Going Places
By A.R.
Barton
About
the author
A. R. Barton is a modern writer, who lives in
Zurich and Writes in English. He has authored many stories
like "Going Places" which are mainly concerned with the problems and the stage of adolescence.
Introduction
The theme of this story is adolescent
fantasizing and hero-worship. It is quite natural for teenagers to have
unrealistic dreams especially when their families are not well off. It is
because of the fact that the socio-economic background plays a leading role in
the lives of the youths for choosing a particular profession. The act of
fantasizing may lead to miseries in case it is beyond our approach. It is
useless to build castles in the air.
Characters
1. Sophie: a school going teenager
2. Jansie: a friend and classmate of Sophie
3. Geoff: an elder brother of Sophie
4. Derek: a younger brother of Sophie
5. Danny Casey: A young Irish football player
6. Tom Finney: A great football player
7. United: name of the football team
7. Father & mother of Sophie
Summary
Sophie, a teenager is filled with fantasies and
desires. She comes from a poor financial background. She dreams of owning a
boutique one day or being an actress or fashion designer but her friend Jansie
believes that they are from a poor financial background and have to work in a biscuit
factory. Jansie, who is more realistic, tries to pull Sophie to reality, but in
vain. Sophie lives in a small house with her parents and brothers, Geoff and
little Derek. Though she voices her feelings and desires, her parents don’t
believe her because they, unlike her, are more mature and know the harsh
realities of life.
Sophie finds a sort of fascination for her
elder brother Geoff, who is tall, strong, handsome and reserved. She envies his
silence and often wonders about his thoughts and areas of his life that she
doesn't know about.
Sophie fantasizes about Danny Casey, an Irish
football player whom she had seen playing in innumerable matches. She makes up
a story about how she met him in the streets and tells this to Geoff. Geoff,
who is more sensible than Sophie, does not really believe her, even if she
wants to. It seems an unlikely incident for Sophie to meet the prodigy in their
street, but when Sophie describes the meeting in all her details, he begins to
hope that it could be true. She tells him that Danny has promised to meet her
somewhere again.
Sophie gets so pulled into the story she made
that she herself begins to believe that it’s true. She waits for the Irish
player, but obviously, he never arrives. Then, she makes her way home,
wondering how her brother would be disappointed on knowing that Danny Casey never
showed up. However, Sophie still fantasizes about her hero, Danny Casey and
believes he would definitely come to meet her.
Main
points
1. The lesson explores the theme of adolescent
fantasies and hero worship.
2. Sophie, a young girl always dreams of big
and beautiful things.
3. Her ambitions have no relation with the
harsh realities of life.
4. Jansie, Sophie’s friend is a realistic and
practical girl.
5. Both Sophie and Jansie belong to the lower
middle class families.
6. Sophie adores an Irish Footballer Danny
Casey and makes imaginary flights to meet him.
Short
Answer Type Questions
Ql. What does Sophie dream of doing after she
passes out of school? Why do you call it a ‘dream’ and not a ‘plan?
Ans. Sophie dreams to have
a boutique of her own. It will be the most amazing shop the city has ever seen.
She says that she will buy a boutique if ever she comes into money. She does
not mind becoming an actress to run a boutique as a side business. Since she
has no money or experience, it is called a ‘dream’ and not a ‘plan’.
Q2. What are the other dreams of Sophie in
addition to having a boutique?
Ans. The greatest dream of
Sophie is to have a boutique. She wants to be a bit sophisticated and rise
above her lower-middle class status. Her other dream is of being an actress as
“there’s real money in that”. Moreover, actresses don’t work full time. She can
look after her first love i.e. boutique
as a side business. She has another option. She can be a fashion designer, and
do something sophisticated.
Q3. Why does Jansie say: “Soaf you really should
be sensible”?
Ans. Jansie knows Sophie’s family background
and financial position. She knows that both of them are earmarked for that
biscuit factory. Sophie dreams of big and beautiful things like having a
boutique or becoming an actress or a fashion designer. All these things need a
lot of money and experience. Sophie has neither of them. So Jansie advises her
to be sensible and stop having wild dreams.
Q4. Compare and contrast Sophie and Jansie?
Ans. Sophie and Jansie are
classmates and friends but they are poles apart in thinking and temperament.
