Category: English Summary

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Online Education Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 in English

Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 Introduction to the Chapter

Reach for the Top consists of two biographical pieces—mountaineer Santosh Yadav and Tennis player Maria Sharapova—that depict their persistent endeavours to reach the top. Part I is an inspirational account of the single-minded determination and dedication of an Indian woman mountaineer, Santosh Yadav, who hailed from a small village of Haryana and conquered Mount Everest twice in her life. Her sterling qualities of perseverance, patience, commitment, persistence and strength of purpose make her a role model for others to follow.

Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 in English

Santosh Yadav, the only woman in the world to have scaled Mt. Everest twice, was bom in an affluent landowning family of Joniyawas, a small village of Rewari District, Haryana. Although Santosh was bom in a conservative society, where sons are preferred over the daughters, she was welcomed in the family as she was the sixth child and the only sister to five elder brothers. When her mother was expecting a baby, a holy man visited and blessed her with giving birth to a son. But to everyone’s surprise her grandmother said that she wanted a girl. The girl was bom and was named Santosh which means contentment.

From the beginning, Santosh was a bit of a rebel right and defied conventions. She neither liked to wear traditional dresses nor followed the traditional course of life. Though Santosh attended the local village school for her early education, she decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived. And the right moment came when she turned sixteen. Most of the girls in her village used to get married at sixteen. When Santosh’s parents also put pressure on her to do the same, rather than succumbing to parental pressure to get married early, she insisted on pursuing her studies. Her parents had to give in to her desire to study at a high school in Delhi, followed by higher education at Maharani College, Jaipur.

In Jaipur, she lived in Kasturba Hostel and could see the Aravalli hills from her room. Attracted by the villagers climbing these hills, one day she decided to check the route herself. There she met a few mountaineers, who allowed her to join them and encouraged her to take to mountaineering.

There was no looking back for this determined young girl after that. Before completing her college degree, Santosh Yadav got herself enrolled at Uttarkashi’s Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. As soon as she completed her last semester in Jaipur, she had to rush straight to the Institute and had no time to visit home. So, she wrote her father a letter apologizing for not having sought his permission before joining the Institute.

During this training, she went for an expedition each year. Her climbing skills matured rapidly. Also, she developed a remarkable resistance to cold and the altitude. Endowed with an iron will, physical endurance and an amazing mental toughness, she proved herself repeatedly. In 1992, after training for four years, she became the youngest woman in the world to conquer Mt. Everest at the age of 22. Her physical and mental strength impressed her seniors, while her

team spirit and concern for others endeared her to her fellow climbers. Santosh provided special care to a fellow climber in critical condition at South Col., who unfortunately could not be saved. However, she managed to save Mohan Singh, who too was in distress, by sharing her oxygen with him.

In less than a year of scaling Everest she got a second invitation from an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition to repeat the feat. She was successful in scaling Mt. Everest once again. While unfurling the tricolour on top of the world, Santosh experienced indescribable pride as an Indian. It was truly a spiritual moment for her. Showing exceptional concern for the environment, she collected and brought down about 500kg of garbage from the Himalayas. The government of India honoured her with Padmashri for her unparalleled mountaineering feats.

Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 Title

Reach for the Top is an appropriate title for the two biographical features – Santosh Yadav and Maria Sharapova – as both these sportswomen reached for the top, and in the case of Santosh Yadav, the climb to the to was both literal and metaphoric. Santosh Yadav climbed many a mountain peak, including the Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world twice. By doing this she also reached the top of her chosen sport. Her success was due to the sterling qualities of body and mind, and the training and support she received. Reach for the Top, thus, inspires the readers to give their best and strive to achieve excellence and glory in their own area of interest through hard work, persistent efforts, constancy of purpose, strong will and meticulous planning.

Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 Theme

Reach for the Top is based on the theme that success comes to those who persevere and strive to achieve their goal. Santosh Yadav, who hailed from small village of Haryana and belonged to a conservative family received education, training and success as a woman mountaineer in a society where girls are married off at the age of sixteen. Her single-minded determination and dedication makes her a role model for others to follow. She defied all odds, customs, traditions and prejudices to achieve phenomenal success through hard work, persistent effort, focus on the goal and mental and physical toughness. Santosh has literally climbed to the highest top that a mountaineer could reach, not just once but twice.

Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 Message

The life and achievements of Santosh Yadav conveys the message that success comes to those who strive hard to achieve their goal. A highly spirited and motivated woman, Santosh Yadav took up a challenging outdoor sport which required immense physical and mental preparation, and braved discouragement from her close relatives. Setting aside all impediments and surging past other barriers, she achieved her goal through hard work, determination, and constant efforts. Instead of complaining against the ills in society, one must dare to change the systems and shape one’s own destiny.

Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 Character

Santosh Yadav

Santosh Yadav has been portrayed as a strongminded, decisive, courageous and adventurous girl endowed with a rational mind and physical and mental toughness. Though she was bom in a small village of Haryana, Santosh Yadav was a girl with independent views right from childhood. She did not succumb to parental pressure and give in to their conservative views. Instead she was able to convince them to accept her views because she had chosen a rational path.

Santosh Yadav had the courage to oppose what she considered to be wrong. When her parents insisted that she should get married on turning sixteen, she put her foot down and made it clear that her first priority was getting educated. Determined as she was, she got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. When the parents threatened that they would not pay her school fees, she told them that she would work part time to pay for her education. Her parents had to finally relent before her determination. Later on, her iron will, physical endurance and mental toughness helped her to first join Maharani College Jaipur and then Nehru Institute of Mountaineering at Uttarkashi.

Her hard work and determination, mental strength and physical fitness equipped her for undertaking the dangerous journey to reach Mt Everest, the ‘top of the world’ successfully, not once, but twice.

Santosh Yadav’s humanitarian attitude and team-spirit was evident when during her expedition she helped her fellow climbers. Her concern for environment was evident when she brought down as much as 500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.

All these qualities and amazing achievements helped Santosh earn one of the nation’s top awards, Padmashri. Her courage and determination are worth emulating.

Reach for the Top Summary Part 1 Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What made Santosh Yadav achieve fame and greatness?
Answer:
Santosh Yadav is the only woman in the world who has scaled Mt Everest twice. Santosh Yadav scaled Mt Everest when she was barely twenty years of age, becoming the youngest woman in the world to achieve the feat. Within twelve months, Santosh scaled the Everest a second time as a member of an Indo-Nepalese Women’s Expedition. She thus set a record as the only woman to have scaled the Everest twice.

Question 2.
Why was the ‘holy man’, who gave Santosh’s mother his blessings, surprised?
Answer:
The holy man expected that like all other families in the villages, the family would also wish for the birth of a son. However, when he was told by Santosh’s grandmother that they wanted to have a daughter, he was surprised.

Question 3.
What kind of society was Santosh born in?
Answer:
Santosh was born in Joniyawas, a small village in the Rewari District in Haryana. The society in this region wasvery conservative and orthodox. People were rigidly patriarchal and gender-biased. The birth of a girl was generally unwelcome and people strictly adhered to conservative traditions.

Question 4.
The grandmother wished her daughter-in-law give birth to a daughter. What light does this throw on her character?
Answer:
Despite being the member of a conservative family, the grandmother wished to be blessed with a granddaughter. This was because there were already five boys in the family. Hence, the family now wished for a daughter. This also shows her as a woman of progressive views.

Question 5.
What do you know about Santosh’s family?
Answer:
Santosh was bom into an affluent family of landlords in a village, Joniyawas, in the Rewari district of Haryana. She was the sixth child in a conservative family, the only sister to five brothers. Though financially well-off, her family was orthodox and conservative in matters related to the education and upbringing of girls.

Question 6.
Why was Santosh sent to the local school?
Answer:
Santosh’s parents were affluent and could afford to send Santosh to a school in Delhi. But they sent her to the local village school because they strictly followed tradition and it was customary in their society to send girls to the local school only.

Question 7.
How was Santosh different from the other girls of her village?
Answer:
Unlike other girls of her village, Santosh was not content with the traditional way of life. She used to wear shorts and went on to study further at Delhi. She did not get married at sixteen as most of the girls of her village did.

Question 8.
Why was Santosh Yadav not content with a traditional way of life? What path did she choose and why?
Answer:
Right from childhood, Santosh was not content with a traditional way of life and felt that if she chose a correct and a rational path, the others around her had to change, not she. She wanted to chart her own course in life, rather than following the age-old customs and traditions. She wore shorts instead of traditional attire, went to study in Delhi when girls in her village got married. When her parents refused to pay for her education, she got them to agree by informing them of her plans to earn money by working part time to pay . her school fees. She chose the path of excellence through education, rational thinking and hard work and achieved unparalleled success as a woman mountaineer.

Question 9.
When did Santosh leave home for Delhi, and why?
Answer:
Santosh left home for Delhi when she turned sixteen because her parents had begun to pressurize her to get married in keeping with the traditional practice in their community. She decided that it was the right moment to rebel and she quietly got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi to continue her studies.

Question 10.
Why did Santosh’s parents agree to pay for her schooling in Delhi? What mental qualities of Santosh are brought to light by this incident?
Answer:
At the age of sixteen, Santosh got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. When her parents refused to pay for her schooling in Delhi, she politely informed them that she planned to work part time in order to pay her fees. Her parents realized that their daughter was independent, had a strong will-power and firm self-belief. She could take her decisions and also stand by them. They saw her strong sense of conviction and her passion for education. So, they agreed to pay for her schooling in Delhi.

We have decided to create the most comprehensive Online Education English Summary that will help students with learning and understanding. in this article we are covered Silk Road Summary.

Online Education for Silk Road Summary in English by Nick Middleton

Silk Road by Nick Middleton About the Author

Author Name	Nick Middleton
Born	1960 (age 60 years), London, United Kingdom
Books	Going to Extremes, Global Casino, Rivers: A Very Short Introduction
Awards	The Royal Geographical Society’s Ness

Silk Road Summary in English

The narrator was leaving Ravu and heading towards Mount Kailash to complete the kora. It was in the early hours of the morning that they were set to leave. Lhamo gave the narrator a long-sleeved sheepskin coat, which all the men wore, as a farewell present. Tsetan assessed him as they got into his car. They took a short cut to get off the Changtang. Tsetan knew a route that would take them south-west, almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It involved crossing several fairly high mountain passes, he said. Going that way would not be a problem if there was no snow but that one could never know till one reached there.

