The Shri Ram School Moulsari Campus

First Term Examination, 2018-19

Class XI
English Literature – Answer Scheme

SECTION A
(Answer Any TWO)
The Tempest – W. Shakespeare
Question 1. [2x10=20]
Choose two of the passages (a) to (c) and answer briefly the questions that follow:
a) Taken from Act II, scene i, lines 191-202:
Alonso: What, all so soon asleep? I wish mine eyes
Would, with themselves, shut up my thoughts. I find
They are inclined to do so.
Sebastian: Please you, sir,
Do not omit the heavy offer of it.
It seldom visits sorrow; when it doth,
It is a comforter.
Antonio: We two, my lord,
Will guard your person while you take your rest,
And watch your safety.
Alonso: Thank you. Wondrous heavy.
[Alonso sleeps. Exit Ariel.]
Sebastian: What a strange drowsiness possesses them!
Antonio: It is the quality of the climate.
Sebastian: Why
Doth it not then our eyelids sink? I find not
Myself disposed to sleep.
(i) Where are the speakers? Who does ‘All’ refer to? [1]
They are on the island (where they have been shipwrecked) (½)
‘All’ refers to Gonzalo, Adrian, Francisco and others – mention at least 2 (½)
(ii) Where were they returning from? [2]
They were returning from Tunis (½) where they had gone to attend the wedding (½) of Alonso’s daughter
Claribel (½) to the king of Tunis (½).
(iii) What ‘thoughts’ does Alonso want to ‘shut up’? [2]
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He wants to turn off thoughts of the death of his son Ferdinand (1) who he thinks has drowned in the sea (1).
(iv) Do you think Antonio is honest in his assurance to Alonso? Why? [2]
No (½). After Alonso goes to sleep Antonio plots with Sebastian (½) to kill Alonso and Gonzalo (½) and take
over the throne of Naples (½).
(v) What does Antonio tell Sebastian right after this extract? [2]
He points out that everyone seems to have fallen asleep as if by mutual consent (½). But his own spirits are
alert (½). He sees in Sebastian’s face what he should be (½) He sees a crown dropping on his head (½).
(vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage: [1]
a) Heavy – drowsy (½)
b) Disposed – inclined (½)

b) Taken from Act I, scene ii, lines 108-116:

Prospero: To have no screen between this part he played
And him he played it for, he needs will be
Absolute Milan. Me, poor man, my library
Was dukedom large enough. Of temporal royalties
He thinks me now incapable; confederates
So dry he was for sway, wi’ th’ King of Naples
To give him annual tribute, do him homage,
Subject his coronet to his crown, and bend
The dukedom yet unbowed (alas, poor Milan)
To most ignoble stooping.
i) To whom is Prospero speaking? Who does ‘he’ refer to? [1]
He is speaking to his daughter Miranda (½). This refers to his brother Antonio (½).
ii) Why does Prospero say ‘my library was dukedom large enough’? [2]
Prospero means that to him his library was his dukedom (1). This library, where he dominated was
enough of a domain for him (1).
iii) What did ‘he’ do for his ‘sway’ for power? [2]
Antonio made an alliance with the king of Naples, Alonso (½). The independent dukedom of Milan
became a subordinate to the crown of Naples (½). He agreed to pay the king of Naples an annual tribute
(½), in return for his help in securing the duchy of Milan (½).
iv) How was Prospero preoccupied that ‘he’ could take advantage of him? [2]
Prospero neglected his worldly duties (½) and withdrew himself from public affairs (½). He dedicated
himself to the bettering of his mind (½). Antonio took advantage of this and made himself the Duke
(½).
v) How did ‘he’ acquire all the powers? [2]
Antonio acquired his powers with the help of the king of Naples who was Prospero’s enemy (½). One
night in the darkness (½) the gates of Milan were opened (½) and ministers who were assigned the job
came in and took Prospero and Miranda away (½).
vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage: [1]
a) Screen – protective barrier/ obstruction (½)

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 b) Temporal – worldly (½)

c) Taken from Act II, scene i, lines 295-309:

Antonio: Draw together,
And when I rear my hand, do you the like
To fall it on Gonzalo.
Sebastian: O, but one word –
Enter ARIEL with music and song
Ariel: My master through his art foresees the danger
That you, his friend, are in, and sends me forth
(For else his project dies) to keep them living.
(Sings in Gonzalo’s ear)
While you here do snoring lie,
Open-eyed conspiracy
His time doth take
If of life you keep a care,
Shake of slumber and beware:
Awake, awake!
Antonio: Then let us both be sudden.
Gonzalo [Wakes]: Now, good angels preserve the King!
Alonso [Wakes]: Why, how now, ho! Awake! Why are you drawn?
Wherefore this ghastly looking?
i) To whom is Alonso speaking? [1]
He is speaking to Antonio and Sebastian. (½+½).
ii) What is the ‘project’ that Ariel refers to? Why does he sing in Gonzalo’s ear? [2]
The ‘project’ is Prospero’s plan for Miranda’s marriage to Ferdinand (1). Ariel sings in Gonzalo’s ear
in order to wake him up/ so that the others do not hear him (1).
iii) What reply does the person spoken to by Alonso, give him? [2]
Sebastian tells him that while he was guarding them (½) he heard a loud sound (½) which could have
been made by bulls (½) or lions (½).
iv) How did Gonzalo wake up? [2]
A strange humming sound woke him up (½). Alarmed, he shook Alonso awake (½). Then he saw
Antonio (½) and Sebastian with their swords drawn (½).
v) Why do Gonzalo and Alonso want to leave the place? [2]
Gonzalo wants to go away from the place because of the sound (1) which makes him feel the place is
unsafe. Alonso wants to go in search of his son Ferdinand (1).
vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage: [1]
a) Rear – raise (½)
b) Drawn – unsheathed/ extracted/ pulled out (½)

