Going Places
By- A.R. Barton
Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150 words each Value based questions-
ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1. The story ‘Going Places’ draws a beautiful contrast between fact and fiction. Comment.
Ans. Barton’s story ‘Going Places’ takes us into the world of fantasy which offers an escape from reality. Sophie’s character is a vivid portrayal and beautifully brings out the contrast between fact and fiction. In reality, this young girl belongs to a lower middle-class family that is struggling for survival. In her dreams and fantasy, she becomes a part of a ‘glamorous world’.
Sophie is basically a dreamer who finds an escape route in her fantasies. She dreams of buying a boutique one day and shares the thought with her friend Jansie. Jansie is practical and realistic. She tries to make her see reality but Sophie refuses to accept it and thinks that it would be easy for her to earn a lot of money. She dreams of becoming a manager or an actress or a fashion designer. In her dreams and fantasy world, Sophie dates Danny Casey, an upcoming Irish football player. She tells her family about her imaginary meeting with Danny making it seem so realistic and true. So much so, she even makes them believe that she would be meeting him again.
In her dream world, she forgets her humble background, her small house; Sophie ‘goes places’ only in her dreams that are far removed from reality. She is a symbol for all adolescents who undertake a journey to the world of dreams.
Q2. Compare and contrast Sophie and Jansie highlighting their temperament and aspirations.
Ans. Sophie and Jansie are good friends. They also study together in school. Both the girls belong to very humble and not very ‘well-off families. Both aspire to become something in life. They are earmarked for work in a biscuit factory as soon as they finish school. But both the girls are in sharp contrast as far as their thoughts and temperament are concerned. While Sophie dreams of big and beautiful things, Jansie has her feet firmly planted on the ground. She advises Sophie to be sensible and not try to think beyond reality, but Sophie does not listen. She wants to be a boutique owner, a fashion designer, an actress and a manager, all in the same breath. She is a romantic dreamer who fantasizes about the young Irish footballer Danny Casey.
Sophie in her dreams hero-worships Danny and describes her imaginary meeting with him very vividly and looks forward to another meeting with him shortly. She shares her secret with her brother Geoff, whom she is close with. Jansie is a sharp contrast. She is practical and a realist. She has no far-fetched dreams and remains close to reality. In the end, it is Sophie who gets a jolt but that does not make her wiser. She becomes a victim of her own dreams and disappointments.
3. What were Sophie’s plans for the future? Why would you call her dreams unrealistic?
Ans. Sophie was a school girl who would pass out in a few months. She came from a humble background but was untouched by the harsh realities of life. She was lost in her world of fantasies. She planned to open a boutique after she passed out of school. She thought she would work as a manager or an actress in order to earn money for the boutique. She didn’t realise that she belonged to a family that didn’t have the sources to finance her dreams. Her dreams had no ground of reality. With the kind of socio-economic background that Sophie belonged to, it was completely unrealistic to have such dreams fulfilled.
4. Has Sophie met Danny Casey? What details of her meeting with Danny Casey did she narrate to her brother?
Ans. No, Sophie never met Danny Casey. It was one of her wild imaginations that she met Danny Casey, of the football star. She told her brother, Geoff, she met Danny Casey at the market place at Royce’s window. When Geoff showed his disbelief, she gave him Danny’s description. She told him that Danny Casey had green gentle eyes and was not very tall. She said she wanted to have his autograph but unfortunately none of them had a pen. She had a conversation with Danny and found him to him very lovely. Sophie said she was going for a date with Danny, the next week.
Sophie’s imagination is so vivid that she creates each and every minute detail and describes it to her brother so as to make him believe her.
5. Sophie was a dreamer. The lesson ‘Going Places’ reminds us that mere dreams will not help us to accomplish anything? What qualities, do you think, would help Sophie to realise her dream?
Ans. Sophie represents a teenager who is lost in the world of imagination. She was fond of daydreaming and, as a result, she lost her touch with the reality of life.
She dreams to own a boutique, whereas she has no financial background. She doesn’t accept the reality that she came from a poor background. There is no harm in aiming high. One should be ambitious in life. But along with aspirations, we must have clear planning to achieve that goal. Sophie needs to be practical in her life and analyse her situation. She should be hardworking and determined to achieve what she wants in life. But only dreaming doesn’t help. To succeed in life, actions are required. Sincere and continuous efforts, along with a proper action plan, bring the desired result. Sophie needs to be practical and patient to have her dreams materialised.