From the gently rising and falling hills of Ravu, the short cut took them across vast open plains, dry grazing land, with nothing in them except a few small antelopes. Moving ahead they noticed that the plains became more stony than grassy. Here they saw a herd of wild ass that were racing around and of which Tsetan had told them even before they appeared.

The drive again became steep. They crossed drokbas tending their flocks. Thickly clad men and women stared at their car and at times waved at them while the sheep would turn away from the vehicle. They passed nomads’ dark tents pitched in the isolated places usually with a huge black dog, a Tibetan big, smooth-haired dog guarding them. These dogs would observe them from a distance and as they drew closer, they would rush towards them and chase them for about a hundred metres. These hairy dogs were pitch black and usually wore bright red collars and barked angrily with enormous jaws. They were absolutely fearless of their vehicle and would run straight onto their way. Tsetan had to brake and turn sharply to avoid them. It was because of their ferocity that these Tibetan mastiffs were brought from Tibet to China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs.

As they entered a valley, they could see snow-capped mountains and the wide river but mostly blocked with ice that was sparkling in the sunshine. As they moved ahead, on their upward track, the turns became sharper and the ride bumpier. The rocks around were covered with patches of bright orange lichen. Under the rocks, seemed unending shade. The narrator felt the pressure building up in his ears so he held his nose, snorted and cleared them. Just then Tsetan stopped and the three of them—Tsetan, Daniel and the narrator walked out of the car.

It continued to snow. The snow that had collected was too steep for their vehicle to scale, so there was no way of going around the snow patch. The narrator looked at his wristwatch and realized that they were at 5,210 metres above sea level.

The snow didn’t look too deep, but the danger was that if the car slipped it could turn over. Tsetan grabbed handfuls of soil and threw it across the frozen surface of ice. Daniel and the narrator stayed out of the vehicle to lessen Tsetan’s load. He backed and drove towards the dirty snow, and with no difficulty the car moved on. But after ten minutes of driving, there was another obstruction. Tsetan assessed the scene and this time he decided to drive round the snow. It was a steep slope scattered with big rocks, but Tsetan got past them. The narrator checked his watch again; they were 5,400 metres above sea level and his head began to ache terribly. He gulped a little water for relief.

When they reached the top of the pass at 5,515 metres, they noticed large rocks decorated with white silk scarves and ragged prayer flags. All of them took a clockwise round them as is the tradition and Tsetan checked the tyres on his vehicle. He stopped at the petrol tank. The lower atmospheric pressure was allowing the fuel to expand.

The narrator was soon relieved of headache as they went to the other side of the pass. At two o’clock, they stopped for lunch and ate hot noodles inside a long canvas work tent, put up beside a dry salt lake. The plateau was covered with spots of salty desert area and salt lakes, leftovers of the Tethys Ocean, which surrounded Tibet before the steep climb. Here there was a lot of activity, men with pickaxes and shovels were moving around wearing long sheepskin coats and salt-covered boots. All of them were wearing sunglasses against the bright light of the trucks as they came laden with piles of salt.

By late afternoon they reached a small town, Hor, back on the main east-west highway that followed the old trade route from Lhasa to Kashmir. Daniel took a ride in a truck and went to Lhasa. Tsetan and the narrator bade him farewell.

Hor was a gloomy place covered with dust and rocks and devoid of vegetation. It was scattered with a lot of refuse that had gathered over the years. It was regrettable as this town was on the shore of Lake Manasarovar, Tibet’s most honoured lake. Ancient Hindu and Buddhist study of the universe pinpoints Manasarovar as the source of four great Indian rivers: the Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra. Actually, only the Sutlej flows from this lake, but the headwaters of the others all rise nearby on the sides of Mount Kailash. They had tea in Hor’s only cafe which, like all the other buildings in town, was built from badly painted concrete and had three broken windows but they had a good view of the lake through one of the windows.

After half an hour’s stop, they drove westwards out of the town towards Mount Kailash.

The narrator was surprised to see Hor because it was absolutely different from what he had read about it. Ekai Kawaguchi, a Japanese monk who had been there in 1900, was so stirred by the holiness of the lake that he burst into tears. A few years later, the place had a similar effect on Sven Hedin, a Swede visitor.

They reached a guesthouse in Darchen after 10.30 p.m. They were 4,760 metres above the sea level. It was a disturbed night. The narrator had terrible cold because of the open-air rubbish dump in Hor. With his nostrils blocked he found it difficult to breathe. He was tired and hungry and thus started breathing through his mouth.

But barely had he slept when he woke up abruptly. His felt a peculiar heaviness in his chest; he sat up and cleared his nasal passages. He felt relieved but the moment he lay down he intuitively felt that something was wrong. He was not breathless but simply could not sleep. The fear of dying in his sleep kept him awake.

The next morning Tsetan took him to the Darchen Medical College. It was a new building that looked like a monastery from the outside. It had a very solid door that opened into a large courtyard. In the consulting room was a Tibetan doctor who did not have the equipment that a doctor would have. Clad in a thick pullover and a woolly hat, he listened to the narrator’s symptoms and said it was because of the altitude and cold. He assured the narrator that he would be fine and gave him a brown envelope stuffed with fifteen screws of paper that contained brown powder that tasted like cinnamon. He was asked to take them with hot water. The narrator did not like the look of the contents but took them anyway. He slept very soundly.

When Tsetan was assured that the narrator was going to be well, he left him and returned to Lhasa. As a Buddhist, it didn’t really matter if the narrator died but he thought it would be bad for business. After the narrator got his rest and a good night’s sleep, Darchen didn’t look so awful. It was still dusty, and had heaps of rubble and refuse, but the bright sun gave him a view of the Himalayas. He saw the snow-capped mountain, Gurla Mandhata, with a small cloud hanging over its peak.

The town had a few general stores selling Chinese cigarettes, soap and other basic provisions, as well as the usual strings of prayer flags. In front of one, men collected in the afternoon for a game of pool on a strange table in the open air, while nearby women washed their long hair in the icy water of a narrow brook near the guesthouse. Darchen felt stress-free and slow but for the narrator this was a major disadvantage. There were no pilgrims. He had been told that in the peak of the pilgrimage season, the town was full of visitors. That was the reason for his being there in the beginning of the season, but it seemed that he was too early.

One afternoon he sat with a glass of tea in Darchen’s only cafe thinking about the paucity of pilgrims and the fact that he hadn’t made much progress with his self-help programme on positive thinking. After some contemplation, he felt he could only wait. He did not like the idea of going alone on a pilgrimage.

The kora was seasonal because parts of the road were likely to be blocked by snow. He had no idea if the snow had cleared, but he saw the large pieces of dirty ice on the banks of Darchen’s stream. From the time when Tsetan had left, he had not met anyone in Darchen who could answer even the basic questions in English till he met Norbu.

The narrator was in a small, dark cafe with a long metal stove that ran down the middle. The walls and roofs were covered with multi-coloured sheets of plastic that is made into shopping bags in many countries. Plastic is one of China’s most successful exports along the Silk Road today. He sat beside a window so that he could see the pages of his notebook. He also had a novel with him. Norbu saw the book, came to him, sat opposite and asked the narrator if he was ‘English’. They stated a conversation. The narrator could make out that he did not belong to that place as he was wearing a windcheater and metal-rimmed spectacles of Western style. He told the narrator that he was a Tibetan, but worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He, too, had come to do the kora.

Norbu had been writing academic papers about the Kailash kora and its importance in various works of Buddhist literature for many years, but he had never actually done it himself. When the narrator told him what brought him to Darchen, he was excited and wanted to work with him as a team. He soon realized that Norbu was as ill-equipped as him for the pilgrimage. He kept telling the narrator how fat he was and how tough it was going to be for him to walk. He wasn’t really a practising Buddhist, it became known, but he had enthusiasm and he was a Tibetan.

Although at first the narrator had thought that he would make the trek in the company of religious people but then felt that Norbu would turn out to be the ideal companion. Norbu suggested that they hire some yaks to carry the luggage, as he said it was not possible for him to prostrate himself all round the mountain as that was not his style, and anyway his tummy was too big.

Silk Road Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why did the narrator undertake the journey to Mount Kailash? Describe his memories of the day when they set out on their journey.
Answer:
The narrator was moving towards Mount Kailash to complete the kora. He recalls the day, when they set out from Ravu, with nostalgia. It was a ‘perfect’ early morning to start a journey. The clouds looked like long French loaves glimmering pink as the rising sun shone on them. The far-away mountain peaks glowed with a rose-tinted colour. Lhamo presented him with one of the long-sleeved sheepskin coats that all the men there wore, for protection against cold.

Question 2.
Describe the initial phase of their journey.
Answer:
As they set out, they took a shorter route to get off the Changtang. It was a road that would take them south¬west, almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It required crossing several quite high mountain passes. Tsetan was confident that if there was no snow they would have a comfortable journey but that they would not know till they got there.

From the gently sloping hills of Ravu, the short cut took them across vast open plains with nothing in them except a few antelopes grazing in the arid pastures. As they moved ahead, the plains became more stony than grassy. There, the antelopes were replaced by herds of wild ass.

Question 3.
What did the narrator notice about the ‘drokbas’?
Answer:
As the narrator went further up the hills from the rocky wasteland, he noticed the solitary drokbas tending their flocks. Sometimes these well-wrapped figures would halt briefly and stare at their car. They seldom waved as they crossed. When the road took them close to the sheep, the animals would swerve away from the speeding car.

Question 4.
The narrator was fascinated by the awesome mastiffs. Why?
Answer:
Crossing the nomads’ dark tents pitched in remoteness, the narrator noticed that a huge black dog, a Tibetan mastiffs, guarded most of the tents. These monstrous creatures would tilt their great big heads when someone moved towards them. As they drew closer, these dogs would race straight towards them, like a bullet from a gun. These dogs were pitch black and usually wore bright red collars. They barked furiously with their gigantic jaws and were so fearless that they ran straight into the path of their vehicle. They would chase them for about a hundred metres. The narrator could understand why Tibetan mastiffs became popular in China’s imperial courts as hunting dogs.

