Category: English

1. Pescud is short and not the stuff heroes are made of. Yet he wins Jessie. What do you think were the main reasons that went in his favor?

CBSE 2011 (Term II)]

Ans. Pescud was short and ordinary looking, and not the stuff heroes are made of. But the fact is that it was not his physical appearance that had impressed Jessie. She had liked his honesty and the space he had given her and Colonel Allyn to just give him one chance. He had said. “If I couldn’t make a hit with the little lady, I’d clear out, and not bother any more.” More than his physical looks, it was his personality which had been in his favor. Like a perfect salesman, he had been successful in impressing the Colonel. He had understood that the Colonel could be easily flattered if he listened to his stories, anecdotes, and humorous occurrences. All these things went in his favour and he was able to win Jessic.

2. Give a short sketch of Colonel Allyn.

Ans. Colonel Allyn was a tall old man, with a smooth face and white hair, and looked as proud as Julius Caeser. Although he wore shabby clothes, his personality was such that the writer feels that in his presence, the place seemed to light up. On the one hand, he seemed to be very strict but talking to Pescud surprisingly, he (Colonel) took a great liking to him. He was very fond of telling stories to or listening to them. This is evident from the following statement made by him — “The relating of anecdotes and humorous occurrences has always seemed to me, Mr. Pescud, to be a particularly agreeable way of promoting and perpetuating amenities between friends.” Thus he can be said to be a friendly person with a strict and proud look.

3. Pescud appeared unassuming and none of his friends could ever associate him with any act of adventure. The writer could not get over Pescud’s story. He writes a letter to a common friend, James also invested in real estate. Cameroon, marveling at the “surprise packet” – called Pescud. Write this letter for him.

Ans.

Dear James

I have been busy with my business so I could not write. But there is something interesting I want to share with you. Do you remember we had a friend, John A. Pescud? Last summer while I was traveling to Pittsburgh for some business work, I happened to meet him on the train. He is working as a salesman for a plate-glass company, and I met him after a gap of two years. Do you remember how ordinary-looking he used to be? Not only that, he used to be so dull and unadventurous. During my acquaintance with him earlier, I had never known his views on life, romance, literature, and ethics. During our meetings earlier, we used to just discuss matters of local topics and then part.

This time when I talked to him, I found him to be such a surprise packet. I was shocked to hear from him about his ‘Adventurous’. proposal to a girl, his courageous encounter with her father, and ultimately his marriage to her which took place a year ago. And do you know who is the girl is whom he has married? She belongs to a royal family and her father is a lineal descendant of belted earls. There is so much difference in their status —she is a princess whereas Pescud is just an ordinary American! Isn’t it amazing that a person like him who is no hero, turned out to be such a ‘surprise packet’? I’ll tell you more about him when we meet.

How is everybody else at your home? Do reply soon.

Yours

O. Henry

4. As Jessie write a letter to a friend on how you met Pescud and why you decided to marry him. (about 125 words) [CBSE 2011 (Term II)]

Dear friend, Sumedha

I am going to tell you about my chance meeting with Pescud.

While I was returning from Illinois, where I had gone to see my aunt, I noticed a man who followed me on each station that I got down at — whether it was Cincinnati or Shelbyville, Frankford or Lexington, and lastly Virginia — my city. He didn’t know that I had noticed him. After three days, while I was walking in the front yard, down next to the paling fence, he came to me and asked about some Mr. Hinkle’s address. I knew he did it just to start a conversation with me. I could instantly sense the feeling of deep affection he had for me. When I told him that he had come quite a long distance from Pittsburg, he said that he could have gone a thousand miles farther. Then he honestly told me about his liking for me and without imposing himself on me, he told me that he wanted me to develop a liking for him. I am amazed at his grit and perseverance, and the kind of attention he gave me. Nobody has ever talked to me like that. I am quite impressed by his earnestness and the honesty with which he told my father about his background and the business
he was pushing. I have really developed a liking for him and have decided to marry him. I am sure that you will also appreciate my choice after you meet him. Rest in the next letter.

Your friend

Jessie

5. Discuss the significance of the title, ‘Bestseller’. What role does this play in the life of John Pescud?

Bestsellers are known to spin imaginative yarns bordering on fantasy and melodrama. The story revolves around the incrediable romance between a beautiful maiden from the most affluent royal family and a hero who is ordinary in terms of looks and family background but extraordinary in terms of his bravery and determination to win the lady. He has a heart to ‘do and dare’. Pescud’s story is no different. He sees him on a train. It is love at first sight. He follows her from Cincinnati to Louisville, forgetting the fact that he was on a business tour. When he comes to know that Jessie hailed from a royal family, like a bestseller hero, he is not disheartened. He proposes and wins the lady despite the gulf of differences in their family backgrounds. Pescud’s story has all the elements of a best seller—remance, struggle, obstacles, suspense and finally the victory.

