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Karnataka State Syllabus Class 10 English Prose Chapter 1 A Hero
A Hero Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes
Check your understanding:
Question 1.
Swami’s father drew his attention to a report in the newspaper. What was the report about?
Answer:
Swami’s father drew his attention to a report in the newspaper which referred to the bravery of a village boy who had fought with a tiger in self-defense.
Question 2.
The report said that the boy (who fought with the tiger) stayed on the tree for half-a-day. Why did he do so? (Choose the right answer)
a) He wanted to watch the tiger from the top of a tree.
b) He wanted someone to kill the tiger.
c) He wanted to take rest for some time.
Answer:
(b) He wanted someone to kill the tiger.
Question 3.
Swami said that a very strong and grown-up person might have fought ‘ with the tiger. Do you think he made this remark out of his (a) experience, (b) wisdom, (c) belief?
Answer:
Swami made this remark out of his belief. He is too small to have either the experience or wisdom. However, he has certain ideas about the strength of grown-ups.
Question 4.
“Can you prove you have courage?” Swami’s father said. Answer the following questions:
(a) Was he joking or serious?
(b) Was it a challenge or a command?
Answer:
a) He was not joking, he was serious about this and questioned his son.
b) At first, it was a challenge. Later it turned into a command.
Question 5.
The place where Swami usually slept was ________ (Fill in the blank)
Answer:
beside his granny in the passage.
Question 6.
What is disgraceful, according to Swami’s father?
OR
What habit of sleeping was disgraceful, according to Swami’s father?
Answer:
Swami was in the second form. Hence, according to Swami’s father, it was disgraceful for Swami to sleep next to his granny or mother like a baby.
Check your understanding:
Question 1.
What do you think was the practice of granny before she went to bed?
Answer:
It was the practice of granny to narrate stories. Her question to Swami whether he didn’t want to hear a story makes this point clear to us.
Question 2.
Was Swami really sleeping? Or, was he pretending?
Answer:
He was pretending because he thought his father wouldn’t wake him up and asK him to sleep in the office room.
Question 3.
To Swami, his father looked like a _________(Fill in the blank)
Answer:
apparition.
Question 4.
Why do you think Swami looked at his granny and his mother while following his father to the room?
Answer:
Swami thought his granny or his mother would save and helped him from his father.
Question 5.
“There might be scorpions behind your law books”, said Swami. What made him say so?
OR
“There might be scorpions behind your law books”, said Swami.
a) Had he seen them earlier? Or, were there scorpions really?
b) Was it a trick to escape from his father?
Answer:
a) No, he hadn’t seen them behind, really there were no scorpions.
b) Most probably it was a trick to escape from his father’s command.
Check your understanding:
Question 1.
Swami wished that the tiger hadn’t spared the boy, which means (Choose the right answer)
a) he didn’t want the boy to be alive
b) he didn’t want the tiger to be alive.
Answer:
a. he didn’t want the boy to be alive.
Question 2.
As silence deepened in the room, what was Swami reminded of?
Answer:
Swami was reminded of all the stories of devils and ghosts he had heard in his life before.
Question 3.
Which place in the room did Swami think was safe, compact, and reassuring?
Answer:
Swami felt that the place under the bench was safe, compact, and reassuring.
Question 4.
Swami touched in the room instead of granny. (Fill in the blank appropriately)
Answer:
the wooden leg of the bench.
Question 5.
Swami saw a moving creature in the room. It was ____
a) his shadow
b) a scorpion
c) a man.
Answer:
(c) a man.
Check your understanding:
Question 1.
Who cried, “Aiyo! Something has bitten me”?
Answer:
The burglar.
Question 2.
Who did father, cook and a servant stumble upon?
Answer:
The burglar.
Question 3.
Why were congratulations showered on Swami?
Answer:
Swami was instrumental in a notorious burglar of the district being caught. He managed the feat by biting into the flesh of the house-breaker.
Question 4.
Do you think Swami really wanted to join the police? If not, what did he want to be?
Answer:
No, he desired to be an engine driver, a railway guard, or a bus conductor.
Question 5.
Did Swami muster up the courage to sleep alone after the burglar incident?
Answer:
No, and his father gave up on him.
Question 6.
Who supported Swami – his mother or his granny?
Answer:
He had the support of his mother.
Think about the text:
Question 1.
A report about a boy in the newspaper was an unexpected event in Swami’s life. Justify.
Answer:
Swami was an ordinary boy, he doesn’t know what are the things published in the news paper. While reading the newspaper his father called him and said the bravery of the lad who faced the tiger. So it was really an unexpected event to Swami.
Question 2.
Swami made a comment on the newspaper report. Was he right? How did his view differ from that of his father?
Answer:
Swami is of the opinion that if the boy could fight a tiger, then he should be a strong, grown-up person. However, his father contradicts him by saying that if a man has courage, he will automatically become strong. Swami is not entirely wrong because fighting a tiger without weapons wouldn’t be easy even for a grown-up man. Moreover, in the case of the boy, the question of courage doesn’t arise as he had no choice but fight the tiger, after coming face-to-face with the tiger. He somehow climbs the tree and waits for someone to come and rescue him. So Swami is not wrong in thinking that a small boy wouldn’t have been able to fight a tiger.
Question 3.
What desperate attempts did Swami make to escape from his father?
OR
What excuses did Swami give to avoid what his father wanted him to do?
OR
How did Swami react when his father challenged him to sleep alone in the office room?
