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III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and th... - Beehive
III. Discuss these questions in class with your teacher and then write down your answers in two or three paragraphs each.
1. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?
2. Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?
3. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?
III. Long Answer Questions
1. Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?
Ans: To please her father on his birthday, Kezia’s grandmother suggested she make him a pin-cushion as a gift. Kezia laboriously stitched three sides of the yellow silk cushion but needed something to stuff it with. Looking for scraps, she went into her father’s bedroom and found some fine sheets of paper on the bed table. She tore them into small pieces and stuffed them into the cushion.
However, those papers were very important as they contained her father's speech for the Port Authority. When the loss was discovered, there was a hue and cry in the house. Kezia admitted her mistake, but her father was so angry that he punished her by hitting her pink palms with a ruler. Thus, her innocent effort to please him turned into a disaster that caused him great displeasure.
2. Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers”. What kind of father was Mr Macdonald, and how was he different from Kezia’s father?
Ans: Mr Macdonald, who lived next door, was a very different kind of father compared to Kezia’s. He was cheerful, playful, and affectionate. Kezia often watched him through a gap in the fence playing ‘tag’ with his five children. He would laugh with them, let the children climb on his shoulders, and run around the flowerbeds in a friendly manner.
In contrast, Kezia’s father was a figure of authority and fear. He was very strict, serious, and never played with her. He spent his free time resting or working and rarely showed any emotion or warmth. While Mr Macdonald was like a friend to his children, Kezia’s father was a disciplinarian, leading Kezia to believe that fathers could be of very different types.
3. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?
Ans: One night, when Kezia’s mother and grandmother were at the hospital, Kezia had a terrifying nightmare about a butcher with a knife and a rope. She woke up screaming and found her father standing by her bed with a candle. He immediately carried her to his own big bedroom, tucked her into bed, and lay down beside her to comfort her.
While lying close to him, she realized that her father wasn't a giant or a monster. She understood that he worked very hard all day and became too tired to play like Mr Macdonald. She felt his heart beating and realized he had a "big heart" despite his strict exterior. This change in perspective made her feel sorry for him and filled her heart with sympathy and love for her father.