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 SECTION B
(Answer four questions on at least three textbooks)
THE TEMPEST ⎯ Shakespeare
Question 2.
a) How does Gonzalo’s character stand out from the other characters in Act I and Act II, scene i of
the play The Tempest? [8]
You must use at least 5-6 quotes in this answer.
➢ Gonzalo is a lord at the court of Alonso, the King of Naples. He is present in the opening scene of the play,
The Tempest. He stands out as a character right from the beginning because of his behaviour which is very
different from that of the other passengers in the ship that is caught up in a storm.
➢ While Antonio, the so-called Duke of Milan and Sebastian, the brother of the King of Naples, are issuing
peremptory orders to the boatswain, refusing to listen to his commands, abusing him because of his
outspokenness and generally trying to impress him with their superior rank, Gonzalo speaks calmly,
moderately and even humorously to the ship’s officer.
➢ His treatment of the boatswain in the storm shows that he knows that only the boatswain can save them
and bring the ship safely to harbour in the storm.
➢ He responds to the boatswain’s rude speech by first telling him to keep calm, then with a mild rebuke,
telling him to keep in mind the rank of the people he is talking to so abruptly.
➢ He is understanding of the boatswain’s rude response, pointing out humorously that since the boatswain
looked as if he were born to be hanged, he was obviously not going to drown, and therefore, he would bring
all in the ship safely to land. Thus, we see that Gonzalo is optimistic even while facing such a turmoil as
the tempest at sea.
➢ He is sympathetic by nature, cheerful and optimistic in the face of all adversity – when he thinks the ship
is breaking up, he bids his absent wife and children farewell, and only remarks that he would have preferred
to die on dry land.
➢ In the next scene of the first Act, we get further proof of his compassionate character, when we come to
know that when Antonio usurped the dukedom of Milan, he helped Prospero, the rightful duke, and his
daughter Miranda to survive.
➢ When some supporters of Antonio put them to sea in a frail and shabby boat, Gonzalo provided them with
“Rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries” which they needed. And since he knew how much Prospero
loved his books, he also put in the books from Prospero’s library that were more precious to him than his
dukedom.
➢ In Act II, scene i, his inherent kindness can be seen in his treatment of Alonso who is mourning the death
of his son Ferdinand. His behaviour is in direct contrast to Antonio and Sebastian, who make fun of
everyone, thinking themselves above all the others.
➢ He tries to distract and comfort him by pointing out how lucky they are to be alive. He knows that Alonso
is grief stricken, but he tries to console him with the thought that grief is a part of everyone’s life. Antonio
and Sebastian make fun of him, but he ignores them. He even agrees with Francisco who thinks Ferdinand
has survived.
➢ We get further proof of Gonzalo’s kindness and optimism when he admires the island, commenting on all
its attractions – yet another ploy to distract Alonso.
➢ He is knowledgeable, as his reference to Dido and Carthage reveals. His description of an ideal
commonwealth shows that he is well versed in philosophy since he links his idea of the commonwealth
with that of the prelapsarian society or the Golden Age. Here too, he is seen to be far different from the
other lords, especially Antonio and Sebastian.

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➢ Gonzalo stands out for another reason as well. For all his kindness and compassion for Alonso, he does not
hesitate to rebuke Sebastian for cruelly blaming Alonso for his son’s death. He is critical of Antonio and
Sebastian, notwithstanding their high rank.

b) Prospero uses magic to control both Ariel and Caliban but in different ways. Explain. [6]
Answer in the order of this question.
Ariel
➢ Prospero used his magic to rescue Ariel from within the tree where he had been imprisoned by Sycorax,
the witch, for twelve years.
➢ Thereafter he directed Ariel’s activities for his own benefit, reminding him that he owed his freedom
to Prospero.
➢ It was through Ariel that Prospero worked his magic.
➢ He used Ariel to create a storm, bring the entire crew to the island so that Ferdinand and Miranda could
meet and fall in love.
(2-3 relevant quotes at least)
Caliban
➢ Caliban was the son of Sycorax the evil witch.
➢ Prospero made him his slave by imprisoning him in a cave/ rock.
➢ He was made to collect water and firewood.
➢ If Caliban did not do as he was told or was slow in his work Prospero threatened to give him cramps
and side stitches.
➢ Prospero also threatened to set his spirits on him, who would pinch him until it stung worse than bee
stings
➢ He said he would fill Caliban’s bones with aches, making him roar so loudly that animals would
tremble in fear at the noise.
(2-3 relevant quotes at least)

c) How did Gonzalo describe the island as his commonwealth? [6]

➢ A commonwealth signifies a nation or self-governing community; a body politic. Gonzalo imagines the
island they are on as his commonwealth and goes on to describe how he would rule it were he its king.
➢ In his commonwealth he would carry out all matters differently from the usual customs, and in so excellent
a manner that it would exceed the perfection of the Golden Age, a reference to the first ‘age of man’,
described as a world without discord, war or disease.
➢ There would be no 'traffic' which means there would be no trade or business.
➢ No 'name of magistrate', therefore no one would be in charge of administering the law, as there would be
no law.
➢ 'Letters should not be known', 'Letters' refer to sophisticated learning, therefore there would be no
education, learning or any kind of written records.
➢ Everyone would be the same, there would be no 'riches' and 'poverty' and no 'use of service' meaning there
would be no system of masters and slaves or servants, that is, the subordination of one set of human beings
by another.
➢ The process by which one person succeeds another in the occupation or possession of a position or material
wealth would not exist: thus, no one would inherit or succeed another.

