CBSE Class 10 English Literature Notes Set B

CBSE Class 10 English Literature Notes (2). Learning the important concepts is very important for every student to get better marks in examinations. The concepts should be clear which will help in faster learning. The attached concepts made as per NCERT and CBSE pattern will help the student to understand the chapter and score better marks in the examinations.

FICTION

A SHADY PLOT
     -Elsie Brown

This humorous ghost story revolves around the three characters namely John Hallock, his wife Lavinia and the Ghost Helena. Lavinia suspects that her husband maintains a secret relationship with a girl and she says this with surety as she has seen him talking with her alone. She decides to break her relationship with him. Luckily she comes to know from the ghost itself that it is helping him write a ghost story. Now they reconcile with each other. Jenkins, a magazine publisher asks the writer to give some story on super natural things. The writer accepts. The writer has no specialization in the ghost story writing. As he sits for writing about ghostly things issues like house hold matters crop up in his mind. Then he hears a voice and starts his conversation with a sheghost as it were. The ghost says that she has come on his request through Ouija board to help him write a story. The ghost asks him to avoid calling through Ouija board. His wife calls him then and the ghost disappears and warns him about their strike. 

His wife asks him why he is sitting in the dark. She brings an Ouija board to know about historical events to help him write a story. He does not like the idea and asks her to return the board aback and get something else in its replacement. His wife stares at him. He tries to write a story, but cannot do it. Then next Saturday he writes his story. When he comes back, his mind is churning and his house is brightly lighted. The room is filled with middle-aged women belonging to his wife‘s book club. They are sitting with Ouija boards. He is scared that his wife may notice the ghost. When his wife asks him to join the Ouija board, he refuses. Somehow his wife comes to know from the Ouija board and the board operator namely Laura that John has betrayed his wife by having relationship with a girl called Helen. She decides to break the relationship, but luckily she comes to know from John that Helen is helping him to write a ghost story.

Solved:

I)Short Answer Question:

a) Why did John wish he were dead?

Ans. The ladies gathered at his house hadtroubled him. The chaos created due to the ladies‘ conversation and the Ouja board disturbed him a lot. Moreover his wife doubted that he had an affair with Helen and threatened him that she would divorce him.

II) Long Question Answer:

Describe A Shady Plot as a ghost story, describing the supernatural and the atmosphere around which it revolves.

Ans. Helen, an owl-eyed and unattractive ghost plays a vital role in the story. She appears in parts, first her arm, then a leg, a sleeve and at last, a complete woman stood there. It does not create fear, on the other hand, the ghost appears to be a real human being, and helps the couple to reunite at the end, instead of creating trouble in their lives, as ghosts are supposed to do. Ouija boards are mentioned which are intended to communicate with the spirits of the dead. Ouija boards help to get answers to their questions. This story is different from other ghost stories as it does not send a chill down the spine. Here the ghost does not threaten, but creates inspiration and the best plot for writing a ghost story.

Questions

A) Answer the following in 60 words:

1. Why does the ghost appear before the writer?

2.How does the writer react when ghost appear before him?

3.Why does the ghost want the writer to stop his guests from using Ouija Board?

4.Why do Helen and other ghosts organize the writer‘s inspiration bureau?

5.What happened when Hallock sat down his desk and waited for getting ideas for his ghost story?

6.How did the narrator react to the appearance of the ghost?

7.How was this ghost different form the ghosts the narrator used to write about in his stories?

8.What did the ghost tell about herself which didn‘t sound that she was a ghost?

9.What did the ghost tell the narrator of her present assignment and what for did she request him?

10.What made Lavinia buy Ouija board? How did the narrator react to her doing so?What for did Lavinia buy the Ouija board for the narrator? How could he get help form it?

11.―My wife is never so pretty as when she is doing something she knows I disapprove of ―What did she do which he unapproved of?

12.What happened when Laura Hinkle worked on the Ouija board?

13.How did the Ouija board make things easier to understand after Miss Hinkle asked it to explain itself more fully?

