SECTION I — POEMS: 1.

HAUNTED HOUSES 3

Section I : POEMS
1. HAUNTED HOUSES
Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (d) 6. (c) 7. (c) 8. (d) 9. (b) 10. (c)
11. (b) 12. (b) 13. (a)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) Because they are invited by the spirits of the inhabitants of the house who have died
long ago.
These are the houses where they have lived for a long time and died and are therefore,
the rightful owners and occupants of the house.
(ii) The spirit of the people, who once lived in those houses and have died long ago—unlike
the usual image of the phantoms they are harmless as they are neither mischievous nor
angry—they do not make loud noises or throw objects in the house—they do not harm
the present occupants of the house.
(iii) They join the occupants at the dining table, glide, throng float and waft in the house.
Yes, their errands are different from the known errands of phantoms who make loud
noises, throw objects and harm the occupants of the house.
(iv) At the doorway, on the stairs, along the passage and at the dining table.
They enter the house from the door way without making any sound with their feet on
the floor.
(v) Haunted Houses the title—the houses are visited by the spirits of the previous occupants
of the house, who have died long ago—they enter through the doors and at times do the
daily activities like at the dining table or by the fireside—unlike their traditional image,
they are ‘harmless’ spirits who do not make loud noise or throw objects.
II. (i) They are occupied by the spirits of previous owners of the house who had died long
ago—they remain as silent as the pictures hung on the walls.
(ii) They do not make any noise when they came and go and join the present occupants of
their invited guests at the dining table they are neither mischievous nor angry and intend
no harm to one occupants of the house, probably their own children and grandchildren.
(iii) They are the spirits of the previous occupants of the house who had died long ago and
intend no harm to the present occupants and do their daily activities without being seen
or heard.
They are the pictures of the previous occupants of the house, who had died and are
now the spirits.
(iv) Simile is used in the last line of the extract: As silent as the pictures on the wall.
Here, a comparison has been made between the silence of the spirits and the pictures
hung on the wall.
(v) ‘more guests’ refers to the spirits of the dead, who the invited guests, enter the house
without any invitation and join the guests at the table.
They cannot be seen or heard by the physical senses of the present occupants of the
house; their presence can be only perceived as the dining hall appears to be crowded.
III. (i) ‘We’ refers to the present occupants of the house because the previous occupants of
the house, who handed it over to the next generation are the real owners who have the
title-deeds to house or lands.
(ii) ‘Owners and Occupants’ are those who owned the houses and lands, had the title-deeds
and before they died handed it over to their successors.
4 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

(iii) The owners and occupants of the house who had died long ago stretch their soiled
hands from the forgotten graves to claim the inalienable ownership of their properties
and visit their homes.
(iv) The previous owners and occupants of the house who had died long ago and had become
spirits. Because they were rightful owners of the house and lands.
(v) Two figures of speech used in this extract are in the line—From graves forgotten stretch
their dusty hands:

(a) Alliteration—the repetition of consonant sound ‘f’.

(b) Personification—the dead stretch their dusty hands from their graves to claim their
inalienable right over their properties previously owned by them.
IV. (i) Human lives.
In comparison to the spirits, human lives are short because the spirits continue to live
long after they had died, visit the houses previously owned by them. They claim their
inalienable rights over the houses in which they lived when they were alive.
(ii) By maintaining balance between opposite attractions and desires, i.e., between worldly
pleasures and noble instincts.
(iii) (a) Base instincts that seeks worldly pleasures like achieving name, fame, money and
power.
(b) Noble instincts that seek higher and noble goals like renouncing worldly pleasures

and seeking spiritual goals.
(iv) Their occurs a struggle between the earthly needs of human beings and their high
aspirations or spiritual desires because these are shaped by some unknown forces from
a remote planet in the universe. This struggle is resolved by maintaining a balance
between the two types of instincts.
(v) The rhyming scheme followed in this poem is abab.
This rhyming scheme along with regular rhythm and gentle content helps to evoke a
feeling of comfort and peacefulness quite in contract to noise, discomfort and eerie feeling
associated with haunted house.
V. (i) These perturbations refers to the mental disturbances, anxieties and fears of human
beings caused by their earthly needs and high aspirations.
Those human beings who cannot maintain a balance between their earthly desires and
high aspirations are affected by ‘these perturbations.’
(ii) Personification is used in this line. Here the poet has compared human greed to a
‘perpetual jar’ full of earthly pleasures.
(iii) Human worries and fears.
Unseen star is a reference to an unexplored star in the universe that tempts human
beings for having more and more earthly pleasures.
(iv) The narrator has referred to ‘an undiscovered planet in our sky’ to give a reason why
human beings’ are tempted to have more of earthly desires than nobler or spiritual  desires.
(v) This extract suggests the existence of supernatural element by saying that the daily
activities of human beings on the material plane are influenced and guided by the spirits
from an ‘undiscovered planet in our sky.’
VI. (i) The world of spirits is connected by the bridge of light to the earth. This bridge is made
of moonlight floating across the ocean waves.
(ii) The ‘unsteady floor’ refers to the bridge of light that connects the human world with the
world of spirits. Because it is made by moonlight that floats across the unsteady ocean
waves.
(iii) The memories of over loved ones come in our thoughts and help us to come out of
despair and depression.
SECTION I — POEMS: 2. THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS 5

(iv) The ‘bridge of light’ is a bridge made by moonlight floating on the ocean waves and can
be crossed only be the spirits and not the human beings.
(v) All houses are haunted because
— they are visited by the spirits of our loved ones who died long ago.
— they cannot be seen or heard but their presence is perceived in every corner of the
house be it doorway, stairs, dining room, fireside, etc.
— they came and go as visitors without making any loud noise or throwing objects
and harming anyone.
— they remain in the houses by being etched in the memories of the present occupants
of the house.

2. THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (a) 6. (b) 7. (a) 8. (d) 9. (c) 10. (d)
11. (b) 12. (d) 13. (b)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) King Francis was at his court.
His was there to watch the royal sport of a fight between two lions in an arena.
King Francis was good-hearted, kind and just ruler.
(ii) King Francis’ courtiers, aristocrats, lords and ladies. Count de Lorge sighed for his lady-
love.
‘The ladies in their pride’ suggests that the ladies present there were perhaps as vicious
as the pride of lions.
(iii) ‘it refers to the fight between the two lions in the arena. It is described as a gallant
thing because the lions were ferocious and tearing into one another.
(iv) The last line of the extract means that King Francis, who was sitting on the top of the
stadium like setup in his court, was looking down at the beasts below. His court was
filled with brave nobles, one of them being Count de Lorge and there was love in the
air as King Francis sighed for Count de Lorge’s beloved.
(v) A ballad is a poem that narrates a story in short stanzas and has a bouncy rhythm.
The poem ‘The Glove and the Lions’ narrates the story at King Francis’ court, where
he along with his courtiers, nobles, lords and ladies was watching the royal sport of a
fight between two ferocious lions in the arena below. The lady-love of Count de Lorge
threw her glove in the arena in the hope that the latter would pick up the glove and
prove his valour and love for her. Count de Lorge did the same and retrieved her glove
from the arena and threw it on her face. King Francis approved Count de Lorge’s act
by saying that his beloved did so out of vanity and not true love.
The poem consists of four stanzas, where each stanza consists of six lines. It has a
rhyming scheme aa bb cc and and internal rhyme, which give this poem a sing song
like melody, befitting a ballad.
II. (i) The lions were in the sandpit in the arena below where the king was sitting in a stadium-
like setup.
The King, his courtiers, aristocrats, nobles, lords and ladies.
The lions were engaged in a ferocious fight in which they were walking on the ramp
and rolling on one another and roaring with their horrible looking jaws.
(ii) The fight between the lions was quite ferocious as they were engaged in a vicious battle
in which they were fighting and tearing into one another and giving such power blows
like ‘beams’ that it appeared as the wind was moving in step with them.
6 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