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➢ No 'Bourn, bound of land' meaning Gonzalo wants no private landholdings or no rigid boundaries between
them. There would be no ‘tilth’ or farming labour or what that labour produces: tilled land and agricultural
produce.
➢ 'No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil' – Gonzalo may mean that no precious metals would be used, probably
as mediums of monetary transactions, or perhaps no metals such as iron and steel which would be used to
construct weapons of war. Corn, wine and oil would not be used as means of transactions.
➢ ‘No occupation’ – No one would be employed and all men would be 'idle'; women would also be 'idle' and
'innocent and pure'. Gonzalo does not mean that everyone would be lazy, indolent or useless because they
are unemployed. Instead, he implies that being unemployed they will remain innocent and pure.
➢ No sovereignty – Gonzalo calls for a classless society where the community would rule. Gonzalo proposes
a prelapsarian society in which all inhabitants would share all products without struggling to subsist.
Everyone would be allowed access to everything, 'all things in common nature'.
➢ He would not have 'treason, felony, / Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine'. Since everyone would
share what was available, there would be no need for betrayal or crime and no need for weapons of any
kind with which to fight.
➢ Everything would be produced naturally, in abundance, sufficient to feed his innocent subjects.
➢ This is Gonzalo’s utopian dream. He seems to have borrowed it from Montaigne’s essay Of the Caniballes.

Question 3.
Discuss the significance of Act I Scene I of the play The Tempest. [20]
At least 8-10 good quotes must be used in this answer.
➢ This is the expository scene, introducing the play. A brief explanation of the meaning of the word tempest
must be given in the introduction.
➢ The importance of the title is seen immediately as the expository scene opens with a storm raging about
a ship that is about to founder, threatening to kill the characters before the play has even begun.
➢ The tempest can be seen in two forms – (i) as a natural phenomenon that has a galvanising effect on the
people aboard. (ii) As a mental disturbance causing conflict among various people.
➢ In Act I, scene i, the first form is predominant. The play begins with a “noise of thunder and lightning”
(stage direction). Characters rush frantically in and out, often with no purpose—as when Sebastian,
Antonio, and Gonzalo exit at line 29 and re-enter at 33, indicating the general level of chaos and
confusion. Cries from off-stage create the illusion of a space below-decks.
➢ The boatswain, bent upon getting his ship to safety, is annoyed by the milling passengers asking trivial
(to him) questions. His passengers are royalty, thus powerful people, but in this case, the boatswain freely
orders them below with impunity, since he is handling a crucial job on which their lives depend. Here, a
class conflict can be seen, which does not, however, progress much further at this point.
➢ The scene ends with the storm overwhelming the ship and the passengers moving around in utter panic.
➢ The opening confrontation between Gonzalo and the boatswain reveals one of the most important themes
in The Tempest: class conflict, the discord between those who seize and hold power and those who are
often the unwilling victims of power.
➢ When confronted by members of the royal party, the boatswain orders them to return below deck. He is
performing his job, and to stop in response to Alonso's request for the master would be foolish. The
boatswain cares little for Alonso's rank as king and asks, "What cares these roarers for the name of king?"
(lines 15-16). The king has no protection from the storm, because the storm has little care for a man's
social or political position.
➢ In response, Gonzalo urges the boatswain to remember that the king and his party are the passengers. The
implication is that the boatswain should also remember that his social rank makes him subservient to the

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 royal party, regardless of the circumstances. Gonzalo's words are a clear reminder that even in the midst
of a storm, class or status remains an important part of life.
➢ However, the boatswain is not intimidated and responds that in that case the royal party should "use your
authority," to stop the storm. As far as the boatswain is concerned, all men are equal in a storm and all
equally at risk.
➢ The varied attitudes of Gonzalo, Antonio and Sebastian towards the boatswain give hints of their true
natures which are further revealed later in the play.
Act I, scene i is significant because it introduces the audience to several elements:
➢ The setting – a ship is in the process of foundering during a severe storm at sea (The Tempest). This is a
dramatic beginning and would immediately capture the interest of the audience.
➢ The atmosphere – There is tension and chaos: it brings out the essence of human nature and reveals
character, as in the boatswain and Gonzalo. An element of sarcastic humour is introduced in the quick
repartee between these two characters.
➢ It foreshadows – (i) a shift in setting to some unknown, exotic locale, a characteristic appeal of the Age
of Exploration in Europe (ii) a corresponding change in relationship dynamics, especially those dictated
by societal mores such hierarchical classes.
➢ Ii introduces the major theme of the significance of social hierarchy.
➢ This scene would immediately arrest the attention of the audience and involve them in the unfolding of
the story of the play.

