11th Std We are not afraid to die... if we all can be together

We are not afraid to die... if we all can be together 

Long answer type questions:

 

1. Describe the mental condition of the voyagers on 4th and 5th January.

On January 4, the voyagers felt relieved after 36 hours of continuous pumping out water.They had their first meal in almost two days. Their respite was short-lived.

On January 5 ,they were stuck in a horrific situation.The fear of death loomed large.They were under great mental trauma and pressure. 

2. Describe the shifts in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text. 

The initial phase describes a peaceful journey from Plymouth (England) to 3500 km east of Cape Town (Africa). The narrator is relaxed with full of confidence and in a holiday mood. As the weather deteriorated, they faced gigantic waves. They took precautions to save themselves and struggle with the disaster. The narration becomes grim. But it exudes the fighting spirit, confidence and strong will power. By the morning of January 6, Wave walker rode out the storm and by evening they sighted He Amsterdam island.

The narrator is now relaxed. Joy, relief and complete confidence are apparent.

3. What difference did you notice between the reaction of the adults and the children when faced with danger?

There is a lot of difference between the way in which the adults and the children reacted when faced with the sudden danger. The adults felt the stress of the circumstances but prepared themselves to face the dangers. They took sufficient precautions to protect the ship when the rough weather began. They equipped everyone with lifelines, water proof clothes, and life jackets. Larry and Herb worked cheerfully and optimistically for three days continuously to pump out water from the ship. Mary replaced the narrator at the wheel when the deck was smashed, and steered the ship. She also served them meal after two days of struggle against odds. The narrator performed his role as captain with courage, determination, resourcefulness and full responsibility. He undertook repair work and provided apparatus and directions needed to protect the ship. He also helped in steering the ship towards the island. The children suffered silently and patiently. Sue did not want to bother her father with her troubles. Jon acted courageously. He was not afraid to die if all of them perished together.

4. How does the story suggest the optimism helps to “endure the direst stress”?

The story suggests that optimism certainly helps to endure the direst stress.The behaviour of the four adults during crisis bears it out. Larry Vigil and Herb Seigler were two recruited crewmen. As the mighty waves smashed the deck, water entered the ship through many holes and openings. 

Right from the evening of January 2, Larry and Herb started pumping out water. They worked continuously, excitedly and feverishly for 36 hours. It was a result of their continuous pumping that they reached the last few centimetres of water on January 4. They remained cheerful and optimistic while facing extremely dangerous situations. The narrator did not lose his courage, hope or presence of mind while facing problems. He did not worry about the loss of equipment. He used whatever was available there. His self confidence and practical knowledge helped them to steer out of storm and reach the lie Amsterdam island. Mary stayed at the wheel for all those crucial hours. She did not lose hope or courage either.

5. What lessons do we learn from such hazardous experiences when we are face to face with death?

Hazardous experiences may occur in anyone's life at any point of time and when it bring us face to face with death, we need to remember that it impart us many important lessons of conduct. 

Life is not always a bed of roses. We must react to dangers and risks with patience and fortitude. Adversity is the true test of character. The purity of gold is judged by putting it in fire. The hazardous experiences bring out the best within us. 

Coward persons die many times before their death. Fear is a negative feeling and leads to inactivity and abject surrender to circumstances. Such sailors or soldiers lose the battle against the odds in life. On the other hand, persons with self confidence, perseverance, courage, resourcefulness and presence of mind face all the dangers boldly and overcome all disasters.

Their sharing and caring attitude inspires others also to face the adverse circumstances boldly and stand against all odds.

6. Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved?

Man is adventurous by nature. without pain, there is no gain,so the greater the risk, the more the thrill. The thrill of exploring unknown lands, discovering wealth and beauty lying hidden in far off lands inspires brave hearts to stake their life of rest and repose. 

Perhaps they value one crowded hour of glory more than a long uneventful life of inactivity. It is true that sometimes adventures are quite risky and prove fatal. The failures of some persons do not discourage the real lovers of adventure. They draw lessons from the shortcomings and errors of others and make fresh attempts with greater zeal. Part of the charm of an adventurous expedition lies in adapting oneself to the circumstances and overcoming the odds. The success of an adventurous expedition brings name, fame and wealth. History books are replete with accounts of famous explorers like Columbus,Captain Scott,Vasco da Gama and Captain Cook.

Short Answer Type Questions:

 1.What did the narrator plan to do? What preparations did he make for it?

The narrator planned to go on a round-the-world sea voyage on the same pattern as Captain James Cook had done 200 years earlier. For the past sixteen years, he and his wife had spent all their leisure time learning and improving their skills with work ,related to travel on the sea.

2. How did the weather change on January 2? How did they feel?

The weather changed for worse on January 2. Now the waves were gigantic. As the ship rose to the top of each wave, they saw endless enormous seas rolling towards them. The screaming of the wind and spray was painful to the ears.

3. What efforts were made to face the rough weather?

In order to face the rough weather, the speed of the ship was slowed down. They dropped the storm jib. They lashed heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stem. Then they fastened together everything and went through their life-raft drill. They attached lifelines, put on waterproof clothes and life-jackets.

4. What was the impact of the torrent on the narrator and Wavewalker?

A tremendous explosion shook the deck. The narrator’s head struck the wheel and he flew over board and was sinking below the waves. Unexpectedly his head came out of water. Wave walker was almost capsizing. Her masts were almost horizontal.

