Father’s Help Questions Answers
The story Father’s Help written by R. K Narayan is an edited excerpt from “Malgudi Days”. Father’s Help is the story about a young boy called Swaminathan who is unwilling to go to school on a particular Monday, but is forced by his father to attend school. As the story moves, it explores how, through the events that follow, Swaminathan’s original reservations about his teacher, Samuel, get transformed considerably.
R.K Narayan’s Father’s Help Questions Answers:
Father’s Help Questions Answers (Unit- I)
1) Who was Swami? What was his full name?
Ans: Swami was a young school going boy, the main character in the short story, “Father’s Help”.The full name of Swami was Swaminathan.
2) What is the source of the story “Father’s Help”?
Ans: The short story “Father’s Help” is an edited excerpt from R.K Narayan’s famous short story collection “Malgudi Days”.
3) What is the story “Father’s Help” about?
Ans: The short story, “Father’s Help” is about the thoughts and feelings of a young school going boy who was unwilling to go to school and took pranks.
4) What is the significance of the title of the story “Father’s Help”?
Ans: The title of the story is suggestive and ironical in the sense. The title of the story suggests that how the strictness of father helped Swami to change the perspective about his teacher.
5) What did Swami realize lying in bed?
Ans: Lying in bed, Swami realized that it was Monday morning and he had to attend school.
6) What hope cropped up in his mind then?
Ans: Swami hoped that he might avoid going to school then. Actually he was quite unwilling to attend school on that day.
7) What did Swami do to avoid school?
Ans: Being unwilling to go to school, Swami gave a lame excuse. He pretended that he had been suffering from a headache.
8) What did Swami’s mother say when she heard him wailing?
Ans: When Swami’s mother heard him wailing, she affectionately suggested him to stay at home.
9) What was the advice to Swami by his father to avoid headache?
Ans: When Swami’s father heard of Swami’s headache on Monday, he suggested Swami that Swami should loaf about less on Sundays to be without headache on Mondays.
10) Where should have been Swami at 9.30? What was he doing then?
Ans: At 9.30, Swami should have been in the school prayer hall. But Swami was lying on the bench in the mother’s room then.
11) Why did Swami change his tactics?
Ans: Swami knew that his father was very strict person. So his excuse of suffering from headache would not be sufficient enough to convince his father. So he changed his tactics.
12) What tactics did Swami take to convince his father?
Ans: To convince his father, Swami changed his tactics and told him that he could not go to school now as he was late. His teacher Samuel felt angry with the late comers.
13) Why did not Swami like to go to school in Samuel’s class?
Ans: According to Swami, Samuel was an angry man. He was specially angry with the students who came late in his class. To avoid of being scolded from Samuel as he was late, he did not want to attend school.
14) Why did not Swami tell the headmaster about Samuel?
Ans: Swami had made an exaggerated statement about Samuel that even the headmaster was afraid of Samuel. So it was worthless to complain to the headmaster against Samuel.
Father’s Help Questions Answers Unit -2
1) What did Swami hope?
Ans: Swami hoped that he would be able to convince his father with his excuse why he wanted to avoid school on that day.
2) What was the unexpected turn did Swami find in his father’s behaviour?
Ans: Swami found an unexpected change in his father’s behaviour. His father was stubborn in his attitude to send Swami to attend school along with a letter to the headmaster complaining against teacher, Samuel.
3) Who wrote the letter and about whom?
Ans: Swami’s father wrote the letter to the headmaster of Swami’s school about the teacher, Samuel.
4) How did Swami’s father hand over the letter to Swami?
Ans: After composing a long letter to the headmaster, Swami’s father put it in an envelope and sealed it before handing it over to Swami.
5) What instruction did Swami’s father give Swami after handing over the letter to him?
Ans: After handing over the letter to Swami, his father instructed him to deliver it to the headmaster before going to the class.
6) What did Swami’s father write in the letter?
Ans: Swami’s father composed a long letter complaining against Swami’s teacher, Samuel.
7) How did Swami feel when he received the letter from his father?
Ans: Swami felt little worried about the letter which was written in complaining against his teacher, Samuel. He felt worried as he felt that he overstated about Samuel.
8) How did Swami feel when he went to school?
Ans: Swami went to school feeling that he was the worst boy on the earth. This is nothing but the outcome of his guilt that was pricking his conscience.
