The Proposal

1. Facial expressions are non-verbal communications. These expressions play an important role in a play. They are powerful communication tools. The human face is extremely expressive. It is able to convey countless emotions without saying a word. Expressions tell us the mood of the characters in the play. Some facial expressions are given below. The facial expressions are for happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust. Look at the facial expressions and write which emotion do they express.

(Note: Based on the text description provided in the chapter)
Image 1: Happiness
Image 2: Anger
Image 3: Surprise
Image 4: Sadness
Image 5: Fear
Image 6: Disgust

2. You have read ‘The Proposal’, a one act play. It is a farce... Now, make groups of four and discuss the following points.

* The marriage proposal is a mockery of romance and marriage in the upper class.

Answer/Discussion Point: The play satirizes how marriage in the upper class was often treated as a business arrangement for economic stability rather than a union of love. Lomov wants to marry Natalya not out of passion, but because she is a "good housekeeper" and he needs a quiet life, while Chubukov is eager to marry her off to expand estates.

* The pride in property, even the superiority of dogs, take priority over love and marriage.

Answer/Discussion Point: The characters are so obsessed with their petty possessions—Oxen Meadows and their hunting dogs, Guess and Squeezer—that they repeatedly sabotage the actual proposal. Their ego and pride in material things outweigh the significance of their relationship.

* The characters lack patience, stop listening to each other, and then contradict each other.

Answer/Discussion Point: None of the characters listen to understand; they listen to reply and argue. Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov constantly interrupt one another, escalating small misunderstandings into full-blown shouting matches, showcasing their inability to communicate effectively.

* Do you think these quarrels will promise a happy life?

Answer/Discussion Point: It is unlikely they will have a happy life. Even the proposal ends with a kiss followed immediately by another argument about the dogs. Their relationship is built on conflict and a need to be "right," suggesting a future filled with constant bickering.

* What qualities would you consider for a well-matched couple?

Answer/Discussion Point: A well-matched couple should possess mutual respect, patience, the ability to listen, shared values, compromise, and genuine affection for one another—qualities noticeably absent in Lomov and Natalya.

* Do you think all of us should know how to manage our anger?

Answer/Discussion Point: Yes, anger management is crucial. Uncontrolled anger, as seen in the play, leads to physical ailments (like Lomov's palpitations), destroys relationships, and prevents rational decision-making.

Text I

How Can We Control Anger?

Q.1. What do you understand by the word ‘anger’?

Anger is an emotion that represents the absence of peace with oneself, people, or situations around us. It is often expressed by being assertive or aggressive.

Q.2. List any four strategies to manage anger.

1. Take five deep breaths.
2. Count up to ten.
3. Drink water.
4. Change your place or get physically active (e.g., walking).

Q.3. How can you develop strengths of character as given in the passage above?

One can develop strengths of character by realising one's own shortcomings, learning to see situations from different perspectives, avoiding holding grudges, and learning when to seek help from others.

Q.4. Anger management helps you in (Tick the correct answer.) —

(a) remaining always happy
(b) developing strength of character
(c) remaining stress free
(d) learning how to respond to the situation

Answer: (d) learning how to respond to the situation

Q.5. What is under our control? How can we make it a positive one?

The only thing under our control is our response to circumstances, people, or situations. We can make it positive by increasing our capacity to tolerate, improving our ability to understand, and learning to nurture love for others.

Text II

On Violence

Q.1. What is the physical violence that J. Krishnamurti is talking about?

Physical violence refers to killing others, hurting people consciously or deliberately, saying cruel things full of antagonism and hate, and destroying or maiming others.

Q.2. What is the violence that cannot be expressed?

This refers to inward violence, which happens "inside the skin," such as disliking people, hating people, criticising others, and battling with oneself.

Q.3. War, the ultimate violence, could be due to (Tick the correct options) —

(a) difference of ideas
(b) religious principles
(c) nationalities
(d) the feeling to protect a little piece of land
(e) all of the above
(f) none of the above

Answer: (e) all of the above

Q.4. How has J. Krishnamurti given the feelings of the rich and the poor in the given paragraph?

He describes the rich as wanting to keep people poor, while the poor want to get rich and, in the process, hate the rich.

Q.5. What is the role of education in a human being’s life?

The role of education is to help human beings go beyond violence and become really beautiful, healthy, sane, and rational beings, rather than just helping them pass examinations and get jobs.

Q.6. How, as a student, will you create a new world?

As a student, one can create a new world by not following the existing society based on violence and aggressiveness. Instead, one must build a new culture that is not based on violence, by understanding both outward cruelty and inward violence.

1. Some verbs are given below. Write their nouns and adverb forms in the space provided.

1. Some children are taken to a health clinic for a regular checkup. Rewrite the sentences they speak in reported speech. (Use complain, say, tell, ask, inquire, mention, etc., wherever necessary.)

Ashish : I feel sleepy all the time.

Ashish said that he felt sleepy all the time.

Neha : I get pain in my legs when I run.

Neha complained that she got pain in her legs when she ran.

Sonal : I’m fine.

Sonal said that she was fine.

Ritu : I had fever last week.

Ritu mentioned that she had had fever the previous week.

Akash : Why do I always cough?

Akash asked why he always coughed.

Rehman : Should I walk everyday to keep myself fit?

Rehman inquired if he should walk everyday to keep himself fit.

Sumi : Oh, thank you, Doctor. Now I know the reason for my constant stomach-ache.