(iii) Figure of Speech Examples

Alliteration: (a) Ramped and roared the lions
(b) gave blows like beams
(c) a wind went with their paws
Simile: gave blow like beams
Paradox: with horrid laughing jaws horrid and laughing are two
contradictory terms.
(iv) The king told the audience that they were better off in their seats than in the sandpit
were a bloody battle was being fought between the two lions.
This suggests that the king considered himself as superior to the lions, the king of the
jungle.
(v) The poet has used both the visual imagery and auditory imagery in this extract to show
the brutal fight between the two lions. For details refer to the heading Imagery in  the  text.
III. (i) Count de Lorge’s lover overheard the king as saying that they were better off in their
seats as they were at a safe distance from the lions fighting in the sandpit below.
Although she seemed to be attracted by the King’s demeanour and power, perhaps she
thought the her beloved was not less brave than the king and therefore wanted to test
his valour.
(ii) The narrator has described de Lorge’s beloved as a beautiful and lively girl, who had
smiling lips and sharp bright eyes.
She ‘always seemed the same’ means that her body language and behaviour showed
that she was a selfish and vain’ lady, who was too proud of her beauty.
(iii) She thought that her beloved Count de Lorge was as ‘brave as brave can be’ and no
less than King Francis.
She was sure that he would do anything to prove his valour and love for her.
(iv) She thought of testing her beloved de Lorge’s love for her by dropping her glove in the
sandpit below and tacitly asking him to retrieve it for her from the jaws of two lions.
Her real intention was to seek the attention of King Francis and the audience sitting
there and thereby, prove her beloved’s valour and love for her.
(v) Characteristic traits of de Lorge’s lover as revealed in this extract:
(a) Beautiful girl with smiling lip and sharp eyes.
(b) Always looked the same, selfish and vain.
(c) Sure of her beloved’s bravery and love for her.
(d) Lacking true love.
IV. (i) ‘She’ is Count de Lorge beloved. She dropped her glove in the sandpit where two ferocious
lines were fighting each other. She did so to prove to the world her beloved Count de’
Lorge’s valour and love for her.
(ii) She looked at her beloved Count de Lorge and smiled to give him her non-verbal signal
of what she wanted him to do. It showed that she knew her beloved well that he would
understand her signal and jump off into the sandpit to prove his bravery and love for her.
(iii) de Lorge understood the challenge given to him by his beloved, bowed and smiled back
at her before jumping into the sandpit. The presence of King Francis and so many other
people, besides the assurance in his beloved’s eyes that he would not only accept the
challenge but would also prove it.
(iv) Count de Lorge came out of the sandpit unharmed by the ferocious lions because he
leaped into the sandpit and rapidly picked up the glove and came up with such a speed
that the lions could not do any harm to him.
(v) The central theme of the poem is that there is no place for vanity in true love.
SECTION I — POEMS: 3. WHEN GREAT TREES FALL 7

3. WHEN GREAT TREES FALL

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (a) 4. (d) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (d) 8. (b) 9. (d) 10. (a)
11. (b) 12. (c)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) Rocks on distant hills feel the vibration and break down. Lions crouch down in tall
grasses. Elephants move slowly in search of a safer place.
(ii) ‘Rocks on distant hills shudder’ due to the impact of the fall of big trees. It suggests
that the entire landscape in the forest trembles with fear.
(iii) Lions hunker down in tall grasses because of fear caused by the falling trees that shakes
up everything in the forest.
This fear symbolises the impact natural calamities have which can make even the
strongest, shirdiest and most fearsome elements of the natural world cower in shock
and run for safety. plant are large and enormous creatures. They more slowly in search
of safety when great trees fall in the forests.
(b) Alliteration: and even elephants... (e sound).

(v) Trees in the poem are used as an extended metaphor for ‘great souls’, i.e., larger-than-
life individuals.
As the fall of great trees impact the entire forest including the large and small creatures,
similarly the death of great souls affects everything around them.
As the great trees in the forest provide shelter and sustenance for many creatures, great
people support and nourish many people around them.
II. (i) Small things refer to small animals. When great trees fall, the small animals recoil into
total silence and are so shaken and shocked that they cannot feel anything at all, let
alone fear.
(ii) The ‘small things’ are contrasted with large animals like lions and elephants. The narrator
says that when the great trees fall both the large and the small animals tremble with
fear.
(iii) Small things, i.e., small creatures curl up in silence, too shocked to feel anything, let
alone fear. Human beings, on the other hand, feel suffocated and take shallow breaths
after the demise of great people. They feel they are not really living but only surviving.
(iv) Two poetic devices are:

(a) Anaphora, i.e., the repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive
phrases, clauses or sentence. For example:
When great trees fall.

(b) Alliteration, i.e., the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.
For example:
Small things recoil into silence, their senses (s sound).
(v) The fall of great trees causes fear in the fearless animals such as lions and even huge
animals like elephants feel powerless and scared and look out for a safe place. Similarly,
small animals get started and they curl up in fear.
III. (i) When great souls die, they leave a vacuum in the lives of their loved ones and they
feel as if the air appears flimsy and scarce. It suggests that the bereaved find it hard
to breathe and therefore, take small, shallow breaths and feel they are not really living
but only surviving.
(ii) Epistrophe, i.e., the repetition of the same word at the end of successive phrases like
‘briefly’ in the given lines.
It suggests that after the demise of the great souls, the bereaved find their ‘senses’ so
8 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

