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The Journey by Temsula Ao-Questions-answers

 Lesson 3: The Journey by Temsula Ao

Part A: Very Short answer-type Qs

 Q1. Which place or region has been described in the story?

Ans. A tribal village in the Naga Hills

Q2. Why was the journey so difficult?

Ans. The journey was difficult because Tinula was to reach her boarding school walking on foot and passing through the thick jungle and intricate (difficult) ways of the mountains.

Q3. Do you encounter such difficulties while coming to college?

Ans. No.

Q4. Who is Winnie?

Ans. She was Tinula’s friend.

Q5.What does the story focus on?

Ans. It focuses on Tinula’s physical and emotional journey.

Q6. Who is the main character in the story?

Ans. Tinula

Q6.At what time of the day does the story begin?

Ans. Early in the morning

Q7.At which place did Tinula spend her night in the town of Mariani?

Ans. She spent the night in the loft of a kind shopkeeper.

Q8.How did Tinula wake up early in the morning?

Ans.

Q9.Why was the journey possible only in the wintertime?

Ans. There the water in the streams was not so deep in winter.

Q10. Why did Tinula’s brother ask her to walk faster?

Ans. It was getting dark and there was danger of wild animals after the sunset.

Q11.Where did Tinula keep her favourite dress?

Ans. She kept her favourite dress in a trunk made of tin

Q12. What was Tinula’s brother’s name?

Ans. Temjenba

Q13. What is ‘singaras’?

Ans. It is a snack item like a ‘samosa’ in the North East of India

Q14. Which was the last station nearest to her boarding?

Ans. Farkating

Q15. Who gave Tinula the pair of shoes she was wearing at that time?

Ans. It was given to her by a senior student at her school.

Q16.Where did they eat their midday meal?

Ans. They ate (had) their lunch at the bank of a river.

Q17. In which vehicle do they reach school from the station?

Ans. They reached school in a car (ambassador car).

Q18. Where did the superintendent give shelter to Tinula?

Ans. The superintendent gave her shelter in the infirmary (medical room).

Q19. With whom did Tinula share the bed?

Ans. Tinula shared the bed with Winnie.

Q20. What information did Winnie share with Tinula?

Ans. Winnie told Tinula that her (Tinula’s) boyfriend had a new girlfriend.

Q21. What was the age of Tinula? Or how old was Tinula?

Ans. She was thirteen years old.

Q22. What kind of journey is mentioned by the author at the end of the story?

Ans. The author mentions Tinula’s emotional journey at the end.

 

Part B: Answer the following questions in four or five lines.

Q1. Discuss the relevance of the title of the story ‘The Journey’?

Ans. The title of this story is quite appropriate. The author describes Tinula’s two types of journey. One is taken by her at the physical level. The second is her emotional one. She reaches her boarding school after passing through the difficult ways of the jungle and climbing up and down the mountains. After reaching there, she had to sleep with her friend Winnie. She told her about Hubert, her boyfriend, who had had a new girlfriend. It is then she had a new feeling that takes her on an emotional journey.

 

Q2.How does the story bring out the importance of the efforts of the community in helping an individual?

Ans. The efforts of the community in helping individuals like Tenula are very important. During the journey, she was helped by her brother and the other members of her community in one way or the other. Some women in the group dropped pieces of meat on their leaf plates at mealtime. They catch each other’s hands while crossing the rivers or streams. A kind woman in the group took her shoes to make her comfortable. Once she was lagging behind, then, other members of the group waited for her. A co-passenger gave her seat in the train. At the station, they were given a lift in a car. Such incidents show that community plays a very important role in helping individuals.

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Q3. Assess the brother-sister relationship as described in the story.

Ans. Temjenba and Tenula are brother and sister. Tenula is a girl of thirteen years. Both of them have a strong bonding between them. The text of this lesson shows that they have to undertake two difficult journeys on foot in the terrains of Naga Hills. First, Temjenba brings his sister back to their village from the boarding school. Then, after the summer vacation, he accompanies (goes with) her to her boarding school. During both the journeys, Temjenba shows a lot of concern for his sister. Sometimes, she lags behind and feels tired. Then he encourages her to move fast in order to reach the target before sunset. He helps her cross the streams and the rivers on the way. Temjenba brings some snacks and tea for her at the stoppage of the train. She felt obliged to him at that time.