ECHOES
Question 4.
a) Discuss the denouement of the story The Chinese Statue by Jeffrey Archer. [8]
Sir Alexander Heathcote had acquired the Chinese Statue when he was British ambassador in the court of Hzu
Tsi, the empress of China. It was considered to be extremely valuable, being a fine example of the work of
the famous fifteenth century sculptor Pen Q, and had, through the generations, come to be considered the
family’s most precious heirloom. Therefore, it was carefully passed down from father to son until the last male
of the Heathcote family, Alex Heathcote.
Alex Heathcote, who loved spending but not earning any money squandered his inherited wealth by gambling.
When the creditors came to demand the money he owed them, he decided to auction the statue at Sotheby’s
as he was sure the statue would fetch him a fortune.
On the day of the auction the expert at Sotheby’s told him that the statue was fake and would get him around
seven hundred pounds only.
He was walking away, contemplating suicide as his only option, when the expert began talking about the base
of the statue.
When Sir Alexander was given the statue by the Chinese craftsman, it had no base. The craftsman, therefore,
rummaged among his artefacts and found a suitable base for the statue. It was selected very casually by the
old craftsman and the statue affixed on it. As it was rather ugly and not considered to be anything special, it
was retained purely for its functional value.
However, it now turned out that the base which was thought to be fake and possessing no particular artistic
merit, was actually a fifteenth century masterpiece. It was sold for twenty-two thousand guineas.
This surprise twist at the end of a story is a hallmark of Archer’s style. However much one might anticipate
the surprise it always comes from an unexpected direction, one that the reader is not expecting. The Chinese
statue is a fine example of one such story.

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b) ‘Sir Alexander Heathcote, as well as being a gentleman, was an exact man’. Explain. [6]
Sir Alexander Heathcote was both an exact man and a thorough gentleman, as we find in the story The Chinese
Statue by Jeffrey Archer.
He was the only son of a general, and though there was a tradition of Heathcotes serving in the military, Sir
Alexander chose to serve his Queen in the diplomatic service.
In his appearance as well as in his habits, Sir Alexander “was an exact man”. He was exactly six feet three
and a quarter inches tall. He got up at seven o’clock every morning and joined his wife at breakfast where he
ate one boiled egg that had been cooked for exactly four minutes, two pieces of toast with one spoonful of
Coopers marmalade and drank one cup of China tea.
He would leave his home exactly at eight-twenty every morning, taking a hackney coach and arriving at the
Foreign Office promptly at eight fifty-nine a.m.
He returned home at the stroke of six in the evening.
His exact nature led him to write a long and detailed will in which he left precise instructions for the disposal
of the little Chinese statue.
His death too was exact – he died on the stroke of midnight when he was seventy years old.
Sir Alexander Heathcote’s qualities as a gentleman are manifest throughout the story. It is clear that he
belonged to an aristocratic family with a distinguished reputation. He himself was a model of gentlemanly
behaviour.
He was very interested in Chinese art, and his appointment as ambassador in the court of Hzu Tsi, the empress
of China, meant that he would be able to immerse himself in the culture of that land.
He met an old Chinese craftsman on one of his trips around the outskirts of Peking and was delighted with the
treasure trove of sculptures and carved pieces that he found in the workshop.
When he inadvertently expressed a desire to own an exquisite little statue, the craftsman generously gave it to
him. Sir Alexander, in accordance with the customs of the land spent a great deal of thought in reciprocating
with a gift that was not only equal in monetary value but was also something that would be extremely useful
to the craftsman – a house in his village. He was farsighted enough to get the Empress’ approval for his gift,
since it was forbidden for an artisan to accept a gift from a foreigner.
His courteous behaviour with all – be it the Empress, his mandarin interpreter or the Chinese craftsman – was
the hallmark of a true gentleman.
He completed his work in China with an award from the Empress – the Silver Star of China, while the Queen
of England added more honours to the ones he had already earned. This shows yet again the model bureaucrat
that Sir Alexander was.

c) How did Alexander Heathcote get the Chinese Statue? [6]

Sir Alexander Heathcote was in the British diplomatic service. He was appointed Britain’s ambassador to the
court of Empress Hzu Tsi in China by Queen Victoria.
His ministerial appointment was for three years and he took the opportunity to visit outlying districts to learn
more about the country
During one such visit he happened to pass an old craftsman’s workshop. He dismounted his horse and entered
the shop to acquire a small memento.
The shop was filled with delicate art pieces made of jade and ivory. It was so filled with statues that he had to
manoeuvre his way round the shop.
The old shop keeper learnt of Sir Alexander’s love for Ming Art and brought out the Chinese statue to show
him.
Sir Alexander was so enthralled with the exquisite craftsmanship that he made the mistake of expressing his
wish to own the statue.
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According to old Chinese tradition if an honoured guest requests something the giver will grow in the eyes of
his fellow men by parting with it. Thus, the old craftsman then handed over the statue to Sir Alexander.
Sir Alexander tried to pretend that he had been joking, but he knew he could not refuse the gift as to do so
would mean dishonouring the Chinese craftsman. Therefore he accepted the gift and this was how the Chinese
statue came into his possession.

