Prasanna

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Karnataka 2nd PUC English Textbook Answers Springs Chapter 5 A Sunny Morning

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A Sunny Morning Questions and Answers, Notes, Summary

A Sunny Morning Comprehension I

Sunny Morning Notes KSEEB Solution Question 1.
Do you think Laura was a regular visitor to the park? What makes you think so?
Answer:
Yes. Laura was a regular visitor to the park. This is clear from her questions to her maid Petra. She wonders whether somebody would have occupied her seat and whether the pigeons know when to expect her and eagerly come over to feed on the bread crumbs, which means that she comes daily to the park.

A Sunny Morning Summary KSEEB Solution Question 2.
Why are Don Gonzalo and Laura annoyed with each other?
Answer:
Don Gonzalo was annoyed with Laura as she questioned why he had used his handkerchief to brush his shoes and numerically asked whether he would use a shoe brush as a kerchief. Moreover, when he wished her she did not wish him back. Laura was annoyed with Gonzalo because he had scared the pigeons fly away.

A Sunny Morning Notes KSEEB Solution Question 3.
Dona Laura reads without her glasses as
a. she has keen eyesight.
b. she wants to impress Gonzalo.
c. she knows every word by heart.
Answer:
(c) she knows every word by heart.

Sunny Morning Summary KSEEB Solution Question 4.
Gonzalo and Laura keep up a humorous conversation because they;
a. have nothing else to do.
b. enjoy being with each other.
c. have the same temperament.
Answer:
(c) have the same temperament.

A Sunny Morning Questions And Answers Pdf KSEEB Solution Question 5.
Laura and Gonzalo’s friendly conversation begins with
a. Gonzalo reading the poems.
b. Laura’s witty remarks.
c. a pinch of snuff.
Answer:
(c) a pinch of snuff.

A Sunny Morning Answers KSEEB Solution Question 6.
Do you think Laura is an effective narrator?
Answer:
Yes. I think Dona Laura is an effective narrator because when Don Gonzalo asks her what she wishes to tell him Dona Laura tells him clearly that he had scared away the birds which were feeding on her crumbs.

A Sunny Morning Questions And Answers KSEEB Solution Question 7.
Gonzalo does not reveal his identity because:
a. he no longer loves her.
b. his appearance has changed.
c. he looks grotesque and old.
Answer:
(c) he looks grotesque and old.

A Sunny Morning Comprehension II

A Sunny Morning KSEEB Solution Question 1.
Describe the situations wherein Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura recognize each other as ‘the silver maiden’ and ‘the gallant young man’.
Answer:
Both Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo become friends soon after enjoying a pinch of snuff offered by Don Gonzalo. While Don Gonzalo is reading aloud, he comes across a famous quotation. Incidentally, he tells Dona that it is from Campoamor. Then Dona Laura expresses her sympathy for him for reading with all those glasses. This prompts Don to boast about his talent to compose verses. Then, he tells her about Espronceda, Zorrilla, and Becquer. Dona makes fun of him saying that he must have gone with Columbus on one of his explorations.

At this moment, Don Gonzalo tells her that he was also a great friend of Campoamor and he had met him in Valencia. Then he adds that he was a native of Valencia. Dona Laura tells him that she had spent several seasons in a villa called Maricela, which was not far from Valencia. The name Maricela startles Don Gonzalo and he goes on to tell her that he had seen the most beautiful woman there and her name was Laura Llorente. Laura is startled to hear her name mentioned and they look at each other intently. It is precisely at this moment that they begin to recognize each other.

A Sunny Morning 2nd Puc Notes KSEEB Solution Question 2.
What were the circumstances that led Gonzalo to flee Valencia?
OR
What circumstances, according to Gonzalo, made his cousin flee Valencia?
Answer:
The young Laura Llorente and young Gonzalo loved each other very dearly. Every day while passing by on horseback down the rose path under the window of Laura, Gonzalo used to toss up to her balcony a bouquet of flowers. Later in the afternoon, while the gallant young man was returning by the same path, he would catch the bouquet of flowers she would toss him. As days rolled by, Laura’s parents thought of marrying her to a well-known merchant in their locality. One night, while Gonzalo was waiting under her window to hear her sing, the merchant came there unexpectedly and insulted him.

This led to a quarrel and later a duel. The duel went on the whole night and at sunrise the next morning the merchant got badly wounded in the duel. The merchant was a well-known gentleman in Valencia. Since he had been badly wounded in the duel, Gonzalo became apprehensive of fearful consequences and so fled Valencia and went to Seville and then to Madrid.

The Sunny Morning Notes KSEEB Solution Question 3.
Did Laura and Gonzalo pine for each other after they were separated by circumstances? Who is more passionate? How do they react to each other now?
OR
How do Laura and Gonzalo claim to have pined for each other after their separation?
Answer:
Soon after they were separated by circumstances the young lovers Laura and Gonzalo pined for each other. After listening to Gonzalo’s account of how he had fled Aravaca, then joined the army in Africa and had met a glorious death in the war, Laura mutters to herself that it is an atrocious lie. Then Dona pretends to sympathise with him saying he must have been distressed by the calamity. Taking it as a strong point, Gonzalo pretends to say that it was indeed a calamity, but also tries to express his resentment complaining that on the contrary Laura had soon forgotten Gonzalo and was chasing butterflies in the garden without any regret. Dona Laura protests saying ‘no’ loudly and Gonzalo comments that it is a woman’s way. Dona Laura, so as not to be found fault with that way, offers her version of the story.

She tells him that the silver maiden awaited the news of Gonzalo for a year. As she did not receive any letters from him, went to the sea after sunset, wrote his name on the sand, sat on a rock and was finally swept out to the sea by the rising tide. Don Gonzalo mutters to himself that she was a worse liar than he was. Both of them openly express their sympathies for each other. Dona mutters to herself that she will not tell him that she got married two years later. Don Gonzalo mutters to himself that he ran off with a ballet dancer to Paris in three months. From their conversation and from their reactions to each other’s partially concocted story, we can conclude that Laura is more passionate.

Sunny Morning Questions And Answers KSEEB Solution Question 4.
What makes Dona Laura assume that Don Gonzalo is an ill-natured man?
OR
How do Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura accuse each other at the beginning of the play?
Answer:
Soon after entering the park, Don Gonzalo looks for a vacant bench. When he finds that the bench on which he used to sit is occupied by three priests, Don Gonzalo gets irritated and he expresses his annoyance remarking that the priests were idling their time away instead of saying Mass in the church. Then Juanito suggests that he could sit on the bench on which Dona Laura was sitting. But Don Gonzalo tells him that he wants a bench to himself. Then after expressing his anger against the three priests, he walks towards the birds near Dona Laura’s bench, when she angrily asks him to a lookout. On hearing her warning cry, Don Gonzalo asks her whether she intended to speak to him.

Next, when Dona tells him that he had scared the birds away, he retorts telling her that he does not care about the birds. Then she tells him that she cared about the birds very much and hence she was complaining about his behaviour. Don Gonzalo tries to snub her saying that it was a public park. Intending to argue with him, Dona asks him why then he was complaining about the priests taking his bench. Instead of giving her a suitable, polite reply, he dismisses her rudely telling her that they had not met before and he can’t imagine why she was taking the liberty of addressing him. Naturally, Dona who had listened to his comments about the priests and his replies to her queries assumes that he was an ill-natured man.

A Sunny Morning Summary 2nd Puc KSEEB Solution Question 5.
Laura and Gonzalo build stories about themselves so that they can:
a. fool each other.
b. forget the past
c. conceal their emotions.
Answer:
(a) fool each other.

A Sunny Morning Comprehension III

Question 1.
Trace how the irony is built in the play. Did you guess the character’s past even before they did so?
Answer:
(a) The term ‘irony’ means ‘hiding’ or dissembling what actually is the case, not in order to deceive but to achieve special rhetorical or artistic effects.

In the one-act play, ‘A Sunny Morning’ irony is cleverly built into the play. After settling in her bench, Dona Laura sends away Petra, her maidservant, to chat with the guard. Soon after that, she glances towards the trees at right and says “Here they come; they know just when to expect me”. Though the old lady is referring to the arrival of the birds, it also hints at the entry of Don Gonzalo and Juanito, who are needed for the action to move forward. Dona Laura throws three handfuls of crumbs for the pigeons to eat and soon after that we see Don Gonzalo and Juanito entering the scene.

(b) We come across the next instance of irony when Don Gonzalo starts reading aloud statements supposedly from Campoamor’s work.
Don Gonzalo reads aloud the following:

• “All love is sad but sad as it is, it is the best thing that we know”.
• “Twenty years pass. He returns. And each, beholding the other, exclaims can it be that this is he? Heavens, is it she?”
  These lines can be taken as examples of ‘Dramatic irony’.

(c) There are two more instances of irony in the play. They are:

1. When Dona Laura tells Don Gonzalo that Laura Llorente was called ‘The Silver Maiden’ in » that locality, he tells her “I seem to see her as if she were before me now, at that window with the red roses”.

2. He starts giving a description of her beauty, “She was ideal, fair as a lily, jet black hair and black eyes…” and finally says “what forms of sovereign beauty God models in human clay! She was a dream”.
On hearing Don Gonzalo say so, Dona Laura mutters to herself “if you but knew that dream was now by your side, you would realize what dreams come to”.

3. “Here are you and I, complete strangers, met by chance, discussing the romance of old friends of long ago! We have been conversing as if we were old friends”, Dona Laura tells Don Gonzalo after both of them have told their made-up stories.

A careful reading of the play reveals that there is a relationship between the old lady and the old gentleman. When I read the play a second time paying attention to the story and the instances of irony highlighted here, I was able to guess the characters’ past.

Question 2.
Why do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves?
OR
Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves to cover their tracks. Discuss with reference to ‘A Sunny Morning’.
Answer:
Once Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura realize that they are the same old, young lovers of Maricela who were separated in life by fate, they decide not to reveal their identity because they learn from each other in what high esteem they held each other before they departed, they also come to know that both of them had given up the other as lost forever. While Dona Laura tells herself that she had married someone else after waiting for him for one year, Don Gonzalo tells himself that after fleeing from Valencia, then Seville and Madrid, he had run off to Paris with a ballet dancer in about three months.

Therefore, they concoct fictitious stories so as to conceal their identities completely and to make the other believe that he or she was dead. Later, when they realize that they are alive, they do not want to shatter their mutual images in the eyes of the other. Therefore, Don Gonzalo tells himself that he will not reveal himself because he is grotesque. He wishes that she had better recall the gallant horseman who passed daily beneath her window tossing flowers. Similarly, Dona Laura tells herself that “I am too sadly changed. It is better he should remember me as the black-eyed girl tossing flowers as he passed among the roses in the garden.”

Question 3.
Bring out the feelings of Laura and Gonzalo as they leave the park. Is it different from what they felt about each other at the beginning of the play?
Answer:
When the scene opens, we find Dona Laura entering the park, leaning upon the arm of her maid Petra. Soon, the old lady settles in her usual seat in the park. Then the old lady sends away Petra to meet her boyfriend, the guard. Later, when the pigeons arrive, Dona Laura throws three handfuls of bread crumbs. Next, we see Don Gonzalo coming in dragging his feet and leaning upon Juanito’s arm. Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura have not seen each other before and hence we cannot know about each other’s feelings until they meet.