Content’s

• Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Hindi Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Word Meanings of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Textbook Question of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Non-Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Short Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Long Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.

Answer the following briefly.

1. “This fellow chases the royal chair-warmer home as I said, and finds out who she is”

(i) Who is the ‘fellow’? Who is the ‘royal chair-warmer’?

(ii) Discuss the context of the above remark.

Ans. (i) The ‘fellow’ refers to the hero of the

Bestseller. He is an American who belongs to the upper class and is fashionably dressed.

The ‘royal chair-warmer’ refers to the royal princess from Europe with whom he has fallen in love and so chases her to find out who she is.

(ii) The above remark is made in the context of the Bestseller which was thrown on the floor of the chair-car by John A. Pescud. The narrator who was also sitting in the same chair-car recognized Pescud and they had a conversation on issues like life, romance, literature, and ethics. During that conversation only, Pescud talks to the narrator about the story of the bestseller he had thrown on the floor. The above-mentioned remark is made by him for the hero of the novel and the royal princess whom he had chased to marry her.
2.“You don’t see or hear of any such capers in real life”
(i) Who is the speaker and who is the listener?

(ii) What is the purpose of the above comparison?
Ans. (i) The speaker is John A. Pescud and the listener is the Narrator.

(ii) The purpose of the above comparison by Pescud is to draw the attention of the narrator to his own (Pescud’s) real-life story. By speaking so negatively about the romance in the Bestseller between an American and the royal princess from Europe, Pescud is successful in having the narrator ask him if he had met his ‘affinity’. Perhaps, ordinarily, he would not have been able to tell the narrator (or anybody else) that his romance was also of a very ‘special’ kind – something different from the normal course. He had a broad grin on his face when he got the chance to tell the narrator about his romantic story. So, his purpose of making the above comparison was fulfilled.

3. Pescud was obsessed with his plate-glass business but he let this business go to smash for a while. Why?

Ans. Once when Pescud was going to Cincinnati, he happened to see in his chair car a girl who he felt was the finest looking girl he had ever laid his eyes on. He was so impressed by her beauty that he started thinking of marrying her. At that moment, he forgot completely about his plate-glass business, of which he used to be so obsessed, and let it go to smash for a while. All the places
that she went to — from Cincinnati to Louisville, to Shelbyville, Frankford and Lexington — he followed her. He got down on the train at the last station that she got down at, ie., Virginia, but throughout he tried to keep himself out of her sight. After meeting her father and making a few more efforts, he was able to marry the girl. All this while, the thought of his plate-glass business did not even occur once to his mind.

4. How did Jessie know that Pescud was following her?

Ans. During their conversation, when Jessie came to know that Pescud was from Pittsburg, she told him that he was quite far from his home. At this, Pescud replied that he could easily go a thousand miles farther. Jessie then said, “Not if you hadn’t woken up when the train started in Shelbyville”, and then she started blushing. Later, she also reminded him that he was about to miss his train at Powhatan Junction also. This shows that she knew very well that Pescud was following her. When Pescud asked her how she knew that, she replied that she knew that he was present on every train which she was traveling in.

5. “I thought you were going to speak to me and I am glad you didn’t.” Why does Jessie say so?

Ans. Jessie says she is glad that he didn’t talk to her on the train because she knows that she would not have taken any interest in talking to him there. Perhaps if Pescud had expressed his liking for her in the train, she would have rejected him. It seems that now when Pescud is talking to her, after having made all the efforts to be near her, she has also started developing some sort of liking for him. Moreover, now she is also in a position to clearly show the status that her family has, and let Pescud decide upon his next step.

6. Give two reasons to show that Jessie was very proud of her family.

Ans. While talking to Pescud and telling him about her family, she referred to her family as ‘The Allyns’. She also said that hers was a proud family and that her father was a lineal descendant of ‘belted earls’ — those who were invested with a sword by the king himself. She gave the amazing details of the big mansion that the Allyn family had lived in for the last hundred years. All these things show that she was proud of her family.

