The Storeyed House Part2

TS 10th Class English Guide Unit 5B The Storeyed House - II

L Answer the following Questions:

Question 1.
How did Kondiba oppose Bayajis idea of building a storeyed house? In what way did he warn Bayaji? How did Bayaji change his plan?

Answer: Kondiba Patil who was the owner of only storeyed in the village was a high-caste person. He could not tolerate the idea of the untouchable creature, Bayajis building a storeyed house. Kondiba warned him not to lose his head to aspire an equal status with the upper-caste people. He told Bayaji that the poofshould remain content with their cottage. He advised Bayaji to build a small house with three convenient portions, a veranda in the front and at the back and the living section in the middle. He opined that it was unnecessary spending money on a storeyed house. He finally warned Bayaji that he would be thrown out of the village if he went in for a storeyed house. Out of fear, Bayaji abandoned his plans for the storeyed house. He changed his plan and wanted to build the conventional three-portioned house

Question 2.
Kondiba Patil and his friends felt uneasy at the sight of Bayajis new house because .......?

1. Bayaji built the house beautifully
2. the house was not built properly
3. the rooms were unclean
4. they felt that Bayaji should not be in the village

Answer: Bayaji built the house beautifully

Question 3.
Patil gave back the customary betel leaves offered by Bayaji because?

1. they were bad
2. it was their custom
3. he felt that they were unnecessary
4. he did not want to accept them from an untouchable

Answer: he did not want to accept them from an untouchable

Question 4.
What was the intention of Kondiba and his companions, When they eyed each other?

Answer: The intention of Kondiba and his companions is to destroy or kill him immediately. It was revengeful and malicious. They decided to teach him a lesson by doing something harm to him. So they burnt the new house which resulted in the death of Bayaji

Question 5.
"And then the undreamt-of-incident took place." What was it? Who do you think responsible for it?

Answer: It was the Bayajis new house had suddenly flared up and caught fire from all sides. Kondiba Patil and his companions were responsible for it. No one would ever dream or hope any new house burn down to ashes before the house-warming ceremony was over. It was the undreamt-incident

Question 6.
Bayajis death was the result of an accident due to petromax flare-up/ was their conclusion. Do you accept it? If not, what do you think is the truth?

Answer: I dont accept the conclusion of the village officers and witnesses that Bayajis death was the result of an accident due to petromax flare-up. I think that Kondiba Patil and his companions are responsible for this incident. They felt jealous on seeing the impressive new house and the crowd of smiling faces. So they planned to burn the house

Question 7.
Comment on Bayajis last wish: Sons, I want you to build a storeyed house?

Answer: Bayajis last words are like a mantra suggestive of the rise of Dalit empowerment. Digging the foundation of a regular storeyed-house symbolises the Dalit digging into the foundation of the villain of the tragedy, the caste system?

Question 8.
Were starting on a house, not one with a concealed first floor but a regular two-storeyed house. What is the significance of this sentence?

Answer: The significance of this sentence is to start the work (fight) against the caste discrimination or social injustice. As their father (Bayaji) wanted them to build a storeyed house, the sons of Bayaji started the house, not one with a concealed first floor but a regular two¬storeyed house. This sentence revealed their courage to start another new house for the peace of their fathers soul. It signifies the determination of all the six sons to build a two-storeyed house. It also signifies the determination of all the downtrodden to over come all the difficulties in their way of achieving social and financial equality

Question 9.
"The Storeyed House is a powerful symbol of Dalit empowerment in India. Comment?

Answer: "The Storeyed House" is a powerful symbol of Dalit awakening in India. It contributes greatly to the dynamics of Dalit emancipation. This portrays not only the worst scene of the caste system, but a powerful enrichment of Dalits from nowhere, a view of hope prevailing within them. Here the cast-wicked society is depicted very well. Kondiba Patil and his companions felt uneasy at the sight of Bayajis brand new house, the impressive pandal and the crowd of smiling faces. They wanted to teach him a lesson. They could not bear the idea that an untouchable like Bayaji building a storeyed house. With jealousy, he set the new house on fire and burnt it along with Bayaji. Bayajis last words made his sons begin a new storeyed house. Digging the foundation of the new storeyed house, not a concealed one but a regular one, is a powerful symbol of the Dalit digging into the foundations of the villain of the tragedy, the caste system. It tells us that Dalits would go forward with great determination to get a right place in the society. The new¬found courage and confidence would help them to get rid of the problems faced by Dalits because of the caste system. Thus, this short story is a powerful symbol of Dalit empowerment in India

Question 10.
What, according to you, are the major social problems in India?

