His First Flight - PPT.pptx

Class 10 Ch 5 descriptive ppt

1. TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING HIS FIRST FLIGHT – by LIAM O’ FLAHERTY

2. Liam O’Flaherty Birth: 28 August, 1896, Ireland Death: 7 September, 1984 An Irish novelist and short story writer, Liam enjoyed combining naturalism and psychological analysis with a biting satire. His fascination with psychological analysis finds an expression in the Seagull’s character. He almost, psychologically, investigates his fears and resistance.

3. The Seagull’s life stands on a delicate balance of success or failure. His leap of faith and his mother’s continuous encouragement will take him to his success that is his first flight. The only obstacle in his path is his own fear, his lack of confidence in his own abilities/ strength of wings.

4. A QUICK LOOK AT THE TEXT “The young seagull was alone on his ledge.” Protagonist of the story: the young seagull What is a seagull? A seagull is a strong sea bird, known far and wide for its powerful skimming, diving and flying abilities. Where is the seagull? It is alone on his ledge (the edge of a cliff). Why is he alone? His siblings have learnt to fly and are flying to perfect their skills. His parents are with the siblings helping them learn and practice. The seagull didn’t have the courage to jump off the ledge and spread his wings. He is scared, not at all confident of the strength of his wings.

5. “ His father and mother had come around calling to him shrilly, unbraiding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away. But for the life of him he could not move.” What did his parents try to do? His parents were trying to motivate him to fly any which ways. They were trying to call him excitedly and were even ready to punish him for his stubbornness. How did his parents punish him? His parents punished him to by leaving him alone at the ledge. He was punished for refusing to try. Why didn’t the seagull move? The seagull’s fears froze him right there and he looked desiring, yet dejectedly at his family’s flight.

6. “He felt the heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall” Why had he not eaten since the previous night? Since, the bird dared not fly, it could not hunt food for himself. The bird was old enough to live an independent life, hence the mother had stopped bringing in the food and the mother also desired to make him fly in every possible way. “The sight of food maddened him.” The young seagull was hungry as he hadn’t had anything for over two days now. This basic instinct of hunger was to become his driving force, the only reason why he would push his limits.

7. “He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer, and then, maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish”. Who is ‘she’ and why didn’t she come nearer? ‘She’ is the seagull’s mother. She didn’t come nearer for she wanted the seagull to move ahead. She was using food as a bait for her hunger driven son, in order to trick him into falling off the ledge. What did he dive at? He dived at food that actually helped him dive off the ledge. What was the result of his dive? His dive helped him expand his wings and eventually, learn how to fly. Does this incident remind you of your first bicycle ride or your early swimming lessons?

8. “ Then he completely forgot that he had not always been able to fly, and commended himself to dive and soar and curve, shrieking shrilly.” The seagull finally learns to fly. His shrieks here are an expression of his excitement, his most important achievement of learning to fly. This independence is gained at the stake of his fear. The seagull has overcome all his fears and has embarked confidently on the independent journey of life.

9. Assignment 1 Short Answer type Questions Q1. How did the young Seagull feel sitting alone on his ledge? Q2. Why couldn’t he muster his courage to fly in the air? Q3. How did his parents encourage, taunt and even threaten him? What was their purpose? Q4. How did he feel when he saw his Mother flying around him with a piece of fish in her beak? Why do you think she did so? Q5. What happened afterwards when maddened by hunger, he dived at the Fish that his mother was carrying in her beak? Q6. How did he soar down to the sea and float on it? Q7. How did his Family celebrate his success?

10. ASSIGNMENT – 2 LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS Q1. Describe the misery of the young Seagull when he saw all his family flying and catching fish except him? Q2. What made the young Seagull to take a final plunge and how did he succeed in his mission? Q3. What motivated the young Seagull to make the final plunge? Were the encouragements, taunts and threatening of his Parents goaded him to dive at the Fish that his Mother was holding in her beak while flying near him or his hunger maddened him to do it? ASSIGNMENT -3 Q – 1,2 & 3 from page no. 36 of the textbook.