Telangana SCERT TS 9th Class English Study Material Pdf Unit 6C An Icon of Civil Rights Textbook Questions and Answers.
TS 9th Class English Guide Unit 6C An Icon of Civil Rights
Questions and Answers:
Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
The speaker talks about “a creative battle” in the beginning of his speech. What does he mean by this phrase?
Answer:
The speaker means to say that this is a great battle through which they are going to a new world for the black people of African-American citizens. It is going to create a new way of life for them.
Question 2.
What is Martin Luther King’s speech about? List the issues he is talking about.
Answer:
Martin Luther King’s speech is about civil rights of the black people of America and Africa. He is talking about the following issues which are going to change the lives of the Negroes of America.
- The civil rights.
- achieving freedom
- racial segregation
- oppression on the Negroes
- peace and brotherhood and love among the people
- food, education, dignity and preservation of their culture.
Question 3.
Do you think that this is an emotive speech? If yes, pick out the expressions that show that it is an emotive speech.
Answer:
Yes, it is an emotive speech. Every part, in fact, is an example to prove the point. Yet, here are some striking expressions : 22 million Negroes are engaged in a creative battle ; our children. crying for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses beleaguered and unrelenting struggle.
Question 4.
What sort of future does the speaker visualize for the Americans and the mankind in general?
Answer:
The speaker visualizes a bright future for the Americans and the mankind in general. He visualizes that there will be peace, brotherhood and non-violence. The Negroes will have food for their bodies, education and culture for their minds and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. The children of the white and the black people live together in peace and harmony.
Question 5.
Everyone has the right to safety and dignity. If this right is abused, it is always the abuser’s fault. How can you resist and report about an abuser?
Answer:
If a child is abused, the report should be filed with the police. Besides filing the report, we can also contact child rescue organizations. We can also contact the national child relief helpline, 1098. In the same way, we can report against any kind of abuses. Besides filing a report with the police, we can take help from various organizations established for different purposes.
Vocabulary:
I. Given bellow are the words taken from the reading passage listed as key words. Match the word with the meaning as used in the text.
Answer:
| Key word | Answer word |
| afflict | cause pain |
| beleaguered | experienced criticism |
| retaliation | revenge |
| tortuous | complicated |
| prostrate | lie flat |
| turmoil | trouble |
| curator | person in charge |
II. Read the following expressions taken from the reading passage.
- blazing light of truth
- wounded justice
- majestic scorn
Do they have any specific meaning?
Why does the speaker use such expressions?
The above phrases are figurative expressions. They mean a word or a phrase used in a different way from its usual meaning in order to create a particular mental image or effect to add interest to a speech or a writing. Here the two words that convey opposite meaning are combined together to get a positive meaning.
Now read the passage once again and pick out the figurative expressions.
Find out the meanings of all the expressions including the ones given above.
Answer:
- blazing light of truth ………………………….
- wounded justice ………………………….
- majestic scorn ………………………….
- starless midnight ………………………….
- blood flowing streets ………………………….
- thousand midnights ………………………….
Writing:
I. You have listened to the speech delivered by Subhash Chandra Bose and read the speech by Martin huther King Jr.
- Let’s analyze their speeches.
- Discuss the following questions in groups.
- How do they begin their speeches?
- Do you find any logical sequence of ideas in their speeches?
- What sort of language do they use? (Persuasive, argumentative, emotive)
- Do you notice any quotations, examples? (to support their argument)
- Do they use any linkers for cohesion?
- Do they maintain unity of ideas/thoughts for coherence?
- What expressions do they use to conclude their speeches?
Answer:
- They begin their speeches with one’s obligations to family and country and to the Civil Rights Movement in the USA.
- Yes, there is absolute logical sequence of Ideas in their speeches.
- They use argumentative and emotive language.
- Yes, I do notice quite a good number of examples.
- Yes, they use linkers liberally for the purpose of cohesion.
- Yes, they do maintain unity of ideas for coherence.
- They conclude their speeches with expressions of hope, freedom, justice and equality for all.
II. Prepare a speech on the following occasion in your school.
Independence Day
You can use some of the quotations given in the box.
- Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind. – Virginia Woolf A Room of One’s Own
- I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. – S. G. Tallentyre
- He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. – Aristotle
- Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect. – Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living
- Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the’,cup of bitterness and hatred. – Martin Luther King Jr.
Answer:
Independence Day Speech
Honourable headmaster, respected teachers, elders and my dear friends, good morning, everybody. First of all, let me wish you a very happy Independence Day. It gives me great pleasure to stand before you to speak a few words on this august occasion.
15th August 1947, is a red letter day in the history of our country. It is on this day that India became independent after prolonged struggle for freedom.
It fills every Indian’s heart with pride and joy. It is for this day that several great leaders struggled relentlessly and sacrificed their lives. It is for this freedom that many of our forefathers dreamed about and laid down their lives. Many people left their families, spent in exiles and went to jails. It is for this day that great martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru Sukha Dev, Ajad Chandra Sekhar kissed gallows with smile. Friends, it is all for what? They dreamed that their next generations would be happy and live in peace with complete freedom.
Great leaders like Gandhi and Nehru have awakened every Indian and brought them together and inspired them to fight for our motherland. Under the able leadership of Gandhi we got united and led many movements Civil Disobedience, boycott of foreign goods, Salt Satyagraha and Quit India with weapon of non-violence. We have demonstrated to the world that the truth and non-violence are the peaceful means through which we can achieve freedom.
What did our great leaders dream about our motherland? They dreamed about India in which people live united irrespective of caste, creed, religion, language, region and social status. They dreamed about providing basic facilities like food, shelter and clothes, education, health for every citizen. They wished their country be free from communal violence, exploitation, suppression and gender bias. They dreamed about their country a heaven of freedom where people live in safety, security and peace.
