Chapter 4.1 What is Success? – Maharashtra Board Solutions

Chapter 4.1 What is Success?

Textbook Questions and Answers

Warming up:
Chit-chat

Do you have a hobby?
Do you play a musical instrument?
What is the latest thing that you learnt to do?
Have you ever taught someone else to do something?

1. Prepare a speech to deliver in an interschool competition on ‘How to achieve success in life’ with the help of the following web chart:

Question 1.
Prepare a speech to deliver in an interschool competition on ‘How to achieve success in life’ with the help of the following web chart:

Answer:

How to achieve success in life?

Honourable chairperson, respected headmaster, teachers and my dear friends, Today I am going to limit my speech on “How to achieve success in life:” I request you to listen to me carefully. So my friends, success is very important in everyone’s life. Everyone has a dream of becoming a successful human being in life. There is a good saying that, “Success is a journey and not a destination.”

How true it is! If we look at the life of all successful people, we realize the truthfulness of the statement. The definition of success is different for every person. For a child success is to solve a puzzle, for a S.S.C. student, a success is to get good marks, for a businessman, a success is to get a contract and for grandparents, success is to see the whole family together.

Everyone wants to become rich and successful in life. To achieve ambition, there are many steps which are to be followed. First of all, we have to set our goal, means we have to decide what we are and what we want to be. So proper plan and execution of the plan are very important. The tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching the goal, the tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.

For a great success we need a lot of confidence, patience, knowledge, perseverance and hard work. We should not waste our time because time is money. Don’t compare yourself with any other person in the world. If you do so you are demeaning yourself. The main thing is that we should always think positively and never give up hope because many of our failures are the people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Always remember that the word “Impossible” means, I’m possible and if destiny is accompanied with the three D’s: determination, dedication, and devotion then everything becomes possible. We should learn from our own mistakes. We should always follow in the footsteps of great, successful people. Let’s take an example of Dhirubhai Ambani.

He was born in a poor family, but struggled a lot to achieve his ambition and never gave up hope because he knew that there is always a room at the top. He kept the hope alive in his heart and tried his level best and as you know he was one of the richest industrialists in the world. After all, no gains, without pains.

There is a great saying that successful people do not do different things, they do things differently. So work hard, continuously. God’s blessings are always there with you. Thank you for listening to me carefully.

Jai Hind.

2. What might success mean to the following people? Think about it and write:

Question 1.
A student ………………………….. .
Answer:
Showing consistent improvement in his academic pursuit, participating in sports and different competitions.

Question 2.
A businessman ………………………. .
Answer:
Gaining a huge profit, and achieving his target in business.

Question 3.
A doctor …………………………… .
Answer:
Diagnosing and treating patients and even saving a dying person.

Question 4.
A sportsperson ………………………. .
Answer:
Setting his/her own record by participating in different tournaments, winning medals and trophies.

Question 5.
A politician ………………………… .
Answer:
Winning an election and working for the welfare of society.

Question 6.
A person who has applied for a job ………………………… .
Answer:
Getting a job with a huge package of salary.

Question 7.
A teacher ………………………. .
Answer:
Helping his/her students to excel, reaching every child of his/her class.

Question 8.
A Parent ……………………………. .
Answer:
Raising a child and to make him/her a good human being.

English Workshop:

1. Tick the correct alternative:

Question 1.
The poet says that success is:
(a) to laugh less and work more
(b) to laugh never at all
(c) to laugh often and much
(d) to laugh less and low
Answer:
(c) to laugh often and much

Question 2.
The poet wants us to:
(a) earn a lot of money
(b) earn profits
(c) earn property
(d) earn the appreciation of honest critics
Answer:
(d) earn the appreciation of honest critics

Question 3.
The poet wants us to appreciate:
(a) riches
(b) God
(c) beauty
(d) society
Answer:
(c) beauty

Question 4.
The poet wants us to leave the world a bit
(a) bitter
(b) better
(c) broader
(d) bared
Answer:
(b) better

2. Compare this poem with ‘Walk a little slower …………’ and fill in the chart:

Question 1.
Compare this poem with ‘Walk a little slower …………’ and fill in the chart:

The poem ‘What is Success?’ is an example of free verse.
Answer:

Structure of the poem	Walk a little slower…	What is Success?
Does it have rhyming words?	Yes	No
Does it have a steady rhythm?	Yes	No
Are the lines of equal length?	Yes	No
Are there stanzas with equal number of lines?	Yes	No

3. Based on the poet’s idea of true success, think of four people in your surroundings- your family, neighbours, friends, teachers, classmates, etc. who have achieved true success. Write in short what makes them successful.

