The Artist Summary, Explanation and Question Answers Class 12 Chapter 6

by Meenu Saini | Nov 19, 2022 | General | 0 comments

The Artist

BSEB Class 12 English Chapter 6 The Artist Summary, Explanation, Question Answers from Rainbow Book

The Artist Class 12 English – The Artist BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow Book Chapter 6 The Artist Summary and detailed explanation of the story along with meanings of difficult words. Also, the summary is followed by an explanation of the lesson. All the exercises and Question Answers given at the back of the lesson have also been solved.

BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow book Chapter 6 – The Artist

By Shiga Naoya

The Artist Introduction
The Artist Summary
Video Explanation of The Artist
The Artist Lesson Explanation
The Artist Question Answers

The Artist Introduction

SHIGA NAOYA (1883-1971) is a celebrated Japanese short story writer of the twentieth century. He wrote very sensitively about his people and their culture. ‘The Artist’ unfurls before us the world of a talented Japanese boy, Seibei. It shows how the adult world often causes damage to such talents.

The Artist Summary

The Artist Summary – Seibei’s fondness of collecting gourds and treating them was no secret from his parents. One day when he was wandering around the beach, entirely involved in thinking about his favorite thing of all time, he caught sight of something interesting – he saw a bald man with a long head running out of a hut near the beach which he thought to be a gourd. Seibei was really impressed with the sight of this gourd. It was only when the old man went out of his sight while moving his long and sharp head that Seibei realized that it was not a gourd but an old man. He laughed at this confusion on his entire way home. His eyes would stay glued to the window whenever he passed by any store that had gourds. He was twelve years old and went to primary school. Unlike other kids his age, he did not play after school. Instead, he would go on a hunt for gourds around the town and would purchase them and treat them carefully in the evening. He would pour in a small amount of sake, close it with a cork stopper that he created himself and then he would cover it in a towel. He would then place it in a tin especially kept for gourds and this whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer. After doing all this, he would finally go to bed.

Upon waking up the next morning, the first thing he would do is to check the tin and thoroughly inspect the gourd. After the treatment it got for the night, the gourd’s skin would become slightly moist and Seibei would look at it fondly as if it were a treasure. Before going to the school, he would tie a string in its middle and hang it in the sun to dry. He lived in a harbor town which was not very big but he knew every inch of the town because he used to wander around looking for gourds. A friend of Seibei’s father who had come to call him commented on Sebei’s choice of gourds by saying that he seems to be fond of the regular-looking ones. The dad’s friend explained to Seibei that there was no point in collecting the usual looking ones and he must look for the unique ones even if it means collecting only one or two. Seibei replied by saying that he prefers the usual ones more and dropped the conversation. Seibei’s father asked his friend if he recalls the Bakin gourd which was there last spring at the agricultural show and remarks it as a ‘real beauty’. Seibei overheard the conversation and he laughed within because the Bakin gourd got really famous at that time and he had no idea what Bakin was but when he went to see it, he found it to be a ‘stupid-looking’ object which he did not like and left the exhibition. Seibei commented out loud that he did not like it that much and it was just a weirdly shaped thing. Upon hearing Seibei’s remarks, his father’s eyes shouted at Seibei and asked him to shut up when he was not even sure what he was actually talking about. Seibei obeyed and stopped talking. Once while roaming at an unknown back-street, Seibei came across an old woman who sold fruits along with gourds; one of the gourds made Seibei’s heart beat faster and after buying it, he never let that gourd away from him. He even took it to school and was caught polishing his gourd in the ethics class that made the teacher very angry. The ethics teacher had come from a different part of Japan. He felt so angry and upset on seeing that children here had such feminine hobbies like collecting gourds. He told Seibei that he does not have a bright future as he took away the gourd which Seibei spent hours working on. The teacher even went to his house to visit his father who was not home yet from the carpenter shop where he worked. This did not stop the teacher from lashing out, hence, he began attacking his words to Seibei’s mother. He told her that it was completely their responsibility that such a thing happened. Filled with great shame, his mother spoke out apologies in a slow voice. During this time, Seibei tried making himself go unnoticed in the corner. When his teacher left, his mother started scolding him and his father came back home from work. Upon knowing what had happened, he started beating Seibei and he smashed all of his gourds’ collection one by one with his hammer. The next day, the teacher gave the gourd to an old porter, who after two months, decided to trade it for some petty cash as he faced more money challenges than usual. Hence, he went to a curio-shop who, to his surprise, valued it at 5 yen. The old porter was very clever and he negotiated the price till he got himself a total of 50 yen; an amount equivalent to his annual income. The porter was clever, but not clever enough because the curio-dealer later sold it to a wealthy collector for 600 yen. Not a single word was spoken about it to Seibei or the teacher by the porter about his trade and the gourd’s value. Seibei now engaged himself in painting pictures. He does not hold any bitter feeling towards his teacher or his father who destroyed all the gourds he treasured. However, his father has begun cursing him for painting pictures as well.

