WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 10 The Price of Bananas
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 10 The Price of Bananas
West Bengal Board 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 10 The Price of Bananas
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions
Introduction
About the Author: Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004) was a prolific writer who earned great admiration for his short stories and novels like ‘Coolie’, ‘Untouchable’, ‘The Village’, etc. where he depicted the lives of the poorer castes in traditional Indian society.
This text, an abridged version of a story of the same name, presents an apparently funny situation, where a businessman has his beloved cap seized by a monkey, and finally gets it back by offering the offending monkey a bunch of bananas. Though the tone of the story is lighthearted, the author notes with sad concern the unkind and unjust behavior* of the businessman towards the poor fruit-vendor who had helped him to get back his cap.
Mulk Raj Anand was born in Peshawar in 1905 and educated at the universities of Punjab and London. After getting his PhD in Philosophy in 1929, Anand began writing for T.S. Eliot’s magazine ‘Criterion’ as well as books on cooking and the arts. Recognition came his way with the publication of his first two novels, ‘Untouchable’ and Coolie. These were followed by a succession of novels including the well-known trilogy “The Village’ ( 1939 ), ‘Across the Black Waters’ ( 1940) and “The Sword and the Sickle’ (1942). By the time he returned to India in 1946, he was already the best-known Indian writer abroad. Making Bombay his home and centre of activity, Anand threw himself headlong into the cultural and social life of India. He founded and edited the fine arts magazine ‘Marg’, and has been the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, several honorary doctorates and other distinctions. He breathed his last in 2004.
SUMMARY AND CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE STORY
Mulk Raj Anand, the great Indian novelist writing in English, perfectly depicted the Indian society in his novels and short stories. His particular sympathy for the poor and downtrodden can be found everywhere in his literary works. The greatness of a man does not depend on outward lustre and gorgeousness but on the greatness of soul. So, time and again we have seen lots of people who are materially affluent, conquering every kind of earthly gifts, are mentally very poor, detestable. On the other hand, poor people may be materially poor, but great at heart.
This story, which is apparently funny, light-hearted, depicts the same. The author reaches the station and sits in a platform bench waiting for the train. The platform is full of monkeys. They sometimes disturb us, not for any other cause, but to get some food. As the author watches, first a monkey snatches away a holy man’s loin cloth. But responding to the helpless appeals from that holy man, the monkey gives him back the cloth. We can learn a lesson from the story. Probably more than often, we are much more selfish and cruel than animals. Then the monkey takes away the embroidered cap of a businessman. The businessman becomes angry with the monkey. So he threatens it, but in vain. Then a fruit vendor comes forward with his cart. In exchange of a couple of bananas, he gets back the cap from the monkey. Again it is proved that the monkeys do all these, just for getting some food. The vendor humbly returns the cap to the businessman. He is relieved. But when the vendor humbly demands two annas for his bananas, the businessman again becomes angry, this time with the vendor. He is not only reluctant to give him any money but he also uses foul language for the vendor. This is pathetic. The Sethji, although affluent, is a miser at heart. He thinks himself just, probably because he has no thinking power at all. Humanity is a forgettable part for him. Everyone in the train compartment feels real sympathy for the vendor but Sethji sticks to his unjust decision. With real disgust, he throws an anna on the platform towards the vendor. This is a painful experience for the author. Here we see a heartless man, who is materially rich but spiritually bankrupt..