14.When did Helen, the ghost appear before the narrator?

15. It is all your fault. She glared at me‖ .What was the narrator‘s fault as per the ghost? What for did the narrator blame the ghost?

14.Describe how Lavinia faced Helen, the ghost?

15.Explain the appropriateness of the title ―A Shady Plot‖

16.How does the narrator rate himself as a ghost story writer?

17.Why does the ghost appear before the writer?

18.How does the writer react when ghost appears before him?

19.Why does the ghost want the writer to stop his guests from using Ouija Board?

20.Why do Helen and other ghosts organize the writer‘s inspiration bureau?

Long answer type

1..Describe the character of John Hallock.

2. A Shady Plot is a humourous ghost story Do you agree with this Justify you view.

3.Justify the title of the lesson ―A Shady Plot‖

4.There are no scenes of horror or thrill but still the story is interesting. What are the elements that make the story interesting?

5.Describe the first meeting between the narrator ad the ghost of Helen. How does she materialize and how does the narrator react to it?

6.Describe the meeting of the members of the Lavinia‘s Book Club at her house with Ouija boards.

7.Describe the second meeting of the ghost of Helen with the narrator when Lavinia happens to be there.

8.Imagine the ghost of Helen writes a diary page about how it appears to help the narrator and what happens. Write the diary page on its behalf.

9.Imagine the narrator writes a letter describing how he gets the idea of a ghost story. Write that letter on his behalf.

PATOL BABU, FILM STAR
              -Satyajit Ray

Personal Satisfaction vs. Financial Rewards is the theme in the chapter, Patol Babu, Film Star.

Summary: Personal satisfaction is more important than financial rewards, as depicted in Satyajit Ray's short story, Patol Babu, Film Star. The main character Patol Babu realized that personal satisfaction could not be measured and weighed by money, and so he acted in the film out of passion. He felttowards the job more than the money he would make from the job.

In Patol Babu, Film Star, Satyajit Ray has highlighted the idea that personal satisfaction is more important than financial rewards. According to him, one does a job because he is interested in it rather than getting reward from it. In the story Patol Babu was given only a minor role in the film, as a pedestrian who was only needed to collide into the main actor Chancal Kumar and uttered a monosyllable sound "oh." Nevertheless, his passion for the job drove him to work hard to give the best performance by rehearsing himself. Eventually, he had done a terrific job and received praise from Chancal Kumar-"You timed it so well that I nearly passed out‖, and Barren Mullick praised him saying, "Jolly good! Why, you're quite an actor!" He felt very pleased with his performance and "a total satisfaction swept over him." He thought that it did not matter whether he received any payment or not. "What were twenty rupees when measured against the intense satisfaction of a small job done with perfection and dedication?" Thus, he did not wait to collect his payment.

Patol Babu realized that personal satisfaction could not be measured and weighed by money. To him, personal satisfaction is more crucial than material rewards. Ever since the beginning, Patol Babu did not act in the film because of the money merely. In contrast, it was because of his passion towards the job that drove him to act in the film. "I'll be paid, of course, but that's not the main thing." He also knew that nobody would appreciate his performance as he is only a minor actor in the film. Even though Baren Mullick praised him, he would soon forget about it. "But all his labour and imagination he had put into this one shot--were these people able to appreciate that?" However, Patol Babu thought that his own satisfaction was more salient. He had proven his ability and talent in acting and these worked as a sort of motivation to him.

In the nutshell, personal satisfaction was more important than financial rewards and this idea work as one of the main issues in the story.

Solved questions:

1. What did Nishikandto Ghosh tell Patol Babu one morning?Why?

One morning Nishikandto Ghosh , patol babu‘s neighbour told him that his youngest brother in law was looking for an actor for film scene. The person was to be around fifty, short, and bald headed. Since patol babu had acted earlier and was in need of work‘ he recommended him.

2.Describe the past of Patol Babu as an actor.?