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Related – BSEB Class 12 English Lesson Explanation, Summary, Question Answers

Video Explanation of The Artist

The Artist Lesson and Explanation

Passage:

Seibei’s parents knew that he often went out to buy himself gourds. He got them for a few sen and soon had a sizeable collection. When he came home, he would first bore a neat hole in the top of the gourd and extract the seeds. Next he applied tea-leaves to get rid of the unpleasant gourd smell. He then fetched the sake which he had saved up from the dregs in his father’s cup and carefully polished the surface.

Word Meaning:
Gourds- large fleshy fruits of a trailing plant
Sen- Japanese currency
Sizeable- fairly large
Bore- make (a hole) in something with a tool or by digging
Unpleasant- unlikeable
Fetched- go for and then bring back something
Sake- a Japanese drink made from rice
Dregs- the last few drops left in a glass

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei’s parents were aware about their son’s fondness of gourds and that he usually went out to buy them for himself. He used to buy them using their Japanese currency (Sen) and by doing this, he soon made a collection of gourds. After buying a new gourd, he would dig a hole on its top and take the seeds out. After this, he would rub tea leaves over it to remove its bad smell. This was followed by rubbing the surface of the gourd using the sake he collected from the last few drops that used to be left in his father’s cup.

Passage:

Seibei was passionately interested in gourds. One day as he was strolling along the beach, absorbed in his favourite subject, he was startled by an unusual sight: he caught a glimpse of the bald, elongated head of an old man hurrying out of one of the huts by the beach. ‘What a splendid gourd!’ thought Seibei. The old man disappeared from sight, wagging his bald pine pate. Only then did Seibei realize his mistake and he stood there laughing loudly to himself. He laughed all the way home.

Word Meaning:
Passionately- keenly, fervently
Strolling- walk in a leisurely way
Startled- feeling or showing sudden shock or alarm
Unusual- remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others
Glimpse- a momentary or partial view
Elongated- long in relation to width, especially unusually so
Splendid- magnificent; very impressive
Wagging- move or cause to move rapidly to and fro
Pine- (here) long and sharp
Pate- head

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei was extremely fond of gourds. One day when he was wandering around the beach, entirely involved in thinking about his favorite thing of all time, he caught sight of something interesting – he saw a bald man with a long head running out of a hut near the beach. He thought the bald head to be a gourd. Seibei was really impressed with the sight of this gourd. It was only when the old man went out of his sight while moving his long and sharp head that Seibei realized that it was not a gourd but an old man. He laughed at this confusion on his entire way home.

Passage:

Whenever he passed a grocery, a curio-shop, a confectioner’s or in fact any place that sold gourds, he stood for minutes on end, his eyes glued to the window appraising the precious fruit.

Word Meaning:
Curio-shop- a souvenir shop that sells curios (strange or interesting collectible object) and other novelty items Confectioner’s sweet seller’s
Appraising- assessing, reviewing

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon passing by a grocery, curio, confectionery shop or basically any place that sold gourds, it would catch the attention of Seibei for at least a few minutes. His eyes would stay stuck to the window as he would assess the valuable fruit

Passage:

Seibei was twelve years old and still at primary school. After class, instead of playing with the other children, he usually wandered about the town looking for gourds. Then in the evening he would sit cross-legged in the corner of the living- room working on his newly acquired fruit. When he had finished treating it, he poured in a little sake, inserted a cork stopper which he had fashioned himself, wrapped it in a towel, put this in a tin especially kept for the purpose and finally placed the whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer. Then he went to bed.

Word Meaning: Fashioned- make into a particular form

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei was a twelve year old boy who went to primary school. After his school hours, he did not play with other children of his age but would instead walk around the town in search of gourds. After this, during the evening time, he would get himself a place in the corner of the living room where he would sit cross-legged and work on his newly bought fruit. He would treat it carefully, pour in a small amount of sake, close it with a cork stopper that he created himself and then he would cover it in a towel. He would then place it in a tin especially kept for gourds and this whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer. After doing all this, he would finally go to bed.

Passage:

As soon as he woke the next morning, he would open the tin and examine the gourd. The skin would be thoroughly damp from the overnight treatment. Seibei would gaze adoringly at his treasure before tying a string round the middle and hanging it in the sun to dry. Then he set out for school.