overwhelmed by the loss that they seem to see nothing at all. When they do see they
realise that the world has changed forever for them after loosing their loved ones.
(iii) The eyes of the bereaved see with pain that after the death of their loved ones the world
will never be the same without the great souls they are grieving.
This is because they will never be able to get the shelter and sustenance they were
getting from their loved ones before they died.
(iv) After the death of loved ones, our memory gets intensified and becomes sharper after
we recollect the moments spent with them.
(v) The bereaved person had the feelings of despair and regret for not having spent much
time with their loved ones and not being able to say ‘kind words’ to them or fulfill the
promises when the person was alive. These unfulfilled promises leave a gnawing pain
of despair and regret.
IV. (i) When great souls die ‘our reality’ undergoes a change because our reality was bound
to them and we were dependent on them for our sustenance.
(ii) Like great trees give shelter and sustenance to many creatures in the forest, great souls
provide support and nourishment to those around them.
So, after their death, those left behind feel that they have been robbed of their nourishment
and support.
(iii) (a) Polyptoton, i.e., the repetition of words derived from the same root—‘formed’ and
‘informed’.
(b) The great souls not only informed the people but shaped their thought process and
formed their world view.
(iv) The speaker says that ‘we not so much maddened’ after the death of our loved ones that
we are reduced to the unutterable ignorance of dark cold caves and with the passage
of time accept the loss.
(v) ‘Dark, cold caves’ is a reference to the despair felt by the bereaved person after the demise
of their loved ‘Dark, cold caves’ is also a reference to the loneliness and incomprehension
felt by the bereaved.
V. (i) ‘Peace blooms’ after the passage of time and immense grief felt at the demise of a loved
one. This means that a person accepts the loss and feels at ease.
(ii) ‘Spaces’ refer to the void left in the lives of the bereaved after the demise of their loved
ones. These spaces are filled when they accept their loss and remember the contributions
made by the great souls in their lives.
(iii) ‘Senses’ get restored with the passage of time after the demise of the loved ones as the
bereaved are able to think, feel and perceive the world again. They whisper to us to
remind us that the departed souls who died existed and inspired and helped us.
(iv) Epizeuxis, i.e., the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, typically
within the same sentence.
The repetition of the phrase ‘They existed’ is used to emphasise the fact that death does
not change the fact that those who have died, once lived and existed and influenced
everybody around them. And they would continue to inspire the bereaved to keep on
living and try to make the world a better place despite all the pain they had gone through
after losing their loved ones.
(v) Great souls or highly talented people influence the entire community not only when they
are alive but continue to do so long after they are gone. They reshape the entire culture
of an area with their thought provoking ideas and changing the mindset of the people.
Their ideas live on and inspire others to make the world a better place to live in.
SECTION I — POEMS: 4. A CONSIDERABLE SPECK 9

4. A CONSIDERABLE SPECK
Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (a) 2. (a) 3. (d) 4. (c) 5. (a) 6. (d) 7. (b) 8. (c) 9. (c) 10. (d)
11. (b) 12. (c) 13. (d) 14. (a) 15. (b)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) When he was writing something and had lifted his pen to mark a period. He was busy
writing so the speck would not have been in his line of vision.
(ii) He was about to mark a period i.e., put a full-stop and probably think what to write  next.
(iii) The spell on the paper—that was strange. In reality it was a tiny mite.
(iv) The tiny mite had its own mind-feelings as well as decision-making power.
(v) The speck appears insignificant but it has a mind of its own and the ability to wander
anywhere on the paper making the speck a significant thing. Thus it justifies the title
of ‘considerable speck.’
II. (i) Intelligence because it knew it had to move fast to preserve itself.
(ii) The mite seemed to tiny to have feet. It was able to move sweftly across the paper
implying it had feet, proving the speaker’s belief incorrect.
(iii) The mite ran frantically a round the paper in an act of self conservation proving it did
not want to die.
(iv) It stopped in the middle of the sheet of paper. It did not know what to do and resigned
to its fate.
(v) The speaker appears to be all-powerful and decide what would be the mite’s fate as the
last line clearly says ‘to accept whatever I accorded it of fate’.
III. (i) The speaker says he lacks collectivistic regimenting love. He appreciates the individuality
of the mite.
(ii) The poet is criticising the principle of collectivism that is used against individualism.
This is a reference to communism where emphasis was on the needs of the group as a
whole and not the individual. Thus, this is a satire on the tendency of people to follow
the group or community instead of their individual identity.
(iii) The poor microscopic item is the mite which is tiny and at the mercy of the speaker.
It suggests that the speaker respects the individuality of even a tiny creatures.
(iv) The speaker respects the individuality of the tiny mite who tried its pest to preserve
itself. I think the speaker was right in doing so because even the timest living being
has the right to live.
(v) This extract is about the individual thinking, imagination and creativity of the mite which
is better than the herd-menting of communism that is sweeping the world. This the
theme of faculty of mind, its imagination and creativity is strengthened in this extract.
IV. (i) The speaker has a ‘mind’ implying he can think for himself. He has imagination and
creativity as a result. His individuality is conveyed by this assertion.
(ii) The speaker finds the speck also has a mind. It can think and perceive danger and
immediately act upon it. That is how the speaker realises the speck has a mind.
(iii) The speaker spares it life and allows it to rest on the sheet of paper. The spaker realises
that the speck has a mind and intelligence which is absent in humans in the world so
he did not punish the mite.
(iv) The speaker is against the herd mentality or collectivism where the group takes importance
over the individual and individuals lose their mind, i.e., their intelligence and creativity.
The mite displays individual intelligence and the will to preserve it the speaker respects
this tiny display of mind.
10 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

(v) The central theme of the poem, ‘A Considerable Speck’ is the importance of the human
faculty of mind, its imagination and creativity. The poet recognises and appreciates the
use of mind by an inconsequential mite, which appears on a sheet of paper on which
he was writing something. The mite uses it mind imagination and creativity to preserve
itself which is better than humans who influenced by the principle of collectivism.
V. (i) The small mite is referred to as ‘it’. It paused to check if the pen was a friend or a foe
who would destroy it.
(ii) It paused to think probably the ink made it feel it was not safe so it started racing
wildly. The speaker was writing so the ink was not dry.
(iii) It smelt or drink the wet ink to check whether it was safe or not. It ran until it reached
the middle of the paper.
(iv) The speaker has beautifully described how the mite pauses on getting suspicious about
speaker’s pen doing harm to him and then races wildly, creeping, faltering, hesitating
and finally, recoiling itself in desperation, accepting its fate and dozing off in the middle
of the sheet of paper.
(v) The speaker allows the mite to live, in fact to sleep and recuperate. He appreciates the
fact that the mite has a mind of its own and it can decide for itself. Thus justifying the
theme of human intelligence—its imagination and creativity that sets a human apart
from other living beings.

