The Artist Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings | BSEB Class 12

by Meenu Saini | Nov 19, 2022 | General | 0 comments

The Artist

BSEB Class 12 English Chapter 6 The Artist Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from Rainbow Book

The Artist BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow Book Chapter 6. The Artist Summary and detailed explanations of the lesson along with the meanings of difficult words.

BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow book Chapter 6 – The Artist

By Shiga Naoya

The Artist Introduction
The Artist Summary
The Artist Summary in Hindi
Video Explanation of The Artist
The Artist Lesson Explanation

Related:

The Artist Question Answers BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow Book

The Artist Introduction

SHIGA NAOYA (1883-1971) is a celebrated Japanese short story writer of the twentieth century. He wrote very sensitively about his people and their culture. ‘The Artist’ unfurls before us the world of a talented Japanese boy, Seibei. It shows how the adult world often causes damage to such talents.

The Artist Summary

The Artist Summary – Seibei’s fondness of collecting gourds and treating them was no secret from his parents. One day when he was wandering around the beach, entirely involved in thinking about his favorite thing of all time, he caught sight of something interesting – he saw a bald man with a long head running out of a hut near the beach which he thought to be a gourd. Seibei was really impressed with the sight of this gourd. It was only when the old man went out of his sight while moving his long and sharp head that Seibei realized that it was not a gourd but an old man. He laughed at this confusion on his entire way home. His eyes would stay glued to the window whenever he passed by any store that had gourds. He was twelve years old and went to primary school. Unlike other kids his age, he did not play after school. Instead, he would go on a hunt for gourds around the town and would purchase them and treat them carefully in the evening. He would pour in a small amount of sake, close it with a cork stopper that he created himself and then he would cover it in a towel. He would then place it in a tin especially kept for gourds and this whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer. After doing all this, he would finally go to bed.

Upon waking up the next morning, the first thing he would do is to check the tin and thoroughly inspect the gourd. After the treatment it got for the night, the gourd’s skin would become slightly moist and Seibei would look at it fondly as if it were a treasure. Before going to the school, he would tie a string in its middle and hang it in the sun to dry. He lived in a harbor town which was not very big but he knew every inch of the town because he used to wander around looking for gourds. A friend of Seibei’s father who had come to call him commented on Sebei’s choice of gourds by saying that he seems to be fond of the regular-looking ones. The dad’s friend explained to Seibei that there was no point in collecting the usual looking ones and he must look for the unique ones even if it means collecting only one or two. Seibei replied by saying that he prefers the usual ones more and dropped the conversation. Seibei’s father asked his friend if he recalls the Bakin gourd which was there last spring at the agricultural show and remarks it as a ‘real beauty’. Seibei overheard the conversation and he laughed within because the Bakin gourd got really famous at that time and he had no idea what Bakin was but when he went to see it, he found it to be a ‘stupid-looking’ object which he did not like and left the exhibition. Seibei commented out loud that he did not like it that much and it was just a weirdly shaped thing. Upon hearing Seibei’s remarks, his father’s eyes shouted at Seibei and asked him to shut up when he was not even sure what he was actually talking about. Seibei obeyed and stopped talking. Once while roaming at an unknown back-street, Seibei came across an old woman who sold fruits along with gourds; one of the gourds made Seibei’s heart beat faster and after buying it, he never let that gourd away from him. He even took it to school and was caught polishing his gourd in the ethics class that made the teacher very angry. The ethics teacher had come from a different part of Japan. He felt so angry and upset on seeing that children here had such feminine hobbies like collecting gourds. He told Seibei that he does not have a bright future as he took away the gourd which Seibei spent hours working on. The teacher even went to his house to visit his father who was not home yet from the carpenter shop where he worked. This did not stop the teacher from lashing out, hence, he began attacking his words to Seibei’s mother. He told her that it was completely their responsibility that such a thing happened. Filled with great shame, his mother spoke out apologies in a slow voice. During this time, Seibei tried making himself go unnoticed in the corner. When his teacher left, his mother started scolding him and his father came back home from work. Upon knowing what had happened, he started beating Seibei and he smashed all of his gourds’ collection one by one with his hammer. The next day, the teacher gave the gourd to an old porter, who after two months, decided to trade it for some petty cash as he faced more money challenges than usual. Hence, he went to a curio-shop who, to his surprise, valued it at 5 yen. The old porter was very clever and he negotiated the price till he got himself a total of 50 yen; an amount equivalent to his annual income. The porter was clever, but not clever enough because the curio-dealer later sold it to a wealthy collector for 600 yen. Not a single word was spoken about it to Seibei or the teacher by the porter about his trade and the gourd’s value. Seibei now engaged himself in painting pictures. He does not hold any bitter feeling towards his teacher or his father who destroyed all the gourds he treasured. However, his father has begun cursing him for painting pictures as well.