Word Meaning:
Damp- slightly wet
Overnight- for the duration of a night
Adoringly- in a way that shows you love someone very much
Set out for- to begin a journey

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon waking up the next morning, the first thing he would do was to check the tin and thoroughly inspect the gourd. After the treatment it got for the night, the gourd’s skin would become slightly moist and Seibei would look at it fondly as if it were a treasure. Before going to the school, he would tie a string in its middle and hang it in the sun to dry.

Passage:

Seibei lived in a harbour town. Although it was officially a city, one could walk from one end to the other in a matter of twenty minutes. Seibei was always wandering about the streets and had soon come to know every place that sold gourds and to recognise almost every gourd on the market.
He did not care much about the old, gnarled, peculiarly-formed gourds usually favoured by collectors. The type that appealed to Seibei was even and symmetrical.

Word Meaning:
Harbour- an area next to water coast
Gnarled- twisted or wrinkled
Peculiarly- odd, strange and unique
Favoured- preferred or recommended
Appealed- the power to attract, please, stimulate or interest
Symmetrical- well-shaped

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei resided in a harbour town which was formally known as a city but one could easily walk from one corner of the city to another in just twenty minutes. Seibei often roamed around the town which is why he became familiar with every gourd seller and each gourd being sold in the market. He was not impressed by old, wrinkled and uniquely shaped gourds that were preferred by collectors but was fond of the ones that were evenly shaped.

Passage:

‘That youngster of yours only seems to like the ordinary-looking ones,’ said a friend of his father, who had come to call. He pointed at the boy, who was sitting in the corner busily polishing a plain, round gourd.
‘Fancy a lad spending his time playing around like that with gourds!’ said his father giving Seibei a disgusted look.

Word Meaning:
Lad- a boy or young man
Disgusted- shocked, stunned

Explanation of the Above Passage – A friend of Seibei’s father who had come to call him commented on Sebei’s choice of gourds by saying that he seemed to be fond of the regular-looking ones. During this conversation, Seibei was sitting at his usual place at the corner carefully making the edges of the gourd smooth. His father sarcastically made the remark that he liked the idea of his son playing with gourds all the time as he gave him a disapproving look.

Passage:

‘See here, Seibei my lad,’ said the friend, ‘there’s no use just collecting lots of those things. It’s not the quantity that counts, you know. What you want to do is to find one or two really unusual ones.’
‘I prefer this kind,’ said Seibei and let the matter drop.

Explanation of the Above Passage – The dad’s friend explained to Seibei that there was no point in collecting the usual looking ones because quantity does not matter; it iss the quality that counts and he must look for the unique ones even if it means collecting only one or two. Seibei replied by saying that he prefered the usual ones more and dropped the conversation.

Passage:

Seibei’s father and his friend started talking about gourds.
‘Remember that Bakin gourd they had at the agricultural show last spring?’ said his father. ‘It was a real beauty, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, I remember. That big, long one …’
As Seibei listened to their conversation, he was laughing inwardly. The Bakin gourd had made quite a stir at the time, but when he had gone to see it (having no idea, of course, who Bakin might be) he had found it rather a stupid-looking object and had walked out of the show.
‘I didn’t think so much of it,’ interrupted Seibei, ‘It’s just a clumsy great thing.’

Word Meaning:
Inwardly- within the mind
Stir- a feeling of excitement
Clumsy- awkward

Explanation of the Above Passage – After conversing with Seibei, the father and his friend began discussing gourds. Seibei’s father asked his friend if he recalls the Bakin gourd which was there last spring at the agricultural show and remarks it as a ‘real beauty’. His friend replied that he still remembers how big and long that one was. Seibei overheard the conversation and he laughed within because the Bakin gourd got really famous at that time and he had no idea what Bakin was but when he went to see it, he found it to be a ‘stupid-looking’ object which made him left the show. Seibei commented out loud that he did not like it that much and it was just a weirdly shaped thing.

Passage:

His father opened his eyes wide in surprise and anger.
‘What’s that?’ he shouted. ‘When you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’d better shut up!’

Seibei did not say another word.

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon hearing Seibei’s remarks, his father’s eyes widened in shock and anger. He shouted at Seibei and asked him to shut up when he was not even sure what he was actually talking about. Seibei obeyed and stopped talking.

Passage:

One day when he was walking along an unfamiliar back-street, he came upon an old woman with a fruit-stall. She was selling dried persimmons and oranges; on the shutters of the house behind the stall, she had hung a large cluster of gourds.

Word Meaning:
Back-street- a street apart from the main or business area of town
persimmons (n): yellow fruits, date plum

Explanation of the Above Passage – When Seibei was roaming around an unknown back-street one day, he found an old woman’s fruit-stall where she sold dried persimmons and oranges. She even had gourds that she had hung in a bunch on the shutter of the house behind the stall.

