My Old Home Exercise
My Old Home Exercise: Questions & Answers | Class 12 English
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. How does the narrator describe his feeling at the arrival of his old home?
Answer➜ The narrator has many exciting and happy feelings regarding his old home before his arrival but his exciting feelings convert into depressing ones as he sees surroundings and environment which have no progress as he arrives.
b. What were the three kinds of servants in China then? What does it indicate about contemporary Chinese society?
Answer➜ There were three kinds of Chinese servants: dailies, yearlongs and busy-mothers. First are day workers, sometimes known as short-timers. Yearlongs are people who work for the same family all year or more. Finally, Busy-mothers were landowners who only worked for one family at a time, such as around New Year's festivals, or when rent was due to pay.
c. What makes the narrator nostalgic? What did he do with Runtu in his teenage years?
Answer➜ With the words of his mother to meet his childhood friend Runtu, the narrator becomes nostalgic. When he was a teenager, He and Runtu used to catch the bird with a trick and also kill the Zha by stabbing it. They went to collect shells—reds, blues, ghost-scarers. They also went out to look for badgers, porcupines.
d. How did Runtu hunt a zha in his young age?
Answer➜ Runtu hunted a zha with his pitchfork at a young age. He tried his best to thrust zha with his full might using his tricks. He used to guard watermelons on the sandy shore of the sea.
e. How does the narrator make a humorous picture of Mrs. Yang?
Answer➜ The narrator makes a humorous picture of Mrs. Yang through his humorous descriptions. Mrs. Yang appears quite surprisingly in front of the narrator. She is in her pair of trousers, hands on her hips, and stands there with her legs wide apart in a balanced way. The narrator describes her as a pair of compasses of a geometry box with thin cheekbones and lips who is so talkative. He calls her a powdering lady who used to sit in her beancurd shop and was quite famous by her name "A Beancurd Beauty" in his childhood. She chatters much about miserliness after knowing the narrator's intention.
f. According to the narrator, what were the different factors that made Runtu a poor man throughout his life?
Answer➜ According to the narrator, the different factors that made Runtu a poor man throughout his life were a big family, heavy taxes, social responsibilities, famines, bandits, officials, landed gentry and class differences etc.
g. How does the narrator help Runtu before leaving the old home?
Answer➜ The narrator helps Runtu before leaving the old home by offering him all the things they were not going to take away, letting him chose for himself.
h. How does the author differentiate two kinds of idols?
Answer➜ The author differentiates two kinds of idols through his realization. He says that superstitious idols are worshipped for a short time for something immediate but hope isn't an idol but a long-time desire which people need in most situations. He gives examples of Runtu and his own ways of worshipping idols in two different ways. Runtu worships the idols but he requires hope for a faraway land.
Reference To The Context
a. While reading the friendship between the narrator and Runtu, Hindu readers remember the friendship between Krishna and Sudama. Which particular description reminds you of the mythological example?
Answer➜
In the Hindu Mythological story of Bhagwat Purana, we find a tremendous story of friendship between Lord Krishna and his poor friend Sudama. Poor Sudama once came to Dwarka to meet his friend Lord Krishna after many years. As a God, Lord Krishna had known all about the hardships faced by Sudama. Sudama's gift of last grains of beaten rice to Lord Krishna brought unbelievable changes in Sudama's life. His poverty turned into extreme richness. This amazing help between friends is always remembered by the Hindus.
Here, in this story, we find the same example of friendship between Lu Xun and his poor friend Runtu. We can't find any miracle here in this story but only the unselfish help of the narrator to his friend Runtu. When the narrator knows about all the hardships and problems of Runtu's life, he asks him to take away the things of his needs from his old home. Runtu gets two long tables, four chairs, an incense burner and candlesticks, and one balance according to his choice. He even asks for the ashes from the stove.
b. How does the story support the proposition that the relationships of childhood are innocent, impartial and disinterested?
Answer➜
The story "My Old Home" supports the proposition that relationships of childhood are innocent, impartial and disinterested. As we go through the story, we come to know that the narrator, Lu Xun and Runtu had a childhood friendship beyond various social barriers and class divisions. They had an innocent relationship. They passed their time playing, learning and sharing their ideas without biasness. We don’t find any impartiality between them though they had a master and part-time worker relationship. They didn’t have any selfish behaviour. Their friendship and relation were pure, innocent, impartial and disinterested.
c. After reading the story, what inferences can you make about the contemporary Chinese economic and social system?