 

Q6. Describe the train journey of Tenula and her brother.

Ans. Anyhow, Tinula and her brother reached the railway station. They had no time to purchase tickets, so they entered the train without tickets. After some time, a passenger adjusted Tinula on his seat. At a small station, her brother, Tenjenba, went out quickly and bought something for her to eat. It was a samosa-like snack. He also brought some tea also. Tinula felt obliged to her brother. After a tiring journey, the train reached Farkating. It was the nearest station to her boarding school.

 

Q7. Describe the experience of Tenula and her brother from the station to the school.

Ans. After coming out of the railway station of Farkating, now they were to reach School. It was three or four miles away. But it was late at night and darkness was everywhere. He was in confusion about what to do. Even the station master was locking his office. Temjenba was just thinking about it when a man from the dark came near them. He offered them a lift in his car. It was God’s blessing sent to them. They both followed the man up to the car. It was an Ambassador car. Tinula was almost squeezed among other passengers in the car.

The car reached the school gate. They came out of it and in this way they reached the school gate.

Q8. Write a note at the beginning of the story ‘The Journey.

Ans. Tinula, a thirteen-year-old girl lives in a tribal village surrounded by jungles and hills in Nagaland. The day dawned when she has to return to her boarding school, situated at a far-off place after two months’ vacation. She wakes up suddenly due to the squealing of a piglet. She has to travel on foot today through thick jungle and intricate ways of the mountains to reach her boarding school.

It was still dark when she woke up. She was alert because it was the day when she was to reach her school after two months’ winter break.

She still remembered the minute detail of her previous journey when she had come up to her village by traversing the plains of Assam to her village in the Naga Hills.

Q9. Describe Tenula’s experience at the school boarding.

Ans. After reaching the school gate, Tinula and Temjenba moved towards the Superintendent’s bungalow. A lady opened the door. First, she seemed annoyed at being awakened at such an odd hour of the night. But when she saw them shivering, she told Temjenba to go back home.

The superintendent took the girl to the school infirmary (medical room). It was temporarily being used for the students who reached school late at night after their holidays. Tinula had to share the bed in which her friend, Winnie was sleeping. Before creeping into the warmth of the bed, she washed her feet as best as she could. She enjoyed the warmth of the soft bed.

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Part C: Long Answer-type Questions

Q1. With reference to the story ‘The Journey’, write about the natural beauty of the North-East. (In about ten to fifteen lines)

Or  What is special about the landscape portrayed in the story?

Ans. The writer gives a very minute (microscopic) detail of the landscape in this story. Tinula’s village is situated in Naga Hills. These hills are full of green trees and bushes. The way to reach anywhere is full of difficulties. Wild animals also live in dense forests. There are rivers and streams that have to be crossed. There are no bridges on them. It is very difficult to cross these rivers during the rainy season. The water in these rivers is reduced only in winter. Life in these hills is very tough. So, the people have to live from hand to mouth only.

Q2. Describe Tinula’s journey from her boarding school to her village.

Ans. After eating rice and curry in the morning, Tinula along with her brother and some other members of the group set out on their journey forming a line.

The way was rough and full of dangers. After traversing (walking with difficulty), she felt tired. But her brother was encouraging her to move faster and faster. The other members had reached the halfway mark on the bank of Disoi River.

As Tinula and her brother reached there, they started eating food. Some women dropped pieces of meat on the girl’s leaf plate to make her feel happy. Having eaten food, they resumed their journey. They entered a river. Her brother and a man held her up by putting their hands under her armpits and carried her safely to the river bank.

The road became steep soon after crossing the river. The girl was unable to walk further. She sat down on a stone step and started crying. She sat down on a stone step and started crying. The others had gone far and they didn’t notice it. But, her brother was with her feeling worried. He tried to soothe her pointing to the sun that was moving westward and told her once again about the dangers of the jungle.

The girl remembered now as to how she struggled over every step. The sun had almost set when they reached the village.

Q3. Describe the journey of Tinula and her brother from the village to her boarding school.

 

 Ans. After having a morning meal, Tinula and her brother, Temjenba, began their journey to reach the place where they could board a bus or a train to reach the town. It was a downward journey almost steep (straight).

