first flight - कल्पना की उड़ान · 1/1/2014 · the short story "his...

NVs Shillong Region J.N.V. Golaghat

Dr. J. K. Mishra, Mr. R. K. Sinha Mr. A. Shahi TGT – Eng, JNV Diphu TGT – Eng, JNV Darang TGT – Eng, JNV Golathat

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FIRST FLIGHT (TEXTBOOK)

GIST OF CHAPTERS

SUMMATIVE – I (PROSE SECTION)

A LETTER TO GOD

(G. L. Fuentes)

Lencho is a poor, uneducated farmer. Lencho’s crops are in need of a good rainfall. Instead, a terrible hail storm comes through and completely destroys the crops. Lencho and his family are afraid they may go hungry in the year to come. However, they are not completely devastated because of their profound trust in God. Lencho, being both uneducated and a man of great faith, writes a letter to God asking for 100 pesos so that his family will be able to survive the year and replant the next year. He puts the letter in an envelope and writes “God” on the outside. When he goes to the village next Sunday, he drops the letter in the mailbox at the post office. A mailman takes it to the postmaster, who is both amazed by Lencho’s faith and amused by his method of petitioning. The postmaster does not want to disturb the farmer’s childlike faith, so he tries to collect enough money to answer the letter. In the end, he is able to assemble 70 pesos. The next Sunday, Lencho comes to the post office again and picks up his envelope. The postmaster watches him from inside the building, feeling satisfied because of his good deed. Upon opening the envelope, though, Lencho becomes angry. The farmer knows that God cannot be wrong, nor would He disregard Lencho’s petition. Lencho returns to the post office window and asks for paper and ink. He writes another letter and puts it in the mailbox. As soon as he leaves, the postmaster goes to get the letter and opens it. It also is addressed to God, and states that Lencho received only 70 of the pesos. He asks God to send the rest, but not via the mail, because the post office employees are thieves.



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NELSON MANDELA : LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

(Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela) This extract has been taken from the autobiography of Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. In this passage Mandela speaks about a historic occasion, “ the inauguration.” Since 1948, a cruel system of apartheid was practised by the white rulers of South Africa under which there was racial discrimination against the blacks. At last, after a long struggle, democratic elections were held. Nelson Mandela became the first black to become the President of South Africa after three hundred years’ rule of the White. In his address at the inaguration ceremony, Mandela recalls how a system of racial domination was created against the dark skinned people in their own land. He is glad to overturn this inhumane system. He points out that the era of oppression and brutality created a deep and lasting wound in his country but at the same time this era created men of extraordinary courage and wisdom. He pays a tribute to thousands of South African patriots who suffered endlessly and sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom. According to Mandela, the greatest wealth of his country is its people like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sislus, Chief Luthulis and some others. He learned from these people that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. At the same time, Mandela makes another important observation. He says that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over fear. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. One can be called free if he respects another’s freedom with same degree as he desires for himself.

TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING

(i) His first flight (Liam o’ Flaherty)

The short story "His First Flight" by Irish author Liam O'Flaherty is about a family of seagulls. They can all fly except the youngest bird, who has tried several times but to no avail. The story is a metaphorical representation of a human's need to be independent and confident but still appreciative and understanding of friends and family. There are six seagulls in total; a mother, a father, three sons and one daughter. All of the children have learnt to fly except for the youngest son. The parents have tried countless times to get him to fly but he is too scared, and he relies on the food that his parents bring back from their flights.So once left with no other options, the parents decide that they must take firm measures to help the youngest son learn to fly. The whole family flies away; leaving the youngest son alone on the rock without food. This is in an attempt to motivate the youngest son to fly so that he can be with his family and find food. After a while it becomes apparent that the youngest son is still very hesitant and afraid. He sees his mother eating fish in the distance and begins begging her to let him share. The mother then approaches him but keeps the fish just out of reach. The youngest son desperately tries to jump for the fish but he is not successful. Suddenly, the youngest son jumps off the rock in one final attempt to reach the fish and begins falling. Instinctively, he starts to flap his wings and therefore starts to fly. The entire family is thoroughly overjoyed. This story highlights the importance of independence and self-belief, as well as the need to remain involved in family life.