The Artist Summary in Hindi

सेबेई का लौकी इकट्ठा करने और उन्हें पकाने का शौक उनके माता–पिता से कोई रहस्य नहीं था। एक दिन जब वह समुद्र तट के चारों ओर घूम रहा था, पूरी तरह से अपनी पसंदीदा चीज़ के बारे में सोचने में व्यस्त था, उसकी नज़र एक दिलचस्प चीज़ पर पड़ी – उसने एक लंबे सिर वाले गंजे आदमी को समुद्र तट के पास एक झोपड़ी से बाहर भागते हुए देखा, जिसे उसने लौकी समझा। सेबेई इस लौकी को देखकर सचमुच बहुत प्रभावित हुआ। जब बूढ़ा आदमी अपने लंबे और नुकीले सिर को घुमाते हुए उसकी आंखों से ओझल हो गया, तभी सेबेई को एहसास हुआ कि यह लौकी नहीं बल्कि एक बूढ़ा आदमी था। घर जाते समय वह इस उलझन पर हँसता रहा। जब भी वह लौकी की किसी दुकान के पास से गुजरता था तो उसकी नजरें खिड़की पर टिकी रहती थीं। वह बारह वर्ष का था और प्राथमिक विद्यालय गया था। अपनी उम्र के अन्य बच्चों के विपरीत, वह स्कूल के बाद नहीं खेलता था। इसके बजाय, वह शहर के चारों ओर लौकी की तलाश में निकल जाता था और उन्हें खरीदता था और शाम को सावधानी से उनका इलाज करता था। वह थोड़ी मात्रा में साक डालता था, इसे कॉर्क स्टॉपर से बंद कर देता था जिसे उसने स्वयं बनाया था और फिर वह इसे एक तौलिये में ढक देता था। फिर वह इसे विशेष रूप से लौकी के लिए रखे गए एक टिन में रख देता था और इस पूरी चीज़ को चारकोल फुटवार्मर में रख देता था। यह सब करने के बाद, वह अंततः बिस्तर पर जाता।

अगली सुबह उठकर वह सबसे पहले डिब्बे की जांच करेगा और लौकी का अच्छी तरह से निरीक्षण करेगा। रात भर उपचार के बाद, लौकी की त्वचा थोड़ी नम हो जाती थी और इसे प्यार से ऐसे देखते जैसे यह कोई खजाना हो। स्कूल जाने से पहले वह उसके बीच में एक डोरी बाँधकर धूप में सूखने के लिए लटका देता था। वह एक बंदरगाह शहर में रहता था जो बहुत बड़ा नहीं था लेकिन वह शहर के हर इंच को जानता था क्योंकि वह लौकी की तलाश में घूमता रहता था। सेबेई के पिता का एक दोस्त जो उसे बुलाने आया था, उसने सेबेई की पसंद की लौकी पर टिप्पणी करते हुए कहा कि वह नियमित दिखने वाली लौकी का शौकीन लगता है। पिता के मित्र ने सेबेई को समझाया कि सामान्य दिखने वाली वस्तुओं को इकट्ठा करने का कोई मतलब नहीं है और उसे अद्वितीय वस्तुओं की तलाश करनी चाहिए, भले ही इसका मतलब केवल एक या दो को ही इकट्ठा करना हो। सेबेई ने यह कहकर जवाब दिया कि वह सामान्य लोगों को अधिक पसंद करते हैं और बातचीत छोड़ दी। सेबेई के पिता ने अपने मित्र से पूछा कि क्या उन्हें बकिन लौकी याद है जो पिछले वसंत में कृषि शो में थी और उन्होंने इसे ‘वास्तविक सुंदरता‘ के रूप में टिप्पणी की। सेइबेई ने बातचीत सुनी और वह मन ही मन हंसे क्योंकि उस समय बेकिन लौकी वास्तव में प्रसिद्ध हो गई थी और उन्हें नहीं पता था कि बेकिन क्या था, लेकिन जब वह इसे देखने गए, तो उन्हें यह एक ‘बेवकूफ दिखने वाली‘ वस्तु लगी और उन्होंने प्रदर्शनी छोड़ दी।