Question 5.
How did Tsetan manoeuvre across the first patch of snow that they came across?
Answer:
Tsetan stopped at a tight bend and got out because the snow had covered the path in front of them. This unexpected-depository was too steep for their vehicle to mount. Tsetan stepped on to the covered snow, and stamped his foot to determine how sturdy it was. The snow was not deep but the car could turn over. Tsetan took handfuls of dirt and threw them across the frozen surface. Daniel and the narrator, too, joined in. When the snow was spread with soil, Tsetan backed up the vehicle and drove towards the dirty snow. The car moved across the icy surface without noticeable difficulty.

Question 6.
When did the narrator feel unwell or the first time? What did he do?
Answer:
When they went further up the trail and were 5,400 metres above the sea level, the narrator got an awful headache. He took gulps from his water bottle, which is supposed to help during a speedy uphill journey. His headache soon cleared as they went down the other side of the pass.

Question 7.
What was the sight on the plateau ruins of the Tethys Ocean?
Answer:
The narrator and his friends stopped for lunch in a long canvas tent, part of a work camp erected beside a dry salt lake. The plateau was covered with salty desert area and salty lakes that were remnants of the Tethys Ocean. This place was bustling with activity.

Men with pickaxes and shovels were moving back and forth in their long sheepskin coats and salt-covered boots. All wore sunglasses as protection against the dazzling light of blue trucks that energed from the lake with piles of salt.

Question 8.
Why was the narrator sorry to see the miserable plight of Hor?
Answer:
Hor was a dismal place with no vegetation. It only had dust and rocks coupled with years of accumulated refuse. He found this unfortunate because this town was on the banks of Lake Manasarovar, Tibet’s most venerated stretch of water.

Question 9.
What is the belief about Lake Manasarovar? What is the fact?
Answer:
According to ancient Hindu and Buddhist cosmology Manasarovar is the source of four great Indian rivers: the Indus, the Ganges, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra. In actuality only the Sutlej flows from the lake, but the headwaters of the all others rise nearby on the flanks of Mount Kailash.

Question 10.
The narrator ‘slept very soundly. Like a log, not a dead man’. Explain.
Answer:
After going to the Tibetan doctor the narrator soon recovered. Unpalatable as it seemed, the medicine led him to a quick recovery. Hence the narrator had a healthy and sound sleep unlike when he was ailing and restless. He slept undisturbed. He was not tossing and turning because he was sound a sleep, not because he felt lifeless.

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Online Education for The Thief’s Story Summary in English by Ruskin Bond

The Thief’s Story by Ruskin Bond About the Author

Author Name	Ruskin Bond
Born	19 May 1934 (age 86 years), Kasauli
Education	Bishop Cotton School shimla (1950)
Awards	Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan
Movies	7 Khoon Maaf, The Blue Umbrella, The Black Cat, Junoon, Ek Tha Rusty II

The Thief’s Story Summary in English

Anil, a young man of 25, was a writer. He earned his living by writing books or articles for various magazines. He was a large-hearted and simple man. Once, when he was watching a wrestling match, a young boy named Hari Singh approached him and expressed his desire to serve him. He said that he would cook for him. Anil believed him and gave him the job. Hari Singh was an expert thief and used to change his name and place to avoid the police and his old employers. He used to make money while buying supplies for him.

One day, he got a chance to steal Anil’s money, from under the mattress. He ran away to go to another place by train. But at the park, his inner voice made him restless. He did not want to cheat a large-hearted and simple man like Anil, who had trusted him. He also wanted Anil to teach him to write simple sentences. He immediately came back to Anil’s house and placed the money as it was.

Next morning, Anil gave him fifty rupees and told him that he would pay him regularly. Anil forgave him as he wanted to give him another chance to improve.

The Thief’s Story Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How did the thief (Hari Singh) realise that Anil knew that his money had been stolen?
Answer:
The thief realised that Anil knew he had stolen his money because he found some of the notes still wet, as if they were taken out in the rain. He gave a fifty-rupee-note to Hari Singh the next morning, and he promised to give him more money, though he did not have any contract for giving any money.

Question 2.
How did Hari Singh know that Anil had forgiven him?
Answer:
Hari Singh realised that Anil knew about the theft because he found some of the notes still wet. He gave him a fifty-rupee-note and did not mention anything about the theft. This made him feel that Anil had forgiven him.

Question 3.
Who is ‘I’ in this story? Why did he change his name every month?
Answer:
‘I’ in this story is a 15 year old boy who is an experienced and successful thief. He changes his name every month to hide his real identity from his new employer and the police.

Question 4.
Why, according to Hari Singh, is it easier to rob a greedy man than a careless person like Anil?
Answer:
Hari Singh has correlated theft with the sense of satisfaction, a thief gets pleasure when a person comes to know that he has been robbed. Hari Singh says that a greedy man can afford to be robbed too whereas a careless man at times may never come to know that he has lost something or he has been robbed. This carelessness, on the part of a person robbed, deprives a thief of the pleasure which he gets out of theft.

Question 5.
What was the thief s immediate reaction when he stole Anil’s money?
Answer:
Hari Singh stole six hundred rupees and crawled out of the room. When he was on the road, he started running. He kept the notes in his waist held there by the string of his pyjama. He felt as if he was an oil rich Arab for a week or two.

Question 6.
What made the thief come back to Anil?
Answer:
Hari Singh came back to Anil because Anil trusted him. He did not want to miss the chance of being educated. Education could certainly make him a better man. He was fed up with the life of a thief, i. e. stealing and being caught and beaten.

Question 7.
What was Anil’s job? What did he usually do with the money he earned?
Answer:
Anil was a writer. He used to write articles for magazines. He was a spendthrift and used to spend money on his friends. He did not bother to save money for his future.

Question 8.
What does the thief say about the reactions of different types of people when they were robbed? How did he think Anil would react when he discovered the theft?
Answer:
The thief had robbed all kinds of people. According to him, the greedy men were scared of being robbed. The rich men showed anger. The poor men accepted their fate after being robbed. He thought that Anil would show only a touch of sadness. He would not be sad for the loss of money, but for the loss of trust.

Question 9.
What made him a successful thief?
Answer:
He always changed his name after stealing. He even managed to change the place. He tried his best to appear pleasing and innocent so the employers never suspected him to be a thief.

Question 10.
Why was he about to be dismissed? What made Anil reinstate him?
Answer:
He cooked very terrible meal which infuriated Anil. He gave the food to the stray dog and asked him to be off. But he got his job back by flattering Anil who was a simple and large-hearted man.

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Online Education for A Horse and Two Goats Story Summary by R. K. Narayan

A Horse and Two Goats Summary by R. K. Narayan About the Author

R.K. Narayan was an Indian writer best known for his short stories set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was born on 10th October, 1906, in the then Madras. His full name was Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayan- swami. He was the leading author along with Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao.

Graham Greene was his friend and mentor. He was also instrumental in getting publishers for Narayan’s books which included Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher. Narayan’s The Financial Expert was known as one of the original works of 1951, He won Sahitya Academy Award for The Guide which was adapted for film. His style was simple, easy and highlighted the social context and everyday life of his characters.

There is humor and pity in his stories. In his career of sixty years, he won many awards and honors including the AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s third and second highest civilian awards. He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament. He died in the year 2001 On 13th May at the age of 94.

A Horse and Two Goats Summary of the Story

The story opens with a clear picture of the poverty in which the protagonist Muni lives. Only one Big House out of thirty houses in the village is made up of brick. The others including Muni are made up of bamboo’s thatch, straw, mud and other materials. There is no running water or electricity supply. Muni’s wife cooked food over a fire in a mud pot. One day Muni has shaken down six drumsticks from the tree growing in front of his house and asks his wife to prepare them in a sauce for him. She agrees, provided he can get the other ingredients like rice, dhaal, spices, oil and a potato.

Muni has not been so poor since the beginning. Once he owned a flock of forty sheep and goats which he used to graze every day. But years of drought, famine and an epidemic had destroyed all and he is left with only two goats. And because he belongs to a lower caste, he was never allowed to go to school. He and his wife have no children to take care of them in their old age. They run their house from the odd jobs his wife does at the big house.

Muni has taken so much credit from every shop that when he asks for the ingredients his wife requires for cooking the drumsticks, he is refused. There is nothing in the house to cook so his wife asks him to fast till evening and graze the goats. Muni goes to his usual place on the outskirts where he would sit on the pedestal of the old horse statue and his goats meandered. The horse statue is made up of clay and is brightly coloured.

As Muni waits for the evening, he notices a yellow coloured wagon from which a red faced American wearing khaki gets down and asks him for a nearby gas station. Then he notices the statue and exclaims ‘Marvelous’.

Muni mistakes him as a policeman or a soldier and he wants to run away but finds it difficult due to his old age. The two starts conversing in their own language without understanding each other. The American offers him a cigarette and then gives him his business card which Muni thinks to be warrant card. He gives innocent explanation that he knows nothing about the crime the man is investigating.

American put forth his desire to buy the horse statue as he thinks Muni is the owner of it. The two talk about their own life. Muni tells him about the statue what his father and grandfather had told him. The American listens with fascination and appreciates his sound. Muni tells him that he has never been to school and only Brahmins went to school in those days therefore he doesn’t know Parangi language. He further describes the horse as their guardian. At this the American replies that he assures that the statue will have the best home in the U.S.A.

This way trying to understand each other’s language, they continued their conversation. Ultimately, the American waved a hundred rupee note and hand it over to Muni. Muni thinks it is an offer for the goats. He happily runs back home leaving his goats. But his wife suspects him of theft and threatens to leave him. On the other hand, the American gets the help to detach the horse from its pedestal and place it in his station wagon.

A Horse and Two Goats Summary Theme

The story is about a misunderstanding between an Indian and an American. A major theme is clash of cultures as exhibited by the wealthy American and the poor Hindu, Muni. Main focus is on miscommunication. Narayan used humor in place of anger to demonstrate how the two worlds are entirely differing from each other: the two cultures exist in the same time and space but speak different languages either literally or metaphorically.