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(II) the black aero plane (Frederick forsyth)

“Black Aeroplane” is a lesson replete with mystery and suspense. It seems incredible sometimes to the scientific world, on the other hand, we can’t deny the existence of such happenings. A pilot of old Dacota aeroplane was flying in the midnight over the sky of Paris. He wanted to reach England so that he could join his family at the time of breakfast. But unfortunately he met with adversity and found himself passing through mountainous black clouds. He dared to fly through willingly. As he was in the turmoil of black clouds, all his system failed to work. He couldn’t communicate anybody. Suddenly he noticed a black aeroplane in front of him. The pilot of the plane instructed him to follow. He followed. He followed like a child but in the mean time his fuel tank was getting exhausted .Suddenly he noticed a row of light on the ground. It was the runway. He landed down and straight forward went to the control room. He enquired about the other aeroplane. But he was dumb struck when he came to know that there was no aeroplane noticed on the radar that night. Many questions remained unanswered, mysterious and unsolved.

FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

(Anne Frank) This story is an extract from Anne Frank’s “The Diary of A Young Girl”. A young girl of 13 years wanted to have a very intimate friend but she couldn’t make one. And hence she turned to make her diary, Kitty, her true friend. She feels a paper has more patience than people. She writes every bit of her happenings truthfully which posthumously became one of the most important literary properties to the civilized world. She describes in her diary the days of her early childhood. When she was in class 5th, she had been punished by Mr. Kissing, her Mathematics teacher, for her being talkative. She was asked to write an essay on ‘Chatterbox’ but couldn’t stop over talking. She was punished for the second time to write an essay on ‘An Incorrigible Chatterbox’ with all her arguments. She wrote and submitted it to the teacher. But she didn’t stop the same. She was punished for the third time on the same topic and she submitted her essay in poetic form which described three young ducklings being bitten to death by the father duck because they quacked too much. This moved Mr. Kissing and hence forth she was allowed to talk with no more punishment. Hence, we find a very intimate and deliberate description of her personal feelings in the pages of her diary.



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THE HUNDRED DRESSES – I & II

(El Bsor Ester) The Hundred Dresses – I

This story is a sensitive account of a young poor girl who is judged by her dress. Wanda Petronsky was a young polish girl who went to school with other American children in an American town. These other children saw Wanda as different in many ways i.e. her dress, social status, her unusual name & her wealth. Wanda used to come from Boggins heights all alone. She was joined on the way by Peggy and Maddie, two other girls of her class. Peggy and other girls very often made fun of her by asking “how many dresses you have, Wanda?” Wanda used to reply every time almost mechanically that she had hundred dresses in order to count Maddie herself was a poor girl and used to wear hand-me-down clothes. She did not like Peggy’s asking Wanda about the dresses. Whenever Peggy asked Wanda those questions in that mocking voice Maddie felt embarrassed. One day Maddie decided to write a note for Peggy asking her to stop making fun of Wanda but she could not muster the courage to do so. There was once an art completion in the school. Wanda painted hundred dresses – all of different colours. She was adjudged as the first in that competition but unfortunately she was absent that day. The children burst into applause.

. The Hundred Dresses – II

Miss Mason received a letter from the principal’s office. She became worried after reading it. It was a letter from Wanda’s father in which he had informed Miss Mason that Wanda would not come to the school any more. They were moving to big city where nobody would ask Wanda about her funny name. Then Peggy and Maddie realized their mistake. When school was dismissed they went to Boggins Heights. The girls found her house but could not meet Wanda as her family had already left the place. Now there was nothing left that they could do. That night Maddie could not sleep. She decided that she would not keep quiet if someone teased anybody about their funny names even if it meant losing Peggy’s friendship. On Saturday, both Peggy and Maddie wrote a letter to Wanda telling her that she had won the contest. But they did not receive any reply from Wanda for a long time. Then suddenly, during Christmas time, Miss Mason received a letter from Wanda. Wanda had written that the girls could keep those hundred dresses. . She had gifted special drawings to Peggy and Maddie. After reaching home, Maddie found that Wanda had painted her face and head in the design. She went to tell this fact to Peggy. Peggy was also happy to see that the face and head of the drawing looked like her. They became emotional and Peggy consoled herself by saying that Wanda really liked them. Maddie got lost in the thoughts of Wanda and missed her so much.



