He thinks of interviewing as an assault. Moreover, he even believes that this
crime should have a punishment. Further, Kipling is of the thinking that no respectable
person asks for or gives an interview.
• Moreover, this chapter also contains an excerpt from an interview between Mukund,
belonging to The Hindu Newspaper and Umberto Eco. Eco is a professor at the University
in Italy. He has a daunting status as a scholar for his philosophies on semiotics (the study
of signs), literary interpretation, and medieval aesthetics before taking up writing fiction.

• There is an excerpt from the interview between Mukund (from The Hindu newspaper)
and Umberto Eco, a professor at the University of Bologna in Italy who had already
acquired a formidable reputation as a scholar for his ideas on semiotics (the study of
signs), literary interpretation, and medieval aesthetics before he turned to writing
fiction.
• The interview revolves around the success of his novel, The Name of the Rose whose
more than ten million copies were sold in the market.
• The interviewer begins by asking him how Umberto manages to do so many
different
things to which he replies by saying that he is doing the same thing.
• He further justifies and mentions that his books about children talk about peace and
non-violence which in the end, reflect his interest in philosophy.

• Umberto identifies himself as an academic scholar who attends academic conferences
during the week and writes novels on Sundays.
• It doesn’t bother him that he is identified by others as a novelist and not a scholar,
because he knows that it is difficult to reach millions of people with scholarly work.
• He believes there are empty spaces in one’s life, just like there are empty spaces in
atoms and the Universe. He calls them interstices and most of his productive work is
done during that time.
• Talking about his novel, he mentions that it is not an easy-read. It has a detective
aspect to it along with metaphysics, theology and medieval history. Also, he believes
that had the novel been written ten years earlier or later, it would have not seen such a
huge success. Thus, the reason for its success still remains a mystery.

• Theme of the
lesson
• The short story “Going Places” explores the hopes and desires of young people as well
as the anguish of broken dreams and unfulfilled promises. Along with the teenage
fantasizing and hero-worship, it deals with the intricacies of human relationships.
• This story’s central theme is hero worship and teenage fantasies. Teenagers often have
irrational expectations, especially if their families are struggling. This is due to the fact
that a young person’s socioeconomic background has a significant impact on the job
they choose to pursue. I
• f the fantasy is too far fetched for a person, it might result in misery. We see the main
character as building castles in the air which is a pointless activity.

• Sophie and Jansie, two school girls, were coming home from school. Sophie
declared that she was going to have a boutique. Jansie looked doubtful as something
like that took money. Sophie said that she would find it. Jansie observed that it would
take a long time to save that much. Sophie said she would be a manager till then.
Jansie pointed out that they would not make her manager straight off. However,
Sophie persisted in her fantasising. She said that she would be like Mary Quant. She
would have the most amazing shop in that city.
• Jansie knew that they were both earmarked for the biscuit factory. She became
melancholy and wished Sophie wouldn’t say those things. She told Sophie to be
sensible. They didn’t pay well for shop work. Moreover, her dad would never allow it.

• Sophie changed track. She said that she would become an actress. There was real money
in that field. She could also have boutique as side business as actresses did not work full
time. Alternatively, she would become a fashion designer-something a bit sophisticated.
• “If ever I come into money I’ll buy a boutique,” she said, entering the house. Little Derek,
who was hanging on to the back of his father’s chair, remarked, “She thinks money grows
on trees, don’t she, Dad?” Their mother sighed. Sophie watched her back stooped over the
sink. The small room was steamy from the stove and cluttered with the heavy-breathing
man in his vest at the table and the dirty washing piled up in the corner. Sophie felt a
tightening in her throat. She went to look for her brother Geoff.

• Geoff was three years out of school. He was an apprentice mechanic. He travelled to his
work each day to the far side of the city. He was kneeling on the floor in the next room and
tinkering with a part of his motor cycle. Geoff was almost grown up now. She suspected
areas of his life about which she knew nothing, about which he never spoke. He seemed to
be away somewhere, in those places she had never seen. These places attained a special
fascination simply because they were unknown to her and remained out of her reach. She
wished she could be admitted more deeply into her brother’s affections and that someday
he might take her with him. She knew that Geoff thought her too young but she felt
impatient.
• Sophie told Geoff that she had met Danny Casey in the Arcade. Geoff did not believe her
and asked if she had told Dad. Geoff asked her how Casey looked like. She said that he
had green, gentle eyes but he was not very tall. Geoff told his father that Sophie had met
Danny Casey.