Passage:

‘Can I have a look?’ said Seibei and immediately ran behind the stall and began examining the gourds. Suddenly he caught sight of one which was about five inches long and at first sight looked quite commonplace. Something about it made Seibei’s heart beat faster.
‘How much is this one?’ he asked, panting out the words.
‘Well,’ said the old woman, ‘since you’re just a lad, I’ll let you have it for ten sen.’
‘In that case,’ said Seibei urgently, ‘please hold it for me, won’t you?’ I’ll be right back with the money.’
He dashed home and in no time at all was back at the stall. He bought the gourd and took it home.
From that time on, he was never separated from his new gourd. He even took it along to school and used to polish it under his desk in class-time. It was not long before he was caught at this by one of the teachers, who was particularly incensed because it happened to take place in an ethics class.

Word Meaning:
Commonplace- not unusual, ordinary
Panting- breathing with short, quick breaths; out of breath
Dashed- run or move very quickly or hastily
Incensed- angry, infuriated
Ethics- the study of morality

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei asked the lady if he could have a look at the bunch and he quickly ran towards them behind the stall to look at them closely. His attention was caught by a five inch long gourd that at first appeared to be ordinary but there was something about it that made Seibei’s heart rate go up. As he went out of breath, he asked the lady about the gourd’s worth. The old lady told Seibei that he could buy it for ten sen and this price was only because he was just a small kid. Seibei asked her to keep the gord aside for him and not sell it to anyone else till he goes and grabs the money to buy it. He rushed back home and came back extremely fast. He bought the gourd and took it home. From this point onwards, he never let the gourd stay away from him and he even carried it with himself to school where he polished it under the desk during his classes. Soon enough, he got caught by one of the teachers who was more angry at him because he was going to an ethics class.

Passage:

The teacher came from another part of Japan and found it most offensive that children should indulge in such effeminate pastimes as collecting gourds. He never minded having his students sing Naniwabushi ballads, however raucously. Now, when he found Seibei silently polishing his gourd, his voice trembled with fury.

Word Meaning:
Offensive- causing someone to feel upset or angry
Effeminate- womanish
Pastimes- an activity that someone does regularly for enjoyment rather than work; a hobby
Naniwabushi- a sob story
Ballads- any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental or romantic character
Raucously- harshly, roughly
Trembled- (of a person, or part of the body or voice) shake involuntarily, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement or fear
Fury- extreme anger

Explanation of the Above Passage – The ethics teacher that caught Seibei had come from a different part of Japan. He felt so angry and upset on seeing that children here had such feminine hobbies like collecting gourds. He never had any issues with his students being fond of singing sentimental songs in a rough manner but when he saw Seibei polishing a gourd, his voice became shaky due to extreme anger.

Passage:

‘You’re an idiot!’ he shouted. ‘There’s absolutely no future for a boy like you.’ Then and there he confiscated the gourd on which Seibei had spent so many long hours of work. Seibei stared straight ahead and did not cry.

Word Meaning: Confiscated- took away, seized

Explanation of the Above Passage – The teacher shouted at Seibei and called him an idiot. He told him that he does not have a bright future as he took away the gourd which Seibei spent hours working on. Seibei stayed silent and kept looking ahead.

Passage:

When he got home, Seibei’s face was pale. Without a word, he put his feet on the warmer and sat looking blankly at the wall.
After a while, the teacher arrived. As Seibei’s father was not yet home from the carpenter’s shop where he worked, the teacher directed his attack on Seibei’s mother.
‘This sort of thing is the responsibility of the family,’ he said in a stern voice. ‘It is the duty of you parents to see that such things don’t happen’. In an agony of embarrassment, Seibei’s mother muttered some apology.
Meanwhile, Seibei was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible in the corner. Terrified, he glanced up at his vindictive teacher and at the wall directly behind, where a whole row of fully prepared gourds was hanging. What, would happen if the teacher caught sight of them?

Word Meaning:
Pale- used to describe a person’s face or skin if it has less color probably due to illness or fear
Stern- very serious; not smiling
Agony- great pain or suffering
Muttered- top speak in a low, quiet voice that is often difficult to hear
Inconspicuous- not easily noticed, ordinary
Terrified- very afraid
Vindictive- determined to punish

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon reaching home, Seibei had a pale face and put his feet on the warmer as he sat staring at the wall and did not say a single word. After some time, the teacher came to visit his father who was not home yet from the carpenter shop where he worked. This did not stop the teacher from lashing out, hence, he began attacking his words to Seibei’s mother. He told her that it was completely their responsibility that such a thing happened. Filled with great shame, his mother spoke out apologies in a slow voice. During this time, Seibei tried making himself go unnoticed in the corner. He was very afraid and when he looked up at his unforgiving teacher and the wall behind him, he saw a row of completely prepared gourds hanging. He wondered what the consequences would be if his teacher noticed them.