Answer:
First of all, he tried to change the subject so he said loudly and with great enthusiasm about the cricket club & captain. But the father interrupted at once. Then he said from next month onwards he- can sleep alone. Father didn’t accept. Swami went quietly and secretly to his bed, covered the blanket completely. He pretended asleep until his father came and insisted to sleep in the office room. Swami gave many excuses that the office-room was dusty, the scorpions may live there, the room was dark etc., But all these attempts failed before his father.
Question 4.
Why did Swami conclude that his father’s proposition was frightful?
Answer:
Swami concluded that his father’s proposition was frightful because his father expected him to not only sleep alone but also sleep in the office room instead of the hall. Swami’s complaint that there could be scorpions is waved aside by his father who suggests that Swami sleeps on the bench. Moreover, his request to keep a lamp burning in the room is turned down by his father. The only request of Swami that was honoured by his father was to keep the door open. This too was agreed upon by the father after a strict warning to Swami that he shouldn’t try to go to his granny’s side.
Question 5.
As the night advanced, Swami felt that something terrible would happen to him. What would it be? How would it happen?
Answer:
Swami remembered all the stories he had heard about ghosts and devils. He recollected his chum Mani seeing a devil in the banyan tree at his street end. Swami also remembered the references to Munisami’s father spitting out blood after being slapped by a devil on his way home. He was faint with fear. Every moment he expected the devils to come up to carry him away.
Question 6.
There was absolute silence in the room. In spite of it, some noises reached Swami’s ears. What were they?
Answer:
Though there was absolute silence in the room. Swami heard the ticking off the clock, a rustle of trees, snoring sounds, night insects humming, etc.,
Question 7.
Narrate Swami’s experience when he was lying under the bench.
OR
Describe Swami’s experiences in his father’s office room.
Answer:
Swami thought that crouching under the bench was safe, compact, and reassuring. He shut his eyes tight and covered himself in his blanket. When he was asleep, he was disturbed by nightmares. In his dream a tiger was chasing him, he could hear the loud thud and scratching sound. Swami tried to open his eyes but it would not open. The nightmare CPC Honest Success Series continued and he groaned in despair.
Question 8.
How was Swami honored by his classmates, teacher, and the headmaster?
Answer:
Swami’s classmates had a new respect for him. His teacher encouraged him by patting his back and the headmaster called him with admiration a true scout.
Question 9.
Why did the father want Swami to sleep alone in the office room?
Answer:
Swami’s father wanted him to behave like a grown-up by sleeping alone. He wanted to break Swami’s habit of sleeping next to his granny or mother. Swami’s father felt that Swami was not being brought up in the right manner. He felt that Swami had to be more courageous.
Question 10.
Who do you think was wiser, Swami or his father? Justify your preference.
Answer:
Though Swami emerged a winner, it wasn’t because of his courage or wisdom. So we cannot really consider him wise. All excuses made by Swami to avoid sleeping alone are waved away by his father who wants him to be courageous. Since his father succeeds at whatever he plans, perhaps we can take him as wiser.
Question 11.
Why did Swami feel relieved at the end?
Answer:
Swami felt greatly relieved on realising that his father had given up on him and wouldn’t compel him to sleep alone. This happens because of the intervention of his mother who, after the episode of the burglar, is bold enough to tell his father that he shouldn’t risk Swami’s life by making him sleep alone.
Question 12.
Suppose you are Swami of the story. Write a brief letter to your friend describing how you helped to catch a burglar in your house.
Answer:
Dear Raman,
By now you must have heard from others about my encounter with a burglar. Everybody has been praising me on my bravery. I too have accepted all the compliments without revealing the truth. But since you are my close friend, I want you to know the truth. Please keep it to yourself. Please don’t tell anyone.
It all started with my father forcing me to sleep alone in the office room. What everybody considers bravery was actually a desperate attempt to save myself from what I thought was the devil. I thought I would get at the devil, before the devil got me and it turned out to be the burglar… The burglar who was bitten by me fell amidst the furniture and was caught because he himself shouted aloud in pain.
Well, the best outcome of this is that my father no longer forces me to sleep alone. I have gone back to sleeping next to my granny. But, do you know what my fear is? Someone’s father might read about my adventure in the newspaper and force his son to be courageous! Hope not… I’m requesting you once again not to reveal the truth to anyone…
Your’s loving
Swami
Question 13.
Some words describing the characters of the story ‘A Hero’ are given in brackets. Put them in the appropriate columns.
| Swami’s father | Mother | Granny | Swami |
Answer:
| Swami’s father | Mother | Granny | Swami |
| Authoritative, disciplined | Protective, helpless | Caring | Innocent, tricky, nervous |
Enrich your vocabulary:
Task 1. Homophones – Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and different spellings. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words.
- We had _______many apples to carry. (too / two)
- I _______a horse at the Marina Beach. (road / rode)
- Did you have a _______for lunch? (pear / pair)
- The books are over _______on the shelf. (their / there)
Answer:
- too
- rode
- pear
- there.
Task 2. Fill in the blanks choosing the appropriate words and complete the story.
This is a _______(storey / story) told by a _______ (night / knight). Once he received a letter. When he _______ (red / read) it (through / threw), he could not believe his own eyes _______(Far / For), it was written _______ (buy / by) none other than the queen of the land. She asked him to meet her _______ (at / yet) a secret place. The knight was in a fix. But he thought _______ (of / off) a plan to tide over this problem. He _______ (vent / went) to the meeting place, not alone, but along with his _______(fair / fare) wife. Can you guess what happened then?
