CBSE Class 10 English The Proposal Assignment

The Proposal

INTRODUCTION—
‘The Proposal’ (originally titled ‘A Marriage Proposal) is a one-act play, a farce by Anton Chekhov. The play highlights the tendency of wealthy families seeking ties with other wealthy families to increase their estates by encouraging marriages that make good economic sense.

SUMMARY—
This play is about how wealthy families seek to tie up with one another through marriages in order to increase their property and wealth. Lomov is a rich bachelor who wishes to marry Natalya, the daughter of Chubukov who himself is a rich man. The play deals with how all the three characters are very quarrelsome. They quarrel over trivial issues and call each other names. Lomov is not really in love with Natalya, but wants to marry her as he feels she is a good house-keeper, beautiful and well educated. He feels that it is the time he should settle down. Natalya, who doesn’t know he has come to propose to her, feels that he has come to claim oxen meadows as his own. This results in a quarrel with her father Chubukov joining in. After much mud-slinging, when Natalya comes to know that he has come to propose her, she becomes willing to marry him. The proposal is made and accepted, with the knowledge that quarrels will take place in life, and important things should not be side-lined because of this.

Extract Based Questions 

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

1. “Please don’t shout! You can shout yourself hoarse in your own house but here I must ask you to restrain yourself!” 

Question. What is the dispute over ?
(i) land
(ii) property
(iii) oxen meadows
(iv) wasteland
Answer.(iii) Oxen meadows

Question. Who is the speaker ?
(i) Natalya
(ii) Ivan
(iii) Stephan
(iv) Stranger
Answer.(i) Natalya

Question. Find a word from the passage which means the same as ‘under control’ ?
(i) hoarse
(ii) restrain
(iii) impudent
(iv) calmly
Answer.(ii) restrain

Question. Ivan Lomov has come for the ____________ proposal.
(i) marriage
(ii) business
(iii) partnership
(iv) None of them
Answer.(i) marriage

2. These meadows aren’t worth much to me. They only come to five dessiatins, and are worth perhaps 300 roubles, but I can’t stand unfairness. Say what you will, I can’t stand unfairness. 

Question. How much are the meadows worth approximately ?
(i) 500 roubles
(ii) 200 roubles
(iii) 300 roubles
(iv) 400 roubles
Answer.(iii) 300 roubles

Question. What was the measurement of the meadows ?
(i) 5 acres
(ii) 5 square metres
(iii) 5 square feet
(iv) 5 dessiatins
Answer.(iv) 5 dessiatins

Question. Find a word in the extract that means ‘not based on what is just or fair’.
(i) unfairness
(ii) faily
(iii) fairness
(iv) fairway
Answer.(i) unfairness

Question. Natalya’s family had the land for nearly ____________ years.
(i) two hundred
(ii) three hundred
(iii) four hundred
(iv) hundred
Answer.(ii) three hundred

3. I’m off my balance with joy, absolutely off my balance ! Oh, with all my soul..... I’ll go and call Natalya, and all that. 

Question. What is the name of Stephan’s daughter ?
(i) Natasha
(ii) Natalya
(iii) Jenny
(iv) Betty
Answer.(ii) Natalya

Question. Which word in the passage refers to ‘happiness’ ?
(i) excited
(ii) joy
(iii) restrain
(iv) glad
Answer. (ii) Joy

Question. Who has bought the proposal ?
(i) His neighbour
(ii) His friend
(iii) His business
(iv) His relative
Answer. (i) His neighbour

Question. Was Stephan happy to receive Lomov’s proposal of marrying his daughter Natalya ?
(i) No
(ii) little happy
(iii) Yes
(iv) Not at all
Answer.(iii) Yes

4. There’s nothing to argue about. You see my aunt’s grandmother gave the free use of these Meadows in perpetuity to the peasants of your father’s grandfather, in return for which they were to make bricks for her.

Question. Lomov’s aunt’s grandmother gave her Meadows free in returns of __________ made by peasants.
(i) pots
(ii) furniture
(iii) bricks
(iv) utensils
Answer.(iii) bricks

Question. What was the name of the meadow in the chapter ?
(i) cow meadow
(ii) sheep meadow
(iii) goat meadow
(iv) oxen meadow
Answer.(iv) oxen meadow

Question. The meadows were given free by Lomov’s
(i) aunt’s grandfather
(ii) aunt’s grandmother
(iii) aunt’s daughter
(iv) aunt’s brother
Answer.(ii) aunt’s grandmother

Question. Find a word from the passage which means same as ‘the state of lasting for long period / forever’.
(i) perpetuity
(ii) persuasive
(iii) pervasive
(iv) pertain
Answer.(i) perpetuity

Short Answer Type Questions  

Question. Who is Lomov and why does he visit Chubukov ? 
Answer. Lomov is a rich landowner. He is neighbour of chubukov. He is a thirty-five year old rich bachelor who wanted to marry Natalya (Chubukov’s daughter). So he came very well dressed in evening, dressed in a jacket and white gloves, to ask for Natalya’s hand.

Question. What is the ailment that Lomov is suffering from ? 
Answer. Lomov is hypochondriac and nervous. He thinks he is cold, he has a roaring in his ears, he complains of a weak heart, insomnia, strange aches and palpitation. He also suffers from numbness of limbs. He gets nervous very often. His heart collapses twice. He considers himself weak and helpless, needs sympathy.

Long Answer Type Questions  

Question. Among neighbours we should have cordial relations and not lose our temper. How do Natalya and Lomov lose their temper on trivial issues? 
Answer.  Lomov and Natalya were next-door neighbours. One day, Lomov came to Natalya to propose her. Natalya, who didn’t know that he had come to propose her, thought that he had come to claim Oxen Meadows as his own. When Chubukov, Natalya’s father, interfered with them and also pleaded that the Oxen Meadows were the properties of Chubukov, the fight aggravated. For a few moments, Lomov’s real purpose was overshadowed by that issue and he continued the bias that meadows belonged to his aunt’s grandmother who gave them to the peasants of Chubukov’s grandfather on the condition that they would prepare bricks for her. So how it would be considered as Natalya’s property.
Though both Lomov and Chubukov, Natalya’s father, were very rich landlords, they quarrelled over a tiny piece of land, called, ‘Oxen Meadows’. But that was not the end of quarrel. Natalya didn’t agree with Lomov’s explanation. Instead, she offered to make a present of it to Lomov who, in turn, rejected the suggestion. And the quarrel continued endlessly. Such first meeting of Lomov and Natalya had in itself seeds of things (quarrels over petty issues) to be expected in their married life.

Question. Justify the title ‘The Proposal’.
Answer.The title of the play ‘The Proposal’ is very appropriate. A young man, Lomov wants to propose Natalya for marriage. He goes to her house for the same. Being confused, he doesn’t propose at once. He beats about the bush. He speaks irrelevantly. As Natalya doesn’t know that he has come to propose her, she thinks that he has come to Claim Oxen meadows as his own, she starts quarrelling. This results in one after another quarrel. After her father Chubukov reconciles; Natalya comes to know that he has come to propose her. Then at once she forgets the issue of fighting. Then the proposal is made and accepted. Finally, they get engaged. The major theme that revolves is the cold approach of marriage in the nineteenth century in Russia which was very common. Also such an approach was common in wealthy families like Lomov and Natalya. They both are money driven and wanted to get married desperately for their economic security.