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Tick (√) the correct answer from the given alternatives:
1. The author was on his way from Faizabad railway station to—
A. Delhi
B. Kolkata
C. Lucknow
D. Ahmedabad
2. From the water pump the passengers were filling up their —
A. water bottles
B. earthen pitchers
C. brass jugs
D. steel buckets
3. The gentleman who came up to the author’s compartment looked like a —
A. businessman
B. doctor
C. teacher
D. postman
4. The price the vendor asked for the bananas was —
A. two annas
B. four annas
C. eight annas
D. six annas
5. The author drew the cartoon of —
A. fruit vendor
B. monkey
C. porter
D. Sethji
6. The author arrived at the railway station –
A. one hour before the train’s departure time
B. two hours before the train’s departure time
C. three hours before the train’s departure time
D. half an hour before the train’s departure
7. At Faizabad railway station the author was sitting on a—
A. chair
B. stool
C. bench
D. cot
8. While watching the monkeys frolicking, the author sat on —
A. neem tree
B. a tamarind tree
C. a bench
D. an earthen pitcher
9. ‘Half-sucked mango stones’ means —
A. precious stones dropped off ornaments
B. gems having the shape of mangoes
C. hard cases of mango seeds partially slurped
D. stones thrown at the monkeys in a half-hearted manner
10. ‘Mango stones’ means —
A. stones for ornaments
B. gems having the shape of mangoes
C. hard cases of mango seeds
D. stones thrown at mangoes
11. On the platform there were —
A. only neem trees
B. only tamarind trees
C. both neem and tamarind trees
D. banyan trees
12. The arrival of the train was announced by —
A. the station master
B. ringing the bell
C. declaring loudly
D. porter
13. The station bell rang –
A. to make the narrator concentrate on securing a seat
B. to make the passengers busy
C. to declare the entry of the train
D. to surprise all just then
14. The monkeys came down now and then on the platform —
A. to play
B. to disturb the passengers
C. to drink water
D. to eat scraps of food
15. The author shifted his concentration from the monkeys to the seat in the train when —
A. the station bell rang
B. the monkeys went back
C. the train departed
D. Sethji arrived
16. The author was waiting at Faizabad railway station on a —
A. winter morning
B. rainy day
C. summer day
D. wintry evening
17. In the train the author got a —
A. window seat
B. middle seat
C. birth
D. broken seat
18. The author’s seat in the railway compartment was by a/an –
A. window
B. door
C. toilet
D. engine
19. As a result of the rising heat of the summer, —
A. the monkeys stopped frolicking
B. all the passengers started sweating
C. mango stones were found on the platform
D. the neem tree was full of flowers
20. A monkey snatched the loin cloth of —
A. a vendor
B. a pious person
C. a businessman
D. the narrator
21. The monkey returned the man’s loin cloth when the man —
A. beat the monkey
B. gave the monkey a pair of bananas
C. threw an anna towards the monkey
D. requested the monkey
22. By the incident the pious man —
A. was embarrassed
B. had a great deal of amusement
C. was generous
D. was angry
23. The monkey jumped at Sethji’s cap from the —
A. neem tree
B. tamarind tree
C. top of the compartment
D. shed of the platform
24. The colour of Sethji’s dhoti was —
A. red
B. blue
C. white
D. grey
25. Which one of the following was not among the porter’s luggage? —
A. steel trunk
B. buckets
C. baskets
D. brass jug
26. Sethji’s luggage was being carried by —
A. the fruit vendor
B. a monkey
C. a porter
D. Sethji himself
27. The businessman shouted at the porter —
A. to go slow
B. to go faster
C. to run
D. to go at a moderate pace
Answer the following questions
1. Where did the young monkeys sit?
Ans. The young monkeys sat on the boughs of neem and tamarind trees.
2. What did the monkey do to the loin cloth of the pious person?
Ans. While the person was bathing, the monkey snatched it away.
3. What did Sethji’s luggage include ?
Ans. Sethji’s luggage included a big steel trunk, several small baskets and a brass jug.
4. Why, according to the fruit vendor, were the monkeys disturbing the passengers?
Ans. The monkeys were disturbing the passengers because they were hungry.
5. Where was the narrator of the story going?
Ans. The narrator of the story was going from Faizabad to Lucknow.
6. What was the condition of the passengers in the train compartment?
Ans. All the passengers were sweating from the rising heat of the summer.
7. Where did the monkey go after taking away the cap?
Ans. After taking away the cap the monkey climbed up the neem tree.
8. Why were the people of the platform amused?
Ans. The people of the platform were amused by the plight of the businessman.
9. How were several passengers busy in summer heat?
Ans. Several passengers were busy filling up their earthen pitchers from a water pump.
10. What happened with the businessman’s shout the monkey?
Ans. The more the businessman shouted, the further the monkey went.
11. How did the monkey respond to the vendor’s call?
Ans. The monkey climbed down cautiously to a branch near the vendor.
12. Why did the vendor ask for the money?
Ans. The vendor asked for the money for the bananas.
13. Why did Sethji shout at the vendor?
Ans. Sethji shouted at the vendor as he asked for the price of his bananas.
14. How did Sethji try to justify his behaviour to the fruit vendor?
Ans. One should not demand any money for an unsolicited help.
15. What was the businessman wearing?
Ans. The businessman was wearing a white muslin dhoti and a delicate tunic. He put on an embroidered cap on his head.
16. What did the monkey do after accepting the fruit vendor’s bargain?
Ans. The monkey came down from the tree. He took the bananas with his right hand and released the embroidered cap with his left hand.
17. How did the whole amusing episode end?
Ans. Sethji was unjustifiably hard to the generous-hearted fruit vendor. So, the whole amusing episode ended in a bitter sense of grievance against him.
18. Why did the monkeys descend now and then on the platform?
Ans. The monkeys descended now and then to collect halfsucked mango stones and the remainders of food stuff from the platform.