However, their feelings towards each other become evident only when Don Gonzalo walks towards Dona Laura’s bench, despite her warning call ‘Lookout’. Therefore, when she finds her pigeons being scared away, she is upset and tells him in a complaining tone that he has scared away the birds who were feeding on her crumbs. In reply, Don gives an arrogant reply which provokes her to make a personal comment, ‘Why do you complain that the priests have taken your bench?’ Once again, Don Gonzalo’s rude snubbing reply provokes Dona Laura to say that he is an ill-natured old man and comments that when people reach a certain age they should not become so fussy and cross. Later, Don comes and sits at the extreme end of Dona Laura’s bench and looks at her indignantly. After a few heated exchanges between them, Don Gonzalo mutters to himself ‘Senile old lady! She ought to be at home knitting and counting her beads’.

But, by the end of the play, we find a total change in their attitude towards each other. In the course of their conversation, they discover that they were ‘lovers’ once in their youthful days. But neither of them is ready to disclose their identity. However, the animosity that we witness at the beginning of the play is no longer there when they are ready to depart. Before taking leave of each other, they formally thank each other for having met. Both of them ensure that they are coming to the park the next day. Laura sees Don picking up the lilies dropped by her. Both of them wave farewell. They leave the place as friends.

Question 4.
What do you think would have happened if they had revealed their identity? Do you think they know who they are towards the end of the play?
Answer:
Once Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura realize that they are the same old young lovers of Maricela who were separated in life by fate, they make up fictitious stories and conceal their identity.

If they had revealed their identity, both of them would have been utterly shocked and would have accused each other of deceiving the other. They know that both of them had held the other in high esteem and both of them had fallen deeply in love.

That is why, when they realize that they are the same old lovers of Maricela, they are shocked to realize how much both of them had changed. Dona Laura after listening to Don Gonzalo’s praise of her beauty as The Silver Maiden’ now feels ashamed to confess that she is the old silver maiden of Maricela because she too is sadly changed.

Similarly, Don Gonzalo knows that he is grotesque and so wishes her to keep his image as a gallant horseman who tossed flowers to her every day.

Question 5.
How is the title of the play A Sunny Morning’justifiable? Discuss.
OR
Bring out the instances from the play A Sunny Morning’ to justify it as a blend of romance
and comedy.
Answer:
‘A Sunny Morning’ is a refreshingly new romantic comedy. It tells the story of Don Gonzalo^and Dona Laura who was ardent lovers in their youth but was torn apart in life by fate. However, the two lovers meet again when they are in their 70s, not as lovers but as total strangers unexpectedly, in a park in Madrid. After a few initial heated exchanges and repartees, they settle down, occupy the same bench in the park, spend a good time together and depart as friends. By the time they are ready to leave for the day, they recognize each other’s identity. They do not disclose it but tell atrocious lies to conceal it. There are quite a few lively moments of humor, sarcasm, and irony which entertain the readers and audience. The title A Sunny Morning’ is quite appropriate and aptly captures the spirit of the play. The play can be justifiably called a romantic comedy because there are elements of both romance and comedy in the play.

In its most general sense the word ‘romance’ suggests elements of gallant love, chivalry, and adventure. The phrase ‘romantic comedy’ denotes a form of drama in which love is the main theme and love leads to a happy ending. A love affair is one of the major themes of a comedy. Keeping in view these points, ‘A Sunny Morning’ is a romantic comedy in all respects. It tells the story of two young lovers Laura Llorente and Don Gonzalo of Maricela in Valencia.

Laura Liorente was known in her locality as ‘The Silver Maiden’. She was in love with Gonzalo, a gallant lover. He used to pass by her house on horseback every morning through the rose garden and toss up a bouquet of flowers to her balcony which she caught. On his way back in the afternoon she would toss the flowers back to him. But Laura’s parents wanted to marry her off to a merchant whom she disliked.

One day there ensued a quarrel, leading to a duel between Gonzalo and the merchant, her suitor. The merchant was seriously injured. Fearing serious consequences, Gonzalo fled from his house in the town to Seville and then to Madrid. Even though he tried to communicate with Laura through letters, his attempts failed and he gave her up as lost forever and ran off to Paris with a ballet dancer. Meanwhile, Laura waited for the news of Gonzalo, for one year and finally got married.

These two lovers meet unexpectedly, in a park. They are now in their 70s. Both of them have changed a lot physically but they still cherish the memories of their youth. However, when they meet in the park, they appear to be cynical, fussy, and ill-natured. The way they repartee and express their resentment towards each other creates opportunities for humour in the play. Finally, they become friends after sharing a pinch of snuff. They gradually come to realize that they are the very same lovers of yesteryears.

The title A Sunny Morning’ suggests a warm and bright sunny day. Similarly, the play is also fresh in spirit, devoid of all cliches and stereotypes of earlier, traditional courtly comedies because both the characters and the situations are drawn from contemporary society.

A Sunny Morning Additional Questions and Answers

I. Answer the following questions in a word, a phrase, or a sentence each:

Question 1.
Laura Llorente was known as _______ in the locality in her younger days.
(a) The Silver Maiden
(b) Sovereign Beauty
(c) Golden Lady
(d) dream girl.
Answer:
(a) The Silver Maiden.

Question 2.
Who had occupied Gonzalo’s usual bench in the park?
Answer:
Three priests.

Question 3.
What is the name of Laura’s maid?
Answer:
Petra.

Question 3.
What is the name of Gonzalo’s servant?
OR
Who is the caretaker of Gonzalo in the play?
Answer:
Juanito.

Question 4.
How many priests were sitting on the bench usually occupied by Don Gonzalo?
Answer:
Three priests.

Question 5.
What does Don Gonzalo use to clean the dust off his shoes?
Answer:
His handkerchief.

Question 6.
Where, according to Don Gonzalo, is one of his estates located?
Answer:
In Aravaca.

Question 7.
In which city was Don Gonzalo brought up?
OR
‘Which is the native city of Don Gonzalo in ‘A Sunny Morning’?
OR
Which city, according to Don Gonzalo, is he a native of?
Answer:
Don Gonzalo was brought up in Valencia.

Question 8.
Name the villa in Valencia where Dona Laura spent her youth.
OR
Name the villa Laura Liorente lived in.
Answer:
In a villa called Maricela in Valencia.

Question 9.
What was Dona Laura’s original name?
Answer:
Laura Llorente.

Question 10.
Why do Laura and Gonzalo spin stories about themselves?
Answer:
To conceal each other’s identity.

Question 11.
According to Gonzalo, where did the young man go after the duel?
Answer:
To Seville and then to Madrid.

Question 12.
What did Dona Laura carry every day to feed the pigeons?
OR
What does Dona Laura feed the birds within the park?
Answer:
Dona Laura carried bread crumbs every day to feed the pigeons.
OR
Dona Laura fed the birds with bread crumbs.

Question 13.
Where does the action of the play ‘A Sunny Morning’ take place?
Answer:
The action of the play ‘A Sunny Morning’ takes place in a retired corner of a park in Madrid.

Question 14.
What establishes peace between Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo?
Answer:
A pinch of snuff establishes peace between Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo.

Question 15.
What right does Dona Laura claim to have to criticize Don Gonzalo?
Answer:
Dona Laura claims to have a neighbour’s right to criticize Don Gonzalo.

Question 16.
Who was called ‘The Silver Maiden’ in A Sunny Morning’?
OR
By what name was Laura Liorente known in her locality?
Answer:
Laura Liorente was called ‘The Silver Maiden’ in her locality.

Question 17.
On what condition does Don Gonzalo agree to meet Dona Laura the next day?
OR
In what condition do Gonzalo and Laura depart at the end of the play?
Answer:
Don Gonzalo agrees to meet Dona Laura the next day if it is sunny.

Question 18.
In the play, ‘the silver maiden’ refers to
(a) Petra
(b) Dona Laura
(c) the ballet dancer.
Answer:
(b) Dona Laura.

Question 19.
Why did Don Gonzalo sit next to Laura in the park?
Answer:
Dona Gonzalo sits next to Laura on the bench in the park because all the other benches were fully occupied.

Question 20.
Where, according to Gonzalo, did he meet Campoamor?
Answer:
According to Gonzalo, he met Campoamor in Valencia.

Question 21.
Where did Gonzalo run off to with a ballet dancer?
Answer:
Gonzalo ran off to Paris with a ballet dancer.

Question 22.
Whose name, according to Gonzalo, was his cousin whispering at the time of his death?
Answer:
Laura’s name.

Question 23.
Where do Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura meet after a long time?
Answer:
After a long time, Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura meet in a retired corner of a park in Madrid.

Question 24.
What did Dona Laura use as a cane in ‘A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In A Sunny Morning’, Dona Laura used a parasol as a cane.

Question 25.
Who accompanied Dona Laura when she came to the park in A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’ Petra, her maid, accompanied Dona Laura, when she came to the park.

Question 26.
Who, according to Petra, belongs to the park in A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, according to Petra, the guard, with whom she used to chat, belongs to the park.

Question 27.
Who accompanied Don Gonzalo when he came to the park in A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’ Juanito, Don Gonzalo’s servant accompanied him to the park.

Question 28.
According to Gonzalo, where ought Laura be knitting and counting her beads?
Answer:
According to Gonzalo, Laura ought to be at home, knitting and counting her beads.

Question 29.
What right does Laura claim to have to criticize Gonzalo’s actions in ‘A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, Laura claims her right as a neighbour to criticize Gonzalo’s actions.

Question 30.
What could Gonzalo show as evidence to prove his skill at hunting in ‘A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, Gonzalo could show a wild boar’s head (displayed in his study) as evidence to prove his skill at hunting.

Question 31.
What could Laura show as evidence to prove her skill at hunting in ‘A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, Laura could show a tiger’s skin in her boudoir, as evidence to prove her skill at hunting.

Question 32.
When, according to Gonzalo, did he compose some verses in A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, according to Gonzalo, he composed some verses in his youth.

Question 33.
How old does Gonzalo say he was when he went to America the first time in A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, Gonzalo says the first time he went to America, he was only six years old.

Question 34.
Name the poet whom Gonzalo says, he first met in America in A Sunny Morning’.
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, Gonzalo says, he first met Zorilla in America.

Question 35.
Where, according to Gonzalo, did he spend his early youth in A Sunny Morning’?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Mornmq’, according to Gonzalo, he spent his early youth in the city of Valencia.

Question 36.
Where, according to Laura, did she spend several seasons in A Sunny Morning?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, according to Laura, she spent several seasons in a villa called Maricela, not far from Valencia.

Question 37.
Who was called ‘The Silver Maiden’ in A Sunny Morning?
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, Laura Llorente was called the ‘Silver Maiden’.

Question 38.
According to Gonzalo, the gallant lover in A Sunny Morning’ was his
(a) friend
(b) brother
(c) cousin.
Answer:
(c) cousin.

Question 39.
Who, according to Gonzaio, was badly wounded in A Sunny Morning?
Answer:
In A Sunny Morning’, according to Gonzaio, the merchant was badly wounded in the duel.

Question 40.
Where did the gallant young man take refuge, according to Gonzaio in A Sunny Morning?
Answer:
In A Sunny Morning’, according to Gonzaio, the gallant young man took refuge in Don Gonzalo’s house.

Question 41.
Where did the silver maiden write her lover’s name, according to Laura, in A Sunny Morning?
Answer:
In A Sunny Morning’, according to Laura, the Silver Maiden wrote her lover’s name on the sand.

Question 42.
Who, according to Gonzaio, did he run off to Paris within A Sunny Morning?
Answer:
In A Sunny Morning’, according to Gonzaio, he ran off to Paris with a ballet dancer.

Question 43.
What does Gonzaio pick up with great effort before leaving with fuanito in A Sunny Morning?
Answer:
In A Sunny Morning’, before leaving the park with Juanito, Gonzaio, with great effort, picks up the violets dropped by Laura.

