FLAMINGO (PROSE)

8. GOING PLACES

Short Answer Type Questions :

Q1. Where was it likely that the two girls would find work after school and why?
 The two girls were just stepping out of school and did not have any professional skills. Belonging
to the lower-middle class, they neither had resources nor any back-up to set up their own ventures.
So, the biscuit factory was the most likely place that the two girls could find work in.

Q2. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her from
having such dreams?
 Sophie dreams of stepping out of the confines of her lower-middle class status. She wishes to buy
a boutique, if ever she is able to make big money. She thinks she could be a manager in some
establishment and thus save money. She even dreams of becoming an actress or a fashion
designer. Jansie discourages her from having such dreams because they are wild and can never be
fulfilled. It was senseless for Sophie to pursue such dreams as they could only lead her to
frustration.

Q3. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
 When Geoff shared the incident of Sophie’s meeting with Danny Casey, she wriggled because she
knew that it was false. Sophie was certain that he would not believe a word of her concocted
story.

Q4. How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of her future?
 Sophie knows that Geoff is a great fan of Danny Casey. His bedroom walls are covered with
coloured photographs of the player. She cleverly humours him by not telling her father about the
secret which she shared only with him.

Q5. Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
 Sophie did not want Jansie to know about her meeting with Danny because she knew that Jansie
was good at spreading rumours. Moreover, she had made up the story only for her family. She
did not mean to draw crowd to her house with hundreds of queries about this meeting.

Q6. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?

 Sophie did not really meet Danny Casey. Her story is only a part of her fantasy. Being very
imaginative, she envisions her meeting with Danny and gives vivid details of the meeting.

Q7. Why did Sophie dream of having a boutique after leaving school?
 Sophie was struck by the glamorous world like most adolescents are. The glamour of fashion is
beyond the reach of a lower-middle class girl like Sophie. So she dreams of having a boutique,

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 for it is the most likely place visited by celebrities. In order to be a part of this world and to earn
big money, she wanted to have a boutique after leaving school.

Q8. How did Sophie’s family react when she announced that if she ever had money she would
buy a boutique?
 When Sophie shared her dream with her family, they did not pay much attention to her. Her
father contradicted her by saying that if she ever had that kind of money, she would better buy a
decent house for them. Her brother Derek mocked her by saying that money did not grow on
trees. Her mother sighed to express her helplessness as she knew that it could never be realized.

Q9. What does Sophie mean when she says ‘words had to be prized out of him like stones out of
the ground?
 Sophie comments upon Geoff’s reserved and silent nature. He was a man of few words and
hardly ever spoke voluntarily. Words had to be drawn out from his mouth, just as precious stones
are dug out from the ground with great effort.

Q10. What did Sophie find most fascinating in her brother Geoff?
 Sophie was captivated by her brother’s lost and inquisitive eyes. He hardly ever spoke, but in his
silence his eyes seemed to be roaming in some distant recesses of mind, of which Sophie knew
nothing. Sophie was most fascinated by his evasiveness and wanted to go over with him in his
mysterious world.

Q11. Sophie did not approve of her own world. What kind of a world did she dream of?
 Sophie felt herself choked and suffocated in her humble set up. She dreamt of a vast world which
was more sophisticated, romantic and glamorous than her own. She dreamt of owning the best of
the shops in the city. She visualized herself as an actress or a fashion designer.

Q12. What did Sophie tell Geoff about her meeting with Danny Casey? Why?
 Sophie told Geoff that she had met Danny Casey incidentally outside the Royce’s when she was
just looking at some clothes in the window. She asked him for his autograph but couldn’t get it
because none of them had paper or a pen with them. She shared this incident with Geoff because
she knew that Geoff was a great fan of Danny and it would thrill him and he would be awe-struck
and highly impressed.

Q13. What place did Sophie choose to have a date with Danny Casey and why?
 Sophie chose a favourite haunt to have a date with Danny. The place was a deserted one which
would afford least disturbance to them. Moveover, the spot had a romance about itself that would
make it the most suitable place for such a meeting.