Both of them were to reach their target Mariani by four in the afternoon. They ate their midday meal on the bank of the river. It was almost dry. Tinula was helped by her brother and the woman cross the river.

 Now, they had reached the plain. The girl felt thirsty because the direct rays of the sun were falling on her face. But she had to keep pace with others. Sometimes she had to run to join them under the fear of some wild animal. They reached the railway station almost at the sunset of the winter evening. They hurriedly boarded the train. They did not get seats. After sometime, a passenger offered Tinula to adjust with him on his seat. On a station, her brother brought some snacks and tea for her. At last, the train reached Farkating. It was the last station that was also nearest to her boarding school. It was nearly midnight when they came out of the station.

Now they were to walk on foot to cover the distance of three or four miles to reach the boarding school. But a kind person offered them a lift in his ambassador car and then he left them near the main gate of the school.

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Q4. Describe Tinula’s emotional journey mentioned at the end of the story.

Ans.  In this story, Tinula undergoes two types of journeys. Her first journey was at the physical level and the second one was at her mental level. After completing her first journey, Tinula had to experience a sudden change in her emotions. It was an emotion she had never experienced before. She had to share her friend Winnie’s bed to pass the night.                                      

 First Winnie told her about Herbert, whom she liked. She told Tinula that he had a new girl friend. It was Winnie’s willing attempt to hurt her. That made her feel disturbed and hurt. But to save her face, she had giggled at that time. After, many years, she recalls the incident but she did not know if she had laughed or cried at that time.

But Winnie’s attempt of mentioning Herbert’s girlfriend really brought about a change in her mind. She had a strange realisation that she had never had. It was the emotion that had overtaken her and was forcing her to look at the warm body lying next to her in a different way.

She wished to leave the bed and go somewhere else. But it was not possible as it was too late and the superintendent had gone to her room. Besides, she had also no reason to explain to her why she wanted to sleep elsewhere. So, she just turned her back and pretended to sleep through her body continued to shake for a long time.

Q5.How does the story bring out the importance of the efforts of the community in helping an individual?

Ans. In this story, we come to know how the efforts of the community in helping individuals like Tinula are important. She had to undertake two journeys on foot along with her brother and a few members of her community through the thick jungle and all the difficulties of the intricate (complicated/very difficult) way.

 During the journey, she was helped by her brother and the other members of her community in one way or the other. We know how some women of the group dropped pieces of meat on their leaf plates at mealtime. A kind shopkeeper gave them shelter to sleep in the loft of his shop. While crossing the streams and rivers on the way, Tinula was helped by them. They catch each other’s hands while crossing the rivers or streams.

 

At one time, Tinula was facing a problem in walking while picking up her shoes in one hand. Then a kind woman from the group took her shoes to make her comfortable. Once she was lagging behind, then, other members of the group waited for her. A co-passenger gave her seat on the train. At the station, they were given a lift in a car. Such incidents show that community plays a very important role in helping individuals.

 

Q6. How do people of the hill community prepare for the journey?

Ans.  The people of the hill community form a group if a journey to somewhere is undertaken. Tinula’s brother also formed a group of his community members to help Tinula reach her boarding school. They make some necessary arrangements before starting on a journey.

Every member of the group has to take a basket at his or her back. It has salt, dry fish, some bottles of hair oil, and even kerosene oil for the lamps. The author also tells us that it was a custom to bring some rice and some other required material by each member of the group to prepare meals during the journey. A big pot for preparing food is also to be carried by one of the members of the group. Each one would contribute one cup full of rice each time they prepare a meal.

Firewood is also collected for cooking meals before the start of the journey. After having the morning meal, they start their journey in a single file (line).

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Before Breakfast-Questions-Answers

 Before Breakfast: Qs & Ans.

A.      Long Answer-type Qs (Word limit About 300 words)

Q1. Describe how far has O’Neil succeeded in delineating the tension in marriage through the monologue of Mrs. Rowland?

Ans. O’Neil has very successfully delineated tension in a marriage through the monologue of Mrs. Rowland. This theme of the play achieves universal appeal because, in this modern world, this type of tension is generally found in married couples. The sources of the tension are several, like unemployment, extra marital relationship and even ego-clash in married life.

