Grade-11 (English) 1.4 The Wish - by Roald Dahl (Short Stories) Part-2

 Grade-11 (English)  1.4 The Wish - by Roald Dahl  (Short Stories) Part-2


Before Reading…
q Answer these questions.
a.     What frightens you? Snakes, spiders or any other things?
-           Mostly, snakes esp. poisonous like cobra, Omnivorous animals, ghosts etc.
b.     What do you do about frightening things: face them or avoid them?
-           As per to situation, face or avoid- Life is in risk, face and if  it is simple, avoid….
c.      Do you have any frightening event in your childhood? Share it with the class.
I had a frightening event in my childhood. As  I was going to home from school, I encountered a female ghost with white long hair up to her knee and turned back her feet in the garden of  my village which still trembles my whole body at recollection.

About the story “The Wish”…
  The Wish is taken from the short story collection Someone Like You, which includes seventeen other devious and shocking stories.
  The story “The Wish” is about a young boy’s fantasy in which his carpet is alive with snakes and fire.
  Using imagery and metaphor, Dahl uses the character of a curiously imaginative young boy to help us reflect on the delicacy of our childhood innocence.
  The story goes inside the mind of a young child to explore his imagination  who had a frightening event in his childhood.
  The story tells a sinister story about the darker side of human nature. Here, an imaginative boy plays a game that quickly gets out of hand . .

Main Points of the story “The Wish”/ Summary
  The story opens with a small boy picking a scab off his knee. As he sits on the stairs, he becomes aware of the large red, black, and yellow carpet that stretches to the front door.
  He decides that the red patches are red hot lumps of coal that will burn him up completely, and the black parts are poisonous snakes that will bite him and kill him.
  If he can make it all the way across without getting burnt or bitten, he will get a puppy for his birthday tomorrow.
  The boy begins his quest. The first part is easy going, but he reaches some difficult parts and has to take long strides. He wobbles but stretches out his arms to steady himself.
  He reaches a turning point and goes left, because although it seems more difficult, there’s less black. (He’s very afraid of the snakes.) He reaches the halfway point and knows he can’t turn back or jump off. He begins to feel panic rising in his chest.
  He takes another step to the only close yellow piece, and his foot is only a centimeter from a black patch. A snake stirs and raises its head to watch him. “I’m not touching you! You mustn’t bite me!” he thinks. 
  Another snake rises as well, and the child is frozen with terror for several minutes.
  The next step is a very long one, too long to jump. The child manages to get one foot across and transfers his weight. He tries to then bring up his back foot but can’t. He was doing the splits and he was stuck.
  He looked down at the oily bodies of the snakes writhing beneath him. He began to wobble, but this time waving his arms only made it worse. He was starting to go over. “The next thing he saw was this bare hand of his going right into the middle of a great glistening mass of black and he gave one piercing cry as it touched. Out in the sunshine, far away behind the house, the mother was looking for her son.” 
 
Plot : The Wish
  Exposition:
  The exposition shows a boy who is alone, picking off a scab. The boy notices a large carpet with different colours on it.  He creatively tells himself that each different colour represented something. The red colour represented red-hot lumps of coal, that could burn him. The black colours were poisonous snakes, that could bite him, and leave him to die. The yellow colour was the only safe zone for him. If he could get across, he would be gifted a puppy for his birthday. 
 The initiating action:
  The initiating incident was when the boy notices the carpet. If he had not noticed the carpet, and all of its colours, then the conflict would have never happened. This incident is what started the whole conflict. 
  Rising Action:
  The Rising Action was when  the boy starts stepping on the yellow part of the carpet, and halfway across he starts to wobble around. Later, he started to panic. He was halfway across, and now there was no turning back.  All the black ahead made him panic, but he continued to advance across the carpet.
   Climax:
  The boy has a decision to make; he can either go left or right. The left side was more difficult, but there were less black spots there, and so he took the left side . The boy takes a step on to the next yellow, when his foot comes within a centimeter close to the black. This part is the highest point in the story, because he was nearly going to be bitten by a snake, but luck saved him. He had a decision to make; he could've gone right, but he went left instead, for he had a fear of snakes. In his imagination, the snake suddenly looks up to see if he’s about to touch it. The boy, in panic, quickly says, "I'm not touching you! You mustn't bite me! You know I'm not touching you!" (pg. 217).
  Falling action:
  He continues his journey across the carpet, however the next step is quite far. He decides to slowly step over, and hence, he gets stuck in the splits motion. He tried to move back, but he couldn't. He tried to shift all his weight to his front foot, but he couldn't. He was properly stuck.
  Conclusion: 
  The snakes start stirring underneath him. He starts to wobble, and tries to keep his balance by waving his arms, however it doesn't work. He slowly starts to fall over, falling faster and faster towards the black. He gave a loud cry as he touched the black.  