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Q14. Coming back home from the canal Sophie once again starts picturing Casey outside
Royce’s. What does the incident show about her nature?
 Sophie’s picturing Casey outside Royce’s for the second time shows the intensity of her
imagination. Her fantasizing is so life-like that she visualizes all the nuances of her hero’s voice
and expressions vividly. She transports herself immediately without bothering about what others
have to say about it.

Long Answer Type Questions :

Q1. Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind. Discuss.
 Sophie, like most adolescents, loves to fantasize and dream about a world which is far removed
from reality. Day dreaming is the characteristic aspect of youngsters. In their mental world they
envision for themselves a life which they would like to lead. Their imagination draws into their
lives all those whom they idolize but can never make them a part of their own life.

Sophie also creates a fantastic world of her dreams. Her reality is that she belongs to a lower-
middle class family, but in her dreams she wants to break herself free from this harsh reality. She
dreams of having a boutique which might never be a reality for her. Her meeting with Danny
Casey is also a figment of her imagination. She feels that she has actually met him and waits for
him at her favourite spot for a date. She struggles between her dreams and her reality. Thus,
Sophie travels in her mental world from happiness to disappointment and between her dreams and
reality.

Q2. It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. On the basis of your reading of the
story, comment on the benefits and disadvantages of such fantasizing. (Value Based Ques.)
 Our dreams are an integral part of our life. Devoid of dreams, life will become dull, drab and
morbid. It is our dreams which remain our motivating force and push us to struggle for a better
life. Teenage is that phase in one’s life when one is preparing oneself to meet the challenges of
life. Teenagers are not acquainted with the harsh realities of life and get absorbed by what the
world has to offer them. Much of their dream world is influenced by movies and media. They
see ordinary and simple people like them making it big as celebrities. Their dreams easily draw
them into this glamorous world. They idolize their heroes and think that achieving high in life is
not a distant dream. Then, they start nurturing unrealistic dreams, like Sophie in the story.

It is important for one to dream high. If one doesn’t, one can never be successful. However,
dreaming the unachievable can be damaging for the personality. We hear many cases of
youngsters falling into depression, having suicidal tendencies and many committing suicides
which are a result of unrealistic goals and unrealized dreams. Dreams certainly are an integral
part of our life, but if not dealt with adequately, they may prove to be damaging to our
personalities.

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Q3. Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and friends. What were the differences between them
that show up in the story?
 Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and close friends, but the two were in sharp contrast in their
approach towards life. One was sensible and realistic while the other escaped to the world of
make-believe on the wings of her imagination. Grounded in her reality, Jansie did not nurture big
dreams and wanted to achieve what was achievable. She accepted what destiny offered her with a
sense of resignation and even wanted her friend to accept the reality. Sophie, on the other hand,
aspired to achieve what others considered to be impossible. This romantic young girl’s fickle-
mindedness is laid bare when she plans to be an actress or a fashion designer.

Q4. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective,
what did he symbolize?
 Sophie liked her brother Geoff more than anyone else in the family because he was a man of few
words. She felt herself comfortable in sharing her secrets with him, for she knew he would never
let her down. He always listened to her wild stories patiently and never ridiculed her. There was
a mysterious impression around Geoff which also fascinated Sophie a lot. His closed personality
gave him a mysterious character and Sophie saw him as a symbol of the world which was
unknown to her and beyond her reach. She longed to delve deep into her brother’s affections.
Wanting him to be a part of her glamorous world, she fantasized riding with him wearing stylish
clothes.

Q5. What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her
family’s financial status?
 Sophie belonged to the lower-middle class of society. Her father worked hard for his living and
his labour reflected on his face which was grimy and stank of sweat. Her mother was bent, her
back gone crooked with the burden of the household work. Her brother Geoff worked as an
apprentice mechanic. The family lived in a small house which displayed their humble living with
dirty linen piled in one corner and the room smelling of stove. Her friend, Jansie, pointed it out
that they were earmarked for the biscuit factory. When Sophie shared her dream of having a
boutique, her father reminded her that much more than a boutique their poverty-stricken family
needed to have a decent house. All these indicators go on to prove that the family had a poor
financial status.

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