Question 5.
The story Fritz by Satyajit Ray has a sense of suspense and mystery which finally lead to an unusual
ending. Explain. [20]
Horror through inanimate objects is the staple diet of many writers, Satyajit Ray being one of them. In his
story Fritz, a man returns to the circuit house in a town in Rajasthan which he had visited as a child, and is
suddenly reminded of a Swiss doll that his uncle had gifted him, which he had buried in a corner of the lawn
after a dog had torn it apart. That night, Fritz comes back to life, eager to play with his long-lost friend.
The narrator, Shankar, and his friend Jayanto have been friends since they were in school. On one occasion
they decide to go on holiday together to a place called Bundi.
This seems a curious choice but it is soon explained that it is Jayanto’s idea as he had visited the place thirty-
one years ago when he was six years old with his parents and stayed at the same circuit house that they are
now staying in.
From the beginning we see that Jayanto is not himself. He claims that it is because his memories of the place
are slowly coming back.
He recognized some of the old furniture of the place and his memory started coming back slowly. He recalls
a deodar tree sets about trying to locate it. When his friend asks him why he suddenly thought of the tree he
cannot quite remember why.
Here is gradual escalation of the sense of suspense and mystery in the story, as Jayanto’s memories unfold
seemingly haphazardly. However, the reader notices the pattern, that everything he recalls is related to a doll
called Fritz which his uncle had given him.
He remembers his uncle telling him that he had bought the doll in a village in Switzerland. The man who sold
it to him told him that the doll was called Fritz and that he must be called by that name as ‘He won’t respond
to any other.’
There is a detailed description of the doll’s appearance where he appears to be almost human. In fact, Jayanto
used to carry on long conversations with Fritz, and it seemed to him that Fritz listened attentively to whatever
he said.
Jayanto felt that if he could only learn German, he would be actually able to converse with Fritz.
When Shankar naturally asks what happened to the doll, Jayanto’s answer is a long time coming. He says ‘I
had brought it to Bundi. It was destroyed here.’
The doll met a terrible end as it was mauled by two rabid dogs and ripped to pieces. It was tattered and bruised
irreparably.
Like a true friend, Jayanto gave Fritz a deserved burial near the deodar tree in the same Circuit house.
To Shankar, this is a reasonable explanation of why Jayanto has remembered the deodar tree.
Rather tired both men go bed early. Later, Shankar hears a noise and sees a horrified Jayanto, awake and
upright. He says that he heard a scuffling noise, then felt some small animal crawling over his chest.
When they look at his bedclothes they see footprints on his pillow as well. They look for a rodent or animal
but do not find anything. Shankar reassures Jayanto and encourages him to rest after a tiring day. He thinks
Jayanto has had a bad dream.
The next day they return to the fort and the scenes of the previous day repeat themselves. Jayanto is
overwhelmed by the familiar sights of the statues, thrones and the memories.

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Jayanto gradually withdraws and becomes absorbed in some thought. When Shankar asks him why he is so
gloomy, Jayanto divulges his thoughts. He is worried that the night visitor was no one else but Fritz.
Growing concerned about his friend’s fears and mental condition, Shankar gets an idea. He suggests that they
should get the gardener to dig up the old grave of Fritz; this will allay any lingering doubts of Jayanto’s, once
and for all.
Very reluctantly Jayanto agrees and they ask the gardener to dig in a spot near the deodar tree. The narrator
thinks they will find some bits and pieces from the doll.
However, what they actually see leaves them horror-struck. To their shock and bewilderment they find a
perfect human skeleton, pure white in colour and exactly twelve inches long.
The whole story is suggestive of the presence of the supernatural. Was the trip to Bundi prompted by a desire
to revisit childhood scenes or was it a sub-conscious desire for closure regarding a beloved childhood toy?
Throughout the story, there’s a constant feel of foreboding, that Jayanto is not his usual self. He is rather
worried and pensive about something. The past seems is controlling him; he has not let go of his horrible yet
sad memory of his toy Fritz being torn apart by street dogs.
From the beginning the story is full of mystery, a sense of foreboding and at times even horror. The ending
leaves the readers wondering and assuming various possibilities.

Question 6.
How does W. Somerset Maugham present an ordinary life in an extraordinary manner in his story
Salvatore? [20]
In his short story Salvatore, Maugham starts out by saying, "I wonder if I can do it." The reader is unsure what
Maugham is trying to do as the author draws a portrait of a man named Salvatore who faces a series of
disappointments in his life. While serving in the military in China, Salvatore falls ill. Consequently, the woman
he wants to marry refuses to marry him because she is afraid he will not be strong enough to work. Rather
than wallow in self-pity, Salvatore agrees to marry Assunta, a woman he claims is ‘as ugly as the devil’, and
he then faces life with determination and ‘the most beautiful manners I [the author] had ever seen in my life’.
Though he does not live the life he imagined, Salvatore comports himself with goodwill and makes the most
of his marriage, his job as a fisherman, and his children. In the end, the author states that his task was to see
if he could hold the attention of the reader long enough to tell the tale of a good man who possesses an
extremely rare quality that the author describes as ‘Goodness, just goodness’.
Maugham's story has the style of a parable, a didactic tale that is meant to teach a lesson. His character,
Salvatore, is not dynamic; he is static and shows no change as he continually faces life with a cheerful
acceptance and integrity. Maugham holds Salvatore up to the reader as an example of pure radiance and
goodness and as someone who should be emulated in dealing with the trials and tribulations of life.
The story is a very short, simple and straightforward story of a fisherman named Salvatore who lives on an
Italian island. The story is actually a biographical sketch of the protagonist in chronological order. The story
begins when he was a boy of fifteen and ends when he is a married man with two children and a wife living
peacefully the hard life of a common fisherman.
There is nothing extraordinary in Salvatore’s life except for two events: the first that he catches a disease,
rheumatism, from which he never completely recovers; and the second the break- up of the engagement with
the girl he loves. A curious reader may expect a turn of events, a twist in the tale, towards the end of the story.
But that never happens. The lack of a complex plot and a twist that the readers are used to see most of the time
makes us wonder if it has really been a story or just an accumulation of events.
The main theme of the story, as the writer Maugham himself clarifies at the very end, has been the portrayal
of a quality in Salvatore’s life — ‘Goodness, just goodness’. Hence, the story, though apparently seems to be
mere narration of events in a young man’s life, is actually a masterly character sketch of the man.

