kiddingtown » Going Places

http://kiddingtow n.com/going-places/ March 8, 2011

Do you think Sophie appears to be impractical? Explain with an example.

Sophie was a dreamer at its chronic stage and was therefore impractical in her behavior. She used
to jump from one to another plan, all beyond her reach. Once she told her friend Jansie that she
would start a boutique. When Jansie commented that it would not be possible for her, Sophie
changed her plan and quickly went on planning to be an actress, a manager or a fashion designer,
all beyond her reach.

Why did Sophie, then, make such big plans?

Sophie was poor and was aware of that yet she was not able to accept the fact. Between facts and
desires, she struggled to build a dreamy world of hers where she had expensive friends and sought-
after boutique. In this world she was a manager, an actress and the centre of attraction. Thus, by
creating this fairy world, Sophie made her dreams take wings and fly.

What do you know about the height of Sophie's mental disorder as an abnormality?

Sophie was not telling lies for mere pleasure. It was an obsession that developed as part of her
mental disorder such as bipolar abnormality. This is very evident when she at last confesses that it
was a burden she couldn't abandon.

How does Derek, Sophie's little brother, consider her?

Derek is Sophie's little brother. He comments ironically that Sophie thought money grew on trees.
His words reveal that even he had a poor appreciation for Sophie.

Geoff was an entirely different character from Sophie. Explain.

Geoff was Sophie’s elder brother. He was a very practical young man. He dreamed to become a
motor mechanic and worked hard for it and became one. He took life with all its struggles and
conquered it as much as he could. But Sophie lived in her dreams and found enjoyment and
realization in dreams. She was never ready to struggle.

Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff?

Sophie was a nonstop speaker. Whatever she talked was impracticality and lie. But on the other
side Geoff was a silent young man. His silence gave him a lustrous personality. Sophie always
wanted to be able to hold her tongue but was never able to do so and this made her jealous of
Geoff’s silence.

What was Geoff’s unknown world that Sophie believed to have existed? Did this world really exist?

Sophie believed that Geoff had a world unknown to her, that existed in the city. In that world there
were exotic and interesting people. No, this world did not really exist.

'Sophie wished she could be admitted more deeply into her brother’s affections.' What does she
mean by her brother’s affections?

Sophie’s world was one of fantasy. Her brother Geoff was a very practical young man with an urge
to work hard. Unlike Sophie, he was very silent. Sophie believed that Geoff had a world of great
friends and lovers, unknown to her. After thinking so over and over, Sophie began to believe that
Geoff’s world was real and wanted to be considered very important among Geoff’s friends.
Evaluate Sophie from her feeling that the city expectantly awaited her arrival?

Even though Sophie was a poor teenager, she had expensive dreams. She could not accept the
fact that she was poor. She considered her to be a rich city girl. She considered herself to be very
important for the city. She placed herself to be the centre of the city life. From all this Sophie
appears to be an impractical girl who lived in a world of dreams.

What was Sophie's latest lie?

Sophie was a habitual liar and an endless dreamer. She told lies in the best convincing way. The
latest of her lies was that she had an unexpected meeting with Danny Casey, the Irish football
player. She further told that the great hero was in love with her and that he had promised an evening
with her in a park.

Why did Sophie give an extra importance to Geoff by showing that she was 'chastened by his
unawareness?'

One of Sophie’s tricks while telling lies was to pass the lie first to Geoff, her brother. Geoff was a
simpleton and easily believed her stories. When Geoff asked her whether she had told their father
about her meeting Danny Casey, Sophie expressed her pain and agitation at his forgetting that he
was always the first one to whom she disclosed her top secrets. In fact the purpose of making Geoff
feel that he was very important to Sophie was to make him believe her by pleasing him.

How was Danny Casey going to be a lot of distractions for youngsters?

Danny Casey was a rising football prodigy from Ireland. He had already become a sensation in
England where he played for the United Manchester. People believed that Danny would become a
distraction for the youngsters of the time if his popularity went on rising.

What were Sophie's expectation when she walked to the park?

Sophie expected that she would meet Danny Casey in the park. She wondered about the thrill the
moment she saw the great hero walking to her. She was happy that she would get an autograph
from Danny Casey and that she would be able to convince everyone that she had not been a liar.

Why did Sophie go to the park to meet Danny Casey even though it was a lie?

A repeated lie sometimes appears to be a truth, especially to the one who told it. After telling
everyone about her meeting Danny Casey, Sophie too had a faint feeling that she had really met
him. When that feeling grew up to a concrete belief, Sophie forgot that it was a lie and therefore she
went to the park to meet Danny Casey.

In the second stage of Sophie's mental transformation she starts doubting Danny Casey. What
makes her suspect him?

In the final stage of Sophie's mental transformation we see a Sophie suspecting herself and
realizing the truth. Explain.

'I can see the future and how I will have to live with this burden.' What burden is Sophie talking
about?

Sophie is talking about her habit of telling lies and her helplessness in keeping this burden down for
ever.