• Sophie wriggled. Her father looked at her with disdain. He considered Casey too young
for the first team. Sophie then said that Danny Casey told her that he was going to buy a
shop. Her father dismissed it as another of her wild stories. He did not believe her yarn.
He warned her that she was going to talk herself into a load of trouble someday.
• In Geoff’s room Sophie looked at the large poster of United’s first team squad. It had a
row of coloured photographs beneath. Three of them were of the young Irish prodigy,
Casey. Sophie asked Geoff to promise he would not tell anyone about her meeting
Casey and asking him for autograph for Derek. Since neither of them had any paper or a
pen, he asked her to come to meet him next week. She promised to do so. Geoff said
that it was the most unlikely thing he had ever heard.
• On Saturday, they went to watch United. Their team won two-nil and Casey drove in the
second goal. Sophie glowed with pride. Geoff was ecstatic.

• Next week Jansie asked Sophie what she had been talking about meeting Danny Casey.
She promised to keep it a secret. Sophie said that her father would quarrel with her if he
heard about it. Sophie realised that Geoff had not told her about the date.
• After dark she walked by the canal. She sat down on a wooden bench beneath a solitary
elm to wait. For sometime, she imagined his coming. Some more time passed. She
began to think that Danny might not come. She felt sad. Others would doubt her. Geoff
would be disappointed.
• She climbed the steps to the street. Outside the pub, she noticed her father’s bicycle
propped against the wall. She was glad he would not be there when she got home.
Coming through the arcade she pictured Danny Casey again outside Royce’s. She saw
his gentle, gazelle like eyes. She kept waiting in the arcade alone for a long time
remembering the soft melodious voice, the shimmer of green eyes.

• Then Sophie remembered another vision. Last Saturday she had seen Casey moving
past the defenders without making a sound and kicking the ball into the goal. She
remembered the thunderous applause made by fifty thousand supporters.

• The Third Level Introduction
The Third Level by Jack Finney is about the harsh realities of
war. War has irreversible consequences thus leaving people in a state
of insecurity. It is also about modern-day problems and how the
common man tends to escape reality by various means. In this story, a
man named Charley hallucinates and reaches the third level of the
Grand Central Station which only has two levels.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The third level represents a break from the “full of insecurity, fear, war,
worry and all the rest of it” modern world. The 1890s depict a
tranquil lifestyle that is not feasible in the present. The main
character wants to take his wife Louisa to Galesburg, Illinois, from this
point on. While his psychiatrist friend refers to it as a “waking-dream
wish fulfilment,” for him, it is a part of reality.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The story, ‘The Third Level’ clearly explores the science fiction genre of
‘time travel’. Jack Finney, the recipient of the World Fantasy Award,
interweaves fantasy with reality in his projection of time travel. Charley, the
protagonist wishes to be transported to the third level, the world of
Galesburg, Illinois, 1894, which is supposed to be a much happier and
quieter place to be in.
• The story also dwells on the theme of escapism as a psychological refuge
from the grim realities of the present day world along with a desire to stay
with the past—a desire that Charley’s wife Louisa does not contest. Sam
has also happily escaped, with no desire to return to his old profession.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The story exposes the vulnerable side of the common man. Surrounded
by myriad problems, we humans, sometimes experience a craving for
peace and serenity, and look for possible escapes. This story is about time
intersection, an illusion, a kind of long dream that we do not experience
during our sleep.

• The story revolves around a 31 year old man named Charley, who experienced
something weird.
• One day after work coming from the Subway, he reached the third level of the Grand
Central station (which doesn’t actually exist). He tells the entire experience with his
psychiatrist friend Sam.
• Charley thought he experienced time travel and had reached somewhere in the
eighteen-nineties, a time before the world saw two of its most deadliest wars. As soon
as he realised what time he is in, he immediately decided to buy two tickets to
Galesburg, Illinois; one for himself and the other for his wife.
• Unfortunately, the currency used in that century was different.