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SUMMATIVE – I (POETRY SECTION)

DUST OF SNOW

(Robert Frost)

Dust of snow is a beautiful poem written by the famous poet Robert Frost. Though the poem is very brief but has a significant meaning. This poem stands for guiding a person who has lost all hopes and is very sad. The falling of dust of snow has changed the mood of the poet . The poet was sitting nder a hemlock tree and was quite upset. This very small incident changed his sad mood into happy mood. So it teaches us that we should not be desperate but there is always an opportunity to change sad to happy mood.

FIRE AND ICE

(Robert Frost)

The speaker brings us into the middle of an argument between people who think the world will come to a fiery end and people who think the world will freeze. He could be talking about the literal end of the world, but he's also talking about the power that human beings have to harm or "destroy" one another. The speaker's experience with romantic desire has taught him that passionate or "hot" emotions like love and lust would probably have the power to turn the earth into a big fireball. But he has also experienced the other extreme, and he knows that colder emotions like hate have great destructive power. Love gets all the publicity, but hate is the silent killer. It may not have the same grandeur as the fireball ending, but it'll do the trick.

A TIGER IN THE ZOO

(Leslie Norris)

The Tiger moves slowly and quietly inside the cage in his very bright stripes.He took a few steps in his cage on pads of velvet quiet and fumbly snarled in his quiet rage. The Tiger should be waiting somewhere secretly in the shadow, sliding through the long grass of the wild, near the water-hole in a forest for wild animals where the plump dear pass. The Tiger should be showing his teeth and make angry noises around houses at the edge of the jungle showing his white fangs , his claws and terrorizing the village. But now the Tiger is locked up in a concrete cell and all his strength is kept behind bars. He spends his time stalking the length of his cage and ignoring all human visitors. He hears the last voice every night and that is the voice of the patrolling cars then he stares with his brilliant eyes at the brilliant stars above.



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HOW TO TELL WILD ANIMALS

(Carolyn Wells)

This is an extreme situation to identify a lion. The poet says that if the roar of the animal is so fearsome that you feel like you are dying then you can be sure that you are near a lion. But nobody would like to recognize a lion in this way. What to do if you see a wild animal with black stripes on yellow body. If he starts eating you then you can be sure that it is a tiger. But it is better not to wait to be a tiger’s lunch to identify it. If you happen to see an animal with spots which gives it a salt and pepper appearance, wait until he leaps on you. Because no matter how hard you cry, it will continue pouncing on you. So, be careful and don’t allow it to leap on you. Bears are thought to be good wrestlers and can give a really tight hug. Although a friendly hug is referred to as bear hug. But if a real bear will hug you, then it may not feel friendly at all. Some animals are famous for their weird behaviour. For example, a laughing hyena’s voice resembles human’s laughing sound. A crocodile is said to shed tears while eating its prey. So don’t wait for a hyena to laugh or for a crocodile to weep. A chameleon or garden lizard is an expert at camouflage. If you are unable to see a thing on tree then chances are chameleon is sitting there. As it changes colour as per its surrounding it is difficult to see. This capacity of camouflage helps the lizard in saving it from hunters.

THE BALL POEM

(John Berryman)

The little boy has lost his ball. He can buy many new balls but he has a very deep emotional attachment and memories associated with that ball so he regrets over the loss of the ball. The poet is indirectly trying to tell us that we should learn how to cope up with the loss. At the same time he is emphasizing upon the point that money is external i.e we can’t buy memories with money. We all should learn our responsibilities and learn to cope up with the loss.

AMANDA (Robin Klein)

The poem depicts the dilemma of a teenage girl when she feels that her freedom is curtailed. Parents sometimes instruct the children to do or not to do certain things. But the children think it to be an intrusion in their privacy. In this poem, parents keep scolding and instructing her but she lends a deaf ear to them. Meanwhile, she indulges herself in daydreams and whims. Amanda keeps dreaming of leading a free life as a mermaid. Further, she dreams that she is an orphan roaming in the streets bare foot. Finally she dreams that she is Rapunzel with golden hair leading a life of peace in a tower. The poet beautifully expresses the longings of the teenagers and their resentment against the behaviour of elders.