6. It is normal for adolescents to fantasise and indulge in hero-worship. How far is it true of Sophie?
Ans. Teenage is the time of hero-worship and fantasising. When one finds a celebrity one starts admiring that person so much that the celebrity becomes one’s hero and one starts fantasising about him/her. A similar thing happened with Sophie. She liked Danny Casey, the Irish football star. She used to go with her family to see his match and was attracted by his personality. She liked Danny Casey to the extent, she started fantasising about him. Her wild imagination got converted into hallucination and she started imagining to meet Danny Casey in person. She enjoyed this fantasy so much that she went to the extent of going for a date with Danny, who was her hero.
Sophie, in fact, represents an adolescent lost in the world of fantasies and hero-worship.
7. Sophie lives in a world full of dreams which she does not know she cannot realise. Comment.
Ans. No doubt Sophie lives in a world of dreams which she cannot realise. She dreams of opening a boutique which requires a lot of money. But the kind of family background she has, it is not possible for her to have that many finances. Moreover, she has high aspirations and very high esteem about herself. Despite her poor socio-economic background, she doesn’t accept the idea of working in a biscuit factory which is obvious for a girl of her qualifications and background. Rather she believes that she would get a job not less than that of a manager or would become an actress.
Sophie, like any adolescent, indulges in daydreaming and fantasy to the extent that she completely ignores the reality of her life.
8. Describe Sophie’s so-called meeting with Danny Casey.
Ans. As per Sophie, she met with Danny Casey in the arcade outside Royce’s while she was doing window shopping. Sophie narrated her meeting to her brother Geoff and said that besides her. She could not take his autograph as none of them had a pen. She talked to him a little bit, Sophie said that Danny seemed lonely and promised to give her autograph if she would care to meet him next week. Sophie not only imagined her meeting with Danny Casey but also believed a date with him.
9.”There was the sound of applause as the world rose to greet them.” What is the world that Sophie is dreaming about? Why?
Ans. Sophie always dreamt of a life of sophistication and elegance. Her brother Geoff was very close to her and she used to confide in him. Geoff used to speak less and Sophie believed that he had his own world in which he was moving and which was far away. She wanted to be part of that world. She imagined being introduced to that glorious world by her brother as she believed her to be most suited for that. She believed that one day she would accompany Geoff to the world which was waiting for her. Geoff in his black leather and she in her elegant yellow dress would be welcomed by the people in that world with a standing ovation and applause.
Sophie, as per her habit, is dreaming of a world of elegance and sophistication for which she believed herself to be most suitable.
10. What made Sophie imagine her meeting with Danny Casey? What does it tell us about her life and her relationship with her family?
Ans. Sophie is a young girl who lives in her world of imagination. Like adolescents, she dreams of unbelievable and far-fetched things. Though she belongs to a lower middle-class family, she fantasises a world of sophistication. She has seen Danny Casey playing and has started hero-worshipping him. She not only imagines talking to him but also goes all the way to have an imaginary date with him. In fact, it was her longing and dreaming to be part of an exotic world. Her family knows very well about her imaginary world and always tries to draw her away. Her father never believed in her stories and says, ‘One day you are going to talk yourself into a load of trouble’. Even her younger brother Derek says She thinks money grows on trees when Sophie is fantasising about opening a boutique. Her elder brother Geoff also does not believe in her story about Danny Casey initially. This clearly shows that except for her elder brother Geoff, Sophie doesn’t connect well with her family.
11. ‘I can see the future and now I will have to live with this burden’, says Sophie. What is the burden being referred to? What light does it throw on Sophie’s life?
Ans. Sophie lives in her world of imagination. She tells her brother that she met football star Danny Cassey in the arcade outside Royce and would be going for a date with him. Her father does not believe that she has met Danny Casey. Geoff though believes in her meeting, warns her that Danny Casey is a popular star and has many girlfriends.
Sophie has probably meet Danny Cassey and exchanged a few words and asked for an autograph. It is just the imagination that Sophie fantasises to have a date with Danny Cassey. When Danny Dag does not show up for the date, Sophie faced a dilemma of having to uphold the fact that she has really met Danny Casey. She is aware that nobody would believe her. She is deeply sad at the realisation that her life was not going to change. Her life of poverty would not change into the glamorous world of her dreams. This is a heavy burden for her. She finds it very difficult to cope with her reality.
Going Places- About the Author
Going Places- Chapter Nutshell
Going Places- Short & Detailed Summary
Going Places- Multiple Choice Questions in Quiz
Going Places- Important Extra Questions Short Answer Type
Going Places- Important Extra Questions Value-Based Answer Type
