Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?
Bholi’s real name was Sulekha. She was just ten months old when she suffered from a brain injury due to which she always remained backward child and came to be known as bholi’s the simpleton. At the time of birth she was fair and pretty but at the age of two, she suffered from a disease, small pox. Her entire body was fully disfigured. These were the reasons her father was worried about her as she had neither good looks or nor intelligence. He didn't know how he would find a suitable groom for her.
Do you think this is a real-life episode, or mere fiction? Or is it a mixture of both?
“Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.
“Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read.” What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)
How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony attached to his room? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a convincing story?
Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is? Would you say he is tactful as well as full of commonsense?
What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
The course of the Loisels’ life changed due to the necklace. Comment.
Bholi’s story must have moved you. Do you think girl children are not treated at par with boys? You are aware that the government has introduced a scheme to save the girl child as the sex ratio is declining. The scheme is called Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Save the Girl Child. Read about the scheme and design a poster in groups of four and display on the school notice board.
How does he treat the dog?
Who tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century?
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?
Does the narrator serve the summons that day?
“Horace Danby was good and respectable — but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorised as a typical thief?
How has Max got in?
When the lawyer reached New Mullion, did ‘Bill’ know that he was looking for Lutkins? When do you think Bill came up with his plan for fooling the lawyer?
Why does the marriage not take place?
Why does he steal every year?
Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?
Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being taken for a ride?