CBSE Class 12 English Vistas Assignment

CBSE Class 12 English Vistas Assignment. Based on CBSE and CCE guidelines. The students should read these basic concepts to gain perfection which will help him to get more marks in CBSE examination.

1. THE THIRD LEVEL

Charlie : 31 year old, office goer, claims visiting the third level
❑ Description of the Third level
– Small room, few ticket windows and train gates, wooden and old looking information booth.
– Men had beards, side burns, fancy moustaches
– Women wore skirts, high buttoned shoes and leg of muttons sleeves.
– A man looking at a pocket watch
– Old style locomotive with funnel shaped stack
– Open gaslights being used
– Brass spittoons on floor
– Wants to visit his home town, Galesburg
– Past is quiet and peaceful
– Tries to buy two tickets to Galesburg (one ticket for his wife Louisa)
– Clerk grows suspicious as Charlie doesn’t have old style currency.
– Back to present day world
❑ People’s reaction to Charlie’s experience
– Presidents of NY rail roads swear on the existence of two levels.
– Psychiatrist friend Sam refuses to believe
– Interprets it as an escape from insecurity fear, war and worry of the modern world.
– Louisa too disbelieves Charlie
❑ Charlie’s determination to find the Third Level
– Withdraws money, buys old currency worth 300 dollars.
– Fails to find the Third Level
– Louisa and Psychiatrist worried.
❑ Unexpected Ending
– Sam disappears
– Charlie finds a first day cover, never seen before
– Note from Sam dated 18th July 1894 from Galesburg
– Sam asks Charlie and Loulsa to come to Gelesburg and enjoy quiet and peaceful life.
– Charlie discovers Sam had bought old currency worth 800 dollars.
– Enough to help him start hay and grain business in 1894 at Galesburg.

2. THE TIGER KING

❑ Maharaja’s Childhood and Prophecy
– Jung Bahadur born, astrologers predict death due to a tiger
– Royal upbringing, everything had an English stamp-nanny, food, milk, tutor and entertainment
❑ Maharaja’s vow to kill tigers
– vowed to kill 100 tigers
– faced risks in tiger hunting
– heavy fine if anybody except the king hunted tigers
– risked his throne by not allowing British officer to hunt tigers.
❑ Obstacles in fulfilling his Vow
– Tiger population depleted
– Married a princess whose state had large tiger population
– killed ninety nine tigers, hundredth tiger refused to show up
– Feels frustrated at his inability to kill the 100th tiger.
– Officers lose jobs, revenue of a village increased as punishment for not finding a tiger.
❑ The Resourceful Diwan
– Arranged old tiger from Madras
– King shoots the tiger, misses the shot, tiger faints, taken for dead.
– Afraid to reveal this fact to the king
– 100th tiger actually killed by a hunter.
❑ Ironical Ending
– Having killed 100 tigers king becomes complacent and careless
– Buys wooden tiger on son’s birthday
– Wooden sliver pierces King’s right hand
– Infection spreads, operated by best surgeons, doesn’t survive.
Irony – King killed ninety nine tigers but death comes due to a toy tiger.

3. JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE EARTH

❑ Antarctica’s Past
– 650 million years ago part of Gondwana, a giant southern subcontinent existed
– higher temperatures
– huge landmass separated into countries
❑ Antarctica Today
– No human population
– No trees, bill boards, buildings
– Blue whales and icebergs as big as countries
– Silence everywhere
❑ Human Impact
– Man has disturbed balance in nature
– Dominated nature with villages, towns, cities megacities
– Burning of fossil fuels leads to increase in global temperature.
– Climate Change
– Activities of phytoplankton will be affected
– Marine birds and animals will be affected.
❑ Students on Ice Programme
– Aims at providing students educational opportunities to foster new understanding and respect for our planet.
– Hope for the Future
– Students can make a significant contribution in saving the earth

4. THE ENEMY

❑ Character Sketch of Sadao
– Dedicated surgeon and doctor, has fellow feeling and kindness for people in distress
– Conflict between duty as a doctor and duty as a Japanese
– prejudiced against the white man, afraid of being called a traitor
– Shelters the enemy and saves his life.
– Out of loyalty to his country, informs the General
– helps the white man escape
❑ Character Sketch of Hana
– Balanced woman, stands with her husband
– Responsible - washes prisoner, treats him respectfully
– Dignified and graceful about servants leaving the house
– helped Sadao in the operation
– administers anesthesia to the prisoner
❑ American Soldier – Tom
– Hardly 17, taken prisoner
– Escaped, but shot at the back
– suffered torture and hunger
– Wounded, bleeding was in great pain, lay unconscious
– Strong will-power
– Full of gratitude towards Dr. Sadao
❑ The General
– Selfish, thinks of only his treatment
– had faith in Sadao’s skill as a doctor
– Promises to send private assassins to get rid of the prisoner
– Careless – forgot to send assassins