Answer:
- story
- knight
- read
- through
- For
- by
- at
- of
- went
- fair.
Task 3: Scramble the letters to form words. See the meaning clues in brackets.
- a t r t e f l __________________ (praise)
- b o u d t __________________ (suspect)
- r a g t e d y __________________ (unhappy ending)
- r a g f e n m t __________________ (apiece)
- r a e t l __________________ (careful)
- c a c s r i y t __________________ (short supply)
- y m t’s a t hp eic __________________ (not cruel)
Answer:
- flatter
- doubt
- tragedy
- fragment
- alert
- scarcity
- sympathetic.
Read and respond:
Task 1: A man went to an astrologer.
- Astrologer: Come, my child, your name is Suraj Khanna.
- Khanna: Yes, indeed!
- Astrologer: You have two sons and two daughters.
- Khanna: How true!
- Astrologer: You bought four kilos of sugar and five kilos of rice yesterday, and there are five members of your household remaining after your parents passed away.
- Khanna: I am impressed. But can you tell me about my future?
- Astrologer: Okay then. Come back with your horoscope booklet tomorrow. And, here, take your ration card back.
Answer the questions below:
Question 1.
Mr. Khanna was surprised at the astrologer’s prediction. What made him feel so?
Answer:
The astrologer was precise in his prediction. He gave specific details about Mr. Khanna’s family and what Khanna bought the previous day. So Mr. Khanna was surprised.
Question 2.
Why wasn’t the astrologer able to predict Mr. Khanna’s future?
Answer:
The astrologer had no ability to predict anything. When he spoke to Mr. Khanna, he was using the details he got from Khanna’s ration card. So naturally he was not able to predict Khanna’s future.
Question 3.
In the conversation given above, who do you think has better common sense?
Answer:
The astrologer has better common sense. He impresses Mr. Khanna with the information he easily gathers from the ration card. Mr. Khanna doesn’t even realise this simple fact.
Task 2: My brother, an Army doctor, was part of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo. At the end of the one-year term, his Congolese commander awarded him a letter of merit that ended with “ and he worked hardly to restore normalcy in the region.”
Which word in the passage above gives the opposite meaning of what was meant to be said?
‘Hardly’ because it means he did not work; the right word is ‘hard’.
Learn grammar through communication:
Use of Models:
Some sentences are given below:
a) Rewrite them beginning with the clues given in brackets.
b) Identify the language function. One example is given.
e.g.: Is it all right if I sit here?
(Begin with ‘Could’__________)
Function – Seeking permission.
Sentence rewritten: Could I sit here?
1. Please return my library books.
(Begin with ‘Will’ __________)
Function __________
2. The files are heavy I’ll carry them for you.
(Begin with “Would’__________)
Function __________
3. That’s your essay. Perhaps you will have no objection if I see it.
(Begin with ‘May’__________ )
Function __________
4. Let me switch on the fan, OK?
(Begin with ‘Do you’ __________)
Function __________
5. Bring the books to my office.
(Begin with ‘would’ __________)
Function __________
Answer:
1. Will you please return my library books?
Function: Request.
2. Would you want me to carry the files for you? They are heavy.
Function: Offering help
3. May I see your essay? Hope you have no objection if I see it.
Function: Request and enquiry
4. Do you mind if I switch on the fan?
Function: Polite enquiry
5. Would you bring the books to my office?
Function: Polite question.
Make reference:
Task 3: With the help of a dictionary, find out what you can understand about the following words.
1. cheque and check as nouns.
Cheque – an order to a bank to pay a stated sum from the drawer’s account, written on a specially printed form.
Check – verification.
2. hire and rent as verbs.
Hire – employ
Rent – regular payment for use of a house, building, book, etc.
A Hero Additional Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in a word or a sentence each:
Question 1.
When did events take an unexpected turn for Swami?
Answer:
Events took an unexpected turn for Swami when a report about the bravery of a village lad appeared in the newspaper.
Question 2.
What item of news was father reading out?
Answer:
Father was reading out the news about the bravery of a village lad who had come face-to-face with a tiger.
Question 3.
Who did the village lad fight, according to the newspaper?
Answer:
A tiger.
Question 4.
‘Swami disputed the theory’. What was the theory?
Answer:
Swami disputed the theory of his father that courage was more important than strength or age.
Question 5.
What, according to Swami’s father, was more important than strength or age?
Answer:
Courage.
Question 6.
What did Father want Swami to prove?
Answer:
Father wanted Swami to prove that he had courage.
Question 7.
How did Swami’s father want Swami to prove that he had the courage?
Answer:
Swami’s father wanted Swami to sleep alone that night in his office room.
Question 8.
What was ‘a frightful proposition’, according to Swami?
Answer:
To sleep alone in his father’s office at night was, according to Swami, a frightful proposition.
Question 9.
Where did Swami sleep usually?
Answer:
Swami always slept beside his granny in the passage.
Question 10.
What, according to father, was shameful about Swami?
Answer:
Though Swami was now in the second form, he slept beside granny or mother like a baby. This, according to his father, was shameful.
Question 11.
What class was Swami in?
Answer:
In the second form.
Question 12.
What reasons did Swami give for not wanting to sleep in his father’s office?
Answer:
Swami said that his father’s office was very dusty and also there could be scorpions behind his law books.
Question 13.
What did Swami’s father intend to do if Swami did not sleep in his office that night?
