CH1: ROMEO AND JULIET

Q1) What similes does Romeo use to convey Juliet's beauty?: When he compares her to a
gold earring on an Ethiope's ear. compares her with a snowy dove and call her friends as crows.

Q2)How according to Juliet would Romeo be immortalised to the world:She knows that
their love does not have a successful future. she that in case of her death, takeRomeo as well
and make him a star to decorate the sky. He would make the sky beautiful and the whole world
would fall in love with him. They would worship him instead of worshipping the sun. They would
also worship/celebrate their love. Romeo would be immortalised along with their love for each
other.

Q3)Comment on the contrasting imagery in the poem :Shakespeare uses a lot of

contrasting imagery to show the intensity of love shared by Romeo and Juliet. The contrasting
imagery is between dark and bright. Dark symbolises something which is not beautiful and also
the bad omen that surrounds their love. Brightness symbolises the beauty and the hope for their
love to be possible. Night and Day, Crow and Dove, Ethiope and gold, raven and snow flake,
divine and earthly. (explain one)

CH2: TOO DEAR!

Q1)Though gambling is a dirty business, why does the king of monaco resort to it?: He
was getting a large sum of money from the gaming business. He wanted to live a life of luxmy
and therefore he resorted to the gambling business to earn more money and to maintain his
lifestyle.

Q2)Why did the king of Monaco keep changing his mind in dealing with the criminal?:
Every time a decision was made for the prisoner, a new problem would show up. First, when he
was sentenced to death, They did not have an executioner or the guillotine machine. And when
they asked for help from trance and italy it costed a lot. the sentence was changed to that of a
life imprisonment. when the prisoner was put for a life imprisonment, the price of the guard,
food, maintenance was too costly. The prisoner proved to be a financial burden. He was allowed
to escape. But he did not. He did not have anywhere to go. He was afraid that people would not
accept him. Thus the king ordered a pension of 600 francs for the prisoner in return for leaving.
He just wanted to get rid of the prisoner.

Q3)Why was the criminal reluctant to go out of the prison: He was afraid of not being
accepted by his friends and family and had forgotten about the ways of life. He was very
comfortable in the prison as he was getting food and other services on Time.

Q4)How did the criminal lead his life after his release: He received one third of his annuity in
advance. Left the king's dominion.Emigrated and settled on the outskirts of the town. Bought a
bit of land and started market gardening.
 QS)'You cant earn stone palaces by honest labour'. Justify with refere~ce to story: The.
· come for the king and the prince of Monaco was the tax levied on tobacco, wine
only source of rn .
• ·ts poll tax But that was not enough for the luxurious life that the king wanted for
an d spm , · d
himself. He needed some extra money to maintain a grand lifestyle therefore he resorte to the
dirty business of gambling. Tolstoy has used the proverb to prov~ that yo~ can not have a
grand lifestyle that lies beyond your means.To be able to have this grand h_festyle you need to
do things which are dishonest and illegal. Tolstoy is criticising this sad reality of the world .

Q6) Though the trial and imprisonment of the criminal is depicted in a comic mode in this
story, it does give rise to serious questions. What are they?: The story presents a comic
tale of a monarchy where no one is able to make decisions. It also gives rise to serious
problems and therefore it can be called a satire. It is a satire on morality, governance and power
and raises questions regarding them. Shows how governments have no idea how to use their
income and all of it goes into corruption. the criminal was given the death penalty but he wasnt
executed because the king didnt want to spend money. Morality is criticised as the army which
is willing to kill in war cannot kill when its one to one. There is Misuse of power as the king
allowed the dirty act of gambling to thrive for income.

CH3: ON CHILDREN

. Q1)Why does the prophet categorically state ' Your children are not your children'?:
Children truly do not belong to the parents. They are a medium so that life may continue and

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are eternal life themselves. They cannot be treated as possessions. The parents' responsibility
is providing the kids With love, nourishment, freedom and a stable environment for them to grow.

Q2)What does the metaphor, bows and arrows signify with regard to parent child
relationship?: The bow represents parents. The arrows represent children. The archer
represents god. The bow needs to be very stable for the arrow to hit the target set by the archer.
Similarly, the parents must provide stability for their child so that the children can reach their
target or the destiny decided by God. Otherwise he parents the opportunities for the children
would be limited.