Here in this one act play, there is only one character, Mrs. Rowland. She keeps on speaking while preparing breakfast and even when she is having it. She seems to be frustrated from her married life. She also utters as to why she should suffers. She taunts her husband by calling him a good-for-nothing fellow and a half man. She says that it is because of her they are not dying of hunger. She does sewing to earn some money. We also find that she feels concerned for her husband when she hears some groan. She thinks that he has made a cut while shaving his face.

There are several reasons for Mrs. Rowland’s anger and frustration. Her husband is jobless. She thinks that he does not go in search of job. He wastes his time with his useless friends in writing useless poems and short stories. He is a drunkard and is in the habit of pawning the valuables of the house. Recently, he has pawned a watch. There is nothing in the house now to know about time. Another thing that irritates Mrs. Rowland most is that he meets girls and makes them fools. Recently she has come to know about Helen, who seems to be pregnant. Her husband’s silence makes Mrs. Rowland angrier and she keeps on venting out her bitterness in her speeches. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband. She fails to understand the predicament of a jobless husband. If she had problems with him, she could have made a choice of taking divorce from him. But she did not do so but drove him to take a drastic step of committing suicide. He may be intolerable for her, but he did not utter a word during the whole monologue. The readers feel his presence by some sounds coming from the bedroom as we hear groans and the sound of falling chair, etc.

Thus we may conclude that the writer has very successfully brought about the deep tension that is found in married life these days.

Q2. Justify the title of the one-act play “Before Breakfast’.

Ans. The title of the one-act play ‘Before Breakfast’ is quite appropriate. There is only one active character in this one-act play, that does no action but speaks about the person whose presence is felt. This character, who can be called the protagonist, is Mrs. Rowland. Her monologue centres on her husband. Mrs. Alfred.

It is morning time and Mrs. Rowland is about to prepare breakfast for herself and, of course, for her husband also. Her monologue ends up with her last expression of concern ‘Alfred’ and that is before her husband’s breakfast. The motif (idea) of breakfast recurs (is repeated) in Mrs. Rowland’s monologue several times.

She tells him tauntingly that there is not much material present in the kitchen for preparing breakfast. She says, ‘All we got this morning is bread and butter and coffee;…’ She has old stale bread. After preparing it, she slams the loaf of  bread on the table.’  She utter: ‘The bread's stale. I hope you'll like it. You don't deserve any better,…’

Then she tells him that the coffee will be ready in a minute and she will not wait for him to come there.

After that she sips her coffee and keeps on speaking her sarcastic words about her husband. who is supposed to be sleeping in his bed room.

She seems to be frustrated from her own married life. She also utters as to why she should suffers. She taunts her husband by calling him a good-for-nothing fellow and even a half man. She says that it is because of her they are not dying of hunger. She does sewing job to earn some money. We also find that she feels concerned for her husband when she hears some groans. She thinks that he has made a cut while shaving his face.

There are several reasons for Mrs. Rowland’s anger and frustration. Her husband is jobless. She thinks that he does not go in search of job. He wastes his time with his useless friends in writing useless poems and short stories. He is a drunkard and is in the habit of pawning the valuables of the house. Recently, he has pawned a watch. There is nothing in the house now to know about time. Another thing that irritates Mrs. Rowland most is that he meets girls and makes them fools. Recently she has come to know about Helen, who seems to be pregnant. Her husband’s silence makes Mrs. Rowland angrier and she keeps on venting out her bitterness in her speeches. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband.

At last she hears a sound of something falling in Mr. Alfred’s bedroom. She runs to the door feeling much worried and calls pathetically ‘Alfred’.

Her monologue ends up with a sting in the tail. The audience or the readers is left to guess what would have happened.

Thus the whole monologue of Mrs. Rowland belongs to before breakfast time. Thus the title of this one-act play is quite appropriate.

Q3. Discuss ‘Before Breakfast as a dramatic monologue.

Ans. Of course, the one-act play ‘Before Breakfast’ is a dramatic monologue. It is a monologue because all the speeches in the play are delivered by only one character named Mrs. Rowland. This monologue becomes dramatic when the readers/audience feels the presence of another character in the background. Such a character mostly remains silent and shapes the tone and manner of the speaker’s speech. It further brings out the thoughts and feelings of the speaker to the readers/audience. They make their point of view not only towards the speaker but also about the character that is silent.

