1 THANK YOU M'am by LANGSTON HUGHES A. Answer Thes
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CLASS 11 SUBJECT – ENGLISH Chapters 1, 2, 3, CHAPTER – 1 THANK YOU M'AM By LANGSTON HUGHES A. Answer these questions in 30 – 40 words. 1.What did the boy try to snatch? Answer : The boy tried to snatch the purse of Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones to get money so that he can purchase blue suede shoes. 2.Why was he not successful in his attempt? Answer: He was not successful in his attempt because the strap of a purse broke with the single tug the boy gave it from behind. But the boy’s weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose his balance. So, instead of running away as he had hoped, the boy fell on his back on the sidewalk, and his legs flew up. 3.What did the woman do in response? Answer: The large woman simply turned around and kicked him directly to his blue-jeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled 4.Why did the boy not run away when the woman finally let go of his neck? Answer: The boy did not run away when the woman finally let go of his neck because he realized his mistakes and he was sorry for the action he had done. Moreover, he was given second chance by the woman when she took him at her apartment rather than to the police. 5.Why was the boy trying to steal? Answer: The boy said that the reason behind his action of trying to steal the purse of the woman was because he wanted to buy a pair of blue suede shoes. 6.Why did the woman stop watching the boy once she was inside the room? Answer: The woman stopped watching the boy once she was inside the room because she was well aware that the boy had realized the wrong action he has committed. The boy was thrilled by the motherly affection showered on him by the woman whom he tried to steal her purse. 7.Why did the woman give the boy to eat? What does this tell you about her financial situation? Answer: The woman gave the boy some lima beans and ham she had in her icebox, made the cocoa, and set the table. The food which has been served to the boy shows that the woman was poor and could hardly get a decent meal. 9.Did the boy ever see the woman again? Do you think she still impacted his life? Answer : No, the boy never saw the woman again. The encounter with the woman would definitely impact the boy’s life even if he never met the woman again. Mrs Luella Bates punished him for his crime, then she treated him with good food and advised him never to snatch anyone’s purse in future. As a good woman, she treated the boy with motherly affection. She even gave him ten dollars to buy a new pair of blue suede shoes. B. Think and answer in 100 – 150 words. 1.What message does the story have for the reader? Answer: In ‘Thank You M’am' by Langston Hughes, the reader becomes aware of the self- respect to which Luella Bates Washington Jones holds herself and everyone she comes into contact with. She is both shocked and sympathetic towards Roger’s crime. Instead of judging Roger, she immediately accepts some forms of responsibilities for him. Mrs Luella Bates shows her concern to the boy who tried to snatch her purse to buy a pair of blue suede shoes. Though she appears to be tough and aggressive she gives him kind treatment. She even gives ten dollars to buy his desired shoes advising not to steal again. The theme of love and forgiveness is another message for the reader. Even though Luella is poor enough, she gives love to the boy and forgives him. She knows that Roger represents so many young people who have no role model and she just hope that she had a sufficient impression on him. The story conveys the message that situations and circumstances force people into doing things like Roger does. If only they are treated with kindness they may never indulge in such acts again. As such, kindness is an effective tool for changing a criminal behaviour, as people respond more positively to it than to punishment. 2.Do you think Roger expected the lady to behave as she did? Give examples to support your answer. Answer: No, Roger did not expect the lady to behave as she did. Here are the examples to support the answer. When the lady caught the boy who attempted to snatch her purse, she dragged him home to teach him right from wrong. Then she told him to wash his face and also fed him a good food. The woman wanted to test Roger so she left the door open and kept the purse on the bed where Roger was there. The boy had many chances of escaping, but he did not run because he preferred to keep her trust in the same way she gave him. When Roger did not take the purse which was right next to him showed that he has turned himself from a thief into a better new person in a day because of the lady’s guidance. The boy could remember the lady’s gesture and the trust she instilled in him and perhaps never indulge in stealing again. 3.What do you think have happened if the boy had tried to run away? Answer: If the boy had tried to run away he would never have witness such transformation in his life. The boy did not expect such reaction from the lady from whom he tried to snatch the purse. At first Roger thought that he would escape after snatching the purse. But to his surprise, his plan back fired and he was under the clutches of the lady. When the lady took him to her apartment, his life changed instantly. He realized the act he has done and felt sorry for his action when the lady treated him with kindness rather than anger and punishment. Roger felt that he was given a second chance by the lady and by life itself. This transformation would never had happened if roger ran away. 4. Why do you think the older woman treated the boy as she did? Do you think she ever intended to take him to jail? Answer: The older woman treated the boy a she did because she was once a young girl and she had made mistakes in her life. So she wanted the boy to learn from his mistake and to change his life for good. She admitted that she had done things which she would not tell him or God. No, the woman doesn’t seem to have the intention to take him to jail, in fact she narrated to him about her childhood and she did not want Roger to make some mistake that she did. She wanted to give him second chance to transform himself into a better person Through her act kindness by taking him home, feeding him and giving him money in the end. This impacted the boy’s life more rather than sending him to jail. CHAPTER - 2 NO MEN ARE FOREIGN By JAMES KIRKUP A. Read the lines from the poem and answer the questions. 1. Remember, no men are strange, no countries, Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes Like ours; a. What does the poet mean by the word ‘strange’? b. Which uniforms does the poet refer to here? c. What is meant by the words ‘a single body breathes’? Answers: a. By the word strange the Boyd means uncommon, different or something which are hard to understand. b. The uniforms the poet Referrers in the poem is the uniforms worn by soldiers in the battlefield. It signifies unity and a Sense of Brotherhood. c. By the words ‘a single body breathes’ the poet meant to say that underneath soldiers uniforms a human being breaths the breath of life just like any other person. 2. Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read a labor not different from our own. a. Which lines are being spoken of? b. What do we read in these lines? c. Why is the labor not different from ours? Answers: a. The lines Being spoken of are The marks in their hands caused by callousness of hard work. b. In these we read the message that there is no division of labour among all human races. The poet Is sure that every human being is capable of loving, feeling and thinking. c. Their labor is not different from ours because their hands work for their livelihood in the same way we do for our survival. 3. Remember, we who take arms against each other it is the human earth that we defile. Our Hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence Of air that is everywhere our own, a. What does the poet Mean by the phrase ‘take arms’? b. How do we defile the earth and outrage the air? c. Explain ‘Hells of fire and dust’. Answers: a. The phrase ‘take arms' Means to fight against each other. It is the war that brings destruction, exploitation and ruins to the human earth. b. We defile the earth and outrage the air because of war. War pollutes the earth by creating hatred, chaos and enmity among men.