Passage:

Trembling inside, he waited for the worst, but at length the man exhausted his rhetoric and stamped angrily out of the house. Seibei heaved a sigh of relief.

Word Meaning:
Rhetoric- forceful speech
Stamped- to put your foot down very heavily and noisily
a sigh- to let out a deep breath

Explanation of the Above Passage – Shaking inside, Seibei was waiting for the extreme worst to happen but his teacher finished his speech and went outside the house angrily. This gave Seibei a relief as he let out a deep breath.

Passage:

Seibei’s mother was sobbing softly. In a querulous whine, she began to scold him, and in the midst of this, Seibei’s father returned from his shop. As soon as he heard what had happened, he grabbed his son by the collar and gave him a sound beating. ‘You’re no good!’ he bawled at him. ‘You’ll never get anywhere in the world, the way you’re carrying on. I’ve a good mind to throw you out into the street where you belong!’ The gourds on the wall caught his attention. Without a word, he fetched his hammer and systematically smashed them to pieces, one after the other. Seibei turned pale but said nothing.

Word Meaning:
Querulous- complaining in a rather whining manner
Whine- moan
Grabbed- took hold of, seized
Bawled- cried, roared

Explanation of the Above Passage – His mother was crying slowly and silently when she suddenly started scolding him in a complaining manner. While she was scolding him, Seibei’s father came home from work and upon hearing what happened, he held his son from the collar and hit him. He swore at him by saying he was good for nothing and would go nowhere in life if he continued his behavior. He threatened to leave him at the street where he belongs. While he was at it, his attention was caught by the row of gourds on the wall. He did not say anything more but he got his hammer and violently destroyed the gourds one by one. Seibei’s complexion went pale but he did not say a word.

Passage:

The next day the teacher gave Seibei’s confiscated gourd to an old porter who worked in the school. ‘Here, take this,’ he said, as if handing over some unclean object. The porter took the gourd home with him and hung it on the wall of his small, sooty room.

Word Meaning:
Confiscated- to take something away from someone as a punishment
Porter- attendant
Sooty- covered with or coloured like soot (black powder that comes from burning things and collects in chimneys)

Explanation of the Above Passage – The following day, Seibei’s teacher gave the gourd that he took away from Seibei to an old-aged porter who worked in their school. He handed it over to the porter as if it was something dirty. He took it home and hung it on the wall of his tiny, sooty room.

Passage:

About two months later, the porter, finding himself even more hard-pressed for money than usual, decided to take the gourd to a local curio-shop to see if he could get a few coppers for it. The curio-dealer examined the gourd carefully, then assuming an uninterested tone handed it back to the porter, saying, ‘I might give you five yen for it.’

Word Meaning:
Hard-pressed- having a lot of difficulties, especially too much work and too little money
Coppers- brown coins of low value made of copper
Yen- units of currency in Japan

Explanation of the Above Passage – Two months after this incident, the porter faced some cash crunch and decided to sell the gourd. He took the gourd to the local curio-shop to see how little money he could get for it. Upon examining the gourd closely, the curio-dealer handed it back to the porter and acting in an uninterested manner, he said he could manage to give five yen in exchange for it.

Passage:

The porter was astounded, but being quite an astute old man, replied coolly, ‘I certainly wouldn’t part with it for that.’ The dealer immediately raised his offer to ten yen, but the porter was still adamant.

Word Meaning:
Astounded- amazed
Astute- clever, smart
Adamant- unyielding, resolute

Explanation of the Above Passage – The porter was shocked upon hearing it but since he was a clever old man, he very calmly replied that he would not trade it for such a small amount. This made the curio-sealer instantly double his offer to ten yen but the old porter did not agree to sell even then.

Passage:

In the end the curio-dealer had to pay fifty yen for the gourd. The porter left the shop, delighted at his luck. It wasn’t often that the teachers gave one a free gift equivalent to a year’s wages! He was so clever as not to mention the matter to anyone, and neither Seibei nor the teacher ever heard what had happened to the gourd. Yes, the porter was clever, but he was not clever enough: little did he imagine that this same gourd would be passed on by the curio-dealer to a wealthy collector in the district for 600 yen.

Explanation of the Above Passage – The deal ended up earning the old porter a total of fifty yen in return for the gourd. He left the shop extremely pleased at his luck because it was rare to receive gifts worth a year’s salary from teachers. The old porter was smart enough to never talk about this deal. The teacher and Seibel also never asked about the gourd. Even though the old porter thought himself to be a cunning man, he was not clever enough because he could never even imagine that the gourd was sold by the curio dealer to a wealthy collector in exchange for a total of 600 yen.

