Going Places (A. R. Barton)

 

Going Places by A. R. Barton

Intext Questions

Page 79

Q1. Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?

Answer The two girls were to be out of school just after a few months. They had no professional qualification nor financial resources to set up their own business. Belonging to lower middle class families, their parents had earmarked them for the biscuit factory. So, it was likely that they would find work in a biscuit factory after school.

Q2. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her from having such dreams?

Answer Sophie wanted to the break free from the barriers of her lower middle class background. She wished to buy a boutique if she has loads of money. She thinks she could be a manager somewhere and save money. Sophie even dreams of becoming an actress or a fashion designer. Earmarked for a biscuit factory, it was preposterous for her to live in such a dream world because it may have led to depression or low self-esteem.

Page 81

Q1. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?

Answer When Geoff told father about Sophie’s chance encounter with Danny Casey, Sophie wriggled because she knew it was false. Her father was a practical, realistic person and Sophie was sure that he would reprimand her for concocting stories. She feared that she would have to add more details to the story to make it sound authentic.

Q2. Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?

Answer Geoff does not completely believe Sophie’s story about her meeting with Danny Casey, the Irish football star. Although he had a strong bond with his sister as she shared all her secrets with him, he dismissed the whole story as the most unlikeliest thing. He does not hesitate to tell her that Casey would never keep his promise of meeting her again to give her the autograph.

Q3. Does Sophie’s father believe her story?

Answer Sophie’s father is a realist to the core. He does not believe in Sophie’s story at all and dismisses it as another of her wild stories. When Geoff tells him about Sophie’s chance encounter with Danny Casey, the Irish prodigy, he is not curious about it.

He changes the topic by saying that he once knew a man who knew Tom Finney. He warns Sophie that such concocted stories would land her into trouble some day.

Q4. How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of her future?

Answer Geoff has been out of school for three years and is working away from home as a mechanic. To Sophie, he is symbolic of freedom which she longs for. The unknown places he visited, the exotic, interesting people he met fascinated Sophie. She wished, he would take her into his fold. She knew a new world awaited them. She visualised herself riding behind Geoff. He wore black leathers and she wore yellow dress. With applause and aplomb, the world rose to greet them.

Q5. Which country did Danny Casey play for?

Answer Danny Casey was a soccer player from Ireland. He was popular because he played really well. His technique was a blend of innocence and Irish genius. He drove his fans ecstatic when he struck the football into the goal. They were so overwhelmed with his genius that they wished he was an Englishman.

Page 85

Q1. Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?

Answer Sophie did not want Jansie to know about her encounter with Danny Casey because Jansie was an expert at spreading rumours. Telling Jansie anything would be like telling the whole town. She feared that her father would get angry if her story of proximity with Casey spread in the town. Moreover, she had made up the story for Geoff only. She did not want people queuing up outside her house to enquire about the meeting.

Q2. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?

Answer No, Sophie did not meet Danny Casey in actuality at Royce’s. Her story is a figment of her fantasy and imagination. She envisions her meeting with the Irish prodigy and concocts the minutest details which give the impression that she really met him.

Q3. Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?

Answer The only occasion when Sophie got to see Danny Casey was when she went to watch the match with her family. Sitting amongst spectators, Sophie saw Casey from a distance. The power of her mind and fantasy was such that she concocted a story of her brief encounter with him and almost got an autograph from him.

 

Understanding the Text

Q1. Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?

Answer Although Sophie and Jansie were classmates and intimate friends, both of them had an altogether different approach towards life. Jansie’s feet are grounded in reality and she tries her best to pinpoint the reality. In contrast, Sophie is a dreamer who travels on the wings of imagination. Never for once in the story does she think practically or comes out of her dreamy world. Sophie harbours big and impossible dreams. Impossible because throughout the story we never see her making any efforts to realise them. Jansie, on the other hand, knows that they have been earmarked for working in the biscuit factory and accepts her fate. Sophie seems immature and fickle-minded. In a single conversation, she wants to own a boutique, become a manager, an actress and even a fashion designer.

Jansie is a gossip monger who pokes her nose into other affairs. This is the reason why Sophie does not tell her about her meeting with Casey. Sophie is a loving sister who admires her brother Geoff. She dreams of an exotic world that is waiting to take her into its fold. Sophie lives in a make-believe world where she befriends sports stars like Casey and is loved and admired by all. Jansie resigns to her fate and although of the same age does not indulge in fantasising and hero worship like Sophie.

Q2. How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie’s father?

Answer Sophie’s father is an archetypal man belonging to the lower working class. He is the sole provider of the family. We first meet him as a coarse, ill mannered man stuffing shepherd pie into his mouth, wearing his dirty and sweaty vest. Self-centred and exacting, he stops Sophie’s wishful thinking by coercing her to think of buying them a decent house to move into just in case she makes big money.

