Circus Cat And Alley Cat LESSON NOTES IN A NUT SHELL

Summary:- This is a story about a circus woman who tames and performs with tigers and lions. She herself cannot be domesticated. She gets e...

Summary:-
This is a story about a circus woman who tames and performs with tigers and lions. She herself cannot be domesticated. She gets estranged from her husband. A woman's need for family life and motherhood make her an alley cat. 
Anna alias Shakti is born in a circus family. She starts her career training tigers and lions. She marries co-worker who forces her to give up her job and attend to domestic chores. Anna leaves him. Mrs. Bates, a missionaries wife sees her , and her baby in abject poverty. She poties her and employs her as a nanny. 
To the children Anna always remains a 'breath - taking , death-defying and terror - striking' circus cat. Her actions and movements lead them into a world of imagination. Common objects in her hand are transformed into symbols of terror. As soon as she enters the room with a tricycle the children feel as if a trainer has arrived. When she sits as the breakfast table cutting slices of bread, it makes the children think it is a chunk of fresh meat dripping with scarlet blood. A cooling spoon in Anna's hand appearance of a showy satin stage costume. Thus Mrs. Bates efforts to tame and domesticate here are in vain. 
Anna 's husband comes back and takes away her child. Anna follows him to Bombay, to get back the child. She never returns. Years later the author sees Anna performing in the circus. Anna remains separated from her husband who wanted her to be an alley cat. Strong willed and determined Anna prefers to stay single, rather than submit to her tyrannical, insensitive husband. She remains a circus cat.
The story comments on the plight of a woman in man dominated society. Anna though alone, retains her freedom. Thus Anita Desai's minute observation , and intense feeling for a very small confined section of the world, and her sensitive evocation of the inner lives of the characters, make her one of the one of the first talents at work in the Indian novel.

II. Select the best option that conveys the meaning of the underlined word and write it.Q.NO 9-13

1. We must accept whatever God decrees for out life. [ ]
   a)gives b)decides c)prepares d) plans
2. Mr. Rao is installed as the warden of this hostel [ ]
   a) promoted b) appointed c) made d) transferred
3. He attended the meeting with a preoccupied mind. [ ]
   a) fixed on the result b) fixed on participation c) fixed on lame excuses d) fixed on something else
4. The thief shuddered at the thought of being caught by the police [ ]
   a) trembled with disgust b) shook violently with anger c) trembled with fear d) terrified
5. The judge passed a decree against him. [ ]
   a) order b)sentence c) acquittal d) release
6. We could no longer walk or run but prowl. [ ]
   a) crawl b) cry wildly c) weep d) shone form behind the clouds
7. We had a vivid picture of what had happened [ ]
   a) distorted b) very clear c) very large d) loudly
8. We are very sorry that God had taken her at tender age. [ ]
   a) easily hurt b) offer c) young and immature d) quickly feeling pain
9. The Bates preferred to call her by the name of Anna. [ ]
   a) selected b) favoured c) chose d) asked

III.Fill in the blanks in the following passage with the appropriate word given in the brackets.Q.NO.19-24

1. Anna's _________ voice made the children obey her.
   (authority, authoritative, authoritarian)
2. Anna's behavior fired the _________ of the author.
   (imagination, imaginary, imagine)
3. Every student must wear _________
   (uniform, cloth, apparel)
4. I have selected a suitable _________ for my role in the play.
   (dress, attire, costume)
5. "This _________ comes to you with guarantee of one year" said the shopkeeper.
   (clothes, garment, outfit)
6. He is in the _________ of a sheep whereas he is a fox by nature.
   (garb, dress, robe)
7. Late one evening she came to us to _________ us out of the shrubbery.
8. "My baby's gone " she cried _________
   (Calmly , silently, theatrically)
9. IV. Find the wrongly spelt word in each set and write it correctly: Q.NO.25-28
   1. sprangel/ angel/ angle/ triangle
   2. devour/ endevour/ fervour/ forever
   3. provision/ occasion/ starvasion/ plantation
   4. precious/caucious/ vicious/ conscious
   V. In each of the following group of words ,find the word in which the underlined part is pronounced in the same way as in the key word.Q.NO.29-32
   1. Safe : sack sat salt sale
   2. Busy : sugar station miss girls
   3. Achieve : chord ache much cholera
   4. Weather : feast bee led beard
   5. Shoulder : ought shower poach house
   VI. In each set find the word that rhymes with the key word.Q.NO. 33-36
   1. Roar : rear rare crore
   2. Dream : storm scream palm
   3. Clapped : lapsed sloped slapped stopped
   4. Throught : blue trough knew good
   VII.Sentence endings in the following passage are not indicated. Decide where each sentence ends and write the last word followed by a proper mark (!) or (.) Q.NO. 37
   1. What a spectacular sight it was I could stay here for another day how about leaving the day after.
   
