Class 10 English Chapter 1: A Hero

Comprehension I: A Hero

Question 1.
Swami’s father drew his attention to a report in the newspaper. What was the report about?

Answer:
Swami’s father drew his attention to a report in the newspaper which referred to the bravery of a village boy who had fought with a tiger in self-defence.

Question 2.
The report said that the boy (who fought with the tiger) stayed on the tree for half a day. Why did he do so? (Choose the right answer)
a) He wanted to watch the tiger from the top of a tree.
b) He wanted someone to kill the tiger.
c) He wanted to take a rest for some time.
Answer:
(b) He wanted someone to kill the tiger.

Question 3.
Swami said that a very strong and grown-up person might have fought ‘ with the tiger. Do you think he made this remark out of his (a) experience, (b) wisdom, (c) belief?

Answer:
Swami made this remark out of his belief. He is too small to have either the experience or wisdom. However, he has certain ideas about the strength of grown-ups.

Question 4.
“Can you prove you have courage?” Swami’s father said. Answer the following questions:
(a) Was he joking or serious?
(b) Was it a challenge or a command?
Answer:
a) He was not joking, he was serious about this and questioned his son.
b) At first, it was a challenge. Later it turned into a command.

Question 5.
The place where Swami usually slept was ________ (Fill in the blank)
Answer:
beside his granny in the passage.

Question 6.
What is disgraceful, according to Swami’s father?
OR
What habit of sleeping was disgraceful, according to Swami’s father?

Answer:
Swami was in the second form. Hence, according to Swami’s father, it was disgraceful for Swami to sleep next to his granny or mother like a baby.

Comprehension II: A Hero

Question 1.
What do you think was the practice of granny before she went to bed?

Answer:
It was the practice of granny to narrate stories. Her question to Swami whether he didn’t want to hear a story makes this point clear to us.

Question 2.
Was Swami really sleeping? Or, was he pretending?
Answer:
He was pretending because he thought his father wouldn’t wake him up and ask him to sleep in the office room.

Question 3.
To Swami, his father looked like a _________(Fill in the blank)
Answer:
apparition.

Question 4.
Why do you think Swami looked at his granny and his mother while following his father to the room?
Answer:
Swami thought his granny or his mother would save and help him from his father.

Question 5.
“There might be scorpions behind your law books”, said Swami. What made him say so?
OR
“There might be scorpions behind your law books”, said Swami.
a) Had he seen them earlier? Or, were there scorpions really?
b) Was it a trick to escape from his father?

Answer:
a) No, he hadn’t seen them behind, really there were no scorpions.
b) Most probably it was a trick to escape from his father’s command.

Comprehension III: A Hero

Question 1.
Swami wished that the tiger hadn’t spared the boy, which means (Choose the right answer)
a) he didn’t want the boy to be alive
b) he didn’t want the tiger to be alive.
Answer:
a. he didn’t want the boy to be alive.

Question 2.
As silence deepened in the room, what was Swami reminded of?
Answer:
Swami was reminded of all the stories of devils and ghosts he had heard in his life before.

Question 3.
Which place in the room did Swami think was safe, compact, and reassuring?
Answer:
Swami felt that the place under the bench was safe, compact, and reassuring.

Question 4.
Swami touched the room instead of Granny. (Fill in the blank appropriately)
Answer:
the wooden leg of the bench.

Question 5.
Swami saw a moving creature in the room. It was ____
a) his shadow
b) a scorpion
c) a man.
Answer:
(c) a man.

Comprehension IV: A Hero

Question 1.
Who cried, “Aiyo! Something has bitten me”?
Answer:
The burglar.

Question 2.
Who did father, cook and a servant stumble upon?
Answer:
The burglar.

Question 3.
Why were congratulations showered on Swami?
Answer:
Swami was instrumental in a notorious burglar of the district being caught. He managed the feat by biting into the flesh of the house-breaker.

Question 4.
Do you think Swami really wanted to join the police? If not, what did he want to be?
Answer:
No, he desired to be an engine driver, a railway guard, or a bus conductor.

Question 5.
Did Swami muster up the courage to sleep alone after the burglar incident?
Answer:
No, and his father gave up on him.

Question 6.
Who supported Swami – his mother or his granny?
Answer:
He had the support of his mother.

Comprehension in 400 to 500 Sentences:  A Hero

Question 1.
A report about a boy in the newspaper was an unexpected event in Swami’s life. Justify.

Answer:
Swami was an ordinary boy, he didn’t know what the things published in the newspaper. While reading the newspaper his father called him and said the bravery of the lad who faced the tiger. So it was really an unexpected event for Swami.

Question 2.
Swami made a comment on the newspaper report. Was he right? How did his view differ from that of his father?

Answer:
Swami is of the opinion that if the boy could fight a tiger, then he should be a strong, grown-up person. However, his father contradicts him by saying that if a man has courage, he will automatically become strong. Swami is not entirely wrong because fighting a tiger without weapons wouldn’t be easy even for a grown-up man.