• Thus, the next day he withdrew all his savings and got them converted even if it meant
bearing losses.
• He went looking for the third level but failed to find it. It worried his wife and the
psychiatrist Sam who told him that he is hallucinating in order to take refuge from
reality and miseries of the modern world which is full of worry.
• Charley thus resorts to his stamp collection in order to distract himself when suddenly
one day he finds a letter from his friend Sam who had gone missing recently.
• Sam wrote that he always wanted to believe in the idea of third level and now that he
is
there himself, he encourages Charley and Louisa to never stop looking for it.

• There is no way to avoid death, which is a given. Destiny has
unlimited power and is unavoidable.
• Nobody can alter fate. Men in positions of authority are cruel
to animals. They murder defenseless animals under various
justifications. The maharaja kills the tigers since the
astrologer predicted that a tiger will be the cause of his
demise. He kills them in order to avoid dying.

• The story is a satire on the rich and powerful kings of the olden times. In
order to prove the prophecies of the fortune teller wrong, the king of
Pratibandapuram mindlessly kills ninety nine tigers but the hundredth
one, the cause of the king’s death escapes his bullet. Ultimately, the
king is killed by an inanimate tiger made of wood. Hence, the prophecy
turns to be true, despite the king’s efforts to prove it wrong.

• When Maharaja Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur was born, the astrologers had foretold that one day,
the king would have to die. Suddenly, the ten-day-old prince started speaking; he told them that
all those who were born would have to die one day.
• He asked them to tell the manner of his death. Everyone stood stunned as an infant born just ten
days ago was talking in such a manner. The chief astrologer told the Prince that he was born in
the hour of the bull. As bull and tiger were enemies, therefore, his death would come from a tiger
• The Maharaja grew stronger and took to tiger hunting. He was overjoyed when he killed the first
tiger. When he fold the chief astrologer about it, the chief astrologer told him that he may kill 99
tigers, but he must be careful with the hundredth one. In ten years,he killed 70 tigers. He banned
the killing of tigers in Pratibandapuram. The tiger population became’extinct at Pratibandapuram.
So the Maharaja married into a royal family in a state where tiger population was high. Thus, he
killed 99 tigers but one was still left. There was no sign of tigers anywhere. Maharaja could not
bear this any more.

• He raised the land tax and also dismissed some of his men. Later, a tiger was brought for
the Maharaja. Maharaja took his men for hunting. He shot the tiger but missed it. Since the
tiger fainted on hearing the shot, the Maharaja did not realise that he had not killed the
tiger. Maharaja’s men knew it but they feared that if they tell it to Maharaja, then they may
lose their job, so they killed the tiger. But the Maharaja did not know that he still had one
tiger left to kill. Free from the threat of imminent death, the Maharaja had now decided to
celebrate his three-year-old son’s birthday.
• He gifted him a wooden tiger. The tiger was made by an unskilled man. Its surface was
rough, as a result, a splinter pierced into Maharaja’s hand. The infection spread into his
whole hand and the Maharaja died.
• Thus, ironically, the fateful hundredth tiger, though a wooden one, was the cause of the
Maharaja’s death and proved the prediction of the astrologer correct.

• The wound became infectious, spread through his arm and as he
was being operated upon, he died.
• So, ironically, the hundredth tiger killed the king and
eventually took its revenge.

Journey to the
end of the
Earth

• Journey to the end of the Earth
Introduction
• The lesson revolves around the world’s most preserved place, Antarctica. Not many
people have been there but out of the few that have, Tishani Doshi is one of them. A
south Indian person who went on an expedition with a group of teenagers affiliated
with ‘Students on Ice’ programme takes young minds to different ends of the world.
Thus, it gives an insight into how Antarctica is the place you should visit to have a
glimpse of the past, present and future in its realist form.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• An informative account of the author’s trip to the world’s coldest, windiest, and driest
continent can be found in the Vistas book for Class 12 entitled Journey to the End of
the Earth. According to Tishani Doshi, visiting Antarctica is necessary if one wants to
comprehend the past, present, and future of the planet. We can learn a lot about this
area by studying it because Antarctica is where the world’s geological history is
preserved. She travelled with a group of students who were exploring the continent.
Her encounter with the ice-mysteries of this ice-region was exhilarating.

