You can Download The Castaway Questions and Answers, Summary, Activity, Notes, Kerala Syllabus 10th Standard English Solutions Unit 5 Chapter 3 help you to revise complete Syllabus and score more marks in your examinations.
Kerala State Syllabus 10th Standard English Solutions Unit 5 Chapter 3 The Castaway (Short Story)
Std 10 English Textbook The Castaway Questions and Answers
Question 1.
What really is the battle of gods and demons mentioned here?
Answer:
The battle of gods and demons mentioned here is the roaring storm, heavy rain, the powerful thunder and lightning.
Question 2.
What made the natives of Chandemagore terribly anxious? What was their solution?
Answer:
The illness of Kiran made the natives of Chandemagore terribly anxious. Their solution was Kiran should be taken to her own home.
Question 3.
“…a recovered person never needs further recovery. ” What did Kiran mean by that?
Answer:
By that she meant that she has recovered from her illness and she does not need to stay in the riverside house for further recovery.
Question 4.
Kiran enjoyed interacting with people and hated being inactive. Pick out the sentences which give this sense.
Answer:
“Kiran had enjoyed being with the villagers steaming with fun. But here in the riverside, she could not tolerate the heavy burden of doing nothing.”
Question 5.
Who was the new guest to the riverside house? How did he come there? How did Kiran treat him?
Answer:
The new guest to the riverside house was Nilkanta. He belonged to a theatrical group. Their boat perished in the storm while they were going to stage a play in a nearby villa. Kiran treated him very kindly, giving him dry clothes to change and milk to drink.
Question 6.
The boy’s entry was a boon to everyone. How?
Answer:
The boy’s entry was a boon to everyone because Kiran had warm feelings towards him. Sharat and his mother were happy as Kiran would stay longer there. Nilkanta was happy because he escaped from his cruel master and now he could stay with a wealthy family.
Question 7.
Why did Sharat and his mother long for the departure of Nilkanta?
Answer:
Sharat and his mother longed for the departure of Nilkanta because he developed a great friendship band of naughty boys who did not allow any fruits to get ripen in the neighborhood. He also brought a mongrel dog home which turned the house upside down.
Question 8.
Though Sharat punished him for his naughtiness, Nilkanta did not change his behaviour. What was the reason behind that?
Answer:
The reason behind that was he strongly believed the world was made up of eatings and beatings in which beatings played the predominant part.
Question 9.
What was the confusion about Nilkanta’s age with his face and deeds?
Answer:
His hairless innocent face showed he was 14, but the smoke and words that came out of his mouth suggested he was beyond 17.
Question 10.
Nilkanta turned out to be a failure in his studies. How did his studies go on?
Answer:
He felt the alphabets were dancing in the mist in front of his eyes. But he developed the skill of casting his eyes blank on a page for hours as if reading it. If he felt someone was near him, he would read aloud but no one could understand what he read.
Question 11.
The care and affection of Kiran changed the boy’s miserable life to a happy one. How did he behave when he was away from Kiran’s presence?
Answer:
When he was away from Kiran’s presence, he behaved as a very naughty boy. He would bring dozens of complaints from his neighbors and eventually Sharat had to tie his hands together at times forcing him to stay home. But his naughty friends would come in search of him for new ways of mischief.
Question 12.
What was the difference in Nilkanta’s behavior after Satish came to the house? To Nilkanta, why was Kiran angry with him?
Answer:
Nilkanta’s behavior changed after Satish came to the house. Before Satish came, Kiran used to serve him meals and he ate a lot. Now he left the hall without eating much. He would repeatedly say, “I am not hungry” hoping that Kiran would press him to eat more. But that did not happen. So he would go and cry soaking his pillows with tears. According to Nilkanta, Satish played some venomous trick to make Kiran angry with him.
Question 13.
How did Nilkanta avenge Satish in his own way?
Answer:
Nilkanta avenged Satish in his own way by taking away the soap when he was bathing or throw his dress in the air which would be flown by the wind. When Kiran asked him to entertain Satish he said he did not remember anything.
Question 14.
What grave problem did Kiran and her family have when they were about to move to their house in the village?
Answer:
When they were about to move to their house in the village, they started packing their things. Kiran wanted to take Nilkanta with them, but the idea was strongly opposed by the other members of the family. Kiran advised Nilkanta to go back to his own home and he burst into tears. Satish was annoyed at this sight and he told Kiran that Nilkanta is putting up a show to get her sympathy.
Question 15.
Why did Nilkanta think about burning Satish into ashes?
