HIRANANDANI FOUNDATION SCHOOL, THANE

Second Comprehensive Examination January, 2019

Subject: English II (Literature)
Std. IX Time: 2hrs
Date:02/01/2020 Marking Scheme M.Marks: 80

SECTION A – DRAMA
Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice
Question 1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
You knew, none so well, none so well as you
Of my daughter’s flight

(i) Who is the speaker? Who are the listeners? Who is the daughter? [3]
Ans. The speaker of the above extract is Shylock.
Salarino and Salanio are the listeners.
The daughter referred in the above extract is Jessica.

(ii) What advice did the speaker give the daughter before leaving the house? [3]
Ans. Before leaving the house Shylock tells Jessica to fasten up the doors of the
house, not to go up to the windows when she hears the drums and shrill notes of
fife. He tells her not to stretch her neck out over the public street to gaze on
Christian fools with painted faces. She has to close all the windows so that no
sounds of foolish displays may enter his serious house.

(iii) What does the speaker mean by ‘my daughter’s flight’? Who brings the speaker
the information about the ‘daughter’s flight’? From which place did he bring the
information? [3]
Ans. Shylock’s daughter, Jessica’s elopement with Lorezo is referred as ‘my
daughter’s flight’. Tubal, a friend o Shylock brought the message from Genoa.

(iv) What was the information that was brought to the speaker about the daughter’s
flight? What other information did the speaker recive? [3]
Ans. Tubal informs Shylock that he could not find Jessica as she had gone away
to some other place. He reports that he had heard that Jessica had spent four
score ducats in Genoa in one evening and Jessica had brought a monkey in
exchange for a turquoise ring. He informed Shylock that he had heard in
Genoa that one of Antonio’s large ship has been wrecked on the way back to
Tripolis.

(v) What were the opposing reactions we see of the speaker in this scene? Which
information saddens him the most? Why? What do we learn about his character
from the latter reaction? [4]
Ans. In this scene Shylock is simultaneously grieved and elated. Grieved because
of his daughter’s deceit and elated because of Antonio’s loss of ship and he being
to pay the forfeiture.
Shylock is sad when Tubal tells Shylock that one of the merchants showed a ring
which Jessica had given him payment for a monkey that she had bought from
him.
Shylock was grief-stricken for he guesses that it was the turquoise ring of his late
wife, Leah, had given him. He says it is an agony for him to hear this, as he would
not have parted with it for the whole forest of monkeys. This reveals that he has
human feeling of affection and sentiment for his dead wife.

Question 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Behold, there stands the caskets, noble prince:
If you choose that wherein I am contained,
Straight shall our nuptial rites be solemnized;
But if you fail, without more speech, my lord,
You must be gone from hence immediately.
 (i) Who is the speaker? Who is referred as the ‘noble prince’? Where does the scene
take place? [3]
Ans. Portia is the speaker.
She is speaking to the Prince of Arrogon.
The scene takes place in a room in Portia’s house at Belmount.

(ii) Which casket did the ‘noble prince’ choose? What was inscribed on it? What was
inscribed on the other two caskets? [3]
Ans. The Prince of Arragon chooses the silver casket. On the silver casket it was
written, ‘Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves’.
On the lead casket it was written “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he
hath.
On the gold casket it was written “ Who chooseth me shall gain what many men
desire”

(iii) What did the ‘noble prince’ find in the casket chosen by him? What was the
message that he found in it? [3]
Ans. The price of Arragon found a scroll and the head of a blinking idiot. The
message in the scroll said that the silver metal of the casket is tested seven times
seven by fire. A mind which never makes an error of judgment is similarly tested
seven times. Some people find their happiness in shadows and follow unreality since
their happiness is only shadowy and unreal. There are many living fools whose
foolishness is hidden by their silvery hair because they have the appearance of being
venerable and wise. One of these is this fool’s head which is concealed in the silver
casket.

(iv) Name the first suitor who makes the choice of casket? How does he describe the role
of luck in the casket lottery. [3]
Ans. The Prince of Morroco was the first suitor to make the choice of casket. To
explain the luck factor the prince of Morroco uses the example of Hercules/ Alcides
and his page Linchas. He states that if the superhero of the greek myths and his
humble servant sat down to play dice, a game of luck, the winning throw may come
from the hand of the servant, who is otherwise no match for Hercules. Likewise,
since the casket lottery is a matter of chance, the valiant may lose and a weaker,
unlikely suitor may end up choosing the correct casket.