We come to know a lot about Mrs. Rowland’s character through her speeches. She speaks a lot of sharp and hard words to make her husband involve in a quarrel. But her husband’s response is almost zero. Only one or two painful groans are heard. But the lady keeps on speaking non-stop until he takes the drastic step of committing suicide. There may be other reasons for the suicide. But here, we have to blame Mrs. Rowland for forcing her husband to kill himself. So we believe that Mrs. Rowland is not at all reasonable towards tackling her husband. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband. She fails to understand the predicament of a jobless husband. If she had problems with him, she could have made a choice of taking divorce from him. But she did not do so but drove him to take a drastic step of committing suicide. He may be intolerable for her, but he did not utter a word during the whole monologue. He may have faults that were intolerable for her. He is jobless, drunkard and is in the habit of pawning the valuables of the house. Recently, he has pawned a watch. There is nothing in the house now to know about time. Another thing that irritates Mrs. Rowland most is that he meets girls and makes them fools. Recently she has come to know about Helen, who seems to be pregnant. But Mrs. Rowland’s apathetic attitude towards her husband cannot be condoned (forgiven/exempted). Thus ‘Before Brekafast’ is a dramatic monologue and it reminds us of Robert Browning’s several dramatic monologues also.

B.      Short Answer-type Questions in 100 words each:

Q1. What do you learn about the family background of the Rowland’s from the play ‘Before Breakfast’?

Ans. In this play, there is only one character and she is Mrs. Rowland. The presence of her husband is felt only through her monologue. She keeps on speaking till the play ends a sad note. She speaks about her husband more than she tells us about his or her own family. We just come to know from Mrs. Rowland’s monologue that her husband’s father was a millionaire. But he was under big debt when he died. Her husband was a Harvard graduate. She also speaks about her family’s humble background. She says that her father was just a grocer. But he was an honest person, who never cheated anyone.

Q2.Why does Mrs. Rowland not want to leave her house and go back to her parents?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland vents out (expresses) her bitterness towards her husband in her monologue. It does not mean that she does not have any love or concern for her husband. She had made her own choice to marry a millionaire’s only son, Mr. Rowland. She was happy until she came to know that he did nothing but drink a lot and waste his time with his useless friends. In fact, she thinks of her family’s respect. She does not want to bring a bad name to her family and, of course’ to herself also by abandoning her husband. She does not want to prove that her marriage was an utter failure. These may be the reasons in her mind for not leaving her house and go back to her parents.

Q3. Comment on Mrs. Rowland’s attitude towards her husband.

Ans. Mrs. Rowland’s attitude towards her husband is not so good. She keeps on venting out her bitterness in her speeches. Her words are too much pungent and piercing to her sensitive husband. She fails to understand the predicament of a jobless husband. If she had problems with him, she had a choice of taking divorce from him. But she does not do so but drives him to take a drastic step of committing suicide. He may be intolerable to her, but he did not utter a word during the whole monologue. The readers feel his presence by some sounds coming from the bedroom as we hear groans and the sound of falling chair, etc. Her attitude is apathetic (unsympathetic) to her husband.

Q4. Why does Mrs. Rowland shrieks and come running out of the bedroom at the end of the play?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland shrieks and comes running out of the bedroom at the end of the play. This does not happen all of a sudden. It is Mrs. Rowland’s bitter remarks about her husband that lead to the tragic end of the play. Her husband is jobless. He is a drunkard, who pawns the valuables of the house. She thinks that he does not go in search of job. He only wastes his time by sitting with his idle friends. She also blames him for befooling girls like Helen, who is pregnant now. She talks about his family tauntingly. Her bitter words seem to drive Mr. Alfred to take a drastic step of committing suicide. She realises this when she hears a sound of something fallen to the floor in her husband’s bedroom. It makes her run shrieking out of the bedroom.