Answer: Some of the major social problems are the caste system, the gender discrimination, the racial discrimination, the religious differences, the corruption, the population growth, the dowry system, the unemployment problem, social and economical inequality, and communalism

Question 11.
What is the conflict in the story? Which is the turning point?

Answer: The conflict in the story is between the ambitious wicked upper class and righteous down trodden dalits. The caste discrimination is the conflict in the story. The turning point is to burning the house in flames and another turning point is to build a storeyed house. Finally Bayajis sons were starting the foundation work to build two-storeyed house

Question 12.
What is the point of view of the writer? Pick out evidence from the story in support of your answer?

Answer: The point of view of the writer is that Dalits should bravely face the ill-effects of caste system without losing self-respect and determination. He sends all the Dalits a message through the characters of Bayajis sons that they should not lose hope and look forward for a bright future. The last scene in the story is the best evidence in support of the writers point of view. The last scene : All of a sudden the undreamt of incident happened. Bayajis new house had caught fire and flared up. His enemy had taken revenge on him. He climbed up to save the pictures of great men on the wall. Suddenly the stairs crumbled down. Bayaji was trapped by flames all around and in no time, Bayaji fell down along with the upper storey. He was burnt all over. He was still wailing- "my house", "my house". He expressed his last wish that his sons should build a storeyed house and with those words his head collapsed. His old mother wept bitterly that both her husband and her son passed away without giving her a funeral. His wife was sobbing her heart out. The house was burning and Bayaji was in ashes instead of enjoying the comforts of a retired life. The guests who had come to celebrate the house-warming had the misfortune to attend the funeral of the host. The next morning the village officers reported that Bayajis death was caused by an accident due to a petromax flare-up. In the end we see the sons of Bayaji, instead of mourning, digging the foundation of a regular storeyed-house, not a concealed one. The final act of the sons symbolizes the Dalit digging the foundation of the villain of the tragedy, the caste system

Question 13.
The sons decided to build a storeyed house soon after the death of their father. What does this act of the sons signify?

Answer: Bayajis sons decided to build a storeyed house soon after the death of their father. This act of the sons signifies the Dalit digging the foundation of the villain of the tragedy, the caste system. It also signifies the self-respect and the determination of Dalits. It signifies the importance of Dalit empowerment

Question 14.
What according to you is the underlying theme of the story, The Storeyed House? Substantiate your view point with instances quoting from the story?

Answer: The underlying theme of the story The Storeyed House, is nothing but the age old Cast Discrimination which was prevailing in the Indian Society for a long time. It portrays the worst scene of the caste system, but a powerful enrichment of Dalits from nowhere, a view of hope prevailing within them

Vocabulary:

QuestionI.
Compound Adjectives A compound adjective is made by joining two or more than two adjectives before a noun. The meaning of the compound adjective may be different from the meanings of its components. Compound adjectives may have a hyphen (-) between them as in three- portioned house or house-warming ceremony?

1. Fill in the blanks below with the appropriate compound adjectives + noun from the box

Answer: Raghu was a thirty-five year old man. He was an open-minded person. He was a hard-working person. He was loved by all for his soft-spoken words. He built a two-storeyed house in his village. It was his life-time desire. On the day of the house-warming ceremony one of his friends presented him with a water-proof watch. He felt very happy and thanked him

QuestionII.
Phrasal Verbs: In class IX you have learnt that a phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverbial particle. Phrasal Verbs give us a single independent unit of meaning. Here are a few examples?

1. Give out (to come to an end; to be completely used up) After a month their food supplies gave out
2. Set aside (to save something for future needs) She set aside money for her future needs. There are two types of phrasal verbs
3. Inseparable phrasal verbs: Inseparable phrasal verbs as in sentence (a), the lexical part of the verb cannot be separated from the preposition that accompanies it. For example: She takes after her mother
4. Separable phrasal verbs: The object may come after the lexical part of the verb or it may come after the phrasal verb. For example
5. He brought his son up. (or) He brought up his son
6. She filled up her form. (or) She filled her form up
7. He burnt him up

Answer:

1. Guess the meaning of the following phrasal verbs and then check them with the help of dictionary. Rewrite the sentences that followed using the phrasal verbs

2. The farmer threatened to make his dogs set on us
3. I went to the air-port to see off my uncle
4. We had to hang around near the office until it was opened
5. I dropped off by the end of the film off
6. New schools are beginning to spring up now
7. We decided to wind up the work by 5 p.m
8. His shoes have become very thin. They are worn out
9. She dashed off the meeting quickly to pick up her daughter
10. The wedding is put off to the next month
11. The bus knocked down him and he fell down on the road