Question 44.
Where, according to Dona Laura, had her best friend sat before being swept into the sea?
Answer:
According to Dona Laura, her best friend had sat down upon a rock on the sand before being swept into the sea.

II. Answer the following questions in a paragraph of 80-100 words each:

Question 1.
How do Laura and Gonzaio conceal their identity?
Answer:
While boasting about his keen eyesight, Don Gonzaio incidentally mentions the names of some famous Spanish literary figures. Then he states that he was a great friend of Campoamor in Valencia, and also reveals that he was a native of Valencia. Laura’s interest being kindled informs him that she had spent several seasons in a villa called Maricela, in the city of Valencia. At this moment both of them understand that they are the original lover’s Laura and Gonzaio who had been separated by fate.

From then onwards, Gonzaio tells her that the gallant lover who was in love with the silver maiden Laura Llorente was his cousin and conceals his identity. Similarly, Laura tells Gonzaio that she came to know about the story of Gonzaio from Laura Llorente, who was her friend. Thus Dona Laura also conceals her identity.

Question 2.
How effectively does Gonzaio account for the love his cousin had for Laura’s friend?
OR
What account does Don Gonzaio give Dona Laura about his cousin’s life after the duel?
OR
What story does Don Gonzaio narrate to Dona Laura regarding his cousin?
OR
What fictitious story did Gonzaio spin about himself in the name of his cousin?
OR
Describe how Don Gonzaio glorifies his cousin’s death.
Answer:
While telling Laura about the duel between the merchant and the gallant lover, Don tells her that the gallant lover was his cousin and he was very fond of him. Don Gonzaio tells her that after the duel the young man took refuge in his house being scared of the consequences of a duel with a person highly regarded in that locality. Then he tells her that from his home his cousin went to Seville and then came to Madrid. Then he wrote Laura many letters which were intercepted by her parents.

He says so because he knows for sure that she did not answer his letters at all. Don then concludes the story saying that, in despair, believing that he had lost his love forever he joined the army, then went to Africa and there is a trench, met a glorious death grasping the flag of Spain and whispering the name of his beloved Laura.

Question 3.
How does Dona Laura describe the story ofher% best friend’s death?
OR
How does Dona Laura describe her friend’s love story?
Answer:
Dona Laura tells Don Gonzalo that her friend had written to her that she had awaited news of Gonzalo for nearly a year. Later one afternoon, just at sunset, as the first stars were appearing she left her house and went to the beach where her beloved had risked his life. She wrote his name on the sand and then sat down upon a rock, her gaze fixed upon the horizon. The waves murmured their eternal threnody and slowly crept up to the rock where the maiden sat. The tide rose with a boom and swept her out to sea.

Question 4.
When does Dona Laura realise that Don Gonzalo is her former lover?
Answer:
After taking a pinch of snuff both Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura sneeze three times alternately. Dona Laura mutters to herself that the snuff has made peace between them. Then, Don Gonzalo starts reading aloud. A little later, Dona Laura sympathises with him for reading with all those glasses. Their conversation turns to Gonzalo’s ability to compose verses. Incidentally, Gonzalo reveals that he was a great friend of Espronceda, Zorilla, Becquer and others. Then while talking about Campoamor, Don Gonzalo tells her that he had met Campoamor in Valencia and he was a native of that city.

This provokes both of them to talk about their earlier identities. When Dona tells him about the villa in Maricella, Gonzalo tells her about the Silver Maiden and like a poet he describes her beauty. At that moment, Dona Laura realizes that Don Gonzalo is her former lover.

Question 5.
What are the’atrocious’ lies that Laura and Gonzalo make up about their lives after their separation?
OR
Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura outwit each other in weaving stories about their own deaths. Elaborate.
OR
Narrate how, according to Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo, the sad love affair of her friend and his cousin ended.
Answer:
During the conversation with Dona Laura, Don Gonzalo gives a romantic description of the silver maiden. Dona Laura realizes that the old man is none other than her former lover Gonzalo. Then, both of them together recount their romantic affair until they come to the end of their story. Don Gonzalo rounds it off telling her that his cousin had to hide for a few days and later to fly. At this point, Dona tells him that he seems to know the story well. Don Gonzalo also tells her the same. Dona Laura tells him that she heard the story from her friend.

Don Gonzalo picks up the same lie and tells her that he heard the story from his cousin. Both of them are now convinced that they were the former lovers of the romantic affair they had just reconstructed. Dona Laura wants to probe further into the affair. Therefore she demands an explanation about Gonzalo’s vanishing from Valencia.

In reply, Don Gonzalo tells her that after staying hidden indoors in Valencia for some time, his cousin went to Seville and then came to Madrid, where he wrote letters to Laura. But, since the letters were intercepted by her parents, she did not get his letters at all and so she did not write back to him. He tells her that Gonzalo, then in despair, believing that he had lost his love forever, joined the army, went to Africa and there is a trench met a glorious death grasping the flag of Spain and whispering the name of his beloved Laura. Immediately, Dona also concocts a story.

She tells him that after waiting for a year for Gonzalo, she went to the beach after sunset one evening. She wrote his name on the sand and then sat down on a rock, her gaze fixed upon the horizon. Then the waves slowly crept up to the rock where the maiden was sitting and the high rising tide rose with a boom and swept her out to sea. Thus ended the sad love affair.

Question 6.
What fictitious story did Gonzalo spin about himself to hide his true identity?
OR
How does Don Gonzalo try to hide his identity?
Answer:
Don Gonzalo tells Dona Laura that his cousin took refuge in his house fearful of the consequences of a duel with a person highly regarded in that locality. From his home, he later went to Seville and then to Madrid. Since his letters to Laura were intercepted by her parents, Gonzalo did not get any reply from her. He became desperate. In despair, believing that he had lost his love forever, he joined the army.went to Africa, and met a glorious death in a trench, grasping the flag of Spain and whispering the name of his beloved Laura.

Question 7.
Bring out a few instances wherein Dona Laura ridicules Don Gonzalo in A Sunny Morning’.
Answer:
In ‘A Sunny Morning’, there are two instances in which Dona Laura ridicules Don Gonzalo.
Both the instances occur when Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo meet face-to-face in the park as an old man and old woman and as total strangers to each other.

Don Gonzalo, soon after entering the park, discovers that his usual bench has been occupied by three priests. He gets irritated and says aloud that the priests were idling away their time instead of saying Mass in the church. Then, in a fit of anger, he rushes towards the bench on which Dona Laura is sitting.

Dona Laura cries out aloud ‘Lookout’, indignantly, and admonishes him for scaring away the birds. Don Gonzalo replies that he would not care about the birds. When she replies that she cared for them, Don Gonzalo tells her that it was a public park. In retaliation, she asks him why he had complained that the priests had taken his bench. Don Gonzalo, being cornered by his own remarks, snubs her, telling her that even though she was a total stranger she was taking the liberty to speak to him and walk away.’

Dona Laura comments that he was an ill-natured old man and people ought not to get so fussy and cross when they reach a certain age. Later, when she notices him losing another bench, says mockingly “serves him right for scaring the birds”. “Poor man! He is wiping the perspiration from his face”. Then, when she notices him walking back towards her bench, says, “A carriage would not raise more dust than his feet”.

Question 7.
Describe how the ‘gallant young man’ was separated from his lover in ‘A Sunny Morning’.
Answer:
Gonzalo and Laura, the two former lovers, had to separate from each other. In her youthful days, Dona Laura was known in her locality as ‘The Silver Maiden’. She was fair as a lily, with jet black hair and black eyes. She was like a dream. She was in love with Gonzalo, the gallant lover. He used to pass by on horseback every morning through the rose garden and toss flowers to her balcony which she would catch. On his way back in the afternoon she would toss the flowers back to him. But Laura’s parents wanted to marry her off to a merchant whom she disliked.

One day there was a quarrel between Gonzalo and the merchant, the suitor. The merchant was badly wounded in the duel and Gonzafo had to conceal himself for a few days. Later he fled from his hometown to Seville and then to Madrid. Even though he tried to communicate with Laura through letters, all his attempts failed. He then joined the army and went to Africa.

III. Answer the following questions in about 200 words each:

Question 1.
Bring out the changes in Gonzalo’s attitude before and after occupying the bench in the park.
Answer:
As soon as Don Gonzalo enters the park along with Juanito, he discovers that his usual seat has been occupied by three priests. He is annoyed and comments rudely saying that the priests were idling their time away when they should be saying mass in the church. Then, when Juanito suggests that he should sit on the bench where Dona Laura was sitting, Don Gonzalo tells Juanito that he wants a bench to himself. Then Juanito informs him that there is no other bench vacant.

Don Gonzalo points at the bench that he usually sat on. When Juanito tells him that there are three priests sitting on that bench, Don asks him to send them away. Later, he comments bitterly saying that the priests were sitting there as if they were glued to the seat. Then he and his servant walk towards the place where the birds are feeding on the bread crumbs.

When Dona Laura angrily asks him to look out, Don asks Laura whether she was speaking to him. Then, when she complains that he had scared the birds away, he answers rudely that he does not care about the birds. But she tells him that she cared for the birds and indirectly tries to make him feel guilty. But he tells her rudely that it is a public park suggesting that she was not right in complaining about him about birds being scared away in a public park. Dona tries to counter him asking why he – had complained that the priests had taken his seat.

Feeling discomfited, Don Gonzalo tries to snub her telling her that she was a stranger and was not right in taking the liberty to address him. A little later, Don Gonzalo sits at the extreme end of her bench and prepares himself to read a book by wearing glasses and adjusting his lenses. Dona sympathises with him for having to read with all those glasses.

Question 2.
Trace the incidents where Laura and Gonzalo secretly guess about each other’s identity.
Answer:
Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo come face-to-face in a retired corner of a park in Madrid on a Sunday morning. The strangers soon become friends without knowing that they were lovers once. Then Gonzalo happens to tell her that he had spent his youth in Valencia city. Laura’s curiosity having been provoked, she tells Gonzalo that she also had spent several seasons in Maricela, a villa near the sea in Valencia.

When Gonzalo is startled to hear the name ‘Maricela’, Dona Laura asks him whether the name is familiar to him. Don Gonzalo tells her that he had seen a beautiful woman Laura Llorente living there. On hearing the name Laura Llorente mentioned, Dona Laura shows her surprise. From that moment onwards, it becomes clear that both of them know who they are and intentionally conceals their identity.

When Dona Laura tells him that Laura Llorente was her best friend and she was called the ‘Silver Maiden’, Don Gonzalo endorses it and tells her that ‘Silver Maiden’ was her popular name in the locality. Further, he tells her that she used to stand at a particular window. Then Dona Laura endorses his statement. Inadvertently, when Don Gonzalo tells her that he spent many hours there during his youthful days, Dona Laura gives a sigh and endorses his statement and says “And in mine, too.”

Then Don Gonzalo gives a description of her beauty and expresses his admiration calling her a dream. Then Dona Laura makes an aside remark and tells Gonzalo that if he but knew that Laura was by his side he would realize what dreams come to. This way, their conversation goes on until the end, each speaking to the other in disguise.

Though they appear to be concealing their identity, they know tacitly that they are the true lover’s Laura and Gonzalo of their youthful days. In the end, before leaving the park, Laura drops the violets, and when Gonzalo stoops to pick up the flowers, Laura looks at him. Thus they come to recognize each other.

Question 3.
‘A Sunny Morning’ portrays wit and humour through Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura’s spontaneous reactions”. Explain.
OR
Give instances of humorous situations in the play in your own words.
Answer:
‘A Sunny Morning’ is a romantic comedy with only two main characters Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura who are in their seventies now. Their chance meeting on a sunny morning in a park in Madrid gives the characters an opportunity to relive the story of their love affair when they were living in Marfcela. The whole story is built up through witty, humorous, lively, and spontaneous interaction between them.