Patol babu had a real passion at one time. He was always in demand in Jatras, in amateur theatricals, in plays put up by the club in his neighbourhood. There was a time when people bought tickets especially to see him.

3.What did Patol Babu do for a living after having been retrenched?

Patol Babu opened a variety store. But he had to wind it up after five years. Then he had a job in Bengali firm but had to give it up due to high handedness of the boss. Then he remained an insurance salesman for ten years. Of late he has been with a firm dealing with scrap iron.

4. How did Patol Babu disclose his pleasure for the film role before his wife?

Patol babu disclosed his pleasure for the film role before his wife in talking about his past. He told her that his first role on the stage had been of a dead soldier. It was appreciated by all. The chairman of the municipality then gave him a silver medal. God willing he would rise to fame again after this role.

I) Answer the following questions in a sentence or two each:

1. How did Sosanko convince Patol Babu about the dialogue given to him?

2. Describe the scene Patol has to play in the film.

3. Which incidents prove that Patol was a man of imagination?

4. How did Patol react to the lines given to him?

5. Why did he leave the shooting spot without taking the money?

6. How does he rate the people in the filmdom?

7. What did Nishikandto Ghosh tell Patol Babu one morning? Why?

8. Describe the past of Patol Babu as an actor.

9. What did Patol Babu do for a living after having been retrenched?

10. How did Patol Babu disclose his pleasure for the film role before hiswife?

11. What did Patol Babu think of Chanchal Kumar after his shoot?

12. What did Jyoti tell Patol Babu about his role before it was to be shot?

13. What did Patol Babu do with the paper on which his dialogue was written?

14. What did he hear standing near the paan shop and how he reacted to it?

15. What had Patol Babu‘s mentor Gogon Pakrashi told him about the actor as an artist?

16. How was Patol Babu emboldened by his mentor Gogon Pakrashi‘s advice ?

17. What did Patol Babu suggest Baren Mullick to add authenticity to his role when histurn for shoot came? What happened thereafter?

18. What did Patol Babu feel after the shoot? Why did he go without taking anymoney?

II) Long answer type questions:

1. Why did Nishikanto Gosh call on Patol Babu one morning? How did Patol Babu react after hearing him? What kind of a stage actor had Patol Bab been earlier?

2.What happened when Patol Babu went to Faraday House for shooting after he had met Naresh Dutt? How did he feel after having been given his one-worded dialogue?

3. How did Patol Babu give an emotional touch to his dialogue of Oh!?

4. Imagine Patol Babu writes a diary page about important events. He writes a diary page describing this event. Write a diary page on his behalf about this event in150 words.

VIRTUALLY TRUE
   -PAUL STEWART

We generally hear about different views regarding virtual computer games. In this story we find personalities teleporting themselves to other bodies.

Sebastian Shultz meets with a severe motor way accident. His body is badly injured. He becomes unconscious on the spot. He is admitted to general hospital. Doctors declare his state as critical yet stable. The doctors too are not hopeful. He awakes with the memory of a dangerous dream as he is caught in a dragons trap. It imprisons him but he requests a boy called Michael who visits there to rescue him. He tries but fails for the first time. Then Shultz suggests to him jail break plan but he cannot be rescued this time. Then he requests him third and last time to enter the war zone. There are jeeps, tanks, guns, helicopters etc. They escape from the jail and run across a no man‘s island. He sees a jeep. They ride in it towards the helicopter. He breaks the car, but it starts spinning like a top. Michael jumps into the helicopter, but he cannot. A chasing tank hits their jeep, which throws him up in the air near the helicopter. Then Michael pulls him in the helicopter. Later on, he comes to know that actually he is teleported in a game of Michael and now how he reaches there, is
also equally interesting. Shultz‘s memory is stored in his laptop at the time of the accident. His games are stolen at the time of accident. The games are sold in a computer fair. And Michael has bought the game. Thus he enters Michael‘s game. When Michael enters the virtual world, Schulz requests him to save him. Michael is a gentle boy so he saves Schultz. Shultz thanked him because due to his help, he has awoken from coma.

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