5. THE POWER OF MUSIC

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (b) 4. (c) 5. (d) 6. (a) 7. (d) 8. (a) 9. (c) 10. (b)
11. (a)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) Bhisma Lochan Sharma is a singer. His singing is loud irritating and persistent despite
its ill effects on every around.
(ii) The sound of his singing is so loud that it appears to pervade space in all directions
right from the Himalayas to the gangetic plains and from Delhi to Burma.
(iii) The speaker says that Bhisma Lochan continues to sing without a pause as if he has
bet his life on it and is hell-bent to draw to attention of the people, perhaps to seek
their appreciation for his singing.
(iv) They think his singing is well-meant i.e., the singer thinks his music is melodious. This
suggests that Bhisma Lochan is an affable character with no intention of harm anyone.
(v) It is a carefully and artistically crafted composition which is funny and extensively uses
literary devices such as rhyme scheme, metrical patterns and personification to tell a
story. This makes such poetry attractive to all age-groups and easy to learn and repeat.
II. (i) The bullocks. They trample in panic or become pale and sickly. As a result their carts
get overturned.
(ii) They plead to Bhisma Lochan to stop singing because his loud and discordant singing
distresses them.
(iii) Their pleading falls on deaf ears i.e., the singing continues with the same vigour. It
suggests that the man is obstinate and self-centred.
(iv) Bullock-carts get overturned, horses refuse to walk. They whine and raise their legs
in the air in protest against the loud unbearable singing. Even the fishes dive deep in
water in search of silence and the birds lose control over their wings and turn upside
down.
(v) Personification. It gives human-like character to animals or things. This human character
allows the reader to understand the anguish of animals, bullocks in this extract. The
SECTION II — SHORT STORIES: 1. WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER 11

poet succeeds because a reader can understand why the bullocks trampled and their
carts got overturned.
III. (i) Bhisma Lochan is unconcerned about the effect of his loud discordant singing on everyone
around him. Booming refers to the loud sound and broadside refers to the aggressive
attack. This his loud singing appears like an aggressive attack.
(ii) The houses—they live themselves along the road, they whine stare at their feet and raise
them in air. They behave abnormally on hearing the loud, jarring discordant singing of
Bhisma Lochan.
(iii) They live themselves along the road, they whine stare at their feet and raise them in air.
(iv) Bhisma Lochan’s singing makes fishes-dive deep dom in the lake to avoid the sound of
his voice. Trees shake hearing his singing. The trees even a mile away are affected and
collapse.
(v) Birds lose control of their wings and turn upside down. This is an exaggeration in line
with the genre of nonsense poetry. The exaggeration is used to show how unsettling the
sound of Bhisma Lochan’s singing was.
IV. (i) The sky weeps on hearing the loud discordant singing of Bhisma Lochan. Alliteration is
used with the being repeated in welkin weeps.
(ii) The mansions collapse. They collapse in the same way due to the same reason as the
trees.
(iii) The billy goat was the wisest of all because he took up the challenge instead of getting
distressed and collapsing at the loud singing of Bhisma Lochan.
(iv) He put an end to the loud persistent pervasive discordant singing of Bhisma Lochan.
He but the singer slopping his singing and restoring peace.
(v) Alliteration. This line signifies the welcome silence and deliverance from the sound of
Bhisma Lochan’s torturous singing.

Section II : SHORT STORIES

1. WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (d) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (b) 8. (d) 9. (a) 10. (d)
11. (c) 12. (b) 13. (d)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) The narrator wanted for the photographer to come and click a photograph of the narrator.
This suggests that the photographer had no respect for his client’s time.
(ii) The narrator read editions fashion magazines kept in the waiting room. This suggests
that the photographer had preconceived notions of beauty.
(iii) The narrator had intruded on the privacy of the scientist, the photographer by asking
him to click a photograph of himself and he was aware that his face did not conform
to the standards of the photographer.
(iv) The narrator was aware that his face did not come up to the beauty standard of the
photographer. This shows self awareness of his faults and acceptance of the same.
(v) The photographer uses processes such as ‘Delphite’ and ‘Sulphite’ to after the face of
his subject so as to confirm to the photographer’s beauty standards. He carries out the
same to alter the narrators photograph.
II. (i) The photographer clicks a photograph of the subject with the machine. The narrator
has come to his studio to get his photo clicked as a ‘momento mori’.
12 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

(ii) The photographer remained inside for just for a second to look at the narrator from inside
the camera. This suggests that like an artist he had preconceived notions of beauty; he
did not like what he saw so he stepped out to rectify it.
(iii) He must have been thinking about how to go about taking a photograph. He was taking
such a long time that the narrator thought he was praying.
(iv) The photographer must have been thinking how to get a good photograph as the face of
the narrator was quite wrong. He told the narrator this after this extracts. The narrator
replied that he was aware of it.
(v) Natural scientist-entries his camera, tears out to go in again for a long time—probably
thinking of how to get a photograph according to his ideals and notions of beauty—came
out looking grave his puzzle.
III. (i) To the photographer who was facing him to do facial aerobatics to rectify his (narrator’s
face). The narrator is integrand at being made to do ridiculous things like open his
mouth, shut in droop his ears etc.
(ii) The narrator says he knows his face and accepts its imperfections as he had been living
with this face for forty years.
(iii) The narrator was offended at the ridiculous things the photographer made him do, he
got all worked up and asked him to stop and the outburst overwhelmed him and he
felt a break in his voice. Despite it he continued his tirade and started getting up from
his seat to leave.
(iv) The narrator accepted his face with all its imperfections. This suggests self awareness
and acceptance of himself.
(v) The photographer said that the narrator’s face was too wide so the latter felt that the face
could probably not be photographed as the machine was too narrow to accommodate his
face. No, the photographer’s face did not conform to the photographers beauty standards.
IV. (i) The narrator interrupts the photographer because the latter has changed all the narrator’s
feature in the proof of the photograph and was bragging about it.
(ii) The photographer had totally changed the narrator’s features so he spoke with a withering
scorn. This shows the anger and indigence of the narrator.
(iii) The narrator wanted a photograph that looked like him with all his imperfections. The
photograph did not look bike the narrator at all.
(iv) Though imperfect the face was a gift from God to the narrator—This suggests self
awareness and total acceptance of oneself.
(v) Refer to ‘The Narrator under ‘Charactetisation.’

2. THE ELEVATOR
Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (d) 4. (b) 5. (a) 6. (c) 7. (a) 8. (b) 9. (b) 10. (a)
11. (b) 12. (a)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) Martin used to feel nervous while using elevators.
He had the fear that the elevators would fall and he would be hurt.
(ii) Because it had poor lighting, dirty walls and a defective door which could not remain
open for long and used to slam shut with a loud noise.
Besides, it was too small and could carry only three people at a time.
(iii) The other option for Martin was to use the stairs for going up and down his apartment
on the 17th floor.
No, it was not better than the elevator because
SECTION II — SHORT STORIES: 2. THE ELEVATOR 13

• the stairs neither had any windows nor any working lights.
• they were not better than the elevator and were Martin’s equally bad and scary.
• Martin’s footsteps echoed behind him on the cement, as though there was another
person following him.
• Martin had to use the stairs to reach the 17th floor and therefore, felt exhausted and
gasping for breath.
(iv) The size of the elevator in Martin’s building was too small to carry more than three persons.
By the end of the story, Martin was trapped in the lift with a fat lady and could not
escape from there because of lack of space.
(v) This extract acts as a ‘foreshadow’ in the story by
• giving an inkling of something bad likely to happen with Martin later in the story.
• telling that Martin was always scared of the elevators. For he was afraid that it would
fall and could be fatal for him.
• informing the readers about the defective door of the lift that never stayed open for
long and closed with a loud noise.
II. (i) ‘He’ refers to Martin’s father.
Martin’s father asked him why he had not taken the elevator and used the stairs instead.
He asked so when he saw Martin gasping for breath after taking the stairs to reach his
home on the 17th floor.
(ii) Three adjectives used by Martin’s father for him are:
• skinny and weak
• bad at sports

