Class-VIII L-Father's Help (by R.K. Narayan)

L- Father’s Help

by R.K. Narayan

Q V. Let’s write

(a)  Imagine that you are Swami.Write a diary entry relating your experience with Samuel in the school.

Ans.

Saturday                                                                 

6^th August  2016                                                                                       10:00 p.m.      

Dear Diary    

                                                            

Today was the most terrible day of my life. I didn’t want to go to school and made an excuse that I had a headache. My mother allowed me to stay back home but my father didn’t listen to me and was keen on sending me to school even I was late. I told him that my teacher Samuel punished the late comers badly and gave a false account of his violence in school. My father became excited and wrote a complaint letter against Samuel and told me to give it to the headmaster of the school. On my way to school, I was confused as what I told about Samuel was real and how much of it was imagined. I reached school with a heavy heart. I decided to give the letter to the headmaster in the afternoon so that Samuel might do something that would justify the letter. I entered his class and he was much more friendly than usual. I tried to make him angry and beat me badly. I was already late to the class and told him that I had not done my homework. I behaved strangely to provoke him to beat me and I was successful. Samuel caned me and called me an idiot. I was very happy as I was able to justify the content of the letter. As soon as the bell rang, I ran to the headmaster’s office but was sad to know that he had gone on an afternoon off and wouldn’t be in the school for a week. I was told by the peon to handover the letter to the assistant headmaster, Samuel. But I didn’t as the letter contained complaint against him only. I went back home. My father scolded me for not delivering the letter. He called me a liar and a coward. I have learnt a lesson that I will never tell a lie in my life.

Swami

(b)  Imagine that you are Samuel. Write a diary entry expressing your surprise at Swami’s strange behavior in the class and your feelings at caning him.

Ans.

Saturday                                                             

6^th August  2016                                                                                     10:00p.m.      

Dear Diary                                                                      

A fairly well behaved child- Swami behaved in a very unusual way in the class today. In the morning he came late saying that he had a headache. He hadn’t done his homework but I didn’t take much notice of it. However, in the last period he started misbehaving strangely. Inspite of my warning he spoke out of the turn and at the top of his voice disturbing everybody. Finally, I had to cane him as a punishment. I struck him several times. The boy stood there without showing any sign of fear. I am feeling very guilty at having beaten him, but I couldn’t help it. He provoked me again and again. I don’t know what has happened to him. I will talk to him tomorrow and hope he behaves normally.

Samuel