Going Places

A.R. Burton
Prepared By Prasanta Barik

Q.1. Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?
Ans: Both the girls were from the lower middle class. After school, they would have to work in some
biscuit factory or shops. Jansie knew that they were both “earmarked for the biscuits factory. But
Sophie dream of having a boutique.
Q.2. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does jansie discourage her from
having such dreams?
Ans: Sophie lived in a dream world. She wanted to open a boutique that would be the best in her town.
She also wanted to be an actress or a fashion designer.
Jansie was practical. She knew that being so poor they could not imagine being the owner of a
boutique. She wanted Sophie to be sensible and drop all her utopian plans.

Q.3. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey? Or,
What others dream does Sophie have besides having a boutique?
Ans: Sophie didn’t want that her father should know about her meeting with Casey. When Geoff told
his father that Sophie had met Casey., her father turned his head to look at her with disdain. Therefore
Sophie wriggled where she was sitting.
Q.4. Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans: No, Geoff doesn’t believe Sophie. He says that it is never true. He repeats, “I don’t believe this”.
He asks what he looks like. So, he doesn’t seem to be convinced that Sophie met Casey.
Q.5. Does her father believe her story?
Ans: No, Sophie’s father doesn’t believe her story. When Geoff tells him that Sophie had met Casey,
his father turns his head to look at her. He ignores her totally. He thinks that this is another of her wild
stories.
Q.6. How does Sophie include Geoff in the fantasy of her future?
Ans: Geoff is an apprentice mechanic. He speaks little. Sophie is jealous of his silence. She wishes she
can share those unknown areas of his life. She imagines riding behind Geoff to the world of fantasy.
Q.7. Which country did Danny Casey play for?
Ans: Danny Casey played for Ireland.
Q.8. Why did not Sophie wants Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Ans: Sophie was startled when she knew that Geoff had told Jansie, the story of meeting Casey. She
disliked Geoff for doing so. It was not a jansie kind of thing. It was meant to be something special
between ‘Geoff and her. Jansie was ‘nosey’. She would spread the news in the locality.
Q.9. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
Ans: No, Sophie did not really meet Casey. She was much fascinated by the young Irish footballer. She
imagined that he came to meet her. She sat, waiting for him. She knew that he would never come. She
felt sad and disappointed. She was always lost in a dream world where she imagined nothing but Casey.
Q.10. Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?
Ans: On one Saturday, the family went to watch-united. She watched how united won two-nill. Her idol
Casey scored the second goal. She saw how skillfully he beat the defenders. Sophie glowed in pride.
This was the only occasion when she got to see Danny in person.
Going Places Question Answer | 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 they were good friends. But in tastes and temperaments
they were poles apart. Sophie lived in a fairyland. She was an incurable escapist. On the other hand,
jansie was a practical girl.
They had different attitudes toward life and things. Sophie wanted to open a boutique. She also
entertained the idea of being an actress or a fashion designer. But jansie knew that they were earmarked
for the biscuit factory. She advised Sophie to be sensible and practical.

Sophie had no faith in jansie. According to her, she was nosey. She feared that jansie could not digest
the news of her meeting with Casey. She would spread the news in the neighbourhood soon.

Q.2. How would you describe the characters and temperaments of Sophie’s father?
Ans: A. R. Barton has given a ‘sketchy’ picture of Sophie‘s father’s character and temperament. He has
a plumpy face looking grimy and sweaty. He doesn’t seem to be a soft or sophisticated man. Instead, he
is a man aggressive temperaments. Sophie seems to fear him. He does not believe in his daughter’s wild
stories.
He knows Sophie well. He ignores her completely and goes on watching television. He is in his true
element when he talks of football. He is a crazy fan of Irish football players, Tom Finny and Danny
Casey. He hopes that one day Casey may be even better than Tom finny. On Saturday he wants to
watch a football match. United won by two-nill goals. He goes to the pub in the evening to celebrate
the victory.

Q.3. Why did Sophie like her brother, Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective
what did he symbolise?
Ans: Sophie likes her brother more than any person. She can open her heart to him. She knows that
Geoff is the only person who listens to her wild stories. Her father is very officious and aggressive. He
hates Sophie’s fantastic stories. Her classmate Jansey is also nosey. She can’t be trusted. But Geoff can
be trusted to keep all her secrets to himself.
Sophie likes and loves Geoff very much. She is eager to share even those areas of his life about which
she knows nothing. She is jealous of his silence, Words have to be prized out of him. Geoff is always
the first to share her interests. In his own way, he tries to tell her that Casey must have strings of girls
behind him. He would never show up again. But he does so in a way that may not break the young heart
of a daydreamer. He is a good listener of her “wild stories. “

Q.4. What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her
family’s financial status?
Ans: Sophie and Jansie belong to lower middle-class families. Sophie is an escapist. She dreams of
things that she cannot get in real life. Sophie’s wild dreams need a lot of money for their fulfilment.
Little Derek understands his unrealistic sister well. He asks, “She thinks money grows on trees? ‘
Her socio-economic background is reflected by her brother’s occupation. He is an apprentice machine.
He travels to his workplace each day to the far side of the city. His jacket is shapeless. Her father lacks
sophistication. He grunts and tosses one of little Derek’s shoes from his chair onto the sofa. The family
doesn’t own a servant or a car. The father rides on a bicycle.
 Keeping Quiet
P.Neruda
Prepared By Prasanta Barik

 What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?

