Going places ( A. R. Barton )
The story is about the life of Sophie, a teenager, who like others of her age, and filled with fantasies and desires, she is from a poor family, she dreams big things in life.
she wants to be someone who is bit sophisticated like an fashion designer or actress. she also dreams of owning a boutique one day.
her friend Jansie who is very much down to earth discourages Sophie from indulging in her so called dreams. Jansie believes that both of them are earmarked for the biscuit factory. Sophie lives in a small town and small house with her parents and brothers, Geoff and little Derek. Sophie is jealous of her brother Geoff because he gets lots of freedom. He daily goes to work and riding his motorcycle. she is eager to know his world but he always keeps a distance from her.
she divulges all her inner secrets. She is afraid of her father who scolds her for her silly dreams. one day she goes and tells Geoff that she met Danny Cassey, the football celebrity at the arcade and he talked to her. she gets so engrossed that she starts to believe her own story.
her father is so angry with her for this silly dreams and warns her that one day she would get into trouble. On Saturday evening the whole family goes to watch the football match in which Danny Cassey scores the final goal. Everyone is happy with Danny's performance. she tells Geoff that Danny Cassey had performance, She tells Geoff that Danny Cassey had promised a date with her. Geoff doesn't believe her but couldn't ignore the great dream of his sister. He divulges this secret to Frank who goes and tells his sister Jansie about it Nosey Jansie comes to Sophie wanting to get more details, but Sophie hides it from her because she didn't trust Jansie's ability to keep secrets. She knew that Jansie would tell everyone about it. On an evening Sophie goes to the wharf to meet Danny Cassey. She believes that he would come, but finally, the reality begins to sink into her. She returns home disappointed. Then, She makes her way home, wondering how her brother would be disappointed on knowing that Danny Cassey never showed up. However, Sophie still fantasies about her hero, unperturbed. The whole story is about unrealistic dreams and how we love to indulge in them knowing all the while that they have little possibility dreams and how we love to indulge in them knowing all the while that they have little possibility of coming true. but some, like Sophie, get too involved in them and actually act on them. This is when disappointment makes its entrance into life.
TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS
THINK AS YOU READ
Q.1.where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?
Ans.It was likely that both the girls would find some work in a biscuit factory. They was not highly qualified to get a job. sophie wanted to open a shop for herself.
Q.2.What are the options that sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her from having such dreams?
Ans.The other options that sophie was dreaming of were to become a manager in a shop or an actress. Both would enabe her to make money to begin a shop of her own. jansie discouraged her from having such dreams because she khew they were not practical. Coming from a poor family they would end up taking a job in a biscuit factory.
Q.3.Why did sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Ans.sophie wriggled when geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey because it was a lie. It was one of her fantasies. She was embarrassed that her father had come to know about it and he would scold her for her wild dreams.
Q.4.Does her father believe her story?
Ans.No, he didn't believe her story. This is clear from the expression that he wore on his face. There was an expression of disdain on his face.
Q.5.Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny casey?
Ans.Geoff does not believe sophie about her meeting Danny Casey and feels that it was the unlikeliest thing that he ever heard off.
Q.6.How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of her future?
Ans.She included her brother into her fantasy by confiding into him her meeting with Danny. She made him a guarantor before her father to prove that she really met Danny. She even tells him her most cherished secret of having a date with Danny.
Q.7.Which country did Danny Casey play for?
Ans.Danny played for Ireland. They felt sorry that England didn't have such a great player. On account of his being in the term they were confident that Ireland would win the World Cup.
Q.8.Why didn't Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Ans.Sophie didn't want Jansie to know about her story with Danny because she was nosey and Sophie didn't want to share her inner secrets with her, though they were otherwise friends. Jansie would let know theentire neighbourhood the news. Sophie wanted it to be purely personal and sacred.
Q.9.Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
Ans.No, she didn,t. It was one of her wildest dreams.She hallucinates seeing him coming towards her and she asks for his autograph. It was all a part of her fantasy.
Q.10.Which was the only occasion whan she got to see Danny Casey in person?
Ans.The only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey was when the family went to witness the football match on saturday. Danny played for the United Club representing Ireland.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Q.1. Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends, What were the differences between them that show up in the story?
Ans.Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends, but they were different from each other. Sophie lived in a world of dreams and reality. When she would grow up she thought she would become an actress or would start a boutique. She wanted to own a shop, though she khew she would never have that much money to invest. She imagined talking to Danny Casey to famous football player and even told others that they had met each other and she had a date with him. Jansie on the other hand, was more realistic and practical. She knew when both of them would grow up they would have to work in a biscuit factory or any other shop. She often reminds Sophie of this reality. Jansie was also not always taken into confidence by Sophie because the former being more nosey would blab around her inner secrets. It was through her brother that jansie came to know about Sophie's meeting with Danny. Even when she questions Sophie about Danny she is very forthcoming in disclosing the secrets.
Q.2.How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie's father?
Ans.He is a typhical poor class family man finding it difficult to make both ends meet. He is rough and indisciplined a hall mark of a man of his genre. He had an expression of disdain when he came to know about his daughter's meeting with Danny. He didn't believe it at all. He knew that she was telling a lie. It seems he too shared a bit of her characteristic fantasies. He tells knowing a superstar Tom Finney. This too seems not true at all. On Saturdays the family went to witness the football matches. They all adored the way Danny played football. Sophie's father was indeed a football fan.These matches provided an escape route from the mundane existence in the midst of poverty and squalor. He had a hot temperament and Sophie was afraid of her father very much.
