Going Places

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

Answer : The two girls, Sophie and Jansie, were already destined for a job in the biscuit factory and it was likely that they would work there after school.

 Q2 : What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her to have such dreams?

Answer Sophie dreamt of opening a boutique or becoming an actress or a fashion designer. She thought that she would be offered the position of a manager and that she would work there till the time she saves enough money for her boutique. Keeping in mind their lower middle class family background, Jansie discourages Sophie to have such dreams. Jansie is more realistic and practical in life, and hence, knows that big ambitions cost heavy investments, something their working-class status could not afford.

Q3 : Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?

 Answer : She wriggled when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey because she was well aware of her father's short-tempered nature. She knew that he would scold her for spreading wild stories. Moreover, she was aware that no one would believe her. It is also possible that she did not expect Geoff to share her secrets with others, even family members.

 Q4 : Did Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?

 Answer : No, Geoff does not believe what Sophie says about her meeting. He calls it "the unlikeliest thing [he] ever heard".

 Q5 : Does her father believe her story?

Answer : Sophie's father does not believe her story and he warns her that her "wild stories" might land her into trouble.

Q6 : How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of future?

Answer : Sophie was jealous of the fact that her brother had access to the world outside. She fantasises about going to these places with him some day in the future wearing a yellow dress. She fantasises that the world would rise to greet them.

 Q7 : Which country did Danny Casey play for?

Answer : Danny Casey played football for Ireland.

Page Number : 85

 Q1 : Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?

 Answer : Sophie and Jansie were different from each other. Sophie was a dreamer who enjoyed creating her own fantasy world using her imagination. She showed an urge to transcend her working-class status and attain sophistication by pursuing the ambition of a fashion designer or an actress. Jansie, on the other hand, was more practical and realistic than Sophie. She tried to pull Sophie back to reality, but all in vain. Jansie's sensibility and maturity are evident in her attempt to remind her friend that they were earmarked for the biscuit factory, and expensive dreams were inappropriate to their financial status.

Q2 : Discuss in pairs

1. Sophie's dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.

2. It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of such fantasising?

Answer : 1. Sophie was a dreamer who often made up stories for herself and for others. One possibility might be that she wanted to escape the squalor of daily life with the help of her fantasies. Her encounter with Danny Casey was a made-up story for the sake of catching her brother's attention. Eventually, she gets so much engrossed in it that she starts to live the fantasy. When Danny Casey does not arrive for the second 'date', she experiences disappointment. However painful and disappointing her fantasy might be, she was not willing to accept reality. Her dreams and disappointments are figments of her imagination.

 2. Teenage is the phase of life which constitutes of major changes in the life of an individual. During this phase, a person learns many things, sets his career goals, and deals with peer pressure and the pressure of adults' expectations. Hence, it is natural for teenagers to fantasise and to have unrealistic dreams. Advantages: Fantasising, based on realistic goals or the world around, provides a means to reach higher ambitions and dreams. Aspiring for higher career goals and working hard may ensure successful career prospects. Thus, it instills confidence and a spirit to achieve one's desire. In difficult situations of life, it helps instill positivity and optimism. It is a talent in those known as creative. Disadvantages: Fantasising builds a gap between fantasy and reality. The realisation of the disparity between one's goals and capabilities may be painful. Non achievement may also lead to disappointment, depression or suicidal tendencies. Moreover, it is a sheer wastage of time for many. (Sample answers have been provided for students' benefit. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answers on their own.)

Q3 : Why didn't Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?

Answer : Sophie didn't want Jansie to know about her encounter with Danny because she feared that Jansie would spread her story to the whole neighbourhood which would make her father very angry.

Q4 : How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie's father?

 Answer : Sophie's father is a typical lower middle class father who has worked hard in uncompromising conditions in order to earn livelihood for his family. After his day's work, he watched the television instead of spending time with his family or sharing family responsibilities with his wife. He expects Sophie to buy them a new house instead of engaging in her expensive dream ambitions, if she gets a chance to earn money. His impoverished financial condition does not, however, stop him from watching the football match, or later, going to the pub for celebration. He is shown as a practical, but a selfcentered and short-tempered person.

 Q5 : Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?

 Answer : Sophie did not meet Danny Casey in reality. She made up the story of her encounter with Danny Casey only to seek the attention her brother, Geoff.

Q6 : Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?

Answer : Sophie liked her brother, Geoff, more than anybody else because he was not in the habit of talking much and remained lost in his own thoughts. She envied his silence and thought that he had access to an unknown world. She wanted to be a part of that world and she fancied herself wearing glamorous clothes and being welcomed by everyone. For Sophie, Geoff symbolised liberty from the monotonous life they had been living.

Q7 : Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?

 Answer : Sophie went to see the football match of the United team with her father and her two brothers. This was the only instance where she got a chance to see Danny Casey.

 Q8 : What socio-economic background does Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family's financial status?