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The author directly communicates to the readers to say that he just tried to see whether he could hold our
attention for a while as he went on to draw the portrait of a man named Salvatore. He relies on his own
narration of the events. In many places (Salvatore’s marriage with Assunta, his relationship with her etc.)the
author avoids details to keep the story short.

REVERIE
Question 7.
a) Discuss John Brown by Bob Dylan as an anti-war poem. [8]
In the poem John Brown, Bob Dylan has expressed his thoughts about war, and its effects on the soldiers.
Though he has defended himself by saying that he is not a pacifist and that he has never been one, the song
John Brown clearly expresses his disapproval of war.
The poem focuses on the young man ‘John Brown’ who proudly goes off to ‘a good old-fashioned war’ to
fulfil his mother’s wishes. John Brown fights the war and meanwhile his mother brags about him to the whole
neighbourhood, ‘about her son with his uniform and gun’. She receives letters from her son in the beginning
and after a while the letters stop. After a gap, she receives a letter asking her to meet her son who is ‘a-coming
home from the war’.
The mood of the poem changes when the mother sees her son. When ‘she went right down’, she ‘could not
see her soldier son in sight’. His ‘face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off’. He is able to stand up
only because of a metal brace that he wears. He is not able to open his mouth and speak clearly. He breaks his
mother’s illusion of war being something glorious when he tells her about her experience. Regardless of what
Dylan has said about the poem, this part of the poem paints a rather gruesome picture of war and expresses
disapproval of wars in general. John Brown tells his mother that she was acting proud while he was fighting
the war because ‘you wasn’t there standing in my shoes’.
He tells her that when he got there, he no longer knew what he was doing there. He didn’t understand what
purpose he was serving by killing someone. Seeing the enemy at close proximity was the turning point for
him. John Brown was shocked to discover that the enemy’s ‘face looked just like mine’. This shock led to a
realization that he was just ‘a puppet in a play’ a pawn fighting a pointless war meant to satisfy somebody’s
ego. By the time this realization struck him, a cannonball blew his eyes away.
The poet shows us the reality of a battleground and the truth about the condition of the soldiers who do fight
a war. The poet seems to be critical of those people who glorify war. Therefore, the poem is predominantly
anti-war.

b) What was John Brown’s mother’s reaction as she sent her son to war? [6]
The poem begins with John Brown going off to war in a foreign country. His mother is proud that he is going
to serve his nation. On the day he is leaving, he stands straight and tall wearing his uniform. His mother smiles
broadly as she looks at him. She tells her son that he looks very good in his uniform and that she is very proud
that he will be holding a gun. She tells him to do what his captain says and he will get lots of medals which
they will put up on the wall for display. The mother here is ignorant of the realities of war. There is irony in
the image of a mother being proud of a son who is carrying a gun. She seems to think that war is a sort of
game from which her son will come home unscathed. She is too ignorant to realize that war is no game and
that she might never see her son again.
In the third verse we yet again witness the mother’s pride in her son. As John Brown leaves by train, his
mother shouts out, flaunting and boasting, wanting all her neighbours to know that her son is a soldier and
that he is going away to fight in the war. Here we are brought face to face with John Brown’s mother’s
viewpoint: she is not just delighted that her son is a soldier, she also wants to boast about it to other people.

c) How was John Brown’s reaction to war different from his mother’s? [6]
After he comes back from the war, seriously injured, we finally get to hear John Brown’s views about war.
He seems to be condemning his mother when he reminds her how she pushed him to become a soldier, that
she thought joining the army was the best thing he could do. But while he was on the battlefield fighting in
the war, back at home his mother was feeling proud of her soldier son. She was not in his horrific situation.
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John Brown goes on to tell his mother his experiences in the war. He says that when he was in the battlefield
he wondered why he was even there. He was just trying to kill somebody in a do-or-die situation. He says that
the thing that frightened him most of all was when his enemy came very close to him and he saw that he was
just another man like him.
Amidst the chaos of war, we find John Brown thinking that he was just like a puppet in a play, being
manipulated by the politicians and higher-level officers. Bob Dylan here compares war with a puppet show –
an apt metaphor indeed. However, the strings holding this puppet broke when a cannonball came through the
smoke and uproar and blew his eyes away.
After John Brown has finished telling his mother how he received his injuries, he turns to walk away from
her. As he turns to go, he calls his mother close and drops his medals into her hand. By this act, John Brown
symbolically rejects war and his mother – symbolizing his motherland? – for betraying him. He makes it clear
that medals are empty tokens of honour, not worth the suffering he has gone through and the damage he will
carry throughout his life.

