1. What did the narrator like when his walk from his home
to the tramcar lines?
The narrator liked his walk from his home to tramcar
lines. It is pleasant to walk on the road flanked by red and green roofed
bungalows, green lawns, and gardens.
2. How does the narrator describe the two boys whom he
sees one morning?
The narrator saw two boys one morning. The elder of them
is five years of age and the younger of them is of four years. The elder boy is
sturdy and dark skinned with black eyes and matted coarse hair. The younger boy
is white skinned with hazel eyes and light brown hair. Both of them are dressed
in blue shirts and khaki pants.
3. What were the questions that arose in the narrator’s
mind when he saw the two boys engaged in their game for the first time?
The narrator felt sure that since both the boys dressed in
the same way they belong to same social class. He couldn’t understand why the
big black boy was following the orders of the younger white boy. The narrator
thought that both the black boy and white boy knew about their social positions
and behaved accordingly. It was usual that white people order black people as
whites were supposed to be superior and blacks were inferior.
4. What were the questions that arose in the narrator’s
mind when he saw the two boys at their game again?
When the narrator saw the boys at their game second time,
the black boy was giving commands to the white boy and the white boy was
following the orders. Then the narrator realized that they were playing a game in
which both the boys become commander and follower one by one.
5. What does the narrator imagine when sees a white man
standing at the gate and watching the two boys?
The narrator sees a white man standing at the gate watching
the two boys. He feels that the white man may be thinking that the black people
are superior to white people. The narrator is of the opinion that the white man
is also assuming just like what he himself assumed the day before.
6. ‘This is Jamaica, I said in my heart, this is my
country, my people’. With what feelings does the narrator say this and why?
The narrator feels very proud after learning about the
boys’ family. He thinks very high of Jamaican culture where different people
like happily together.
7. The story shows us the stereotypes can make us
narrow-minded in our thinking, whereas the reality around us can be full of
pleasant surprises. Explain this statement in the context of the events in the
story.
When the narrator saw the boys at play for the first time,
he thought that the game they were playing was racially prejudiced. He saw a
younger white boy giving orders to an elder black boy and the black boy was
obeying the orders. In fact, the boys were playing a simple game. The narrator
thought like a stereotype and that led to his narrow-minded conclusion. The
next day, he saw the boys again. The scene was reversed then. The black boy was
giving orders and the white boy was obeying. The narrator realized his mistake.
He was surprised and felt proud of the Jamaican culture.
