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The Browning Version Class 11 Questions Answers
By- Terence Rattigan
Short Answer Type Questions (30 to 40 words)
1.Why did Taplow stay back at school on the last day of his form?
Ans. Taplow had come back to school to do extra work. He was ordered by his teacher Mr Crocker-Harris. The boy had missed a day the previous week. So Crocker-Harris had called him to pay for it and make up for the loss.
2. Who are the two teacher-characters in the play? What information do you get about them?
Ans. The two teachers arc Mr Crocker-Harris and Frank. Crocker-Harris teaches the Latin language while Frank teaches science. Crocker-Harris is middle-aged and strict. Frank is a young science teacher. The students are scared of Crocker-Harris. Frank wonders how Crocker-Harris had managed to over-awe the students, though he does not even beat them; Frank is envious of him.
3. Taplow has a grudge against his Latin master, Crocker-Harris. Why?
Ans. Taplow is a young boy in the fifth form. He loves to play golf on a fine day. But he dare not disobey Mr Crocker-Harris who had called him to school a day before the final results were to be declared. Taplow is made to do extra work to make up for his absence one day the previous week. His promotion is to be decided by Crocker-Harris.
Taplow’s grudge is that Crocker-harris is overstrict and even Inhuman. He does not give the boy any assurance about his promotion in spite of calling him to do extra work.
4. How does Taplow make fun of his teacher? Why? Who encourages him to ridicule Mr Crocker-Harris?
Ans. Taplow is a young boy, studying in the fifth form. His final result is to be announced the next day. He asks Mr Crocker-Harris about his chances for promotion. But Crocker-Harris gives him a vague answer. He tells the boy that he would get what he deserves, no less and no more. Moreover, Mr Crocker-harris has called Taplow to do extra work even on the last day of school. This irritates the boy and he makes fun of his teacher in front of Mr Frank. Taplow is encouraged by Frank to mimic Crocker-Harris’s voice and repeat his words. This is how he tries to hit back at the teacher.
5. Taplow says that Crocker-harris is hardly human. What makes him say that?
Ans. Taplow is a little-outspoken boy. He speaks out his mind honestly. His personal equation with Crocker-Harris is not smooth. One day Mr Crocker-Harris told a Latin joke in the class and no one laughed at it because not a single student understood it, including Taplow. Still, Taplow laughed out of politeness; but then his teacher asked him to explain the joke. This makes Taplow feel that he is hardly human.
6. How does Frank read Taplow’s motive behind doing extra work?
Ans. Frank is a science teacher who knows well the nature of his colleague. He does not approve of Crocker-Harris’s step to call a boy to do extra work on the last day of school. He points out that Taplow can now hope to get his promotion through doing extra work.
7. What is meant by ‘remove’ in English schools?
Ans. In English schools, the word ‘remove’ means promotion to the next higher class. Much depended on the rating given by Crocker-Harris to Taplow. So the boy is nervous and afraid about his result.
8. How does Taplow recount the incident of Crocker-Harris’s joke in the class?
Ans. One day Mr Crocker-Harris told a Latin joke in the class. No student laughed at it because no one understood it. Taplow was no exception. Still, he laughed at the poor joke out of common politeness. Crocker-Harris cornered him. He asked Taplow to explain the joke to other boys. That was Crocker-Harris’s way of dealing with the boys. He did not like it even if someone tried to help him.
9. What does Taplow think of Mr Crocker-Harris?
Ans. Taplow, the fifth form boy, is a good judge of persons, especially his teachers. He ridicules Crocker-Harris whom he calls ‘hardly human’. He mocks his master by mimicking his voice and words. He is mortally afraid of Crocker-Harris. He dare not disobey or go Against the wishes of Crocker-Harris. But at the same time, he has a word of praise as well for his teacher. He tells Frank that Crocker-harris never beats a boy although he is shrivelled up like a nut at heart. And he is not a ‘sadist’. Like one or two other teachers who got pleasure out of giving pain. Crocker-Harris’s drawback was that he hated it even when people tried to like him. Taplow finally tells Frank that in spite of all this he did like Crocker-Harris better than other teachers.
10. How does Taplow react on the arrival of Mrs Crocker-Harris?
Ans. Taplow was frightened to see Millie. His fear was that she must have heard what he had been saying about Mr Crocker-Harris. In case, she reports the matter to her husband. Taplow will miss his promotion.
11. How does Taplow finally get back his freedom?
Ans. It is Mrs Millie Crocker-Harris who finally comes to the rescue of Taplow. She reports that Crocker-Harris will not be back early. Hence, Taplow had better go. He can at least run away for 15 minutes and come back later. She assures the boy that no harm will come to him. She gives him a doctor’s prescription and tells him to bring medicines for Mr Crocker-Harris. This being a good excuse, Taplow goes out free from fear.
1. In the lesson, we find that it is in the hands of the teacher to promote his student. It means if a teacher has some grudges against a student, he will never promote him. Then why not introduce automatic promotion. If this is introduced, what will happen? Evaluate the situation when there is no examination or assessment of students.
