Answer any four of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each:
(a) What is Aunt Jennifer’s aim in life?
(b) Describe the irony in Saheb’s name.
(c) What do we know about the family life of Sophie?
(d) What did the jail authorities do to prevent Evans’ escape from Oxford Prison?
(e) How did Dr.Sadao and his wife face the situation after their servants left them?
(f) Jack does not like to be contradicted. Comment.
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
(a) Aunt Jennifer had always longed for a fearless life. She wanted a life that she chose for herself and not the one where she had to live according to the wishes of the Uncle. Her dreams signified freedom from the male domination. She didn’t get the respect she expected from her relationship. This was because she didn’t have the ability to express or ask for what she wanted.
(b) Saheb’s name was in contradiction with his life. His name meant ‘Saheb-e-Alam’ or ‘Lord of the Universe’. But he lived his life in a slum as a rag-picker. He was deprived of any sort of luxury that a boy at his age would think of. He didn’t even have a pair of shoes to cover his legs and roamed in streets barefoot. For him even an old and torn pair of shoe was a gift because he had never had the opportunity to wear one. He would ask the security guard of a nearby club to let him in for some time to enjoy the swing. He had mastered the art of finding pleasure in little things that life offered.
(c) Sophie belonged to a lower middle class family with mere luxuries. They lived in an unsophisticated house while Sophie dreamt of owning a boutique someday. They used to watch football matches every Saturday which led to Sophie fantasizing of meeting the youngest and the most popular footballer Danny Casey. Sophie was a dissatisfied teen who was prone to day-dream and extreme hero worship. Her father had a low paid job which involved a lot of physical labour. He used a bicycle as his mode of transport and was habituated to visiting the pub regularly. On the other hand, Sophie’s mother was submissive and remained engaged in her household chores most of the time. Her brother Geoff was an apprentice mechanic and the only person whom Sophie trusted and shared everything with. He too was a fan of football and Danny Casey.
(d) The Governor was well aware of the intentions of Evans in wanting to take the exams so he decided to take precautions for the smooth conduct of the examination. He feared that Evans would plan his escape for the fourth time from the Oxford prison and ordered the exam to be conducted inside the prison cell which has a microphone to keep a check on the suspicious prisoner. His cell was properly checked by the prison staff who took away anything that they thought would pose a threat in the smooth conduct of the examination. On the examination day, the prison authorities were on high alert and all the doors were barred properly. Jackson visited Evans in his cell and took away sharp objects like scissors and razors. Stephens was in charge of keeping a check on Evans during the examination. He peeped inside the cell in every two minutes. The invigilator was a parson and was he was thoroughly frisked along with his suitcase before he was allowed to enter. The Governor also personally monitored all the security arrangements.
(e) The servants couldn’t tolerate their master helping Tom because they saw him as their enemy. The gardener felt that he should be left to die because if he would be saved by Sadao the sea would take revenge. Yumi refused to wash the wounds of the enemy soldier and was angry with Sadao for putting his family in danger. Their cook felt that Sadao operated and saved the enemy because he was too proud of his skills. After 7 seven days they even left their jobs in protest. That day a messenger came to their home in official uniform and informed Dr. Sadao that he had been called by the General who was in pain. Hana thought that the officer had come to arrest Sadao. Sadao went to the General and told him that he had operated on an enemy. In return, the General promised to send private assassins who would kill the man and also remove his body. They left the outer partition of his room open but no one came to execute the General’s plan. So, Dr. Sadao decided to let him escape. He arranged a boat with food and extra clothing and asked Tom to leave at night when it was dark. He advised him to stay there until a Korean fishing boat came and also taught him signals with a flashlight so that he could be assured if he was fine.
(f) Jack told Jo stories that had some relation to his past. His stories usually had moral lessons that he wanted to teach Jo. But Jo being a child couldn’t understand his reasons and always looked for a happy ending. In his stories, we can see two perspectives one is of the adult i.e. Jack and other of a child i.e. Jo. One day when Jack was narrating a story to Jo at bedtime with his usual story line she contradicted her views. The story was about a little creature named Roger Skunk who had a foul smell because of which he couldn’t make any friends. So he visited the owl for advice who directed him to the wizard. The wizard casted a spell and turned his foul smell into that of roses. When he returned home, Mommy Skunk didn’t appreciate his odour and took him back to the wizard, hit him with a stick and asked him to return Roger’s smell.
(f) Jack told Jo stories that had some relation to his past. His stories usually had moral lessons that he wanted to teach Jo. But Jo, being a child, couldn't understand his reasons and always looked for a happy ending. In his stories, we can see two perspectives one is of the adult i.e. Jack
and other of a child i.e. Jo. One day when Jack was narrating a story to Jo at bedtime with his usual story line she contradicted her views. The story was about a little creature named Roger Skunk who had a foul smell because of which he couldn't make any friends. So he visited the owl for advice who directed him to the wizard. The wizard casted a spell and turned his foul smell into that of roses. When he returned home, Mommy Skunk didn't appreciate his odour and took him back to the wizard, hit him with a stick and asked him to return Roger's smell.