Answer:
Nilkanta thought about burning Satish into ashes because he said that he was playing a trick to earn the sympathy of Kiran by crying before her. This made Nilkanta very angry.
Question 16.
“Nilkanta wobbled towards the wall with swollen heart and head.” Why?
Answer:
Nilkanta wobbled towards the wall with swollen heart and head because Satish attacked him thinking that he had stolen his grand inkstand. His heart was swollen because he was sad that Kiran was going away without taking him with her. His head was swollen because of the beating he got from Satish.
Question 17.
What was the battle of words for?
Answer:
The battle of words took place because of the missing inkstand. Satish and Sharat thought Nilkanta stole it. But Kiran supported the innocence of Nilkanta. Satish wanted to search Nilkanta’s room but Kiran opposed it and even cried.
Question 18.
What did Kiran do to console Nilkanta? What puzzled her when she unlocked his box?
Answer:
To console Nilkanta, Kiran wanted to give him a surprise gift consisting of two new suits of clothes, a pair of shoes and a bank note. When she unlocked his box she was puzzled to see that the missing inkstand was at the bottom of the box under some linen.
Question 19.
‘His last hope of proving him not a thief hit the dust’. How?
Answer:
He took the inkstand as a revenge to throw it into the river. But before he could do that, Kiran had seen it in his box. There was no way he could convince her that he had no intention of stealing it, but he just wanted to destroy it. So his last hope of proving him not a thief hit the dust.
Question 20.
What might be the mystery behind the missing of Nilkanta?
Answer:
The mystery behind the missing of Nilkanta might be that he no more dared to face Kiran who had loved him so much. He was certain he could not get that love back after she saw the inkstand in his box.
let’s Revisit
Activity 1
The story ‘Castaway’ is full of conflicts. Nilkanta’s behaviour and actions, responses of Satish and Sarat and arguments of Kiran for Nilkanta make the main plot of the story. Make a revisit to the story and complete the following table.
Answer:
Character | Remarkable qualities | Supporting instances |
Kiran | kind, loving, argumentative | She is kind to Nilkanta. She loves the villagers. She argues with her husband on many occasions. |
Sharat | loving, argumentative | He loves Kiran, his mother and brother. He argues with his wife often. |
Nilkanta | loving, mischievous, vengeful, angry | He loves Kiran. He is mischievous and does naughty things with his gang. He wants to take revenge on Satish. When angry he beats up his friends, kicks his dog and hits branches of trees. |
Satish | jealous, violent | He is jealous of Nilkanta. He thrashes Nilkanta badly when he discovers his inkstand missing. |
Activity 2
a. In the story ‘Castaway’, we came across a young boy, Nilkanta, who escaped from a storm.
How did he manage to save himself?
If you are in his Place what will you do? Discuss.
It is better to have such skills to save ourselves and others in critical situations.
Can you suggest some of those skills?
Answer:
He managed to save himself by swimming ashore.
If I were in his place I would save myself first and then I would do whatever I could to save those who travelled with me in the boat. Then when I become sure that there is nothing more I can do to help them, I would seek help from others so that I can continue to live.
Some of the skills to save ourselves and others are:
- Awareness about first aid
- Trekking
- Rock Climbing
- Swimming
- Starting and tending afire
- Foraging for food
b. Even though Nilkanta escaped from the storm he failed to get the acceptance of the people who were kind to him. Kiran’s family could have utilised his theatrical skills to create a better artist out of him. As a well-wisher of Nilkanta, what can you do to support in grooming the boy into a successful man? Discuss.
Discussion points:
- Identifying his abilities
- Encouraging
- …………………………….
- …………………………….
- …………………………….
- …………………………….
- …………………………….
Answer:
Discussion Points:
- Identifying his abilities
- Encouraging
- Teaching
- Comforting
- Making him feel important
- Citizenship qualities
- Moral instructions
The Role of Society in Moulding a Person:
Answer:
Every person lives in a society. Naturally he can’t behave the way he wants to as he has to make sure that others don’t suffer because of his actions. Society must help a person to develop his personality and his skills. Schools identify a person’s talents and guide him in that direction. Society teaches persons to be loving, kind and generous to others. One should love his parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, neighbours, fellow citizens and humanity itself. Society helps persons to develop citizenship skills. With the help of the society, a person gets educated, gets a proper job, and is well placed in the society. He earns respect from others and they respect him in return. Live and let live should be one’s guiding principle.
c. Have you identified your skills and talents?
How can we nourish them?
Let us conduct a talent search competition in our school under the auspice of the English club.
what are the competitions?