When the play opens, we find Dona Laura happily speaking to the pigeons which were feeding on the bread crumbs. When Don Gonzalo comes there looking for a bench, Dona Laura accuses him of scaring away her birds. In reply, Don Gonzalo tells her that it is a public park and he doesn’t care about the birds. Dona Laura asks him why then did he complain that the priests had taken his seat. Later, when Don Gonzalo comes back to the same place to sit, she asks him why he was seen there again. But, when he tries to put her off saying that they had not met, she tells him that she was only responding to his gesture.

When he tells her that she ought to have only returned his greeting, she remarks that he should have taken her permission to sit on that bench. Finally, with her witty remarks, she makes him tongue-tied and helpless. When he mutters to himself, saying that she was a senile old lady and she ought to be at home knitting and counting her beads, she asks him not to grumble anymore. When she finds him cleaning his shoes with his handkerchief, she taunts him asking whether one uses a handkerchief as a shoe brush. In reply, when Gonzalo asks her what right she has to criticize his actions, she answers playfully that it was her right as a neighbour.

When Gonzalo tries to put her off rudely saying that he does not care to listen to nonsense, she once again teases him remarking that he was very polite. When Gonzalo asks her apologetically not to interfere with what does not concern her, she again tells him stubbornly that she generally says what she thinks. From then on their spontaneous exchange takes a positive direction and soon they become friends.

Question 4.
‘The ways of providence are strange’. How is this true in the case of Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura?
Answer:
‘A Sunny Morning’ presents the story of two young lovers who were once passionately attached to each other. Their love would have culminated in their marriage but they were separated by a cruel blow of fate. However, the ways of providence being strange, these erstwhile lovers happened to meet each other some fifty years later in a park in Madrid. Both of them are in their 70s and have changed a great deal in their appearance. Hence, they fail to recognize each other in the park initially. But as they get acquainted they recall their youthful days.

Again, it is by a stroke of providence that Don Gonzalo happens to reveal that he once lived in Valencia. When they discover that they were lovers once in their youth, they relive their romantic meetings as before and pretend not to recognize their earlier selves. Like young people, they live in a dream world of their own and are reluctant to come back to the world of reality. They tell atrocious lies to defend their previous actions and exit with a promise to meet the next day. The ways of providence are strange and it is undoubtedly true in the case of Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo.

Question 5.
A Sunny Morning’ revolves around concealing and revealing Laura and Gonzalo’s identity. Elaborate.
Answer:
The play ‘A Sunny Morning’ presents the story of two passionate lovers who were separated by a cruel blow of fate before their love could culminate in their marriage. However, this story is presented nearly fifty years later when both Gonzalo and Laura are now in their old age. They happen to meet, as if it was providential, in a retired comer of a park in Madrid one sunny morning. The first part of the play seems an exposition introducing Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura. After a few witty exchanges between the two, the playwright reveals their love story concealing and revealing their identity.

Initially, Don Gonzalo reveals his identity unwittingly in his enthusiasm to tell her that he had met Campoamor in Valencia. Then he adds that he spent his early youth in Valencia. This is a hint to Dona Laura to reveal her identity. She reminds him of a villa named Maricela near the sea. From then on both of them rebuild their story, however concealing that they were the real actors in that love story. On hearing the name Maricela mentioned, Don Gonzalo introduces Laura Llorente. Then Dona Laura builds it further saying “Laura Llorente was popularly called the Silver Maiden”.

Don Gonzalo recreates the scene for the readers mentioning the window where she used to stand hours on end every day. Then Don Gonzalo gives a description of her beautiful personality. Then both of them reveal to the audience their identity by their (aside) remarks.

Now once they had revealed their identity, they try to conceal it by replacing themselves in the story by a substitute. Dona Laura calls Laura of the original story as her friend and Don Gonzalo calls the Gonzalo of the original story as his cousin. Once again having concealed their identity they narrate how their love affair ended. Both of them tell lies to cover up what they did after Gonzalo had fled Valencia. This goes on until the end when Laura sees Gonzalo picking up the violets dropped by her. Thus the whole play ‘A Sunny Morning’ revolves around concealing and revealing Laura and Gonzalo’s identity.

Question 6.
Bring out the instances where Laura and Gonzalo realize each other’s identity.
Answer:
There are several instances in ‘A Sunny Morning’, in which both Laura and Gonzalo recognize each others’ identity. Soon after their initial outbursts of emotion, both Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo become friends. Next, both of them enjoy a pinch of snuff and Don Gonzalo begins to read aloud verses from Campoamor.

When Don Gonzalo mentions that he was a native of Valencia and had met Campoamor there incidentally, Dona Laura tells him that she had spent several seasons at Maricela. When Don Gonzalo tells her that he had seen a beautiful woman by name Laura Llorente in Maricela, Dona Laura tells him that Laura was known by the name ‘Silver Maiden’ in that locality. When Don Gonzalo starts describing Laura Llorente, Dona Laura makes an aside comment. We learn that Dona Laura has recognized his identity.

Later, when Laura tells him that her friend had told her the story of the two lovers, Don Gonzalo recognizes her identity. Then Dona Laura makes an aside remark, “Why tell him? He does not suspect”. Similarly, Don Gonzalo mutters to himself, “She is entirely innocent”. Then when Don Gonzalo tells her how his cousin had met a glorious death in Africa, Dona Laura mutters to herself that he was telling an atrocious lie. Don Gonzalo tells himself that he could not have killed himself more gloriously.

On hearing how Laura had died, Don Gonzalo tells himself, “she lies worse than I do”. Then Dona Laura tells herself that she will not tell him that she married two years later while Don Gonzalo mutters that he had run off to Paris with a ballet dancer in three months. By then it becomes clear that both of them have recognized each other’s identity.

Question 7.
How do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo annoy each other initially in the park?
Answer:
Soon after occupying her seat in the park, Dona Laura throws three handfuls of bread crumbs to a flock of pigeons and sits watching them feeding on the bread crumbs. Don Gonzalo and Juanito walk towards the birds. Immediately, Dona Laura shouts ‘lookout’ so as to warn them. Then she tells Don Gonzalo that he had scared away the birds. Don Gonzalo brushes aside her remarks telling her that he does not care about the birds as it was a public park. Dona Laura asks him why then did he complain about the priests occupying his usual bench if it was a public park.

Again, Don Gonzalo tries to put her off rudely telling her that since they had not met before she should not take the liberty of addressing him. Dona Laura retaliates saying that he is an ill-natured old man. She wonders why a man like him should be so fussy and cross after reaching a certain age. Later, she sees him moving about without getting a seat on the other side of the park. She enjoys his predicament saying that it serves him right for scaring the birds. Later, when Don Gonzalo sits at the extreme end of Dona Laura’s bench and greets her, she asks him annoyingly why he was there again. Again, there is an angry exchange of words.

When he fails to find a convincing reply to her question, he tells her that he has nothing more to say. Then he mutters to himself that she was a senile old lady and she ought to be at home knitting and counting her beads. Again, Dona Laura tells him rudely not to grumble any more and she was not going to leave just to please him.

Question 8.
Although the romantic affair between Laura and Gonzalo lasts for a brief period of time, the intensity of their love lingers forever. Elaborate.
OR
Answer:
‘A Sunny Morning’ reveals the romantic side of both Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo. Elucidate. Laura and Gonzalo met each other in Valencia as gallant young lovers. They loved each other intensely. Gonzalo used to toss a bouquet of flowers at Laura in the morning and he would receive a bouquet of flowers from her while returning home.

Unfortunately, her parents wanted Laura to marry a merchant instead of Gonzalo. Once, the merchant insulted Gonzalo and it ended up in a duel between them. The merchant was seriously injured in the duel. He was highly regarded in his place and, fearing action, Gonzalo hid in several places. He wrote letters to Laura but they were intercepted by her parents and Laura did not get a chance to read them.

Two years later, she married someone else and settled down in her life. But, the brief romantic affair continued to linger in her heart of hearts. In the same way, Gonzalo did not get any reply to his letters from Laura. So three months later, he married a ballet dancer and settled down in Paris. Here again, he could not completely forget the beautiful ‘Silver Maiden’ that Laura was known as. When they met in the park after a lapse of nearly 50 years, both of them were able to recall the brief, but intense romantic affair in Valencia.

Question 9.
Everything is fair in love and war. How do you substantiate this statement relating to the attitudes of Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo in the play?
Answer:
‘A Sunny Morning’ presents the story of Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura, who were ardent lovers in their youth, but were tom apart in life by fate. They are now in their 70s. The very lovers meet as total strangers unexpectedly in a park in Madrid. As the play begins, Dona Laura is seen in the park feeding pigeons with bread crumbs. It is at that point an old man enters with his attendant. The old man is none other than Don Gonzalo, who is seen to be quite irritated as he finds no bench in the park vacant. Quite grudgingly he comes near Laura and shares her bench. Laura gets infuriated as the old man has scared the pigeons she was feeding and calls him ‘an ill-natured man.’ With her witty remarks, she makes him tongue-tied and helpless.

But, after a few moments of disagreement, both of them have a pinch of snuff and reconcile with each other. Gonzalo says that he is from Valencia and to his surprise, Laura reveals that she is from Maricela. Gonzalo is startled by the revelation and he says that he knows a woman named Laura Llorente who lived in a villa there, who was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Both Laura and Gonzalo realize that they were the very same young lovers once. But they pretend not to reveal their identities. Though both of them have changed a lot physically, they still cherish the memories of their adventurous youth.

Though initially, they appear to be cynical, fussy and ill-natured, soon they become friends. When they discover that they were lovers once in their youth, they relive their romantic meetings as before and pretend not to recognize their earlier selves. Like young people, they live in a dream world of their own and are reluctant to come back to the world of reality. They tell atrocious lies to defend their previous actions and exit with a promise to meet the next day.

Question 10.
A Sunny Morning’ is a comic presentation of a serious human relationship. Explain.
Answer:
‘A Sunny Morning’ tells the past love story of two ardent lovers – Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura in a comic way. It is a serious human relationship but was torn apart in life by fate. However, the two lovers meet again when they are in their 70s, not as lovers, but as total strangers, unexpectedly in a parkin Madrid.

Laura Llorente was known in her locality as ‘The Silver Maiden’. She was in love with Gonzalo, a gallant lover. He used to pass by her house on horseback every morning through the rose garden and toss up a bouquet of flowers to her balcony which she caught. On his way back in the afternoon she would toss the flowers back to him. But Laura’s parents wanted to marry her off to a merchant whom she disliked.

One day there ensued a quarrel, leading to a duel between Gonzalo and the merchant, her suitor. The merchant was seriously injured. Fearing serious consequences, Gonzalo fled from his house in the town to Seville and then to Madrid. Even though he tried to communicate with Laura through letters, his attempts failed and he gave her up as lost forever and ran off to Paris with a ballet dancer. Meanwhile, Laura waited for the news of Gonzalo, for one year and finally got married.

Both of them have changed a lot physically but they still cherish the memories of their youth. However, When they meet in the park, they appear to be cynical, fussy, and ill-natured. The way they repartee and express their resentment towards each other creates opportunities for humour in the play. Finally, they become friends after sharing a pinch of snuff. They gradually come to realize that they are the very same lovers of yesteryears.