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SUMMATIVE – II (PROSE SECTION)

GLIMPSES OF INDIA

I. A Baker from Goa (Lucio Rodrigues)

This is a pen-portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still has an important place in his society. Goa is very much influenced by the Portuguese. Their traditional family work is baking bread. They are known as Pader in Goa .The writer tells about his childhood days and his friendship with bakers .In the morning the jingling sound of the bamboo woke them from sleep .Through one hand the baker supported the basket on his head and the other hand banged the bamboo on the ground .The villagers were much fond of the sweet bread known as BOL. It was one of the most essential marriage gifts. Bread sellers wore a particular dress known as Kabai. It was a single piece long frock up to the knees. They recorded their account on the wall in pencil. They always looked happy and prosperous .

ii. coorg (Lokesh Abrol)

Coorg is a coffee country, famous for its rain forests and spices. Coorg is a piece of heaven in midway between Mysore and the coastal town of Mangalore .It is the smallest district of Karnataka. It has evergreen forest, spices coffee plantations. The perfect weather commences from September to March. Coffee estates and colonial bungalows stand tucked under Canopies in prime corners. People of Coorg are of Greek or Arabic descent. Their traditional dress resembles the Kuffia worn by the Arabs and Kurds. Their homes have a tradition of hospitality. Even now Kodavus are the only people in India permitted to carry firearms without a licence. The river Kaveri obtains its water from the hills and forest of Coorg. Mahaseer and Kingfisher dive for their catch. Many animals like Squirrels, langurs and elephants etc are seen in the forest. Adventure sports like river rafting, canoeing, rappelling,rock-climbing, mountain biking and trekking. Many birds, bees and butterfly accompany the tourists. India's largest Tibetan settlement nearby Bylakuppe is a bonus for visitors in Coorg.

iii. tea from assam (arup kumar datta)

Pranjol ,a youngster from Assam is Rajvir‘s classmate at school in Delhi .Pranjol's ‘s father is the manager of a tea garden in upper Assam and Pranjol had invited Rajvir to visit his home during the summer vacation .



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Pranjol and Rajvir are class fellows in Delhi . Pranjol’s parents are living in Assam .His father is a manager of tea –garden in upper Assam .Rajvir is invited to Assam by Pranjol .In the train journey Rajvir told that over 8,00,000,000 cups of tea were drunk daily in the world . On the way they view a magnificent sight of tea bushes .Pranjol told about the tea country and some legends about tea .Rajvir told that tea was first drunk in China .CHAI and CHINI have come from Chinese .In 16 th century tea came to Europe as a medicine

MIJBIL THE OTTER

(Gavin Maxwell) In the beginning of 1956, the author was in Iraq. One day on the way to Basra, he casually mentioned to a friend that he would love to have an otter instead of a dog as a pet. A few days later, the author got an otter from his friend. Two Arabs brought it for him in a sack. The author stayed in Basra for a few days. Very soon the otter became very friendly with the author. It loved to play with water all the time. It played with a rubber ball also. The author named his otter Mijbil. He made for it a body-belt. He would take it on a lead to the bathroom. There the otter would go mad playing with water. It could even turn the tap and make the water flow at full pressure. After some days, the author was to come back to London. The transporting of Mijbil became a problem. British airline did not permit animals on its flights. Another airline agreed to take the animal if packed in a box. The author made a small box for the otter. He had to face a lot of difficulty and it made him late for the plane. While in the plane, the otter escaped from the box. There was a lot of hue and cry. At last, the otter came back and settled on the author’s knees. After an eventful journey, the author and his otter at last reached London where he lived in a flat. The otter spent most of its time playing with its toys. Sometimes the author took it out for a walk. He would take it on a lead as if it were a dog. Opposite to the author’s flat, there was a primary school that had a low outer wall about thirty yards long. The otter would jump on to it and go running all the length of the wall. Different people made different guesses as to what animal it was. They would say it was a baby seal, squirrel, a walrus, a hippo, a beaver, a bear cub or even a leopard with spots. Very few Londoners had ever seen an otter. They were filled with surprise on seeing such a strange animal. One day a labourer was digging a hole in the street. Looking at the author’s otter, he exclaimed, “Here, Mister, what is that supposed to be?”

