9 english the little girl

8/14/2019 9 English The Little Girl

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Finish Line & Beyond

The Little Girl

I. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

1. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?

Answer: Kezias father was a strict person, who always used to give commands toeverybody else in the house. He never seemed to smile. He was having an over-

powering personality. So Kezia was always in awe of him.

2. Who were the people in Kezias family?

Answer: Apart from Kezia and her father, there was Kezias mother, grandmother

and a cook in the family.

3. What was Kezias fathers routine(i) before going to his office?(ii) after coming back from his office?

(iii) on Sundays?

Answer: (i) Before going to office the father used to give a casual kiss and askedher to say goodbye.

(ii) After coming back from office he would ask for newspaper and a cup of tea.

(iii) On Sundays he would sleep on the sofa with his face covered with his favourite

cushion.

4. In what ways did Kezias grandmother encourage her to get to know herfather better?

Answer: Kezias grandmother used to encourage Kezia to serve tea and to fetch

spectacles for her father, so that she could get opportunity to interact with him.

II. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write downyour answers in two or three paragraphs each.

1. Kezias efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much.

How did this happen?

Answer: Kezias grandmother asked her to make some surprise gift for the fathers

birthday. She wanted to make a nice pin cushion for her father. She wanted to stuffthe 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. Thismade her father angry to the extent that he beat her up.

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2. Kezia decides that there are different kinds of fathers. What kind of

father was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezias father?

Answer: Mr. Macdonald was of jovial nature. He used to play around with his kids.On the other hand Kezias father was never seen in a playful mood and was always

serious. He always scolded Kezia for seemingly minor mistakes. This was his way ofbringing up a child.

3. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her

sympathy?

Answer: When Kezias mother falls sick she is feeling lonely. To take solace she goesto sleep in his fathers 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 shefeels 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 tooneeds sympathy.

Rain on the Roof

When the humid shadows hoverOver all the starry spheres

And the melancholy darknessGently weeps in rainy tears,

What a bliss to press the pillowOf a cottage-chamber bed

And lie listening to the patterOf the soft rain overhead!

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 seenas beacons of light in the darkness and the clouds cover those bright stars and cre-

ate a somber mood. The sadness of darkness starts to weep and shed tears of rain-drops. 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 rain-drops on a tin roof as if they are playing some music.

Every tinkle on the shinglesHas an echo in the heart;

And a thousand dreamy fanciesInto busy being start,

And a thousand recollections

Weave their air-threads into woof,As I listen to the patter

Of the rain upon the roof.

Every raindrop on the tiles of the roof creates a rhythm with your heartbeat. Thisevokes thousands of dreams making your thoughts busy. While you focus on listen-



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ing to the pitter-patter on the roof your mind starts weaving recollections of fond

memories of yesteryears.

Now in memory comes my mother,As she used in years agone,

To regard the darling dreamersEre she left them till the dawn:

O! I feel her fond look on meAs I list to this refrain

Which is played upon the shinglesBy the patter of the rain.

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 therooftop is like the affectionate look by which his mother used to see him, while he

was a kid.

COATES KINNEY


9 english the little girl

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