KEEPING IT FROM HAROLD
1. How long do you suppose they’d go on calling me, ‘Goggles’ if they knew that you were my father?
(a) Who is the speaker?
The speaker of the extracted line is Harold.
(b) Why did his friends call him ‘Goggles’? How could he have avoided it?
Harold’s friends called him ‘Goggle’s’ because he wore spectacles. He could
have avoided it by swanking as the son of famous ‘Young Porky’.
(c) In what way was the speaker’s reaction most unexpected?
Harold’s reaction was unexpected because they had expected him to be
embarrassed about his father’s profession but here he was proud of his father.
(d) What does the speaker repent? Why?
The speaker repents on having lost the opportunity to be the centre of attention
in the school as he does not know his father’s being a famous boxer ‘Young Porky’ till now.
2. “A slight frown, marred the smoothness of Harold
Bramble’s brow.”
(a) What made Harold ‘frown’ ?
Ans. His mother’s habit of treating him like a little
baby made Harold frown.
(b) What kind of student was Harold ?
Ans. Harold was an excellent student. His mother was
very proud to have given birth to a genius.
(c) What type of prizes had he won in the last
term ?
Ans. In the last term he had won many prizes in
spelling and dictation competitions.
3. “The fight’s over ..... And Bill’s won, with me
seconding him”.
(i) What is the context of the above statement?
(ii) Who makes the above statement?
(iii)Why does he make such statement?
Ans. (i) The above statement is about the boxing fight
which Bill was going to have with Murphy on the coming
Monday.
(ii) This statement is made by Major Percy to his
sister, Mrs. Bramble about Bill’s boxing contest.
(iii) He refers to Bill’s step of withdrawing from the
contest as his (Bill's) victory.
4. “You were such a pleasure to train as a rule? It all
comes of getting with bad companions”.
(i) Who is the speaker and who is the listener?
(ii) Who is being accused of being in a bad company? Why ?
(iii)Why is he being accused ?
Ans. (i) The speaker here is Mr. Jerry Fisher, Bill’s
trainer and the listener is Mr. Bramble.
(ii) Mr. Bramble is being accused of being in a bad
company of Major Percy.
(iii) Fisher is charging Percy with having played an
evil role in provoking Mr. Bramble and forcing him to
withdraw from the boxing fight.
5. ‘There’s a fellow at our school who goes about
swanking in the most rotten way because he once got Phil
Scott’s autograph.’
(i) Who is the speaker and what is the reason of the
above statement?
(ii) Explain ‘swanking’.
(iii) Do you feel the speaker is hurt at being
deprived of something?
Ans. (i) The speaker is Harold. He tells everyone
that he is proud of being the son of ‘Young Porky’.
(ii) “Swanking” means “Showing off”.
(iii) The speaker, Harold, is hurt at having been
deprived of the truth of his father’s real profession.
Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:
(a) What kind of a boy was Harold?
Harold was an intelligent boy with a deep interest in academics. He was self- absorbed and did not show much interest in his parents. In fact, his parents were in awe of him and wondered how such a child had been born to them. He has an interest in boxing and in-depth knowledge about it as well.
(b) How did the Major instigate Mr. Bramble to give up boxing?
Major Percy had written letters and pamphlets giving him reasons why he should give up boxing before the scheduled big fight. He scared Mr. Bramble by telling him that his secret would be out if he fought because it was going to be covered extensively by the reporters and there was every chance of his photograph being plastered in the newspapers.
(c) How did Harold react to the revelation of the well-guarded truth?
Harold was shocked and displeased at the revelation of the well-guarded truth.He called it ‘rotten’ on their part to hide the fact from him, thus snatching from him the deserved respect and fame of being the son of a famous boxer. He was also worried about his losing the bet if Bill would not fight Murphy.
(d) why was Harold called a prodigy?
Harold, a ten year old boy, is rightly termed as 'a prodigy'. He was an extraordinary child at a very young age. He won many prizes at school competitions and also had an interest in singing. He sang in the choir. He was a multi-faceted child who excelled in academics in the same way as his father excelled in boxing.
Answer the following questions in 80-100 words:
(a) What sacrifices did Mr. Bramble make for Harold’s sake? Why?
Mr. Bramble really is a far better father than a husband. He deals with wrath all the time but in his private life he is the mildest and most obliging of men.
Anybody can persuade him. He loves Harold very much. He is proud to have a
son like Harold but it has been a great problem for him as well. He cannot let
his sensitive and highly delicate son know about his raw and bloody
profession. He has made several sacrifices to hide his truth from Harold. He
loved to appear in newspapers and share his achievements with all but now he
shivers at his pictures in the newspapers and mails. He runs to hide them from
Harold. He stays at home for a very little period to avoid answering to Harold’s
questions.
He has decided to leave boxing and work as an instructor at some
school or college. But today, he is running away from the life time opportunity
to fight Murphy at the National just because it is too big an affair to hide from
Harold. He is ready to lose all his fame, passion, money as well as career for
Harold. What else can a father do for his son? His fight at the National is very
important for Harold. The money earned from here will help Harold take a good start in life. Bill cannot let the opportunity slip from his hands. He has made so many sacrifices for Harold’s sake. For his sake, he will have to take this risk.
(b) What made Jerry Fisher do the unexpected-tell the truth to Harold?
Mr. Jerry Fisher was the trainer-instructor of Mr. Bill Bramble. He was working hard to train Bill for the big fight with Murphy at the National Club. He knew Bill could easily be persuaded. So, he has banned anyone, especially Major Percy Stokes, from meeting Bill. He considered Percy to be a pretentious and boastful person who loved to be authoritative and had always been a wrong influence on Bill. Percy wanted Bill to leave boxing. He called it the dawn of the bright light. That’s why when Jerry heard about Percy’s arrival at the White Hart and could not find Bill anywhere he understood that Percy had succeeded in his ‘selfless’ mission right a week before Bill’s big fight with Murphy at the National Boxing Club. He did not blame. Bill for it as he knew Bill was the most obliging of men. He rushed to the Bramble’s house to free Bill from Percy’s influence and takes him back to the White Hart to prepare him for the big fight. But Bill confronted him and declined to return and resume his training, Jerry lost his temper. He disliked Bill for this betrayal and tried to answer Percy suitably.
When he could not do so, he decided to take revenge. Finding Harold in front of
him, Jerry found it the best form of revenge — to tell the truth to Harold and to
undo all the hard work and sacrifices made by the Brambles all through their
lives. Jerry actually liked Bill very much and, it gave him the courage to take the
risk of telling it all to Harold to help Bill free from his lifelong self-imposed
hibernation. And he acts as the catalyst to let it happen. Therefore, Jerry was a
true well-wisher, trainer and manager as well as a loyal friend of Bill.
(c) Harold is considered to be fond of only intellectual activities. He proves to be much mature than his parents think. How?
Harold is an intelligent boy who is considered to be a model in studies and
behaviour. Everyone at school praises him. He has already won some prizes in
academics. He is a bespectacled child. His parents are in a bit of awe of him.
His mother, Mrs Bramble, calls him ‘dearie’ and looks upon him as a child
prodigy.
His father is equally fond and proud of him. His parents come to believe that he
should not know that he is the son of a professional boxer. He can never think
that he could be a lover of boxing and boxers. When Harold learns about his
being the son of a famous boxer, he feels angry of being deprived of glory and
honour. He tells his parents that if the fact was known to his school children
they would never have dared to make fun of him by calling ‘Goggles’. His
interest in games, especially boxing, shows that is much mature than his
parents can ever think of.