Question 8.
In the poem, The Spider and the Fly by Mary Botham Howitt the spider is a versatile seducer and his
words are insidiously veiled to trap the fly. Elucidate. [20]
The Spider and the Fly is a serious piece in a humorous vein. Humour used like this is like bitter medicine
taken with sugar – helps things go down easily. The poem takes us through a spider’s ultimately successful
attempts in enticing a fly into its web.
The spider’s pursuit of the fly begins with a charming invitation into his home. Yet this sociable chat is edged
with a sense of mistrust, a sense of danger that comes with these two characters, the spider and the fly, being
natural predator and prey. By inviting the fly to spy into his abode, the spider is trying to send the message
that he considers the fly to be close. The spider portrays his home as a mysterious wonderful place. More
details are added to arouse the fly’s curiosity. The parlour may be reached through a ‘winding stair’ and it is
filled with ‘many pretty things’.
Thankfully, the fly sees through the spider’s deviousness. She knows that those who go through the ‘winding
stair’ into his home never come out. It implies she is aware that the spider has eaten his previous guests. This
is one extended invitation she shouldn’t be accepting. She clearly declines, telling the spider that to ask her
into his home is ‘in vain’ – or useless.
The spider has been keeping a close eye on the fly, so he tries a different tactic for his next move. This time
the spider feigns concern. Posing as a sympathizer, the spider pretends to fret over how tired the fly must be
– ‘I’m sure you must be weary, dear’– after what he feels is a day of intense flying. He goes so far as to
personally offer her a respite from the day’s activities. The cunning villain also adds a subtle dose of flattery.
‘Soaring up so high’ is how he describes the fly’s flight. He hopes the fly will lower her guard if she feels that
she has a kindly shoulder to lean on.
He temptingly offers his prospect of a little rest like offering water to a thirsty traveller. A cosy little bed, with
light sheets to rest on; a quiet place, with pretty curtains drawn around to make it cool and dark. To an
exhausted person, this would be bliss, the perfect atmosphere to ‘snugly tuck’ in. This means to ensure a
comfortable snooze, by securing the bedsheets closely around oneself. Interestingly, the ‘fine and thin’ sheets
bring to mind the fine silk of a cobweb. If the spider tucks the fly into this bed, she could find herself in
permanent slumber.
Weary or not, the fly is still alert to the perils of falling for the spider’s flattery. She turns him down on his
own offer, remarking that everyone knows of the spider’s ill repute as a host. As she hears, no one who goes
for a sleepover at the spider’s, ever wakes up again. Her refusal is not just based on her own observations
now.
This time, she is even more firm. In addition to her “O no, no!” note her repetition of ‘never’ for emphasis –
“They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed.”

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The spider continues to persevere. Now he tries to manipulate the fly into feeling guilty for not accepting his
many gestures of friendship. The spider is eager to prove his friendship – but is still on his terms. At the end
of the day, he is using guilt as another roundabout way to get the fly into his home. ‘I have within my pantry
good store of all that’s nice’– These constant invitations to see or sample something or another in his house is
almost a pitiful refrain. He is desperate and at his wit’s end (or so it seems) on how to gain the fly’s trust.
It is commendable the way the fly fights politeness with politeness. She addresses the spider as ‘Kind sir’ – a
dainty reply to his ‘Dear friend’. It shows that while the fly shows courtesy to the spider, she is not keen on
him as a friend and will still keep her distance. The fly then proceeds to firmly turn down his invitation and
tactfully alludes that she already knows what’s in the spider’s pantry (his past victims) and is not interested in
knowing more.
Vanity now becomes the spider’s choice weapon. He heaps flattery on the fly. In praising her wit and wisdom,
the spider sends the message that he acknowledges that the fly is a smart creature. This well-placed
compliment could have lulled her into a false sense of security, for the fly could assume that she was smart
enough to see through the spider’s evil plans.
Immediately after, the spider begins to praise her loveliness – those gauzy wings and brilliant eyes. The spider
speaks as if the fly does not realize her own beauty. He wants to show her how lovely she is, an invitation to
see herself in the looking glass. One moment is all he asks of her, one moment is all he needs.
It is something to note that until now, the spider used to ask for the fly’s consideration – ‘Will you walk into
my parlour?’ ‘Will you rest upon my little bed?’ ‘Will you please to take a slice?’ But this time he does not
ask. His temptation takes the form of a suggestion. It seems like almost as if there is a strategy to these tactics
he uses.
The fly’s tone now begins to change. From the earlier unhesitating “O no, no!” the fly doesn’t seem too
vehement in her refusal now. True, she hasn’t accepted the spider’s invite. But while she hasn’t said yes, she
hasn’t given an outright ‘no’ like she used to earlier either.
This hesitation from the fly and not an outright falling for the spider’s flattery is an insight into the poet’s
understanding of the human psyche. Very rarely do people change their stances/opinions suddenly unless
something drastic occurs. This juncture is also a kind of watershed moment where the reader senses that the
fly may actually be warming up to the spider. It also creates suspense – will the fly fall for the spider or will
she stand by her better instincts?
After all that talk of the fly being witty and wise, we now see what the spider actually thinks of the fly – he
calls her ‘silly’. Like so many others he has lured before, he is confident that she has predictably fallen for
his honey tongued scheme. Up until now, just like the fly, we had our suspicions – the fly’s discomfort, her
observations on the guests that never return, the rumours about the spider, the spider’s continuous wheedling
to come to his home. But it is at this point in the poem, that the spider’s evil intent becomes clear.
While we may still be guessing as to whether the fly will stay away, the spider seems to be in no doubt of the
outcome – ‘For well he knew the silly fly would soon be back again’. You can literally see him gloating. He
weaves a web not easily noticeable – ‘a subtle web’ – ready to trap the fly. His devious plan comes to light as
he sets his table for the fly – not as his guest to dine with, but as his feast to dine on.
‘Come hither, hither, pretty fly,’ the spider calls out eagerly. Feeling like he has baited his prey, the spider
rapidly reels the fly in with vivid flattery. The ‘robes of green and purple’ refer to the colour of the fly’s body,
the ‘crest’ or crown likely the fly’s antenna. ‘Gauzy wings’ have now become ‘pearl and silver wing’; ‘brilliant
eyes’ are now ‘eyes like diamond bright’. More exquisite detail follows. The poet likens the fly’s bright eyes
to diamonds, against the spider’s dull eyes which are compared to lead. The spider is self-depreciating so as
to highlight the fly’s beauty.
‘Alas, Alas!’ – The poetic lament for ‘Oh no!’ is uttered! With these words, one can only foresee doom for
the fly. What’s even more vexing is that the fly was actually a wise creature at the beginning. Vanity will be
her downfall and she becomes silly and foolish. Lured in by the spider’s devious sweet talk – his ‘wily,
flattering words’– the fly sets aside her sensible self. Yet, there’s still a part of her that is wary of how safe the
situation is. We see her ‘slowly flitting by’– guardedly testing the waters as she comes closer to the spider’s
home.

