Federal G11 English Chapter 4 From Mother With Love

Table of Contents

Q.1) How is the theme of ‘From Mother … With Love’ a universal theme present in literature across all cultures?

Answer:
The theme of ‘From Mother…With Love’ is a universal theme present in literature across all cultures as it all about family relations, conflict resolution and responsibility. It is a universal theme as it deals with day to day life of our society where such types of issues can easily be found in all cultures and societies. We do observe such kind of issues in our lives as mother fighting with illness, father facing worries and tensions, a young child becoming mature before time both mentally and psychologically and then finally that child taking up the responsibility on his/her shoulder quite sensibly.

Q.2) Comment on the plot of the story ‘From Mother … With Love.’

Answer:
The plot of the story ‘From Mother…With Love’ is based on a simple family, who enjoys cordial relations with one another. The story begins with an ordinary morning scene where the family members are having breakfast and little chit chat. Then the story moves to the beach scenario where the conversation between dad and daughter starts. Later, comes the climax of the story when the father reveals that the girl’s mother is about to die in three months time. The events are organized chronologically. The story has a beautiful element of dialogues delivered by the characters that stimulate the emotions and feelings of the readers.

Q.3) Identify the narrator or speaker of the story ‘From Mother… With Love.’

Answer:
The narrator of the story is the writer himself. He is the one who tells us everything about the characters and the happenings of the story but the dialogues by the characters also play major role in developing the whole story so it might be said that both writer and the characters are the speakers of the story ‘From Mother… With Love.’

Q.4) Analyze and comment on the character of Minta?

Answer:
The major character of the story is Minta. She is a young, energetic and sensitive girl. She is a studious girl who has a desire to continue her studies at the same boarding school from where her mother gets education. She reacts quite emotionally to all the happenings around her. She is a sensible, caring girl as she is worried about her mother’s health. As the story gains pace, she behaves in a much mature way then is expected from her. Finally, after her mother’s death, she courageously takes the responsibility of taking care of her father and home on her shoulders.

Q.5) What is the conflict in the story? How is it resolved?

Answer:
The story has a little web of conflicts. The conflict between Minta’s dreams and real life scenario. The conflict that exist between ideal and real world. Minta is the one who is experiencing all these conflicts in her life. Being a sensible girl, Minta reacts to all the situations and happenings in quite a mature way by overcoming the conflicts and taking up the responsibility of her home just like her mother. Hence, Minta herself resolves the conflicts.

Q.6) Where does Minta’s father take her to discuss her mother’s illness?

Answer:
Minta’s father takes her down to the beach to discuss her mother’s illness and falling health. He wants to tell her everything about her mother’s illness that she has three months or less than that to survive. He wants to make her ready for the harsh and difficult things that are going to happen to her in the near future.

Q.7) Which approach would have preferred — deception or honesty — if you had to deal with similar circumstances like Minta’s mother? Give reasons for your choice.

Answer:
If I had to deal with similar circumstances like Minta’s mother, I would have preferred honesty. The reason is that if a person already knows about his illness then if we would tell him that he has less time left then it provides him a chance to wind up all his matters especially those related to property or handing over other responsibilities. We have witnessed many cases that after the death of the deceased person, if he had not made his will, then fights and arguments start that sometimes may lead to taking life of one another.

Q.8) How did the vitamin pills become the symbol of responsibility?

Answer:
Vitamin pills became the symbol of responsibility because when Minta’s mother asked her to take care of her father and gave him vitamin pills on time, this showed that her mother was handing over her responsibility to Minta as a mature and responsible girl.

Q.9) How did Minta change over the course of the story? Limit your answer to just five sentences.

Answer:
Minta, the main character of the story was a small girl. She was a sensitive-natured girl. When she came to know about her mother’s serious condition that she had little time left, she accepted the reality quite courageously. She then mentally prepared herself to face the worst situation that would be happening in her life. She sensibly took the responsibility of taking care of her father and home that reflected her mature attitude towards life.

Q.10) Why was the blue chair significant? Explain.

Answer:
In this story, the blue chair was a symbol of power and responsibility. When Minta’s mother was seriously ill, and was admitted to the hospital, the blue chair on which she used to sit, remained vacant. It showed that the home was lacking someone who was mature and responsible. After her mother’s death, when Minta sat on the blue chair, this gave a clear indication that Minta had taken her mother’s place by accepting the responsibility of her home.

Q.11) Explain how Minta knows that her mother accepted death. Why is that knowledge comforting to her?

Answer:
When her mother starts handing over the responsibilities to Minta, she knows that her mother has accepted death. Later on, after her mother’s death, when she opens the cupboard of her mother, she finds a trunk and on opening that she is surprised to see a number of gifts wrapped nicely with the tags written out in her mother’s script. This makes it clear to Minta that her mother knows about the severity of her illness and approaching death that’s why she has prepared everything for Christmas before hand. That knowledge is comforting to her because her mother makes herself ready for facing the bitter reality of life in quite a courageous way.

Writing

Write down the character sketch of Minta.

Answer:
Minta is the main character of the story ‘From Mother… With Love.’ Though she is a small girl, she shows responsible behaviour right from the beginning till end. She is an obedient girl who likes going to beach with her father. Minta is a sensible girl who understands the sensitivity of issues quite well. When Minta’s father tries to tell her about her mother’s illness and approaching death, she knows well that something important her father has to tell her. She never shows stubborn attitude to her parents with respect to her studies or going to Mary Hill Boarding rather she accepts her father’s decision wholeheartedly for the sake of her mother. She loves her mother a lot that’s why she does not want to donate her belongings to anyone. After her mother’s death, she takes on the responsibility of taking care of her father and home, that reflects her maturity level.

Vocabulary

‘Look for the meaning of the following emotive words in dictionary. Find their antonyms in an authentic thesaurus. Now write the correct word for the emotions expressed in each statement.

lazy	vengeful	vain	snobbish
sympathetic	arrogant	ambitious	proud

Sr. No.	Statement	Emotive Words
1.	There’s no house in town better than mine.	Arrogant
2.	I can’t stand talking to poor people.	Snobbish
3.	My son did really well in his exam.	Proud
4.	Oh, my hair looks wonderful today.	Vain
5.	I just don’t want to get out of bed today.	Lazy
6.	I will own my own business within five years.	Ambitious
7.	Sajida, I understand what you are going through	Sympathetic
8.	I’ll never forget what she did to me.	Vengeful

Grammar

B. Underline the indefinite pronoun (or pronouns) in the following sentences. There are a total of 10 indefinite pronouns across these 9 sentences. Then use these pronouns n your own sentences.

Everybody enjoys cricket matches.
Does anybody have the time?
One student read while the others listen to him carefully.
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.
The secret was known by few.
No, the secret was known by many.
Calculus is too hard for some.
Surely you recognize somebody.
Is there anything that I can do?

Answer:
1. Everybody enjoys cricket matches.
2. Does anybody have the time?
3. One student read while the others listen to him carefully.
4. Nobody knows the trouble I ‘ve seen.
5. The secret was known by few.
6. No, the secret was known by many.
7. Calculus is too hard for some.
8. Surely you recognize somebody.
9. Is there anything that I can do?