Going Places (HS 2ND YEAR) ENGLISH

 Going Places 

Q. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolize?

Ans: Geoff is the only person who listens to Sophie’s fantasies and long cherished dreams. Her father doesn't want to listen to Sophie's stories. Even little Derek – makes fun of her . Her classmate Jansie is ‘nosey’ and can’t be trusted with a secret. Only Geoff can be trusted as he keeps all the secrets of Sophie to himself. He is sympathetic and warns her at times telling her that Casey might have many girls in his life. He doesn't want to break Sophie's heart. So he always listens patiently to 'wild' stories framed by Sophie.

 

Q. What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family’s financial status?

Ans: Sophie belongs to a lower middle class family. She is an escapist and cherishes wild dreams. She dreams of things she can’t have in real life. Jansie tells her that to open a boutique she needs to have a lot of money. Sophie knows that the family doesn’t have money. She says, “If ever I came into money, I’ll buy a boutique.” Even little Derek understands her unrealistic nature.

Geoffs occupation reflects their socio-economic background. He is an apprentice mechanic. His jacket is shapeless. Her father lacks sophistication.  Sophie’s father goes to the pub on his bicycle. All these indicators confirm their lower middle-class family background.

 

Q.Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.

Ans: Sophie is a young school-girl belonging to a lower middle-class family. She wants to rise from the situation in which she finds herself. She is a dreamer and escapist. She dreams of opening a boutique. Her classmate Jansie, who had her feet firmly planted on the ground, tells Sophie that opening a boutique requires a lot of money and experience and she has neither of them. Sophie, who floats in a dreamy world of her own, dreams of becoming an actress or a fashion designer.  She develops a fascination for Danny Casey. She sees him in action only once when he scores the second goal for United. She imagines him coming to her and tells her brother about the meeting. She goes on waiting for him on the next date but he does not turn up. She becomes upset. Thus, her dreams and disappointments are the creations of her mind.

 

Q. What does Sophie dream of doing after she passes out of school? Why do you call it a ‘dream’ and not a ‘plan’?

Ans: Sophie dreams to have a boutique of her own and wants to open the most amazing shop the city has ever seen. She doesn't mind becoming an actress to run a boutique as a side business. Since she has no money or experience, it is called a ‘dream’ and not a ‘plan’.

 

Q. What are the other dreams of Sophie in addition to having a boutique?

Ans: Sophie's greatest dream is to have a boutique.  Her other dream is to become an actress. She has another option. She also cherishes another dream of becoming a fashion designer

 

Q. Why does -Jansie say : “Soaf, you really should be sensible” ?

Ans: Jansie knows Sophie’s family background and financial position. She knows that both of them are earmarked for that biscuit factory. Sophie dreams of big and beautiful things like having a boutique or becoming an actress or a fashion designer. All these things need a lot of money and experience. Sophie has neither of them. So Jansie being practical advises her to be sensible and to stop having wild dreams.

 

 

Q. What job is Geoff engaged in? How does he differ from his sister, Sophie?

Ans: Geoff is a grown up boy. He left school three years ago. Now he is an apprentice mechanic. He has to travel to the far side of the city for his work. He speaks little but listens to his sister’s ‘wild stories’. But he is not a day dreamer like her. He knows the financial limitations of his family. He warns Sophie against entertaining dreams for a celebrity like Danny Casey.

 

Q. Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence?

Ans: Geoff was almost grown up now. He spoke little. Sophie was jealous of his silence. She knew that when he was not speaking, he was away somewhere. She felt a fascination for these unknown areas but the realization, that she could never gain access to those areas of his mind, made her jealous.

 

Q. What does Sophie tell Geoff about her meeting with Danny Gasey? How does Geoff react to it?

Ans: Sophie tells Geoff that she met Danny Casey. Geoff is surprised. He looks round abruptly and asks ‘where?’ Sophie replies that she met him in the arcade. Geoff can’t believe her. He says, “It’s never true.” He asks her, “What does he look like?” She replies that he has green eyes and is not very tall. Geoff is still not convinced.

 

Q. How does Sophie’s father react when Geoff tells him about her meeting with Danny Casey?

Ans: Geoff informs his father that Sophie had a meeting with Danny Casey.  His expression is one of disdain. He ignores the news and goes on talking about Tom Finney. When Sophie says that Casey is going to buy a shop, he reacts sharply. “This is another of your wild stories.”

 

Q.Who was Danny Casey? How did the members of Sophie’s family react towards him?