• coward
Martin’s father used these adjectives as he was annoyed with Martin for not using the
elevator and getting as he was annoyed with Martin for not using the elevator and
getting used to it and instead wasting his energy and time by using stairs to reach
his house on the 17th floor.
(iii) Martin promised himself that he would always take the elevator and get used to it and
thereby, overcame the fear he had of riding the elevator.
No, Martin did not succeed in overcoming his fear of the elevators.
He got used to being bullied at school.
(iv) Martin’s fear about the elevator was that it would stop suddenly and he would be trapped
inside it for hows by himself.
Yes, it happened at the end of the story, though the elevator did not stop suddenly by
itself. A fat lady, as imagined by Martin, or otherwise entered the lift and there was no
space left by Martin to escape from the lift. So, he got trapped inside the lift with that
fat lady.
Since Martin felt that he was being laughed at by the fat lady, perhaps Martin would
have taken that as an insult and overcome his fear and with that would have vanished
the scary fat old lady.
(v) The characteristic traits of Martin based on this extract are:
• Timid: Martin always dreaded using elevators. So when he used stairs instead of the
elevator and entered home gasping for breath, he was rebuked by his father. Seeing
the expression on his father’s face Martin felt that he was chiding him and saying he
was weak and skinny, bad at sports and a coward. To avoid his father’s annoyance he
promised himself that he would get used to elevator. However, Martin was unable to
overcome his fear of the elevator. Besides, he could not stand up against his bullies at
school. Thus, it shows Martin was indeed timid.
14 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

• Absence of Paternal Support: It seems that Martin and his father did not have a strong
bond. That is why Martin could not understand his father’s frowning at him and
interpreted it in his own way. Besides, he wanted to get over his fear of the elevator
just to avoid his father’s annoyance.
III. (i) Martin kept on thinking about the old lady, whom he met in the elevator, because it
was his fear of riding the elevator that made him create on imaginary fat lady, which
grew into a bigger fear than the elevator. He could not get that image out of his mind
and kept on thinking about it all day.
(ii) Martin was nervous when he got back to his building after school because the imagined
old lady, which he seemed to have met in the elevator could not get off his mind. It
further enhanced his fear of riding an elevator.
(iii) Martin felt ashamed of himself for being afraid on an old lady.
It reveals that Martin wanted to overcome his fears but did not have the courage and
conviction to do so.
(iv) Martin hoped that the elevator would not stop in the hope that he would not meet the
old lady at any floor who would enter the elevator from any floor.
When the elevator stopped at the third floor, the same old lady whom he had seen in
the morning, entered the elevator.
(v) Martin definitely found the old scarier than the elevator because after seeing the old
lady for the first time, his only fear was being trapped inside the elevator with her.
The old lady was so fat that she would occupy the entire space in the elevator making
it difficult for Martin to escape from the lift.
IV. (i) Martin felt that he was probably making a mistake by telling his father about the old
lady, whom he had seen in the elevator.
He thought so because he knew that he would not get any positive support from his
father; his father would rather chide him as being too thin and skinny, timid and perhaps
a coward.
(ii) Martin felt the need to tell somebody about the woman because he was scared of her
and had being meeting her quite often in the elevator.
He decided to tell about the old lady to his father because he had nobody else to confide
his fears.
(iii) The one thing that the Martin found strange about the lady was her act of getting into
the elevator and getting down from it from different floors.
(iv) Martin was worried for being trapped in the elevator with that fat old lady. Earlier he
was afraid of riding the elevators. Martin made out from his father’s expressions that
he wanted to call him skinny and weak, bad at sports and a coward.
(v) Refer to ‘Characterisation’ in the Workbook.
V. (i) Martin started running down the stairs on seeing the old lady in the elevator. Since the
stairs were dark, Martin could not see them and finally fell down.
(ii) Martin’s father was totally disappointed and angry with the narrator for being a coward
and a fool.
Earlier, when Martin had taken to a stairs to reach his house on the 17th floor he was
quite annoyed with him and frowned at him.
(iii) Martin would not be able to use the stairs because he fell down, broke his leg and had
to walk on crutches.
Martin would have been seriously affected by this situation because he had no choice
but to use the elevator which he dreaded.
(iv) Martin thought that the fat lady had smiled, thus laughing at his helplessness for not
being able to escape from him.
SECTION II — SHORT STORIES: 3. THE GIRL WHO CAN 15

Martin’s internal fear made him think that the lady knew beforehand that something
bad was going to happen with him and perhaps, she was the creator of his ill-luck.
(v) Martin always dreaded using the elevators. He was scared that either the elevator would
fall or stop midway keeping him trapped inside for hours. When he moved into a new
apartment his fear aggravated on seeing and old elevator that had poor lighting and a
defective door that could not stay open for long and used to close with a loud noise.
This fear turned into a phobia and gave rise to an imaginary fat lady, whom he used to
meet only in the elevator. He imagined her to be so fat that he had to squeeze himself in
a corner suggesting that he had no way to escape from the lady, vis-a-vis, the elevator
and overcome his fear.
VI. (i) Martin remained alone in the elevator when his father got down from the elevator on
the ninth floor to meet Mrs. Ullman.
Martin’s father asked him if he was feeling scared to be in the elevator alone and then
told him to grow up, i.e., to give up his fear of the elevator.
(ii) Martin wanted to press the button nine on the elevator to visit Mrs. Ullman, where his
father had already gone, leaving him alone in the elevator.
Being scared of meeting the old lady in the elevator and in nervousness, Martin pressed
ten instead of nine.
(iii) Martin could not move out of the elevator because the lady was too fat to give any space
to Martin to move out besides, Martin was too slow to get past her in time to get out
of the elevator.
Thereafter the door closed and the elevator began move, leaving Martin trapped inside
the elevator with that fat lady.
(iv) Martin thought that the lady was laughing at his helplessness to escape from the elevator
and the lady.
She pushed the ‘Stop button’ perhaps to trap Martin inside the elevator and do harm
to him, as Martin would have imagined.
It could also be that Martin overcame his fear of the old lady, vis-a-vis, the elevator and
moved out of his phobia once for all.
(v) A cliffhanger is a literary device in which the story, play or a chapter has no final
resolution, leaves the readers in suspense and the ending open to discussion.
The story, The Elevator ends in a cliffhanger in which the protagonist of the story, Martin
is trapped inside the elevator, with the alleged fat old lady.
At the end of the story, Martin saw the old lady laughing at him and this could have
enraged Martin to such an extent that he would have decide to get rid of his fear once
for all.
With this in his mind, he would have stopped the elevator, come out of it, with no fat
old lady inside it and within his mind. He would have, thus, saved himself from the
fear of riding the elevator.