Sophie is an incurable dreamer and escapist. She dreams of big and beautiful
things, which are beyond her reach. On the other hand, Jansie is realistic and
practical. She knows that they are poor and have to work in the biscuit factory
after leaving school. She is well aware that big things require big money and
experience, which they don’t have.
Q5. What job is Geoff engaged in? How does he
differ from his sister, Sophie?
Ans. Geoff is grown up boy.
He left school three years ago. Now he is an apprentice mechanic. He has to
travel to his work each day to the far side of the city. He speaks little but
listens to his sister’s ‘wild stories’. But he is not a day dreamer like her.
He knows the financial limitations of the family. He cautions Sophie against
entertaining dreams for a celebrity like Danny Casey.
Q6. Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence?
Ans. Geoff was almost grown
up now. He spoke little. Sophie was jealous of his silence. She knew that when
he was not speaking, he was away somewhere. He was out in the surrounding
country—in those places she had never been. She wanted to share her brother’s
affection.
Q7. What does Sophie tell Geoff about her
meeting with Danny Casey? How does Geoff react to it?
Ans. Sophie tells Geoff
that she met Danny Casey. Geoff is surprised. He looks round abruptly and asks
‘where?’ Sophie replies that she met him in the arcade. Geoff can’t believe
her. He says, “It’s never true.” He asks her, “What does he look like?” She
replies that he has green eyes and is not very tall. Geoff is still not
convinced.
Q8. How does Sophie’s father react when Geoff tells him
about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans. Geoff informs his
father that Sophie had a meeting with Danny Casey. He turns his head on his
thick neck to look at her in disbelief. His expression is one of disdain. He
ignores the news and goes on to talk about Tom Finney. He hopes that Danny will
be like Tom Finney one day. When Sophie says that Casey is going to buy a shop,
he reacts sharply. “This is another of your wild stories.”
Q9. Who was Danny Casey? How did the members of
Sophie’s family react towards him?
Ans. Danny Casey was a
young Irish football player. He played for the United. The Irish prodigy could
easily dodge the defenders and score goals. Sophie’s father was a football fan.
He admired old heroes like Tom Finney and young wonder boy Casey. Geoff had a
large poster of United first team squad on his bed room wall. There were three
coloured photographs of Casey in the row below it. Every Saturday they went to
watch United.
Q10. Where did Sophie meet Casey and what
transpired between them?
Ans. Sophie met Danny Casey in the arcade. It was
she who spoke first and asked if he was Casey. He looked surprised. He was
certainly Danny Casey as he had the Irish accent. She had already heard him on
television. She asked him for an autograph for little Derek. But neither of
them had any paper or pen. Before going he promised to give his autograph if
she cared to meet him next week.
Q11. How did Jansie react at Sophie’s story of
her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans. Jansie was a classmate
and friend of Sophie. She lived in the same neighbourhood. She knew Sophie
quite well. She was also aware of Sophie’s habit of dreaming. On learning of
her meeting with Danny Casey, her first reaction was of disbelief. “You never
did”, exclaimed Jansie. But when Sophie told her about her request for
autograph, Jansie softened a little and said, “Jesus, I wish I’d have been
there.”
Q12. Why did Sophie choose to walk by the canal?
'What did she do there?
Ans. Sophie walked by the
canal along a sheltered path. It was far away from the noise and crowd of the
city. It was a place where she had often played when she was a child. There was
a wooden bench beneath a solitary elm tree. Lovers sometimes came there. That
was the most suitable place where she could dream of her hero Danny Casey
Q13. What did Sophie feel while sitting for hours
and waiting for Danny Casey by the canal?
Ans. At first Sophie was
optimistic. She imagined him coming out of the shadows. When time had elapsed, pangs
of doubt stirred inside her. She became sad and despondent. Danny would not
come there at all. She feared that people would laugh at the story of her
meeting with Casey.
Q14. “Sophie's dreams and disappointments are all
in her mind.” Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Ans. I fully agree with the observation.
Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind, she is a
hero-worshipper. The Irish prodigy is her hero. She imagines her meeting with
him. Her day-dreaming makes her sad and despondent. The idea that Casey will
not come at all is quite painful to her. Thus her dreams and disappointments
are products of her mind only. They have nothing to do with reality.