Understanding the text: 
  Answer the following questions:
a.     What did the child do to the scab on his knee?
The child examined his knee cap's scab at first and then he decided to pick it off. He gently picked that scab with his fingernail and put it on his thigh. Finally, he flipped it with his finger.
b.     What kind of effect did the carpet have on the child?
The child was amazed to see the enormous red and black and yellow carpet which he  had never really realized before in such a way. The different colours of carpet seemed to brighten mysteriously and spring out at him in a most dazzling way.
c.      What was he afraid of while walking across the carpet?
While walking across the carpet, he was afraid of red and black coloured spots of the carpet supposing former as the lumps of burning coals and latter as the black colour spots as the black poisonous snakes. Therefore, he walked very carefully only on yellow coloured spots thinking as a safe zone.
d.     What motivated and encouraged the child to start and continue on his journey?
His desire of getting a puppy as a birthday gift on his birthday motivated and encouraged the child to start and continue on his journey.
e.     What did the child see as he looked down on the black patterns of the carpet?
The child saw the poisonous snake with the oily body of snake arising to catch or bite him as he looked down on the black patterns of the carpet.

Reference to the context 
a.     The writer creates two voices in the story. Who are they?
The writer creates two voices in the story and they were the voices of the  narrator and the young boy or  the child.

b.     Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow. “…the black parts are snakes, poisonous snakes, adders mostly, and cobras, thick like tree-trunks around the middle, and if I touch one of them, I'll be bitten and I'll die before tea time. And if I get across safely, without being burnt and without being bitten, I will be given a puppy for my birthday tomorrow.”
        i.            What does ‘the black part’ mean?
The black path means the difficulties, obstacles, challenges and sufferings in the journey.
      ii.            Who is the speaker?
            The speaker is a young boy or  the child.
    iii.            Why doesn’t the speaker want to be burnt?
The speaker doesn't want to be burnt because he wants to get a puppy as a birthday gift on his birthday.

c.      Which images and metaphors are used in the story?
            The images used in the story are:
Ø Black parts of carpet – They represent snakes indicating  hardship, and troubling in life.
Ø Red patches of  the carpet- They indicate fire representing  danger  as it can burn a small child.
Ø Yellow patches of the carpet-  They indicate happiness representing pleasure, hopefulness, and self-confidence in his life.
‘The carpet’  is used as metaphor in the story representing a conflict in the boy’s  life. He is unable to take right decision in his life and gets suffered a lot due to the wrong choice.
d.     Summarize the short story “The Wish” in about 200 words.
 

e.     The story shows the events through the eyes of the narrator and the child. Comparing the two styles, who presents a more interesting or effective view for the readers? Why?
In "The Wish," a boy uses his imagination to travel across a red, black, and yellow carpet that he pretends has treacherous parts, motivating himself with the fantasy of receiving a puppy if he is successful. The child's point of view is more interesting and effective than the narrator's, because it is vivid and suspenseful. The story is primarily about self-confidence overcoming fear rather than about greed.
In the story, the child represents  a more interesting and effective view for readers than the narrator because the child was a in a hardship situation and he faces hardships and won all the challenges as motivated by a Birthday gift as a puppy by completing his journey at the end.

f.       Is “The Wish” a story about self-confidence overcoming fear or about greed? Give your arguments.
            Roald Dahl's "The Wish" is about self-confidence overcoming fear rather than about greed aa it is all about self-confidence and overcoming fear. Admittedly, "greed," the desire for a puppy, is a motivating factor. However, the puppy motivator is a fantasy that boy has made up to help him overcome his fear of crossing the treacherous carpet. He says to himself,       ‘if I get across safely, without being burnt and without being bitten, I will be given a puppy for my birthday tomorrow.
            The child seems fearful while watching his scab. He thinks much about picking it. He raises many questions with himself. He picks out his scab being panic. But when he sees the carpet his fear increases high. He gathers his confidence to cross the carpet. He creates his obstacles supposing the colours as coals and snakes. He even puts his goal across the carpet. He moves on bravely on the carpet wishing for a puppy on his birthday as a birthday gift. He tries his best to overcome his fear. His self-confidence and his wish end as he falls down in black colours.
            Even the puppy becomes part of his project of overcoming fears to achieve a goal: But the fear of not getting the puppy compelled him to go on. This tale enters into the mind of an imaginative child and reflects the child's ability to turn something as common place as a patterned carpet into a scene of adventure and challenge in which he can act out his fears in a safe environment.
  