- Recitation
- Mono-act
- Extempore
- …………………………….
- …………………………….
- …………………………….
Prepare a notice for the event which include all the details.
Answer:
Yes, I have.
We nourish them by learning and practicing hard. What are the Competitions?
- Recitation
- Mono-Act
- Extempore
- Role Play
- Elocution
- Debates
- Sports and Athletics
- Literary Competitions – Composing Essays, Stores and Poems
ST. JOSEPH’S H.S.S. KAKKANAD
10 October 2019
NOTICE
The Debating Club of the School is organizing a Debate on 20 October 2019 in the Assembly Hall. The Topic for the Debate is “Should there be Uniforms in Schools?”. The Competition is between XA and XB. Three students from each group will present their views supporting or opposing the motion.
The Debate starts at 3 p.m.
You are welcome to the event.
Sd/-
Ammini S.
Secretary, Debating Club
Let’s Find Out How Language Elements Work
Activity 1
In the story, we can see that Vanka’s earlier life in the village is in sharp contrast with his present life in Moscow. Pick out sentences from the story describing the past and the present life of Vanka and complete the table given.
Answer:
Past life | Present Life |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Activity 2 (Read p.169)
In the first sentence the action is performed by Vanka (although his name is not mentioned here.) In the second sentence the action is done by Alyakhin, the shoemaker. But his name is not mentioned in the sentence. The name of the doer is not mentioned because what is important here is the action and the sufferer and not the doer of the action.
a. Read the following sentences.
- Navin wrote the letter.
The letter was written by Navin. - He washes the clothes.
The clothes are washed by him.
Discuss:
Question 1.
Are the sentences the same in each set?
Answer:
The sentences are not the same in each set.
Question 2.
What difference do you notice?
Answer:
The difference is that the first one is in the active voice and second one is in the passive voice.
Question 3.
What changes occured to the first sentence when it was changed to Passive voice?
Answer:
The object in the first sentence becomes the subject in the second and the doer is mentioned with a by-phrase. There are also changes in the verb forms.
Question 4.
List out the active verbs and passive verbs from the above examples.
Answer:
Active verbs | Passive verbs |
wrote | was written |
washes | are washed |
took | was taken |
Question 5.
Change the following sentences from active to passive voice.
1. vanka is writing a letter.
Answer:
A letter is being written by Vanka.
2. Aliakhin beats Vanka evervday.
Answer:
Vanka is beaten by Alyakhin every day.
3. Grandfather would give the dogs snuff.
Answer:
The dogs would be given snuff by the grandfather
(Or)
Snuff would be given to the dogs by the grandfather.
4. Satish had brought a grand inkstand.
Answer:
A grand inkstand had been brought by Satish.
5. Nilkanta stole the inkstand.
Answer:
The inkstand was stolen by Nilkanta.
6. Grandfather will save Vanki.
Answer:
Vanka will be saved by grandfather.
Activity 3
a.
Question 1.
Pick out sentences with similar adjectives from the story and complete the table given below.
Answer:
Sentences with adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ | Sentences with adjectives ending in ‘-ed’ |
1. He gave a quivering sigh. | 1. He then took from the cupboard a bottle of ink …. and spread out a crumpled paper. |
2. Eel and Kashtanga would follow him with drooping heads. | 2. Take a gilded nut for me and put it away in the green chest. |
3. He was wonderfully respectful and insinuating. | 3. The orphaned Vanka was sent down to the back kitchen. |
4. He had the same appealing glance on friends and strangers alike. | |
5. The sky was sprinkled with gaily twinkling stars. They are also seen selling fishing hooks. | |
6. These boxes are sent all over the world on mail coaches with 3 horses and drunken drivers and jingling bells. |
Question 2.
What difference do you notice between the adjectives ending in ‘-ed’ and adjectives ending in ‘-ing’?
Answer:
Adjectives ending in ‘-ed’ usually describe people’s feelings. However, adjectives ending in “-ing” describe the characteristics of people and things.
b. Now, sit in pairs and construct sentences using the following adjectives.
i. frightened-frightening
ii. thrilled-thrilling
iii. tired – tiring
iv. bored – boring
v. shocked – shocking
Answer:
i. frightened-frightening
The frightened dog ran away.
He made a frightening speech.
ii. thrilled-thrilling
The thrilled boy clapped his hands.
Climbing the mountain was a thrilling experience
iii. ired – tiring
The tired laborer rested for some time.
Driving for 10 hours at a stretch was a tiring job.
iv. bored – boring
The bored audience began to sleep.