Passage:

Seibei is now engrossed in his pictures. He no longer feels any bitterness either towards the teacher, or towards his father who smashed all his precious gourds to pieces.
Yet gradually his father has begun to scold him for painting pictures.

Word Meaning: Engrossed- absorbed, engaged

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei now engaged himself in pictures. He does not hold any bitter feeling towards his teacher or his father who destroyed all the gourds he treasured. However, his father has begun cursing him for painting pictures as well.

The Artist Question Answers

Exercises

B.1.1. Complete the following sentences on the basis of the story:

Seibei was passionately interested in ………………….
Seibei laughed all the way home because ……………..

iii. Seibei was………….old and at …………. school.

Seibei did not appreciate Baken gourd because ………………. .
Seibei was now ……………. in his picture .

Answer-

Seibei was passionately interested in collecting gourds.
Seibei laughed all the way home because he realized his mistake.

iii. Seibei was twelve years old and at primary school.

Seibei did not appreciate Baken gourd because it was not symmetrical.
Seibei was now engrossed in his picture .

B.1. 2. Answer the following questions briefly:

1) Where did Seibei live?
Answer-
Seibei lived in a harbour town. Although it was officially a city, one could walk from one end to the other in a matter of twenty minutes.

2) Which type of gourd did Seibei like?
Answer-
Seibei liked even and symmetrical gourds.

3) Why did the conversation of his father and his friend make Seibei laugh inwardly?
Answer-
The conversation between Seibei’s father and his friend revolved around a Baken gourd that got hyped up at the agricultural show last spring. It was a big and long gourd that his father called a ‘real beauty’. This made Seibei laugh inwardly because when he had gone to see it (having no idea, of course, who Bakin might be) he had found it rather a stupid-looking object and had walked out of the show.

4) Why did Seibei’s father shout at him?
Answer-
Seibei’s father and his friend were discussing this Baken gourd that created a stir at the agricultural show last spring and they were singing its praises, Seibei interrupted by saying that he thought of it to be a clumsy great thing and nothing special. This made his father angry who, in turn, shouted at him. He asked him to shut up and not speak when he does not know what he is talking about.

5) Why did Seibei wander about the town?
Answer-
Seibei was always wandering about the streets in order to become familiar with every place that sold gourds and to recognise almost every gourd on the market.

B.2.1. Complete the following sentences on the basis of the story:

The old woman asked ……….. for the gourd.
The teacher was particularly angry because …………..

iii. Seibei’s father worked at ………………

Seibei’s father fetched his hammer and …………….
The curio-dealer sold the confiscated gourd to ……………

Answer-

The old woman asked ten sen for the gourd.
The teacher was particularly angry because it happened to take place in an ethics class.

iii. Seibei’s father worked at the carpenter’s shop.

Seibei’s father fetched his hammer and systematically smashed them into pieces.
The curio-dealer sold the confiscated gourd to a wealthy collector.

B.2.2. Answer the following questions briefly:

1) What made Seibei’s heart beat faster?
Answer-
One day when Seibei was walking along an unfamiliar back-street, he came upon an old woman with a fruit-stall. She was selling dried persimmons and oranges; on the shutters of the house behind the stall, she had hung a large cluster of gourds.When he ran behind the stall and began examining the gourds, suddenly he caught sight of one which was about five inches long and at first sight looked quite commonplace. Something about it made Seibei’s heart beat faster.

2) Which is called effeminate pastime in the story?
Answer-
Collecting gourds has been referred to as an effeminate pastime in the story.

3) How did Seibei’s father react to the teacher’s complaint?
Answer-
When Seibei’s father came home from work and heard what happened, he held his son from the collar and started beating him. He swore at him by saying he is good for nothing and will go nowhere in life if he continues his behavior. He threatened to leave him at the street where he belongs. While he was at it, his attention was caught by the row of gourds on the wall. He did not say anything more but he got his hammer and smashed the gourds one by one.

4) How much did the curio-dealer pay for the confiscated gourd?
Answer-
The curio-dealer paid a sum-total of 50 yen for the confiscated gourd.

5) What did Seibei do after he was forced to give up collecting gourds?
Answer-
When Seibei was forced to give up his hobby of collecting gourds, he got himself into painting pictures.

C. 1. Long Answer Questions

Who was Seibei? What was his hobby?
Answer-
Seibei was a twelve year old boy who went to primary school. After his school hours, he did not play with other children of his age but would instead walk around the town in search of gourds. After this, during the evening time, he would get himself a place in the corner of the living room where he would sit cross-legged and work on his newly bought fruit. He would treat it carefully, pour in a small amount of sake, close it with a cork stopper that he created himself and then he would cover it in a towel. He would then place it in a tin especially kept for gourds and this whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer. After doing all this, he would finally go to bed. Upon waking up the next morning, the first thing he would do is to check the tin and thoroughly inspect the gourd.