Answer:
Swami’s father intended to make Swami the laughing stock of his school if he did not sleep in his office that night.
Question 14.
Why did Swami throw himself on his bed and pull the blanket over his face?
Answer:
Swami threw himself on his bed and pulled the blanket over his face in order to prevent his father from forcing him to sleep alone in his office.
Question 15.
On what condition did the father agree to leave the door open?
Answer:
Father agreed to leave the door open on the condition that Swami wouldn’t roll up the bed and go to granny’s side at night.
Question 16.
What did father want Swami to learn?
Answer:
Father wanted Swami to learn not to be afraid of darkness.
Question 17.
Why did Swami feel cut off from humanity?
Answer:
Swami, who was used to sleeping with his granny, felt cut off from humanity when his father forced him to sleep alone in his office.
Question 18.
Whom did Swami blame for being forced to sleep in his father’s office?
Answer:
Swami blamed the newspaper that published the report of the bravery of the village lad.
Question 19.
Where had Mani seen the devil?
Answer:
Mani had seen the devil in the banyan tree at his street end.
Question 20.
Why had Munisami’s father spat blood?
Answer:
Munisami’s father had spat blood because the devil near the river’s edge had slapped his cheek when he was returning home late one night.
Question 21.
What noises did Swami hear at night when he slept alone?
Answer:
Swami heard the ticking off the clock, rustle of trees, snoring sounds, and some vague night insects humming through the stillness.
Question 22.
What had happened to his friend in the fourth class?
Answer:
A friend of his in the fourth class had disappeared suddenly and was said to have been carried off by a ghost to Siam or Nepal.
Question 23.
Where did Swami sleep in his father’s office?
Answer:
Under a bench.
Question 24.
When did Swami’s lonely state come back to him?
Answer:
As his nightmare continued Swami groaned in despair and as was his habit, he put his hand out to feel his granny’s presence at his side. But he could only feel the wooden leg of the bench and his lonely state came back to him.
Question 25.
Who did Swami fear would attack him?
Answer:
Swami feared that the devil would attack him.
Question 26.
How did Swami catch the burglar?
OR
How was the burglar caught?
Answer:
As the burglar came nearer, Swami crawled out from under the bench, hugged him with all his might and bit him. As he started writhing in pain, Swami’s father, cook and a servant came in and caught him.
Question 27.
How did the headmaster praise Swami?
Answer:
The headmaster praised Swami saying that he was a true scout.
Question 28.
What did the inspector tell Swami?
Answer:
The inspector told Swami to join the police force when he grew up.
Question 29.
Why did Swami go to sleep before his father returned from the club?
OR
Why do you think Swami went to bed at seven-thirty in the evening after the burglar incident?
Answer:
‘Swami did not want his father to make him sleep in his office again that night. So he went to sleep before his father returned from the club.
Answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences each:
Question 1.
How does Swami react to the praise he receives?
Answer:
Swami does not reveal the truth to anyone and. when the police inspector suggests that he join the police force when he grows up, Swami does not reveal to him his desire to become an engine driver, a railway guard, or a bus conductor.
Question 2.
How was the burglar caught?
Answer:
When the burglar was bitten by Swami, he was taken unawares and shouted loudly that something had bitten him. He also lost his control and fell down amidst the furniture and got caught by Swami’s father, their cook and a worker, who gathered there on hearing the noise.
Question 3.
‘Swami disputed the theory’. What was the theory?
OR
How was Swami’s view about courage different from that of his father?
Answer:
Referring to the newspaper Swami’s father said that a man may have the strength of an elephant and yet be a coward; whereas another may have the strength of a straw, but if he had the courage he could do anything. Courage was everything, strength and age were not important. But Swami disputed this theory saying even if he had the courage what could he do if a tiger were to attack him.
Question 4.
What did Swami fear the devils would do to him? What made him think so?
Answer:
Swami feared that the devils would come and carry him away. The reason for this was an old friend of his in the fourth class had disappeared suddenly and was said to have been carried off by a ghost to Siam or Nepal.
Question 5.
Where did Swami shift his bed too? Why?
Answer:
As Swami slept on the bench in his father’s office, he remembered all the stories of devils and ghosts he had heard. He expected the devils to come any moment and carry him away. He could hardly sleep. Suddenly the space under the bench seemed to him to be a much safer place. He got up hurriedly, spread his bed under the bench and crouched there.
Question 6.
What was Swami’s nightmare about?
Answer:
As Swami slept under the bench, his sleep was racked by nightmares. He saw a tiger chasing him. As he tried to run, his feet got stuck to the ground and would not move. The tiger was behind him and he could hear its claws scratch the ground. Then he heard a loud thud. He tried to open his eyes but could not and the nightmare continued.
Question 7.
What made Swami attack the burglar first?
OR
In the darkness, Swami felt something was moving down. What did he do then?
Answer:
As Swami woke up from his nightmare, he sweated with fright. He heard some rustling and he stared into the darkness only to find something moving. He thought that the devil had come to tear him. He knew that his end was near and hence saw no point in waiting for it. As it came nearer, he crawled out from under the bench, hugged it with all his might, and bit into it. It was only later that he realized it was a burglar he had bitten and not the devil.
Question 8.
Why were the police grateful to Swami?
OR
The inspector suggested Swami to join the police department when he grew up. Why?
Answer:
Swami had helped catch one of the most notorious house-breakers of the district. Hence the police were grateful to him. The police inspector wanted Swami to join the police when he grew up.