Reference beyond the text 
a.     Do you think our wish can be fulfilled? Why or why not?
  All our desires and wishes may not be fulfilled.  The desire to work towards a goal may support to fulfill when you work hard  with much efforts towards your wish. So, in actuality, it's quite difficult to have all our desire and wishes get fulfilled. Just because you work hard, doesn't mean your work is effective. For example, you wish to drag a cart from south side of town to the north side, but you have no compass and drag it towards the east, then of course, you wish won't be fulfilled.
  Not all the wants, desire and wishes are fulfilled. Hard work is needed for wish to be fulfilled. The right decision leads to the right path that only can fulfil our needs and desire. But all our desire can't be fulfilled at all.
  Therefore, to fulfil our wish, needs, desire and satisfaction we should practice a lot then only we can be happy. Not all wishes and desires are do-able.
b. Why do you think some people might have a frightening nature? What would you suggest to them to overcome it?
   Some people might have a frightening nature because they do not have self-confidence. They loose their self-confidence easily as they face obstacles in their paths of life.
  I would suggest them the following points to overcome it:
Ø Learn more about your fear at first to get succeed as we all know fear is the sign of success.
Ø Use your imagination and feel positive ways while face obstacles.
Ø Think differently than usual.
Ø Focus on your breathing and destination.
Ø Practice mindfulness and thoughtfulness.
Ø Use nature as your drive to fulfill your task or purpose.

c.      Write a folktale that you have heard or read.

            THE FARMER'S PRESENT
Ø In a small village in Jumla, there lived a hardworking farmer. Once, he had grown a huge watermelon in his garden. It was the biggest anyone had ever seen. The farmer was very proud of his watermelon. He would gaze at the fruit for hours, thinking, "It's one of its kinds! I shall take it to the market and sell it for a good price." Then the next moment, he would think, "No... The market will not be the right place for my watermelon. I shall place it in an exhibition.
Ø Finally, the farmer decided to take his watermelon to the king. "I can't wait for tomorrow! I am sure king will like my gift and reward me with whatever I wish for!" With these happy thoughts the farmer went to sleep.
Ø The king had a habit of taking a walk through his kingdom at night, in order to check if all his subjects were safe. That night, disguised as a common man, the king passed by the farmer's house and suddenly spotted the huge watermelon in the garden.
Ø The king  was so fascinated by the wonderful fruit that he knocked on the farmer's door and woke him up. "Who are you and what do you want at this time of the night?" asked the farmer. "I am a poor man," replied the king, "and I want your watermelon." "THE WATERMELON! NO!" said the farmer. "Then what are you going to do with it?" asked the king. "I am going to present it to the king," replied the farmer. "But what if the king doesn't like it?" asked the king. "Then may he go to the devil!" snorted the farmer. The king left and the farmer went back to sleep.
Ø The next morning, he went to the place crying the huge watermelon. As soon as the farmer saw the king, he recognized him. But he pretended as if he knew nothing. He saluted the king and said, "I've brought you a watermelon, your Majesty! This is the largest watermelon in the country. You will like it!" "Hmm!" nodded the king. "But what if I don't like it?“
"Well... in that case... you already know my answer, your Majesty!" said the farmer, softly.
The king smiled, "I accept your present, O farmer!" said the king. "It's the best gift I've ever received." The farmer was richly rewarded not only for his gift but also for his intelligence and wit.

How are sensory perceptions used in "The Wish" to create atmosphere?
Ø "The Wish" concerns a young boy's fantasy in which his carpet is alive with snakes and fire, and he must traverse it to win a prize: a puppy for his birthday. This is a common type of magical thinking, in which a sudden idea turns into an all-encompassing goal.
Ø Of the senses, the most important one here is sight, as the boy thinks he can see actual snakes in the carpet. The boy is acutely aware of his need to reach the other side, and the consequences of failing, which become more and more real in his mind. In fact, his fantasy becomes so real that he seems to forget it is fantasy, and becomes utterly terrified that it could be reality, with real consequences:
Ø The mere thought of snakes sent a fine electricity of fear running like pins down the backs of his legs and under the soles of his feet.
Ø He glanced down and saw this deep curling river of black underneath him. Parts of it were stirring now, and uncoiling and beginning to shine with a dreadfully oily glister.
(Dahl, "The Wish," mrsmccschooldays.com)
Ø The boy has convinced himself utterly that his fantasy is true, and so he sees the black areas of the carpet as actual snakes, boiling out of a deep black mess. He can't hear them -- in fact, the text explicitly states that they are "noiseless" -- but he can see them as clearly as he can see the fiery coals in the red parts. This allows his mind to trick his body into feeling the innate panic of danger, the "electricity of fear" which is a common flight-or-fight response. The boy's senses are tricked by his imaginative mind, which seeks a goal known only to himself -- the puppy -- and by his fear of failure, which extends beyond simply stepping wrong and is turned into a mortal fear of actual death. 





(All Images Credit: Google Images)

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