Pick out instances from the story to show that Seibei was passionate towards gourd collection.
Answer-|
Seibei was a twelve year old boy who was extremely passionate towards collecting gourds. It has been made evident through various instances in the story. Whenever he passed a grocery, a curio-shop, a confectioner’s or in fact any place that sold gourds, he stood for minutes on end, his eyes glued to the window appraising the precious fruit. After his school hours, he did not play with other children of his age but would instead walk around the town in search of gourds. After this, during the evening time, he would get himself a place in the corner of the living room where he would sit cross-legged and work on his newly bought fruit. It was the last thing he would do before going to bed and first thing to examine upon waking up. He would also go wandering about the streets and had soon come to know every place that sold gourds and to recognise almost every gourd on the market. His heart started beating faster when he saw an extraordinary gourd and if this was not enough, he also took it to school where he polished it during the class.

Explain the views of Seibei’s father about him and his hobby.
Answer-
Seibei’s father did not appreciate his hobby of collecting gourds. Rather, it disgusted him. He thought that Seibei was good for nothing and would go nowhere in life if he continued to remain passionate about collecting gourds.

Why did Seibei’s teacher become angry with him? Was his anger justified?
Answer-
Seibei was caught polishing a gourd in the class which made the teacher angry because it was an ethics’ class. The ethics teacher that caught Seibei had come from a different part of Japan. He felt so angry and upset on seeing that children here had such feminine hobbies like collecting gourds. His anger was justified upto an extent because this type of behavior is not expected out of a student during the class. A student must pay attention in class and make the most out of it. However, the teacher also went far with his anger when he told Seibei that there is no future for boys like him. The situation could have been handled in a less discouraging manner.

Seibei’s teacher held his parents responsible for Seibei’s mistake. Do you agree with the teacher? Explain.
Answer-
According to Seibei’s teacher, his parents were solely responsible for Seibei’s mistake of not paying attention in his class and instead, polishing the gourd. No, I do not agree with the teacher because even though the parents were aware about their son’s fondness of gourds, they would have not known about the incident where he took it to class. A parent must not discourage their children and their hobbies unless they are harmful or unproductive. Seibei’s hobby on the other hand, proved to be extremely useful and unique when the curio-dealer sold his polished gourd for 600 yen.

Describe in your own words the attitude and reaction of the teacher to Seibei’s passion.
Answer-
Seibei was caught polishing his gourd in the ethics class that made the teacher very angry. The ethics teacher had come from a different part of Japan. He felt so angry and upset on seeing that children here had such feminine hobbies like collecting gourds. He never had any issues with his students being fond of singing sentimental songs in a rough manner but when he saw Seibei polishing a gourd, his voice became shaky due to all the anger and disappointment. The teacher shouted at Seibei and called him an idiot. He told him that he does not have a bright future as he took away the gourd which Seibei spent hours working on. Seibei stayed silent and kept looking ahead.The teacher even went to his house to visit his father who was not home yet from the carpenter shop where he worked. This did not stop the teacher from lashing out, hence, he began attacking his words to Seibei’s mother. He told her that it is completely their responsibility that such a thing happened. Filled with great shame, his mother spoke out apologies in a slow voice. During this time, Seibei tried making himself go unnoticed in the corner. He was very afraid and when he looked up at his unforgiving teacher and the wall behind him, he saw a row of completely prepared gourds hanging. He wondered what the consequences would be if his teacher noticed them.Shaking inside, Seibei was waiting for the extreme worst to happen but his teacher finished his speech and went outside the house angrily. This gave Seibei a relief as he let out a deep breath.

Why and how did Seibei change his hobby? Describe in your own words.
Answer-
After being caught in class for polishing a gourd, Seibei was made to give up his hobby of collecting gourds. He was first discouraged by his teacher who told him that there was no future for him if he followed his passion. The teacher even confiscated the gourd. When the teacher complained to Seibei’s mother about it, both his parents lashed out at him. His father started beating him and even went to the extent of smashing all his gourds’ collection one by one with his hammer.

Sketch the character of Seibei as an artist.
Answer-
Seibei’s character has been shown to be extremely passionate about his hobby. He treasures the gourds he collects. One can say from his dedication towards treating them carefully, that he is absolutely determined towards his passion. He treated his gourds before going to bed and would examine them as the first thing upon waking up. This shows how committed he is to his hobby. Instead of playing with children of his age, he would go about town looking for gourds. He never spoke up against his father or even his teacher, which shows that he is a good and well-mannered kid. He did not hold any grudges against his parents or ethics teacher even after they treated him so violently, which displays his respect towards his elders and establishes that he is obedient.