Ans: Danny Casey was a young Irish football player. He played for United. The Irish prodigy could easily dodge the defenders and score goals. Sophie’s father was a football fan. He admired old heroes like Tom Finney and young wonder boy Casey. Geoff had a large poster of the United first team squad on his bedroom wall. There were three coloured photographs of Casey in the row below it. Every Saturday they went to watch United play.

 

Q. Why was the visit of Sophie’s father and his family to watch United ‘their weekly pilgrimage’ ?

Ans: Sophie’s father was a keen footfall fan. He took great interest in the career of Danny Casey, the Irish prodigy. Geoff, too, was interested in football. Sophie considered Danny Casey her personal hero. She always dreamt of him. Casey was playing for United. The family visited the stadium regularly to watch him. So the family’s visit was like a religious or holy weekly ritual—a pilgrimage.

 

 

Q. What promise does Sophie want Geoff to make and why ?

OR
Why does Sophie say: “Promise you’ll tell no one” and “Promise, Geoff-Dad’d murder me.”

Ans: Sophie wants to confide in Geoff what happened during her meeting with Danny Casey. Before telling him the details, she wants him to promise that he would tell no one about her meeting and the next ‘date’. She is afraid of her father’s anger. Their father does not believe such wild stories. Geoff assures her that she is quite safe.

 

Q.Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?

Ans: Sophie and Jansie were from lower middle class families. Sophie had high ambitions about her career. But unlike Sophie,Jansie was practical enough to know very well that both of them were earmarked for biscuit factories.

Q. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her from having such dreams?

Ans: Sophie wanted to open a boutique. She wanted to open the most amazing shop that the city would ever see. Her other dream was that she would become an actress one day and have the boutique as a side business. She also thought of being a fashion designer. Jansie had her feet firmly planted to the ground. She wanted Sophie to be sensible and drop all her ambitious plans because all of them required much money and experience. Jansie was practical enough to know as they belonged to the middle class family they should not dream of lavish things.

Q.Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?

Ans: Sophie knew her father well. He would be angry if he knew of her meeting with the young Irish footballer, Danny Casey. She didn’t tell him. When Geoff told his father about it, he became angry. He turned his head to look at her with disdain. Sophie wriggled where she was sitting at the table.

Q.Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?

Ans: No, Geoff doesn’t believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey. First, he looks round in disbelief and says, “It can’t be true”. Again he says, “I don’t believe it.” Sophie then narrates how Danny Casey came and stood beside her. Geoff asks her, “What does he look like?” So it is apparent that Geoff is not convinced.

Q. Does her father believe her story?

Ans: No, Sophie’s father does not believe her story. When Geoff tells him about Sophie's meeting with Danny Casey, his father looks at SopMe with disdain. He ignores her totally. He thinks that it is yet another ‘wild story’.

 Q. How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of her future?

Ans: For Sophie Geoff was always the first to share her secrets with. So, she told him about meeting Danny Casey. She also told him about her plan to meet him next week. She wanted to know everything about Geoff's life.

Q. Which country did Danny Casey play for?

Ans: Danny Casey played for Ireland.

Q. Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?

Ans: Jansie was very interested in things that did not concern her. She wanted to know about other people’s affairs. She would spread the news in the whole neighborhood. So, Sophie didn’t want Jansie to know about her story with Danny. Sophie was surprised to learn that Geoff had told Jansie about her story with Danny.

Q. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey? [Delhi 2014]

Ans: No, Sophie did not really meet Danny Casey. She was very fascinated by the young Irish footballer. She imagined his coming. She sat in the park, waiting for Casey despite knowing that he would not come. She felt sad. She was always lost in a dreamy world where she imagined Casey meeting her.

Q. Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?

Ans: The only occasion when Sophie got to see Danny Casey in person was when the family went to watch United on Saturday. Sophie, her father and little Derek went down near the goal. Geoff went with his mates higher up. United won two-nil. Her idol Casey drove in the second goal. She saw the Irish genius going round two big defenders on the edge of the penalty area. He beat the hesitant goalkeeper from a dozen yards. She was very happy.

Q. Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?

Ans: Sophie and Jansie are very opposites in tastes and temperament. Sophie is an escapist who won’t come out of her dreams. Jansie is a practical young girl who was well aware of her limitations. Sophie wants to do something sophisticated and bigger than a girl from a lower middle class family is capable of doing. Jansie knows that these things require a lot of money which their families do not possess. Jansie also knows that they were earmarked for the biscuit factory. She even advises Sophie to be sensible and practical.