7. Point out the significance of the last statement of the writer, “And may you get the petunias for your princess.”

Ans. The writer and Pescud had started their discussion in the beginning on the bestseller, “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan”. Pescud had apparently projected that he was a critic of such marriages where the status of the

boy and girl were wide apart. Gradually when Pescud told his own story, it was no different from the story of the bestseller. So when Pescud gets down at Coketown to get Petunias for his wife, the writer speaks out this statement with an element of sarcasm, meaning that Pescud himself had married a princess, while he was condemning the marriage between Trevelyan and the princess.

8. What was John Pescud’s opinion about bestsellers? Why ? [CBSE 2011 (Term II)]

Once, while traveling in a train, the writer chanced to meet Pescud, an old associate, who was reading a best seller ‘Rose Lady and Trevelyan’. Pointing towards the book Pescud said that the novel revolved round the romance of an American Hero with a Royal Princess from Europe. He believed that such type of romances only

happened in novels because in real life any sensible person will pick out a girl from the same kind of status and family. He criticizes and mocks the stories of best sellers calling them melodramatic and unrealistic.

9. In the lesson ‘Bestseller’ what did Pescud inform the speaker about his prosperity?

[CBSE 2011 (Term II)]

While traveling in a train, the writer met with an old friend John A Pescud who was a travelling salesman for a plate-glass company. During the conversation Pescud told the writer that he was quite satisfied with his work. He told that he was doing well and believed that plate-glass was the most important business in the world. He informed the writer that professionally he was prospering and he had also invested in real estate.

Content’s

• Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Hindi Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Word Meanings of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Textbook Question of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Non-Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Short Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Long Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.

Read the extract and answer the questions that follow.

1. “The next morning at eleven sharp, I rang the doorbell of that World’s Fair main building.”

(a) Who had Pescud come to meet ?

Ans. Pescud had come to meet Jessie’s father.

(b) What was the purpose of his visit ?

Ans. He had come there to talk to Jessie’s father and to disclose his liking for her.

(c) Why was he surprised to see the inside of the big building ?

Ans. He was surprised because the inside of the building was impoverished and had very old furniture.

2. “For about nine seconds, he had me rattled, and I came mighty near getting cold feet and trying to sell him some plate-glass. ”

(a) The speaker is talking about

Ans. He is talking about his meeting with Colonel Allyn, Jessie’s father.
(b) What does the word ‘rattle’ mean here ?

Ans. It means shaking vigorously, confused and nervous.

(c) What did the speaker do after these ‘nine seconds’ ?

Ans. After these nine seconds, he got over his nervousness, gained confidence and talked about his liking for Jessie.

3. “Good-luck to you, Trevelyan, ” “And may you get the petunias for your princess!” [CBSE 2011 (Term II)]

(a) By whom have these words been spoken ?

Ans. These words have been spoken by the narrator to Pescud.

(b) ‘Trevelyan’ was the hero of_________.

Ans. Trevelyan was the hero of the best seller ‘The Rose Lady and Trevelyan’.

(c) Who is the ‘princess’ mentioned here ?

Ans. Princess here refers to Jessie, Pescud’s wife.

Content’s

• Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Hindi Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Word Meanings of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Textbook Question of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Non-Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Short Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Long Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow by choosing the option you consider the most appropriate.

1. “Say, ” said Pescud, stirring his discarded book with the hand, “did you ever read one of these bestsellers?”

(a) Who is Pescud talking to?

(i) Ladies in the chair-car

(ii) The narrator

(iii) The Colonel (iv) Jessie

(b) What is the bestseller about?

(i) College students (ii) Business trips

(iii) A romantic story (iv) A ghostly story

(c) The name of the bestseller is

(i) Trevelyan and the Rose Lady

(ii) The Rose Lady and Trevelyan

(iii) Trevelyan (iv) The Rose Lady

Ans : (a) (ii) (b) (iii) (c) (ii)
2. “Oh, I’m on the line of General Prosperity”.

(a) Who is ‘I’ referred to here?

(i) The narrator (ii) Jessie

(iii) Pescud (iv) The colonel

(b) ‘General Prosperity ’ here relates to

(i) Hike in salary, shares and property

(ii) Good health

(iii) Happy married life

(iv) Excellence in education

(c) What does the person with whom ‘I’ is talking asks him next?

(i) “Met your affinity yet?”

(ii) “Getting along all right with the Company?”

(iii) “Oh, I didn’t tell you about that, did I?”

(iv) Would I aspire?

Anns : (a) (iii) (b) (i) (c) (i)

Content’s

• Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Hindi Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Word Meanings of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Textbook Question of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Non-Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Short Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Long Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.

