ALASKAN GOLD - I & II

 Alaskan Gold — Part 1

Activity- page- 23

Theme page - 5 synonyms and antonyms of any of the new words

Vocabulary and study skills (synonyms)

1. Glimpse - peep/sight/glance

2. Agitated - upset/nervous/disturbed

3. Unbearable - insupportable/unacceptable/intolerable

4. Minimal - least/nominal/minutest

5. Commotion - uproar/stir/disturbance

Writer - Amrendra Chakravorty

Meanings (12)

From the story |Remember and answer

A. Complete the table 

No	Words	Who said	To whom	When
1.	His father had come from Spain.	Old woman	To the narrator	After the attack of mad man.
2.	Let go, let go, let go of him!	Old artist	To the mad man	After the attack of mad man.
3.	His grandfather was one of the foreigners who had come to Alaska and found gold.	Old man	To the narrator	After the attack of mad man.
4.	I’ve seen that man around here for a month now .	A man at the harbour	To the narrator	When the mad man was dragged at harbour.

 

B. Answer these questions by selecting the correct options.

(1) ….but I was feeling bad that my small camera wouldn’t be able to record clearly the distant sound of the avalanches.What is the tone of this line ?

c - regretful

(2) Choose the image that correctly describes a placard as mentioned in the text

  b - placard

 

(3) Why did the narrator feel that ‘the camera always felll short’?

d - a camera could never capture the reality of life.

C. Reference to context.

 I was so immersed in his words……right then and there.

(1) Which of these does not relate to the phrase ‘immersed in’?

b. technology 

(2) Which of these would be the most suitable title for the extract ?

c. A chance encounter 

(3) What is the writing style of this extract ?

b. narrative

(4) What notion is suggested by the line ‘I nearly jumped out of my skin’ ?

d. He got scared when an unknown person grabbed his hand.

D. Short answer questions :-

Q.(1) Cite an example from the text which proves that the narrator wished for better equipment for his documentary ?

Ans. ‘but I was feeling bad that my small camera wouldn’t be able to record clearly the distant sound of the avalanches’

Q. (2) How did the narrator conclude that painting was not a profitable profession for the old man ?

Ans. The wrinkled and weathered face of the old artist spoke of a tough life which

made the narrator realise that despite selling his paintings he had a hard life.

Q.(3) List one advantage and  disadvantage of recording a documentary on one’s own.

Ans. The advantage is that one can follow a schedule according to one’s

convenience and the disadvantage is that a documentary often requires a full

team to help record properly.

E. Long answer questions :-

Q.1) Cherish your loved ones because you never know when they won’t be around anymore’. Justify this quote with reference to the mad ‘man’.

Ans. The ‘mad’ man had been so crazy over discovering gold that he neglected his son who went missing. Since then, he was repenting to an extent that he

 approached anyone who had likeness to his son hoping that he would find him. This shows us that we should always give more importance to the people and

relationships around us rather than to material wealth.

Q.2) The lure of the gold proved disastrous for the ‘mad’ man.Explain.

Ans.The lure for gold blinded the ‘mad’ man to everything and everyone around him, leaving his only son to fend for himself. Because of this neglect, the son went missing and was never found, driving the father to the edge of insanity in his search for him.

Q3) Provide evidence from the text to prove that the narrator is a very empathetic person.

Ans. The narrator felt bad that the old artist had a hard life despite selling

paintings. He also felt the father’s pain at his futile search for his son, making him

feel that the camera could never capture someone’s grief.

Q.4) The unfortunate incident left a lasting impression on the narrator’s mind. Justify this statement.

Ans. The narrator felt sad after the incident because he couldn’t even fathom the

depth of pain the father must be feeling. He felt that his camera could not

capture the reality of joy and grief that his subjects must be feeling in their lives.

F. Think and answer.

Q1) The narrator acted like a typical tourist on several occasions. Substantiate .

Ans. Apart from taking in all the sights and sounds, the narrator also haggled over

the rates of a trip which is something typically tourists do. He also spent the

entire day roaming around the Saturday Bazaar in Alaska’s largest city,

Anchorage. The narrator was amazed at the variety of stuff available in this

Bazaar, much like any tourist would be. He also made it a point to take

photographs of anything and everything he saw at the Bazaar including the old

artist and not just his paintings. All these show that the narrator was fascinated

like any tourist would be on their first visit to Alaska.

Q2) The narrator seemed to have a soft corner for the ‘mad’ man. Do you agree?

Ans. The narrator had sympathy for the ‘mad’ man. The first time he saw him, he felt that the man didn’t look mad at all but in fact looked quite sane. After he heard about his past, he felt sad over the fact that the man was in an endless search for his lost son. He wasn’t offended that the man had grasped his hand. On the contrary he was puzzled as to why he had done so. Even towards the end of the story when he felt the man might have followed him onto the train, he only felt curiosity mixed with a sense of pity.