(v) Why did the ‘noble prince’ not choose the other two caskets? [4]
Ans. The Prince of Arragon rejects the lead casket because of the dull and plain
appearance. He says lead must be more attractive before he risks anything for it.
He rejects the gold casket because he says that the words ‘many men’ probably
refers to the foolish majority, who are so slow-witted and who have so little that they
judge only by outward appearance. They have never been taught to follow any more
trustworthy guide than their own foolish vision. They are like swallow that instead
of seeking a sheltered place for its nest, constructs it in the most exposed place like
the outer wall, unprotected from any stormy weather, or any accident which may
occur. Similarly, the foolish common people who judge by the outside of things fall
into errors and calamity.

SECTION B – POETRY
Treasure Trove
Question 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
‘Tis some poor fellow’s skull,’ said he,
‘who fell in the great victory.’

(i) Who is the speaker? To whom is he speaking? Where are they? [3]
Ans. Old Kasper is the speaker
He is speaking to his grandchildren Petterkin and Welhelmine
They are sitting before the cottage door

(ii) Which incident prompted the speaker to give an account of the great victory? [3]
Ans. Petterkin had been playing when he found a skull beside the rivulet. He had
brought it home as he wanted to know what it was. He asked his grandfather, old
Kasper, to explain what it was. His grandfather took the skull and said that it
belonged to a poor fellow who must have lost their lives in the battle of Blenheim.

(iii) How did the battle affect the speaker’s family? What other sights flash through
his mind while he narrates his family’s ordeal? [3]
Ans. Old Kasper tells that his own father had lived at Blenheim. During the war,
soldiers had burnt his father’s house and he was forced to leave the place with his
wife and children. Thus he had become homeless. He further says that the war was
terrible. Many pregnant women and new born babies had died. He also mention
about the shocking sight at the battle field where thousands of dead bodies lay
rotting in the sun.

(iv) Name the two countries that fought each other in the battle. Who won the battle?
Who led them to the victory? [3]
Ans. The war was fought between England and France . The English and the
Austrian on one side French on the other side. In this war the English defeated the
French. Duke of Marlbro and Prince Eugene led them to the victory.

(v) Why has the poet repeatedly used the phrase ‘twas a great victory’? What was the
contrasting view point given in the poem? [4]
Ans. Old Kasper is aware of the damage caused by the war, yet he seems more
interested and aware of the victory achieved in the war than its purpose or
benefits. Thus Old Kasper repeats that it was a great victory as this is all he
knows about the war.
The poem seems to project the difference between the viewpoint of the old
Kasper and the children. The poet brings about the confrontation between the
conventional and instinctive response and brings about the reality of the wicked
thing called ‘famous victory’ by the old Kasper.

Question 4
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin.
(i) How many people held the logs in their hands? How did they come there? What was
the weather like? [3]
Ans. There are six people in this group. They have arrived here by happenstance. It
is an extreme cold weather.

(ii) Why did the first two men hold back their logs? What character traits would you
associate with ‘the first man’ and the ‘next man’? [3]
Ans. The first two person in the group was a woman. She held her log back because
she noticed one person among the group was black. She was a racist.
The second person in the group was a bigot. He also held his log back because he
noticed one person was not from his religion.

(iii) Why wouldn’t the third man put his log in the fire? What thoughts preoccupied
the fourth man? [3]
Ans. The third one was a poor man and was envious of the rich man. He think the
rich as unworthy. He is prejudiced and thus does not put his log to use.
The rich consider the poor as ‘lazy shiftless’ i.e lacking any ambition and energy.
The thought of keeping the wealth he has in store safe from the lazy poor man
preoccupied the rich man’s mind.

(iv) Who among the gathering was an opportunist? How can you say so? What
‘proof of human sin’ is being referred in the extract? Explain. [3]
Ans. The sixth man in the group was an opportunist. The last man of the group
played the selfish game of give and take. Since no one else offered their l
og to renew the fire, the last man also steps back.
All the six people died with their logs tightly clutched in their hands. Their
indifference, animosity, discrimination invited death. This ‘proof of human sin’
is being referred here.