19. What did the monkey do to the businessman?
Ans. All of a sudden, the monkey leapt down from the top of the compartment and snatched away the finely embroidered cap of the businessman.
20. What was the fruit vendor’s approach to recover the cap of Sethji?
Ans. The fruit vendor tried to recover Sethji’s cap in exchange of two bananas. He stretched out his left hand for the cap, having bananas at the right.
21. Why did the passengers sweat?
Ans. Passengers sweated in the train compartment because of the rising heat of the summer. [ট্রেনের কামড়ার মধ্যে যাত্রীরা ঘামছিলেন গ্রীষ্মের ক্রমবর্ধমান উত্তাপের জন্য।]
22. How did the fruit vendor appeal when the train started to move?
Ans. The fruit vendor first ran along with the train. Then he got onto the footstep and clung to the window, praying continuously for the price.
23. Why did the monkey behave differently with the pious person and the businessman?
Ans. The pious man was good to the monkey. So, he responded to his request generously. The businessman threatened him. So, he went away further from him.
24. What did the vendor do when the train started to move?
Ans. When the train started to move the fruit vendor first ran along with it. Then he got onto the footstep and clung to the window, pleading.
25. Why did every passenger have sympathy for the poor vendor?
Ans. In return to the help the fruit vendor volunteered, he was not given even the due price of bananas. So, every passenger was sympathetic to him.
26. Why did the fruit vendor get only one anna as the price of bananas?
Ans. The miser and ungrateful businessman was reluctant to give any price for the bananas. However, passengers somehow compelled him to spend an anna for that.
27. How did the monkey behave differently with three different persons?
Ans. The monkey granted the pious man’s request generously. He clinched a deal of exchange with the fruit vendor. He, however, responded negatively to the businessman’s threat
28. What did the businessman do when a monkey snatched away his cap?
Ans. When a monkey snatched away the businessman’s cap, he shouted in utter confusion. He ran towards the tree over the pump and stood threatening the monkey.
29. Was Sethji justified in his behaviour with the fruit vendor?
Ans. The fruit vendor recovered Sethji’s cap voluntarily. But Sethji was not ready to pay for the bananas given to the monkey. So, his behaviour was unjustified.
30. Why did the fruit vendor use bananas to recover Sethji’s cap?
Ans. The fruit vendor knew the monkeys would disturb the passengers only when they were hungry. So, he used two bananas for the monkey as a bait.
31. When did the platform become silent and why?
Ans. The platform became silent when the vendor with a couple of bananas was trying to recover the embroidered cap of Sethji from the monkey.
Complete the following sentences with information from the text:
1. The monkeys descended on the platform now and then to…………………………….
Ans. The monkeys descended on the platform now and then to collect half-sucked mango stones and the remainders of food.
2. The story teller was sweating in the train because of ………………………………….
Ans. The story teller was sweating in the train because of the rising heat of the summer.
3. The monkey was generous towards……………………………
Ans. The monkey was generous towards the pious person.
4. The gentleman resembled…………………………….
Ans. The gentleman resembled a businessman.
5. The businessman’s dress was……………………………..
Ans. The businessman’s dress was a white muslin dhoti, a delicate tunic and an embroidered cap on his head.
6. The gentleman was dressed in………………………………
Ans. The gentleman was dressed in a white muslin dhoti, a delicate tunic and an embroidered cap.
7. The luggage of the businessman was being carried by………………………………
Ans. The luggage of the businessman was being carried by a porter.
8. The luggage included……………………………………..
Ans. The luggage included a big steel trunk, several small baskets and a brass jug.
9. The plight of the businessman made…………………………………
Ans. The plight of the businessman made the people on the platform amused.
10. The fruit vendor told the Sethji that……………………….
Ans. The fruit vendor told the Sethji that he would rescue the cap.
11. The vendor demanded from Sethji only………………………………….
Ans. The vendor demanded from Sethji only two annas for the bananas.
12. The vendor dropped off the train………………………………..
Ans. The vendor dropped off the train as the train had passed the whole length of the platform.
13. The poor vendor got sympathy………………………………..
Ans. The poor vendor got sympathy from all the passengers except Sethji.
14. Everyone laughed………………………….
Ans. Everyone laughed seeing the cartoon of Sethji drawn by the narrator.
State True or False. Write ‘T’ for ‘True’ and ‘F’ for False
1. The narrator reached the station after his train had left.
Ans. F
2. The narrator was travelling in the train on a wintry day.
Ans. F
3. The monkeys were in a banyan tree.
Ans. F
4. Sethji loved to carry his own luggage.
Ans. F
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