Word-Meaning
• Veil – a thin material worn to hide the face • Tepidest – less enthusiastic • Law abiding – obeying the law • Alias – false name • Consistent – compatible • Clamdiggers – people who hunt for edible shellfish
• Aristocracy – people of high social class • Jibe – to taunt • Capers – light-hearted or dishonest activity • Affinity – relationship • Ostensible – appearing to be true • Lineal – hereditary • Slag – waste separated from a metal by heating it • Torrents – violent rushing streams • Rills – small streams • Wand – long, thin rod used especially for performing magic or tricks.

Content’s

• Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Hindi Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Word Meanings of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Textbook Question of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Non-Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Short Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Long Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.

Summary

The writer was traveling to Pittsburgh on business.
In the compartment, most of the men and women were sitting in their chair-cars, idly gazing here and there. The gentleman sitting in chair No 9, appeared quite familiar and when he turned around, the writer discovered to his delight, that he was an old friend, John A Pescud. Pescud was a traveling salesman for a plate-glass company and the writer had not met him for the last two years.
Pescud was of small built, having a wide smile and he believed that plate-glass was the most important commodity in the world. He told the writer that business was doing well and he was going to get off at Coketown.
Pescud was reading the latest bestseller, “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan”. Pointing towards the book, Pescud said that the novel dealt with an American hero who falls in love with a royal princess from Europe. He believed that such romances only happened in novels because, in real life, any sensible fellow will pick out a girl from the same kind of status and family.
After mocking the imaginative content of the novel, talk veers around Pescud’s personal life. Pescud informs the writer that professionally, he was prospering and he had also invested in real estate. On being asked regarding his love-interest, Pescud relates his personal experience.
He was going to Cincinnati when he came across a very beautiful girl, whom he wished to marry. He chased her wherever she went, crossing many stations and finally reached Virginia. She was escorted to a palatial mansion by a tall old man. Pescud stayed back in the village and discovered that she was the daughter of Colonel Allyn, who was the biggest and finest man in Virginia. He met the beautiful girl next day and tried to converse with her.
He discovers that her name was Jessie and her father was the royal descendant of a renowned British family. She had been aware all along that Pescud was following her and warned him that her father would feed him to the hounds if Pescud ever thought of a proposal. Nevertheless, nothing seemed to deter Pescud and with due ceremony, he arrives at the mansion. He was surprised to see that the inside of the palace was very impoverished with very old furniture. Colonel Allyn arrived in great style, despite his shabby clothes. Amidst talking of anecdotes and humorous occurrences, Pescud frankly puts forth his proposal, giving all details of his business and family. He is accepted by Jessie and her family and the marriage had taken place a year ago. Pescud had built a house in East End and the Colonel was also residing with him. He waited daily at the gate for Pescud to hear a new story. By this time, the train was nearing Coketown. It appeared to be a dull and dreary place and the writer questioned Pescud regarding his purpose of getting down at Coketown.
Pescud told the writer that he was halting there to get some Petunias which Jessie had seen in one of the houses.
Pescud invites the writer to pay a visit and gets down at the station. The train moves forward and the writer discovers that Pescud had left his bestseller behind. He picked it up and smiled to himself because Pescud’s own story was no less than a bestseller.

Content’s

• Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Hindi Summary of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Word Meanings of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Textbook Question of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Non-Multiple Choice Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Short Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.
• Long Answer Questions of Best Seller Class 9th.

KEEPING IT FROM HAROLD

By P.G. Wodehouse

Content’s

• Summary of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.
• Hindi Summary of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.
• Word Meanings of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.
• Textbook Question of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.
• Multiple Choice Questions of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.
• Non-Multiple Choice Questions of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.
• Short Answer Questions of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.
• Long Answer Questions of Keeping it from Harold Class 9th.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Harold’s parents were too perceptive and concerned. Yet they failed to see the reality of their son’s interests. Bring out the truth of this statement by giving evidence from the text.

Ans. Harold’s parents were extremely proud of his intelligence. They knew that he was a prodigy and were highly concerned that Bill’s profession should be hidden from him. They regarded him as a person showing a bit too much class for them. But they failed to see the reality of their son’s interests. This is evident from the reaction of Harold when he comes to know the reality. He cries and says that it was a rotten thing to hide everything from him. He tells them that he had a bet with his friend, Dicky Saunders, that Jimmy Murphy would not last ten rounds. Harold also tells Jerry that he’s been interested in all these things since he was a kid. He also says that all the fellows with him were very keen on discussing the boxers’ performances. Harold himself names the boxers one after the other, which amazingly shows his field of interest which his parents were completely unaware of.