The two main characters in the story are equally different: Muni is a poor, rural, illiterate, Hindu, dark complexioned whereas the American is wealthy, urban, educated, Christian and white. Behaving like a religious man, Muni accepts his fate while the American is willing and determined to take major steps to change his life. Both are unaware of each other’s lifestyle.

The inability to understand one another’s language leads only to confusion but does not harms anyone. Both the men are dissatisfied conversing with each other but still finds company while talking. Each gives details of his life without realizing that the other hears and understands nothing. At the end of their meeting each man gets what he wants or needs without any loss. The selection of words is mind blowing. While the reader may find this conflict painful at times, but it’s amusing altogether. One can say that it’s a fine example of comic masterpiece.

A Horse and Two Goats Summary Characters

Muni

He is the protagonist of the story. He is old and extremely poor. But he had not always been poor. He had a large flock of sheep and goats but fortunes declined and now he was left only with two goats. He and his wife had no source of income and besides they had no children to take care of them in old age.

His usual work was to set out every day to graze his goats on the outskirts of the town whereas his wife earned something by doing different jobs in the big house. While the goats meandered along to the foot of the horse statue on the edge of the village, he sat on its pedestal for the rest of the day and crouched under its belly for shade.

There he remembers his olden days when life was tough but they were never short of food. He was uneducated and illiterate because he was not Brahmin and only Brahmins were supposed to acquire education. Overall he created humor in the whole story through his accents and assumptions.

The American

The American was a businessman who entered the story when Muni was grazing his goats on the outskirts of the town. He wore Khaki and gave Muni the impression of a policeman or a soldier. He knew only English language but expected Muni to speak the same language. He was annoyed to know that Muni could speak only Tamil. His entry was symbolic of a new culture displaying Western culture. He was wealthy in contrast with Muni. He was very well acquainted with the fact that he was in the remotest of the Indian villages, still he was looking for the gas station and English speaking people.

He wanted to own the thing whatever he liked without giving a second thought. He wanted to own the horse statue as a souvenir for his living room at any cost and thought Muni as the owner of statue by the way Muni was sitting on its pedestal. He knew that nobody could understand his language still he listened Muni very seriously but very well acquainted with the fact that money would solve all the problems. He was a materialistic man who had no value for the cultural or religious importance of the statue.

The Shop man

The shop man is a man whose mood swings frequently. He has given Muni food on credit in the past, but now is no more willing to lend him anything as Muni has passed his limit. Muni owes him five rupees too which is a great amount. Sometimes they share a bit of humorous conversation, but apart from this they have no more connection. He sends him back disappointed when his wife asks for some ingredients to prepare drumsticks The Wife Muni’s wife has lived with him since they were children.

Neither of them was sure about their ages. They had spent years through prosperity and poverty. She was somewhat irritated with him now and had grown tired of him, but cared also. She was a typical Indian woman who was ready to cook whatever her husband wanted. At times she scolded him also. Her temper was manageable. She wanted to fulfill his request for a special meal. She worked hard in the big house as he did, or harder.

She picked up odd jobs as grinding corn, sweeping, scrubbing, for buying food stuff. In fact she was not dependent on Muni but Muni was dependent on her. She was ready to do as much work as she could for her living but was against earning the money by unfair means. Poverty had drained her down as she accused Muni of stealing after seeing hundred rupees and threatened to leave the house.

A Horse and Two Goats Summary Word-Meanings

1. dotting – mark with dots
2. grandiose – imposing
3. subcontinent – a large landmark forming a part of continent
4. gorgeous – beautiful, attractive
5. gargoyles – a water spout in the form of a grotesque carved face on a building
6. balustrade – a row of short pillars supporting a rail or coping
7. sallied – set out on a journey
8. pedestal – a base supporting a column or statue
9. crook – a hooked stick
10. snapped – break
11. foliage – leaves
12. avenue – a wide road
13. faggots – a tied bundle of sticks or twigs
14. dawn – the first light of the day, the beginning
15. millet – a cereal plant
16. tethered – tied to a spot with a rope or chain
17. triumph – a great victory
18. precisely – exactly
19. upturned – upside downails – make or become ill
20. inordinately – excessively
21. humor – quality of being amusing
22. debt – something owed
23. mumbled – spoke indistinctly
24. sneered – made a scornful remark or expression
25. famine – extreme scarcity of food
26. parapet – a low wall along the edge of balcony or a bridge
27. unobtrusively – not making oneself noticed
28. recoup – regain
29. fatigue – tiredness
30. conjure – summon, evoke
31. unleashing – releasing
32. weird – uncanny, bizarre
33. accosted – approached and spoke to
34. cronies – companion
35. lounging – sitting
36. hailed – an expression of greeting
37. summoned – ordered to appear in a law court
38. progeny – generation
39. meandered – wandered in a leisurely way
40. crouch – stoop low with knees tightly bent
41. prancing – moving springily
42. scythe – a tool with a curved blade on a long handle for cutting long grass
43. aquiline – curved like an eagle’s beak
44. vandals – a person who damages things willfully
45. gashed – long deep cut
46. lewd – treating sexual matters vulgarly
47. scrounge – borrow
48. sputtered – a spluttering sound
49. fidgeted – made small restless movements
50. slanderers – a false statement made by the people to damage one’s reputation
51. gainsay – to deny
52. inquisitor – curious
53. scruples – doubtful
54. pinioned – restrain by holding
55. obscure – uncertain
56. famished – extremely hungry
57. ruminated – think deeply.

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Online Education for Julius Caesar Summary in English by William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar Summary in English

Julius Caesar is the story of a man’s personal dilemma over moral action, set against a backdrop of strained political drama. Julius Caesar, an able general and a conqueror, returns to Rome amidst immense popularity after defeating the sons of Pompey. The people celebrate his victorious return and he is offered the crown by Mark Antony which he refuses. Jealous of Caesar’s growing power and afraid that he may one day become a dictator, Cassius instigates a conspiracy to murder Caesar.

He realises that in order to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the Romans, he must win over the noble Brutus to his side for Brutus is the most trusted and respected man in Rome. Brutus, the idealist, joins the conspiracy feeling everyone is driven by motives as honourable as his own. Ironically, Caesar is murdered at the foot of Pompey’s statue.

Julius Caesar Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.

(1) When Caesar says “Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace to-night ” he sounds ……………..
(a) worried

(2) Caesar’s reference to the senators as ‘graybeards ’ shows his …………….
(c) arrogance

(3) Decius Brutus changes Caesar’s mind about going to the Senate by appealing to his ……………
(b) vanity

(4) The offer that Cassius makes to Antony after Caesar’s assassination is that ……………..
(c) his recommendations will be as strong as that of the conspirators while distributing the powers and benefits to friends

(5) Cassius tries to stop Brutus from letting Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral as he ………………
(d) knows Antony is a good orator who can sway the mob

(6) What prophecy does Antony make over Caesar’s dead body?
(b) Rome will experience fierce civil war in which many people will die

(7) After listening to Brutus ’ speech, the Third Citizen says ‘Let him be Caesar’. This clearly shows he ………………….
(d) thinks Brutus killed Caesar to assume power

(8) When Antony calls the conspirators‘honourable men’his tone is …………………
(d) mocking

(9) Antony’s reference to Caesar’s conquest of the Nervii is to …………………..
(a) remind the mob of Caesar’s greatness as a warrior

(10) Antony’s remark Mischief, thou art afoot, Take thou what course thou wilt!, shows him to be ………………….
(a) a ruthless manipulator

Question 2.
Answer the following questions briefly.

a. How do the heavens’blaze forth’the death of Julius Caesar?
Answer:
The heavens sent omens foretelling a major calamity like Calpumia’s dream of Caesar being murdered, a lioness whelping in the streets, graves opening and dead bodies lying around, warriors fighting upon the clouds, and drizzling blood upon the Capitol, horses neighing, dying men groaning, ghosts shrieking about the streets.

b. What does Calpurnia try to convince Caesar of?
Answer:
Calpumia tries to convince Caesar to remain home because she has had frightening dreams about Caesar’s death throughout the night.

c. Why does Calpumia say Caesar’s ‘wisdom is consumed in confidence ’? What does she mean?
Answer:
Calpumia means that though Caesar is wise, he is over-confident. His wisdom is destroyed by his over-confidence.

d. What does Calpumia dream about Caesar? How does Decius Brutus interpret the dream?
Answer:
Calpumia dreamt she saw Caesar’s statue spout blood like a fountain with a hundred spouts and Romans came smiling and dipped their hands in it. She saw the dream as a warning that danger was imminent. Decius Brutus interprets the dream as a lucky vision. He said it signified that from Caesar Rome shall imbibe fresh life and great men will earnestly desire relics marked, with his blood.

e. What are the arguments put forward by Decius Brutus to convince Caesar to go to the Capitol?
Answer:
Decius flatters Caesar into disregarding the fears of his wife. He says that the senate has decided to offer a crown to Caesar that day and if he does not go they may change their minds and mock him for being afraid. They may say that the senate should be dismissed till Caesar’s wife has better dreams.

f. Why is Decius more successful than Calpumia in persuading Caesar?
Answer:
Decius is more successful than Calpumia in persuading Caesar because he appeals to Caesar’s ambition and vanity. Caesar accompanies the conspirators to the Capitol and to his death.

g. What is the petition put before Caesar by the conspirators? How does Caesar respond to it?
Answer:
‘ The conspirators want Caesar to recall the order of exile passed against Metellus Cimber’s brother, Publius. Caesar refuses to listen to them and change his mind.

h. Who says “Et tu Brute ”? When are these words spoken? Why?
Answer:
Caesar says these words just after Brutus stabbed him. Caesar loved Brutus and could not believe Brutus would do such a deed.

i. In the moments following Caesar’s death what do the conspirators proclaim to justify Caesar’s death?
Answer:
The conspirators proclaim that they killed Caesar to free Rome of him and to establish democracy— ‘Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement! ’

j. Seeing the body of Caesar, Antony is overcome by grief What does he say about Caesar?
Answer:
Antony is saddened that the great conqueror Caesar is reduced to a dead body lying on a small piece of the ground. He expresses willingness to die at the conspirators’ hands while their hands and weapons are still warm with Caesar’s blood.