   VIII. Punctuate: Q.NO. 38
   1. on her way out my mother looked in on mrs bates and asked when is the funeral to be
   
   IX. Read the sentence given below. Rewrite the sentence carrying the given instructions. Q.NO 39-43
   1. a) my imagination was fired by the stories of Nanny.
      b) The stories of Nanny ……………………...
   2. a) No matter how hard we tried, she never spoke of the circus once.
      b) Though we tried …………………….........
   3. a) The most terror striking, event in the circuswas Anna's draping a tiger over her shoulders.
      b) No other event …………………….........
   4. a) we were so excited that we could not even applaud.
      b) we were too …………………….........
   5. a) The circus had moved to Bombay and so it will be a bit difficult.
      b)
      i) If the circus were ……………………..
      ii) If the circus had not ………………….
   6. a) The thought uppermost in my mind was : Where is Anna's husband?
      b) The thought upper most in my mind was ....................................
   X. Identify the parts of speech of each underlined word below. Identify the word and the parts of speech Q.NO.44
   1. Anna wept on the her shoulders, looking quite thin and pathetic in her sorrow.
   2. She prayed that God might help me.
   
   XI. Write the following sentences making necessary corrections, if any, Q.NO.45
   1. She was too weak that she can't walk.
   2. Neither Anna not her baby have returned to Mrs. Bates
   
   Key Answers:-
   1. 1.Dull
      2. a laugh of pleasure
      3. chase away
      4. making meaning less sounds
      5. effort
      6. permanent or everlasting
      7. to hang over shoulders
      8. stand across something with legs widely separated
      9. to settle in an official position
      10. show approval by clap of hands
      11. widespread damage
      12. sowing sympathy
      13. a very sad event 
   2. 1. decides
      2. appointed
      3. fixed on something else
      4. trembled with fear
      5. order
      6. crawl
      7. very clear
      8. young and immature
      9. chose 
   3. 1.authoritative
      2. imagination
      3. uniform
      4.costume
      5. garment
      6. garb
      7. hound
      8. theatrically 
   4. 1. spangle
      2. endeavour
      3. starvation
      4. cautions 
   5. 1. sale
      2. girls
      3. much
      4. led
      5. poach 
   6. 1. crore
      2. scream
      3. slapped
      4. blue 
   7. 1. Was(!)
      2. Day(.)
      3. After(?) 
   8. On her way out, she looked in on Mrs. Bates, and asked, "when is the funeral to be?"
   9. 1. The story of Nanny fired my imagination
      2. Though we tried hard, she never spoke of the circus once.
      3. No other event is as terror striking as Anna's draping a tiger over her shoulders.
      4. We were too excited to applaud.
      5. i) If the circus were to move to Bombay, it would be a bit difficult
      ii) If the circus had not moved to Bombay, it would not have been a fit difficult
      6. The thought upper most in my mind was where was Anna's husband? 
   10. 1.Went-verb, her-adjective, Pathetic-adjective, sorrow-noun
       2. Proved-verb, that-pronoun, god-noun , me-pronoun. 
   11. 1. She was too weak to walk
       2. Neither Anna. Nor her baby have returned to Mrs. Bates.