Question 9.
When was Swami greatly relieved? Why?
Answer:
After the burglar incident, Swami’s mother intervened and told Swami’s father that he shouldn’t risk Swami’s life by making him sleep alone. Swami’s father mumbled that she could do what she liked and that he shouldn’t be blamed later., Swami followed the conversation from under the blanket. He felt greatly relieved on realizing that his father had given up on him and would no longer compel him to sleep alone.
Question 10.
Why, according to Swami’s father, was courage important?
Answer:
According to Swami’s father, a man may have the strength of an elephant and yet be a coward; whereas another may have the strength of a straw, but if he has courage, he can do anything. For Swami’s father, strength and age were not important, courage was everything.
Question 11.
How did Swami try to change the subject when his father challenged him to sleep alone?
Answer:
When Swami’s father challenged him to sleep alone, Swami hoped that he was only joking. He mumbled “Yes’ weakly and tried to change the subject by talking about his cricket club. He said loudly and with a lot of enthusiasm that they were going to admit even elders in their club hereafter. He added that they were going to buy brand new bats and balls. But before he could continue any further, his father cut in and insisted that he sleep alone thereafter.
Question 12.
What challenges did Swami’s father put to him?
Answer:
Swami’s father challenged him to sleep alone in his office room that night which was a frightful proposition. Swami always slept beside his grandmother. So, any change in this arrangement made him frightful.
Question 13.
In which part of the office did Swami decide to sleep? Why did he select this place?
Answer:
Swami spread his bed under the bench in the office and crept in there to sleep. It seemed to be a much safer place, more compact and reassuring.
Question 14.
How did Swami feel when his father compelled him to sleep alone in the office?
Answer:
Swami felt both hurt and angry. He was cut off from the rest of humanity and felt helpless. He was displeased with the newspaper which had come up with the story of the bravery of a little boy, and the boy who had shown that bravery.
Question 15.
What made Swami’s father, his cook and his servant rush up to the office room?
Answer:
When Swami sleeps in his father’s office he has nightmares about the ghost and wakes up with a start. At the same time, Swami spots an intruder breaking into the office. Mistaking him for the ghost, Swami grabs the intruder’s leg and bites it. The burglar is caught unawares and shouts loudly that something has bitten him. He tumbles and falls amidst the furniture. Hearing the commotion, Swami’s father, his cook, and his servant rush up to the office room.
Question 16.
Why did Swami feel that the story in the newspaper could not be true?
Answer:
Swami felt that the story in the newspaper could not be true because he could not imagine a small, boy having the strength to fight a tiger. Unlike his father he was of the opinion that even if the boy had the courage, since he was small, he wouldn’t stand a chance against a tiger.
Question 17.
How did Swami’s father react to the story in the newspaper? What did he want Swami to do?
Answer:
Swami’s father did not have an iota of doubt about the bravery of the village lad who had fought a tiger. He was of the opinion that though the boy was small, since he was courageous, he could do anything. Unlike his father Swami was of the opinion that even if the boy had the courage, since he was small, he wouldn’t stand a chance against a tiger. Since Swami had a different opinion, his father challenged him to prove that he had courage by sleeping alone that night in his office room.
Question 18.
How can you say that the village lad was brave?
Answer:
The village boy while returning home by the jungle path came face to face with a tiger. The boy fought the tiger and then climbed up a tree. He stayed half a day on the tree till some people came that way and killed the tiger.
Answer the following questions in 5-6/8-10 sentences each:
Question 1.
Why does Swami think that the idea that he should sleep in his father’s office room is a frightful proposition? How does he try to change the subject? Why does he fail?
Answer:
Swami is not used to sleeping alone as he has always slept with his granny or mother. Secondly, the room that his father has asked him to sleep in is the office room where Swami feels cut off from humanity. Thirdly, Swami has heard stories of ghosts and believes in them. He tries to change the subject by assuring his father that he would start sleeping alone from the coming month. He fails in his attempts because of the tenacity of his father.
Question 2.
Bring out the relationship between Swami and his father.
Answer:
Swami and his father are the typical examples of Indian father-son duo. In India, fathers believe that their sons should obey them as a rule and are strict in laying down rules for their sons. However, it doesn’t mean that they don’t love their sons. It is just that they are not expressive in their sentiments. Swami’s father also thinks that he would make his son independent by being firm in his decision of making him sleep alone, and hence is hard on Swami.
Question 3.
Why did everyone congratulate Swami?
OR
How did Swami become a hero?
Answer:
As Swami slept in his father’s office, he was woken up by a rustling. In the darkness, he saw something moving towards him. He thought that the devil had come to get him. As it came nearer, he crawled out from under the bench, hugged it with all his might, and bit into it. The burglar, who had been mistaken for the devil, gave out a loud cry. In a moment his father, cook and a servant came there and overpowered him. The police were grateful to Swami because the burglar was one of the most notorious house-breakers of the district. Congratulations were showered on Swami and he became a hero overnight.
Question 4.
“Swami was not really a hero but became a hero by chance”. Justify the statement.
OR
Though Swami was not courageous, he became a hero overnight. How?
OR
Narrate how Swami became a hero overnight.
Answer:
‘A Hero’ by R.K. Narayan is a humorous story of a little boy called Swami who has heroism attributed to him out of sheer coincidence. Swami is a nine-year-old boy living with his parents, grandmother and younger sibling. Once, while reading the newspaper, his father reads an article about the bravery shown by an eight-year-old boy and feels that Swami makes a poor comparison with the boy who had bravely fought a tiger. Swami has the habit of sleeping with his grandmother after listening to a story narrated by her.
