Rule Britannia English Chapter 6 |B.com/B.B.A General English notes|English Literature
English Literature
Chapter 6
RULE BRITANNIA
Short Answer Questions
1. What was normal for the British families in those times?
In those times, it was normal for the British families to have one or two close friends among the Indians with whom they were on visiting terms.
2. What did her father's superior call him?
The author's father's superior, a balding, red-faced gentleman named Ross, called her father ‘my good friend Nair' whenever he came to their house.
3. Who taught their cook the basics of European cookery?
Mrs.Ross taught their cook the basics of European cookery.Whenever they go to Malabar,the author's family used to lent their cook to Mrs.Ross , so that she might teach him the rudiments of European cookery.
4. How did the children enjoy their food?
The children, the author's elder brother and author, used to eat early and unsupervised, ate Western meals with their little brown fingers, licking their hands, enjoying all that was served on their plates.
5. The cook's reaction to their style of eating was:
a) smile b) frown c ) stiff face
6. What kind of visitors came to their school?
The kind of visitors who came to their school were ,occasionally the school would get a distinguished visitor, a bird of bright plumage alighting for a short while, a governor's wife, a white-moustached admiral or a lady in grey silks claiming relationship with the family at Buckingham Palace.
7. Which song did the children sing?
The children sang the National Anthem, Rule Britannia, louder than the others. In the mornings, while Madam will sit at the grand piano on which stood the tinted photograph of the British royal family and the children raised their voices in song, singing 'Britain's never shall be slaves',
8. The people walking in the street ignored the song being sung. True/False?
False.The people walking in the street listened to the song being sung.Even the postman slowed his walk to listen.
9. Did the song really signify the strength of Britain?
The song was the National Anthem of Britain , Rule Britannia,where the children used to raise their voice and sang 'Britain's never shall be slaves', through which they wanted to show the strength of Britain but they were not really able to signify the strength of Britain.
10. Who was the model for the girls of the school?
Shirley Temple , with her golden ringlets and her toothy smile was the model of the girls of the school. All the little girls copied her. The author's school hung her picture on the wall behind the piano.
11. What was done to the brown children when visitors arrived?
When the visitors came, the brown children were always discreetly hidden away, swept under the carpet, told to wait in the corridor behind the lavatories where the school ayahs kept them company.
12. How did Louis behave?
Louis was the black the black Anglo-Indian who would not make up his mind which side to take.If Indian children were hated by the white children, poor Louis was hated more but he followed them about, clowning to put them in good humour, barking like a dog and braying like an ass.
13. Who had composed the poem? Who got the credit for it?
The author had composed the poem. But when when the visitor asked who wrote it, their Principal said that Shirley had composed it and added that ,she is a combination of beauty and brains.Then there was a special kiss from governor's wife and commented that, she was a bright little moppet, .
14. What did the other boys call her brother?
As her brother was plump and dark the other boys called her brother 'Blackie".
English Literature
Paragraph answer questions
1. What was the atmosphere in the author's house?
Author's father was always busy with his work at the automobile firm where he was employed, selling Rolls Royce's, Humbers and Bentleys to the Indian princes and their relatives. Her mother, vague and indifferent, spent her time lying on her belly on a large four-poster bed, composing poems in Malayalam.The cook took author and her brother to the European school a furlong away and brought them back in the afternoon.He was not affectionate nature. So they grew up more or less neglected, and because they were aware of themselves as neglected children in a social circle that pampered the young, there developed between them a strong relationship of love.
2. What did the cook learn? How did he behave?
When the author's family went to Malabar for a month's stay with their grandmother, they lent their cook to Mrs.Ross so that she might teach him the rudiments of European cookery. With every vacation they took, their cook advanced more and more in the culinary arts until their eating habits had to be altered to suit this sophistication.
Instead of the rice and curry, he served them soups, cutlets and a stew. For their mother he cooked a plate of rice and lentils because he felt that it was too late to change her tastes.The cook used to frown when he saw author and her elder brother ate western meals with their little brown fingers, licking their hands,enjoying all that was served on their plates . He thought of them as savages
3. How did the other children torture her brother?
Although author's brother was the cleverest in his class,he was plump and dark.The white boys used to make fun of him and tortured him by pushing a pointed pencil up his nostril. One day his shirt front was covered with blood. Even though he was stunned by the cruelty , the tears seemed inhibited, staying suspended on his lashes. William the bully even exclaimed to his brother, 'Blackie, your blood is red.'The author and her elder brother did not tell their parents of tortures they underwent at school for having a nut-brown skin.
4. What steps did the Principal take when foreign dignitaries visited the school?
When the visitors came, the brown children were always discreetly hidden away, swept under the carpet, told to wait in the corridor behind the lavatories where the school ayahs kept them company. None of them looked too pretty in those days.There were six in all, including Louis the black Anglo-Indian who was hated the most by the white children.
Essay Questions
1. Explain the colonial atmosphere that had set in school as well as at home.
The author had grown up in a colonial atmosphere which was set in both school and home. When she was a little child growing up in Calcutta, British still ruled India. But in good society they behaved like equals. It was normal for a British family to have one or two close friends among the Indians with whom they were on visiting terms.The author's father's superior, a balding, red-faced gentleman named Ross, called her father ‘my good friend Nair' whenever he came to their house.