(v) Would you say that ‘The Cold Within’ is an apt title for this poem? Justify your
 answer with apt examples from the poem. [4]
Ans. In the poem “The Cold within”, the poet ‘James Patrick Kinney’ has a
strong message for the mankind. You may say: unity is strength or even live and
let live. The poem is a simple yet powerful reminder that if we selfishly hold onto
the world’s resources and the wealth that it has to offer, if we persist in
discriminating on grounds of class, race, religion, caste, gender and ethnicity, we
are all lost! To express his message well, the poet has used a simple symbolic
story of the six persons gathered around a fire in a winter evening. Everyone had
a piece of wood that could keep the fire burning to keep them warm. But none of
them agreed to share their wood just because of their discrimination for others.
Some had the racial hatred, some were prejudiced with financial and social
classes and some merely narrow minded and miserly. All of them had something
common among them-human sin as the poet sys it. It was the ‘cold within’-the
lack of warm human spirit in their hearts that brought their death in the end. It
only teaches us to live together and to live and let live.

SECTION C – PROSE
Treasure Trove
Question 5
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The White Chief says that the Big Chief at Washington sends us greetings of
friendship and goodwill. This is kind of him for we know he has little need of our
friendship in return. His people are many.

(i) Who is the speaker? Which tribe did he represent? Who is being referred to as
‘White Chief’ [3]
Ans. The speaker is the Chief Seattle
He belongs to Suquamish tribe.
The Governor is referred as the White Chief.

(ii) Who is the ‘Great Chief at Washington’? What offer is given to the speaker
and his people? Why does he call this offer ‘just and generous’? [3]
Ans. The President of the United States of America, is the Great Chief at
Washington. The Great Chief at Washington wishes to buy the land of the Native
Americans. However he is willing to allow them to live comfortably. He calls this
offer just and generous because he feels that the red Indians no longer have the
rights that they need respect and are no longer in teeming number like they once
were and therefore have little need of vast land

(iii) What does the White chief promise in return of the offer? What guarantee does
the speaker asks for in return? [3]
Ans. In return of the offer the big chief promise to protect the Red Indians from
their ancient enemies the Haidas and Tsimshians. The brave warriors will be a
bristling wall of strength and his wonderful ships of war will fill their harbous.
In return Chief Seattle ask for the guarantee that they will be given the right to visit
the tombs of their ancestors without molestation

(iv) How does the speaker compare the strength of his people with that of the white? [3]
Ans. Seattle says that there was a time when his people were large in number they
covered the land as waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell-paved floor now they
are nothing more than a mournful memory. He compares the Whites to the grass
that covers the vast prairies, large in number. His people are few and they resemble
the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain.
(v) How does the speaker prove that White man’s God is not the God of the
speaker’s tribe? [4]
Ans. Chief Seattle says that the God of the White man loves his people and hates
Seattle’s people. He protects them lovingly and leads them like a father leads his
infant son. But he has forsaken Seattle and his people.
White man’s god makes the pale face people wax stronger every day and soon they
will fill the land but Seattle people are ebbing away like a rapidly receding tide that
will never return. He say that if they have a common god, He must be partial for he
came to the pale face children. They never saw Him. He gave the whites the laws but
had no words for His red children.

Question 6
Answer the following question with reference to T.S Aurtur’s short story, ‘An Angel
in Disguise’:

(i) How did the mother die? What kind of relation did the mother have with the others
in the village? What changes occurred in the behaviour of the villagers after the
mother’s death? [4]
Ans. Mother died when she fell on a threshold while she was drunk.
The woman doesn’t have good relation with others. She was not liked by anyone in
the village due to her bad behaviour and habits. She had been despised, scoffed at,
and angrily denounced.
After the death of the mother the neighbours took grave clothes for decent
interment of the body and food for the motherless starving children.

(ii) What was the prospective future of the children after the death of their
mother? Who was the youngest? What has happened to her? What was suggested for
her by the neighbours? Why ? [4]
Ans. John the oldest boy was adopted by farmer Jones. Kate, a girl between ten and
eleven years was adopted by Mrs. Ellis. Maggie who had injured herself two years
ago was crippled for life and was not adopted by anyone.
Maggie was the youngest.
Two years ago, Maggie had fallen from the window and had injured her spine which
made her bed ridden.
The neighbours suggested that Maggie should be taken to the poor-house because
for her it would be a blessed change where she will be kept clean, have healthy food,
and be doctored.

(iii) Who is the angel in disguise in the story? Justify your answer with suitable instances
In the lesson. [8]
Ans. Maggie was an Angel for Mr. Thomson and also Mr. Thomson was an angel
for Maggie
(Students to give their opinion.)
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