Question 11.
Laura and Gonzalo recognize each other but conceal their identity. How does A Sunny Morning’ present this?
Answer:
Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo come face-to-face in a retired corner of a park in Madrid on a Sunday morning. The strangers soon become friends without knowing that they were lovers once. Then Gonzalo happens to tell her that he had spent his youth in Valencia city. Laura’s curiosity having been provoked, she tells Gonzalo that she also had spent several seasons in Maricela, a villa near the sea in Valencia. When Gonzalo is startled to hear the name ‘Maricela’, Dona Laura asks him whether the name is familiar to him. Don Gonzalo tells her that he had seen a beautiful woman Laura Llorente living there.

On hearing the name Laura Llorente mentioned, Dona Laura shows her surprise. From that moment onwards, it becomes clear that both of them know who they are and intentionally conceals their identity. When Dona Laura tells him that Laura Llorente was her best friend and she was called the ‘Silver Maiden’, Don Gonzalo endorses it and tells her that ‘Silver Maiden’ was her popular name in the locality. Further, he tells her that she used to stand at a particular window. Then Dona Laura endorses his statement. Inadvertently, when Don Gonzalo tells her that he spent many hours there during his youthful days, Dona Laura gives a sigh and endorses his statement and says “And in mine, too.”

Then Don Gonzalo gives a description of her beauty and expresses his admiration calling her a dream. Then Dona Laura makes an aside remark and tells Gonzalo that if he but knew that Laura was by his side he would realize what dreams come to. This way, their conversation goes on until the end, each speaking to the other in disguise. Though they appear to be concealing their identity, they know tacitly that they are the true lover’s Laura and Gonzalo of their youthful days. In the end, before leaving the park, Laura drops the violets, and when Gonzalo stoops to pick up the flowers, Laura looks at him. Thus they come to recognize each other.

Question 12.
A Sunny Morning’ presents a situation that is not so sunny for Laura and Gonzalo. Do you agree? Give reasons.
Answer:
Yes. I totally agree with the statement. ‘A Sunny Morning’ presents a situation that is not so sunny for Laura and Gonzalo because they are the very same Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura of yesteryears, who were ardent lovers in their youth, but are now in their 70s. Their romantic relationship was torn apart in life by fate. It is a flashback scene, ironically re-narrated by the very same lovers.

In her youthful days, Dona Laura was known in her locality as ‘The Silver Maiden’. She was fair as the lily, with jet black hair and black eyes. She was like a dream. She was in love with Gonzalo, the gallant lover. He used to pass by on horseback every morning through the rose garden and toss up a bouquet of flowers to her balcony which she caught. On his way back in the afternoon she would toss the flowers back to him. But Laura’s parents wanted to marry her off to a merchant whom she disliked. One day there was a quarrel between Gonzalo and the merchant, the suitor. After the duel the young man fled from his hometown to Seville and then to Madrid, being scared of the consequences of a duel with a person highly regarded in that locality. Even though he tried to communicate with Laura through letters, all attempts failed.

Once Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura realize that they are the same old, young lovers of Maricela who were separated in life by fate, they decide not to reveal their identity because they learn from each other in what high esteem they held each other before they departed. come to know that both of them had given up the other as lost forever. While Dona Laura techs herself that she had married someone else after waiting for him for one year, Don Gonzalo tells himself that after fleeing from Valencia, then Seville and Madrid, he had run off to Paris with a ballet dancer in about three months. Therefore, they concoct fictitious stories so as to conceal their identities completely and to make the other believe that he or she was dead.

Later, when they realize that they are alive, they do not want to shatter their mutual images in the eyes of the other. Therefore, Don Gonzalo tells himself that he will not reveal himself because he is grotesque. He wishes that she had better recall the gallant horseman who passed daily beneath her window tossing flowers. Similarly, Dona Laura tells herself that “I am too sadly changed. It is better he should remember me as the black-eyed girl tossing flowers as he passed among the roses in the garden.”

Thus one can conclude that though A Sunny Morning’ presents a situation in which two old lovers are made to present a sunny situation of their past life, which is no longer sunny for them.

Question 13.
“The one-act play, ‘A Sunny Morning’ ultimately proves that ail love is sad.” Discuss.
Answer:
The inference, ‘all love is sad’, with reference to the one-act play, ‘A Sunny Morning’ is an overgeneralization. The comment attempts to universalize the concept of love. The word ‘all’ is an all-inclusive word and ‘all love’ tends to put together all kinds of love like the love between children and parents, love between teenagers, love between friends, love between husband and wife, and love between human beings and animals.

On the contrary, ‘all love is sad’ is a comment made with reference to an imaginative love affair supposed to have taken place between two lovers who were in their prime of youth and it gets re-enacted dramatically as a flashback incident in the play during a conversation that takes place in a retired corner of a park in Madrid on a Sunday morning, between two old people an old lady named Dona Laura and an old man named Don Gonzalo – who are now in their 70s. The dramatic technique used in the play is unique in its approach. The progression of events moves from the present to the past. The flashback technique highlights the intensity of the love between Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo which exists between them even ‘now’ after the lapse of half a century.

Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo have zest in life. Dona Laura loves birds and feeds them regularly. Gonzalo loves books and he promises to feed the birds the next time. There is no bitterness or regret or frustration about the past incident. Both of them seem to cherish those romantic moments they spent together during that phase of their life. It is this positive attitude even after 50 years of that incident that gives this play its vigour. Thus, ‘The Sunny Morning’ is a charming re-enactment of a romantic love affair and there is not even an ‘iota’ of pessimism in it. Hence, the comment ‘all love is sad’ is not the correct inference in the context of the play ‘A Sunny Morning’.

A Sunny Morning Vocabulary:

Collocations
A collocation is a combination of words that are commonly used together; the simplest way of describing collocations is to say that they ‘just sound right’ to native English speakers.

Additional Exercises

A. Passive Voice:

Question 1.
After the duel, the gallant lover fled Valencia. Many letters ______ (write) by him to his beloved. Since no reply ______ (receive), he thought that they ______ (intercept) by her parents.
Answer:
were written; was received; had been intercepted.

Question 2.
When Gonzalo entered the park, his usual bench ______ (occupy) by the priests. He _____ (annoy) and his servant, Juanito ______ (ask) to rout them out.
Answer:
had been occupied; was annoyed; was asked.

Question 3.
One afternoon, just at sunset, as the first stars were appearing, the silver maiden ______ (seen) leaving the house. She sat upon a rock and her gaze ______ (fix) upon the horizon. The tide rose with a boom and she ______ (sweep) out to sea.
Answer:
was seen; was fixed; was swept.

Question 4.
Laura got up to go home. She ______ (support) by her maid. She turned her head and ______ (surprise) to see Gonzalo picking up the violets which ______ (drop) on the ground.
Answer:
was supported; was surprised; had been dropped.

B. Report the following conversation:

Question 1.
Petra: I see him over there waiting for me.
Dona Laura: Do not remain for more than ten minutes.
Petra: I will be back soon.
Dona Laura: Wait a moment.
Petra: What does the senora wish?
Answer:
Petra said that she could see him there waiting for her. In response, Dona Laura requested Petra not to remain for more than ten minutes. Petra assured Dona Laura that she would be back soon. Dona Laura requested Petra to wait a moment. Referring to Dona Laura as senora, Petra asked her what she wished.

Question 2.
Don Gonzalo: I want a bench to myself.
Juanito: There is none.
Don Gonzalo: That one over there is mine.
Juanito: There are three priests sitting there.
Don Gonzalo: Rout them out.
Answer:
Don Gonzalo said in a demanding manner that he wanted a bench to himself. Juanito replied that there was none. Don Gonzalo stated that the one over there was his. Juanito pointed out that there were three priests sitting there. Don Gonzalo ordered Juanito to rout them out.

Question 3.
Dona Laura: Do you use a shoe brush as a handkerchief?
Don Gonzalo: What right have you to criticize my actions?
Dona Laura: A neighbour’s right.
Don Gonzalo: I do not care to listen to nonsense.
Dona Laura: You are very polite.
Answer:
Dona Laura asked Don Gonzalo whether he used a shoe brush as a handkerchief. Don Gonzalo asked her what right she had to criticise his actions. Dona Laura replied that she had a neighbour’s right. Don Gonzalo replied rudely that he did not care to listen to nonsense. Don Laura sarcastically replied that he was very polite.

Question 4.
Don Gonzalo: Do you mind my reading aloud?
Dona Laura: You can read as loud as you please.
Don Gonzalo: Can you read without glasses?
Dona Laura: I can.
Don Gonzalo: I envy your wonderful eyesight.
Answer:
Don Gonzalo asked Dona Laura whether she minded his reading aloud. Dona Laura replied that he could read as loud as he pleased. Don Gonzalo further asked Dona Laura whether she could read without glasses. Dona replied in the positiye. Don Gonzalo remarked that he envied her wonderful eyesight.

Question 5.
Dona Laura: Will you go to your bench tomorrow?
Don Gonzalo: I will come to your bench.
Dona Laura: Do bring something for the pigeons.
Don Gonzalo: I will surely bring the crumbs.
Dona Laura: Thank you.
Answer:
Dona Laura asked Don Gonzalo whether he would go to his bench the next day. Don Gonzalo replied that he would come to her bench. Dona Laura reminded him to bring something for the pigeons. Don Gonzalo assured her that he would surely bring the crumbs. Dona Laura thanked him.

Question 6.
Dona Laura: Have you been in America?
Don Gonzalo: Several times.
Dona Laura: You must have gone with Columbus.
Don Gonzalo: I am old. But I did not know Ferdinand and Isabella.
Answer:
Dona Laura asked Don Gonzalo whether he had been in America. Don Gonzalo replied that he had been to America several times. Dona Laura observed that he must have gone with Columbus. Don Gonzalo said that he was old, but he hadn’t known Ferdinand and Isabella.

C. Fill in the blanks by choosing the appropriate expressions given in brackets:

Question 1.
Three priests were sitting on Gonzalo’s usual bench in the park and talking. Gonzalo said that they were _____ time. He could not tolerate their sitting on his bench and _______ (resign himself, idling away, take liberty)
Answer:
idling away; resigned himself.

Question 2.
Gonzalo and Laura were annoyed with each other in the beginning. Gonzalo told Laura that she could not _____ and comment on his actions. However, the pinch of snuff he offered her tried to ______ between them. (know by heart, take the liberty, Makepeace)
Answer:
take the liberty; make peace.

Question 3.
Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo fail to realize what dreams ______. However, they try to impress each other. When Laura seems to read without glasses, Gonzalo does not know that she knows every word _____. (come to, by heart, take refuge)
Answer:
come to; by heart.

Question 4.
Both Gonzalo and Laura believe in destiny. They affirm that they were separated from each other after the duel since destiny had decided to _____ in their life. Laura’s parents kept a close watch on her and Gonzalo had to flee and ______ in his cousin’s house. (Makepeace, take refuge, play havoc)
Answer:
play havoc; take refuge.

A Sunny Morning by Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero About the playwright:

Serafin (1871 – 1938) and Joaquin (1873 – 1944) Alvarez Quintero were Spanish brothers, known as the ‘Golden Boys of Madrid Theatre’. They were celebrated playwrights of the early twentieth century. Together they wrote about 200 plays which depict the life, manners and speech of the people of their native Andalusia in Southern Spain. Their popular comedies, many of which have been translated into other languages, contributed to the revival of Spanish theatre. ‘The Flowers,’ ‘The Merry Heart,’ ‘One Hundred Years Ago,’ ‘The Galley Slave’ and ‘Apple of His Eye’ are some of their popular plays.