9) Why did Swami’s conscience bother him?
Ans: Swami was suffering from a prick of conscience. This is nothing but the outcome of his guilt as he made overstated description about his teacher, Samuel.
10) Why did Swami stop on his way to school?
Ans: Swami was torn in conflict regarding his teacher, Samuel. So, he stopped on the roadside to make up his mind about Samuel.
11) How was Swami’s relation with his teacher Samuel?
Ans: Swami felt that Samuel was more friendly than the other teachers. He personally felt that Samuel had a special regard for him.
12) Why was Swami’s head dizzy with confusion?
Ans: Swami’s head was dizzy with confusion because Swami was unable to decide if Samuel really deserved the allegations made against him by Swami himself.
13) What filled Swaminathan with sorrow?
Ans: Swami was pricked with conscience of guilt about the description he made against Samuel. He felt the impact of his father’s letter on Samuel. So, more he thought of Samuel, the more Swami grieved for him.
14) Give a description on Samuel’s look?
Ans : Samuel had a dark face with a thin moustache. His cheek was unshaven. He wore a yellow coat.
15) Why did Swaminathan consider Samuel a good man?
Ans: Swaminathan considered Samuel as a good man because he is much more friendly than the other teachers. Besides, Sameer had a special regard for him.
Father’s Help Questions Answers Unit – 3
1) What idea occured to Swami as he entered the school gate?
Ans: As Swami entered the school gate, an idea came to his mind that he would deliver the letter to the headmaster at the end of the day.
2) Why did Swami decide to deliver the letter at the end of the day?
Ans: Swami thought that if he would deliver the letter to the headmaster at the end of the day, then there would be a chance that Samuel might do something during the course of the day to justify the letter.
3) What was the ‘chance’ that Swami expected from Samuel?
Ans: Swami was expecting a ‘chance’ that his teacher, Samuel might provide him by doing something wrong during the course of the day to justify the letter.
3) Where did Swami stand and what was Samuel doing then?
Ans: Swami stood at the entrance to his class and Samuel was teaching arithmetic then in the class.
4) What did Swami expect from his teacher Samuel?
Ans: Standing at the entrance to his class, Swami expected that his teacher Samuel would scold him severely for being late to his class.
5) What was an unexpected question from Samuel?
Ans: Swami informed his teacher Samuel that he was late for his school because he was suffering from headache. On hearing this Samuel asked him why he came late to school when he was suffering from headache. This was an unexpected question from Samuel.
6) How long was Swami late?
Ans: Swami was late for class by half an hour on that day.
7) What impressed Samuel?
Ans: Swami informed his teacher Samuel that he came to school with headache because his father did not like him to drop school. This reply from Swami impressed Samuel very much.
8) What kind of parents did Samuel like?
Ans: Samuel liked parents like Swami’s father who do not allow their children to miss school.
9) What was Samuel’s observation on Swami’s father?
Ans: Samuel observed that Swami’s father was like a sensible parent the kind one they wanted more.
10) When would Samuel got angry the most?
Ans: Samuel would get angry the most at the time of inspecting the home lessons.
11) Why did Swami consider Samuel ‘poor man’?
Ans: Swami had a letter with him in which his father made complain against him to the headmaster. Samuel was totally unaware of his ill-luck awaiting for him. Here Swami felt sympathetic for Samuel and considered him ‘poor man’.
12) What did Swami do when the bell rang for the last period at 4.30?
Ans: When the bell rang for the last period at 4.30, Swami picked up his books and ran to the headmaster’s room.
13) Why could not Swami deliver his father’s letter to his headmaster?
Ans: Swami could not deliver his father’s letter to the headmaster because his headmaster was on week’s leave.
14) What did Swami’s father do with the undelivered letter?
Ans: Swami’s father snatched the letter from Swami’s hand and finally tore the letter.
15) How did Samuel ,behave with Swami in the class?
Ans: Samuel felt for Swami when he learnt that he had a headache. He was kind and affectionate to Swami. He also praised Swami’s father as a sensible guardian.
16) How did Swami’s father help Swami?
Ans: Swami did not want to go to school late for fear of his angry teacher, Samuel. swami’s father wrote a letter and told Swami to hand it over to his headmaster so that he could avoid punishment. In this way he helped Swami.
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