A Bad Dream (8th)

 

                                              A Bad Dream

Word                             Meanings

Terrible                dreadful

 Trouble              difficulty

 Assistant             helper

Resign                  to leave the job

 Agrees                 give consent to

Weird                     mysterious

Attitude                 behaviour

Transformation      change

Believe                   trust

Pleasure                 joy

Fond of                   having liking for

Explained                made clear

Job                          work

Sure                         certain

Surprised                 wondered

Chance                     opportunity

Remember                recall

Glad                          happy

Pre-Reading Task

Q1. We all dream while sleeping but there are people who 'day-dream' also. Is there any
difference between dreaming and day-dreaming? Discuss in the class.

Q2. Do your dreams connect to real life situations or are they just full of wild and weird
happenings? Share a couple of your interesting dreams with your partner.
Ans.1. Dreaming and day-dreaming are pole apart. We dream only when we sleep but day

dreaming means dreaming with open eyes. Dreams come whatever our mind shows

while sleeping. Day-dreaming is our entire imagination whatever we want to be or
want to acquire.

2. My dreams are sometimes connected to real life and sometimes they are wild. In a
dream I was caught by a terrorist. When I got up, I was wet with sweat. Once I saw
I found a wonderful treasure and while planning to utilise that my eyes opened up
by alarm and I felt as ifI had lost my real treasure.
But in wild dreams, I had dreamt,  that some ghosts were chasing me and sómetimes
 a large eagle caught me in its talons and flew high in the sky.

Understanding the Play

Answer the following questions in about 30 words each.
1. Why was Mr. Hill upset with Annie?
2. What did Mr. Hill expect his wife to do in the parties?
3. How can we say that Mrs. Hill was a kind-hearted, considerate lady?
4. What was Annie's reaction when she came to know that Mr. Hill had lost his job?
Ans. 1.  Mr. Hill was very upset with Annie as she was a bad cook. Now, Mr. Hill ate her
poorly cooked food, so he was not able to tolerate. His guests also ate bad food
cooked by her and it would hurt his image.

Ans 2. Mr. Hill expected that Mrs. Hill should not spend her time in the kitchen
when guests would come to see them. She would attend her guests in the parties.
Ans 3. Mr. Hill wanted to sack Annie but his wile Mrs. Hill being a sensitive woman thought it improper to sack Annie who had been serving them for the last twenty years.
Now she was too old to get a new Job. Being a kind and considerate lady, she even
suggested that she would prepare food at the parties.

Ans. 4. When Annie came to know that Mr. Hill had lost his job she offered to serve them without money and she told that she was not doing work in their house for money.

B. Read these extracts from the play and then answer the questions that follow:

‘How will she find a new job’?

(a) Who is 'she' and why should she look for a new job?

(b) Why will it be dilficult for her to find a new job?

(c) Why does the speaker react in such a manner?

Ans. (a) She is Annie, Mr. Hill's old cook. She should look for a new job because Mr. Hill
is going to sack her.

(b) It will be difficult for her to find a new job because she is very old.
(c) Mrs. Hill being a Kind and considerate lady reacts in such a manner. She found
it insensible to sack Annie in that age.

2. ‘We had to do it, sir. We were only thinking of the bank.’
(a) Who does 'sir' refer to? Who are 'we’ here?
(b) What did they have to do?
(c)  What was their reason for doing so?
Ans. (a) Sir, refers to Mr. Hill. 'We are Mr. Briggs, and Mr. Winter.
(b) The bank employees wrote a complaint letter about Mr. Hill to head office of the
bank.
(c) Mr. Hill's bad behaviour with bank employees, his shrinking from hard work
and spending two to three hours at lunch were the reasons behind their
complaint.

3. ‘But, George, why have you changed suddenly’?

(a) What kind of a man was George earlier?
(b) What changes have come over George?
( c) What is the reason for these changes?

Ans.
(a) Earlier, George was a rude and unkind man. Nobody liked him.

(b) George is now a kind man. He wants that Annie should not be sacked as she
is very old. He also suggested to keep an assistant for Annie. Now he finds that
dinners are not so important.

(c) His dream is the reason for these changes.

HOTS

‘Mr. Hill had a bad dream’- was the dream really bad?

 

Ans. The dream was not that bad because it had changed Mr. Hill. He realized in the end the importance of a loyal servant in one's life. After all they are also human beings, they also have feelings.  As they spent the best time of their lives with their masters, they become like family members. Old ones are always faithful and trustworthy. We should never part with them during their difficult times or old age.