3. THE GIRL WHO CAN

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (d) 6. (b) 7. (c) 8. (a) 9. (c) 10. (a)
11. (d) 12. (a) 13. (b) 14. (a)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) ‘I’ refers to the narrator of the story, Adjoa, a seven-year-old girl.
According to Adjoa her grandmother’s problem was Adjoa’s thin and long legs, which
she considered as not suitable for supporting strong hips required for childbearing.
16 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

(ii) Adjoa’s problem at the age of seven was that she was not able to express in words the
things that were in her mind as she did not know the proper language to speak them
out with.
It was a serious problem because her grandmother forbade her from saying certain things
and at times ask her to repeat what she had said for the purpose of adult’s  entertainment.
Thus, she was confused when the keep quiet or to repeat them and get laughed at.
(iii) When Adjoa would say something, her grandmother would at first stare at her for a
very long time, then would ask her to repeat what she had said. After Adjoa would
repeat what she had said, her grandmother would immediately tell her never to repeat
that or would trust out laughing.
(iv) Nana would involve other people by repeating what Adjoa had said a white ago and then
laugh with first, one person, then two and finally up to three, four or even more  people.
All of them would laugh together and scream with tears running down their faces.
(v) The seven-year-old Adjoa, the protagonist of the story is the narrator as well. This helps to
• present a unique view of the world around her using simple vocabulary and child-like
innocence.
• It shows the inner feelings and doubts of a girl-child while she struggles to evaluate
the appropriateness of her grandmother’s dictates which at times forbade her from
speaking out her mind and at other times laugh at her for saying certain things.
• The voice of a girl-child makes the narrative appear more realistic and reliable.
II. (i) The narrator, Adjoa want to tell her grandmother and mother not to worry about her
spindly legs.
It suggests that the narrator does not find anything wrong with her legs as all her
friends have got legs that look like legs and nothing different from hers.
(ii) The narrator’s two favourite people are his mother Kaya and her material grandmother,
whom is called Nana.
The narrator’s grandmother was always worried about Adoja’s spindly legs. However,
her mother, Kaya tried to resist the notion that her daughter was worthless for having
spindly legs, in small courage she could muster in her mother’s presence.
(iii) ‘They’ refer to people who were her grandmother’s acquaintances and used to visit Adjoa’s
house and laugh at her child-like remarks until their eyes would become watery.
They would do so to either imitate Adjoa’s grandmother’s act of laughing or would find
Adjoa’s statements childish and worth laughing at.
(iv) The narrator feels that her grandmother and mother would have been discussing her
legs ever since she was born because she had been hearing them discussing this issue
from the time she could comprehend their talk.
The two women belonged to an orthodox society and held the conservative view that
a girl needs to have strong legs to support the hips for childbearing. Although Adjoa’s
mother did not like her mother’s act of constant cribbing about Adjoa’s spindly legs,
she could not muster enough strength to raise her voice against her mother.
(v) Juxtaposition, i.e., the close placement of ideas to highlight the contrast between them.
In the last two lines of the extract, the narrator has compared her mother’s womb to the
outside world. Her mother’s womb is described as a land of sweet, soft silence whereas
the outside world is described a that of noise and comprehension.
III. (i) The narrator could feel her mother’s silent tears from her voice. Besides, Ajoa was aware
of the fact that her mother did not like her grandmother’s disparaging remarks about
her (Adjoa’s) thin legs but could not muster enough strength to assert her opinion and
therefore, used to weep silently.
Her grandmother could not hear her daughter’s inside weeping because she was an
SECTION II — SHORT STORIES: 3. THE GIRL WHO CAN 17

authoritative woman and a representative of patriarchy, who did not allow women to
express their views or raise the voice.
(ii) Because she was an authoritative woman who had conventional view that recognised
women in the roles of wives and mothers.
She viewed her own daughter as a failure as a wife and mother and therefore, never
understood her silent tears.
Her grandmother was an authoritative woman and a representative of patriarchy who
had orthodox view. Her mother was a remorseful woman, who could never raise her
voice against conventional wisdom.
(iii) The narrator says so because she liked her grandmother, who was a matriarch but kept
her daughter and granddaughter with her and used to look after them.
It suggests that the narrator was an understanding and affectionate child.
(iv) The grandmother would be discussing the worthless of Adjoa’s short and thin legs.
She admitted the fact that her only daughter Koya’s husband was not as big a problem
as Adjoa’s long and thin legs.
(iii) (a) An understanding and receptive child who could understand her mother’s silent tears.
(b) Inquistive and confused child who wanted to know everything but used to get confused

about her grandmother’s constant cribbing about her long and thin legs.
(c) An affectionate child who liked her maternal grandmother despite her constantly
cribbing about her legs. It seems that despite her conventional orthodox views, she
was an affectionate mother who provided for her daughter and granddaughter when
her son-in-law had left her daughter and child.
IV. (i) The grandmother would thank God that her biggest problem was not her son-in-law.
Because she considered daughter at fault for marrying such a man and then giving birth
to a child (Adjoa) who had too long and thin legs to be of any use.
It shows that she was an orthodox lady who had conventional views about the role of
women in society and acted as a representative of patriarchy.
(ii) Because the narrator always found her grandmother complaining about her (narrator’s)
long and thin legs which would be an obstacle in bearing a child. Further, she could
understand her own daughter, Kaya’s pain and suffering and held her responsible for
everything.
Finally, the narrator felt that despite her Orthodox and conventional wisdom, her
grandmother was a good person, who loved her (Adjoa).
(iii) Adjoa’s mother would feel quite bad after her own mother’s putting all the blame on her
for having failed as a wife and a mother. She would weep inside but her mother would
not be able to understand her silent tears.
Adjoa’s mother and grandmother had a bittersweet relationship in which they were living
together. Adjoa’s grandmother used to blame her daughter for having failed as a wife and
daughter but still supported them and perhaps and perhaps provided for their living.
(iv) The grandmother used to hush up things about Adjoa’s father because she did not want
Adjoa to hear and understand anything about her father.
This shows that she cared for her grandfather and did not want to hurt her feelings.
(v) Adjoa’s grandmother serves as an agent of patriarchy in the following ways:
• She did not allow her daughter Kaya to express her thoughts or raise her voice.
• She never listened to Adjoa, who had to struggle to catch her attention.
• She forbade her from repeating certain things.
• She blamed her daughter Kaya for choosing a wrong husband and giving birth to a
girl having spindly legs.
18 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

• She complained her daughter for having failed as a wife and a mother.
• She did not want Adjoa to go to school and get education.
V. (i) The narrator described her friend’s legs as being similar to her own legs.
She was not sure whether unlike her own legs, her friend legs were strong enough to
support hips required for childbearing.
(ii) This shows Adjoa, the narrator’s child-like innocence, which does not allow her to
understand the fact that if she could walk the distance of five kilometres from her village
to school, without complaining, how could her legs be weak.
‘They’ refers to the older boys and girls in Adjoa’s school, who used to complain about
having to walk long distance to school and back.
(iii) It shows her child-like innocence and perhaps her conviction to go to school and get
herself educated to remove the stigma attached to her for having weak legs.
Adjoa does not feel uncomfortable while walking a distance of five kilometres to school
and back, thereby, asserting that her legs were not weak. She proved it at the end of
the story by winning the district level running competition and thereby, the best all-
round junior athlete.
(iv) Two characteristic traits of the narrator.