Q.3.Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person?
Ans.Sophie liked her brother Geoff more than any other person. She confided in him most of inner secrets. She too was curious to know about his world of activity. But she always found him to be very silent. She wanted to be admitted more deeply into her brother's affections and hoped someday he would take her along with him. She wanted to visit the outside world sitting to the back of her brother's bike. He wore new, shining blck leathers and she a yellow dress with a kind of cape that flew out behind. She could hear the sound of applause as the world rose to greet them. She never told anyone else about her meeting with Danny. He believed her though he knew it was not true. He supports her before their father.
Q.4.What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family's financial status?
Ans.Sophie belonged to a poor family whose parents managed with bare minimum facilities in life. Though she dreamed of establishing a boutique, her friend knew they would have to work in a biscuit factory for a paltry sum. When Sophie talks about big thinkgs in life, Jansie reminds her of their poverty by telling her that when she would have money her priority should be that of buying a decent house to live in. Her father could only eat shepherd's pie. Derek comments to his father that money doesn't grow on trees. this brings out the fact that there was scaricity of it at home. The inside of their house was very poorly furnished.
SOME OTHER QUESTIONS
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS(30-40)
Q.1.What did Sophie think of Geoff?
Ans. Sophie liked her elder brother Geoff more than any other person in her family. It was in him that she confided all her personal matters. Geoff was elder to her and was already out of school. He was working as an apprentice mechanic. As compared to her, he enjoyed a lot of freedom. He went to work ridng his motor-cycle. She was always jealous of the freedom he enjoyed. She was very keen to roam around on his bike but her father wouldn't let her do that.
Q.2."Damn that Geoff, this was a Geoff thing not a Jansie thing!" Why did Sophie say so?
Ans.Sophie was frustrated to know that Geoff had told about her meeting of Danny Casey to Jansie. It was her personal secret which she didn't want to share with anyone except Geoff. Jansie could never keep things to herself and soon this secret of her would become the talk of the town.
Q.3.Other than opening a boutique what were the other future plans of sophie?
Ans. Other than opening a boutique Sophie wanted to become an actress for she thought there was real money in this prefession. She also wanted to be a fashion designer or a manager in a company. She wanted to become something sophisticated.
Q.4.Why did Sophie like her bother Geoff more than any other person?
Ans. Geoff didn't believein her imaginary stories. But he had a special place in her heart. She confided and shared all her secrets with him. She Knew that he was the only one who would listen to her 'wild stories'.
Q.5.What did Sophie tell Geoff about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans.Sophie tells Geoff that she met Danny Casey at the Royces' arcade. She asked him for an autograph for little Derek. But neither of them had any paper or a pen. Before leaving, he promised to give her his autograph if she cared to meet him next week.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (100-125 words)
Q.1.Contrast Sophie's real world with her fantasies.
Ans.Sophie was a school girl who, in a few months' time would pass out of school. She lived in a world of her dreams and fantasies. this world was untouched by the hard, harsh realitives of life. She thought of running her own boutique after she passed out of her school. She even entertained the idea of being an actress. As actresses didn't work full time, she would run the boutique as a side business. Being a fashion desiggner is another dreamy ambition she cherished. She didn't realize that she belonged to a family that didn't have the sources to finance her dreams. A wise and realistic Jansie tried to bring Sophie down to the earth by telling her that both of them were earmmarked for the biscuit factory. But Sophie ignored these warnings and rode on. Her personal thoughts too, were moulded and shaped by her dreamy. She thought of Danny Casey, a young Irish football played as the ultimate hero of her dreams.She sat for hours on a wooden bench under an elm tree beside a canal and imagined Danny Casey coming to her. After long waiting, she realised he won't come. But, she continued living in this world of her dreams inspite of the disappointments.
Q.2.Describe the character of Sophie's father and the role played by him.
Ans.Sophie's father comes across as a man with rough edges to his personality and temperatment. His physical bearing just confirms his agressiveness. He has a plump face that looks grimy and sweaty. He is shown as 'scooping shepherd's pie into his mouth as hard as he could go'. He is definitely not sophisticated nor is he soft in his behaviour and actions. Sophie appers to be a bit scared of him. As a father, he knows his daughter pretty well. When he is told that sophie met Danny Casey, he ignores her completely thinking it to be one of her wild dreams. He is a responsibe father who wants to keep his family members happy. He is hard working man with realistic approach to life. financially, he is not very sound but he enjoys life and wants his children to stay happy with whatever they have. He doesn't want Sophie to live in her dream world. Sophie's father is in true spirits when he talks of football and Danny Casey. Every Saturday he goes with his family to watch matches. He boosts the morale of his favourite players. He never misses any occasion of celebration.
Q.3.Sophie's dreams and disappointments are all in her mind. Explain.
Ans.Sophie's dreams and disappointments are in her mind. she talks about buying a shop and starting a boutique. but the fact is that she doesn't have the necessary money for it. She wanted to start her career as a manager. She even thinks of becoming an actress. She tells her brother that she had met Danny Casey, the foothball star. She had just seen playing on the feild white they went to watch the football match on saturdays. She tells her brother that she met him in the arcade. He knew it was one of her wild dreams but still he believed her. She tells Jansie that her father shouldn't know about it. He would be very angry. Sophie walks by the canal waiting for Danny to come and meet her. For some time she imagined his coming. Later she knew he wouldn't come. She was sad and disappointed and she found the sadness unbearable. But all these are taking place in her mind. It is all a part of her fantasying. Neither she had met Danny nor had he promised her any date.