In this article, we have provided CBSE Class 12 NCERT Solutions for Chapter 8 of the English Flamingo Textbook. The NCERT solutions have been provided by the subject expert after a detailed analysis of the marking scheme and model answer sheet issued by CBSE. Chapter 8 of Prose from the Flamingo textbook is a story of where author Barton explores the theme of adolescent fantasizing and hero worship. Class 12th students can study the answers provided here to score well in school as well as Class 12th board exams.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English: Flamingo (Prose) - Chapter 8: Going Places
Ques: Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?
Answer: The two girls, Sophie and Jansie, were already destined for a job in the biscuit factory and it was likely that they would work there after school.
Ques: What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her to have such dreams?
Answer: Sophie dreamt of opening a boutique or becoming an actress or a fashion designer. She thought that she would be offered the position of a manager and that she would work there till the time she saves enough money for her boutique.
Keeping in mind their lower middle-class family background, Jansie discourages Sophie to have such dreams. Jansie is more realistic and practical in life, and hence, knows that big ambitions cost heavy investments, something their working-class status could not afford.
Ques: Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Answer: She wriggled when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey because she was well aware of her father's short-tempered nature. She knew that he would scold her for spreading wild stories. Moreover, she was aware that no one would believe her. It is also possible that she did not expect Geoff to share her secrets with others, even family members.
Ques: Did Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Answer: No, Geoff does not believe what Sophie says about her meeting. He calls it "the unlikeliest thing [he] ever heard".
Ques: Does her father believe her story?
Answer: Sophie's father does not believe her story and he warns her that her "wild stories" might land her into trouble
Ques: How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of future?
Answer: Sophie was jealous of the fact that her brother had access to the world outside. She fantasises about going to these places with him someday in the future wearing a yellow dress. She fantasizes that the world would rise to greet them.
Ques: Which country did Danny Casey play for?
Answer: Danny Casey played football for Ireland.
Ques: Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?
Answer: Sophie and Jansie were different from each other. Sophie was a dreamer who enjoyed creating her own fantasy world using her imagination. She showed an urge to transcend her working-class status and attain sophistication by pursuing the ambition of a fashion designer or an actress. Jansie, on the other hand, was more practical and realistic than Sophie. She tried to pull Sophie back to reality, but all in vain. Jansie's sensibility and maturity are evident in her attempt to remind her friend that they were earmarked for the biscuit factory, and expensive dreams were inappropriate to their financial status.
Ques: Discuss in pairs
- Sophie's dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.
- It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of such fantasising?
Answer: 1. Sophie was a dreamer who often made up stories for herself and for others. One possibility might be that she wanted to escape the squalor of daily life with the help of her fantasies. Her encounter with Danny Casey was a made-up story for the sake of catching her brother's attention. Eventually, she gets so much engrossed in it that she starts to live the fantasy. When Danny Casey does not arrive for the second 'date', she experiences disappointment. However painful and disappointing her fantasy might be, she was not willing to accept reality. Her dreams and disappointments are figments of her imagination.
- Teenage is the phase of life which constitutes of major changes in the life of an individual. During this phase, a person learns many things, sets his career goals, and deals with peer pressure and the pressure of adults' expectations. Hence, it is natural for teenagers to fantasise and to have unrealistic dreams.
Ques: Why didn't Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Answer: Sophie didn't want Jansie to know about her encounter with Danny because she feared that Jansie would spread her story to the whole neighbourhood
Ques: How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie's father?
Answer: Sophie's father is an archetype of the lower middle class father who has worked hard in uncompromising conditions in order to earn a livelihood for his family. After his day's work, he watched the television instead of spending time with his family or sharing family responsibilities with his wife. He expects Sophie to buy them a new house instead of engaging in her expensive dream ambitions if she gets a chance to earn money. His impoverished financial condition does not, however, stop him from watching the football match, or later, going to the pub for celebration. He is shown as a practical, but a self- centered and short-tempered person.
Ques: Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
Answer: Sophie did not meet Danny Casey in reality. She made up the story of her encounter with Danny Casey only to seek the attention of her brother, Geoff.
Ques: Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?
Answer: Sophie liked her brother, Geoff, more than anybody else because he was not in the habit of talking much and remained lost in his own thoughts. She envied his silence and thought that he had access to an unknown world. She wanted to be a part of that world and she fancied herself wearing glamorous clothes and being welcomed by everyone. For Sophie, Geoff symbolised liberty from the monotonous life they had been living.
Ques: Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?
Answer: Sophie went to see the football match of the United team with her father and her two brothers. This was the only instance where she got a chance to see Danny Casey.
Ques: What socio-economic background does Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family's financial status?
Answer: Sophie belongs to a lower middle class socio-economic background. She lives in a small house with her parents and two brothers, Derek and Geoff. When she returns home after school, she feels choked with the steam of the stove and is disgusted with the dirty dishes piled in a corner. Her mother's back has become stooped and bent by handling all the household chores and responsibilities on her own. Her father is a hard labourer and her elder brother, Geoff, works as an apprentice mechanic in a garage situated far away from his house. Her family wants Sophie to join work immediately after school. These are some of the indicators of Sophie's family's financial status
Ques: Notice the following expressions. The highlighted words are not used in a literal sense. Explain what they mean.
- Words had to be prized out of him like stones out of a ground.
- Sophie felt a tightening in her throat.
- If he keeps his head on his shoulders.
- On Saturday they made their weekly pilgrimage to the United.
- She saw… him ghost past the lumbering defenders.
Answer: 1. These words are spoken by Sophie to Geoff. In this line, Sophie compares the words uttered by Geoff to the precious stones that have to be dug out from the earth, both being laborious activities.
- After returning from her school, Sophie notices her father sitting on the dining table. In this line, she is expressing her fear of her father's wrath.
- In this line, Sophie's father compliments Danny's skills at playing football, but, he feels that he could only achieve long term success if he keeps himself well grounded.
- In the given line, the author points at the habitual visit of Sophie's family to watch the football match every week. The word 'pilgrimage' emphasises the theme of hero-worship in the story.
- In this line, the author describes Sophie's recollection of Danny Casey who leaves behind all other players and speeds towards the goal.