• Child-like innocence.
• Courage and resolve to prove himself.
For details please refer to (ii) and (iii) above.
(v) The narrator’s grandmother always considered Adjoa’s spindly legs as worthless. She
had the fear that Adjoa would not be able to perform the traditional role of a mother
as she did not have strong legs required to support the hips for childbearing.
However, her attitude underwent a little changed when Adjoa got selected the represent
her school at the district level race competition. It underwent a complete change when
Adjoa won the race and thereby, proved the worth of her legs and herself.
VI. (i) Nana would laugh at the prospect of Adjoa using her spindly legs to at least go to school
because she believed that Adjoa would be a misfit in school.
She allowed Adjoa to go to school as a good riddance for using her legs to go to school.
(ii) Because she did not consider it worthwhile to tell anyone at home.
This time it was different because she had been selected to represent her school at the
district level running competition quite in contrast to running and winning against her
classmates in school.
(iii) Adjoa’s mother and grandmother could not believe that Adjoa could be selected for any
such competition with her spindly legs.
Her grandmother marched to her school to conform the authenticity of the news.
(iv) When Adjoa’s mother heard the news, she was utterly surprised and wanted to tell
Adjoa’s grandmother that she knew that Adjoa could do something like that but it was
a secret she could not share with anyone.
But finally, she remained silent did not say anything.
(v) After getting the news of Adjoa’s selection for district sports meet, her grandmother
• took up the task of washing and ironing her school uniform daily.
• used to accompany her every afternoon for the district sports week.
She did so because she accepted the worth of Adjoa’s spindly legs and her new role as
an athelete, quite in contrast to the orthodox role of being a wife and mother she
had in mind for Adjoa.
VII. (i) The ‘gleaming cup’ refers to the trophy won by Adjoa for winning the district level race
and thereby, being adjudged the best all-round junior athlete.
SECTION II — SHORT STORIES: 4. THE PEDESTRIAN 19

Adjoa’s grandmother carried the trophy won by her (Adjoa) on her back as a mark of
accepting the worth of Adjoa’s legs and feeling pride of her granddaughter’s achievement.
(ii) The narrator has compared the gleaming cup with babies and other precious things.
She has done so to show that for her grandmother, who used to say earlier that she
did not care if such things were not done, now the cup seemed to be as important as
a baby is for her mother or some very precious things.
(iii) Adjoa’s grandmother wanted to show the cup to Adjoa’s mother because she wanted the
latter to rejoice at her daughter’s achievement.
Adjoa’s mother became speechless on seeing the trophy but she must had felt a sense
of pride and accomplishment for her daughter Adjoa.
(iv) Adjoa’s grandmother cried softly because she must have realised the worth of Adjoa’s
legs, which she had been criticising ever since she was born. It seems that tears in her
eyes were of joy at her granddaughter’s achievement.
It suggests that though she was a strict and orthodox woman, but she underwent
a change of heart after Adjoa’s selection for the district level sports meet and finally
accepted her worth as an athlete.
(v) Adjoa’s mother and grandmother felt a sense of pride and accomplishment after Adjoa
won the district level race.
Her grandmother proudly displayed her granddaughter’s achievement by carrying the
trophy on her back and thus accepting the view that a woman can achieve much more
than their roles as mothers and wives.
For Adjoa, her victory brought her closer to self-awareness about her worth, especially
of her spindly legs that were constantly criticised by her grandmother.

4. THE PEDESTRIAN
Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (b) 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (c) 5. (d) 6. (c) 7. (b) 8. (b) 9. (c) 10. (b)
11. (d) 12. (c) 13. (a) 14. (a) 15. (d)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) There was complete silence on the city streets because all the citizens were inside their
homes, watching different types of programmes on television.
He was Leonard Mead, an adult male the only named character in the story.
That was his routine, as he has been walking the city streets every might alone for the
last ten years.
(ii) Leonard Mead was a resident of an unnamed city and a writer by profession.
Mead loved walking the city streets at night and taking in the sights, sounds and smells
of the natural world.
He had been undertaking this lonely walk at night for the last ten years.
(iii) Because he used to walk along the road which did not have any traffic and he was all
alone there.
It suggests that Mead had become so used to living all lone and taking the lonely walk
at night for the last ten years, it did not bother him whether was a man or not.
(iv) He is described as ‘alone in this world of A.O. 2053 because all the household used to
remain indoors, glued to their television sets.
(v) These phrases indicate that Mead had made his own decision and selected the path
quite in contrast to the other citizens who do not come outside their houses and remain
glued to the television sets. It shows that Mead was at ease with himself, alone and
walking in the direction he felt like going.
These phrases indicate that Mead was a non-conformist, decisive and individualistic.
20 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

II. (i) Mead did not produce any sound while walking by wearing sneakers because he knew
that he was defying the norms of the society by being on the road when everybody else
was indoors and so wanted to protect himself from being discovered.
(ii) Mead started wearing sneakers instead of hard heels to prevent himself from being
discovered by the authorities and punished for being a non-conformist.
(iii) It suggests that Mead was a non-conformist, decisive and individualistic who did not
want to follow the rules which everybody else was following in society.
(iv) Mead is described as a ‘lone figure’ because he was the only person on the road at night
when everybody else was in their homes and watching television.
An entire streets, i.e., all the households would get started by his walk at night.
This was because he was the lone figure on the road in the early November evening.
(v) The characteristic traits of Leonard Mead as reflected in this extract are Non-conformist,
decisive, free, individualistic. For details refer to Characterisation in the Workbook.
III. (i) Mead heard a murmur of laughter and got curious to know if it was coming from within
a house. This was because he considered them as ‘grey phantoms’, lacking emotions
and being consumed by technology. It shows that he was cut off from the society and
was not at all welcome in the society where he used to live.
(ii) He stumbled while walking because he stumbled over an uneven section of ‘Cement
was vanishing’ because of the growth of plants and weeds that growing up through the
concrete.
It suggests that the sidewalks were no longer maintained because there were no walkers
to keep them down and the nature the nature was trying to reclaim the city.
(iii) Because of the impact of modern technology, especially television, other citizens remained
indoors watching television. It suggests that the other citizens were alienated and
dehumanised because of their conformity to a dystopian status quo.
(iv) The dormant potential of nature is revealed in this extract where Mead stumbled over
an uneven section of the sidewalk. Here, the concrete had vanished and plants and
weeds had emerged from underground. This suggests that nature which was dormant
in winter would rejuvenate and also the dehumanised citizens would be free again.
(v) Nonconformity is revealed through the acts of the protagonist of the story, Leonard Mead.
• He enjoyed his solitary walks at night unlike the other citizens who did not walk
around for pleasure but inside their homes, watching television.
• Mead was a writer by profession, an outdated profession in the age of technology
controlled life.
• Mead did not own a television, which was considered as his biggest nonconformity
for not using modern technology.
• Mead was unmarried, a defiance of the social system followed by everyone else.
IV. (i) Mead was outside on the road for his usual night walk.
The ‘lone car’ was a robotic police car that represented the unrelenting, authoritative
State power used to enforce social conformity.
(ii) (a) Alliteration: He was within a block of his destination when the lone car turned a
corner quite suddenly and flashed a fierce white cone of light upon. (w and f sound)
(b) Personification: flashed a fierce white cone of light upon him.