This irritates Swami’s father. Swami’s father then challenges, or rather forces, him to sleep in his office. When Swami sleeps in his father’s office he is naturally afraid of ghosts. He recollects the various stories he has heard about ghosts from his friends and is unable to sleep for a long time. Finally, he sleeps below the bench finding the place more secure. However, he has nightmares about the ghost and wakes up with a start. At the same time, Swami spots an intruder breaking into the office.
Mistaking him for the ghost, Swami grabs the intruder’s leg and bites hard, in desperation and self-defense. The intruder finds the pain unbearable and yells out in agony. The members of the house rush inside the office and catch the intruder. All of them think that it was a heroic attempt on Swami’s part to catch the thief, and so, they have a lot of admiration for Swami. The police tell Swami that the intruder was a thief wanted by the police in a number of cases and congratulate him.
The police inspector even suggests that Swami join the police force when he grows up. Swami receives respect from his classmates and accolades from his teachers and headmaster. Thus, the short story A Hero’ tells about a boy who is afraid to sleep alone but is forced to do so by his father, and at the end of the day emerges a hero! Apart from sleeping alone he could also catch a thief and win the appreciation of all.
Question 5.
How was Swami successful in fulfilling the intention of his father to prove his courage?
Answer:
Swami proves his courage to his father, not by intention but by accident. When Swami is forced by his father to sleep in the office, Swami gets frightened of ghosts. He recollects the various stories he has heard about ghosts from his friends and is unable to sleep for a long time. Finally, he sleeps below the bench, finding the place more secure. However, he has nightmares about the ghost and wakes up with a start. At the same time, Swami spots an intruder breaking into the office.
Mistaking him for the ghost, Swami grabs the intruder’s leg and bites hard, in desperation and self-defense. The intruder finds the pain unbearable and yells out in agony. The members of the house rush inside the office and catch the intruder. All of them think that it was a heroic attempt on Swami’s part to catch the thief, and so, they have a lot of admiration for Swami. The police congratulate Swami and tell him that the intruder was a thief wanted by the police in a number of cases. Swami receives respect from his classmates and accolades from his teachers and headmaster and, more importantly, shows his courage to his father.
Read the following extracts and answer the questions given below them:
Question 1.
“You think you are wiser than the newspaper?”
a) Who is being questioned here?
b) Why is he being questioned?
c) What report did the newspaper carry?
Answer:
a) Swami is being questioned here.
b) Swami argues with his father about a small boy who bravely fought a tiger. Swami is of the opinion that it wouldn’t have been possible for a small boy to fight a tiger. At that time Swami’s father questions Swami in this sarcastic manner.
c) The newspaper carried a report about the bravery of a village lad who had come face-to-face with a tiger.
Question 2.
“Can you prove you have courage?”
a) Who was asked to prove his courage?
b) Why was he asked to prove his courage?
c) What did the speaker ask him to do to prove his courage?
Answer:
a) Swami was asked to prove his courage.
b) Swami was asked to prove his courage because he argued with his father that strength and age are more important than courage.
c) The speaker, his father, asked him to sleep alone that night in his office to prove his courage.
Question 3.
“It is disgraceful sleeping beside granny or mother like a baby.”
a) Who is being called a baby?
b) What was considered disgraceful?
c) Why did the speaker think that it was disgraceful?
Answer:
a) Swami is being called a baby.
b) The father thought that it was disgraceful for someone in the second form to sleep beside his granny or mother.
c) Swami was studying in the second form. Hence his father, the speaker, thought that it was disgraceful for him to sleep beside his granny or mother.
Question 4.
“It is only a question of habit.”
a) Who made this statement?
b) What is only a question of habit?
c) What was the habit before?
Answer:
a) Swami’s father made this statement.
b) Learning to sleep alone in the darkness was only a question of habit.
c) Swami was habituated to sleeping with his grandmother or mother.
Question 5.
“If you do it, I’ll make you the laughing stock of your school.”
a) Who is the ‘you’ referred to?
b) What did Swami’s father expect him to do?
c) What would he do if Swami did so?
Answer:
a) The ‘you’ refers to Swami.
b) Swami’s father expected Swami to roll up the bed and go to granny’s side at night.
c) Swami’s father threatened to tell all his friends at school that Swami was scared of sleeping in the dark and only slept next to his grandmother or mother.
Question 6.
“Leave alone strength. Can you prove you have courage?
a) Who asked this question?
b) What was the view of Swami’s father regarding courage?
c) How did he want his son to prove that he had the courage?
Answer:
a) Swami’s father asked this question.
b) Swami’s father felt that courage was more important than strength or age.
c) Swami’s father challenged Swami to prove that he had courage. He wanted Swami to sleep alone in the office room.
Question 7.
“A frightful proposition, Swami thought”.
a) What was the frightful proposition?
b) Why did Swami regard it as frightful?
c) What does ‘proposition’ mean in this context?
Answer:
a) The frightful proposition was that Swami’s father wanted him to sleep alone in the office room that night.
b) Swami was not used to sleeping alone. He used to sleep with his granny in the passage. Also, Swami felt that the office room where his father asked him to sleep, was cut off from humanity. He had also heard stories about ghosts. Hence Swami regarded it as frightful.
c) Suggestion.