But, friends, have their dreams been fulfilled? Or shattered? How do you feel? We are ashamed to say that even after 67 years of independence people are walking miles for drinking water. 25% of the people are living below poverty line. We witness a number of crimes on women and children every day. Corruption is on the rampant.
So, friends let’s join hands and show the spirit of those great martyrs and follow their path and make their dreams come true. What should we do as the citizens of this great country? We should feel responsibility towards the society. We should work hard with honesty and commitment. Let’s build a cqrruption free, crime free, hunger free and oppression free India. Let’s ensure safety and security for all. Let’s make India great and strong in the world.
Thank you all for giving me this wonderful opportunity. Jai Hind.
Project Work:
Collect information about the great leaders who fought for the freedom of our country. Arrange the information in the table given below:
Discuss in groups and write down the questions you will need to get the information.
Answer:
On the basis of the information collected in the table above, write a brief biographical sketch of any one of them and present it before the class.
Answer:
A Brief Biographical Sketch of Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat. His mother was Putlibai, father Karamchand Gandhi, and his wife Kasturba Gandhi. He had four children.
He was the architect of India’s freedom and one of the greatest men of this century. Mahatroa Gandhi’s life was dedicated to the ideals of truth, non-violence and love.
Young Gandhi had his primary education up to the seventh year at Porbandar. Then his education continued at Rajkot. When Mahatma Gandhi was only nineteen years old, he went to England to become a barrister. He obtained the degree of Barrister-at-Law and started practising law in South Africa.
Mahatma Gandhi stayed on in South Africa for nearly 21 years to fight against racial discrimination against Indian settlers. He propagated the concept of Safyagraha fsafya means truth and agraha firmness). It was the use of ‘Soul-Force’ against ‘Brute-Force’ or violence.
Gandhiji came back to India in 1915 and built an ashram on the banks of the Sabaramati river near Ahmadabad. It was called ‘Satyagraha Ashram’. The way of life that he practised there was known as ‘Sarvodaya’, the well-being of all. He fought peacefully for many causes and succeeded in persuading the government to abolish many abuses against labourers in Bihar, the Kaira peasants in Gujarat, etc.
He participated in various movements. He went round the country and understood the condition of the people inspired the people to get united and fight for freedom. He led movements like Non-cooperation, Salt Satyagraha and Quit India. He was arrested and sent to jail.
When India became independent he did not accept any sort of power in the government. He rendered selfless service to the nation. He soon earned the title of ‘Mahatma’ (maha means great and atma means soul) among Indians all over the world. Finally he was assassinated on 30 January 1948 at the age of 78.
Self Assessment:
How well have I understood this unit?
Read and tick (✓) in the appropriate box.
An Icon of Civil Rights Summary in English
Martin Luther King was a leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. This lesson is his acceptance speech on the occasion of the award of Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, on December 10, 1964. This is an emotive speech in which Martin Luther King drew the attention of the worid to the miseries of the Negroes of America.
He says that he accepts the award on behalf of 22 million Negroes of the United States of America who are engaged in a creative battle to end the racial injustice. He accepts the award on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement which is struggling to secure freedom and a rule of justice.
He questions the Nobel Prize organizers why they are giving this award to him when the movement he representing is being humiliated and suppressed brutally. He accepts the award on behalf of that movement because he feels that it is a profound recognition that non-violence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time. He says that the Negroes of the United States followed the people of India. They have demonstrated that non-violence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. By following the method of non-violence they have won the new Civil Rights Bill.
He expresses his faith in the future of mankind. He believes that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. So, ‘right’ temporarily defeated is stronger than ‘evil’ triumphant.
He has the audacious belief that people everywhere can have food for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and equality and freedom for their spirits. He believes that what self-centred men have tom down the other-centred can build up. He expresses his confidence that one day the children of the white and the black people will live together in peace and harmony. This faith will give them courage to face the uncertainties of the future to go forward to win the freedom.
He says that he has come to Oslo as a trustee and accepts the Nobel Prize on behalf of all who love peace and brotherhood. He says that this award is an honour to the known pilots whom he compared to the people who are leading the movement and unknown ground crew whom he compared to the common people who sacrifice their lives for the people.
About the Speaker:
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. King, both a Baptist minister and civil rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid 1950s. Among many efforts, King headed the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). Through his activism, he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among several other honors. King was assassinated in April 1968, and continues to be remembered as one of the most lauded African- American leaders in history, often referenced by his 1963 speech, “I Have a Dream”.
Glossary:
scorn (n) : contempt
reign (n) : the period during which someone is in charge of an organization, a team, etc.
snarling (adj) : to show the teeth and make a deep angry noise in the throat
hoses (n) : pipes for sending out gas
sanctuary (n) : shelter and protection
segregation (n) : a social system that provides separate facilities for minority groups
debilitating (adj) : weakening
beleaguered (adj) : experiencing a lot of criticism and difficulties
unrelenting (adj) : not stopping or becoming less severe
contemplation (n) : the act of thinking deeply about something
antithetical (adj) : opposite
elegy (n) : a song of sadness
psalm (n) : a song, poem, or prayer that praises God, especially one in the Bible
ambiguities (n) : the state of having more than one possible meaning
audacious (adj) : bold
whining (n) : to make a long, high, unpleasant sound because you are in pain or unhappy
prostrate (adj) : lying on the ground and facing downward
flotsam and jetsam (n) : things thrown away as useless
redemptive good (n.phr) : good that frees
heirloom (n) : gift from ancestors