k. Whom does Antony call ‘the choice and master spirits of this age ”? Why?
Answer:
Antony calls the conspirators—Brutus, Cassius and the others as ‘the choice and the master spirits of this age’. He is actually mocking them beneath his pretence of flattery.

l. How do Brutus and Cassius respond to Antony’s speech?
Answer:
Brutus tells him not to beg for his death at their hands. He says that he killed Caesar for he loved Rome more than he loved his friend. Cassius, on the other hand, appeals to Antony’s greed and says that he will have a say in the new government.

m. Why does Cassius object to allowing Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral? How does Brutus overcome this objection?
Answer:
Cassius fears Antony and his ability as an orator. Brutus says he will speak first and tell the citizens that Antony was speaking with their permission.

n. What are the conditions imposed by the conspirators before allowing Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral?
Answer:
While speaking of Caesar’s greatness, Antony must not blame the conspirators for ‘murdering’ Caesar. He must also say that he has been permitted to speak at Caesar’s funeral by the conspirators. Moreover, he must speak from the same pulpit as Brutus.

o. When he is left alone with the body of Caesar what does Anthony call Brutus and the others?
Answer:
Antony calls the conspirators butchers.

p. What prediction does Antony make regarding the future events in Rome?
Answer:
Antony predicts that Italy will be cursed as civil war shall break out; bloodshed, destruction and dreadful sights will become so familiar that mothers shall smile when they see their infants killed in war, pity will be destroyed due to foul deeds becoming common. Caesar’s spirit shall roam about for revenge, dead bodies will be lying around rotting and stinking and there will be no one to accord them a decent burial.

q. What reasons does Brutus give for murdering Caesar?
Answer:
Brutus says that Caesar was ambitious. Brutus loved Rome and the ideals and that Rome stands for more than just Caesar. He loved Caesar but he loved Rome more.

r. Who says, “Let him be Caesar”? What light does this throw on the speaker?
Answer:
One of the citizens says this after Brutus’ speech. He has not understood the reasons Brutus has given for Caesar’s murder.

s. Why is Antony’s speech more effective?
Answer:
Brutus’ straightforward appeal to logic and reason versus Antony’s appeal to emotion through the use of irony, sarcasm, reiteration, and figurative language, creating images in the listeners’ minds, is more effective.

t. At the end of the scene what is the fate of Brutus and Cassius?
Answer:
Brutus and Cassius are attacked by the mob who rush to set fire to their houses.

Question 3.
Julius Caesar and Antony reveal something about their character in their words and actions. We also learn about them from what other people say. Can you pick out the words that describe them from the box given below? Also, pick out lines from the play to illustrate your choice.
Answer:


Question 4.
In the play ‘Julius Caesar’, we meet the Roman mob. We find that as Brutus and Antony speak, the mob displays certain qualities and characteristics. 4
Given below are some characteristics of the mob. Complete the table by quoting the lines wherein these are revealed.
Answer:

Question 5.
Antony employs a number of devices to produce the desired effect on the mob. These devices maybe described as rhetorical devices. He first speaks in such a manner that it seems to the mob that he is in full agreement with Brutus about Caesar. Then step by step he moves away from Brutus’ position, depicting Brutus as a villain and Caesar as a wronged man. Copy and complete the following table by showing how Antony builds the argument in Caesar’s favour.
Answer:

Antony’s words	Argument
1. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.	Does not wish to eulogise Caesar
2. The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.	Seemingly agrees with
3. He hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?	Narrates Caesar’s victories to turn the tide of opinion
4. O masters, if I were disposed to stir Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, Who, you all know, are honourable men:	Obliquely hints at the fact that Cassius and Brutus are not honourable men but traitors and murderers
5. O, what a fall was there, my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, Whilst bloody treason flourish’d over us. O, now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel The dint of pity: these are gracious drops. Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold Our Caesar’s vesture wounded? Look you here, Here is himself, marr’d, as you see, with traitors.	Convinces crowd of the innocence of Caesar by emotionally manipulating them
6. Here is the will, and under Caesar’s seal. To every Roman citizen he gives, To every several man, seventy-five drachmas	Reads out the will of Caesar to prove his generosity and instigate the crowds against the conspirators even more

Question 6.
Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Caesar Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard.
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.

a. Whom is Caesar speaking to? Why does1 he say these words?
Answer:
Caesar is speaking to his wife Calpumia. He is responding to Calpumia’s fears about dangers that might befall Caesar if he stepped out of his home that day.

b. What fears has the listener expressed?
Answer:
Calpumia is afraid of Caesar being murdered if he stepped out of his house that day.

c. What is the basis for the fears expressed?
Answer:
Calpumia had a nightmare about Caesar’s death the previous night!

2. But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar;
I found it in his closet, ’tis his will:
Let but the commons hear this testament—
Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read—
And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds

a. Who speaks these words? Where is the speaker at this moment?
Answer:
These words are spoken by Mark Antony. He was giving a speech on the pulpit at that moment.

b. What are the contents of Caesar’s will that he is referring to?
Answer:
The contents of Caesar’ will were being eagerly anticipated by the crowd. To all Roman citizens Caesar had left seventy five drachmas, his walks, his private arbours, and newly planted orchards.

c. Why does the speaker read Caesar’s will to the citizens?
Answer:
Mark Antony was trying to sway public opinion against the conspirators who killed Caesar. Reading out Caesar’s will would prove how generous Caesar was and the public would be further enraged at his brutal murder.

d. What is the reaction of the listeners to the reading of the will?
Answer:
The listeners plan to bum Caesar’s body in the holy place and put fire to the traitors’ houses with the brands. They leave in anger, planning violence against the conspirators in all forms.

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Online Education for The Merchant of Venice Act 2 Scene 1 Summary Workbook Answers

The Merchant of Venice Act 2 Scene 1 Summary

This scene gives a comic relief to its audiences. After the intense conversation between Shylock and Antonio, in Venice, the audience gets transported to Belmont, where they are treated with a comic scene. The scene begins with the entry of Prince of Morocco. Portia, Nerissa and other ladies in waiting, are already present. For the first time, the audience is being introduced to one of Portia’s suitors.

The prince tells Portia not to dislike him because of his complexion. His blood is as red as that of any other suitor. He boasts that many men fear him and many virgins love him. Portia assures him that he is as ’fair’ as any of his suitors and he will get an equal chance as everything depends on the lottery. He is skilled in the use of the sword. He slew the king of Persia and has thrice defeated Turkey’s Sultan.

He is brave enough to confront a she bear, even if her cubs were taken away from her, and can face a lion on his way to search for a prey. The Prince doubts whether the bad fortune may make him choose the wrong casket and Portia may go to one not worthy as himself. Portia repeats the terms of her father’s will and tells him he’ll have to stick to the condition of never marrying if he chooses the wrong casket, to which the Prince agrees.

The Merchant of Venice Act 2 Scene 1 Summary Word Meanings

1. mislike – dislike
2. shadow’d livery – dark uniform
3. burnish’d – burning bright
4. near bred – closely related
5. fairest – most handsome
6. Phoebus – Sun God
7. thaws – melts
8. incision – cut
9. valiant – brave
10. hue – colour
11. clime – climate
12. nice direction – influence
13. destiny – luck
14. bars – forbids
15. scanted – restricted
16. scimitar – short sword
17. outstare – look defiantly into the eyes
18. Hercules – superman of Greek mythology
19. the greater throw – winning throw
20. Alicides – another name for Hercules
21. blind fortune – reference to goddess fortune who is blind folded
22. grieving – feeling acutely sad
23. be advis’d – be warned
24. chance – trial
25. hazard – gamble
26. temple- chapel.

The Merchant of Venice Act 2 Scene 1 Summary Questions and Answers

1. Prince of Morocco :
Mislike me not for my complexion,
The shadow’d livery of the burnish’d sun.
To whom I am a neighbour, and near bred.
Bring me the fairest creature northward born,
Where Phoebus’fire scarce thaws the icicles,
And let us make incision for your love,
To prove whose blood is reddest, his or mine.
I tell thee, lady, this aspect of mine
Hath fear’d the valiant;

Question 1.
Who is the speaker? Where is he? Who else are there in the scene?
Answer:
The speaker is Prince of Morocco, one of the suitors of Portia. He is at present at Belmont. Portia, Nerissa and other ladies are there.

Question 2.
Explain the reference to Phoebus. Explain, ‘scarce thaws the icicle’.
Answer:
Phoebus is the Sun God. Its rays in Morocco are strong enough to darken the skin. The speaker says that people of European countries are very fair, as the sun rays do not have the heat to melt the icicles.

Question 3.
Why should the incision be made?
Answer:
The speaker wants to prove, that in spite of his dark skin, Portia should not consider him inferior. His blood is as red as that of any European, and his love will be as strong as that of any other. Since the contest is for Portia’s love, they should have a bloodletting test and he will come out as a winner.

Question 4.
Give the meaning of the last two lines of the extract what does this prove about his character?
Answer:
The Prince of Morocco has the habit of boasting about his own qualities. The Prince says that “his appearance has filled many a valiant person with fear”. He boasts that he is a man of exceptional strength and even the bravest soldiers have felt his courage.

Question 5.
On what condition would he change his hue?
Answer:
The prince says that he has no problem with his complexion. Men fear him and maidens love him. He loves his complexion and will not exchange it, unless it was to gain Portia’s attention.

2. Prince of Morocco :
But, alas the while ! 
If Hercules and Lichas play at dice
Which is the better man, the greater throw
May turn by fortune from the weaker hand :
So is Alcides beaten by his page;
And so may I, blind fortune leading me,
Miss that which one unworthier may attain,
And die with grieving.

Question 1.
Why does the Prince of Morocco says, ‘but alas, the while’?
Answer:
Morocco is anxious whether he would make the right choice or not, as the whole situation is a matter of chance and it totally depends on luck. So he sighs alas!

Question 2.
Explain the reference to Hercules and Lichas. What could happen if they played at dice?
Answer:
The prince of Morocco cites the instance of the famous hero Hercules and his servant Lichas. If they would have played a game of dice, a game of

chance, which is unpredictable. Hercules, the brave man may be defeated, and the servant Lichas might win. In the similar manner, Prince of Morocco might fail and the person not as worthy as him will win portia’s hand.

