The Accidental Tourist

Question 1: Bill Bryson says, “I am, in short, easily confused.” What examples has he given to justify this?

Answer: Bill Bryson cannot do a simple day to day activity without creating a mess. He often forgets the way to lavatory. He finds it difficult to remember his hotel room number. He can forget almost everything which is required to carry out our routine activity. Most of us never ponder how effortlessly we carry out our routine activity. It is all wired up in our brains. But some people, like Bill Bryson find it difficult and almost impossible.

Question 2: What happens when the zip on his carry-on bag gives way?

Answer: His fingers get hurt by the zip. He is bleeding profusely. All belongings in his bag are flying across the floor of the waiting hall of the airport. He seems to be making a mockery of himself and of civilized way of behaving at a particular place.

Question 3: Why is his finger bleeding? What is his wife’s reaction?

Answer: His finger is hurt by getting stuck in the zip of his bag. His wife is astonished by the way he has created a mess all around himself.

Question 4: How does Bill Bryson end up in a “crash position” in the aircraft?

Answer: Bill Bryson leans down to tie his shoelaces. In the meantime the person on the seat ahead of him pushes back his seat. As a result he gets stuck in the kneel down position. Certain people have this strange affinity of always getting stuck in an awkward position.

Question 5: Why are his teeth and gums navy blue?

Answer: While pondering over his writing he was chewing on his pen. He was so careless that he did not notice the ink getting into his mouth. It took longer for him to impress the lady sitting next to him. For ink also it was enough time to show the bizarre effect in his mouth.

Question 6: Bill Bryson “ached to be suave”. Is he successful in his mission? List his ‘unsuave’ ways.

Answer: Certain unwritten rules dictate the way we should behave in public places. For example you should know proper manners while at dining table. It is considered uncivilized if you burp publicly. You should not make chomping noise while eating. The list is endless.

Bill Bryson always met with some sort of accidents while following these rules. He would always make chicken pieces fly after his fork’s stroke. If he would open the lid of some edible chances are he would splatter it all over his clothes.

Question 7: Why do you think Bill Bryson’s wife says to the children, “Take the lids off the food for Daddy”?

Answer: His wife knew his knack of creating misery for himself. As a precautionary measure she asked her children to do normal chores for their father.

Question 8: What is the significance of the title?

Answer: The main character here is prone to create small mishaps. Especially during tour this can lead to discomfort of fellow passengers. Think for a while, you are sitting on a window seat in the train enjoying the beautiful scenery outside. Then somebody sitting on the upper birth spills his favourite curry and spoils your new shirt and your mood too. Those sort of persons are better at their homes. The way he creates accidents justifies the title, “The Accidental Tourist”.

A House is Not a Home

Page No:54

1. What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is his mother’s reaction? What does she do?

Ans: One Sunday afternoon, the author noticed a strange smell. Then he saw smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling and filling the room very quickly. They could barely see anything. By the time they ran out into the front yard, the roof was already  engulfed in flames and was spreading very quickly.
His mother ran back into the house. She had brought out a small metal box full of important documents. She wanted to bring out important things from the house one by one. She was in a ‘crazed state’.

2. Why does he break down in tears after the fire?

Ans: After the fire, he broke down into tears because it suddenly struck him that he was suffering a big loss. He realized that his cat could not be seen anywhere. Then, everything hit him at once − the new school, the fire, and his cat. That was when he broke down and cried.

3. Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his fear and insecurity?

Ans: The author is deeply embarrassed the next day in school because when the fire broke out, he was still wearing the dress he had worn to church that morning but he had no shoes as he had lost them in the fire. So he had to borrow some tennis shoes from his aunt. He was totally embarrassed by everything. The clothes he was wearing looked weird, he had no books or homework, and his backpack was gone.

Words used in the lesson that show his fear and insecurity are “…outcast and geek…” , “…like a zombie.”, “…wanted to curl up and die.” , “Everything felt surreal”, “All the security…had all been ripped away”.

4. The cat and the author are very fond of each other. How has  this been shown in the story? Where was the cat after the fire? Who brings it back and how?

Ans: The author had great affection towards his cat. He cried inconsolably when he couldn’t  find his cat after the fire. He would regularly go to the site of his house in the hope of finding the cat. He remembered how the cat would crawl into his pocket and fall asleep and missed her terribly.
The cat  was so  freaked by the fire and ran a mile away from the house. One woman found her and took her in. She located the author’s number on the cat’s collar. However, she  couldn’t reach them as the phone had been disconnected because of the fire. The woman then made personal efforts to find the author and returned back the cat.

Page No: 56
5. What actions of the schoolmates change the author’s understanding of life and people, and comfort him emotionally? How does his loneliness vanish and how does he start participating in life?

Ans: The schoolmates showed genuine concern for the author in spite of not knowing him well. They helped him by collecting supplies, books and clothes for him. People whom he had never spoken to before started coming to him and befriending him. They also called him to their houses. The author made new friends. He was overwhelmed  by their love and cooperation. He realized that his new school and new people around him were good. He stopped focusing on his feeling of fear and insecurity and became confident that everything will be alright.

The Last Leaf

PageNo: 48 Think About It

1. What is Johnsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine or the willingness to live?

Ans: Johnsy was suffering from pneumonia. Only the willingness to live could cure her. She had made up her mind that she was not going to get well. The doctor said that if she did not want to live, then medicines would not help her.

2. Do you think the feeling of depression Johnsy has is common among teenagers?

Ans: Yes, I think the feeling of depression Johnsy is very common among teenagers. Because of the present lifestyle, teenagers are under constant pressure to outperform in every field. They are burdened with studies and the anxiety of future. They are also subjected to a lot of parental and peer pressure. Along with all this, they are also expected to behave in a certain manner as believed appropriate by the society. Most of the times, they are unable to bear so much of stress and end up being depressed.

3. Behrman has a dream. What is it? Does it come true?

Ans: Behrman was a sixty year old painter. His lifelong dream was to paint a masterpiece. It does come true when he paints a leaf such that it looks extremely natural. He painted the last leaf left on a creeper.

4. What is Behrman’s masterpiece? What makes Sue say so?

Ans: Berhman’s masterpiece was the last leaf on the ivy creeper. Sue calls it masterpiece because this painting rekindled the willingness to survive in Johnsy’s heart and she was able to recover from her illness. Johnsy thought that she would die when the last leaf fell from the ivy creeper. But Berhman spent an entire night in a heavy storm to paint a fresh green leaf. Berhman suffered from pneumonia because of getting drenched while painting and eventually died. However, on seeing that leaf Johnsy thought it was real and got a feeling of self-belief. She realized she could get well if she wanted to and came out of her illness.