Going places

Q1.Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?

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Ans: Sophie and Jansie would soon pass out of their school. Only a few months were left.
Jansie knew very well that both of the them were earmarked for biscuit factory. Sophie had
wild dreams about her career. Jansie was a realist. She knew that they did not pay well for
shop work and Sophie’s father would not allow her to work there.
Q2. 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. It would be the most amazing
shop that city had ever seen. Alternatively, she would become an actress
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 utopian plans because all of
them required much money and exprience.

THINK AS YOU READ

Q1.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 Ms head
to look at her with disdain. Sophie wriggled where she was sitting at the
table.

Q2.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,
he doesn’t seem to be convinced that Sophie met Danny Casey.

Q3. Does her father believe her story?

Ans: No, Sophie’s father does not believe her story. When Geoff tells him
that Sophie met Danny Casey, his father looked at SopMe with disdain. He
ignores her totally. He thinks that it is yet another ‘wild story’. He begins
to talk about Tom Finny, another great football player.

Q4. How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of
her future?
Ans: Geoff was always the first to share her secrets. So, she told him
about meeting Danny Casey. She also told him about her plan to meet
him next week. She suspected areas of his life about wMch she knew
nothing. She longed to know them. She wished that someday he might
take her with him. She saw herself riding there behind Geoff.

Q5. Which country did Danny Casey play for?

Ans: Danny Casey played for Ireland.

THINK AS YOU READ

Q1. 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 other people’s affairs. She would spread the news in the
whole neighbourhood. So, Sophie didn’t want Jansie to know about her
story with Danny. It may also be mutual rivalry and one-up manship on
her part. Sophie was startled to learn that Geoff had told Jansie about her
story with Danny.

Q2. 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 and knowing that he would not come. She
felt sad. Sadness was a hard burden to carry. She was always lost in a
dreamy world where she imagined Casey meeting her.

Q3. 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
penalty area. He beat the hesitant goal keeper from a dozen yards. Sophie
glowed with pride. She was very happy.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Q1. Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends. What were
the differences between them that show up in the story?
Ans: Sophie and Jansie are poles apart in tastes and temperament.
Sophie has fantastic dreams and floats in a fairy land. She is an incurable
escapist who won’t come out of her dreams. Jansie is down to earth—a
realist. Sophie wants to do something sophisticated. Jansie knows that
these things require a lot of money which their families do not possess.
Jansie also knows that they were earmaked for the biscuit factory. She
even advises Sophie to be sensible and practical. Sophie considers Jansie
‘nosey’ and does not want to confide in her.
Q2. How would you describe the character and temperament of
Sophie’s father?
Ans:Sophie’s father has a plumpy face looking grimy and sweaty. He
doesn’t seem to be a soft or sophisticated man. Sophie fears his agressive
manliness. He is a realist and does not believe in his daughter’s wild
stories. He loves watching football. He hopes young Casey will be as good
as Tom Finney. He wishes that the young footballer keeps away from all
distractions. He shouts instructions to Casey at the playground. When the
Irish genius beats the hesitant goal keeper, Sophie’s father screams with
joy and pride. He goes to a pub to celebrate the victory.

Q3. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other
person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?
Ans: Geoff is the only person who listens to Sophie’s fantasies and long
cherished dreams. Her father is too bossy and aggressive. He hates
Sophie’s fantastic stories. Even little Derek – makes fun of her growing
rich. Her classmate Jansie is ‘nosey’ and can’t be trusted with a secret.
Only Geoff can be trusted to keep all the secrets of Sophie to himself.
From her perspective, Geoff symbolises an elder brother who has grown
up and visited places unknown to her. She wished that someday her
brother might take her to those places. He is sympathetic and cautions
her by telling her that Casey might have strings of girls. He warns her that
he would never show up again. He speaks softly so as not to break the
heart of the young dreamer.

Q4. 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
has wild dreams. She dreams of things she can’t have in real life. Jansie
tells her that boutique needs 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. He travels to his work each day to the far side of the
city. His jacket is shapeless. Her father lacks sophistication. He is a heavy
breathing man. He sits in his vest at the table. He grunts and tosses one
of little Derek’s shoes from his chair on to the sofa. There is stove in the
same room where dirty washing is piled in a comer. Sophie’s father goes
to pub on his bicycle. All these indicators confirm their lower middle-class
family background.

TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT

Discuss in pairs
Q1.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 an incurable 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 has
dreams of a hero also. She develops fascination for Danny Casey, the
wonder-boy of football. 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 sad and carries the burden of
sadness all the times. Thus, her dreams and disappointments are the
creations of her mind.

Q2.It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What

would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of such
fantasising?
Ans: Teenagers have boundless enthusiasm and ambitions. They have
sweet dreams and go on fantasising. It is natural for them to do so. Every
youth is a dreamer. Every great scientist or writer has a dream. Without
some thing to aspire for one can’t strive to achieve that goal. Dreams lead
to the golden gate of success. Some teenagers float in the world of
fantasy. They have unreal dreams. It is just like a child asking for the
moon. Their feet are in the mud and they dream of the stars in the sky.
Such fantasising results in disappointment and disillusionment. A dreamer
who fails to realise his dream is labelled a failure. Those who realise their
dreams become heroes and achievers in their spheres. I think it is better
to have dreams even if we fail to realise them. Who would have dreams if
the teenagers don’t—will these grey-headed, grey-bearded persons have
dreams? Let the teenagers indulge in their natural activity and dream of a
golden future. They will strive to translate them into reality.