Moreover, in the case of the boy, the question of courage doesn’t arise as he had no choice but to fight the tiger, after coming face-to-face with the tiger. He somehow climbs the tree and waits for someone to come and rescue him. So Swami is not wrong in thinking that a small boy wouldn’t have been able to fight a tiger.

Question 3.
What desperate attempts did Swami make to escape from his father?
OR
What excuses did Swami give to avoid what his father wanted him to do?
OR
How did Swami react when his father challenged him to sleep alone in the office room?

Answer:
First of all, he tried to change the subject so he said loudly and with great enthusiasm about the cricket club & captain. But the father interrupted at once. Then he said from next month onwards he could sleep alone. Father didn’t accept. Swami went quietly and secretly to his bed, and covered the blanket completely.

He pretended asleep until his father came and insisted on sleeping in the office room. Swami gave many excuses that the office room was dusty, the scorpions may live there, the room was dark etc., But all these attempts failed before his father.

Question 4.
Why did Swami conclude that his father’s proposition was frightful?

Answer:
Swami concluded that his father’s proposition was frightful because his father expected him to not only sleep alone but also sleep in the office room instead of the hall. Swami’s complaint that there could be scorpions is waved aside by his father who suggests that Swami sleeps on the bench.

Moreover, his request to keep a lamp burning in the room is turned down by his father. The only request of Swami that was honoured by his father was to keep the door open. This too was agreed upon by the father after a strict warning to Swami that he shouldn’t try to go to his granny’s side.

Question 5.
As the night advanced, Swami felt that something terrible would happen to him. What would it be? How would it happen?

Answer:
Swami remembered all the stories he had heard about ghosts and devils. He recollected his chum Mani seeing a devil in the banyan tree at his street end. Swami also remembered the references to Munisami’s father spitting out blood after being slapped by a devil on his way home. He was faint with fear. Every moment he expected the devils to come up to carry him away.

Question 6.
There was absolute silence in the room. In spite of this, some noises reached Swami’s ears. What were they?

Answer:
Though there was absolute silence in the room. Swami heard the ticking of the clock, a rustle of trees, snoring sounds, night insects humming, etc.,

Question 7.
Narrate Swami’s experience when he was lying under the bench.
OR
Describe Swami’s experiences in his father’s office room.

Answer:
Swami thought that crouching under the bench was safe, compact, and reassuring. He shut his eyes tight and covered himself in his blanket. When he was asleep, he was disturbed by nightmares. In his dream a tiger was chasing him, he could hear the loud thud and scratching sound.

Swami tried to open his eyes but it would not open.
The nightmare CPC Honest Success Series continued and he groaned in despair.

Question 8.
How was Swami honoured by his classmates, teacher, and the headmaster?

Answer:
Swami’s classmates had a new respect for him. His teacher encouraged him by patting his back and the headmaster called him with admiration a true scout.

Question 9.
Why did the father want Swami to sleep alone in the office room?

Answer:
Swami’s father wanted him to behave like a grown-up by sleeping alone. He wanted to break Swami’s habit of sleeping next to his granny or mother. Swami’s father felt that Swami was not being brought up in the right manner. He felt that Swami had to be more courageous.

Question 10.
Who do you think was wiser, Swami or his father? Justify your preference.

Answer:
Though Swami emerged as a winner, it wasn’t because of his courage or wisdom. So we cannot consider him wise. All excuses made by Swami to avoid sleeping alone are waved away by his father who wants him to be courageous. Since his father succeeds at whatever he plans, perhaps we can take him as wiser.

Question 11.
Why did Swami feel relieved at the end?

Answer:
Swami felt greatly relieved to realise that his father had given up on him and wouldn’t compel him to sleep alone. This happens because of the intervention of his mother who, after the episode of the burglar, is bold enough to tell his father that he shouldn’t risk Swami’s life by making him sleep alone.

Letter Writing :

Suppose you are Swami of the story. Write a brief letter to your friend describing how you helped to catch a burglar in your house.

Dear Raman,
By now you must have heard from others about my encounter with a burglar. Everybody has been praising me for my bravery. I too have accepted all the compliments without revealing the truth. But since you are my close friend, I want you to know the truth. Please keep it to yourself. Please don’t tell anyone.

It all started with my father forcing me to sleep alone in the office room. What everybody considers bravery was a desperate attempt to save myself from what I thought was the devil. I thought I would get at the devil before the devil got me and it turned out to be the burglar… The burglar who was bitten by me fell amidst the furniture and was caught because he shouted aloud in pain.

Well, the best outcome of this is that my father no longer forces me to sleep alone. I have gone back to sleeping next to my granny. But, do you know what my fear is? Someone’s father might read about my adventure in the newspaper and force his son to be courageous! Hope not… I’m requesting you once again not to reveal the truth to anyone…

Yours’s loving
Swami

A Hero Summary