Q3)According to the prophet, what attitude should parents have towards their children?:
Children are not possessions of parents. They are just a medium to continue life. The parents
should give children space to think and not project their dreams on the children. They should try
to keep up with changing times by looking up to their children. They cannot understand children
neither can the children understand them so the differences must be accepted.

CH4:EVERYTHING I KNOW I LEARNED IN THE FOREST

Q1)Why is it important to promote biodiversity intensive farming? How did the author
achieve it?: Biodiversity means that all the species are treated equally by nature. This
biodiversity must be accepted otherwise it leads to impoverishment of culture and nature.
Vandana shiva wanted to reinstate biodiversity intensive farming, which can produce more food
and nutrition to combat the nutrition and food crisis. So, she started Navdanya Farms in 1994 at
Doon Valley in Uttarakhand. She trains and demonstrates this technique to farmers as well as
grows and conserves a lot of varieties of rice, wheat and other species.

Q2) What does the concept of the Earth University convey? How is this different from
other universities?: An example of an Earth university is Navdanya farm. It teaches that all
species have freedom to evolve and grow in life. Explains the responsibility of humans to
recognise, protect and respect other species. It is different from the other universities because
they keep humans and human need at the centre. They are ecocentric and keep nature and its
needs at the centre of everything.

Q3)"Tagore sees unity with nature as the highest stage of human evolution''. Do you
think consumerism and accumulation of wealth come in ·the way of realizing Tagores
vision of human evolution: Tagore believes that Indian civilization finds its material in the
forests.We owe our knowledge, life and culture to the forests around us. hundreds and
thousands of species coexist in forests united as one. This lesson of unity in diversity which is
an essential quality of democracy finds itself as a principle of Indian society. Consumerism and
accumulation of wealth leads to a selfish society. This inspires the human race to exploit nature
for profit. This greed is against Tagore's vision

Q4)"The conservation of biodiversity is the answer to the food and nutrition crisis''
Discuss: Bio diversity ensures a sense of harmony where all the species coexist together.
where there are diverse processes of renewal and destruction of life at play. The species sustain
themse\ves and co-operate with other species. Therefore, biodiversity is the answer to food and
nutrition crisis.

Q5) "Conservation of diversity is crucial for the sustenance of both nature and human
society" Discuss.: We live in a diverse world where we have our differences but we need to
be accepting and respectful of that.This applies to both human society and nature. The unity in
diversity taught by forests shoulis a way for humanity to ensure its sustenance.If there is no
unity it leads to chaos. Therefore, the conservation of diversity is crucial for sustenance of
society

Q4)ln the light of this essay how can one synthesize the wisdom of the past with modern
knowledge systems?: Many good things came out of modern science but at the same time it
has also been the reasons for all the damages done to nature. these technologies must be used
with a bit of care.Traditional wisdom can help to sustain nature and its resources as it focuses
on conservation unlike modern methods that ignore the consequences and only focus on
ensuring profit. only by infusing science with the concept of sustainability and conservation can
the wisdom of the past be synthesized with modern knowledge systems.

CHS: A SUNNY MORNING

Q1)What were the circumstances that led Gonzalo to flee Valencia?: Dona Laura and
Gonzalo ·1oved each other but Laura was supposed to marry a merchant. Gonzalo used to throw
flower bouquets to Laura's balcony. One night, he was waiting under her window and the
 h nt showed up and insulted Gonzalo which led to a fight and a duel wherein the
mere a t who was a famous person ·m Valencia,
· was ·mJure
· d qui·te ba di Y Gonza Io was wome
. d
n,erchan ,
about the consequences of this and thus left.

Q2)What makes Dona Laura assume that Don Gonzalo was an i~l-na_tu~ed man: Don .
Gonzalo used a handkerchief to wipe his shoes. He used to walk while kicking dust in the air.
He scared away the birds that Dona Laura was feeding. He complains about the priests
occupying his bench. He was impolite passing mean comments at Laura and he was irritated
most of the time

Q3)Why do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves?:They
lie to each other because they are not the person that they used to be since They have aged.
Laura does not have the same beauty and Gonzalo is not that handsome anymore. They
remember only good things about each other and none of them wanted that feeling to be lost.
They move on quite quickly and because of that they don't want to face their past and reveal
their identities.

