Then I made a mistake”- What mistake did the speaker make? Why was it a mistake? What removed the speaker’s ‘doubt’? What did the speaker do then?

THE PROPOSAL

– Anton Chekhov

1. “Go, there’s a merchant came for his goods” – Who is the ‘merchant’? What ‘good’ means? State the mentality of the speaker from this comment?

Ans. Here the ‘merchant’ is Lomov.

In Chekhov’s one-act play ‘The Proposal’ by ‘good’ the speaker Chubukov refers to his daughter Natalya. 

Chubukov informs his daughter Natalya about Lomov’s arrival at their house with the proposal of marrying her but the information is given to her with an imagery. Natalya has been shelling peas for drying and expecting a real merchant but she is surprised to see her neighbour Lomov in their house at that time. Natalya cannot understand the inner-meaning of her father’s words but the way Chubukov calls his daughter ‘goods’, reveals his mean mentality. Natalya has become a liability to him and he is ready to sell her as a commodity. The patriarchal mentality of our society is beautifully exposed here through this imagery.

2. Make a brief sketch of the social life as you see in the play “The Proposal”.

Ans.  Chekhov’s play “The Proposal” is a miniscule section of the 19th century middle class Russian society. This society does not pay any heed to personal desires and emotions. The society was chiefly agricultural, so land has a great value. Marriage was a necessary tool to satisfy the thirst for land; Lomov and Natalya, therefore, fight over the Oxen Meadows. Love, romance, passion or ideal love, mattered little in the selection of a life partner. So, disagreement naturally followed. People get married for personal gain and money rather than love. Lomov feels societies pressure to get married and for this reason he is marrying Natalya. Hunting or drinking was very common at that time.

THE EYES HAVE IT

– Ruskin Bond

 1.  “Then I made a mistake”- What mistake did the speaker make? Why was it a mistake? What removed the speaker’s ‘doubt’? What did the speaker do then?

Ans. The narrator in Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ thought that he had made the mistake. 

At the narrator was ‘totally blind’, he was playing a guessing game. He was behaving with the girl as if he was not blind. He wanted to hide his blindness from her. In course of the conversation the narrator asked the girl how the outside looked like. Then he thought how the girl would easily understand that he could not see. He felt that it was a mistake to ask a foolish question like that. 

The girl asked the narrator to look out of the window himself. And this helped the narrator to get rid of his doubt immediately. 

Then the narrator moved easily along the berth and felt for the window ledge. The window was open and he faced it, making a pretence of studying the landscape. He heard the panting of the engine, the rumble of the wheels and in his mind’s eye, he could see the telegraph posts flashing by.

Do As Directed :-

1. Few girls can resist flattery. (Complex)

Ans. There are few girls who can resist flattery.

2. “Are you going all the way to Dehra?” I asked. (Narration change)

Ans. I asked if she was going all the way to Dehra.

3. My parents were widely regarded as an ideal couple. (Voice change)

Ans. People widely regarded my parents as an Ideal couple.

4. His smile is like an infant’s. (Verb form ‘smile’)

Ans. He smiles like an infant.

5. A slow stream flows and leaves long strands of silver on the bright grass. (Simple sentence)

Ans. A slow stream flows, leaving long strands of silver on the bright grass. 

6. I’m not nearly as attractive a travelling companion as the one who just left. (Change the degree of adjective)

Ans. The one who just left is a far more attractive travelling companion than me.