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When the authors family went for a month's stay with their grandmother, they lent their cook to Mrs.Ross so that she might teach him the rudiments of European cookery. With every vacation they took, their cook advanced more and more in the culinary arts until their eating habits had to be altered to suit this sophistication.
Instead of the rice and curry, he served soups, cutlets and a stew. For author's mother he cooked a plate of rice and lentils because he felt that it was too late to change her tastes. Her father ate with a fork and knife. The children, author and her elder brother , eating early and unsupervised, ate Western meals with their little brown fingers, licking their hands, enjoying all that was served on their plates while the cook stood by, frowning. He thought them as savages.
Author's father was always busy with his work at the automobile firm where he was employed, selling Rolls Royce's, Humbers and Bentleys to the Indian princes and their relatives. The cook took author and her brother to the European school a furlong away and brought them back in the afternoon .So they grew up more or less neglected, and because they were aware of themselves as neglected children in a social circle that pampered the young, there developed between them a strong relationship of love
Atmosphere in the school was also colonial.Although her eider brother was the cleverest in his class, the white boys made fun of him and tortured him by pushing a pointed pencil up his nostril. One day his shirt front was covered with blood. Even though he was stunned by the cruelty , even the tears seemed inhibited, staying suspended on his lashes. William the bully even exclaimed to his brother, 'Blackie, your blood is red.',Even though she scratched his face she was soon overpowered by the tough Anglo-Indians who were always on the other side, fighting for the white man's rights. The author and her elder brother did not tell their parents of tortures they underwent at school for having a nut-brown skin.
The children sang the National Anthem, Rule Britannia, louder than the others. In the mornings, while Madam will sit at the grand piano on which stood the tinted photograph of the British royal family and the children raised their voices in song, singing 'Britain's never shall be slaves',
Shirley Temple , with her golden ringlets and her toothy smile was the model of the girls of the school. All the little girls copied her. The author's school hung her picture on the wall behind the piano.
When the dignitaries arrive, it will be always Shirley who carries the bouquet.She was a Scot with pink cheeks and yellow ringlets.Even the poem composed by the author was sung by Shirley and when the visitor asked who wrote it, their Principal said that Shirley had composed it and added that ,she is a combination of beauty and brains.
Occasionally the school would get a distinguished visitor, a bird of bright plumage alighting for a short while, a governor's wife, a white-moustached admiral or a lady in grey silks claiming relationship with the family at Buckingham Palace.When the visitors came, the brown children were always discreetly hidden away, swept under the carpet, told to wait in the corridor behind the lavatories where the school ayahs kept them company. None of them looked too pretty in those days. There were six in all, counting Louis the black Anglo-Indian who would not make up his mind which side to take.If they were hated by the white children, poor Louis was hated more but he followed them about, clowning to put them in good humour, barking like a dog and braying like an ass.
Thus the author grew up in a colonial atmosphere both at school and home.
2. Describe the Principal's prejudice for the Europeans.
The author clearly describes the Principal's Prejudice towards the Europeans from her's and her elder brother's experiences in European school.The author and her elder brother studied in a European school which was a furlong away.The cook took author and her brother to the European school and brought them back in the afternoon.Her elder brother was tortured and bullied by the white children in his class just because he was Indian even though he was the cleverest in his class.
Atmosphere in the school was purely colonial. The author and her elder brother did not tell their parents of tortures they underwent at school for having a nut-brown skin.The Principal's prejudice for the Europeans were clearly visible from the many incidents occurred in the school when author and her elder brother was studying there.
The school being in India, still made the children sang the National Anthem of Britain, Rule Britannia, louder than the others. In the mornings, while Madam will sit at the grand piano on which stood the tinted photograph of the British royal family and the children raised their voices in song, singing 'Britain's never shall be slaves'.
Shirley Temple , with her golden ringlets and her toothy smile was the model of the girls of the school. All the little girls copied her. The author's school hung her picture on the wall behind the piano.The author had in her class another Shirley.She was a Scot with pink cheeks and yellow ringlets
When the dignitaries arrive, it will be always Shirley who carries the bouquet.She was a Scot with pink cheeks and yellow ringlets.Even the poem composed by the author was sung by Shirley and when the visitor asked who wrote it, their Principal said that Shirley had composed it and added that ,she is a combination of beauty and brains.
Occasionally the school would get a distinguished visitor, a bird of bright plumage alighting for a short while, a governor's wife, a white-moustached admiral or a lady in grey silks claiming relationship with the family at Buckingham Palace.
When any dignitary visits the school the Principal always took necessary steps to make sure that everything was done by white children whether it is welcoming the guest or entertaining the guest.Even the guests would be Europeans dignitaries only.
The Principal always made sure that the Indian and the black Anglo-Indian children were hidden when guests were about to come because for the Principal they were not good enough to be presented before the dignitaries. When the visitors came, the brown children were always discreetly hidden away.They were swept under the carpet or told to wait in the corridor behind the lavatories where the school ayahs kept them company. None of them looked too pretty in those days. There were six in all, counting Louis the black Anglo-Indian who would not make up his mind which side to take.If the Indian children were hated by the white children for their nut brown skin, poor Louis was hated more as he was black in colour. In spite of their hate Louis followed them about, clowning to put them in good humour, barking like a dog and braying like an ass.
All these incidents clearly shows how much prejudice the Principal had towards the Europeans.
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