QS)How is the title "A Sunny Morning" justifiable: A Sunny Morning is a symbol of joy,
warmth and happiness. The play is a romantic comedy full of irony and nostalgia. Therefore, it
resembles the qualities of a sunny morning. The Sunny morning represents the hope that they
will meet again.

CHS: When you are old

Q1)How is the 'one man' different from the many others who love the lady?: While the
others loved her for her physical beauty, this one man loved her for her soul. He \oved her
personality, curiosity, and her dedication to find meaning andlove in her life. He \oved her even
when her facial features changed when she got old unlike others who left her when her beauty
faded away. That is why he is different.

Q2)Does the poem bring out the transient nature of beauty as against permanence of
love? :Beauty might fade but love is immortal. you might stop looking 'physically' beautiful but
you cannot ever forget the ones you love. The author never forgot his love. all the others who
loved her for her physical beauty are gone. But the love of the author remained even when she
lost her beauty.

Q3)Comment on the usage of time frame by the poet.: In the Present the author is writing
the book. He Talks to her about the future when she would be old and asks her to feel sad that
she would not have anyone.He Asks her to think back to the present ti~e (relative past) when
she was beautiful and rejected his love. He imagines a situation when she would be old and
regret not accepting the immense and the true love offered by the author.

CH7: The Gardener

Q1)How did Tammanna react to Basavaiahs encroachment of his land?: Tammanna

wanted to Basavaiah to die. He started composing all his experiences in the form of ballads and
'4

songs which spoke about Basavaiah's cruelty and the enmity they shared.The war between
them shifted from the physical domain to an invisible domain.

I Q2)How did Basavaiah try to overcome his humiliation?: Basavaiah also tried to sing but
failed. He continued encroaching into Tammanna's lands, but Tammanna did not care or react.
He started to acquire more and more material wealth such as diamonds, gold and other
precious stones. He Appointed people just to praise him. Built a mansion but visitors said it
looked dull and empty as the mansion did not have Tammannna's books. So, he started inviting
scholars, poets, musicians and critics to provide a meaning to his house.

Q3) The rivalry between Tam manna and Basavaiah keeps moving from the visible domain
to the invisible. Comment.:The fights between Tammanna and basavaiah regarding property,
encroachment and physical fights took place in the physical domain.The shift to the invisible
domain happens when Tammanna starts to sing songs and ballads about his rivalry with
Basavaiah but Basavaiah remained in the physical and the visible domain as he continued .to
acquire material wealth so as to get back at tamanna.

Q4)How does Tammanna adopt a counter strategy to challenge the material wealth of
Basavaiah?: Tamanna moved the fight from the visible domain to the invisible domain.He
composed all his experiences in the form of ballads and songs which were about Basavaiah's
cruelty and about the enmity they shared. He later thought of separating his flesh and blood
from his songs and art by pretending to be dead. He thought if he is considered dead, then
people would celebrate his work even more and thus his songs would be immortalised which
would completely defeat basavaiah.

Q4) Tammanna turns reflective in the course of his life. What does this tell about human
nature? Tammanna fought aggressively with Basavaiah to save his self-esteem. He tries
different strategies to get back at Basavaiah when he illegally takes his land. Therefore he
composes and sings ballads about Basavaiah's cruelty. Very soon Tammanna gains popularity
and Basavaiah feels defeated. when Tammanna falls ill, Basavaiah is pleased with the
news. Tammanna's next move shows how aggressive and vengeful he can be. He gives up
everything and goes away so ,as to spread the fake news that Tammanna is dead. Later,
Basavaiah dies a natural death. This causesTammanna to be shaken out of his senses. He
understands that with the death of Basavaiah, he lost his identity and has become a
non-entity.Finally, he realises that both he and Basavaiah had indulged in rivalry only to satisfy
their ego.

Q5)How does the reference ta Russia and America Provide another dimension to the
story?: The reference of Russia and America gives an insight into the difference between _
human beings and nations. A nation would overcome all the rejection and focus on other things
but human beings don't forget things.The reference also provides a modern touch to an
otherwise old story.