Q5. How do you think that Mrs. Rowland’s dreams are shattered according to her?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland says that she married Mr. Alfred by her own choice. He was said to be the only son of a millionaire. Her husband was also a Howard graduate. He was a poet and short story writer. After her marriage, Mrs. Rowland’s dreams were shattered. She came to know that her husband was a wine addict and jobless too. According to her, he does not go in search of job. Instead, he wastes his time with his idle friends. He writes worthless poems and short-stories that no one is going to buy. In addition, he meets girls and befools them. His latest victim is Helen. She also tells us that his father was under a lot of debt. It is she who is keeping the household go on somehow. Thus her dreams of a rich and luxurious life are shattered.

Q6. Describe the tragic end of the play ‘Before Breakfast’.

Ans. The play ‘Before Breakfast’ ends up at a very tragic note that even Mrs. Rowland had never expected.

We know that she keeps on speaking in the whole play. But at times, she stops to listen to her husband’s responses. But those are only some sounds. Towards the end of the play, she hears the sound of something dripping on the floor. After that she hears as if a chair has overturned. It was soon followed by a thudding sound.  It alarmed her. She rushed to look into the room. What she saw inside made her frantic. She ran outside the house crying loudly. Here the play ends. The reader/audience is left to imagine that Mr. Alfred must have committed suicide. Thus the play ends at a very tragic note.

 

C.      Answer the following questions in two or three sentences:

Q1.What does Mrs. Rowland do to fend for her family?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland’s husband is jobless. So in this case, she has to run her family. She does sewing job to earn some money to make food and fulfils necessary requirements of the house.

Q2.Why does Mrs. Rowland feel that nobody will give her husband a job?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland feels that no one will give her husband a job because he usually did not shave his face. He remained in bed for most of time. He did not look decent. So his wife assumed that no one will give him a job.

Q3. In what way, according to Mrs. Rowland, is her father different from her father-in-law?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland says that her father was quite different from her father-in-law. Her father ran a grocery shop. He was not so rich but he was an honest. Her father-in-law was said to be a millionaire. But he was under a huge (very big) debt.

Q4. What does Mrs. Rowland find in her husband’s pocket?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland was suspicious of her husband. She knew that her husband meets several girls and befools them with his poetic words. So she searched her husband’s pockets and found a letter. It was written by Helen, his recent victim.

Q5. (a) Who is Helen? (b) What makes Mrs. Rowland think that she may be an artist or a poet?

Ans. Helen is a girl who is supposed to be in love with Mr. Alfred. Mrs. Rowland found a letter from her husband’s vest coat. She read it and guessed from its style of writing and subject matter that she might be an artist or a poet.

Q6. What did Alfred do with the money that he got by pawning his watch?

Ans. In Mrs. Rowland’s opinion, Mr. Alfred was jobless drunkard and he passed his time with his idle friends. He even befooled girls. For these he required money to spend. So he used to pawn things of his house. Recently he has pawned a watch.

Q7. Why is Mrs. Rowland frustrated?

Ans. Mrs. Rowland had her own dreams and aspirations. She must have thought of a rich and luxurious life because she had married rich father’s son. But soon her dreams were shattered. Her father-in-law died in a huge debt. Mr. Alfred did nothing but waste his time in idle pursuits. He was a drunkard. He used to pawn things to spend money on wine and other bad habits. All these things were the causes of Mrs. Rowland’s frustration.

D.     Answer the following questions in one word/phrase or a sentence:

Q1.What does Mrs. Rowland do to fend for her family?

Ans. She does sewing job to earn some money to fend her family.

Q2.Why does Mrs. Rowland feel that nobody will give her husband a job?

Ans. Her husband is lazy and does not shave his face.

Q3.In what way, according to to Mrs. Rowland, is her father different from her father-in-lay?

Ans. Her father is not so rich and he is honest.

Q4. What does Mrs. Rowland find in her husband’s pocket?

Ans. She found a letter written by a girl, Helen.

Q5. (a) Who is Helen? (b) What makes Mrs. Rowland think that she may be an artist or a poet?

Ans. (a) Helen is Mr. Alfred’s a new girl friend. (b) Mrs. Rowland thought as such from the letter’s style and language.

Q6. What did Alfred do with the money that he got by pawning his watch?

Ans. He spent it on wine, etc.

Q7. Why is Mrs. Rowland frustrated?

ANs. Her husband turned out to be a jobless drunkard.