Ans. Automatic promotion will be a boon for the students but it will turn out to be a bane very soon. If no examinations were to be held, neither students nor teachers would know the outcome of their efforts. Examinations present a goal to the students and they make an effort to reach that goal. They goad the students and the teachers to go systematically to achieve the cherished goal. The teacher and the taught become serious, thoughtful and eager to present their best.
If there is no pressure of examinations, students will not take their studies seriously. At the end of the schooling, they will not be able to write even a simple application correctly. Moreover, after schooling, they have to face so many competitions. They will accept defeat because they are not well prepared. They had taken studies just as an exercise to Kill time. A recent survey has proved that automatic promotion has given us an army of incompetent people. Above all, even serious students suffer. The absence of assessment of students will usher in all-round deterioration.
2. If a teacher is strict and does not allow his pupils freedom, he becomes an object of their criticism. But later on, he is revered and remembered. Discuss.
Ans. It is a fact that a teacher who finds fault with the work of his pupils becomes an object of fear for them. It is but natural for teenagers to dislike their teachers who do not allow them freedom. These teachers do their job sincerely and expect the same from the students. They do not tolerate the casual attitude of their students. It is also a fact that such teachers leave a permanent impact on the impressionable minds of the pupils. When these pupils grow up and enter into the real phase of their life, they silently worship them. They become their idols.
Unsympathetic and harsh teachers are mimicked and laughed at but this is a passing phase and very soon the sun of wisdom dawns and the students soon realise the real worth of the teachers they have criticised. Hard taskmasters are in reality the real well-wishers of their students. Shallow reverence and respect soon dry away and when students mature they understand the difference between right and wrong. So, Students should not form opinions in favour or against their teachers in a hurry.
3. What is your assessment of Taplow as a student? Write his brief character-sketch as well.
Ans. Taplow, a student of the fifth form, is 16 years old. He is very talkative and outspoken. He gets carried away easily. On being provoked by Frank, he opens his heart out and speaks Critically about his Latin teacher. He is mortally afraid of Crocker-Harris although the master never beats any boy. He dare not ‘cut’ his master because Crocker-Harris might even follow him to his home. He calls Crocker-harris secretive and one who can not be easily pleased. Crocker-Harris refuses to tell the boy about his final result before the stipulated time. Taplow crosses the limit when he says that Crocker-harris is ‘hardly human’. On the whole, Taplow is quite honest and gullible. He ridicules his teacher and mimics his voice. He uses derogatory words for his teacher. He discusses one teacher with another foolishly. His actions show that he is not mature enough.
4. Who is Millie? What is her role in the play?
Ans. Millie is the wife of Mr Crocker-Harris. She is a thin woman in her late thirties. But she dresses smartly and speaks confidently. As she enters the school premises, she stands for a while behind a curtain to overhear the conversation between Taplow and Frank. Even if she has heard them, she gives no hint of it. She is quite unlike her harsh husband. She is kind and gentle. She tells Taplow to go and enjoy himself. But the boy dare not cut Crocker-Harris. So she finds an excuse to free him. She asks him to go to the chemist to bring some medicines for his master. She smilingly agrees to take the blame on herself if Crocker-Harris is angry. Thus, she outshines all the other three characters in the story.
5. What impression do you form about Mr Crocker-Harris?
Ans. Mr Crocker-harris is the language teacher at a school. He teaches Latin and also a Greek play. But he is perhaps a poor teacher. Taplow calls the Greek play rubbish because itis not taught well by Crocker-Harris. He has many negative things to say about his master. Crocker-Harris, he tells Frank, Is shrivelled up inside like a nut; he hates people to like him; he is hardly human; gives a vague answer to the boy about his result. But Taplow has a word of praise also for his teacher. He doesn’t beat the boys. He is not a sadist. He abides by the rules of the school and never declares the result before time. Still, all the boys in the class are scared to death of Crocker-Harris. Taplow finally admits that he likes Crocker-Harris spite of being scared of him.
6. What brings Taplow to the staff room? Who does he meet there?
Ans. Taplow, a fifth-grade student, goes to school on the last day. He is called by Mr Crocker-Harris to do extra work for missing a day the previous week. He is waiting for the Latin teacher in the staff room. Frank, the young science teacher, arrives and starts talking to him. They discuss Crocker-harris. In fact, Frank is envious of Crocker-Harris hold on the young boys. He encourages Taplow to give his honest opinion about his master. And Taplow makes some negative remarks. He levels several charges against Crocker-Harris. He calls him ‘hardly human’, a poor teacher of Latin, and a person who hates people to be liked by them. Taplow finally meets Mrs Crocker-Harris who sends him to the chemist to bring some medicines. This way, Taplow feels relieved and gets his freedom for a while.
7. What impression do you form of Frank and Mrs Crocker-Harris?
Ans. Frank is a young science teacher at the school. We get to know about him from his conversation with the boy Taplow. On the whole, he appears to be a mean and petty person. He envies Crocker-Harris, who keeps his students under control. He provokes Taplow to comment on his teacher and also to imitate his voice. This is unbecoming of a teacher to discuss his colleague with a boy. He suggests to Taplow to slip away because Crocker-Harris is late in coming and the weather is fine. Mrs Millie Crocker-Harris is a kind hearted and easy going person. She is very smart. She rescues Taplow by sending him out on an errand.
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