The Cop and the Anthem
Extract No 04
Activities with expected answers
Page No. 30/31 [Lines, “Soapy walked ……Next morning”]
Read the first activity, read the extract and do all the activities that follow.
A1. Flow chart : (02)
Complete the flow chart by writing down the atmosphere near the church.
(This is a practice activity)
Soapy walked eastward through a street damaged by improvements. He Hurled the umbrella angrily into an excavation. He muttered against the men who wear helmets and carry clubs. Because he wanted to fall into their clutches, they seemed to regard him as a king who could do nothing wrong.
At length,Soapy reached one of the avenues to the east where the glitter and turmoil was but faint. He dragged himself toward Madison Square, for the homing instinct survives even when the home is a park bench.
But, on an unusually quiet corner, Soapy came to a standstill. Here was an old church, quaint and rambling and gabled. Through one violet-stained window a soft light glowed, where, no doubts, the organist loitered over the keys, making sure of his mastery of the coming Sabbath anthem. For their drifted out to Soapy’s ears sweet music that caught and held him transfixed against the convolutions of the iron fence.
The moon was above, full and radiant; vehicles and pedestrians were few; sparrows twittered sleepily in the caves or a little while the scene might have been a country churchyard. And the anthem that the organist played cemented Soapy to the iron fence for he had known it well in the days when his life contained such things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars.
The conjunction of Soapy’s receptive state of mind and the influences about the old church brought a sudden and wonderful change in his soul. He viewed with rising horror the pit into which he had tumbled, the degraded days, unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties and base motivates that made up his existence.
And also in a moment his heart responded thrillingly to this strange mood. A strange impulse moved him to battle with this desperate fact. He would pull himself out of the mire and would make a man of himself again; he would conquer the evil that had enslaved him. There was time; he was young yet; he would resurrect his old eager ambitions and pursue them without faltering. Those solemn but sweet organ notes had set up a revolution in him. Tomorrow he would go into the roaring downtown district and find work. A fur importer had once offered him a place as driver. He would be somebody in the world. He would ----
Soapy felt a hand laid - on arm. He looked quickly around into the impassive face of a policeman.
“What are you doing’ here?” asked the officer.
“Nothing’, “said Soapy.
Then came along, “said the policeman.
“Three months on the island,” said the Magistrate in the Police Court the next morning.
A2. Describe : (02)
Describe the wonderful change in soapy’s soul.
When soapy came near the place, he remembered his old days and his childhood life. He recollect ed his worthless days, his wrong desires, his dead hopes, the lost power of his mind. These brought a sudden and wonderful change in his soul. His heart answered. He decided that he would fight to change his life, pull himself up out of this situation and make a man of himself again.
A3. Interpret : (02)
Interpret the statement,” He would make a man of himself again…” The word,’Man” in the sentence implies.......
Soapy was an irresponsible person.He had never taken his life seriously.He used to enjoy his life.
He tried his best so that the police would arrest him and sent to Prison.When he came near the Church his heart answered that he would be a changed soul and he would fight back his life. Before this incident he never ever realised this.There was a sudden transformation in his soul.
A4. Personal Response : (02)
“To err is human, to forgive is divine,” justify your answer with suitable examples in fifty words.
A5. Language study : (02)
i) He muttered against the men.
(Rewrite using past perfect tense)
He had muttered against the men.
ii) He dragged himself towards Madison square.
(Frame a,” wh question” to get the underlined part as an answer.)
Where did he drag himself?
iii) He viewed with rising horror, the pit into which he had tumbled.
(Identify the tenses used in the sentence)
(Simple past and past perfect tense)
iv) Those solemn but sweet organ notes had set up a revolution in him.
( Rewrite the sentence beginning with,” A revolution…….”)
A revolution in him had been set up by those solemn but sweet organ notes.
v) “ what are you doing here?” asked the officer. (Rewrite in Reported speech)
The officer asked/inquired what he/she was doing there.
A6. Vocabulary :. (02)
Find out words from the extract which mean the following.
a) Enthralled = transfixed
b) To speak quietly = muttered
c) Bright = radiant
d) Strong association = cemented.
Activities Prepared and compiled by
TUSHAR J BAGWE
K J SOMAIYA COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND COMMERCE VIDYAVIHAR East MUMBAI 77
contact:
tushar@somaiya.edu
tushar8bagwe@gmail.com