 Answer : Sophie belongs to a lower middle class socio-economic background. She lives in a small house with her parents and two brothers, Derek and Geoff. When she returns home after school, she feels choked with the steam of the stove and is disgusted with the dirty dishes piled in a corner. Her mother's back has become stooped and bent by handling all the household chores and responsibilities on her own. Her father is a hard labourer and her elder brother, Geoff, works as an apprentice mechanic in a garage situated far away from his house. Her family wants Sophie to join work immediately after her school. These are some of the indicators of Sophie's family's financial status.

Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks, 30-40 Words)

Question.1. Why is Sophie attracted to Danny Casey? (Compartment 2014)
Answer. Danny Casey is a young and successful football player from Ireland. He is also quite handsome, which adds to his popularity among his fans, especially young girls of Sophie’s age. Naturally, Sophie is attracted to him. Besides, her family members are also huge football fans and Casey is a hero for them.

Question.2. How are Jansie and-Sophie different from each other? (Compartment 2014)
Answer. Jansie and Sophie have contrasting characters and an altogether different approach towards life. Jansie is quite practical and her feet are grounded in reality, whereas Sophie is a daydreamer and lives in an imaginary world. Jansie is mature and accepts the truth that people of their stature can only become workers in a biscuit factory. On the other hand, Sophie tries to escape from reality and dreams of becoming an actress, a manager or a fashion designer.

Question.3. Why did Sophie long for her brother’s affection? (All India 2014)
or
Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? (Delhi 2013)
Answer. Sophie found in her brother, Geoff a patient listener to all her fantasies and also one she could confide in. The other members of her family and even her friend Jansie made fun of her fantastic stories. This made her quite fond of Geoff. She also looked upon Geoff as someone widely travelled. His world remained a fascination for her and she longed that someday he might take her there.

Question.4. Did Geoff keep up his promise? How do you know? (All India 2013)
or 
Did Geoff keep his promise to Sophie? How do you know? (Delhi 2011)
Answer. Geoff didn’t keep his promise to Sophie. Sophie told Geoff about her meeting with Danny Casey at the Royce’s. Geoff told the story to Frank who in turn told his sister, Jansie, about it. However, Geoff never revealed the full story, as he did not tell anyone about Sophie’s supposed ‘date’ with Danny Casey.

Question.5. Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence? 
Answer. Geoff never spoke much. Sophie always pondered over the areas of his life which he never talked about. His world remained a fascination for her. She felt that when he was not speaking, his mind was away at some unknown place, and so she felt jealous of him.

Question.6. Why did Sophie not want Jansie to know anything about her meeting with Danny
Casey? (All India 2012)
or
Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny? (Delhi 2011)
Answer. Sophie did not want Jansie to know anything about her meeting with Danny Casey because she knew that Jansie was a blabber mouth. The moment Jansie knew of someone’s secret, the whole neighbourhood would get to know of it. Sophie did not want to be ridiculed before others.

Question.7. How did Sophie’s father react when Geoff told him about her meeting with Danny
Casey?(Delhi 2011)
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 fantasies. When Geoff tells him about Sophie’s chance encounter with Danny Casey, the Irish prodigy, he expresses disdain and rubbishes her story. He changes the topic by saying that he once knew a man who knew another famous English footballer named Tom Finney. He warns Sophie that such concocted stories would land her into trouble some day.

Question.8. What thoughts came to Sophie’s mind as she sat by the canal? (All India 2011)
Answer. Sophie felt doubts stirring inside her, as she sat by the canal waiting for Danny Casey. When she saw no sign of him, she remembered Geoff’s words that Casey would not come. She wonders what she would tell her family. She thinks that Geoff would be disappointed. She is saddened by the fact that she will never be able to show her family that they are wrong to cast doubts on her.

Question.9. Which was the only occasion when Sophie got to see Danny Casey in person?
(All India 2011)
Answer. The only occasion when Sophie got to see Danny Casey in person was when she went to watch the match with her family. Sitting amongst the spectators, Sophie saw Casey from a distance. The power of her imagination was such that she concocted a story of her brief encounter with him and almost got an autograph from him.

Question.10.Why did Jansie discourage Sophie from entertaining thoughts about the sports- star,
Danny Casey? (All India 2011)
Answer. Jansie was a realist, and not a daydreamer like Sophie. She discouraged Sophie from having such dreams because her dreams were wild and impossible. She had neither the means nor the skills to achieve them. She feels sad because she knows that both of them will have to work at the biscuit factory after they pass out of school. It was preposterous for her to live in such a dream world and it could lead to depression or low self-esteem.

Question.11.Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
(Foreign 2011)
Answer. When Geoff told her father about Sophie’s chance encounter with Danny Casey, Sophie wriggled because she knew that her father wouldn’t believe it. Her father was a practical, realistic person and Sophie was sure that he would be angry with her and reprimand her for concocting such stories. She feared that she would have to add more details to the story to make it sound authentic.

