he lesson ‘Going Places’ reminds us that mere dreams will not help us to accomplish anything. What qualities, do you think, would help Sophie to realize her dreams?

Answer

Sophie needed to work hard to realize her dreams, instead of just fantasizing about her meeting with Danny Casey. She should understand her reality that she is from a middle class working family. ‘ manager, actress or fashion designer. Jansie always used to bring her down to earth by remarking that both of them were earmarked to be working in the local biscuit factory after passing out from school.

Initially she would face many difficulties because of her poor financial condition, but after she started working, she should save her earnings and try to improve her education so that she could take up better jobs.This requires her character to be determined and hard-working, instead of being just a daydreamer like she is now. Gradually she can raise her status to the level when she would be able to attract successful people like Danny.

Question - 42 : -
Attempt a character sketch of Sophie as a woman who lives in her dreams.

Answer - 42 : -

Sophie has been portrayed as a central character in the story ‘Going Places’. She represents the girls of her age from poor families. As in reality they can’t have the things they want, they dream about them. Sophie always lives in her dreams. She makes up the story of meeting Danny Casey, a young 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. To show 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 dream that she actually goes to the canal and waits for him. He does not show up. Her dreams have become an integral part of her life, and she cannot distinguish between her world of imagination and the real world.

Question - 43 : -
Contrast Sophie’s real world with her fantasies.

Answer - 43 : -

The story ‘Going Places’ is a journey into the dream world of the protagonist, a school girl named Sophie, who drifts from one dream to another. 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 reality, the pitiable condition of her life does not let her venture into such joyrides. However, 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 and from one place to the other.

Question - 44 : -
How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie’s father?

Answer - 44 : -

Sophie’s father is a typical man belonging to the 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. He is a practical person who never leaves the world of harsh reality.

He wants Sophie to step out of her dream world and tells her that her habit of making up stories is going to land her into trouble some day. He goes to the pub to celebrate something as frivolous as a football match. Thus, he is quite selfish. In spite 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 the football match.

Question - 45 : -
Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?

Answer - 45 : -

To Sophie, her brother Geoff symbolized 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. She imagined that he met many exotic and interesting people.

She wished in her heart of hearts that she could be admitted more deeply into her brother’s affections and that some day he might take her with him. She even imagined herself and Geoff to be a part of that glamorous world. 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 suspected it was not true. Still he gave her the impression that he had believed her. This made Sophie adore him more than she did any other member of her family.

Question - 46 : -
“I can see the future and now I will have to live with this burden, “says Sophie. Discuss the statement in the light of the chapter ‘Going Places’.

Answer - 46 : -

Sophie always lived in a make-believe world of her own. It was probable that in the course of her wishful thinking she imagined that Danny Casey had promised her for a date. Nobody in the family believed her. However, she went to her Favorited haunt to meet Casey, who did not show up.

This made her realize that Geoff had been right. Still she was under compulsion to insist that she had really met Danny Casey. She would never be able to tell about her family that—“they’re wrong to doubt me”. She was filled with sadness because her life would not undergo the transformation she had imagined. The glamour of the exotic world she dreamt of was not within her reach. This was a burden that she found difficult to come to terms with and carry.

Question - 47 : -
Justify the title of the story ‘Going Places’.

Answer - 47 : -

The story ‘Going Places’ is a journey into the dream world of the protagonist who drifts from one dream to another.

Sophie, the protagonist in the story, finds the reality of her life too harsh to accept. She belongs to a lower-middle class family.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 reality, the pitiable conditions of her life do not let her venture into such joyrides.

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 and from one place to the other. Thus, the title suits the story, because throughout the narration the protagonist flip-flops from one dream to the next, from one place to the other.

Question - 48 : -
Sophie lives in her fantasies. She hopes to make it big. You realize that the modern day youth are also like that. You decide to write an article about the need to dream and how can it prove to be harmful sometimes.

Answer - 48 : -

Dream Big by Ashu

We all hope to achieve our inner dreams and desires some day. Dreams are like a guiding light, they make us work harder. It is only when we dream big that we can achieve something great in life, because every dream precedes the goal. It is well said that the one who doesn’t dream cannot reach his goals.

But, how much of living in the fantasy world is good? Modern day youth has the tendency to get swayed by their wild fantasies, without realizing the reality. Being in a dream world all the time actually does morn e harm than good.

This doesn’t mean that we should be afraid to dream.

What is needed is a balance. We must never forget the difference between imagination and reality. It is important to dream; because only then can we strive to achieve our goals. Just forgetting reality in the pursuit of dreams is harmful.

Question - 49 : -
It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of such fantasising?

Answer - 49 : -

Dreaming is a necessary part of one’s life. Without dreams, there will be no aims and aspirations in our lives.

Teenage is a stage which every human being goes through. At that she is involved in a romantic liaison with him. We cannot solely put the blame on her for this. Her dreams are unrealistic as age, everybody indulges in hero worship and fantasizing. This is what happens with Sophie also.

She idolizes Danny Casey to the extent that she imagines tend she views the world with rose-colored glasses. Her longing for earning a large amount of money forces her to dream of opening a boutique, become an actress or a fashion designer.

Such unrealistic dreams which are not within our reach can be damaging to our personality, as 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 may have a negative effect on our personalities.

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