• For a south Indian man travelling to Antarctica from Madras, it takes nine time zones,
six checkpoints, three water bodies and just as many ecospheres to reach there.
• Tishani Doshi travelled to the Southern end of the Earth along with an expedition
group named ‘Students on Ice’ that provides an opportunity to the young minds to
sensitize towards the realistic version of climatic changes happening in the world.
• According to the founder of the organisation, we are the young versions of future
policymakers who can turn the situation around. Antarctica is one of the coldest, driest
and windiest continents in the world.

• As far as the eyes can see, it is completely white and its uninterrupted blue horizon
gives immense relief.
• It is shocking to believe that India and Antarctica were part of the same supercontinent
Gondwana, that got segregated into countries giving rise to the globe we know today.
• Antarctica had a warmer climate until then. Despite human civilisation around the
globe, it still remains in it pure form.
• Being a south Indian sun-worshipping guy, it was unimaginable for the author to visit
the place that constitutes world’s 90 per cent of ice, a place so quiet that it is only
interrupted by snow avalanches. It is home to a lot of evidences that can give us a
glimpse of the past and at the same time, Antarctica helps us foresee the future. The
place gives an awakening to threatening alarm that global warming is actually real.
Who knows if Antarctica will be warm again and even if it does, will we be alive to see
it?

•It is the time of World War. An American prisoner of war is washed ashore in a dying
state and is found at the doorstep of a Japanese doctor. Should he save him as a doctor or
hand him over to the Army as a patriot?
•The story is set during the Second World War. A Japanese doctor finds an American
POW at his doorstep. He is in a dilemma that being a doctor, should he save the wounded
man or being a Japanese, should he hand over the enemy to the army.

• Theme of the Lesson
• The short tale “The Enemy” by Pearl S. Buck tackles the subject of prejudice and its
damaging impact on interpersonal relationships. The plot centres on the connection
between a Chinese doctor and an American soldier, who are originally strangers, amid
a period of American war on Japan during the second world war. Despite their
difference in nationality, the Japanese has to remain loyal to his profession and thus,
saves the life of the injured enemy soldier. However, this does not go well with his
fellow men who consider him not to be loyal towards his country. The narrative shows
us how the Japanese doctor, Sadao balances these two duties and emphasizes on the
importance of humanity over everything else.

• The scene of action is a spot on the Japanese coast. Dr Sadao Hoki’s house was a low,
square stone built house. It was set upon rocks well above a narrow beach outlined with
bent pines. Sadao’s father had a deep concern for his son’s education. So Sadao had
been sent to America at twenty-two to learn all that could be learned of surgery and
medicine there. He returned at thirty. He became famous not only as a surgeon but as a
scientist also.
• It was the time of the World War. Japan was at war with America. Dr Sadao had not been
sent abroad with the troops. The old General was under medical treatment and he might
need an operation. So, Dr Sadao was being kept in Japan.
• Sadao watched mists hide outlines of a little island near the shore. Then it came creeping
up the beach below his house. His wife, Hana, came out and put her hand on his arm. It
gave him pleasure. Then she laid her cheek against his arm.

• At this moment, both of them saw something black come out of the mists. It was a man. He
staggered a few steps. Then the curled mists hid him again. Hana and Sadao leaned over the
railing of the veranda. They saw a man crawling on his hands and knees. Then he fell down on his
face and lay there. They thought that it was perhaps a fisherman who had been washed from his
boat.
• When they came towards him, they saw that he was wounded. He lay motionless. They saw his
face. Hana whispered that he was “a white man”. Sadao began to search for the wound. Blood
flowed freshly at his touch. In order to stanch the fearful bleeding, he packed the wound with the
sea moss. The man was unconscious. He moaned with pain in his stupor but he did not awaken.
• Sadao muttered, “What shall we do with this man?” He said that the best thing that they could do
was to put him back in the sea. Hana agreed with it. Sadao explained that it was a difficult
situation. If they sheltered a white man in their house, they would be arrested. If they turned him
over as a prisoner, he would certainly die. They were staring upon the inert figure with a curious
repulsion.

• Then they tried to find out what he was. He looked American. The battered cap had faint lettering
“US Navy”. They concluded that he was a sailor from an American warship. The man was a
prisoner of war. He had escaped and was wounded in the back.
• Hana asked Sadao if they were able to put him back into the sea. Sadao hesitated. If the man had
been whole, he could be turned over to the police without difficulty as he was his enemy. All
Americans were his enemy. But since he was wounded they should not throw him back to the sea.

