ENGLISH 02 : Deepika.com Special News

ENGLISH 02

UNIT 03- Lore of Values

The Best Investment I Ever Made

'The Best Investment I Ever Made' is an interesting story written by the famous novelist Dr. A.J. Cronin. In the story he writes his experience in a ship journey. One day while he was walking on the deck, he saw a man who was keenly watching him.

The narrator could not identify him. The next day the man and his wife came to meet the doctor. He introduced themselves as Mr. and Mrs. John S. They were working for the welfare of maladjusted and delinquent youth. Dr. A.J. Cronin could not recognise him. The man revealed his identity.

Then the doctor remembered the incidents that happened 25 years ago. He was then a young doctor who had just started his medical practice. One night he was awakened by the call of a sergeant. He needed the doctor’s help to attend a suicide case. The landlady was waiting for their arrival. When they entered the room the doctor saw a young man lying on the bed and almost dead.

Both the doctor and the sergeant tried their best to bring that young man back to life. After regaining his strength the man told his story. He had fallen victim to the loose society of the streets and spoiled his life. As a final gambling he had stolen seven pounds and ten shillings from his office safe. Afraid of the prosecution, he decided to commit suicide.

Feeling sympathetic the doctor, the sergeant and the landlady decided to help the young man. The sergeant told that he would not report the case. The landlady offered free boarding and the doctor gave the amount he had stolen. Knowing the present dignified position of that young man, the doctor understood that it was the best investment he had ever made.

Possible discourses :

• Character sketch of John/Dr. A.J. Cronin.
• Diary entry - Dr. A.J. Cronin pens down his thoughts in his diary about the unexpected incident in the ship.
• Diary entry - Mr. John writes in his diary on the day he met Dr. A.J. Cronin after 25 years.
• Letter writing - Dr. A.J. Cronin was overwhelmed by the incident he had in the ship. He writes a letter to his friend. Prepare the letter.
• Conversation - Dr. A.J. Cronin and Mr John meet each other on the deck of the ship. What could be the possible conversation between them.
• News report - Imagine The Youth Welfare Organisation awarded the Best Civilian Award to Mr. John for his selfless service he rendered to the delinquent youth. • The news appeared in one of the dailies. Attempt the news report.

The Ballad of Father Gilligan

‘The Ballad of Father Gilligan’ is a typical ballad written by the Irish poet W. B. Yeats. The poem tells the story of a poor dedicated village priest Father Gilligan and how God intervenes in his life at the time of his immense need and how grateful the priest was when he realised it. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCB. The poet used simile, alliteration and imageries to make the poem beautiful.

Possible discourses:

Prepare the critical appreciation of the poem ‘The Ballad of Father Gilligan’

The Danger of a Single Story

Adichie, a Nigerian writer in her speech tells about ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ about people and things. As a child she used to read American and British books and she wrote the kind of stories she was reading. She thought that the character should be foreign, white and blue eyed.

Her single story changed when she read books by African writers. Her family had a house boy called Fide. He was very poor and her mother used to tell her about his poor condition. Thus she developed a single story about him.

But when she visited his house and saw pretty baskets made by his brother, her single story about him changed. Her American roommate had a single story about Africa. This changed when she heard good English of Adichie. Her professor once told her that the stories were not really African. He also had a single story about Africa. If we judge someone with a single Idea, our judgement will be incomplete.

Possible discourses:

• Conversation – conversation between Adichie and her roommate.
• Letter writing – You are impressed by the speech of Adichie about the danger of a single story. You decide to write a letter to her. Prepare the likely letter.
• Questionnaire - You have got a chance to interview the famous African writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Prepare 6 questions to be asked to her.

• Diary entry – Adichie’s visit to Fide's family was a great learning experience for her. After reaching home she jotted down her feelings in the diary. Write the likely diary entry.

UNIT 4 - Flights of Fancy

The Scholarship Jacket

'The Scholarship Jacket' is a story by Marta Salinas about a Mexican girl Martha. It was a tradition in her school in Texas to present a scholarship jacket to the class valedictorian. Winning the scholarship jacket was the only target in Martha's mind. She had maintained an A+ average during 8 years of schooling.

But one day she overheard a conversation between the two teachers arguing whether the jacket should be given to Joann since her father was a member of the board. Next day Martha was called by the principal and asked her to pay 15 dollars as a charge for the jacket. She felt heart broken as she knew that her grandfather could not pay the money. She wept for a long time. Then grandfather said that it won’t be a scholarship jacket if she pay for it.

Next day Martha informed this to the principal. Feeling guilty, the principal told Martha that she would get the scholarship jacket which she really deserved. Thus the events came to a happy end.

Possible discourses:

• Character sketch of Martha/ Grandfather
• Diary entry - of Martha on the day she heard the heated argument between her teachers.
• Conversation- Prepare the conversation between Martha and grandfather about the payment for the scholarship jacket.
• Conversation between Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Boone about awarding the scholarship jacket to Martha.
• Letter writing - The principal of the Texas school was confused after his meeting with Martha. He writes a letter to the school board to make a change in the new policy regarding the scholarship jacket. Prepare the likely letter (Formal letter).
• Letter writing - Imagine you are a student of Texas school. You came to know about the achievement of Martha. Write a letter (Informal letter) to Martha congratulating her on getting the scholarship jacket.
• Speech - The long cherished dream of Martha came true. She was overwhelmed with joy when she received the scholarship jacket. Prepare the likely speech delivered by Martha in the award winning ceremony.

Poetry

'Poetry' is a poem written by Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet. In this poem he shares his experience of being embraced by creativity and how he happened to be a poet. Poetry is personified and described as visiting him with inspiration.

He clearly expresses the highly complicated creative process of the poem. The poetic devices used in the poem are personification, imageries and alliteration.

Possible discourses are:

• Critical appreciation of the poem.
• Profile of Pablo Neruda.

The Never Never Nest

‘The Never Never Nest’ is a one act play written by Cedrick Mount. It points to the danger of hire purchase system which makes the low income group lead a luxurious life and this style of living make them happy only for a small period.

Jack, his wife Jill, their Aunt Jane and a nurse are the four characters in the play. Both Jack and Jill run after luxury and they bought all their belongings in installment. Aunt Jane uses satirical and witty comments to correct her nephew and niece. But her Insightful comments don’t make them wise. She forsees the danger and asks Jack and Jill to get rid of their extravagance.

But both of them were too confident that anyhow they could settle their debts. Only at the end that we, the readers too understand that even their child was included in their list of installments.

Possible discourses are:

• Character sketch of Aunt Jane
• Notice - The English club of your school is going to stage the play ‘The Never Never Nest’ in connection with the school Annual Day Celebrations. Prepare a notice of it.
• News report - The one act play ‘The Never Never Nest’ was enacted in your school. Prepare the news report of the program.

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