I. Life Skils

A. Assuming the dream to be a reality, do you support Mrs. Hill's decision to leave Mr Hill  at the time when he needed her the most?
Ans. Yes, that’s true because a rude and an arrogant man like Mr. Hill can be taught
a lesson in this manner. He should know how to respect the feeling of others. He was ready to throw Annie out of her job because she had grown old. In the same
manner, the Bank officials wanted him to leave the job because he was no good to the company. His wife’s decision to leave him at this juncture was a lesson to him that if
you do not have money and job you are good for nothing.
B. What, according to you, should be the code of conduct of a bank manager with their
employees and their customer?

Ans. According to me, the code of conduct of a bank manager should be polite and soft
spoken with others. Whether a person is junior you should never speak rudely with
him/ her. You should carry yourself in the best possible manner. Your conduct should
be such that it becomes model code of conduct for others.

Values

‘Compassion for our fellow beings should be an integral part of our existence’. Discuss.
Ans.  It is right saying that ‘Compassion for our fellow beings should be an integral part of our existence’. In this chapter Mrs. Hill has feeling of compassion and kindness towards Annie. Mr. Hill is rude, arrogant and selfish. But later on he also changes his behaviour due to a bad dream.

V. Writing Skills

Imagine you are Mr. Hill. Your unpleasant conversation with Mr. Briggs and Mr. Winter
awakens your conscience and changes your attitude towards Annie. Write a diary entry
expressing your feelings for her before and after your meeting with the visitors.


Ans. Tuesday

17 November, 2020

10:00 PM

What an unlucky day it is! Mr. Winter and Mr. Briggs visited me and they informed
me that nobody liked me in the bank. Even the head office is ready to sack me.
But thank God. It was a dream. The unpleasant conversation between me and

Mr. Winter and Mr. Briggs was not real. But I have come to know that others' hard
work should not be underestimated. The dream opened my eyes. I will never sack
Annie, my cook. She has been working at my home for the last twenty years.

Where will she get job in this age. I will keep an assistant for her so that she
would do her work properly. Now l have understood that my wife is really a good
human being. I will do exactly what she likes.

George Hill

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS SOLVED

1. Reference to Context

Read the following extracts carefully and then answer the questions that follow:

1. What are you talking about? Is this a joke, Briggs?

(i) Who is you' here?

t(ii) What seems to be a joke to Mr. Hill?
(iii) Who visited Mr. Hill and why?
Ans.(i)  ‘You’ refers to Mr. Briggs.
(ii) Resigning from his reputed job of a bank manager seems to be a joke to Mr. Hill.
(iii) Mr. Briggs and Mr. Winter visited Mr. Hill to demand his resignation on the order of
head office.

2. Yes, the people in the bank don’t like you. I'm not very surprised.
(i) Who is the speaker here? What is the tone of his/her statement?
(ii) Why is the speaker not very much surprised?
(iii) Is the speaker sympathetic to Mr. Hill?

Ans. i)The speaker of the above statement is Mrs. Hill. Her tone is bitter and mocking.
ii) The speaker is well aware of the arrogant attitude of her husband, so she is not surprised that the bank employees don't 1 like him.
iii) The speaker is not sympathetic to Mr. Hill. She thinks that he is going to reap the
same what he sows.

3. Where will you get the money for a holiday? You've lost your job. It won't be easy to find
a new one. You are not a young man.
(i) Who is the speaker? Where is the speaker going?
(i) Who has lost his job and what is not easy for him?
(ii) What is the tone of the speaker here?

Ans. (i)  Mrs. Hill is the speaker. The speaker is going on a holiday to her sister's house.
(ii) Mr. Hill has lost his job. It is not easy for him to get a job in this age.
(iii) The tone of the speaker is ironical as earlier she tried to convince him that Annie
would not get job in this age.

4. No, of course not, sir, I’m very happy here.

(i)  Who is the speaker here? What does she not want?
(ii) Why does Mr. Hill think that she would leave him?
(iii) What trait of character of the speaker do you notice here?

Ans. i) The speaker is Annie, Hill's old cook. She does not want to leave Hill's house.
(ii) Mr. Hill thinks that she would leave him as he had lost his job and his wife also had
left him in such crisis.

(iii) The speaker is devoted to her master. She is faithful. She does not want to leave
them in time or crisis.

1. Answer the following questions:

Q1. Do you think 'adversities make a man perfect ‘? Comment on the basis of the play ‘A
Bad Dream’.
Ans.  In favourable circumstances a person remains arrogant and always thinks himself or
herself superior and wise enough. He or she does not feel ashamed of hurting others
but when the same person meets with adversities of life his or her eyes open and he/
she realises his/her mistake of underestimating others and misbehaving with others.
The adversities give him/her a lesson and the person becomes a perfect person.