• Together they lifted the man. He was very light. They carried him up the steps and into the side
door of the passage. They carried him to an empty bedroom. Since the man was quite dirty,
Sadao suggested that he had better be washed. If she fetched the water, he would wash the man.
Hana could not bear him to touch the man. She offered to tell the maid Yumi. Sadao took the
responsibility of informing others.
• The pallor of the unconscious man’s face moved him first to stoop and feel his pulse. It was faint
but it was there. He put his hand against the man’s cold breast. The heart too was yet alive.
Sadao observed that he would die unless operated upon. The man was very young perhaps not
even twenty-five. The man had to be washed first. However, the servants refused to do so. They
did not want their master to heal the enemy.
• Hana washed the man till his upper body was quite clean. Sadao put his instruments upon a
sterilised towel. He began to wash the man’s back carefully. He asked Hana to give the
anaesthetic if he needed it. Hana choked. She clapped her hands to her mouth and ran out of the
room. He heard her retching in the garden. She had never seen an operation.

• Sadao proceeded swiftly. Hana came in. Sadao asked her to saturate the cotton and hold it near
his nostrils. She had to move it away a little when he breathed badly. Then Sadao got busy. He felt
the tip of his instrument strike against something hard. It was just near his kidney. Then with the
cleanest and most precise incision, the bullet was out. The man quivered, but he was still
unconscious. Sadao gave him an injection and the man’s pulse grew stronger.
• Hana had to serve the youngman herself, for none of the servants would enter the room. The man
grew stronger day by day. The servants decided to quit if their master kept the enemy hidden
there. On the seventh day, the servants left together. Hana carried the morning food to the
prisoner. On coming back, she asked Sadao why they could not see clearly what they ought to do.
• In the afternoon, a messenger came in official uniform. He asked Dr Sadao to come to the palace
at once as the old General was in pain. Hana breathed a sigh of relief. When Sadao came to say
good bye, she revealed her fear. She had thought that they had come to arrest him. Sadao
promised to get rid of that man for her sake.

• Sadao told the General about the man he had operated upon. The General acknowledged why
Sadao was indispensable to him. The General promised to send his private assassins to kill the
man and remove his body. He asked Sadao to leave the outer partition of the white man’s room to
the garden open while he slept.
• Sadao went home, thinking over the plan. He would tell Hana nothing. He was surprised to see
the young American out of bed and preparing to go into the garden. He complained that the
muscles on one side felt stiff. Dr Sadao said that exercise and massage will be helpful. He then
asked Tom, the young American to go to bed. Sadao slept badly that night.
• The next morning, Sadao went to the guest room and found him asleep. The second night also
passed. The young man was still there. He had shaved himself. There was a faint colour in his
cheeks.

• Dr Sadao told him that he was quite well then. He offered to put his boat on the shore that night. It
would have food and extra clothing in it. Tom might be able to row to that little island not far from
the coast. It had not been fortified. Nobody lived there as it was submerged in storm. Since it was
not the season of storm, he could live there till he saw a Korean fishing boat pass by.
• As soon as it was dark, Sadao made preparations to help the young man escape. He gave him
his flashlight. He asked him to give him two flashes as the sun set in case his food ran out. In
case he was still there and all right, he was to signal him only one. He was warned not to signal in
darkness, for it would be seen. The prisoner was now dressed in Japanese clothes. A black cloth
was wrapped round his blond head. He found the way to the boat. Sadao waited till he saw one
flash from the shore.

• Dr Sadao had been called in the night to perform an emergency operation on the General. It
involved his gall bladder. For twelve hours Sadao had not been sure the General would live. Then
he began to breathe deeply again and to demand for food. Sadao had not been able to ask about
the assassins. So far as he knew they had never come. The servants had returned. The room was
cleaned.
• One week after the operation, Sadao felt that the General was well enough to be spoken to about
the prisoner. Sadao informed him that the prisoner had escaped. The General asked the doctor
whether he had not promised to kill the man for the doctor. He then confessed the truth. He had
been suffering a great deal.
• So, he thought of nothing but himself. He had forgotten his promise. That night Sadao waited at
dusk for the light from the island. There was none. His prisoner had gone away and was safe.
Sadao wondered why he could not kill the young man though white people were repulsive.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• Susan Hill’s short tale “On the Face of It” addresses the subject of identity and the
constraints that society places on people. We see two characters – Derry and Mr Lamb.
Both are handicapped but still have different views about life. The writer wants to
highlight that even though the characters are in similar physical condition, yet they
have opposing views towards life which indicates the difference in their attitude.
The battle to discover and claim one’s own identity in the face of society expectations
and constraints is the overall theme of “On the Face of It.”