(iii) He was filled with wonder on seeing a lone car at night because a police car was a rare
sight.
(iv) Mead was as helpless as a moth. Like a moth he was attracted to the light and could
not move away from it.
(v) The feeling of fear and foreboding is conveyed through the following:

(a) It was a lone car that suddenly flashed a fierce white cone of light upon Mead.
SECTION II — SHORT STORIES: 5. THE LAST LESSON 21

(b) Mead was quite startled and filled with wonder and fear and felt as miserable as a
night moth.
V. (i) It was authoritative, harsh and inhuman as it ordered Mead to freeze and raise his
hands as if he were a criminal.
Because it was robotic police car driven by technology.
(ii) Because the crime rate had reduced to such an extent that there was little need for the
police car to enforce law and order.
The police had become absolute conformists and docile, subject to strict State control.
(iii) Mead was a writer by profession.
It was described as a ‘no profession’ because it was considered as an outdated profession
in the age of technology driven life. People no longer used to read books and magazines.
(iv) The simile in this extract is:
“The light held him fixed, like a museum specimen, needle thrust through chest.”
Mead is viewed as something extraordinary by the society that is to be started at and
examined as a museum specimen because he was quite different from other citizens.
The ‘needle thrust through chest’ suggests that Mead is physically restrained by the
police car.
(v) Mead has not written anything for years because there was no work for him as magazines
and books did not sell because people had stopped reading them.
Mead described his profession as that of being a writer. It shows that although he had
not written anything for a year but still considered himself as a writer. It shows he was
unwilling to give up his vocation and identify in order to become a conformist.

5. THE LAST LESSON

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (a) 4. (b) 5. (a) 6. (d) 7. (d) 8. (b) 9. (a) 10. (c)
11. (d) 12. (a)
Section B: Context Questions
I. (i) ‘I’ refer to the narrator of the story, a school-going boy, named Franz. He was on his way
to school. He thoughts of running away because of the prospect of being punished his
teacher as he had not studied Participles, on which his teacher, M. Hamel was supposed
to question them.
(ii) He wanted to spend the day outdoors because he was not interested in his studies.
Besides, he was more excited by the chirping of the birds at the edge of woods and the
drills of the Prussian soldiers than his French lessons. He was a carefree young man,
disinterested in his studies.
(iii) The presence of Prussian soldiers was a reference that their homeland has been annexed
by the Prussians. Their presence was a blow to them as they understand that they
would have to give up not only their country but also their language and culture.
(iv) He was tempted by the bright sunny day and the chirping of the birds at the edge of
the forest to remain outdoors. No, he did not fall for the temptation. He hurried off to
his school.
(v) A carefree young boy — disinterested in studies — frivolous boy having immature desires
— will power. For details refer to Characterisation.
II. (i) M. Hamel, the French language teacher is addressing his students in the classroom.
Grave and gentle tone.
(ii) Because their country had been annexed by the Prussians and had ordered to teach
only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine instead of French.
He is talking about his last French less on.
22 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (WORKBOOK ON TREASURE CHEST-ICSE)

(iii) To teach only German language instead of French in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.
Because the Prussians, whose language was German, had occupied the region of Alsace
and Lorraine.
(iv) The invading Prussian forces.
They would ban the study of French language, and instead make them study German,
the language of the invaders and thereby, subjugate their identity freedom and culture.
(v) The Last Lesson was literally the last lesson in French which M. Hamel gave to his
students in his last class. This was because the Prussians had conquered their country
and banned the study of French language.
Besides, the lesson which he gave to his students about how they can save their identity
and culture by preserving their language served as a life’s lesson for his students. Thus,
justifying the title of the story.
III. (i) Franz had not prepared the assignment on participles which his teacher M. Hamel had
asked to do. When Franz was asked to say the rules, he faltered on first words and
stood there speechless.
It was his last French lesson and he did not want to punish Franz on the last day of
his class.
(ii) ‘We’ refers to the entire French community, including M. Hamel. It suggests that the
entire French community and M. Hamel were responsible for neglecting the study of
French language and culture.
(iii) They said to themselves that they had plenty of time to study the French language.
By doing so, they gave themselves an excuse put off the study the French language and
consequently, did not know their own language.
(iv) The ‘fellow’ are the Prussian forces who had conquered the French territories of Alsace
and Lorraine.
They would ask the French people that how they could be considered as French when
they could neither speak nor write their own language, i.e., French.
Yes, they were right in saying so because the French people of Alsace and Lorraine had
neglected the study of their own language and could neither speak or write in French.
(v) The theme indicated in this extract is the link between one’s language and cultural
identity. It was the procrastination of the study of their language that caused the invading
Prussian forces to threaten their way of living, their identity and their culture. Without
known their language, the French would not be able to hold on to their own identity or
culture.
IV. (i) According to M. Hamel, French language was the symbol of identity for the people of
France.
He told the students in his class that without knowing their language, they would not
be able to hold on to their own identity or culture.
(ii) When people do not learn their language, they are not able to hold on to their own
identity and culture.
By learning their own language, people get the power to challenge their subjugation even
without using any arms and thus use language as a ‘key’ to their freedom.
(iii) Franz felt that he was able to clearly understand the last lesson taught by M. Hamel
because he listened to it quite attentively knowing well that it would be their last lesson
in French.
He could not understand it earlier because he never realised the importance of studying
his own language.
(iv) M. Hamel put extra effort to teach the students in his last class because he wanted to
instil in them the love for their language and thereby importance of their identity and
culture.
SECTION II — SHORT STORIES: 5. THE LAST LESSON 23

(v) M. Hamel was a true patriot who wanted to instil among his students, the love for their
language and respect for their country.
• He viewed his forty-year-tenure as a French teacher with deep national pride and
regarded it as a service to his nation.
• He made his student realise the importance of studying French and thereby, protecting
their identity and culture.
• He instilled the feeling of nationalism among his, students by asking them to write
‘France, Alsace’ over and over again.
• During his last class, before bidding good-bye to his students, M. Hamel wrote on the
blackboard ‘Vive La France’ (Long Live France).