2. Do you agree that Mrs. Bramble is obsessed of dominating not only her husband but also her son?

Ans. I do believe that Mrs. Bramble is obsessed with dominating both her husband and her son. She refers to herself in the third person when she talks to her son. Harold doesn’t like this because he feels that she does so as she considers him a baby.

While talking to her husband too, Mrs. Bramble is quite blunt. When she sees Bill who has come home while he was supposed to be training, she gets angry and says, “I want a plain answer to a plain question. What are you doing here, Bill, instead of being at the ‘White Hart?” When Bill tells her that he is not going to fight with Murphy, she’s furious and says, “How about the money?” She also says,“ Goodness knows I’ve never liked your profession, Bill ….” These instances show clearly that she fully dominates and controls the life of her husband too.

3. Life will never be the same again for Harold. In a day his world has changed. Unable to keep the suspense that his father is a famous boxer ‘Young Porky’, he writes a letter to his friend Philip, expressing his happiness. Write this letter for him.

Ans. May 2, 2011

Dear Philip

I have got some big news to share with you and cannot wait.
You know we were talking too often about the game of boxing? In school also, I have friends with whom I used to have bets for the victory of our favorite boxers. But the most shocking discovery for me is that my father himself is the most famous boxer, ‘Young Porky.’ Shocked?

It so happened that my parents kept it hidden from me that my father was a professional boxer. They had told me that he was a commercial traveler. They told me that they had hidden this fact from me because this profession involved a lot of wraths, and they thought that it would hurt me to know that my father was doing something so disgraceful. Phillip, I’m just taken aback by their simplicity, love, and care for me!

I am so happy and proud of being the son of such a famous boxer. For the coming contest, I had a bet with my friend, Dicky Saunders that ‘Young Porky’ would defeat Jimmy Murphy — not knowing that my father was Young Porky. Do you know Philip that students tease me in school by calling me ‘Goggles’? Had they known that my father is ‘Young Porky’, they would never dare to do so. I am so happy that now I can really boast about this among my schoolmates. I can’t tell you how full of pride I am that it’s my father who has achieved that level of admiration of people which many others yearn for!

It will really take quite some time for me to get used to this happiness. At present, I’m just numb with the excitement of being the son of such a great person. I can even imagine your reaction at reading this letter.

How’s everybody at your place? Do reply soon.

Your friend

Harold

4. Bill has made a comeback. He has gone back to what he liked best – boxing. He makes a diary entry revealing his feelings and surprise at failing to judge his son.

Ans. May 3, 2011

Dear Diary

I had decided to fight my last boxing fight, the twenty-round contest with Murphy at the National Sporting Club, for which I was training at the White Hart. I had thought that I would retire from the boxing profession after this and join some school or college as an instructor. Jane and I were so afraid that if Harold, our child with such high intellectual capabilities, would come to know of my

boxing profession, he would die of shame. But when I decided to withdraw from this last contest too, Jerry, the trainer became too wild, and in a fit of anger, told the truth to Harold. I was shocked to death at this!

The way Harold reacted jolted me out of an unreasonable feeling of guilt. I am so ashamed that I had misjudged my own son! In fact, Harold cried and was sad that I had hidden this fact from him. He was so proud of the fact that I was ‘Young Porky’ for whose victory he was betting with his friends in the school. I am so amazed at the fact that Jane and I, who were so concerned about the welfare of our son, did not have the least idea that he was so fond of boxing. How I repent about all the years that I have wasted by not sharing my achievement with my son! He would have been so happy and proud of it — only if we had understood his likes and dislikes. On our part, both Jane and I were extra cautious about Harold’s intellectual bent of mind and did not want to hurt him at all. Anyway, now when everything is clear, I have decided not only to carry on with my boxing career but also to excel in it further. Even Jane, who did not earlier approve of my profession, will be proud of it. Harold has really been far maturer than we thought him to be.

Bill Bramble

5. Give a character sketch of Harold.

OR

Harold was just like any other child. How was his personality reflected in the end different from what you had read in the beginning? Discuss.

[CBSE 2010 (Term-II)]

Ans. Harold is just ten-years-old, and for his age, he has achieved far more. He is a ‘prodigy’, a child who has exceptional intellectual qualities, and so his parents regard him as ‘being of a superior order’. He is hard working and a brilliant student, who is devoted to his books. His behavior is also exemplary, and he is a model of goodness and perfect intelligence. In spite of all this, he is not proud of his intellectual level. In fact, when he comes to know of his father’s boxing profession, the way he associates so much value to it, is amazing for everybody present there. He is an absolutely down-to-earth person, with no airs about himself. His character surely reveals that he believes in perfection and has a lot of respect for excellence, be it in the field of studies or sports. He is not a dumb bookworm, but an active and smart person who carries his own opinion, and knows how to express it too.