MADAM RIDES THE BUS

(Vallikkannan) This is a sensitive story of an eight year old girl’s first bus journey into the world outside her village. Valliammai , who was called Valli for short, tries to understand the mystery of life and death. Her favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of ther house and watching what was happening in the street outside. The outside world for Valli is charming and fascinating but mysterious. She longs to experience it by herself. She used to watch the bus to the town very carefully. She wanted to ride on that bus. This wish became stronger until it was a strong desire. The talks of the village people about the town added fuel to the fire. She decides to go to the town all by herself without anybody’s support. She asked the bus conductor to take her to the town .She herself paid her fare. She wanted to devour everything with her eyes. On seeing the beautiful landscape, Valli stood up on her seat to



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peep out of the window. She saw the canal, palm tree, grass land, distant mountain and the blue sky. She also saw great stretch of green field as far as the eye could see. She was overjoyed when she saw a cow running with her raised tail on the road ahead of the bus. The bus reached the city and everybody got off it except Valli. The conductor asked Valli to get off the bus but she told him that she would go back on the same bus. While returning she noticed that the body of the same cow was crushed and bled. She was moved from within. Now she was not willing to look outside. Perhaps she was trying to understand the meaning of life and death in her own terms. She returned home in time. None of the family members could know her adventurous journey.

THE SERMON AT BENARES

(SOURCE: Betty Renstaw)

In this thought-provoking lesson, we get an account of the journey of Gautama Buddha from prince hood to his saintly life. He left the palace at the age of 25, after seeing the sufferings of the world, to seek enlightenment. He wandered for seven years, here and there, and under a peepal tree at Bodhgaya he got it. His first sermon was delivered at Benaras as it was considered to be the holiest place because of the river Ganga. He thought that he who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, complaint and grief. He who has drawn out the arrow has become composed, and will obtain peace of mind; he who has overcome all will be free from sorrow and be blessed.he preached his first sermon at Benares near the bank of the holy river Ganges. Here Buddha tells about the universality of death which is inevitable and can’t be escaped. Kisa Gautami was grieving over the death of her son. She moved from door to door and at last came to Buddha. She made him a humble request to make her son alive. Buddha said he would do but he asked a handful of mustard seeds. He further commanded it must be taken from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend. She went from house to house but was unable to find one where nobody had died. She was tired and hopeless and sat down at the wayside watching the light of the city as they flickered up. And she realised that these lives flicker up for some time and are extinguished again. This way she was taught that the lives of mortals in this world are troubled and brief and there is no means by which one can avoid deaths. As all earthen vessels made by the potter are being broken, so is the life of mortals. Death is inevitable. Those who want peace should not lament or complain. One who has overcome his sorrow and lamentation can obtain peace of mind.

THE PROPOSAL

(Anton Chekov)

The main character of this play, Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov, is a heavy-set man in his mid-thirties, prone to anxiety, stubbornness, and hypochondria. Stepan Stephanovitch Chubukov owns land next to Ivan. Natalya Stepanovna is the female lead in this three person play. The play is set in rural countryside of Russia during the late 1800s. When Ivan arrives at the home of the Chubukov family, the elderly Stepan assumes that the well-dressed young man has come to borrow money. Instead, Stepan is pleased when Ivan asks for his daughter's hand in marriage. Stepan whole-heartedly bestows his blessing, declaring that he already