Characters:

Dona Laura
Petra – her maid
Don Gonzalo
Juanito – his servant

Story in brief:

‘A Sunny Morning’ revolves around Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura who, in their youth, were passionately attached to each other. A cruel blow of fate separates the two forever. They do not recognize each other when they meet in a park in Madrid on a sunny morning, after several years. But as they begin to talk in earnest, they realize that they are the protagonists of the original love story. But the usual reunion of the long-lost lovers does not take place here as both of them are unwilling to disclose their real identity since they are both sadly changed.

A Sunny Morning Summary in English

‘A Sunny Morning’ is a short, one-act play by Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero, two renowned Spanish dramatists. It is a romantic comedy which presents the story of Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura who, loved each other in their youth but were forced to separate in life.

On a sunny autumn morning in a quiet corner of a park in Madrid, Dona Laura, a handsome, white-haired lady of about seventy, refined in appearance, is feeding pigeons in the park. Don Gonzalo, a gentleman of seventy, gouty and impatient, enters. Their servants Petra, Dona Laura’s maid, and Juanito come and go nearby.

The conversation between the two seventy-year-olds begins sarcastically, with each accusing the other of encroaching on their private space. Don Gonzalo complains the priests have taken his bench and says Dona Laura is a “Senile old lady! She ought to be at home knitting and counting her beads.” She finds him “an ill-natured old man!” He resigns himself to “sit on the bench with the old lady.”

A pinch of snuff helps to clear their heads, and they find something in common with alternating sneezes of three times each. Dona Laura confides to the audience, “the snuff has made peace between us.”

They begin to banter back and forth in a more friendly manner. Then Don Gonzalo reads out loud from a book of poems. As they converse, Gonzalo says that he is from Valencia and to his surprise, Laura reveals that she is from Maricela where she lived in a villa. Gonzalo is startled by the revelation and he says that he knows a woman named Laura Llorente who lived in a villa there, who was perhaps the most beautiful he had ever seen. Both Laura and Gonzalo realise each other to be former lovers. But they pretend not to reveal their identities.

In her youthful days, Dona Laura was known in her locality as ‘The Silver Maiden’. She was fair as the lily, with jet black hair and black eyes. She was like a dream. She was in love with Gonzalo, the gallant lover. He used to pass by on horseback every morning through the rose garden and toss up a bouquet of flowers to her balcony which she caught On his way back in the afternoon she would toss the flowers back to him. But Laura’s parents wanted to marry her off to a merchant whom she disliked. One day there was a quarrel between Gonzalo and the merchant, the suitor. After the duel the young man fled from his hometown to Seville and then to Madrid, being scared of the consequences of a duel with a person highly regarded in that locality. Even though he tried to communicate with Laura through letters, all attempts failed.

Now Laura and Gonzalo devise stories of their own deaths. The old Gonzalo says that he is the cousin of the young man. According to him, the young Gonzalo had to leave his place as he was involved in a fight with a merchant, the suitor of Laura. Then he joined the army and went to Africa where he met with a glorious death. The old Laura says that she knows the woman named Laura, known as The Silver Maiden’ and that she was her friend during her young age. She also lies that she knows the tragic story of her love affair with a gallant young man named Gonzalo. The old woman reveals that not finding her lover, the young and beautiful Laura committed suicide.

But, in reality, after three months Gonzalo ran off to Paris with a ballet dancer and Laura, on the other hand, got married after two years. Both realise that they are lying but pretend to be unaware. When the play ends, they agree to meet at the park again, still not acknowledging what they both know to be true.

A Sunny Morning Summary in Kannada

Glossary:

• Don: sir
• Dona: Miss, Madam
• Handsome: (of man) good-looking, (of woman) striking and imposing in good looks rather than conventionally pretty.
• Madrid: the capital and largest city of Spain.
  Unimpaired: not damaged.
• Parasol: a colourful umbrella.
• Senora: the Spanish way of addressing a married woman similar to madam or Mrs.
• Adios: adieu, farewell, goodbye.
• Spryest: most active and energetic.
• Gluttons: those who eat excessively.
• Threnody: song of lamentation
• Gouty: suffering from inflammation of the joints
• Aravaca: a neighbourhood of the city of Madrid
• Boudoir: a woman’s private room
• Valencia: the third-largest city in Spain
• Grotesque: distorted.
• Duel: a formal fight between two people in which they use guns or swords in order to settle a quarrel.
• Campoamor, Espronceda, Zorilla and Becquer: famous Spanish writers of the 19th century
• refined: elegant and cultured in appearance and manner
• senile: displaying the weaknesses of old age; also suggests a loss of mental faculties
• counting his beads: praying
• indignant: resentful and annoyed
• Campoamor: Ramon de Campoamor (1817-1901) was a Spanish realist poet and philosopher
• Espronceda: Jose de Espronceda (1808-42), a Spanish romantic poet
• Zorilla: Jose Zorilla (1817-93), a Spanish romantic poet and dramatist
• Becquer: Gustavo Becquer (1836-70), a Spanish post-romanticist poet
• Columbus: Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), an explorer and coloniser
• Ferdinand and Isabella: the Catholic monarchs of Spain; they patronised the explorations of Columbus
• Providence: God; the spiritual power that guides a believer
• refuge: shelter
• atrocious: extremely bad
• prostrated: here, greatly distressed, shocked, upset
• calamity: disaster
• threnody: a lament

The main aim is to share the knowledge and help the students of 2nd PUC to secure the best score in their final exams. Use the concepts of Karnataka 2nd PUC English Answers Chapter 5 A Sunny Morning in Real time to enhance your skills. If you have any doubts you can post your comments in the comment section, We will clarify your doubts as soon as possible without any delay.

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Karnataka 2nd PUC English Textbook Answers Springs Chapter 3 On Children

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On Children Questions and Answers, Notes, Summary

On Children Comprehension I

On Children Summary KSEEB Solutions 2nd PUC  Question 1.
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.” And he said: Here ‘he’ refers to
a. her child.
b. the Prophet
c. the poet
Answer:
(b) the Prophet.

On Children Notes KSEEB Solutions 2nd PUC Question 2.
‘Your children are not your children’ means
a. they do not belong to their parents only.
b. the children should have their own space.
c. parents should not be possessive of their children.
Answer:
(b) the children should have their own space.

On Children Poem KSEEB Solutions 2nd PUC  Question 3.
‘They come through you, but are not from you’ means
a. though parents give birth to their children they do not own them.
b. children have independent personalities..
c. parents should be indifferent to their children.
Answer:
(a) though parents give birth to their children they do not own them.

On Children Question And Answer KSEEB Solutions 2nd PUC Question 4.
According to the prophet, what may be given to the children?
OR
What can be given to the children by their parents, according to the prophet?
Answer:
According to the prophet, the parents can give only their love and affection to their children.

On Children 2nd Puc Notes KSEEB Solutions Question 5.
‘their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow’ means
a. children belong to the future.
b. parents cannot shape their children’s future.
c. children have a different vision of life.
Answer:
(a, c) children belong to the future/children have a different vision of life.

On Children Poem Summary KSEEB Solutions 2nd PUC Question 6.
‘The bows’ and ‘living arrows’ refer to ____ and _____
Answer:
parents and children.

On Children Answers KSEEB Solutions 2nd PUC Question 7.
‘For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.’ Discuss the contrast between the underlined words.
Answer:
In the last four lines of the poem, Gibran uses the metaphor of archer-bow-and-arrows to explain the role of parents in bringing up children. In this metaphor, God is the archer, the parents represent the bow, and the children are the living arrows. Like an archer, God bends the bows testing them for stability to aid the arrows as they try to reach their destination. “It is the archer who decides the target, which is marked upon the path of the infinite, and He bends the parents (bows) with His might that His arrows may go swift and far”.

Children are life’s longing for itself and it is the parents who serve as a passage for them to come to the earth. Once they are born, it is the parents’ responsibility to see that the ‘living arrows’ (children) reach the intended target which has been decided by the archer himself. Each arrow is ready to fly but the bow must be able to withstand the strain or pressure caused on it and remain stable or firm so as to enable the arrow to reach its target. The arrows have to fly and the bow has to be stable because the bow must be flexible enough to bend according to the will of the archer. This contrast between the role of the arrows and the role of the bow is brought out in the last line of the poem in the word ‘flies’ which refers to the arrows and ‘stable’ which refers to the bows.

On Children Comprehension II

KSEEB Solutions For Class 12 English 2nd PUC Question 1.
Why does the prophet categorically state “Your children are not your children’?
OR
Tour children are not your children’. How is this statement relevant with reference to ‘On Children’?Explain,
OR
Tour children are not your children’. Why? What does the prophet mean by this?
Answer:
According to Kahlil Gibran, love occupies the most important place in God’s creation. Love is not created by us but is sent from above and it directs everything in our life as it sees fit. In this poem, Gibran illustrates how love works in the intimate relationship of parenthood. Gibran wants us to understand that our role as parents is only ’stewardship’ and nothing else.
In the line ‘Your children are not your children’ Gibran tells parents to be aware that a child is not a thing to be possessed by us because we have not created ‘life’.

A child is eternal life itself and is a gift from the abundance of existence. As parents we may have brought them to the earth. This has happened so because we have been chosen to be a vehicle and so we are nothing else but a passage. It is life’s longing for itself that brings children to earth, as sons and daughters. Since children are not lifeless things we cannot possess them. That is why the prophet categorically states that ‘Your children are not your children’.

On Children Poem Notes KSEEB Solutions 2nd PUC Question 2.
What does the metaphor of bow and arrow signify with regard to the parent-children relationship?
OR
What do the bow and arrow signify in the poem ‘On Children’?
OR
How is the parent-child relationship brought out using the metaphor of bow and arrows?
OR
Bring out the significance of the metaphors ‘bows’, ‘arrows’and ‘archer’.
OR
“Parents are bows, children are arrows and God is the archer”. How does the poem ‘On Children’ highlight these images?
OR
‘On Children’ refers to children as arrows and parents as bows. Explain.
Answer:
In his sermon on children, in the first part, Gibran explains to parents how they should take care of their children as ‘stewards’. In the last part of the sermon, Gibran uses the metaphor of the bow and the arrows to help parents visualize their role in bringing up children.

In this metaphor, God, or the supreme power, is the archer, parents are the bows and the arrows are the children. The archer uses the bow only as an instrument to send the arrows to their target. The archer decides the trajectory and the target on the infinite path and pulls the string with all his might. As he pulls the string, the bow has to bend and yet withstand the strain and pressure caused in shooting the arrow. The bow should not snap in two. From this metaphor, it becomes clear that parents serve only as an instrument or as a vehicle to help the arrow fly to its destination and parents cannot own them.

On Children 2nd Puc KSEEB Solutions Question 3.
According to the prophet, what attitude should parents have towards their children?
OR
How does the poet describe the responsibility of parents in the poem ‘On Children’?
Answer:
Kahlil Gibran tells the parents that they are not the owners of their children. He argues that children have come to this earth as Life’s longing for itself and are born as sons and daughters and they are not created by parents. Hence, parents cannot possess them. Parents should consider themselves as ‘stewards’ and their role is only stewardship. Gibran wants parents not to look upon their children as their puppets and so as not to impose their religion, politics, and ideas on the innocent children. Parents may give their own love but not their thoughts, because the children have their own souls. They have the free will to do as they please and have a mind of their own. They are free to think for themselves.

Parents merely act as ‘guiding lights’ for their children. They have the will to act as who they are and lead their own life and not how their parents want them to. The children have their own future, parents belong to the yesterdays, but children belonging to the tomorrows. We should only give as much love as we can and should let them grow according to their own potential. We may strive to be like them but we should never trust our past on them. We should resist the temptation of making our child a carbon copy of ourselves.