सेबेई ने ज़ोर से टिप्पणी की कि उन्हें यह उतना पसंद नहीं आया और यह सिर्फ एक अजीब आकार की चीज़ थी। सेबेई की टिप्पणी सुनकर, उसके पिता उस पर आँखों से गुस्सा दिखते हुए मनो चिल्लाए और उसे चुप रहने के लिए कहा जबकि उसे यह भी पता नहीं था कि वह वास्तव में किस बारे में बात कर रहा है। सेबेई ने बात मानी और बात करना बंद कर दिया। एक बार एक अज्ञात पिछली सड़क पर घूमते समय, सेबेई की नज़र एक बूढ़ी औरत पर पड़ी जो लौकी के साथ–साथ फल भी बेचती थी; लौकी में से एक ने सेबेई के दिल की धड़कन तेज़ कर दी और उसे खरीदने के बाद उसने उस लौकी को कभी अपने से दूर नहीं जाने दिया। यहां तक कि वह इसे स्कूल भी ले गया और नैतिकता की कक्षा में अपनी लौकी को चमकाते हुए पकड़ा गया, जिससे शिक्षक बहुत क्रोधित हुए। नैतिकता शिक्षक जापान के एक अलग हिस्से से आए थे। उन्हें यह देख कर बहुत गुस्सा और दुख हुआ कि यहां के बच्चों में लौकी बीनने जैसे स्त्रैण शौक हैं। उसने सेबेई से कहा कि उसका भविष्य उज्ज्वल नहीं है क्योंकि उसने वह लौकी छीन ली है जिस पर सेबेई घंटों काम करता था। शिक्षक उसके पिता से मिलने उनके घर भी गए, जो बढ़ई की दुकान से अभी तक घर नहीं आए थे, जहां वह काम करते थे। इस बात ने शिक्षक को डांटने से नहीं रोका, इसलिए, उसने सेबेई की माँ पर अपनी बातें थोपना शुरू कर दिया। उन्होंने उससे कहा कि यह पूरी तरह से उनकी जिम्मेदारी है कि ऐसा कुछ हुआ। उसकी मां बड़ी शर्म से भरकर धीमी आवाज में माफी मांगते हुए बोली।