Question 3.
What were Morocco’s achievements with his ’scimitar’? What other acts of bravery is the Prince willing to do, in order to prove his courage?
Answer:
Morocco killed Shah of Persia and conquered a Persian prince who had defeated Sultan of Turkey thrice. The prince is willing to take away the cubs from the mother bear and challenge the hungry lion roaring for his prey to win Portia’s hand.

Question 4.
Why is fortune said to be blind? Explain ‘die with grieving’.
Answer:
The goddess of Fortune is depicted as blindfolded, as she disperses her favor in an unpredictable manner. One doesn’t know who will be favored by her and who will run out of favor. Morocco says that if he doesn’t get Portia, he’ll die with grief.

Question 5.
What does Portia tell him before he decided to make the choice of caskets? Where does she want to take him?
Answer:
Portia tells him that he could either decide not to make the choice of caskets and go away, or if he loses, swear that he would never propose any lady. She asks him to carefully think before making his decision.

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Online Education for After Blenheim Poem Summary by Robert Southey

After Blenheim Summary by Robert Southey About the Poet

Robert Southey (1774 – 1843) was one of the three renowned ‘Lake Poets’ associated with the Romantic school (the other two being William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge). He was ‘Poet Laureate’ of England for around three decades, starting from 1813 until his death in 1843.

During his long literary career, Southey wrote a number of lyrics, ballads, and comic-grotesque poems. His poetry was first published in 1795 in a collection, titled Poems; containing The Retrospect, Odes, Sonnets, Elegies, &c. by Robert Lovell and Robert Southey of Balliol College, Oxford.

The collection included 21 poems by Southey and 11 by Lovell. Joan of Arc, My days among the Dead are past, After Blenheim, English Eclogues and The Inchcape Rock are some of his best-known poems. English Eclogues anticipates Alfred Tennyson’s English Idylls as lucid, relaxed, and observant verse accounts of contemporary life.

Besides being a poet, Southey was also a prolific letter writer, literary scholar, essay writer, historian, a polyglot-translator and biographer. His biographies include the life and works of John Bunyan, John Wesley, William Cowper, Oliver Cromwell and Horatio Nelson. One of his most outstanding contributions to literary history that earned him great fame is the children’s classic The Story of the Three Bears, the original story of Goldilocks, first published in his prose collection The Doctor. He also served for a brief period of time, as a Tory Member of Parliament.

After Blenheim Summary About the Poem

“After Blenheim”, also known as “The Battle of Blenheim”, is a famous anti¬war poem written by Robert Southey. The poem, published in 1798, is in the form of a ballad and its theme is the famous Battle of Blenheim of 1704. It was fought between the combined forces of France and Bavaria representing one side, and the forces of England and Austria representing the rival side.

The poem is set at the site of that Battle, the Anglicised name for the German village of Blenheim, situated on the left bank of the Danube River in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany. The poem starts with the queries of two little kids about a skull which has been found by one of them while playing near their cottage. As the kids are surprised and curious, they approach their grandfather and ask him about it.

The grandfather, Kaspar, then tells the two kids about a war that had been fought years ago. He describes the horrors of war. Despite that, he does not categorically criticize the war as such. The poem ends on a rather baffling note, suggested by the repeated use of the phrase “a famous victory” that the war reminds him of at present.

After Blenheim Summary of the Poem

The poem opens on the scene of a summer evening. An elderly farmer named Kaspar was sitting in the sun in front of his cottage, watching his grandchildren, Wilhelmine and Peterkin, playing on the field. Wilhelmine saw her brother Peterkin who was rolling something large and round that he found near a stream.

He then takes it to Kaspar and asks what it is. The old man took it from the curious boy and with a natural sigh replied that it was some poor man’s skull that died in the war. He further added that he had found many such skulls while ploughing the fields as thousands of brave men died in the ‘Battle of Blenheim’, known for its famous victory. The young Peterkin became more curious to know all about the Battle of Blenheim and for what did the men fought with each other.

To this Kaspar said that it was the English who defeated the French, but he was not sure as to why they fought but could only say that everybody said that it was a ‘famous victory’.Kaspar said that his father lived at Blenheim at that time who had suffered heavy” loss by the war, his house was burnt and he had to tlee with his wife and children and became homeless.

Kaspar added that the war rage, its fire and sword caused much destruction all over the country and many pregnant women and new born babies died. But things like that are quite common for every war with a famous victory.

It is said that it was a shocking sight as after the battle was won, thousands of copses lay rotting in the sun but he again repeated that things like that must happen after a famous victory. Everybody praised Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene for their triumph over French.

Wilhelmine said that this was a bad thing but Kaspar again said that “Nay…nay…my little girl, It was a famous victory”. Everybody praised the Duke for the great fight but. Peterkin questioned as if any good came at last. To which Kaspar could say anything but only repeated that it was a famous victory”.

After Blenheim Summary Critical Analysis

Robert Southey’s poem “After Blenheim” comprises II stanzas, each containing 6 lines. It has been written in’the form of a ballad, capturing a piece of conversation between an old man named Kasper and his two grandchildren. Kaspar explains to the children the story of the battle, that the Duke of Marlborough routed the French, although he admits he never understood the reason for the war himself.

He also mentions that his father had a cottage by the rivulet (small stream). The soldiers burned it to the ground, and his father and mother had fled, with their child. Thousands of corpses lay rotting in the fields, but he shrugs it off, as part of the cost of war. Wilhelmine says it was a wicked thing, but he contradicts her saying, no, it was a great victory”. Kaspar does not come up with any concrete answer, when the grandchild Peterkin asks him what good came out of the war. This is because Kaspar is focusing more on what we would call today the “spin” about the war and this specific battle. He is emphasizing “the great victory” more.

The poem is replete with the terrible consequences of war – its wastefulness and how this affects the people and the land. The irony is that war wreaks havoc on the victor and the vanquished alike. The victors, in their success do receive terrible consequences as well. It’s quite likely that the grandpa is looking to shield Peter kin from this reality, since Peter kin is of a tender age.

Maybe the grandpa wants to wait till the boy is more mature to reveal to him what war is really all about. In addition, it is possible that Grandpa Kaspar doesn’t really know what came out of the war. Maybe he feels nothing positive and constructive as to what did come out of this war and that is also why he doesn’t provide an answer – or at least a suitable answer for Peterkin.

Throughout the poem the phrases “great victory” and “famous victory” are repeated but with no boast behind it. In the sixth stanza Kaspar tells them that it was the English and French who fought for some unimportant reason, but it was a great victory. The next two stanzas explain all the collateral damage in the battle, for example women and children fleeing from burning homes, the country side wasted and dead babies and mothers. The ninth stanza paints the image of the battlefield with thousands rotting in the sun.

The tenth, which shows the people praising the victory of the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene to which the little girl reacts by saying how terrible it was. But, as if rehearsed he said it that was a famous victory. The final stanza is the boy Peterkin asking whaf good came from all this death and destruction and the grandfather responds again ‘Why that I cannot tell,’ said he ‘But ’twas a famous victory’.

The repetition of the old man words builds up an ironic climax. The moral of the poem is that there is no real rationale for destructive war among human beings and nations that should learn to get along.

After Blenheim Summary Word-Meanings

1. sported – played
2. rivulet – a small stream
3. expectant – eager, hopeful
4. ploughshare – broad cutting blade of a plough
5. slain – killed
6. rout – defeat
7. quoth – said
8. yon – beyond
9. dwelling – house
10. fly – run away
11. wasted far and wide – destroyed or ruined up to a great distance
12. childing – expecting a child
13. praised – admired
14. nay – no.

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Online Education for Television Poem Summary by Roald Dahi

Television Summary by Roald Dahi About the Poet

Roald Dahl (1916 – 1990) was a versatile Norwegian-British novelist, short story writer, poet and screenwriter. Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence officer, and rose to the rank of acting wing commander. In 1953, he published the best¬selling story collection Someone like You. It was followed by a couple of bestselling children’s books, James and the Giant Peach (1961) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964). The latter was subsequently adapted into a film. Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits and George’s Marvellous Medicine are some of his other best-known books written for children.

Regarded as one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century, he wrote 19 children’s books. Besides, he also wrote a number of stories for the mature, adult reading public, including the popular Tales of the Unexpected. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to literature, he was awarded the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the British Book Awards’ Children’s Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of ‘The 50 greatest British writers since 1945’. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.

Television Summary About the Poem

The poem “Television” by the British poet Roald Dahl was written in 2003. Though the poem is about children, it is addressed to their parents, i.e., adults. In this respect, it is different from his other poems, particularly the ones collected in “Revolting Rhymes” that are directly addressed to children. The use of rhymed couplets is another striking aspect of this long poem that lends it an almost musical quality. Since its publication, the poem has received worldwide popularity and attention for its brilliant style, earthy and uncomplicated tone, and a message that is extremely significant today, when we are uncritically accepting the dominance of technology in all walks of life usually even at the expense of the actual needs of our own kids.

Television Summary of the Poem

The poem ‘Television’ by Roald Dahl states that the television is a hypno- tizer which dulls the imagination of children by all the filth it telecasts. According to Dahl, children who watch the television just constantly stare at the screen bedazzled by the shows which completely control their minds, so much so that they find it impossible to do or think of anything else. He further says that the television set and its morbid shows that are turning our young generation into zombies where thinking is concerned. Values, morals & ethics

are thrown into the dustbin & bizarre information provided by the media is being constantly chewed & digested by children these days. He further states that before the television had come, children used to spend their time reading quality books which, as he appears to be stating in an indirect manner, develops their imagination; sharpens their senses; transports them to the most wonderful places; and allows them to spend their leisure time qualitatively.

Sadly however, it is very difficult today to rid the idiot box from our homes. Of course there are some good points about television watching especially, where the news is concerned to make the pupil aware of what is happening in society. But most of the time, the television is unable to censor the content being broadcast which ultimately leads to a sort of ‘early maturation’ of young students. Books on the other hand can be controlled where information is concerned & always benefits the minds of the scholar. In the poem, Roald Dahl also describes the way an adult can initiate the reading habit in children.