Long
Answer Type Questions
Ql. What impression do you form of Sophie on
reading the story ‘Going Places’?
Ans. Sophie is a young school girl. She dreams
of big and beautiful things. Some of these are beyond her reach. Her ambitions
have no relation with the harsh realities of life. She thinks of having a
boutique. She wants to have the most amazing shop this city has ever seen. Then
she entertains the idea of being an actress ‘There’s real money in that.’
Actresses do now work full time. So she would run the boutique as a side business.
If need be, she can be a fashion designer. She doesn’t realize that her family
is not rich enough and her dreams can’t be fulfilled.
Sophie develops a romantic fascination for
Danny Casey. He is a young Irish football player and the hero of her dreams.
She indulges in hero worship. She tells a story that she met Casey. Her father
calls it another of her “wild stories”. Even Geoff does not believe her. She
has seen Casey only once, but all the time she thinks of him. She sits alone
and waits for his arrival. She becomes sad and despondent when Casey does not
come. She suffers because of her dreams. These dreams and disappointments are
all the creations of her mind.
Q2. Compare and contrast Sophie and Jansie highlighting
their temperament and aspirations.
Ans. Sophie and Jansie are classmates and
friends. They belong to lower middle class families. Both of them are earmarked
for biscuit factory. Jansie is down to earth. She is practical and realist. But Sophie is totally blind to the harsh
realities of life. She dreams of big and beautiful things. She wants to have a
boutique. She thinks of becoming an actress as there is lot of money in this
profession. If need be, she can also be a fashion designer. In short, she loves
to be grand and sophisticated. All her dreams are beyond her reach and
resources. Jansie advises her to be sensible, but she remains a romantic
dreamer.
Sophie and Jansie differ in thinking and temperament.
Sophie is lost in her dream world, she shares her secret with only one person.
It is her elder brother Geoff. Jansie is ‘nosey’. She takes interests in
learning new things about others. She can spread the story in the whole
neighbourhood. So Sophie doesn’t want to share secrets with her.
Q3. Describe the bond between Geoff
and Sophie in spite of differences in their temperament and thinking.
Ans. Geoff was Sophie’s
elder brother. He was three years out of school. He was an apprentice mechanic.
He travelled to his work each day to the far side of the city. He was almost
grown up now. He spoke very little. Sophie was jealous of Geoff’s silence. He
was quiet and didn’t make new friends easily. He thought that Sophie was too
young and immature. Geoff was mature enough to understand his limitations and
those of his family. He never dreamt of big and beautiful things.
In spite of difference in their temperaments,
there was a close bond between the two. Geoff was always the first to share
Sophie’s secrets. He knew that Sophie’s story of meeting with Danny Casey was
not true. Still he listened to her. Sophie confided in him. Her secret was
something special just between them. It was not meant for nosey Jansie who
would spread it in the whole neighbourhood. Geoff tried to persuade Sophie. He
warned her that Danny Casey was a celebrity. He must have many girls like her
running after him. Sophie told him that Casey would give her an autograph if
she cared to meet him next week. Geoff did not believe “he’d ever show up.”
Thus he acted like an elder brother.
Q4. Who was Danny Casey? How was he adored by the
family of Sophie, and especially by Sophie and her father?
Ans. Danny Casey was an Irish Prodigy. He was a
wonder boy of football. He had won the hearts of his countless fans. He played
for United. Sophie’s family was obsessed with the Irish genius. Sophie’s father
compared young Danny Casey to another great football player Tom Finney. He
wished that Casey might be that good someday. Geoff remarked that he was with
the best team in the country. He hoped that Casey would prove even a better
player than Tom Finney. Geoff considered him the best. His father thought that
he was too young for the first team. The fact was that with his exceptional
ability he was playing for the first eleven.
On Saturday, Sophie’s family made their weekly
pilgrimage to the stadium to watch United play their match. They watched their
hero Danny Casey in action. Sophie
adored Danny Casey. She had a romantic fascination for the Irish prodigy. Her
young heart throbbed for her hero. She imagined Casey coming to her. She would
sit under an elm tree, waiting for Casey and dreaming of him. She realized that
he would not come. This made her sad and dejected. Sophie became a victim of
her own dreams and disappointments.