88 B.Com, / BABA, «IV Sementer Eng, Lh ‘8 (3) THE HOOP Feodor Kuzmich Sologuy —— ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ‘i Feodor Kuzmich Sologub(1863 1927) is a Prolific Russian author, dramatist, essayist and poet of the Symbologist movement, his undoubted masterpiece being (1907). was born on 17 February, 1863, in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was later to adopt the Sologub. In 1882, after training at the St. Petersburg Teachers' Training Institute, Sologub was appointed teacher of Narvskoe municipal school and began his career, mainly teaching math; with the Russian Ministry of Public Education. A significa for Sologub was the 28th of January, 1884, when his poem and Hedgehog, was published in the magazine literary success. Much of his ensuing poetry dealt laconically with ~ morbid themes and death in a beautifully simplistic way, unencumbered by heavy metaphor. SUMMARY Feodor Sologub, author well known for his literary works takes us to reminiscence of our childhood days. The story begins with a young boy of four walking along with his young and smart mother as well bowling a hoop a large, j new yellow hoop. Merrily he was enjoying with his hoop while everything around him, the streets in the eat! ly morning, the sun and the distant din of the city was new60 B.Com. / B.B.A. - IV Semester English and stumbling upon the roots, he hung the hoop ona limb. Suddenly he let'the hoop slide off the stick ang he struck the hoop with the stick, the hoop rolled across the green lawn, ‘he laughed and pursued like little boy: He seemed to be a little boy started playing with the hoo, joyously and merrily and felt his mother is bedside him, smiling. He felt refreshed and enjoyed on the still grass ang mosses and he laughed while his cough mingled with hislaughter. This continued for several days. The old man loved the morriing hours in the woods. But often he feareq that he would be ridiculed for this act, so he always looked around with fright and timidity. But still he pursued playing till his heart's content and returned to the city. The old man played peacefully for several days and one fine morning he caught cold and died in his bed, yet he smiled serenely. The memory soothed him, he could relive the life of a young boy and the thoughts of his mother following him gave him that happiness.64 B.Com. /B.B-A. - TV Semester Engi. q F Ans: The boy running after his hoop ayaa laughing uproariously with joy. 3. How did the old man appear ouenerdieg Ans: The old man was shabbily dressed, he had Coarse hands and bald head. 4. How did the mother deal with her son? Ans: The mother of the young boy did not Teproach, neither made any fuss nor scold the boy though ke laughed uproariously and hoop awkwardly in the streets. 5. What fancy haunted the old man after that day? Ans: The old man simply could not get the boy out of his mind, he was seeing the boy all night in his dreams, 6. The old man’s childhood was similar to the boy’s, True/False Ans: False. 7 What had the old man been doing for most part of his life? Ans: He was working in the factory. 8. What did the old man find one day on returning from the work? Ans: The old man found the hoop of an old barrel lying in the street. 9. Where did the old man go every day to play with his hoop? Ans: The old man went into the woods with the hoop in the morning hours. II. PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS: 1. There is repetition of words like ‘plump’, ‘din’, — ‘reverie’, ‘toothless smile’. Why? The repetition of the words, ‘plump’, ‘din’, ‘reverie’,THE HOOP 65 “toothless smile’ highlights the old man’s desire to play the hoop which he had missed out in his childhood days. The young boy of four who ran after his hoop thrusted forwarded his plump little legs which were bare at the knee showed how healthy the boy was. The din of the city which is quite unusual for the young boy was an usual phenomenon in the old man’s life as he worked in the factory. The reverie of the young boy playing with the hoop pursued again and again to the old man while he was at work in the factory or at rest. The toothless smile refers to the old age that had incurred upon the adult who is the old man. The narrator constantly exposes these words to bring out the fact that the old man had led a miserable life till that day and the sight of the little boy playing with the hoop brought him more cherished moments of his life. 2. What is the importance of the little boy’s mother in the old man’s fancy? The boy’s mother was young and smart and was smiling brightly and was casting affectionate glances at her son who was happily playing with his hoop awkwardly tilt still the young mother uttered no reproach and made no fuss neither did she scold at the odd behaviour of her son. This gave a clear picture that they were quite well-off and were used to warmth and comfort. 3. How did the old man realise his dream? The old man continuously had a dream reverie of the young boy playing with the hoop without any fear, laughing with joy. That even in his work at factory one fine day he found a hoop of an old barrel which was rough and dirty and brought it home as a deep desire to possess a hoop gripped the old man. Inspite of fear and shame thatee B.Com. / B.B.A. - IV Semester En he might be ridiculed he stealthily carried it home ang p; d it under his bed in his old cramped quarters. After a foy days he took his hoop into the woods some mules aw. from the town. He broke outa dry limb and hung his hoo, uponit. The sight of it brought persistent thoughts of the 7 happy little boy. Suddenly the ald man let the hoop Slide off the stick and sent the hoop rolling across the green lawn, — Thus the old man realised his dream. aa 4. Describe a day of the old man’s work at the factory, The simplistic theme of ‘The Hoop’ brings out a day’s work of the old man at the factory. The shabbily dresseq old man entered his daily routine of work at the fai carrying the dream reverie of the young boy playing with the hoop awkwardly. The old machines that were cluttering with the labourers doing their monotonous job which seemed automatic as they were used to the same routine for several years. Their hands were busy at their accustomed works in the factory. The air was filled with dust in the factory and as the belt moved under the high ceiling strap after strap with hissing sound again denoting how old machineries have become and they all glided quickly from wheel to wheel, endless in number. Some far corners of the factory became invisible due to the vapours that creeped densely from the boiling steamers. Men were busily engaged everywhere and they looked like phantoms and their voices were not heard due to the continuous noise of the machines at work. And the old man too was totally lost in his work. 5. How did the hoop of an old barrel change the course — of life of the old man? The old man’s chance encounter with the young boy during his morning stroll brought back his childhood dayshe B.Com. /B.B-A. - IV Semester Engtigy bursting bark and was incomprehensibly pri that emitted were strange, with ieee ae a 8 ang with the gigantically grown ferns “i nei ss ‘Ustnoy noise, the old man glided over the dry fe an ee across the old gnarled roots. Then the ol on " © ofa dry limb and hung his hoop upon it. Then su - y he let the hoop slide off the stick and sent the hoop to) iNg across the green lawn. The old man started following the hoo} like the little boy and drove the hoop with his tick, which he flowing high over his head just as the little boy did. The joy that the old man experience was multi-fold, he starteq feeling like a small, beloved and happy boy. At the same time, he felt that he was looked after by his mother, and he felt that she was following him close behind and smiling, Just like a child on his first outing, he felt refreshed on the bright grass. He enjoyed every moment of his play which was evident when his goat like dust grey beard, that. harmonised with his sallow face, tremble while his cough mingled with his laughter and raucous sound came from his toothless mouth. Thus the old man loved his morning hours in the woods with the hoop though he sometimes feared that he would be discovered and ridiculed for his actand so he always looked around with fright and timidity. _ But as no one bothered to find hii heart's content and return to the ci joyously. 7. Bring out the contras' the boy’s childhood. The hoop written by Feodor Sologub brings out the innocent longing of an old man to play a hoop which he Just encounters one day as h e strolls down for his mornir ng walk. The appearance of th ied Bes he shabbily dressed old man tin the old man’s childhood and