❑ Reaction of Servants
– Don’t agree with the idea of helping an enemy
– Yumi refused to wash the white man
– Gardener felt Sadao should have let the soldier die
– Thought sea and gods would take revenge if Sadao saved the soldier
– felt Sadao was proud of his skill and used it irresponsibly
– left the house till the time the prisoner stayed there.
❑ How Sadao helped the soldier escape
– Put food and extra clothing in the boat.
– Directed him to row to an uninhabited island
– Asked him to wait for a Korean fishing boat
– Told him to catch fish but eat it raw
– Gave him his flash light
– Told him to flash the torch twice if food ran out and one flash if he was allright
– Gave him Japanese clothes and covered his hair with a black cloth.

5. SHOULD WIZARD HIT MOMMY

❑ Jack’s Story Telling
– Began two years ago
– to tell stories in the evening for the Sunday naps
– Story telling very tiresome
– no longer takes everything as true
– growing up and questions everything.
❑ The Story
– a basic story line and a few characters
– the main character – a small creature
– usually named Roger
– when in trouble Roger goes to wise owl
– owl sends him to the wizard
– wizard finally solves the problem

❑ Roger Skunk’s Story
– smelled very bad
– no one wants to play with him
– teased and called stinky skunk
– meets the owl and tells his story
– owl asks him to meet the wizard
– the wizard asks for 7 pennies
– he had 4 and took 3 from magic wall
– changed his smell like roses
– Friends were happy and want to play with
– But his mother didn’t like his smell
– became angry and took him back to wizard
– ordered to change back to his original smell
– once again smelled very bad
❑ Jo’s Opinion About the Ending
– not likes the end of the story
– wants to see her character happy
– not wants to smell bad once again
– not likes mommy’s interference
– wants her dad to change the ending
– wants dad to make the wizard hit her
– not convinced at her father’s saying that his mother loved him as he smelled like her baby
– Jo wants his mommy to understand how his friends used to tease him and not to play with.

6. ON THE FACE OF IT

❑ Mr. Lamb Welcomes Derry
– in his garden in spite of jumping over the wall
– tries to make him comfortable
– tells him to pick crab apples
– talks to him, without considering his disability
– Derry thinks, pretending not to be afraid of his burnt face
– tells usually people afraid of his face
– Mr. Lamb asks but doesn’t probe
– tells Derry that he has a tin leg
❑ Mr. Lamb’s advice to Derry
– tells that in Nature shapes differ but quality is the same – no difference among the plants whether they are weeds, flowers and others all grow
– inside is important than outside
– accept yourself, not to fear others’ comments.
– calling Lamey-Lamb not bother him
– not to keep thinking of these things
– life offers many more things
– isolation not good
– inspires to look at thing positively
❑ Derry’s reaction to Mr. Lamb’s advice
– initially, very suspicious of Mr. Lamb
– never had anybody to talk to and understand
– not believe that he does not find him ugly
– later, fascinated by Mr. Lamb’s talk
– motivated and drawn towards him
❑ Mr. Lamb
– an old man with a tin leg
– lives alone, lonely
– found ways to overcome his loneliness
– keeps his gate open
– never curtains his windows
– imagines kids and people walking all over
– spends time listening to the bees
– has a positive approach to life
❑ Derry’s Transformation
– had bitter experience in the world
– tells Mr. Lamb about sarcastic comments about his looks
– Even his mother kisses on the other side of face
– not trust people and ignore their comments about his face
– sad that he will have only half a face
– Mr. Lamb’s meeting changes his outlook towards life
– talks to Mr. Lamb about his likes, dislikes and fears
– wants to be loved and appreciated
– wants to break free from the stigma of being disabled
– his going back to Mr. Lamb’s garden shows his changing personality.