C. 3. COMPOSITION

Write a letter to your friend describing your favorite pastime.

Answer-

129, DLF Phase – 1

Gurgaon, Haryana – 1100XX

September 14, 2022

Dear Ray,

I hope you receive this letter in the best of your health. I am so excited to tell you about my hobby of dancing. Dancing has been my favorite pastime since quite a while now. With so much new content available on Youtube related to dance, I have learned a lot of new steps and developed so many different routines. I even performed at my cousin’s wedding party. Everyone loved my performance and I have also been asked to help choreograph by a relative. It is a paid gig. I can not wait to show my skills to you when we meet. I am sure you will love it.

Yours lovingly

Noor

Write a short essay in about 150 words on the ‘Role of teacher in the life of the student’.

Answer-

Teachers are builders of a better tomorrow. They shape the minds of children to prepare them for the challenges of the future. Being a teacher is something much more than only giving away knowledge and lectures. They inspire them to be a better version of themselves and achieve significant things in life. They teach them valuable life skills like communication, compassion, organization, and presentation. Teachers are the ones who motivate the students to do better in every domain. Through their guidance, the students know to differentiate between right and wrong. It has been rightly said,

“Teachers can change lives with the right mix of chalk and challenges”

D. WORD STUDY

D.1. Dictionary Use

Ex. 1. Correct the spelling of the following words:

embaras	glimpes	enterupt
symetrical	emidiatly	persinoms
favrite	intrest	confesner

Answer-

Embaras- embarrass	Glimpes- glimpse	Enterupt- interrupt
Symetrical- symmetrical	Emidiatly- immediately	Persinoms- persimmons
Favrite- favorite	Intrest- interest	Confesner- confectioners

Ex. 2. Look up a dictionary and write two synonyms of each of the following words:

passion	absorbed	startled
mistake	precious	clumsy

Answer-

Passion- devotion, fondness
Absorbed- soak up, engage
Startled- surprise, alarm
Mistake- fault, blunder
Precious- valuable, priceless
Clumsy- ungraceful, bulky

D.2. Word-formation

Read the following sentence carefully:

In an agony of embarrassment, Seibei’s mother muttered some apology.

Mark how embarrassment, a noun, is formed by adding ‘-ment’ to ’embarass’, a verb. Make nouns from the verbs given below by adding `-ment’ to them

amend	amuse	bewilder	improvel	invest
judge	rabble	punish	astonish	govern

Answer-

amend	amendment
amuse	amusement
bewilder	bewilderment
improvel	improvement
invest	investment
judge	judgment
rabble	rabblement
punish	punishment
astonish	astonishment
govern	government

D.3. Word-meaning

Ex 1. Find from the lesson words the meanings of which have been given in Column A. The last part of each word is given in Column B:

Column A	Column B
Japanese currency	.….….……n
Well shaped	…………cal
A yellow fruit	…………mon
Study of morality	….……….ics
Not easily noticed	. …………ous
absorbed	..………….ed

Answer-

Column A	Column B
Japanese currency	yen
Well shaped	symmetrical
A yellow fruit	persimmon
Study of morality	ethics
Not easily noticed	inconspicuous
absorbed	engrossed

D. 4. Phrases

Ex.1. Read the lesson carefully and find out the sentences in which the following phrases have been used. Use these phrases in sentences of your own:

get rid of	at all	instead of	look for
set out	part with	a sigh of

Answer-

Get rid of- It’s time to get rid of this old sweatshirt.

At all- I do not like the idea of camping at all.

Instead of- Instead of having tea, let’s have coffee today.

Look for- I have been looking for you everywhere.

Set out- We set out from New York on Friday for London.

Part with- I just could not part with my old car.

A sigh of- She heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that his dog is safe.

E. GRAMMAR

Ex.1. Read the following sentences, taken from the lesson, carefully:

a) Seibei’s parents knew…

b) He laughed all the way home.

These senteces can be made more emphatic by adding question tags to them:

a) Seibei’s parents knew, didn’t they?

b) He laughed all the way home, didn’t he?

Add question tags to the sentences given below:

I am right, ………………..?
Mamta is not wrong, ………………….?
You are sure, ………………..?
They were not well, ……………..?
Rimjhim has broken the glass, …………….?
They have played well, ……………?
Please do me a favour, ……………?
Don’t go there, ……………..?
Don’t make a noise, ………….?
Please shut the door, ………..?

Answer-

I am right, am I not?
Mamta is not wrong, is she?
You are sure, aren’t you?
They were not well, were they?
Rimjhim has broken the glass, hasn’t she?
They have played well, haven’t they?
Please do me a favour, won’t you?
Don’t go there, would you?
Don’t make a noise, will you?
Please shut the door, won’t you?

BSEB Class 12 English Lessons Explanation

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