His boring speech made me unhappy.
v. shocked – shocking
The shocked mother gave a loud cry.
Failing in the examination was a shocking experience.
Activity 4
Sentence Patterns. There are 7 basic sentence patterns in English.
Identify the patterns of these sentences (p. 172).
1. John/laughed.
2. John/kissed/Jane.
3. John / is7 tall.
4. John/gave/ Jane la present.
5. John/made/Jane/angry.
6. John /sat /up.
7. John/ put /the bag /down.
Answers:
1. SV
2. SVO
3. SVC
4. SVOO
5. SVOC
6. SVA
7. SVOA
Exercise: (p.173)
Identify the sentence pattern of the following sentences.
1. He bought his girlfriend a ring.
2. She sings and dances.
3. She made the problem complicated.
4. She goes to school.
5. John and Marry are swimming.
6. He brought me a cup of tea.
7. The company has been very successful.
8. They are in class.
9. He is brave.
10. I called my dog Dodo
Answers:
1. SVOO
2. SV
3. SvOC
4. SVC
5. SV
6. SVOO
7. SVA
8. SVC
9. SVA
10. SVOC
Now, construct sentences according to the seven basic sentence patterns.
Answer:
Sentences with the 7 different patterns
- SV – John came.
- SVO – I drank tea.
- SVC – Lilly is sick.
- SVOO – I showed Mary a picture.
- SVOC – We elected him leader
- SVA – Simi is fair.
- SVOA – They found him sick.
Activity 5
Let’s Analyse the following sentences. Pick out NP, VP, Pre.P, Adv.P, Adj.P etc. from them. Identify the constituents or each phrase.
Question 1.
The poor boy Vanka was cruelly beaten by his master.
Answer:
The poor boy Vanka – NP (Article, adjective, noun, noun)
was cruelly beaten – VP (Auxiliary, adverb, past participle)
by his master – Prepositional Phrase (particle, Adjedive, noun)
Question 2.
His Grandfather Konstantin Makarich was an old man of sixty five.
Answer:
His grandfather Constantin Makarich – NP (Adjective, noun, noun, noun)
was – VP
an old man of sixty-five – Complement (article, adjective, noun particle, noun)
Question 3.
The beautiful Christmas tree in front of the house came to his memory.
Answer:
The beautiful Christmas tree in front of the house – NP (Article, adjective, noun, noun, particle, noun, particle, article, noun)
came – VP
to his memory – Prepositional Phrase (particle, adjective, noun)
Question 4.
Vanka dropped the letter into the slit of the letter box.
Answer:
Vanka – NP (noun)
dropped – VP
the letter – Object (article, noun)
into the slit of the letter box – Prep. Phrase (particle, article, noun, particle, article, noun, noun)
Question 5.
Young boys sold fishing hooks that can hold a fish weighing thirty pounds.
Answer:
Young boys – NP (adjective, noun)
sold – VP
fishing hooks – Object (adjective, noun)
that can hold a fish weighing thirty pounds – Relative
Clause (relative pronoun, auxiliary, verb, article, noun, adjective, noun, noun)
Let’s Edit
There are some errors in it which are underlined. Edit the passage and rewrite it.
Vanka is an unhappy orphan who have (a) been apprenticed to the shoemaker Alyakhin in Moscow. On Christmas Eve, where (b) his master and the others are at church, Vanka sits down to writinq (c) a letter to his grandfather Konstantin Makarich in his native village where Vanka lived (d) before being sent to the city. After the death of her (e) mother, Vanka was dispatched to the shoemaker. He thoughts (f) about the Grandfather’s dogs Kashtanka and Eel. Kashtanka is too old for mischief, or (g) the wily Eel___is sly and treacherous. Vankas (h) homesickness and misery (i) emerge heart breakingly as he written (j) his letter.
Answers
a) has
b) when
c) write
d) had lived
e) his
f) thinks
g) and
h) Vanka’s
i) misery
j) writes
The Castaway About the Author
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is a Bengali writer who reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He became the first non- European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature for his celebrated work Gitanjali, famous for its ‘Profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse’. The Golden Boat, Cabuliwalals, The Post Office and The Broken Nest are some of his notable works. This is an extract from his autobiographical work My Boiiluui Days.
– Rabindranath Tagore
The Castaway Summary in English
The story revolves around a Zamindar family consisting mainly of Sharat and his wife Kiran, Sharat’ mother. Later Nilkanta, an orphan boy, joins them. He comes to them after the boat in which he was travelling sank in the storm. He was working with a theatrical group. The group was travelling to a nearby place when the boat sank. The boy did not know what happened to the rest of the members or the theatrical group. We also see Satish, the younger brother of Sharat, coming to spend his vacation with the family of Sharat and Kiran.