Question.12.”Damn that Geoff, this was Geoff thing, not a Jansie thing,” Why did Sophie say so?
(Delhi 2010)
Answer. Sophie knew that her classmate Jansie poked her nose into every matter, She was a rumour monger. Jansie came to know about the Sophie-Casey encounter through Frank, her brother, who was friends with Geoff. Sophie was annoyed with Geoff because this story was meant only for him. Sophie knew that Jansie would spread this information like wildfire and it could draw lots of people to her house to enquire about Casey.

Question.13.Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
(All India 2010)
Answer. Geoff does not 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 a most unlikely thing. He does not hesitate to tell her that Casey would never keep his promise of meeting her again to give her his autograph.

Question.14.What did Sophie imagine about her meeting with Danny Casey? (All India 2008)
Answer. Sophie imagines that she has met Danny Casey, the Irish football prodigy, at Royce’s. She cooks up details about his appearance and says that she asked him for an autograph but could not get it as neither of them had paper or pen. They talked for a while about the clothes in the shop. Casey promised to meet her again next week.

Long Answer Type Questions (6 Marks, 120-150 words)

Question.1. Has Sophie met Danny Casey? What details of her meeting with Danny Casey did
she narrate to her brother? (Delhi 2014 Modified)
or
Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey? (NCERT)
Answer. No Sophie has never re&lly met Danny Casey. She has just seen Danny Casey on the field when she went to watch team United play a football match. There, she was one of the spectators and could see Casey playing only from a distance.
However, Sophie lives in an imaginary world. Casey was a young sportstar and Sophie worshipped him as her hero. Her meeting with Casey was just another of her wild fantasies. She was so engrossed in her daydreams that what she imagined seemed real to her.
Sophie told her brother Geoff that she met Casey near Royce’s. As she was looking at the clothes, Casey came and stood beside her. She wanted to take his autograph for her younger brother Derek, but neither of them had a pen or paper. Casey then suggested that they could meet again next week, and then he would also give his autograph.

Question.2. What were Sophie’s plans for her future? Why would you call her dreams unrealistic?
(Delhi 2014; Modified)
Answer. Sophie planned to open a boutique after she passed out of school. When Jansie told her that it would require a lot of money, she said that she would become a manager and save money for her boutique. She later also added that she would either become an actress or a fashion designer. For a girl from a lower middle class family such dreams are certainly far from reality. Sophie’s friend Jansie, who is quite practical, knows that they will ultimately have to work in the biscuit factory. She even dissuades Sophie from indulging in such childish fantasies. Sophie wants to materialise all those things which were simply not possible practically. Never for once in the story does the girl think practically or come out of her dream world.

Question.3. Sophie was a dreamer. The lesson ‘Going Places’ reminds us that mere dreams will
not help us to accomplish anything. What qualities, do you think, would help Sophie to realise her dreams? (Foreign 2014)
Answer. Sophie lives in a world of dreams, which is far from reality. It is not unreasonable to have high hopes and ambitions for one’s future, but such dreaming can be justified only when one is prepared to work hard to realise one’s dreams.
Sophie too needs to work hard to achieve her dreams, instead of just imagining a bright and successful future for herself, or fantasising about her meeting with Danny Casey. She should accept the reality that she belongs to a middle class working family. Initially, she would face some difficulties because of her poor financial condition, but if she persists with sincere devotion, she could certainly raise her status to the level from where she would actually have the company of successful .people like Danny Casey. Besides, with better educational qualifications, increased opportunities, hard work and more savings, she could even own a boutique in future.

Question.4. Attempt a character sketch of Sophie as a woman who lives in her dreams. (Delhi 2012)
Answer. Sophie has been portrayed as the central character in the story ‘Going Places’. She perfectly represents the girls of her age who live in poor families.
Sophie always lives in a dream world, dreaming impossible things. The opening scene of the story clearly tells what sort of girl she is. She is not ready to accept the reality of her family’s condition and dreams of having a boutique of her own.
She makes up the story of meeting Danny Casey, a charming and upcoming footballer. Nobody believes her but she refuses to accept that it is her dream. Rather, she starts believing that she has met him and to prove that she is telling the truth, she makes up another story that she has fixed a date with him.
She is so lost in her dreams that she actually goes to the canal and waits for him. He does not show up. She knows that he will not come, but still she becomes sad. Such is the character of Sophie.

Question.5.Contrast Sophie’s real world with her fantasies. (Delhi 2009)
Answer. The story ‘Going Places’ is a journey into the dream world of the protagonist, a schoolgirl named Sophie who drifts from one dream to another. The world of dreams is so fascinating for her that even her wildest thoughts can find refuge it.
Sophie finds the reality of her life too harsh to accept. She belongs to a lower middle class family where nobody encourages her to dream of better prospects. Still she dreams of owning the best boutique, becoming a manager in some store or at other times becoming an actress or a fashion designer.
In her dream world, she visits the Royce’s, meets Danny Casey, the sports icon, and even fixes up a date with him. It’s all in her mind but she considers it true and actually waits for him to show up at a specified spot and time. The flight of her imagination is such that it flips from one dream to another, from one place to the other.