The Little Girl
NCERT Solution
Part 2
Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each
Question 1: Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?
Answer: Kezia’s grandmother asked her to make some surprise gift for the father’s birthday. She wanted to make a nice pin cushion for her father. She wanted to stuff the cushion with some scraps. While searching for scrap she found some pieces of papers strewn on the bed. She used them to stuff the pin cushion.
But it was her sheer bad luck that those were not useless papers, but was speech written by her father. He had to deliver that speech at some important function. This made her father angry to the extent that he beat her up.
Question 2: Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?
Answer: Mr. Macdonald was of jovial nature. He used to play around with his kids. On the other hand Kezia’s father was never seen in a playful mood and was always serious. He always scolded Kezia for seemingly minor mistakes. This was his way of bringing up a child.
Question 3: How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?
Answer: When Kezia’s mother falls sick she is feeling lonely. To take solace she goes to sleep in her father’s lap. While consoling her he seems to be an affectionate person. Kezia also feels the warmth of the proverbial bear hug of her father. Now she feels quite safe and secure with her father. She realizes that because of his busy schedule her father is unable to give enough time to the family. When her father falls asleep before her, she realizes that her father is also a human being and he too needs sympathy.
Rain on the Roof
COATES KINNEY
Meaning of Poem
This poem is depicting the overall mood on a rainy night. During night the humid cloud full of water create dark shadows over the star studded sky. The stars are seen as beacons of light in the darkness and the clouds cover those bright stars and create a somber mood. The sadness of darkness starts to weep and shed tears of raindrops. In this situation it is a blissful experience to bury your head in your pillow on your favourite bed. It is even more pleasant to listen to the pattering sound of raindrops on a tin roof as if they are playing some music.
Every raindrop on the tiles of the roof creates a rhythm with your heartbeat. This evokes thousands of dreams making your thoughts busy. While you focus on listening to the pitter-patter on the roof your mind starts weaving recollections of fond memories of yesteryears.
The poet goes back to his childhood and can remember his mother. His mother used to tell stories to lull him into sleep full of dreams. The music being played on the rooftop is like the affectionate look by which his mother used to see him, while he was a kid.