Television Summary Critical Analysis

The poem ‘Television’ consists of a total of 94 lines. These lines are not separated into stanzas. Here they are divided into meaningful segments for ease of comprehension. Roald Dahl follows the same simple rhyme scheme throughout this poem – aabb and so on in a series of rhyming couplets. Only on one occasion does he diverge from this when the end words of the lines rhyme in lines 31, 32 & 33.

The poet uses the device of apostrophe when he addresses his poem to English parents and advises them on doing away with their television sets. He also uses the rhetorical device of personification to give human qualities to something that is incapable of human actions. Dahl uses the device of personification in two cases – first, when he gives television the human ability to kill something, and second, when he gives ‘imagination’ the human ability to die at its hands. The tone of this poem is contrary to what has led the poet to pen his thoughts here.

Dahl is a man who lived through a period of great many inventions, including that of television. However, he is not excited by this so- called progress and development of the human race. He hankers for the olden days when life was simpler, and little pleasures were more easily experienced.

He associates television with the loss of Innocence in children. He is saddened to see that children do not any longer read books as ardently as they used to, when he was younger. He longs to change this, and ‘Television’ comes out of his meagre attempt to do so. In characteristic style, his aim is both to entertain and edify his readers – young and old alike.

The poet talks about the importance of books in the lives of the children and most importantly, how this passion for books has been substituted with the addiction for television. The poet makes the television set like an evil which hinders the growth of brains for the children and hampers their creativity. The poet highlights the vitality of books which are, however, ignored because of this television.

The author, at the end, requests the parents to do away with the television sets from their homes and instead place a nice book shelf at its place and fill it with good books. This will aid the children to build their knowledge, creativity and at the end, will make them successful. No matter, now, the children might rebel at this change and even argue and fight with the parents for throwing away their favourite television, but at the end, they will be benefitting out of it.

And a day will come, when they will acknowledge and thank the parents for doing so.In all, the poem focuses on the concerns about the ill-effects of television on the young minds of young children. The poet is of the opinion that television kills the imagination of children. It also distracts them from the joy of reading. The poem is written not from a child but from an adult’s point of view.

Television Summary Word-Meanings

1. install – set up
2. idiotic – foolish
3. gaping – seeing with mouth wide open
4. loll – lie back: slop – spill; splatter
5. lounge about – sprawl
6. stare – gaze
7. hypnotized – spellbound; entranced
8. absolutely – completely
9. ghastly – terrible; frightening
10. junk – waste
11. rot – decay; putrefy
12. clog – block; choke
13. clutter up – jam; block; obstruct
14. contented – satisfied
15. galore – in sufficient quantity
16. isles – islands
17. rotter – an unpleasant person: nauseating – disgusting
18. repulsive – hateful.

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Online Education for The Rattrap Summary in English by Selma Lagerlof

The Rattrap by Selma Lagerlof About the Author

Selma Lagerlof (20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940), a Swedish writer, was the first female to win a Nobel Prize in literature in 1909. Her most remembered book is ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Nils’. Initially a teacher, in 1895, she devoted herself completely to writing. She wrote several books, including novels and collection of stories such as Gosta Berling’s Saga, Invisible Links and The Miracles of the Antichrist.

Author Name	Selma Lagerlof
Born	20 November 1858, Marbacka, Sweden
Died	16 March 1940, Marbacka, Sweden
Profession	Writer, Teacher
Movies	The Enchanted Boy, The Saga of Gosta Berling

The Rattrap Introduction to the Chapter

‘The Rattrap’ is a story that gives us a psychological insight into human nature. The author highlights how greed for material things entraps human beings. The story upholds the belief that the essential goodness of a human being can be awakened through love and understanding. It brings into focus the idea that the world is a rattrap. Riches, joys, shelter and food are all lucrative baits to trap mankind.

The Rattrap Theme

The chapter, ‘The Rattrap’ covers the theme of the basic human need for companionship, and shows the negative effects of loneliness. The story stresses on the fact that most human beings are prone to fall into the trap of material benefit. The author targets the materialistic approach of the people. The worldly riches have disillusioned them, and they are running after the things which are temporary.

The Rattrap Summary in English

The story begins like a fairy tale. The central character is a beggar and a petty thief who goes about selling rattraps of wire to make a small living. He finds it difficult to make both ends meet. It makes him reflect about his own condition and the world at large. He realises that the whole world is nothing but a big rattrap. It offers rich and varied baits to people who bite on them and get trapped in the rattrap.

The storyline unfolds gradually with the various baits being offered to the beggar. The old man that the tramp meets is generous with his hospitality but the bait of the three ten-kronor bills is enough to tempt him. Next at the Ramsjo ironworks, while seeking shelter for the night, the tramp bites the bait offered to him by the owner (though he initially refuses it), the ironmaster, of mistaken identity. Edla, the ironmaster’s daughter, offers yet another bait of full-hearted generosity, comfortable living and a magically peaceful Christmas for the tramp. Finally, the bitter truth dawns on the hosts.

Edla is downcast when she learns that the peddler is a thief. The tramp undergoes a change of heart after experiencing her kindness. He returns the stolen money and writes a letter to her, thanking her for helping him escape the rattrap. He attains nobility of spirit and ‘becomes’ Captain Von Stahle. The story ends with the victory of human goodness.

The Rattrap Main Characters in the Chapter

The peddler

He is the protagonist and central character of the story. He is an unnamed man who lives as a tramp wandering the countryside and selling rattraps. As he does not make enough money from this to survive, the rattrap peddler also engages in petty thievery and begging.

Characteristics of peddler: Vagabound, thief, beggar, witty, philosopher, pragmatist and humorous.

Edla Willmansson

Edla is the daughter of the ironmaster. He is described as ‘not at all pretty, but modest and quite shy’. She is exceptionally kind. She convinces the peddler to come to her house and then convinces her father to let the peddler stay for Christmas Eve. She is the most positive figure in the story, and her compassion and generosity are the reasons for the peddler’s transformation.

Characteristics of Edla Willmansson: Kind, compassionate, friendly, charming, modest, shy, persuasive, sensitive, understanding, hospitable, honest and innocent.

Ironmaster

Ironmaster is Edla Willmansson’s father and the man who owns Ramsjo Ironworks. He is a very prominent ironmaster. He steps by at his forge every day and night to watch the work, and inspects the quality of his products. In his younger days, he was in the military, so he mistakes the peddler for his ‘old regimental comrade’ Captain von Stahle.

Characteristics of Ironmaster: Greedy, cautious, hospitable, suspicious, unkind and taskmaster.

The Crofter

This is an old man who lets the peddler spend the night at his house. As the old man is lonely, he is glad to have a company and provides the peddler with food, tobacco and conversation. He is a very kind, and generous old man, but the peddler repays his generosity by stealing thirty kronors from him.

Characteristics of Crofter: Lonely, happy, friendly, gullible, generous and hospitable.

The Rattrap Summary Reference-to-Context Questions

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

1. He had naturally been thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea that the whole world about him – the whole world with its land and seas, its cities and villages – was nothing but a big rattrap. It had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people.

a. Who is ‘he’ here?
Answer:
Here, ‘he’ is the peddler.

b. What was ‘he’ thinking?
Answer:
‘He’ was thinking about his rattraps.

c. What idea was struck to him suddenly?
Answer:
The idea that the whole world with its land and seas, its cities and villages is nothing but a rattrap, struck him suddenly.

d. According to him, what is the purpose of the world?
Answer:
World being a rattrap, it traps people by offering things that attract us.

2. One dark evening as he was trudging along the road he caught sight of a little gray cottage by the roadside, and he knocked on the door to ask shelter for the night. Nor was he refused. Instead of the sour faces which ordinarily met him, the owner, who was an old man without wife or child, was happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness.

a. When was he trudging along the road?
Answer:
He was trudging along the road on a dark evening.

b. What did he see on his way?
Answer:
He caught sight of a litde gray cottage by the roadside.

c. Why did he knock the door?
Answer:
He knocked the door to ask shelter for the night.

d. What was the reaction of the old man?
Answer:
The old man was happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness.

3. The next day both men got up in good season. The crofter was in a hurry to milk his cow, and the other man probably thought he should not stay in bed when the head of the house had gotten up. They left the cottage at the same time. The crofter locked the door and out the key in his pocket.

a. Who is the ‘other man’ here?
Answer:
Here, the ‘other man’ is the peddler.

b. Why was crofter in a hurry?
Answer:
Crofter was in a hurry as he had to milk his cow.

c. What did the other man think?
Answer:
The other man thought that it would be inappropriate to stay in the bed when the head of the house has gotten up.

d. Explain, ‘both men got up in good season’.
Answer:
Both men woke up early on time in the morning.

4. He walked and walked without coming to the end of the wood, and finally he realised that he had only been walking around in the same part of the forest. All at once he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his own turn had come. He had left himself befooled by a bait and had been caught.

a. Who is ‘he’ here?
Answer:
Here, ‘he’ is the peddler.

b. What was he doing in the woods?
Answer:
He was walking and walking in search of an end to the forest, but he was lost.

c. What did he realise then?
Answer:
He realised that he had been walking around in the same part of the forest.

d. ‘Now his own turn had come’. Explain.
Answer:
As he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap, he understood that now he has been caught in a trap for getting fooled by a bait.

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Online Education for Chief Seattle’s Speech Story Summary by Chief Seattle

Chief Seattle’s Speech Summary About the Author

Chief Seattle was the leader of Suquamish and Dwamish confederacy and a popular figure in his tribe. He was a Roman Catholic by religion who was born in 1780 AD in Blake Island. He was given a nickname ‘Le Gros’ which means ‘The Big One’ due to his height. From the very young age he had been known for his authoritative personality. He knew to different dialects of Lushooteed. He was made a leader due to his commanding quality.

He was a propeller of peace. He wanted the two different cultures, the Whites and the Natives to live harmoniously. His main aim was to ensure the rights of safety of his tribe and give .them their lands in which their ancestors’ soul had lived and which they worshipped. He laid emphasis on the ecological responsibility of human beings and believed the ideology that Earth was not meant for them but they were meant for Earth.