• On the face of it
Introduction
• The story is about a teenage boy, Derry, who has a burnt face, and Mr.
Lamb who is a disabled old man with an artificial leg made of tin. Derry
accidentally enters his garden so that he can hide from people who
hate him because of his ugly face. Mr. Lamb not only welcomes him in
his garden but also encourages him to lead a normal life, leaving
behind his past.

• The story begins with a teenage boy entering a garden. His face is burnt on one side
due to an accident when acid fell on half of his face.
• He has gone there to hide as he is afraid of facing people. He fears being teased by
others for having such a face. But when he enters, he finds someone already presents
there. He tries to leave the place but he is stopped by the old man, Mr. Lamb, the
owner of the garden.
• Derry feels guilty for entering the garden without permission. Mr. Lamb welcomes him
and tells him not to leave just because of his presence.
• Derry wants to leave as he thinks people don’t like his face and moreover, they get
afraid of his looks. But Mr. Lamb insists he stay there. They enter into a conversation
that how Derry is not liked by anyone and how he hates people behaving like this with
him. Mr. Lamb tries to console him.

• He tells him that he has a tin leg and kids make fun of him. Still, he is not depressed
and enjoys his life. They both talk about various things and this leads to the revelation
of Derry’s fear, depression, and hatred about his being in such a condition.
• Derry repeats that he doesn’t like being near people: specially when they stare at him and
when he sees them being afraid of him. Mr Lamb then tells him the story of a man who
was afraid of everything in the world. So he locked himself in his room and stayed in his
bed. A picture fell off the wall onto his head and killed him.
• Derry says that the old man said peculiar things. Then he asks what he does all day. Mr
Lamb replies that he sits in the sun. He reads books. His house is full of books. His house
has no curtains as he does not like shutting things out. He likes the light and the
darkness. He hears the wind from the open window. Derry too hears the sound of rain on
the roof, when it is raining. Mr Lamb observes that if he hears things, he is not lost. Derry
says that people talk about him downstairs when he is not there.

• They seem to be worried about him and his future. Mr Lamb gives him a very inspiring
advice. He will get on the way he wants like all the rest as he has all the God-given
organs. He could even get on better than all the rest, if he determined to do so.
• But Mr. Lamb keeps on telling him to think of the positive things. Soon they become
friends and Mr. Lamb asks him to help him in plucking the crab apples of his garden.
Derry tells him that he had come too far from his home and hadn’t told anything about
this to his mother.
• Mr. Lamb tells him to take permission from his mother. Derry finds it difficult and this
leads to a small quarrel between both of them.
• At last, Derry tells him that he would come back after taking his mother’s permission.
His mother does not want him to go back but he comes back again to fulfill his
promise.

• Meanwhile, Mr. Lamb climbs the ladder on his own to pluck the crab apples as he was
sure that Derry would not return.
• He was disabled and it was difficult for him to climb. Mr. Lamb falls from his ladder and
dies. Derry, on the other hand, returns to the garden to help him. When he enters the
garden, he sees Mr. Lamb lying on the ground.
• Derry tries hard to make him move but did not get any response from him. Finally,
he comes to know that he is dead and starts crying.

• Introduction to Memories of
Childhood
• (Part 1 The Cutting of My Long Hair)
• ‘The cutting of My long hair’ is a story that showcases the discrimination
faced by the Indians in the western world. The story describes how an
Indian girl was forced to wear western dresses and cut her hair by her
school authorities in order to make her look like an American student.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The narrative “The Cutting of My Long Hair” illustrates the prejudice that the native
American Indians experienced in the west, at the hands of the English. It highlights the
evil of racial discrimination. The school officials made the writer wear western clothing
and cut her hair. The anguish of a girl who was a part of the minority group at the
hands of the powerful management. Her community believed that cowards got their
hair cut. She opposed to getting her long hair cut but the mighty took over.