इस दौरान, सेइबेई ने खुद को कोने में किसी का ध्यान न जाने देने की कोशिश की। जब उसके शिक्षक चले गए, तो उसकी माँ ने उसे डांटना शुरू कर दिया और उसके पिता काम से घर वापस आ गए। यह जानने पर कि क्या हुआ था, उसने सेबेई को पीटना शुरू कर दिया और उसने अपने हथौड़े से एक–एक करके उसके सारे लौकी के संग्रह को तोड़ दिया। अगले दिन, शिक्षक ने लौकी को एक बूढ़े कुली को दे दिया, जिसने दो महीने के बाद इसे कुछ छोटी नकदी में बदलने का फैसला किया क्योंकि उसे सामान्य से अधिक पैसे की चुनौतियों का सामना करना पड़ रहा था । इसलिए, वह एक क्यूरियो–दुकान में गया, जिसने उसे आश्चर्यचकित करते हुए, इसका मूल्य 5 येन बताया। बूढ़ा कुली बहुत चतुर था और उसने कीमत पर तब तक मोलभाव किया जब तक कि उसे कुल 50 येन नहीं मिल गए; उसकी वार्षिक आय के बराबर राशि। कुली चतुर था, लेकिन इतना चतुर नहीं था क्योंकि क्यूरियो–डीलर ने बाद में इसे 600 येन में एक अमीर संग्राहक को बेच दिया। कुली द्वारा सेबेई या शिक्षक से उसके व्यापार और लौकी के मूल्य के बारे में एक भी शब्द नहीं कहा गया। सेबेई अब चित्र बनाने में लग गये। उसके मन में अपने शिक्षक या अपने पिता के प्रति कोई कड़वी भावना नहीं है, जिन्होंने उसकी सारी कीमती लौकी नष्ट कर दी। हालाँकि, उस के पिता ने उन्हें चित्र बनाने के लिए भी कोसना शुरू कर दिया है।

Video Explanation of The Artist

The Artist Lesson and Explanation

Passage:

Seibei’s parents knew that he often went out to buy himself gourds. He got them for a few sen and soon had a sizeable collection. When he came home, he would first bore a neat hole in the top of the gourd and extract the seeds. Next he applied tea-leaves to get rid of the unpleasant gourd smell. He then fetched the sake which he had saved up from the dregs in his father’s cup and carefully polished the surface.

Word Meaning:
Gourds- large fleshy fruits of a trailing plant
Sen- Japanese currency
Sizeable- fairly large
Bore- make (a hole) in something with a tool or by digging
Unpleasant- unlikeable
Fetched- go for and then bring back something
Sake- a Japanese drink made from rice
Dregs- the last few drops left in a glass

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei’s parents were aware about their son’s fondness of gourds and that he usually went out to buy them for himself. He used to buy them using their Japanese currency (Sen) and by doing this, he soon made a collection of gourds. After buying a new gourd, he would dig a hole on its top and take the seeds out. After this, he would rub tea leaves over it to remove its bad smell. This was followed by rubbing the surface of the gourd using the sake he collected from the last few drops that used to be left in his father’s cup.

Passage:

Seibei was passionately interested in gourds. One day as he was strolling along the beach, absorbed in his favourite subject, he was startled by an unusual sight: he caught a glimpse of the bald, elongated head of an old man hurrying out of one of the huts by the beach. ‘What a splendid gourd!’ thought Seibei. The old man disappeared from sight, wagging his bald pine pate. Only then did Seibei realize his mistake and he stood there laughing loudly to himself. He laughed all the way home.

Word Meaning:
Passionately- keenly, fervently
Strolling- walk in a leisurely way
Startled- feeling or showing sudden shock or alarm
Unusual- remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others
Glimpse- a momentary or partial view
Elongated- long in relation to width, especially unusually so
Splendid- magnificent; very impressive
Wagging- move or cause to move rapidly to and fro
Pine- (here) long and sharp
Pate- head

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei was extremely fond of gourds. One day when he was wandering around the beach, entirely involved in thinking about his favorite thing of all time, he caught sight of something interesting – he saw a bald man with a long head running out of a hut near the beach. He thought the bald head to be a gourd. Seibei was really impressed with the sight of this gourd. It was only when the old man went out of his sight while moving his long and sharp head that Seibei realized that it was not a gourd but an old man. He laughed at this confusion on his entire way home.

Passage:

Whenever he passed a grocery, a curio-shop, a confectioner’s or in fact any place that sold gourds, he stood for minutes on end, his eyes glued to the window appraising the precious fruit.