Question 8.
“You must sleep alone hereafter”
a) Who said this?
b) Who did he usually sleep with?
c) Why did Swami’s father want him to sleep alone?
Answer:
a) Swami’s father.
b) Swami usually slept with his granny.
c) Though Swami was now in the second form, he slept beside granny or mother like a baby. This, according to Swami’s father, was shame.ful. Swami’s father wanted his son to prove that he had the courage to sleep alone.
Question 9.
“Your office room is very dusty and there may be scorpions behind your law books”.
a) When did Swami make this remark?
b) Why did Swami make this remark?
c) What does it reveal about his character?
Answer:
a) When his father forced him to sleep alone in his office room.
b) Swami made this remark because he wanted an excuse for not sleeping in the office room.
c) Swami was afraid to sleep alone. But he did not have the courage to tell this to his father.
Question 10.
“He wished that the tiger had not spared the boy”.
a) Who wished that the tiger had not spared the boy?
b) What do the words imply?
c) Why did Swami have such thoughts?
Answer:
a) Swami.
b) These words mean that he wished that the tiger had killed the boy.
c) Swami was upset because he was asked to sleep alone. He blamed the newspaper for being forced to sleep in his father’s office.
Question 11.
“Aiyo, something has bitten me”.
a) Who said this? OR Who is the speaker?
b) Why had he been bitten?
c) How did the speaker suffer as a result of being bitten?
Answer:
a) The burglar.
b) Swami thought that it was the devil that had come to attack him. So, he bit him to save himself.
c) The speaker, a burglar, shouted in pain. This brought the people of the house there leading to his arrest.
Question 12.
“Why don’t you join the police when you are grown up?”
a) Who asked this question? OR Who gave this suggestion?
b) Why do you think he said this? OR Why did he give this suggestion?
c) Do you feel he would be happy to do so?
d) What did the listener actually want to become in his later life? OR Was he really willing to join the police? Give reason.
Answer:
a) The Police Inspector.
b) The inspector thought that Swami was a brave boy; so he said so.
c) Swami was not brave. He had caught the burglar by accident. He did not want to join the police.
d) Swami wanted to become an engine driver, a railway guard, or a bus conductor later in life.
Question 13.
“Congratulations were showered on Swami the next day”.
a) Why was Swami congratulated?
b) Do you feel Swami deserves the praise? Give reason.
Answer:
a) Swami had caught one of the notorious housebreakers of the district.
b) No. Swami had bitten the burglar out of fright. He was not really a hero.
Question 14.
“You think you are wiser than the newspaper?”
a) Who said this? ,
b) Who is the ‘you’ here?
c) What was in the newspaper?
Answer:
a) Swami’s father.
b) Swami.
c) The newspaper carried a report about the bravery of a village lad who had come face-to-face with a tiger.
Multiple-Choice Questions
Question 1.
The paragraph that Swami’s father read out from the newspaper described
A) the death of the tiger
B) the bravado of the boy
C) how to fight a tiger
D) the fight the boy had with the tiger
Answer:
D) the fight the boy had with the tiger
Question 2.
What, according to Swami, was a frightful proposition?
A) Fighting a tiger
B) Sleeping alone in the office
C) Sleeping in his father’s office
D) Sleeping alone
Answer:
B) Sleeping alone in the office
Question 3.
Swami always slept
A) alone
B) with his granny
C) with his mother
D) with his father
Answer:
B) with his granny
Question 4.
Swami spoke about his Cricket Club with great enthusiasm because
A) he wanted to inform his father
B) he wanted his father to join
C) he was trying to change the subject
D) he was very excited about it
Answer:
C) he was trying to change the subject
Question 5.
Swami threw himself on his bed and pulled the blanket over his face because
A) he was sleepy
B) he wanted his father to think he was asleep
C) he didn’t want his father to wake him
D) he was scared of his father
Answer:
B) he wanted his father to think he was asleep
Question 6.
Swami pleaded with his father to
A) let him sleep alone
B) let him sleep in the hall
C) let him sleep with his mother
D) let him sleep with his granny
Answer:
B) let him sleep in the hall
Question 7.
Swami felt there were behind his father’s law books.
A) cockroaches
B) lizards
C) ghosts
D) scorpions
Answer:
D) scorpions
Question 8.
Swami wanted the light to be kept on because he
A) had a habit of sleeping with a light on
B) was sleeping alone
C) he was scared of the scorpions
D) was scared of the darkness
Answer:
D) was scared of the darkness
Question 9.
To Swami, the boy in the newspaper report appeared to be
A) the Devil
B) a monster
C) a big boy
D) a brave boy
Answer:
B) a monster
Question 10.
Munisami’s father had spat out blood because.
A) he was returning home late
B) he was sick
C) he saw the devil
D) the devil had slapped him
Answer:
D) the devil had slapped him
Question 11.
In his sleep, Swami was racked with nightmares about
A) the devil
B) a tiger
C) a burglar
D) a scorpion
Answer:
B) a tiger
Question 12.
Swami put his hand out to feel his granny’s presence but instead,
A) he realized his loneliness
B) he touched the burglar
C) he touched the wooden leg of the bench
D) sweated in fright
Answer:
C) he touched the wooden leg of the bench
Question 13.
Swami heard and saw something move closer in the darkness and thought it was
A) a burglar
B) the devil
C) a villain
D) an apparition
Answer:
B) the devil
Question 14.