On Children Comprehension III

On Children KSEEB 2nd PUC Question 1.
In this poem, ‘parents could’ stand as a metaphor for
(a) the older generation
(b) leaders
(c) religious heads
(d) teachers.
Having considered the above options, offer different readings of the poem.
Answer:
(a) In the poem ‘On Children’ by Kahlil Gibran, ‘parents’ could stand as a metaphor for the older generation. The poem could be taken as a dialogue between Almustafa, the prophet, and the older generation. As advised by the prophet, the older generation must understand that the children of this generation are born as life’s longing for itself. They have their own souls. Therefore, the older generation must only strive to protect their bodies until they become adults so that they grow up as mature individuals and fulfil god’s mission for which they have come to this earth. The older generation should not indoctrinate the younger generation to lead a life as their parents like because the souls of the younger generation dwell in the house of tomorrow to which the older generation cannot enter. However, their duty is to make the younger generation realize that they have been sent to the earth by God to fulfill his mission.

(b) Similarly, ‘parents’ could also be taken as a metaphor for ‘leaders’. As leaders, they can only protect their children physically, until they come of age. They should not compel them to accept their ideologies and live to fulfill their mission. On the contrary, the leaders must understand that their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, and hence the ideas of the older generation leaders will only take them backward. But the leaders also are god’s children and have been utilized by God as his instrument to send the children to the earth. Therefore, they must see to it that they protect the younger generation until they grow and become mature individuals. They must also be made aware of god’s purpose in sending them to the earth.

(c) The word ‘parents’ could also be taken as a metaphor for religious heads. The poem can be taken as a dialogue between the prophet and the religious heads. The religious heads are also children of God. They must realize that God wants them to protect their children when they are young and lead them in such a way that the children should have full freedom to obey the yearnings of their souls. The religious teachers should not force their children to obey and accept their ideas of God and his creation. They must only make them realize that as children they have been sent by god to this earth to fulfil god’s mission. Like his obedient children, they must be made aware that they have to fulfill god’s mission on this earth.

(d) Similarly, the word ‘parents’ could be taken as a metaphor for teachers and the poem could be taken as a dialogue between Almustafa, the prophet, and the teachers. The teachers must understand that they are expected to serve only as guardians and protect their children until they grow up and mature into fully grown adults. As teachers, they should only make them aware that they have come down to fulfill god’s mission. Teachers should not think that they should punish and make them do what he or she likes. On the other hand, their only job is to see that they are taken care of physically and are given complete freedom for their souls to grow and mature and understand god’s mission in sending, them to this earth.

Question 2.
In light of the poem, think of different levels of freedom children must have in shaping their lives.
Answer:
The parents must understand that God expects them to work as guardians to protect their children physically until they grow up and mature and realize god’s wishes. In their childhood, instead of getting overly attached to them, the parents should treat them as guests in their homes. They must love and respect them. They should help create an environment conducive for their growth and see that they grow and remain physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually healthy. All-round development is important.

Care for their mental health is equally important. Parents can do this by creating an environment allowing the inborn talent and goodness of the children to blossom. Children are not born bad, the environment makes them so. Therefore, it is necessary to create a healthy environment for the children at home, in school, and in society.

Parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them.

The parents superimpose ideas, thoughts, and even their pride upon their kids. Instead of imposing philosophies and thoughts on the children, they should give them love and create an atmosphere for their inner talents to flower.

As they grow into adults, the parents must exercise all the more patience and give them the freedom to make their own decisions and let them do what they like for a living. They must also strive to make them aware of the pitfalls in their path if they choose the wrong path.

Finally, when they attain a marriageable age, parents should not influence their decisions by highlighting their lineage or wealth or caste. They must allow full freedom to love and marry a girl of their choice.

Question 3.
The poem ‘On Children’ does not focus merely on the lives of children but also talks about the responsibility of parents. Explain.
Answer:
The poem ‘On Children’ is a sermon on parents. It does not focus merely on the lives of children but also talks about the responsibility of parents. In the first part, Gibran argues that children take birth as life’s longing for itself. Since we do not create children, we cannot possess them. However, Gibran argues that parents do have a role in the life of children. He says that we should give our children as much love as we can but never our thoughts. The children must be let free to think for themselves, and parents must not thrust their ideas on them.

Next, Gibran talks about the responsibility of parents. He states that God is the archer, and his parents are his bows. The archer decides on the target, bends the bow to suit his target, and shoots the arrows. The arrows are the children. Thus the archer wants the parents to serve as his instrument. If the bow remains rigid and inflexible, the arrows may not reach the desired destination. Therefore, as parents, it is our responsibility to be flexible enough to allow our children to live their own lives.

On Children Additional Questions and Answers

I. Answer the following questions in a word, a phrase, or a sentence each:

Question 1.
Who does the word “bows’ refer to in the poem?
Answer:
To parents.

Question 2.
Who does ‘living arrows’ refer to in the poem?
Answer:
To children.

Question 3.
Who does ‘archer’ refer to in the poem?
Answer:
To God.

Question 4.
Who does God use as his instrument to send living arrows to the earth?
Answer:
Parents.

Question 5.
Why does God bend the parents with all his might?
Answer:
God bends the parents with all his might to test them for stability and strength so that the arrows (children) that they shoot travel far and reach their destination.

Question 6.
What brings children to the earth?
Answer:
Life’s longing for itself.

Question 7.
Who dwells in the house of tomorrow?
Answer:
Children.

Question 8.
Who loves both the bow and the arrow?
OR
According to the speaker of ‘On Children’, the one who loves both the arrow and the bow is
(a) the archer
(b) the parents
(c) the children.
Answer:
God, the archer.

Question 9.
What, according to the speaker, can parents not visit?
Answer:
The parents cannot visit the house/houses or the world in which their children are going to live. They also can’t visit their houses even in their dreams.

Question 10.
In ‘On Children’, you may give them your love but not your
(a) dreams
(b) thoughts
(c) gladness.
Answer:
(b) thoughts.

Question 11.
What does the phrase’the bow that is stable’ refer to?
Answer:
The phrase ‘the bow that is stable’ refers to parents who serve God’s wishes without fail and with conviction.

Question 12.
In ‘On Children’, God loves the arrow that flies as well as the bow that
(a) does not bend
(b) breaks
(c) is stable.
Answer:
(c) is stable.

Question 13.
Who asked the Prophet to speak on children?
Answer:
A woman asked the prophet to speak about children.

Question 14.
Where, according to the speaker, do the souls of children dwell?
Answer:
According to the speaker, the souls of children dwell in the house of tomorrow.

Question 15.
What should parents not give their children?
Answer:
Parents may give only their love for their children and should not give their thoughts.

Question 16.
What does not go backward, according to the speaker, in ‘On Children’?
Answer:
Life.

Question 17.
Why does the archer bend his bow?
Answer:
The archer bends his bow so that His arrows might go swift and far.

Question 18.
Whose sons and daughters are our children, according to the speaker, in ‘On Children’?
Answer:
According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, our children are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.

Question 19.
Who, according to the speaker in ‘On Children’, have their own thoughts?
Answer:
According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself have their own thoughts.

Question 20.
Who, according to the speaker in ‘On Children’, are sent forth as living arrows?
Answer:
According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, our children are sent forth as living arrows.

Question 21.
Where, according to the speaker in ‘On Children’, does the archer see the mark?
Answer:
According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, the archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite.

Question 22.
Who, according to the speaker in “On Children’, sees the mark upon the path of the infinite?
Answer:
According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, the archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite.

Question 23.
According to the speaker in ’On Children’, life does not go ______
(a) swift
(b) backward
(c) forth.
Answer:
(b) backward.

Question 24.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for ______. The right word from ‘On Children’ to fill in the blank is
(a) gladness
(b) longing
(c) striving.
Answer:
(a) gladness.

Question 25.
The house of tomorrow in ‘On Children’ cannot be visited even in _______
(a) thoughts
(b) ideas
(c) dreams.
Answer:
(c) dreams.

Question 26.
The’archer’in’On Children’refers to
(a) child
(b) God
(c) Prophet.
Answer:
(b) God.

Question 27.
According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, life does not tarry with
(a) today
(b) tomorrow
(c) yesterday.
Answer:
(c) yesterday.

II. Answer the following questions in a paragraph of 80-100 words each:

Question 1.
How, according to the speaker, should parents look upon their children?
Answer:
According to the prophet Almustafa, parents should never believe that they own or possess their children. They should behave as though their role is that of being guards and/or ‘stewards’. Parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them because our children belong to the future whereas we belong to the past generation.

Question 2.
How should parents raise their children, according to the speaker?
OR
How should parents take care of their children, according to the speaker in ‘On Children’?
Answer:
Almustafa tells parents that they can only act as ‘stewards’ and their role is one of ‘stewardship’; parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them. They should not do so because our children belong to the future whereas we belong to the past generation.

Question 3.
What are the views of the Prophet on parents and children in the poem ‘On Children’?
Answer:
According to the Prophet, a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself. Children are born as sons and daughters as ‘life’s longing for itself’. Parents do not create them and hence cannot possess them. Parents serve as a ‘passage’ or vehicle to bring the children to this world. Further, children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please. Whereas parents belong to the yesterdays, their children belong to the future. The children will have their own scriptures and saints; hence parents should only give them as much love as they can and not their thoughts. Parents should not thrust their past as an inheritance on their children but should let them grow according to their own potential.

Gibran uses the metaphor of archer-bow-and-arrows to explain the role of parents in bringing up children. In this metaphor, God is the archer, the parents represent the bow, and the children are the living arrows. Like an archer, God bends the bows testing them for stability to aid the arrows as they try to reach their destination. “It is the archer who decides the target, which is marked upon the path of the infinite, and He bends the parents (bows) with His might that His arrows may go swift and far”.

Question 4.
How is the parent and children relationship brought out in Kahlil Gibran’s poem ‘On Children’?
Answer:
In his sermon ‘On Children’, Gibran assumes the persona of Almustafa and speaks to the people with the intention of enlightening them about ‘children’ and to guide them as to how they should bring up their children.

First, he says that ‘children’ are born to fulfill the ‘longing’ of life itself. They are a gift from the abundance of existence. God, the supreme power, uses parents as a vehicle or passage to bring children to this earth. Since parents do not create ‘life’, parents do not own children. They may house their bodies but not their souls.

Secondly, children have their own souls and are not non-living things. Therefore parents cannot possess them as puppets. Life’s longing for itself brings forth children in the form of sons and daughters. Hence, our sons and daughters do not belong to us though we have borne them.

Thirdly, since parents bring children to this earth, they should also take care of children as ‘stewards’ and protect them, take care of their needs until they grow and mature and become fully developed individuals. Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them.

III. Answer the following questions in about 200 words each:

Question 1.
“Your children are not your children’ How does the poet illustrate this truth in the poem?
OR
How does the poem bring out the relationship between parents and children?
Answer:
The poet firmly believes that life is a journey, and God is both the ‘starting point’ and the destination. This journey is an inner one, a spiritual one and we are born to undertake this journey. The whole poem serves to express this belief. The poet attempts to explain what role the parents should play in bringing up their children.

The speaker says that a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself. That is why the poet says that ‘your children are not your children’. Then he makes our role clear. He tells the parents that they have brought their children to this world because they have been chosen to serve as a ‘passage’ or vehicle to bring them to this world.

Further, he tells us that since children belong to the future they have their own thoughts and the free will to do as they please. Then he tells us that we have to take care of our children as ‘stewards’ and give them ‘love’ and physical nourishment so that they grow up to serve their role.