Word Meaning:
Curio-shop- a souvenir shop that sells curios (strange or interesting collectible object) and other novelty items Confectioner’s sweet seller’s
Appraising- assessing, reviewing

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon passing by a grocery, curio, confectionery shop or basically any place that sold gourds, it would catch the attention of Seibei for at least a few minutes. His eyes would stay stuck to the window as he would assess the valuable fruit

Passage:

Seibei was twelve years old and still at primary school. After class, instead of playing with the other children, he usually wandered about the town looking for gourds. Then in the evening he would sit cross-legged in the corner of the living- room working on his newly acquired fruit. When he had finished treating it, he poured in a little sake, inserted a cork stopper which he had fashioned himself, wrapped it in a towel, put this in a tin especially kept for the purpose and finally placed the whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer. Then he went to bed.

Word Meaning: Fashioned- make into a particular form

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei was a twelve year old boy who went to primary school. After his school hours, he did not play with other children of his age but would instead walk around the town in search of gourds. After this, during the evening time, he would get himself a place in the corner of the living room where he would sit cross-legged and work on his newly bought fruit. He would treat it carefully, pour in a small amount of sake, close it with a cork stopper that he created himself and then he would cover it in a towel. He would then place it in a tin especially kept for gourds and this whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer. After doing all this, he would finally go to bed.

Passage:

As soon as he woke the next morning, he would open the tin and examine the gourd. The skin would be thoroughly damp from the overnight treatment. Seibei would gaze adoringly at his treasure before tying a string round the middle and hanging it in the sun to dry. Then he set out for school.

Word Meaning:
Damp- slightly wet
Overnight- for the duration of a night
Adoringly- in a way that shows you love someone very much
Set out for- to begin a journey

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon waking up the next morning, the first thing he would do was to check the tin and thoroughly inspect the gourd. After the treatment it got for the night, the gourd’s skin would become slightly moist and Seibei would look at it fondly as if it were a treasure. Before going to the school, he would tie a string in its middle and hang it in the sun to dry.

Passage:

Seibei lived in a harbour town. Although it was officially a city, one could walk from one end to the other in a matter of twenty minutes. Seibei was always wandering about the streets and had soon come to know every place that sold gourds and to recognise almost every gourd on the market.
He did not care much about the old, gnarled, peculiarly-formed gourds usually favoured by collectors. The type that appealed to Seibei was even and symmetrical.

Word Meaning:
Harbour- an area next to water coast
Gnarled- twisted or wrinkled
Peculiarly- odd, strange and unique
Favoured- preferred or recommended
Appealed- the power to attract, please, stimulate or interest
Symmetrical- well-shaped

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei resided in a harbour town which was formally known as a city but one could easily walk from one corner of the city to another in just twenty minutes. Seibei often roamed around the town which is why he became familiar with every gourd seller and each gourd being sold in the market. He was not impressed by old, wrinkled and uniquely shaped gourds that were preferred by collectors but was fond of the ones that were evenly shaped.

Passage:

‘That youngster of yours only seems to like the ordinary-looking ones,’ said a friend of his father, who had come to call. He pointed at the boy, who was sitting in the corner busily polishing a plain, round gourd.
‘Fancy a lad spending his time playing around like that with gourds!’ said his father giving Seibei a disgusted look.

Word Meaning:
Lad- a boy or young man
Disgusted- shocked, stunned

Explanation of the Above Passage – A friend of Seibei’s father who had come to call him commented on Sebei’s choice of gourds by saying that he seemed to be fond of the regular-looking ones. During this conversation, Seibei was sitting at his usual place at the corner carefully making the edges of the gourd smooth. His father sarcastically made the remark that he liked the idea of his son playing with gourds all the time as he gave him a disapproving look.

Passage:

‘See here, Seibei my lad,’ said the friend, ‘there’s no use just collecting lots of those things. It’s not the quantity that counts, you know. What you want to do is to find one or two really unusual ones.’
‘I prefer this kind,’ said Seibei and let the matter drop.

Explanation of the Above Passage – The dad’s friend explained to Seibei that there was no point in collecting the usual looking ones because quantity does not matter; it iss the quality that counts and he must look for the unique ones even if it means collecting only one or two. Seibei replied by saying that he prefered the usual ones more and dropped the conversation.