5. How did the narrator manage to survive through the attacks of subsequent waves?

One of the waves threw the ship upright. The narrator was able to reach its main

boom.Subsequent waves tossed him around the deck like a rag doll. His left ribs cracked.His mouth was filled with blood and broken teeth. Somehow, he found the wheel, lined up the stem for the next wave and remained firm.

6. What sort of wave hit the ship? How did the narrator react?

It was a mighty and huge wave. It appeared perfectly vertical. It was almost twice the height of the other waves. It had a very unpleasant breaking crest. The narrator had never seen such an enormous wave, so he was filled with horror.

7. How did the narrator, and the other members react to the presence of water in the ship?

The narrator could not leave the wheel to examine the damaged parts. Mary shouted that the decks were broken and they were sinking. Larry and Herb were pumping out water like madmen. Sue had a big bump over her eyes but the children said that they were all right.

8. “I had no time to worry about bumped heads,” says the narrator. What problems do you think deserved his immediate attention?

The starboard side had been struck open. They were taking in more water with every wave breaking over them. If he did not make some repairs urgently, they would sink. The narrator managed to cover the gaping holes with canvas and waterproof hatch covers.

9. What problems did the narrator face during the night of January 2, 1977?

The hand pumps started to block up with the debris floating around the cabins. The electric pump short circuited. The water level rose threateningly. The two spare hand pumps had been wrenched over board. The waves had also carried away the forestay sail, the jib, the dinghies and the main anchor from the deck.

10. How did the narrator react to the problems? What does it reveal?

The narrator did not lose his calm or courage in the face of problems. He thought calmly. Then he remembered that they had another electric pump under the chart room floor. He found it in working order. They were not getting any reply to their distress radio signals. He was not surprised as they were in a remote comer of the world.

11. “I didn’t want to worry you when you were trying to save us all,” said Sue. What has happened to her?

Sue’s head had a bump. It had swollen alarmingly. She had two enormous black eyes. She also had a deep cut on her arm. She did not bother her daddy about her injuries as he was busy in more important task.

12. Why do you think the narrator searched for an island so eagerly?

The wave that hit Wavewalker had caused extensive damage. Nearly all the boat’s main frames had been smashed down to the keel. A whole section of the starboard hull was being held up by a few cupboard partitions. Wavewalker could not hold together long enough for them to reach Australia. So he searched for an island to repair the boat.

13. Why could they not set any sail on the main mast on 4 January?

The hull of the ship had been damaged badly. Pressure on the ropes supporting the masts and sails would simply pull the damaged section of the hull apart. So they hoisted the storm jib and headed towards the islands.

14. How did little Jonathan react to the desperate situation they found themselves in on 5 January?

Jonathan asked his daddy if they were going to die.The narrator after a little hesitation tried to assure him that they would surely overcome the situation.

Then little Jon declared bravely that he was not afraid of death provided they could all be together.

15. How did the narrator respond to little Jon’s words? What do his actions reveal about his character?

He could not find proper words to respond. However, he felt inspired to fight the sea with everything he had. He decided to stop the ship and protect the weakened starboard side. He did so with an improvised anchor of heavy nylon ropes and two 22 litre plastic barrels of paraffin. This shows his resourcefulness and determination.

16. “Optimism and courage help to tide over difficulties”. How did the narrator succeed in searching the small island?

The narrator was searching for a 65 kilometre wide island in an ocean of 150,000 kilometres. He worked optimistically on wind speeds, changes of course, drift and current. He calculated their position with the help of sextant also.

17. How did Sue try to enliven the gloomy atmosphere?

Sue forgot her swollen head and blackened eyes and prepared a funny card. On the front it had caricatures of Mary and the narrator. She called them funny people who had made her laugh. There was a message also. It expressed her love, thanks and good wishes.

18. The narrator says, “I told him with a conviction I did not feel.” What led him to believe so?

The narrator had lost his main compass. He was using a spare one. It had not been corrected for magnetic variation. He had to make allowance for this as well as for the influence of the westerly currents. Though he checked and rechecked his calculations, he was not sure. He depended on luck as well.

19. What gloomy thoughts occurred to the narrator? What pleasant surprise was in store for him?

The narrator thought that they might have missed the island. They couldn’t hope to beat back into the westerly winds with the sail they had been left with. When Jonathan called him the best daddy in the world and the best captain and asked for a hug, he refused to do. When Sue remarked that he had found the island, he felt surprised.

20. Why do you think, did the narrator call lle Amsterdam ‘the most beautiful island in the world’?

Ile Amsterdam was a very small island made of volcanic rock. It had little vegetation and only 28 inhabitants. However, the island provided them safety and security from the huge waves of the sea as well as opportunity to repair the damaged ship.

21. What did the narrator think of while landing at lle Amsterdam? Why?

He thought of his companions. Larry and Herb had remained cheerful and optimistic under the most serious tension. His wife Mary had stayed at the wheel during the crucial hours. His daughter Suzanne did not bother him about her head injury. His son Jonathan was not afraid to die.

22. How can you say that Suzanne’s injuries were serious?

Suzanne’s head had a bump. It was quite swollen. Her blackened eyes narrowed to slits. Her head injury took six minor operations to remove a recurring blood clot between skin and skull.This shows that her injuries were extremely serious, still the girl remained tight lipped throughout the journey just to support her parents at the crucial time.