Alaskan Gold — Part 2

Vocabulary and study skills

Antonyms

1. Witnessed - Overlooked

2. Conceal - Conceal

3. Strange - Familiar

4. Flowed - Ceased

5. Leaped - Plummeted

Writer - Amrendra Chakravorty

Meanings (12)

A. From the story |Remember and answer

No.	A	B
1	Golden eagles were noticed flying by Alek’s aunt.	The narrator got off at the Denali station.
2	The snatching of a reindeer calf was witnessed by the sister of the hotel’s maid-cum-cook-cum-owner.	He was met by a fifteen or sixteen-year-old Eskimo girl.
3	She runs a salmon shop at Denali and called her sister up to pass on a message to the narrator.	The girl was speaking in American English.
4	Now was the right moment to capture the photographs of the golden eagles.	The girl explained that civilization had changed them but the Eskimos had managed to hold on to their traditional roots too.

 

B. Answer these questions by selecting the correct options.

(1) Choose the image that correctly describes a placard as mentioned in the text

 (b)

(2) ‘I had got used to seeing massive moose horns atop traditional Alaskan homes,but this was the first time I was seeing one on a human’.What is the tone of this line ?

d. curious

(3) The reindeer calf was snatched by a _____________ .

 d. golden eagle

C. Reference to context.

   Golden eagles have …….. short in terms of jest,either !

(1) …..you’d better take the afternoon train to Denali instead of sitting around in Talkeetna. What is the tone of this line ?

d. Humorous

(2) The extract gives us the information that the hotel owners were  ________ .

b. Local enterprenuers 

(3) Why was the narrator the topic of conversation between the two sisters

c. They wondered at his simple methods of working. 

(4) Describe the feeling of the narrator in the last line of the extract.

b. Amused

D. Short answer questions :-

Q1) What evidence from the text proves that the narrator was a persistent journalist ?

Ans. Although it was difficult to photograph from a moving train, the narrator

moved with the bend of the train from left to right in order to capture good

photographs.

Q2) Why was the narrator the topic of discussion between the two sisters ?

Ans. The two sisters were amused at the thought of someone travelling all the way

from India with only a small camera to capture the sights of Alaska.

Q3) Why did the narrator expect to see the Alaskan landscape painted blue instead of pink ?

Ans. The narrator expected to see the country’s national flower forget-me-out but instead he saw that the pink fire-weed had turned the landscape pink.

E.Long answer questions :-

Q1) Cite evidence from the text that proves the fact that the local grapevine was very reliable.

Ans.The narrator was informed about the golden eagles by the son of the hotel

owner who in turn had been informed by the sister of the hotel’s maid-cum-cook

cum-owner. The sister was told to let the narrator know that golden eagles had

been seen if he wanted to click pictures of them.

Q2) The Eskimo girl was sharp as well as intelligent.Substantiate this statement.

Ans. The Eskimo girl recognised the narrator by his features and spoke to him in

English. She also played a prank on him by wearing moose horns on her head. She

was articulate and explained that the influence of Americans had changed the

lifestyle of the Eskimos.

Q3) Rationalise the reason why fire-weed can be referred to as the phoenix of flowers.

Ans. The phoenix is a bird that rises through the ashes and is often associated with

something that refuses to die or give up. The fireweed in Alaska can be compared

to the fireweed because it grew back after being burnt and thus was difficult to

get rid of.

Q4) We love and fear the beauty of the blooms of the fireweed. Justify the reason behind this thought.

Ans. We love the beauty and colour of the fireweed and are in awe of the fact that

it is so resilient and keeps growing back. At the same time, the fact that it is so

difficult to get rid of, frightens us because it seems uncontrollable.

F. Think and answer

Q1) Alaska is resplendent with natural and man-made beauty.Elucidate this statement.

Ans. Alaska is full of the beauties of nature. From rivers to lush green forests to

mountains and flowers. Apart from this, there are also rare birds and animals like grizzlies and golden eagles. The narrator got a lot of things to photograph

from the river’s new bend to the old bridge and its green banks to huge trunks of

trees knocked by beavers. In addition to natural beauty, Alaska also has beautiful

trains with engines in gold and red and compartments in red and blue. This shows

that the country has countless examples of both natural and man-made beauty.

Q2) ‘Old habbits die hard.’ Justify this quote in the context of the lifestyle of Eskimos.

Ans. The Eskimos adapted to the changes in lifestyle which were brought about by

the outside influences especially that of the Americans. At the same time, there

were some from the older generation who still lived with the traditions that

Eskimos have followed since years. The Eskimo girl tells the narrator that her

mother still wore traditional Eskimo clothes and followed their food habits.

Similarly, her grandfather still had sledges and several houses had huskies and a

number of caribou. These things show that even as the new generation adapts,

the older generation often find it tough to let go off old habits and customs.