Mother lost her temper because
A) she wanted to protect Swami
B) she didn’t want Swami’s life to be risked
C) she wanted Swami to sleep with his granny
D) she didn’t like the way Swami’s father treated him
Answer:
B) she didn’t want Swami’s life to be risked
Question 15.
The disgraceful thing, according to Swami’s father, was
A) sleeping beside granny
B) sleeping alone in the office room
C) sleeping under the bench
D) being a coward
Answer:
A) sleeping beside granny
Question 16.
The boy who fought the tiger stayed on the tree for half-a-day because he
A) wanted to watch the tiger from the tree top
B) wanted to rest for some time
C) was waiting for help
D) did not like the tiger.
Answer:
C) was waiting for help
Question 17.
Swami’s father asked Swami to sleep alone in the office room as he
A) wanted him to catch the burglar
B) wanted him to prove that he had courage
C) wanted him to look after the office
D) wanted him to prove that he had strength.
Answer:
B) wanted him to prove that he had courage
Question 18.
Swami decided to sleep under the bench because
A) he felt it was a safe place
B) he was very much scared
C) he felt comfortable to sleep there
D) there were no scorpions under the bench
Answer:
A) he felt it was a safe place
Question 19.
For Swami, events took an unexpected turn because
A) his father was angry with him
B) his father read about a newspaper report
C) his homework was not done
D) his exams were nearing.
Answer:
B) his father read about a newspaper report
Question 20.
Swami thought that the boy in the report was not a boy but a grown-up person because
A) he knew him
B) he felt he was a coward
C) he was sure no boy could fight a tiger
D) he was sure he was a courageous person.
Answer:
C) he was sure no boy could fight a tiger
Question 21.
‘Why do you look at me while you say it’ Who said this?
A) Swami’s father
B) Swami’s mother
C) Swami’s grandmother
D) Swami’s friend.
Answer:
B) Swami’s mother
Question 22.
Swami saw a moving creature in the room. It was
A) his shadow
B) a scorpion
C) a man
D) his imagination.
Answer:
C) a man
A Hero Summary in English
‘A Hero’ by R.K. Narayan is a humorous story of a little boy called Swami who has heroism attributed to him out of sheer coincidence. Swami is a nine-year-old boy living with his parents, grandmother and younger sibling. Once, while reading the newspaper, his father reads an article about the bravery shown by an eight-year-old boy and feels that Swami makes a poor comparison with the boy who had bravely fought a tiger.
Swami has the habit of sleeping with his grandmother after listening to a story narrated by her. This irritates Swami’s father. Swami’s father then challenges, or rather forces, him to sleep in his office. When Swami sleeps in his father’s office he is naturally afraid of ghosts. He recollects the various stories he has heard about ghosts from his friends and is unable to sleep for a long time.
Finally he sleeps below the bench finding the place more secure. However, he has nightmares about the ghost and wakes up with a start. At the same time, Swami spots an intruder breaking into the office. Mistaking him for the ghost, Swami grabs the intruder’s leg and bites hard, in desperation and self-defense. The intruder finds the pain unbearable and yells out in agony.
The members of the house rush inside the office and catch the intruder. All of them think that it was a heroic attempt on Swami’s part to catch the thief, and so, they have a lot of admiration for Swami. The police tell Swami that the intruder was a thief wanted by the police in a number of cases and congratulate him. The police inspector even suggests that Swami join the police force when he grows up.
Swami receives respect from his classmates and accolades from his teachers and headmaster. However, the so-called hero continues to feel scared to sleep alone and goes back to sleeping with his grandmother again. Yet, as far as Swami is concerned, there is another positive outcome after the incident. When he goes back to sleeping with his granny, though his father wants him to sleep alone, his mother is firm in dissuading him, and Swami has the pleasure of sleeping by the side of his granny.
Thus, the short story ‘A Hero’ tells about a boy who is afraid to sleep alone but is forced to do so by his father, and at the end of the day emerges a hero! Apart from sleeping alone he could also catch a thief and win the appreciation of all.
A Hero Summary in Kannada
Glossary:
- sneer: speak in a very unkind way
- frightful: unpleasant
- face-to-face with: close to something and looking at it
- reading it through: reading it from the beginning to the end
- crossly: a little angrily
- mere skeleton: very thin
- scowl: an angry look or expression
- tenacity: determination
- cut in: interrupted at once
- proposition: suggestion
- mumble: say something not clearly enough
- Second form: Seventh standard during British times
- gloomily: feeling in a way that things will not improve
- sternly: seriously and strictly
- tiptoed: walked quietly on the tips of his toes
- gesticulations: to make movements with hands and arms
- snore: to breathe in a noisy way
- apparition: ghost
- scorpions: small creatures of the spider family with a poisonous sting
- slunk (past tense): moved somewhere quietly and secretly
- laughing stock: an object of ridicule
- chum: a good friend – (informal) – especially among children
- spare: not harm someone
- encased: covered himself closely
- crouch: lower the body close to the ground
- reassure: make someone feel calmer / to make someone less frightened
- rack: make someone suffer great mental pain
- nightmare: a frightening dream
- desperately: do something with no hope
- mortal weapon: deadly weapon
- clutched: held tightly
- tumbling: falling helplessly
- burglar: a person who enters a building in order to steal (housebreaker)
- scout: one who is trained in doing acts of public service
- not have a wink of sleep: couldn’t sleep
- notorious: evil-minded
- molly-coddle: treat someone very kindly and protect the person too much from anything unpleasant