The Proposal summary in English

The curtain rises with Lomov entering his neighbour Chubukov’s house in neatly
dressed up attire. Chubukov in great curiosity to see him well-dressed and asks
him the occasion. Lomov reveals that he had come for a desire. Chubukov
assumes that he must have come to ask for money which he does not want to
return. After knowing that Lomov had come to invite Chubulov’s daughter,
Natalya’s hand in marriage, Chubukov leaves to call Natalya. Lomov is a 35 years
old gentleman who suffers from palpitations and gets upset very easily. He thinks
it’s the right age for him to marry and is happy that he is choosing Natalya. He
believes, Natalya is average-looking and an honest caretaker.

On Natalya’s arrival, Lomov initiates the conversation about the cordial terms of
both the families. While continuing to speak about his land, he somehow mentions
Oxen Meadows which earlier was a disputed property but is now his. Natalya is
in the perception that Oxen Medows belong to her family. Both enter into a heated
discussion and act childishly and Chubukov’s entry made it more heated. They
shout and scream while Lomov suffers from extreme palpitation and a numb foot.
They throw Lomov out of the house and continue abusing him. While defaming
him, Chubukov accidentally reveals that he had a wedding proposal for Natalya
which surprises Natalya, and she suddenly regrets sending him out. She tells her
father to bring him back and Chubukov banes himself for being the father of a
young daughter.

When Lomov returns, Natalya tries to deviate the topic by talking about shooting.
Little later they enter into a debate on their dogs. Natalya strongly believes that
her dog Squeezer is better in comparison to Lomov’s Guess. They continue
arguing when Chubukov enters the scene only to form things worse again.
Everyone gets hyper and Lomov finally falls because of palpitations. Even then,
the cursing continues when suddenly Natalya notices that he’s unconscious. As
they find him unable to drink water, declare him dead. After a while Lomov moves
a bit, they give him some water to drink and Chubukov forcefully hands over
Natalya’s hands to him, gives his blessings and asks them to kiss. After regaining
his senses, he expresses his excitement and kisses Natalya’s hands. Natalya again
keeps convincing him that Squeezer is better than Guess but Lomov, being
adamant refuses to accept this and the quarreling continues.
 Going Places Summary in English

The story begins by telling the reader about a teenage girl, Sophie. Being a normal
teenager, she has also got many fantasies and dreams. Sophie belongs to a lower-
middle-class family that struggles with finances. However, she dreams to own a
boutique one day. Further, she also dreams of becoming an actress of a fashion
designer. Similarly, Jansie, her friend, is more practical and level-headed. She knows
that they do not have a strong financial background, thus they have to work in a
biscuit factory. Jansie does not have any unachievable fantasies. She tries her best to
help Sophie stay in touch with reality, but all that goes in vain as Sophie does not
listen.

Sophie has got two brothers and lives with her parents in a small house. She does
not shy away from expressing her desires and fantasies. However, her parents do not
pay much heed to it as they are far more mature than her. They are already facing
the harsh realities of life, thus, they do not believe in her fantasies. Sophie’s elder
brother is Geoff who is tall, strong, and handsome and remains reserved. She is sort
of fascinated by her elder brother. It is so because his silence makes her jealous and
wonders what he keeps thinking about.

Further, we learn that Sophie is always fantasizing about a young Irish football
player, Danny Casey. She has seen him play in a number of matches and thus starts
liking him. As she is always living in her fantasy world, she makes up stories about
him. In one made-up story, she tells her elder brother, Geoff, that they met one day
in the streets. Being more sensible, Geoff does not believe her story. He feels it is
highly unlikely that she just met such a sensation in the streets just like that.

However, as Sophie is so good at immersing herself in fantasy land, she starts

describing life-like details. Thus, upon hearing these details, even Geoff wishes that
what she was saying turns out to be true. She even goes on to say that they will meet
again as Danny has promised her. Thus, Sophie immerses herself so much in the
make-believe story that she starts thinking of it as true. She keeps waiting for Danny
to arrives, but alas he does not. Thus, on the way back, she is thinking about how
Danny’s not turning up will disappoint Geoff. Nonetheless, she still keeps
fantasizing about him and believes they will definitely meet.

Conclusion of Going Places

To sum up, Going Places summary, we learn about the naïve fantasies of teenagers
and how reality may hit us harder as the world in full of compromises and costs a lot
of dreams.