Answer➜
We learn from "My Old Home" that impoverished smallholders and agricultural labourers had complicated connections.
At that time, people from different socioeconomic backgrounds couldn't connect or create friendship bonds. Runtu is poor while Lu Xun is from a middle class family. Societal rules forbid the two from becoming friends. Slavery and social divides in China are also described from the context of full-time, part-time and year-round servants.
Exploitation of peasants and their discontent with feudalism is expressed in the story.
d. What does the story indicate about the geographical features of the narrator’s hometown?
Answer➜
Geographically, the story “My Old Home” has been set in 1911 during the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in the hometown of the narrator. It was in the depth of winter when the story opens and the clouded sky over with the cold wind. The narrator peeps through the window in a distant horizon, towns and villages under a vast and greying sky. The area the narrator remembered was far more lovely. His hometown was probably nothing more than what lay before him. Then, the narrator talks about his visit to his farm which was under a blue-black sky, beneath it a stretch of sandy ground planted with emerald green watermelons stretching as far as the eye could see, and standing in the midst of all those melons and then about New Year Celebrations. He also talks about collecting shells near the beach, visiting the seashore just before spring tides and nighttime guarding the farm along with his father and catching birds and stabbing animals like badgers, porcupines etc.
Reference beyond the text
a. Human beings are on the road from time immemorial, always migrating to new places. Write an essay on The Trend of Migration in Nepal in about 300 words.
Answer➜
The Trend of Migration in Nepal
The term "Migration" refers to the movement of people over some distance (or at least from one "migration-defining area" to another) and from one "usual place of residence" to another. People always try to change their living places for various reasons. They migrate from one place to another for the sake of their betterment. The trend of migration is seen all over the world. People keep on changing their living places with their different views or opinions.
In the context of Nepal, the trend of migration is at its peak. We can see both the local as well as foreign migration in Nepal. Most Nepalese people are seen migrating from rural areas to urban areas. Most of the villages are less populated due to this trend of migration. In recent times, most villages are facing a lack of youths. Youths of villages are leaving villages for the sake of their better opportunities as well as the education of their kids. We find only old citizens in most of the houses of villages. This trend has brought a kind of negative impact on the relationship among people. Villages are ignored and biased whereas urban areas are given much preference by most of the people in Nepal. People prefer to live their life in attractive cities leaving peaceful and healthy life in villages.
Apart from this local migration, the foreign migration of people is also on trend. Most Nepalese people and families are seen migrating from Nepal to foreign lands. Due to the lack of opportunities, people prefer to live their lives in foreign lands leaving their homeland Nepal. This trend of migration itself is a big problem for all. Due to this trend, humans are seen quite away from the concept of their relationships, patriotism and humanity. This problem has brought a lack of active manpower to the whole country.
People in the present time prefer to work in foreign lands to uplift their lifestyle. The government of Nepal should think about this trend of migration and try its best to find its proper solution. Government should launch various opportunities for the citizens and provide them with a fine environment to work and earn in the country.
Thus, the trend of migration in Nepal is at a high speed. This trend of migration should be controlled for the future of Nepal and its people.
b. Find one of your relatives or friends, who has migrated to a new place leaving his/her old home. Talk to him/her and prepare a report on what he/she felt while leaving the old home.
Answer➜
My cousin, along with his family members, have recently left their hometown Baitadi and come to live their lives in the city of Mahendranagar. Before arriving here in this city, they sold their ancestral home along with all the old things of that house. They even distributed the things of the house to their relatives for free. They were quite excited to move to the city.
After arriving in the city, they started living in a rented house for some months. Later, my brother bought a big house near the cinema hall. I have recently met him and asked him about his life in the city. He expressed his nostalgic feelings much. According to him, he is quite upset here in this city. He is still in nostalgia after spending his one year over here. He remembers his homeland and his relatives all the time. He thinks that he has done a blunder in his decision of leaving his homeland. He is still regretting his quick decision. His family members are also feeling the same. They are feeling bad to be away from their homeland. They have found the city life quite different from their expectations. My brother still remembers his relatives' crying faces and their gloomy farewells.
After hearing their recent opinions, I don't think that they will spend much time over here
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