Passage:

Seibei’s father and his friend started talking about gourds.
‘Remember that Bakin gourd they had at the agricultural show last spring?’ said his father. ‘It was a real beauty, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, I remember. That big, long one …’
As Seibei listened to their conversation, he was laughing inwardly. The Bakin gourd had made quite a stir at the time, but when he had gone to see it (having no idea, of course, who Bakin might be) he had found it rather a stupid-looking object and had walked out of the show.
‘I didn’t think so much of it,’ interrupted Seibei, ‘It’s just a clumsy great thing.’

Word Meaning:
Inwardly- within the mind
Stir- a feeling of excitement
Clumsy- awkward

Explanation of the Above Passage – After conversing with Seibei, the father and his friend began discussing gourds. Seibei’s father asked his friend if he recalls the Bakin gourd which was there last spring at the agricultural show and remarks it as a ‘real beauty’. His friend replied that he still remembers how big and long that one was. Seibei overheard the conversation and he laughed within because the Bakin gourd got really famous at that time and he had no idea what Bakin was but when he went to see it, he found it to be a ‘stupid-looking’ object which made him left the show. Seibei commented out loud that he did not like it that much and it was just a weirdly shaped thing.

Passage:

His father opened his eyes wide in surprise and anger.
‘What’s that?’ he shouted. ‘When you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’d better shut up!’

Seibei did not say another word.

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon hearing Seibei’s remarks, his father’s eyes widened in shock and anger. He shouted at Seibei and asked him to shut up when he was not even sure what he was actually talking about. Seibei obeyed and stopped talking.

Passage:

One day when he was walking along an unfamiliar back-street, he came upon an old woman with a fruit-stall. She was selling dried persimmons and oranges; on the shutters of the house behind the stall, she had hung a large cluster of gourds.

Word Meaning:
Back-street- a street apart from the main or business area of town
persimmons (n): yellow fruits, date plum

Explanation of the Above Passage – When Seibei was roaming around an unknown back-street one day, he found an old woman’s fruit-stall where she sold dried persimmons and oranges. She even had gourds that she had hung in a bunch on the shutter of the house behind the stall.

Passage:

‘Can I have a look?’ said Seibei and immediately ran behind the stall and began examining the gourds. Suddenly he caught sight of one which was about five inches long and at first sight looked quite commonplace. Something about it made Seibei’s heart beat faster.
‘How much is this one?’ he asked, panting out the words.
‘Well,’ said the old woman, ‘since you’re just a lad, I’ll let you have it for ten sen.’
‘In that case,’ said Seibei urgently, ‘please hold it for me, won’t you?’ I’ll be right back with the money.’
He dashed home and in no time at all was back at the stall. He bought the gourd and took it home.
From that time on, he was never separated from his new gourd. He even took it along to school and used to polish it under his desk in class-time. It was not long before he was caught at this by one of the teachers, who was particularly incensed because it happened to take place in an ethics class.

Word Meaning:
Commonplace- not unusual, ordinary
Panting- breathing with short, quick breaths; out of breath
Dashed- run or move very quickly or hastily
Incensed- angry, infuriated
Ethics- the study of morality

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei asked the lady if he could have a look at the bunch and he quickly ran towards them behind the stall to look at them closely. His attention was caught by a five inch long gourd that at first appeared to be ordinary but there was something about it that made Seibei’s heart rate go up. As he went out of breath, he asked the lady about the gourd’s worth. The old lady told Seibei that he could buy it for ten sen and this price was only because he was just a small kid. Seibei asked her to keep the gord aside for him and not sell it to anyone else till he goes and grabs the money to buy it. He rushed back home and came back extremely fast. He bought the gourd and took it home. From this point onwards, he never let the gourd stay away from him and he even carried it with himself to school where he polished it under the desk during his classes. Soon enough, he got caught by one of the teachers who was more angry at him because he was going to an ethics class.

Passage:

The teacher came from another part of Japan and found it most offensive that children should indulge in such effeminate pastimes as collecting gourds. He never minded having his students sing Naniwabushi ballads, however raucously. Now, when he found Seibei silently polishing his gourd, his voice trembled with fury.