Sumi thanked the Doctor and said that then she knew the reason for her constant stomach-ache.

2. Use ‘said’, ‘told’ or ‘asked’ to fill in the blanks in the following sentences.

(a) The Scientist said that dinosaurs lived 230 million years ago.

(b) The teacher told the students that she was going to conduct a new experiment.

(c) Could you please tell me where the new bookshop is located?

(d) The student asked (the teacher) if it was possible to solve the sum.

(e) It is requested that he should tell the truth.

(f) Father asked (his son) whether he had paid his fees or not.

Jumbled Sentences

1. Join the parts of the sentences given below and write meaningful sentences.

(a) by giving ultimate/individual can transform everything/ expression to /the inner determination of an/the infinite potential of human being

The inner determination of an individual can transform everything by giving ultimate expression to the infinite potential of human being.

(b) down many a time/but keep rising/that you may go/the Sun teaches us

The Sun teaches us that you may go down many a time but keep rising.

(c) but how much love/much we give/we put into giving/it’s not how

It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.

(d) fit for human habitation/would mould the world/the citizens of tomorrow/into a globe

The citizens of tomorrow would mould the world into a globe fit for human habitation.

(e) you must hear/to be a great leader /and pains of people/ the unspoken joys

To be a great leader you must hear the unspoken joys and pains of people.

1. You have read a play by Anton Chekov. Given below is a story by the same author. Listen and enjoy the recorded story or someone may read it aloud to you. Then answer the questions that follow.

(a) Vanka went to bed early on Christmas Eve as he did not want his master and mistress to catch him writing the letter, or rather, he did not go to bed but waited for them to leave for church.

(Explanation: The story text says "He didn’t go to bed on Christmas Eve." The prompt implies a reason for his behavior during that time.)

(b) Why, of all people, did he write a letter to his grandfather?

He wrote to his grandfather because he had no father or mother, and his grandfather was the only relative he had left.

(c) How was his grandfather a very lovable person?

His grandfather was a lively old man who was always crinkling with laughter, cracked jokes with the cooks, and was friendly even with the dogs.

(d) Vanka was beaten many times.

(e) Vanka was beaten because he fell asleep while rocking the baby in the cradle and for not knowing how to clean a fish properly.

(f) What was Vanka prepared to do for grandfather if he was taken away from the shoemaker?

Vanka was prepared to grind snuff for him, pray to God for him, clean boots, or even work as a shepherd boy.

(g) He was sent to Alyakhin, the shoe-maker, to work as an apprentice (or to be an assistant).

(h) Who does Vanka remember most at Christmas, next to his grandfather?

He remembers the young mistress Olga, who used to give him sweets and taught him things.

(i) How did he address the letter?

He addressed it: "To Grandfather in the Village" and later added "Konstantin Makarich".

(j) Did he sleep well after posting the letter? What did he dream?

Yes, he slept well, "lulled by sweetest hopes." He dreamed of a stove where his grandfather was sitting, reading the letter to the cooks, with the dog Eel walking round.

1. Letters in the olden times were carried by mail coaches driven by horses. How are they carried today? List the types of letters sent by different means of transport.

Today, letters are carried by vans, trains, and airplanes.
Types of letters/mail:
1. Ordinary Post / Postcards (Rail/Road)
2. Speed Post (Air/Road)
3. Registered Post
4. Air Mail (International letters sent by plane)
5. Courier Packages

2. You have listened to the story of Vanka. Try writing an e-mail to your grandfather describing your life.

From: grandson@email.com
To: grandfather@email.com
Subject: Missing you and life here

Dear Grandfather,

I hope you are doing well and staying warm. I am writing to tell you how much I miss you and the village. Life here in the city is very fast and crowded. I go to school every day, which is good, but I often miss our walks in the forest and the stories you used to tell me.

The city is noisy and the air isn't as fresh as back home. I am studying hard so that one day I can make you proud. Please take care of your health.

With love,
Your Grandson

3. a) You have read ‘A Letter to God’ in your textbook First Flight. Lencho wrote a letter to God expressing his desire. Did it reach God?

No, the letter did not reach God physically, but it reached the postmaster, who was moved by Lencho's faith and decided to help him.

b) Do you think Vanka’s letter reached his grandfather? What is the correct way to address a letter?

No, Vanka's letter likely did not reach his grandfather because the address was incomplete ("To Grandfather in the Village").
The correct way to address a letter is:
Full Name of Recipient
House Number and Street Name
Village/City/Town Name
District and State
PIN/ZIP Code

c) Suppose Vanka and Lencho meet. Create an interesting dialogue between the two. What encouraged them to write letters to God and grandfather?

Dialogue

Lencho: Hello! Vanka.
Vanka: Hello! How are you?
Lencho: I am waiting for the rain for my crops. Times are hard. I wrote a letter to God asking for help.
Vanka: You wrote to God? I wrote to my grandfather. He is the only one I have in this world. I am so miserable at the shoemaker's house.
Lencho: I have faith. God sees everything. If we ask with a pure heart, He provides. That encouraged me to write. I need 100 pesos to sow my field again.
Vanka: My memory of my grandfather's kindness encouraged me. I just want to go back to the village. Did you get a reply?
Lencho: Yes, though it was not the full amount. But I know God will not forsake us.
Vanka: I hope my grandfather comes for me soon. I put it in the postbox just like you.