• It was the writer’s first day at school. It was bitter cold. A large bell rang for breakfast. Shoes
clattered on bare floors. Many voices murmured. A paleface woman, with white hair, came up
after them. They were placed in a line of girls who were marching into the dinning room. She
walked noiselessly in her soft moccasins. She felt like sinking to the floor, for her blanket had
been removed from her shoulders. The Indian girls did not seem to care though they were
more immodestly dressed in tight fitting clothes. The boys entered at an opposite door. A small
bell was tapped. Each of the pupils drew a chair from under the table. The writer pulled out
hers. She at once slipped into it from one side. She turned her head. She found that she was
the only one seated. All the rest at their table remained standing. She began to rise. A second
bell sounded. All were seated at last. She heard a man’s voice at the end of the hall. She
looked around to see him. All the others hung their heads over their plates. She found the
paleface woman looking at her. The man stopped his mutterings. Then a third bell was tapped.
Everyone picked up his knife and fork and began eating.

• She began to cry. This eating by formula was a difficult experience.
• Late in the morning her friend Judewin told her that she had overheard the paleface woman
talk about cutting their long heavy hair. Among their people, short hair was worn by mourners
and shingled hair by cowards. Judewin said that they had to submit because the school
authorities were strong. The writer rebelled. She decided to struggle before submitting.
• When no one noticed, she disappeared and crept upstairs. She hid herself under the bed in a
large room with three white beds in it. She heard loud voices in the hall calling her name. Even
Judewin was searching for her. She did not open her mouth to answer. The sound of steps
came nearer and nearer. Women and girls entered the room. They searched her everywhere.
Someone threw up the curtains. The room was filled with sudden light. They stopped and
looked under the bed. She was dragged out. She resisted by kicking and scratching wildly. She
was carried downstairs and tied fast in a chair.

• When no one noticed, she disappeared and crept upstairs. She hid herself under the bed in a
large room with three white beds in it. She heard loud voices in the hall calling her name. Even
Judewin was searching for her. She did not open her mouth to answer. The sound of steps
came nearer and nearer. Women and girls entered the room. They searched her everywhere.
Someone threw up the curtains. The room was filled with sudden light. They stopped and
looked under the bed. She was dragged out. She resisted by kicking and scratching wildly. She
was carried downstairs and tied fast in a chair.

• Theme of the
Lesson
• The story “we too are human beings” talks about the evil of social
discrimination. This is an excerpt from the writer’s
autobiography
‘Kurukku’. A Tamil Dalit girl named Bama describes her experience
in the
third grade. Although she was unaware of the negative effects of
untouchability, she had encountered humiliation and embarrassment in
her environment. The excerpt shows how low caste individuals are
viewed as untouchables due to caste prejudice. Low caste members not
only show deference to high caste members, but they also poison
everything they touch.

• The story is written by Bama who is one of the characters in this story.
She is a little cheerful girl who loves to observe things taking place in her
street.
• She says though it takes only ten minutes to reach home from her
school but she takes about thirty minutes to reach her home from
the school.
• She then explains the reason behind it. She says when she is on her way
to home she sees a monkey performing and a snake charmer doing
some act with his snake which was very interesting for her.

• Then there was a cyclist also who was cycling from past three days.
There was one famous temple which had a big bell and a tribal man who
sells clay beads, needles etc.
• She also comes across various snack stalls and street acts. Then she
explains about how various political parties come to her street to
give lectures.
• As she proceeds further, she saw a landlord sitting and watching his
workers work in the field. She then saw an old man of her
community handling a snack pack in a very strange manner and then
offering it to the landlord.

• She founds it so amusing that she bursts out into a laugh. On reaching home
she narrates it to her elder brother and starts laughing.
• He then tells her a real truth about her being from a low caste and that
the upper caste people do not like their presence or touch the low caste as
it would make them impure.
• She finds it so disgusting that she grows angry over the upper caste people.
Some days later her elder brother is questioned about his whereabouts to
know his caste.
• He then suggests her to study hard as only this could earn her respect. She
works as per his suggestions and become topper of her class. This not
only earns her respect but many friends too.

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