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loves him like a son. The old man then leaves to fetch his daughter, assuring the younger man that Natalya will graciously accept the proposal. While alone, Ivan delivers a soliloquy, explaining his high level of nervousness, as well as a number of physical ailments that have recently plagued his daily life. This monologue sets up everything that unfolds next. Everything is going well when Natalya first enters the room. They chat pleasantly about the weather and agriculture. Ivan attempts to bring up the subject of marriage by first stating how he has known her family since childhood. As he touches upon his past he mentions his family's ownership of the Oxen Meadows. Natalya stops the conversation to clarify. She believes that her family has always owned the meadows, and this disagreement ignites a caustic debate, one that sends tempers flaring and Ivan's heart palpitating. After they yell at each other, Ivan feels dizzy and tries to calm himself down and change the subject back to matrimony, only to get immersed in the argument yet again. Natalya's father joins the battle, siding with his daughter, and angrily demanding that Ivan leave at once. As soon as Ivan is gone, Stepan reveals that the young man has planned to propose to Natalya. Shocked and apparently desperate to be married, Natalya insists that her father bring him back. Once Ivan has returned, she tries to bend the subject toward romance. However, instead of discussing marriage, they begin to argue over which of their dogs is the better hound. This seemingly innocuous topic launches into yet another heated argument. Finally, Ivan's heart cannot take it anymore and he flops down dead. At least that's what Stepan and Natalya believe for a moment. Fortunately, Ivan breaks out of his fainting spell and regains his sense enough for him to propose to Natalya. She accepts, but before the curtain falls, they return to their old argument regarding who owns the better dog. In short, "The Marriage Proposal" is a delightful gem of a comedy



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SUMMATIVE – II (POETRY SECTION)

Animals

( Walt Whitman)

The poet is fed up in the company of human beings. He wants to turn his way and live with animals. He finds the animals peaceful and satisfied. They don’t have any feeling of repentance. They don’t have any lust or greed. They have nothing to do with material things. There is complete equality among animals. They do not have any hierachy. Animals don’t need to bow down before others. Poet feels that the traits of human being like truthfulness, honesty, commitment, loyalty, purity, innocence etc. have now passed to the animals. He wonders how these qualities have passed to the animals.

The Trees

( Adrienne Rich) This poem is full of symbolism. It relates to women emancipation. Trees here stand for the women. The poet points out that a change is taking place in the world. The women who were inside the house are moving out and entering into the male-dominated society. The world so far was deprived of beauty because women were not there. But now the women are trying hard to emerge out. The poet is not mentioning about this change in her writings because she feels that men will not allow this change to happen if they come to know about it. She is tensed whether this change will really materialize or not. And finally, the change really happens. The women emerge out and male-dominance is over.

FOG

(Carl Sandburg) The poet has presented a vivid description of fog in this poem. He has compared fog to a cat. The fog comes silently like a cat. It spreads all over the city and the harbour. It seems that it is sitting silently on its haunches and then proceeds.

THE tale of custard the dragon

(Ogden Nash) Its a narrative poem whcih describes a little girl Belinda and her pets . Her pets are little kitten named Ink, a gray coloured mouse named Blink, a little yellow-dragon named Mustard and a coward dragon named Custard. The dragon has dragger like sharp nails, sharp teeth and spikes on his scales. All her pets consider themselves to be brave. They all use to sit on a red wagon and make fun of the dragon who is assumed to be a coward. A pirate enters the house all of a sudden having pistols in both hands. He is holding sword in his teeth. Belinda gets extremely frightened and cries for help. But all the pets flee away and hide themeselves. But Custard comes forward full of bravery. He fights with the pirate and



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swallows him. This shows that Custard is not a coward. All other pets are cowards. But, other pets start saying that they are brave and two or three times braver than the dragon. However, the reality is now clear. Indeed, the dragon is only brave while all others are simply cowards.

For anne gregory

(Wiiliam Butler Yeats)

The speaker tells Anne that her young despaired lover never loves her for heer sake only. In fact, it is not posssible for him to ignore her external beauty and appreciate her inner beauty. The speaker tells the lady that she will never find a true lover. A man can get attracted to her golden hair and love her for that only. The woman says that she can get her hair dyed anyway she likes. She can have them brown, black or carrot. She says that in that case the young men will love her for herself alone. Their love should not be limited to the love of her yellow hair. To this the speaker says that he had heard an old religious man saying that only God could love a person for inner quality and not for external beauty.

first flight - कल्पना की उड़ान · 1/1/2014 · the short story "his...

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