Word Meaning:
Offensive- causing someone to feel upset or angry
Effeminate- womanish
Pastimes- an activity that someone does regularly for enjoyment rather than work; a hobby
Naniwabushi- a sob story
Ballads- any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental or romantic character
Raucously- harshly, roughly
Trembled- (of a person, or part of the body or voice) shake involuntarily, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement or fear
Fury- extreme anger

Explanation of the Above Passage – The ethics teacher that caught Seibei had come from a different part of Japan. He felt so angry and upset on seeing that children here had such feminine hobbies like collecting gourds. He never had any issues with his students being fond of singing sentimental songs in a rough manner but when he saw Seibei polishing a gourd, his voice became shaky due to extreme anger.

Passage:

‘You’re an idiot!’ he shouted. ‘There’s absolutely no future for a boy like you.’ Then and there he confiscated the gourd on which Seibei had spent so many long hours of work. Seibei stared straight ahead and did not cry.

Word Meaning: Confiscated- took away, seized

Explanation of the Above Passage – The teacher shouted at Seibei and called him an idiot. He told him that he does not have a bright future as he took away the gourd which Seibei spent hours working on. Seibei stayed silent and kept looking ahead.

Passage:

When he got home, Seibei’s face was pale. Without a word, he put his feet on the warmer and sat looking blankly at the wall.
After a while, the teacher arrived. As Seibei’s father was not yet home from the carpenter’s shop where he worked, the teacher directed his attack on Seibei’s mother.
‘This sort of thing is the responsibility of the family,’ he said in a stern voice. ‘It is the duty of you parents to see that such things don’t happen’. In an agony of embarrassment, Seibei’s mother muttered some apology.
Meanwhile, Seibei was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible in the corner. Terrified, he glanced up at his vindictive teacher and at the wall directly behind, where a whole row of fully prepared gourds was hanging. What, would happen if the teacher caught sight of them?

Word Meaning:
Pale- used to describe a person’s face or skin if it has less color probably due to illness or fear
Stern- very serious; not smiling
Agony- great pain or suffering
Muttered- top speak in a low, quiet voice that is often difficult to hear
Inconspicuous- not easily noticed, ordinary
Terrified- very afraid
Vindictive- determined to punish

Explanation of the Above Passage – Upon reaching home, Seibei had a pale face and put his feet on the warmer as he sat staring at the wall and did not say a single word. After some time, the teacher came to visit his father who was not home yet from the carpenter shop where he worked. This did not stop the teacher from lashing out, hence, he began attacking his words to Seibei’s mother. He told her that it was completely their responsibility that such a thing happened. Filled with great shame, his mother spoke out apologies in a slow voice. During this time, Seibei tried making himself go unnoticed in the corner. He was very afraid and when he looked up at his unforgiving teacher and the wall behind him, he saw a row of completely prepared gourds hanging. He wondered what the consequences would be if his teacher noticed them.

Passage:

Trembling inside, he waited for the worst, but at length the man exhausted his rhetoric and stamped angrily out of the house. Seibei heaved a sigh of relief.

Word Meaning:
Rhetoric- forceful speech
Stamped- to put your foot down very heavily and noisily
a sigh- to let out a deep breath

Explanation of the Above Passage – Shaking inside, Seibei was waiting for the extreme worst to happen but his teacher finished his speech and went outside the house angrily. This gave Seibei a relief as he let out a deep breath.

Passage:

Seibei’s mother was sobbing softly. In a querulous whine, she began to scold him, and in the midst of this, Seibei’s father returned from his shop. As soon as he heard what had happened, he grabbed his son by the collar and gave him a sound beating. ‘You’re no good!’ he bawled at him. ‘You’ll never get anywhere in the world, the way you’re carrying on. I’ve a good mind to throw you out into the street where you belong!’ The gourds on the wall caught his attention. Without a word, he fetched his hammer and systematically smashed them to pieces, one after the other. Seibei turned pale but said nothing.