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Mesmerized by thoughts of her reflection, she gradually approaches the spider’s web. Unheeding her instincts,
the fly hardly offers any resistance. The poet repeatedly stresses how the fly is ‘thinking only of her brilliant
eyes, and green and purple hue’. Clearly engrossed in her own beauty, the fly is impervious to the danger she
is in.
This is the moment the spider had been building up so long for. Quickly, he pounces on her – ‘fiercely held
her fast’. Now deadly and focused on his goal, the spider wastes no time. The home that he had so charmingly
described before reveals its deadly designs. As the poem rapidly takes us through the spider’s winding stair,
his dismal den, his little parlour, our foreboding is realized, and we know there is a grisly end for the poor fly.
For just like she remarked once of the others before her, ‘she ne’er came out again!’
There’s a change in the narration style of the poem as the poet ends her tale. She breaks off from the
storytelling mode and directly addresses her audience, offering up a warning or moral to conclude the poem.
‘Take a lesson from the Spider and the Fly’, the poet counsels. Be distrustful of useless, sweet talk that is
insincere. Not all praise or advice is genuine, therefore you must be careful of who you listen to. ‘Unto an evil
counsellor close heart, and ear, and eye’. The poet would rather like us not coming into contact at all with
sweet tongued people with not-so-sweet intentions.

Question 9.
The poem The Gift of India by Sarojini Naidu is the plea of a mother and the glorification of the
sacrifices made by Indian soldiers. Explain with reference to the poem. [20]
The poem, The Gift of India, consists of two distinct parts, the plea of a mother being one and the glorification
of the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers being the other.
It is in the last stanza of the poem that the speaker, who seems to be Mother India, talks about the ensuing
peace after the war and the martyrdom of the countless soldiers. In these last six lines, the narrator imagines
that after the hate and horror of war is ended, the colonial ruler will be establish peace by rebuilding a new
and different life from what it was before. Life will be refashioned, it will go back to normal with drastic new
changes. People will pay their respects to those who fought in the war, the comrades in many ranks who gave
their life. The many soldiers who sacrificed their lives would be remembered and thanked through memorial
monuments (cenotaphs) erected in their honour. They will honour the deeds of those soldiers, who will never
be forgotten. When such a time of peace comes, the speaker asks that the blood of her martyred sons be
remembered as well, that they be honoured as well. The last line is significant – it is both a plea and a warning.
As a subjugated entity, Mother India requests the colonial authority to also remember the sacrifice that her
sons have made; it is also a warning that if the British do not acknowledge the debt that is owed to Indians in
the form of some reciprocal gift (Swaraj?), they will have to pay a heavy price for it.
The poem is a tribute to and a glorification of the contribution of Indian soldiers in World War I.
The first six lines of the poem are about the gifts that Mother India has bestowed upon her colonizers, the
British. The persona of Mother India, who is the narrator in this poem is addressing the colonizer. She asks if
she has held back any gift from the colonial authority. She goes on to list the various gifts she has made,
beginning with the material objects such as textiles, food-grains and money and thus least important, and
proceeding to the most precious gift of all, her precious sons. The sons have been given to fight in the First
World War: obviously, most are fated to die in the War. Mother India is deeply saddened at this thought.
In order to understand these lines, we must look at India’s history — especially the time around which this
poem was written. It was 1915, in the middle of World War I, when India was still under the British rule. A
lot of Indian soldiers employed in the British forces fought in the World War for the allies. The poem can be
seen as the poet’s homage for these soldiers.
The narrator reveals where and how the Indian soldiers died, focussing on their deaths far from home, scattered
all over the various theatres of war. In fact, 1.3 million Indian soldiers fought in the European, Mediterranean,
Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and East African theatres of World War I. Abundant similes and metaphors have
been used to describe the scattered graves of the sons of India.
Mother India’s deep grief at the loss of her sons is mixed with pride in their endeavour; hope that they may
have survived transforms into an image of the future that is “sad glorious” (could it refer to the attainment of
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self-government?) Victory has been achieved, but at a heavy cost, symbolised by the flag which is “torn red”
– battered by war and bloodied. She asks if the people in power can understand these emotions felt by her and
all mothers who have lost their sons in battles.

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