6. Do you think Bill Bramble was cut out to be a professional boxer on all counts?

Ans. Bill Bramble’s character reveals that to be a professional boxer one need not be violent in nature, specially with people in one’s private life. So far as his
profession was concerned, he was a tough boxer to fight with. This is evident from the admiration millions of people had for him, and from the way, newspapers liked to cover his achievements. So his nature and his profession can be considered as absolutely contradictory to each other. But his ability to hit his fellow-man in the eye while apparently aiming an attack on his stomach, and vice versa, had won him laurels. Among the London’s teeming millions there was not a man, weighing eight stone four, whom he could not overcome in a twenty-round contest.

Thus, in my opinion, he was surely cut out to be a professional boxer on all counts.

7. Mrs. Bramble has finally realized that Harold has grown up. He is no more her pet, he is a mature young boy with his private likes, dislikes, and convictions. She writes a diary entry, expressing her surprise and her failure in misjudging the other dimensions of Harold’s personality. Write this diary for her.

Ans. May 3, 2010

Dear Diary

For me, Harold was always a very small child, and I talked to him as if he was a baby. I could sometimes feel that he did not like to be addressed in such a way as I could see a slight frown on his brow. But the way he handled the entire situation, the entire tension, told us that he is a mature young boy and has his private likes, dislikes, and convictions. I am absolutely shocked at my failure to judge my own son’s personality. I never had even the slightest inkling that he was so fond of boxing and that he had so much respect and admiration for ‘Young Porky’. Both Bill and I were hiding the fact that his own father was ‘Young Porky’ because we thought, he being such a brilliant student academically, would be ashamed of his father’s profession. But were proved wrong. In fact, he felt bad that we had hidden this fact from him. He said that he was proud of his father being ‘Young Porky’ and that he would feel great telling his friends about it. We are so relieved and admire our son all the more now. I must say that Harold is not a baby as I used to think but a mature person with a well-defined personality, and I’m very happy about it.

Jane Bramble

8. Do you think that Harold’s parents did the right thing by hiding that his father was a professional boxer?

Ans. The bond between parents and a child is not only very close and emotional but also based on the firm ground of total trust. All ethics, values are imparted to the child by his parents. Love, tender care grows manifold as the child grows. In the case of the Bramble family, they thrived in the glory of their prodigy-Harold. No wonder, Harold always performed better than their expectations. He

was of keen intellect, winning prizes everywhere. In fact, they basked so much in the sunshine of his achievements that they started getting an inferiority complex. They hesitated to do anything that would bring disgrace or make him feel that they were less respectable than others.

Bill Bramble had immense pride in his boxing skills. Media, fame, money that once attracted him the most, faded away once Harold was born. They thought that boxing was uncultured, was meant for “men of wrath and they could never bring anything of this type to Harold’s notice. So began the season of deceit, hiding secrets, though it is all for their dear son’s welfare.

In the process of hiding the truth, they end up hurting their son the most. Parent’s achievements means the world for the children. This falsehood had caused permanent scars on the psyche of Harold. He may not show, but deep within, he would never forgive his parents. In their over protectiveness, they had failed to note that Harold was a young boy, with the natural craze for games and betting. He suffered due to peer-pressure; his natural desire was the subject of envy among his classmates, which his parents had deprived him of.
So parents should be cautious, shield their child from problems, but not overshadow his growth. Honesty and trust are the most important factors for any relationship to grow.

9. How was Mr. Bramble’s nature in total contrast to his physical abilities?

Ans. Mr. Bramble was a successful boxer by profession, which requires immense physical strength to defeat the opponent. He was a tough fighter and was affectionately known to a large section of the inhabitants of London, as “Young Porky”. Among all London’s teeming millions, there was not a man, weighing eight stone four, whom he could not overcome in a twenty-round contest.

But Mr. Bramble’s nature was a total contrast to his physical abilities. In private life, he was the mildest and the most obliging of men, and always yielded to everybody. At one place in the story, the writer describes his walk as that of a ‘diffident crab’ implying that he did not have much self-confidence. His sensitive nature and sense of sacrifice for his son also show how soft he was at heart.

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