Word Meaning:
Querulous- complaining in a rather whining manner
Whine- moan
Grabbed- took hold of, seized
Bawled- cried, roared

Explanation of the Above Passage – His mother was crying slowly and silently when she suddenly started scolding him in a complaining manner. While she was scolding him, Seibei’s father came home from work and upon hearing what happened, he held his son from the collar and hit him. He swore at him by saying he was good for nothing and would go nowhere in life if he continued his behavior. He threatened to leave him at the street where he belongs. While he was at it, his attention was caught by the row of gourds on the wall. He did not say anything more but he got his hammer and violently destroyed the gourds one by one. Seibei’s complexion went pale but he did not say a word.

Passage:

The next day the teacher gave Seibei’s confiscated gourd to an old porter who worked in the school. ‘Here, take this,’ he said, as if handing over some unclean object. The porter took the gourd home with him and hung it on the wall of his small, sooty room.

Word Meaning:
Confiscated- to take something away from someone as a punishment
Porter- attendant
Sooty- covered with or coloured like soot (black powder that comes from burning things and collects in chimneys)

Explanation of the Above Passage – The following day, Seibei’s teacher gave the gourd that he took away from Seibei to an old-aged porter who worked in their school. He handed it over to the porter as if it was something dirty. He took it home and hung it on the wall of his tiny, sooty room.

Passage:

About two months later, the porter, finding himself even more hard-pressed for money than usual, decided to take the gourd to a local curio-shop to see if he could get a few coppers for it. The curio-dealer examined the gourd carefully, then assuming an uninterested tone handed it back to the porter, saying, ‘I might give you five yen for it.’

Word Meaning:
Hard-pressed- having a lot of difficulties, especially too much work and too little money
Coppers- brown coins of low value made of copper
Yen- units of currency in Japan

Explanation of the Above Passage – Two months after this incident, the porter faced some cash crunch and decided to sell the gourd. He took the gourd to the local curio-shop to see how little money he could get for it. Upon examining the gourd closely, the curio-dealer handed it back to the porter and acting in an uninterested manner, he said he could manage to give five yen in exchange for it.

Passage:

The porter was astounded, but being quite an astute old man, replied coolly, ‘I certainly wouldn’t part with it for that.’ The dealer immediately raised his offer to ten yen, but the porter was still adamant.

Word Meaning:
Astounded- amazed
Astute- clever, smart
Adamant- unyielding, resolute

Explanation of the Above Passage – The porter was shocked upon hearing it but since he was a clever old man, he very calmly replied that he would not trade it for such a small amount. This made the curio-sealer instantly double his offer to ten yen but the old porter did not agree to sell even then.

Passage:

In the end the curio-dealer had to pay fifty yen for the gourd. The porter left the shop, delighted at his luck. It wasn’t often that the teachers gave one a free gift equivalent to a year’s wages! He was so clever as not to mention the matter to anyone, and neither Seibei nor the teacher ever heard what had happened to the gourd. Yes, the porter was clever, but he was not clever enough: little did he imagine that this same gourd would be passed on by the curio-dealer to a wealthy collector in the district for 600 yen.

Explanation of the Above Passage – The deal ended up earning the old porter a total of fifty yen in return for the gourd. He left the shop extremely pleased at his luck because it was rare to receive gifts worth a year’s salary from teachers. The old porter was smart enough to never talk about this deal. The teacher and Seibel also never asked about the gourd. Even though the old porter thought himself to be a cunning man, he was not clever enough because he could never even imagine that the gourd was sold by the curio dealer to a wealthy collector in exchange for a total of 600 yen.

Passage:

Seibei is now engrossed in his pictures. He no longer feels any bitterness either towards the teacher, or towards his father who smashed all his precious gourds to pieces.
Yet gradually his father has begun to scold him for painting pictures.

Word Meaning: Engrossed- absorbed, engaged

Explanation of the Above Passage – Seibei now engaged himself in pictures. He does not hold any bitter feeling towards his teacher or his father who destroyed all the gourds he treasured. However, his father has begun cursing him for painting pictures as well.

BSEB Class 12 English Lessons Explanation

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