Since God is the creator and the final destination, God is the archer, the parents his bow, and the children his arrows. We only serve to send the arrows swift and far and help it reach its destination. God loves both the bow and the arrows because God is the eternal creator of nature’.

Question 2.
‘On Children’ offers new insights into the parent-children relationships. Discuss.
OR
‘On Children’persuades parents to see their children in a new light Elaborate.
Answer:
‘On Children’ is a sermon given by Almustafa to a woman holding a babe against her bosom. The fourteen-line poem is in the form of an imaginary conversation between a mother and the prophet Of the fourteen lines, the first five lines are devoted to enlightening the parents about who the children are and the remaining lines explain the role of the parents in bringing up their children.

‘On Children’ offers new insight into the parent-children relationship, and rejects our traditional, time-honoured, and conservative ideas of bringing up children.

According to the speaker, a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself. Children are born as sons and daughters as life’s longing for itself. Life longs to reproduce itself, and parents are its servants who execute that master plan. God uses parents as his instrument to send living ‘arrows’ to the earth. God, or the Supreme Being, is the archer, the parents are the bows and the children are the living arrows. Parents do not create them and hence they cannot possess them.

They are only the medium through which life expresses itself. Children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please. Parents can only act as ‘stewards’ and their role is one of ‘stewardship’. Parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower as much of their love as they can.

Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them because our children belong to the future, whereas the parents belong to the past generation. Therefore, parents should also not burden their children with their dead past, their scriptures, and their saints. Since life looks forward and does not linger on, parents should let their children build their future, realize their potential, and resist the temptation to force their children to be like their carbon copy.

Question 3.
The poem, ‘On Children’rejects conservative upbringing of children. Explain.
Answer:
‘On Children’ is a sermon given by Almustafa to a woman holding a babe against her bosom. The fourteen-line poem is in the form of an imaginary conversation between a mother and the prophet Of the fourteen lines, the first five lines are devoted to enlightening the parents about who the children are and the remaining lines explain the role of the parents in bringing up their children.

‘On Children’ offers new insight into the parent-children relationship, and rejects our traditional, time-honoured and conservative ideas of bringing up children.

According to the speaker, a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself. Children are born as sons and daughters as life’s longing for itself. Life longs to reproduce itself, and parents are its servants who execute that master plan. God uses parents as his instrument to send living ‘arrows’ to the earth. God, or the Supreme Being, is the archer, the parents are the bows and the children are the living arrows. Parents do not create them and hence they cannot possess them.

They are only the medium through which life expresses itself. Children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please. Parents can only act as ‘stewards’ and their role is one of ‘stewardship’. Parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower as much of their love as they can.

Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them because our children belong to the future, whereas the parents belong to the past generation. Therefore, parents should also not burden their children with their dead past, their scriptures and their saints. Since life looks forward and does not linger on, parents should let their children build their future, realize their potential and resist the temptation to force their children to be like their carbon copy.

Question 4.
We cannot keep pace with our children’s lives and thoughts. How is this elaborated in ‘On Children’?
Answer:
According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself. Children are born as sons and daughters as ‘Life’s longing for itself’. Parents may have brought them to this world because they have been chosen to serve as ‘passage’ or vehicle to bring the children into this world.

Children are closer to the very source of life than old people. Children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please. Parents should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them because our children belong to the future, whereas parents belong to the past generation.

As parents, our days are over. We may try to be like our children, but our past acts like a barrier. Since parents belong to the yesterdays and their children belong to the tomorrows, parents cannot conceive of their future. The children will have their own scriptures and saints. The present is not only a meeting point but also a point of departure. Every day the gap between parents and their children will become wider and wider.

The children have their own future and we should let them grow according to their own potential. The children are closer to existence than we are. Life looks forward and does not linger on. Hence parents cannot keep pace with our children’s lives and thoughts. Parents should let their children build their future, realize their potential and resist the temptation to force their children to be like their carbon copy.

On Children by Kahlil Gibran About the Poet:

Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) is a Lebanese-American artist and poet. His poems are considered ‘poetic essays’, as they do not adhere to the usual verification. ‘The Prophet’ is his best-known work and has been translated into more than 25 languages including Kannada.
‘On Children’ is a selection from ‘The Prophet’, which offers a critique of the usual expectations of parents about their children and urges them to introspect.

Background:
‘On Children’ by Kahlil Gibran is an excerpt from ’The Prophet’, one of his most popular works.
‘The Prophet’ occupies a unique place in world literature. It is a work of remarkable compassion, insight, hope and inspiration, with a timeless message that combines the dignity of the Christian Bible and the wisdom of the Sufis of Islam, phrased with simplicity and rhythmical quality that renders it accessible to a wider readership.

It represents an appeal for a return to and reconciliation with nature, emphasizing the relationship that binds individuals to their environment and their fellow creatures. They all become denizens of one world bound together by life and death. The speaker in ‘The Prophet’ speaks in the persona of ‘Almustafa’. Almustafa sets out his own version of the golden rule common to all great religions that we must do as we would be done by. What he voices is not some unattainable ideal, but practical wisdom and simple moral and spiritual values.

The keynote of ‘The Prophet’ is pantheism. Its central article of belief is that God is latent within everyone as a Greater Self, and that, this is attained through aspiration, or ‘yearning’, which is comparable to prayer in religion, and also through successive reincarnations. Life is a journey, and God is both ‘starting point’ and ‘destination’. The journey represents the condition of full awareness when the soul has embarked on the path leading to its desired union with God. The journey is an inner one, a spiritual one, in contrast to the travels of the twenty-first-century man or woman, which are all physical.

On Children Summary in English

‘On Children’ is an excerpt from ‘The Prophet’, one of Kahlil Gibran’s most popular works. ‘The Prophet1 includes twenty-six sermons on varied topics like Love, Marriage, Children, Houses, Clothes, Laws, Crime and Punishment, Buying and Selling, etc. The sermons are given by Almustafa who speaks in the persona of the poet.

‘Almustafa’ means the ‘chosen one’. The name also implies that he possesses spiritual knowledge and divine characteristics. Almustafa is a man of inner purity and is believed to be the ‘Perfect man’ or the universal man’.

In the opening sermon titled ‘The Coming of the Ship’, we learn that Almustafa has waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for the ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth. The ship has arrived and he is about to go onboard. Before he boards the ship he is met by a woman named ‘Almitra’, who is a seeress. She prays to him to speak to the people of Orphalese about all that he has been shown about what lies between birth and death. Each of the 26 sermons is the reply given by Almustafa to all those who request him to speak about a particular topic.

‘On Children’ is one such sermon given by Almustafa to a woman holding a babe against her bosom, when she asks him to speak to the people ‘Of Children’. Almustafa begins his sermon with the opening line ‘Your children are not your children’.

In this imaginary conversation, there are fourteen lines of which five lines are devoted to enlightening the parents about what / who the children are and the remaining lines to explaining what role the parents should play in bringing up their children.

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
They have their own thoughts.

The speaker wants to make the parents aware that a child is a gift from the abundance of existence and it is eternal life itself. Just as we have seen eternal life flowing through mountains, through forests and through plains, children are born as sons and daughters as Life’s longing for itself. Life longs to reproduce itself, and we are its servants who carry out that master plan.

Parents do not create them and hence parents cannot possess them. Parents may have brought them to this world because they have been chosen to serve as ‘passage’ or vehicle to bring the children to this world. They are only the medium through which life expresses itself. Children are closer to the very source of life than old people. Furthermore, children have their own thoughts because they have the free will to do as they please.
In the next few lines, the speaker educates parents as to how they should treat their children.

You may give them your love, but not your thoughts
You may house their bodies but not their souls
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

Almustafa tells parents that they can only act as ‘Stewards’ and their role is one of stewardship’; parents should not treat their children as their puppets but shower their love as much as they can and take good care of them as we do to someone who is given to our charge. Parents should take care of their needs only and should not impose their thoughts and ideas on them. They should not do so because our children belong to the future whereas we belong to the past generation.

As parents, our days are over. Parents may try to be like their children but their past acts like a barrier. On the contrary, children belong to the future. Since parents belong to the yesterdays, and their children belong to the tomorrows, parents cannot conceive of their future. Hence they should not burden their children with their dead past, their scriptures and their saints. The children will have their own scriptures and saints, parents should only give them as much love as they can. The present is a meeting point but also a point of departure. Every day the gap between parents and their children will become bigger and bigger.

And so, parents should not thrust their past as an inheritance on their children. The children have their own future and we should let them grow according to their own potential. The children are closer to existence than we are. Since life looks forward and does not linger on, parents should let their children build their future, realize their potential and resist the temptation to force their children to be like their carbon copy.

In the next few lines, Almustafa, the speaker, tries to give a visual account of how we should play our role as parents and how we can win God’s love:

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so also He loves the bow that is stable.

Almustafa tells the parents that God uses parents as his instrument to send ‘living arrows’ to the earth. God or the Supreme Being is the archer, the parents are the bows and the children are his living arrows. An arrow does not have its own power nor does it create its own path of direction. Both these are provided by God. The archer is God and the path is infinity. Just like the archer, God decides the mark on the infinite path for each child as its destination and using the parents as bows, shoots the arrows. Like an archer, God bends the bows (which are the parents) testing them for stability. The bows must help the arrows to reach their destination.

Existence wants parents to bend like a bow before their own children because they have to travel far and they have to give them strength. Parents should not despise the tests God provides in the image of children, for these tests only make God love the parents more. The speaker wishes us to know that existence loves both parents and children because parents are also children of the same existence. God loves not only parents who are stable, but he also loves children who as arrows will be bows in the future and shoot their own arrows.

At the end of the sermon, the speaker says that while the archer loves the arrows (the children), “He also loves the bow that is stable”, which presents before the reader a paradox. As parents involved in the care of children, Gibran appears to be asking us to be strong and bendable at the same time.

This may seem like a contradictory idea, but if we examine the metaphor of the bow, it begins to make sense. The bow has to be able to withstand the force of its string being drawn back. To do this without snapping in two, the bow also has to have strength. This tensile strength allows the arrow being held on the string to be released with optimal energy as it creates balance through resistance and tension, not unlike the kind of discipline we try to adjudicate in the making and breaking of boundaries for our children either at home or in the classroom. Such discipline uses rules and regulations as guides that will hopefully enhance a child’s sense of freedom by engendering a balanced sense of responsibility within him or her as well.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies.
So He loves also the bow that is stable.

These lines imply that God, the archer, loves parents who give their children roots to grow in and the freedom to fly when their time has come to do so. He loves those who slowly step back and set them free as their children grow up, encouraging them to learn from their own experiences and to dream their own dreams. He expects parents to do all they can to help their children to fulfill their own highest potential.

The archer expects wise parents to tell the children in their care that they are the children of God and that therefore each child is as precious and unique as the other. Further, God expects parents to respect their children because they know that even when a child is still living in a smaller body than their own, it has nonetheless come into their world as a frilly developed soul and spirit in its own right, who may have a long history of evolution behind it that could have taken more lifetimes than those of its parents.

God expects wise parents to tell their children that they have come into this life to learn, evolve, and grow some more through their own experiences. When their children go to school, wise parents point out to them that they are learning for themselves and for life itself, not only for this lifetime but for Eternity. He expects wise parents to explain to their children the laws of the universe and that because of this, whatever anyone sends out to life has to return to them. Finally, God expects parents to teach children by their good example.

In conclusion, we may say that in this sermon (‘On Children’) Gibran illustrates how love works in the intimate relationship of parenthood.

On Children Summary in Kannada

Glossary:

• hoyse (v): shelter, protect
• tarry (v): linger, stay at one place
• archer: one who uses bow and arrow (here God)

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