The story begins with a small discussion between Kiran and her husband Sharat. They discuss whether they should stay for some more time in this retreat, or return to their village. They are now staying in a riverside house in Chandernagore. They had come here from their village because Kiran was very sick and they wanted to have a change of place. Kiran is interested in going back because she enjoyed the company of her villagers. Here in the riverside house she had nothing to do and she was bored. But Sharat wants her to remain there for some more time so that she can become fully healthy again. The doctor also recommended her stay here for some more time.
Their discussion ends when they hear a call from someone. The caller was a young boy, Nilkanta, who comes to them after escaping from a sinking boat. His arrival brings about a major change in the household. He is a Brahmin youth of 14. Kiran took a great liking for the boy. Sharat and his mother were happy that this would make Kiran stay longer in the riverside house. Nilkanta was happy to escape from: his cruel master and be part of a wealthy family. He was given good food and also gifts by the kind lady, Kiran.
Before long, Sharat and his mother realize that Nilkanta is a mischievous boy who developed close friendship with a group of naughty boys who would not allow any fruit to ripen in the neighborhood. He also developed a friendship with a street dog which turned the house upside down. Both Sharat and his mother wanted the boy to go away. But Kiran wanted him to stay. The boy made her happy with his theatrical performances in the afternoons. Sharat sometimes gave the boy physical punishment for his different acts of mischief. But Nilkanta continues to enjoy his carefree life, feeling happy for the first time in his life. Kiran tried to teach him reading and writing, but he was not interested in academics. Slowly he forgot about the hard life he had with the theatrical group.
Things take a different turn when Sharat’s younger brother, Satish, comes to spend his vacation with them. Kiran was happy with her brother-in-law and they had a lot of fun together. For the first time, Nilkanta feels neglected by Kiran, as she is spending more time with her brother-in-law. Nilkanta now feels he is not at all important in the family. He would often become angry and beat his gang members, kick his pet dog or smash the leaves and branches of trees with his canes.
Kiran now did not find time to serve meals to Nilkanta. Sometimes he would say he is not hungry hoping that Kiran would persuade him to eat. But she said nothing. He would then go to his room and cry. He thought Satish played some trick on her to make her angry with him.
Nilkanta wanted to take revenge on Satish. He removed the soap when Satish was taking bath or he threw his clothes up in the air as if blown by wind. Once Kiran asked Nilkanta to entertain Satish with his theatrical skills. But he said he did not remember anything.
Now they all decide to return home. They pack things. Nobody asks Nilkanta to go with them. Later Kiran proposes to take him with them, but all others strongly oppose the idea. Kiran then tells him to go back to his home. He cries and so Kiran decides to take him with her. Satish is very angry and tells Kiran that Nilkanta is clever enough to find a way to soften her heart with a tear or two. She is so good and trustful that she falls for the trick. Nilkanta now thinks of doing something against Satish.
Satish had brought a grand ornamental inkstand from Calcutta. It was his most favourite item. He cleaned it every day with great care. Suddenly the inkstand was missing. Satish thought it was Nilkanta who has stolen it and beats him up badly. Kiran tells Nilkanta to return the inkstand if he has taken it. But he knelt down weeping bitterly. There was a big argument between Kiran on one side and Sharat and Satish on the other. Satish wanted to search Nilkanta’s room but Kiran cried and said he should not do it.
Kiran felt sorry for the poor Nilkanta. She wanted to give him a surprise present. She got two new suits of clothes, a pair of shoes and a bank note. She wanted to place them in Nilkanta’s box and surprise him.
When she opened Nilkanta’s box, it was fully packed and she started pulling out things to place her gift in the box. To her great surprise she sees the missing inkstand there. Nilkanta was standing behind her and he felt as if he was hit by a hammer on his head. He had taken the inkstand as an act of revenge to Satish. He wanted to throw it into the river. But there was no way he could convince Kiran who thought Nilkanta was a thief. He left the room without Kiran noticing him. Kiran sighed deeply and kept the gift on top and closed the box.
The next day Nilkanta was nowhere to be found. Even the police could not find him. Sharat wanted to search Nilkanta’s box but Kiran strongly opposed the idea and so he had to withdraw. She took the inkstand and threw it in the river. The family returned to their house. But the mongrel dog wandered along the river bank with heart-breaking whines.
The Castaway Summary in Malayalam
The Castaway Meaning of Words and Phases