When Seattle and his tribe was driven away from their homeland, he met a White Settler, David Swinson Maynard who became his friend and helped him in establishing peace with neighboring tribes. He died on 7th June, 1866 AD.

Chief Seattle’s Speech Summary of the Story

‘Chief Seattle’s speech’ is a heartfelt speech to the Governor of the state of Washington. The speech was publicized on a very large scale, in which he argued in favour of ecological responsibility and respect of land rights of Native Americans. Although what he actually said has been lost through translation and writing. The speech was published in Seattle newspaper in 1887 by a pioneer who confirmed that he had heard him delivering it in 1854.

Apart from this no other record has been found. Chief Seattle delivered the speech to mark the transfer of ancestral Red Indians’ land to the federal government. He says that the great chief in Washington sends greetings of friendship and goodwill and wishes to buy their land.

This is kind on his part as he has little need of their friendship in return because his people are strong and more powerful than the Native Red Indians. Chief Seattle recalls the time when his people were larger in number but now they are reduced to a mournful memory. But he will not mourn over their untimely decay.

The young men are too aggressive and want to take the revenge even at the cost of their own lives but the old men are wise and do not want to continue their hostile attitude towards them. It was the time when the white men pushed their forefathers westward. He wishes that George Washington, who he calls as their “good father”, will protect them. His brave warriors will protect them from ancient enemies.

Then he encounters a fear that the God of white people is not their God. He only loves his people. He makes the pale face stronger and has forsaken his Red children. He cannot love his Red Indian children, so how can they be brothers. They seem to be orphans. Thus he says that they are two distinct races with separate origins and separate destinies. There is little in common between them.

He further remarks that the ashes of his ancestors are sacred and their resting place is that land whereas the whites wander away from the graves of their ancestors. The white men’s religion was written upon stone tablets by the iron fingers of their God. But the Red Indians’ religion is the tradition of their ancestors. He then says that their dead men cease to love them (the Whites) but their (the Red men’s) ancestors can never forget this beautiful world. They keep on loving its verdant valleys, murmuring rivers, magnificent mountains, valleys, lakes and bays.

He remarks that Red Mem has ever fled the approach of the White Man as the morning mist disappears before the morning sun. Grim fate seems to follow them and soon his race will disappear. But then Seattle says that they will consider the matter and before accepting President’s proposition, he had put forth the condition that they will not be denied to visit the tombs of their ancestors, friends and children anytime.

He concludes his speech by saying that when the last Red man has vanished from the earth, his memory will become myth and the shores and forests will hold the fruits of his tribe. The White Men will never be alone. He urges the White men to love and care the land as they did with all their strength, mind and heart, love and preserve it as God loves and preserves us. He believed that the dead of his community were the part of his world and said that there is no death but only a change of worlds.

Chief Seattle’s Speech Summary Theme

It is well said that nothing in this world can even have half the influence on man, as the influence of words. Words written or spoken can also move man’s all actions and thoughts. Only a collection of few letters are so powerful that they have destroyed as well as created many civilizations. They have caused revolutions too. The theme of the chapter runs around the love for nature. Seattle, the city in the state of Washington, is given the name after Chief Seattle who caused a huge sensation among the people by his overwhelming speech for the love of his land.

He left impact on the audience by using touching words. The lesson is based on the passionate and sorrowful speech made by the Chief to move the listener’s heart and wished that the people will take care of the land in the same way as he did. It raises some alarming questions that need some sincere concern like “Do the humans have authority to hold control over earth?”

Chief Seattle’s Speech Summary Characters

Chief Seattle

He is known for the speech he made in the year 1854 in response to the Governor’s proposal of buying the Natives’ land. He favours the respect of the land rights of his people. At the very early stage of his life, he became famous both as a warrior and as a leader. He also became a renowned orator. His influence was marvelous. He provoked the people by his speech over protecting and caring his ancestral land.

He was a soft hearted man who was close to nature and that’s why he expected everyone to value nature. He did not want that hostility should continue between his people and the Whites. He spoke of war from his painful experience. He believed that war would only result in loss.

Chief Seattle was philosophical in his approach. According to him, the Earth did not belonged to men but men belonged to Earth. He thought that one should treat land as their brothers. He didn’t mourn over anything but his tone was sorrowful. He asked to love and care the land because it was precious to everyone. He laid stress on the words ‘love’ and ‘care’ to show that he was really passionate about his ancestral land which he couldn’t retrieve back and didn’t want to part with it. He believed that the dead of his community were the part of his world. According to him death is only the change of worlds.

Chief Seattle’s Speech Summary Word-Meanings

1. yonder – previously present, ancient times
2. compassion – feeling of pity
3. eternal – infinite time
4. overcast – covered with cloud
5. rely – have confidence
6. vast prairies – large treeless area of grassland in North America
7. resemble – be like
8. extensive – large in area
9. wind ruffled – disturbed by the current of wind
10. mournful – sorrowful
11. dwell – live in a place
12. hastening – be quick to do something
13. impulsive – done without thinking
14. restrain – keep under control
15. hostility – feeling of dislike
16. bristling – react angrily
17. forsaken – give up something valuable
18. ebbing – declining
19. receding – moving back
20. firmament – the heaven, the sky
21. hallowed – great respect, holy
22. comprehend – understand something fully
23. verdant – lush green
24. sequestered – isolated
25. yearn – longing for something
26. grim – very serious
27. stolidly – not excitedly
28. proposition – statement
29. molestation – annoying
30. swelter – very hot
31. somber – dark
32. solitude – alone
33. swarm – crowded
34. cluster of people
35. throng – densely packed crowd.

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Online Education for Nine Gold Medals Poem Summary by David Roth

Nine Gold Medals Summary by David Roth About the Poet

David Lee Roth (1954) Is an American rock vocalist, poet, songwriter, actor and former radio personality. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Roth is best lead singer of the Southern California-based hard rock band Van Halen. He is also known as a successful solo artist, releasing numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum records.

After more than two decades apart, Roth re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest grossing in the band’s history and one of the highest grossing of that year. In 2012, Roth and Van Halen released the critically successful comeback album, A Different Kind of Truth.

Nine Gold Medals Summary About the Poem

Nine Gold Poems is poem that was primarily written as a song in the immensely popular ‘Neo folk’ genre. It is one of the eight songs from his album, titled Digging Through My Closet, which was released in 1994. It captures an amazing moment at the Special Olympics, reflecting the great significance of human values in the highly competitive arena of international sports. It touches upon what accounts for the spirit of sportsmanship, which seems to be glaringly missing today in many forms of the game that are played across the globe.

Nine Gold Medals Summary of the Poem

Of all the events in Olympics, the hundred-metre race is the most prestigious. The athlete, who wins it, is remembered as the fastest man in the world. So, for Special Olympics mentioned in the poem this is the final event, hence the most prestigious. The hundred-yard race is about to begin.

Everyone hopes to win a medal. The spectators are as excited as the contestants. They cheer and encourage the contestants. The athletes take position at the starting blocks. They begin to run immediately after the starting pistol is fired. However, one of them is unable to run and falls on the track.

He cries out with the pain of disappointment. He has trained hard but does not get the opportunity to show his talent. All his dreams of winning the medal are broken and destroyed.

When the remaining eight contestants see him fall, they, instead of continuing the race, come to the help of their fellow contestant. All the athletes have dreamt of winning the medal. However, they readily forget their dream and come forward to help the boy to his feet.

Then, all the nine contestants walk hand-in-hand to the finish line. The audience is so moved by the exemplary behaviour of the contestants that it stands up and clap in admiration and awe. There are now nine winners, instead of one, and each has been given a gold

medal. All the contestants display empathy turning the Special Olympics into a really ‘special’ one. By awarding gold medals to all nine contestants, the authorities honour their display of empathy, helpful nature and human values.

Nine Gold Medals Summary Critical Analysis

The poem “Nine Gold Medals”, written by the American poet David Lee Roth, consists of 8 stanzas, each containing 4 lines. The poet has employed the unrhymed free verse form for this poetic piece. This is in sync with the form and structure of poetry written these days. The setting or the scene of this poem is that of ‘Special Olympics’. In these Olympics, differently-abled persons, who have some problem/s in a particular part of the body, participate in various sports events. The contestants put in a lot of preparation and practice.

Olympics and Paralympics are held once every four years. Athletes from all over the world train hard to participate in this event. Winning a medal in these games is the ultimate goal of every athlete of the world. In this poem, which is aptly titled ‘Nine Gold Medals’, the poet tells us that success at such top levels of sports competition is not all about winning medals only.

Instead, it’s more about the display of humanitarian spirit and the fundamental human values of empathy, love, compassion and cooperation. Commitment to these values is the hallmark of true sportsmanship. The poem brilliantly presents the idea of empathy and through the event described here, tries to reinforce the significance of human values suggesting how they are as important as the spirit of competition.

The poem presents the situation of a race, where the contestants leave aside their desire to win the medal to help a smaller and weaker contestant. They all go hand-in-hand to the finishing line. The message conveyed by this poem is loud and clear. In order to enhance the quality of our life we need to develop empathy. Empathy is essentially a person’s capacity to understand another person’s experience from his/her point of view.

It can also be regarded as the ability to understand and accept others who are different from us. It helps us to appreciate what the other person is going through and to offer emotional support at the time of need. Empathy works wonders when applied to relationships – our family, our friends or colleagues.

It encourages positive behaviour towards people who are in need. Not only does empathy help us to resolve conflicts but it also enables us to find solutions to problems. In the process we end up making decisions to benefit us without hurting others.

In a nutshell, empathy can be considered to be one’s ability to ‘put oneself in another’s shoes’. That is exactly what the eight contestants have done. One look at the fallen contestant has forced them to think ‘what would I have felt if I had fallen?’ and they know exactly what they have to do. The poem also shows that empathetic behaviour is applauded by all.

Nine Gold Medals Summary Word-Meanings

1. athletes – persons who are trained in sports
2. building up – preparing
3. spectator – person who watches at a show, game, or other event
4. poised – ready
5. stumbled – tripped
6. staggered – moved unsteadily
7. anguish – severe suffering or mental pain
8. dashed in the dirt – came to nothing
9. occurred – happened
10. lad – boy.