Or
How will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us?
Answer:- The poet urges us to count up to twelve and keep still. Perhaps ‘twelve’ here represents the
twelve-hour- mark on the clock. Most of the ills and troubles of the world are caused because of our
rush and hurry. Keeping st
ill will give us the necessary respite for peace.
2. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
Answer:- No, he doesn’t. He makes it very clear that ‘stillness’ should not be confused and equated
with ‘total inactivity’. Total inactivity brings death. But Neruda has ‘no truck with death’. His stillness
means cessation of hostile and harmful human activities.
3. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
Answer:- Man’s sadness is formed out of his own thinking and actions. This is the tragedy of man. He
understands so much but fails to understand himself and his actions. His rush and hurry case trouble.
Man is the author of all disasters. Due to his thinking and actions, he is always threatening himself with
death.
4. What symbols from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent
stillness?
Answer:- The poet doesn’t want us to confuse ‘stillness’ with ‘total inactivity’. There can be life under
apparent stillness. The poet invokes the earth as a living symbol to prove his point. ‘When everything
seems dead….. Later proves to be alive. The earth never attains total inactivity. Nature remains at work
even under apparent stillness and it keeps the earth alive.
Keeping Quiet Question Answer – Short Type
1. Why does Pablo Neruda urge us to keep still?
Answer:- Pablo Neruda considers that indecent haste and activities lead humanity to wars, violence and
death. He urges us to keep still to enjoy a few moments of peace, rest and tranquillity. Sometimes
keeping still gives us much-needed respite.
2. How can the suspension of activities help?
Answer:- Man’s indecent haste has already caused a lot of problems. His activities have given birth
only to chaos, war, violence and miseries. Suspension of human activities can help in restoring the
environment and health of this world. Suspension of undue haste and rush can help in bringing peace
and tranquillity in the troubled world.
3. Why shouldn’t we speak in any language and move our arms so much?
Answer:- People of this world indulge in unnecessary debates and disputes. The poet urges them to stop
speaking in any language. They should speak through their hearts. Men have moved their arms only to
harm others. Therefore, they shouldn’t move their arms so much. They should give them the much-
desired rest.
4. What does the poet say about different kinds of wars? What alternative does he suggest?
Answer:- The poet wants a total cessation of all kinds of wars. Green wars against the environment,
wars with poisonous gases and fire must stop immediately. Instead of indulging in wars, the people
must come out in their best dresses with their brothers. They should go out for a walk, enjoying
themselves doing nothing.
5. According to Pablo Neruda, what is it that human beings can learn from?
Answer:- According to Pablo Neruda, the main cause of miseries and chaos in this world is the
impatience and indecent haste of man. Human beings can learn a lesson from nature. Nature carries on
its mission unnoticed and unseen. Life and living never stop on earth. When everything is dead, one
thing remains eternally alive- the earth itself. Human beings must follow nature without indulging in
indecent haste, violence and chaos.
6. According to the poet Pablo Neruda what important lesson can the Earth teach us?
Or
How is ‘stillness’ not equal to total inactivity? Why does Neruda say: ‘I want no truck with
death”
Answer:- The earth can teach us an important lesson. The earth is never dead. When everything seems
to be dead, it remains still alive. ‘Stillness’ shouldn’t be confused with ‘total inactivity’. Life goes on
as usual. The poet doesn’t advocate for total inactivity, or idleness and has no association with death.
7. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death? Give a reasoned answer.
Answer:- Certainly not. The poet doesn’t advocate total inactivity and death. That would mean the end
of the world. Stillness should not be misinterpreted as inactivity, idleness and death. We should follow
nature. Mother Nature continues its mission unnoticed and unseen. Life and living never stop on earth.
Earth and nature remain eternally alive. But the stillness of nature doesn’t mean inactivity and death.
8. How can there be life under apparent stillness? How does the poet prove it?
Or
How is total inactivity on the earth in the winter months full of life?
Answer:- Neruda doesn’t equate stillness with total inactivity. Under this apparent stillness, there is
life. We can learn it from the earth. When everything seems dead, the earth remains still alive. It is
never dead. Life on the earth goes on as usual under apparent stillness.
9. Justify the title ‘Keeping quiet’
Answer:- The title of the poem is quite appropriate and logical. The people of the world are always in a
rush and hurry. Their actions and reactions have led to untold suffering and troubles. Keeping quiet
will do them a lot of good. It will give them the much-needed time for self-introspection and peace. It
will save them from many harmful and dangerous activities.
10. What is the exotic moment the poet Pablo Neruda wishes for?
Answer:- Pablo Neruda dreams and wishes for an exotic moment. It will be an unusual moment. It will
be the moment when mankind will be free from rush, noise and harmful actions. The noise of engines
and machines will cease. It will be a rare moment of peace and tranquillity.
11. ‘Life is what it is all about;…..’ How is Keeping Quite related to life?
Answer:- Life and living continue quite unobserved and unnoticed. Under the ‘apparent stillness’, there
are strong undertones and currents of life. Neruda doesn’t equate stillness with total inactivity. We can
learn from the earth. Life on the earth goes on as usual under apparent stillness. Similarly, ‘keeping
quiet’ is related to life and is a silent bliss for suffering humanity.