His First Flight Summary Questions Answers
“His First Flight” is a beautiful short story written by Liam O’Flaherty that narrates the first flight of a young seagull. The story leaves a valuable message that inspires us to do something new overcoming the fear and hesitation. To get Summary Analysis click on the Play button in the video section below.
His First Flight Summary:
Liam O’ Flaherty’s short story “His First Flight” tells us the joy of effort to achieve success through a young seagull who initially tensed and could not believe hid wings to provide enough support for flying. He felt panicky that he might fall down from the ledge into the vast sea. While his brothers and sister learned the art of flying and they were even busy with fishing with their parents. The young seagull was possessed with a sense of fear and kept himself in his little hole. He even preferred suffering from starvation to try his wings and join others of the family member.
The young seagull tried to gain attention from others for food. It was his mother who made plan to keep him starvation that might help him to attempt to fly. So his mother picked a fish in her beak and flew towards him. The young seagull was overjoyed with the sight of food. But his mother stopped at a very close from him that encouraged the young seagull to dive for the food desperately from the ledge.
Immediately after the dive from the ledge, the young seagull began to fall downwards. A sense of terror seized him for a moment. But after that he spontaneously started using his wings. He was soaring gradually downwards and outwards. He screamed with joy to which everyone of his family joined flapping their wings.
Sometime after, everyone landed on the sea. The young seagull set his foot that sank into the water. When his belly touched the water, he sank no more. He had learnt art of flying and fishing successfully.
Central Idea of the story His First Flight:
“His First Flight” is a well-read short story written by Liam O’Flaherty. The story narrates how a young seagull flies for the first time overcoming his fear. The young seagull in the story stands for general hesitation or panic that individual has to face before doing anything new in life. The plan of mother of young seagull to leave the young one alone without food implies to the harsh situation in life that often makes one desperate to undertake drastic action.
The story, therefore, highlights why we need to get over nervousness or fear to achieve anything significant. Newer and unfamiliar situations always put challenges before us in life. It is the lack of confidence which may create hinder to overcome them.
However, a situation comes when we are driven to undergo risk and often come out victorious. The story “His First Flight”, therefore, must be a great lesson for the reader through its thrilling narrative technique.
His First Flight Questions Answers:
1. Why was the young seagull alone on his ledge ?
Ans: The young seagull was alone on his ledge because his parents, two brothers and his sister had flown away the day before. As he had been afraid to fly he left alone.
2. Why was the seagull afraid when he ran forward to the brink of the ledge ?
Ans: The seagull was afraid to see the vast expanse of the sea stretched miles down beneath. He thought that his wings might not support him and he would fall.
3. Why did not the young seagull join his parents ?
Ans: The young seagull did not join his parents because he was afraid that his wings would not support him to fly and he might fall on the vast sea.
4. What were the seagull’s two brothers and sister doing on the plateau ?
Ans: The seagull’s two brothers and sister were lying on the plateau and they were dozing with their heads sunk into their wings.
5. What was the first catch of the seagull’s older brother ?
Ans: The first catch of the seagull’s older brother was a herring.
6. Why did the seagull feel the heat ?
Ans: The young seagull even preferred starvation to fly away from the ledge. The seagull did not eat anything from the previous evening and so it fell the heat.
7. Why couldn’t the seagull reach to his parents ?
Ans: The young seagull was afraid to fly. The ledge where he stayed on each side of him ended in a sheer fall. So it was impossible for him to reach to his parents without flying.
8. Why did the parents of the young seagull circle around his elder brother proudly ?
Ans: After being taught how to dive to catch fish, his elder brother caught his first herring. So his parents circled around the elder brother of the young seagull.
9. Why was the young seagull trying to find some means of reaching his parents ?
Ans: The young seagull was hungry enough as he had not eaten anything since the previous nightfall. He knew he would get food from his parents and so he was trying to find some means of reaching his parents.
10. Why did the young seagull pretend to be falling asleep standing on the brink of the ledge ?
Ans: The young seagull wanted to draw the attention of his parents in this way so that they might bring some food. For this reason the young seagull did so.
11. Why did the young seagull trot back and forth ?
Ans: The young seagull trotted back and forth as he was trying to figure out a way to reach his parents without flying.
12. Who was looking at tge seagull and from where ?
Ans: Standing on a little high hump on the plateau, only the seagull’s mother was looking at him while she was eating a fish.
13. What sight maddened the young seagull and why ?
Ans: The young seagull felt very hungry and saw his mother was eating a piece of fish standing on the little high hump on the plateau. The sight of food, therefore, maddened the young seagull.
14. Why did did the young seagull utter a joyful scream at his mother ?
Ans: The young seagull found that his mother had picked up a piece of fish and was flying towards him. The seagull was starving. So he uttered a joyful scream thinking of having food from his mother.
15. Why was the seagull surprised ?
Ans: The young seagull was eagerly waiting for his mother who was coming towards him with a piece of fish in her beak. But she stopped coming closer. This unexpected behaviour of his mother surprised him.
16. When did the young seagull dive at the fish ?
Ans: The piece of fish in his mother’s beak was almost within the reach of the young seagull and his mother halted without reaching him. Just then being surprised, he waited a moment and dived at the fish.
17. What happened to the seagull when he dived for the fish ?
Ans: When the seagull dived for the fish, he fell downwards into open space. At first he screamed loudly. At that time he was possessed with terror and his heart stood still.
18. What made the seagull overcome with fear ?
Ans: The young seagull felt no longer afraid when he realised that he was not falling headlong. His wings were providing him enough support to fly. He was soaring gradually downwards and outwards. This made him no longer afraid.
19. What did the seagull see while soaring upwards ?
Ans: While soaring upwards, the seagull saw his mother flying past him and then his brother flew over him. Then he saw his brothers and sister fly around him. All of them were screaming.
20. How did the seagull float on water ?
Ans: When the seagull set his feet on water, his belly touched the water and he could float without sinking further.
21. What happened when the young seagull landed on the green sea floor ?
Ans: When the young seagull landed on the green sea floor, his family members screamed in praise of him.
22. What is the message given by the story His First Flight?
Ans: Through this story, the author probably aims at leaving a message – the need to overcome fear or hesitation for achieving something of significance. The young seagull in the story stands for general hesitation or panic that an individual has to face before doing anything new.
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