7. EVANS TRIES AN O-LELVEL

❑ Evans tries an O-Level
– James Roderick Evans – a prisoner
– earlier escaped thrice from the prison
– therefore titled ‘Evans the Break’
– started night classes in O-Level German
– Govt. arranged to examine Evans for O-Level in his prison cell
– On the exam day he was given time to smarten up
– Unshaven and having a filthy looking hat
– refused to remove the cap that’s lucky
❑ Examination Arrangements
– removal of razors and nail scissors
– set tables opposite each other and placed two hard chairs in the cell
– deputed Stephens on D-Wing and newly recruited to visit Evans’ prison
– invigilator Mc Leery left his house at 8:45 am as the exam was to begin at 9:15 am.
– Mc Lerry came, having a brown suitcase, semi-inflated rubber ring, needed for haemorrhoids?
❑ The Exam Begins
– asked Evans to write index No., centre No, 313 and 271
– at 9:40 a.m. Mc Leery asked for correction slip
– Evans hardly understood anything, kept his pen between lips and staring towards the door
– at 10:15 Evans requested for a blanket
– The exam got over at 11:20
– Hearing the Governor’s order at 11:22 a.m. accompanied McLeery to the prison gate
– Stephens obeyed the orders
– On the way asked Mcleery about Evans
– McLeery’s answer made him feel, his broader scots accent, to be slimmer due to long black overcoat.
❑ Evans Escapes
– After seeing McLeery off, wanted to go for coffee, must take one last look at Evans
– he saw McLeery sprawled in Evan’s chair slipping the blanket and blood dripping through the beard.
– instead of calling ambulance McLeery low moaned and asked for police to call
– he knew where Evans was
– opened the German Q. Paper and found a photocopied sheet carefully and cleverly super imposed over the last page of Q. Paper
– instructions and the plan written in German as Make your way to Neugraben
– Governor was furious, not made any call to see off McLeery at the prison gate
– Governor wanted to know about the false beared, spectacles and other things
– Later the Governor was puzzled Mcleery was not in the hospital
– The ambulance sent to Elsfield to pick, Mc Leery but just vanished
– after a quarter and half an hour they found McLeery bound and gagged
– Now they understood it was not Evans impersonating as McLeery who had walked out but it was Evans, impersonating Mc Leery who stayed in
❑ Final Escape
– reached his hotel at Golden Lion
– very happy for his successful plan
– able to hide his closely cropped hair due to lucky hat
– as he reached the reception, found the receptionist not the same girl
– collected the keys, asked for early morning call at 6.45 am.
– as entered the room, shocked to see the Governor sitting on the narrow bed
– finally spoke that was the correction slip which he left behind, given the clue about
– Index No. 313, Centre No. 271 the six figures 313271 got him there
– Governor wanted to know where the blood came from, answered that was pig’s blood in ring
– told about his German friend, helped him
– winked at receptionist and get back
– hand cuffed and clambered into the back seat of prison van, As he turned right, unlocked hand cuffs and asked to drive fast
– on the driver’s query, suggested Newbury
– prison officer was Evans’ own man and the Governor was fooled once again.

8. MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD

❑ Zitkala SA
– bitter cold first day in the land of apples
– discriminated against native American
– her appearance, moccasined feet and blanket
– Jude told her about the cutting of hair
– tried to hide, dragged, tied to a chair and long hair was cut off
– suffer tremendous trauma and losing her spirit
– unskilled captured warriors, mourners and cowards had short hair in her culture
– the cruelty makes her feel like a beast
– craves for comfort but nobody offered
2. We Too Are Human Beings
❑ Bama
– innocent childhood, used to walk back home from school, covered 10 min. of walk to ½ or 1 hour
– watched all the fun games such as street play, puppet show, a snake charmer, performing monkey
– experienced untouchability very early in life
– one day saw an elder by person carrying food packet with the help of strings
– her brother told the low caste of that man and that they belonged to a low caste
– got inspiration to fight back through hard work and studies
❑ Zitkala SA
– bitter cold first day in the land of apples
– discriminated against native American
– her appearance, moccasined feet and blanket
– Jude told her about the cutting of hair
– tried to hide, dragged, tied to a chair and long hair was cut off
– suffer tremendous trauma and losing her spirit
– unskilled captured warriors, mourners and cowards had short hair in
her culture
– the cruelty makes her feel like a beast
– craves for comfort but nobody offered
2. We Too Are Human Beings
❑ Bama
– innocent childhood, used to walk back home from school, covered 10 min. of walk to ½ or 1 hour
– watched all the fun games such as street play, puppet show, a snake charmer, performing monkey
– experienced untouchability very early in life
– one day saw an elder by person carrying food packet with the help of strings
– her brother told the low caste of that man and that they belonged to a low caste
– got inspiration to fight back through hard work and studies
– auto biographical accounts deal with women of marginalized communities
– Both narrate prejudices and humiliation faced from mainstream culture
– Both are brave who use their talent, education to stand up for this own and community rights
– Both use the power of pen to fight oppression