He does not approve of Sophie’s concocted story about meeting the Irish prodigy Danny Casey. He is a practical person who never leaves the world of harsh realities. He wants Sophie to step out of her dream world and start thinking wisely. He tells her in a matter-of-fact tone, that her habit of making up stories is going to land her into trouble some day.

Although the family’s financial condition is poor, it does not stop him and his family from going to watch the weekly football matches. He goes to the pub to celebrate something as frivolous as a football match. Thus, he is quite selfish.

Inspite of being the head of an impoverished family with so many mouths to feed, we never see him indulging in self-pity or cursing his fate. He rather enjoys his life to the fullest by making a weekly pilgrimage to watch United.

Q3. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?

Answer: To Sophie, her brother Geoff symbolised liberty from her dull, drab, monotonous and impoverished existence. He had left school three years ago and was working away from home as an apprentice mechanic. He travelled everyday to work to the far side of the city and she imagined that he met many exotic and interesting people. They attained a special fascination for her, simply because they were unknown to her and remained out of her reach. She wished in her heart of hearts that she could be admitted more deeply into her brother’s affections and that someday he might take her with him. Sophie strongly felt that a whole new world was waiting for them and welcoming them into its fold. She felt that she was made for that world. She even imagined herself and Geoff to be a part of that glamorous world. Geoff was wearing new, shining black leathers and a yellow dress. “There was the sound of applause and the world rose to greet them”.

Sophie liked Geoff because he was a man of few words. He patiently listened to her stories about meeting the sports icon Danny Casey although he suspects it is not true. He says it is the “unlikeliest” thing. Still he gives her the impression that he believed her. This made Sophie adore him more than she did any other member of her family.

Q4. What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family’s financial status?

Answer Sophie belonged to the lower middle strata of the society. She had a working class background. She was to join a biscuit factory at meagre wages after completing her school. Her dreams of owing a boutique, becoming an actress or a fashion designer meant nothing for her family.

Sophie’s father was an archetypal working man perhaps doing manual labour to make both ends meet. A coarse and ill-mannered man, he lacked the sense and refinement to appreciate Sophie’s aspirations to seek better prospects. Sophie’s mother was so involved in household chores that her back had become bent. She sighs on hearing her daughter’s dreams. She does not support her nor contradicts her husband’s views.

Derek, her little brother echoes her father’s views when he says that Sophie thinks money grows on trees. Her father wants that just in case she lands herself into big money, she should buy a decent house for the family to live in. Sophie is repelled at the sight of her father in a stinky vest, his face grimy and sweaty. The small room steamy from the stove and cluttered with dirty washing piled up in the corner, detest her.

All these indicate that Sophie does not belong to a very well-off family.

Talking about the Text

Discuss in pairs or small groups

Q5. Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.

Answer Sophie lived in her own world of dreams. She wanted to materialize those things which were simply not possible on practical grounds. Like her father she was also a great fan of football and Danny Casey. She sees him only once in action scoring the second goal for United. After that she was always lost in the thoughts of Daney Casey. She imagined him coming and talking to her. She waited for him for a long time. She knew he wouldn’t come and became sad and disappointed. She imagined so several times which reveals that she was an incurable dreamer and escapist.

Thus, it would not be wrong to say that all dreams and disappointments were in her mind. They were the products of her fantasy and imagination.

Q6. It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of such fantasising? Explain this statement in the light of the chapter, “Going Places”.

Answer Dreaming is a necessary part of one’s life. Without dreams, there will be no aims and aspirations in our lives. We will have nothing to look forward to or struggle our way to the top.

Teenage is a natural process through which every human being goes through. At this age, everybody indulges in hero worship and fantasising. This is what happens with Sophie also. She idolises Danny Casey to the extent that she is involved in a romantic liaison with him. If only she had dreamt of him for becoming a soccer player, this would have changed her fortune forever. We cannot solely put the blame on her for this. Her dreams are unrealistic and she views the world with rose-coloured glasses.

Her longing for earning big bucks forces her to dream of opening a boutique, become an actress or a fashion designer. Undoubtedly, it is important to dream high. If one doesn’t one cannot achieve anything in life. However, unrealistic dreams which are not within our reach can be damaging to our personality, unrealistic goals which are beyond our capacity can lead to depression, low self-esteem and suicidal tendencies.

Thus, dreams are a part and parcel of our lives. We cannot do without them but we must remember that if we go overboard with them, they might have a negative effect on our personalities. We should not end up like Sophie, who carried the burden of her shattered dreams in despair.