Question 1.
Based on the poet’s idea of true success, think of four people in your surroundings- your family, neighbours, friends, teachers, classmates, etc. who have achieved true success. Write in short what makes them successful.
Answer:

My family

My father is the backbone of my family. He works hard to fulfil our dreams. He has been working with determination continuously so that we can enjoy happy family life. We can understand his feelings and help him whenever he wants our help. We try to keep him happy and satisfied. He has made positive impact on our family members as well as on his circle of friends. So he is a role model for all of us.

4. List all the ‘to infinitives’ verbs used in the poem.

Question 1.
List all the ‘to infinitives’ verbs used in the poem.
Answer:
to laugh, to win, to appreciate to find, to leave, to know, to have.

5. In your opinion what things will help to make the world a better place? Discuss with your friends and write down at least three of the things.

Question 1.
In your opinion what things will help to make the world a better place? Discuss with your friends and write down at least three of the things.
Answer:
To make the world a better place, I think the following things will help a lot:

No fights, quarrels on the basis of caste, creed and religion.
Everyone should get a chance to earn his/her bread and butter.
Everyone should be mentally and physically fit and able.
Education: Basic right of education to all.

6. Think of different types of people who have to face great difficulties. Write what you can do to help at least one of them.

Question 1.
Think of different types of people who have to face great difficulties. Write what you can do to help at least one of them.
Answer:
There are number of people in our society who have to face great difficulties. There are people like physically disabled, poor, old, sick, etc. The people who are poor, are under poverty line. So we can provide them various facilities related to education and fulfil their basic needs so that their standard of living would be improved.

7. Prepare a set of questions to interview:

Question 1.
Prepare a set of questions to interview:
(a) A famous author
(b) A well-known social worker in your area.
Answer:
(a) A famous author:

What are your feelings after the overwhelming response to your newly published book?
Had you thought about such amazing response to your book?
What inspires you to write such a lovely book?
Are you working on any new book?
Do you think about the readers’ choice before writing?
Who is your favourite writer? Why?
Have you thought about the Booker prize while writing this book?
What is your ambition as a writer?
What message would you like to give to your readers?

(b) A well-known social worker in your area:

Are you really grateful to the voters of your area? Why?
How will you help this area to develop?
What are your future plans for the development of this area?
Are there any social problems that the people in this area are facing?
According to you, what is the role of education to develop society?
What have you done to make available educational facilities in our area?
What measures should be taken to fight against illiteracy, superstitions in our society?
What motivated you to be a social worker?
Is there any message that you would like to give to the citizens of this area?

Additional Important Questions and Answers

Simple Factual Activities:

Question 1.
There are lines in the poem.
(a) two
(b) fourteen
(c) seven
(d) four
Answer:
(b) fourteen.

Question 2.
Complete the following sentences with the help of the given poem:
(Answers are directly given.)
Answer:

A person who takes wise decisions and works for the benefit of everyone wins the respect of intelligent people.
A person who is kind, sweet and helpful wins the affection of children.
A person who puts a lot of efforts and works against all odds is appreciated by honest critics.
A friend who is selfish and dishonest betrays a friend.

Complex Factual Activities:

Question 1.
What is success according to the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson?
Answer:
According to the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, success lies in winning the respect, affection and appreciation of the people around us and to be able to respect, appreciate and care for people in return and how you make them happy.

Question 2.
Which lines tell you that a parent, a good gardener, a social reformer are all successful people?
Answer:
The lines that tell us that a parent, a good gardener, a social reformer are all successful people are: “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a gardener patch or a redeemed social condition To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; This is to have succeeded.”

Poetic device Activities:

Question 1.
Give your own rhyming words for the following – (i) find (ii) patch.
Answer:
1. find – mind
2. patch – match.

Appreciation of Poem:

Point format

Title: What is success?
Poet/Poetess: The poet of the poem is Ralph Waldo Emerso.
Theme/Central Idea: The theme of the poem is quite evident from the title of the poem itself. As the answer to the question posed in the title, the poet defines success as precisely as possible in the following lines.
Rhyme Scheme: The poem is an example of ‘free verse’.
Figure of Speech: Repitition, Euphemism.
Special Features: This poem is an example of ‘free verse’. The lines of a ‘free verse’ do not have any steady rhythm. The lines are of irregular length and lack clear-cut stanza divisions. It has no rhyme scheme.
Favourite Line: My favourite lines from the poem are:
- (1) To find the best in others;
- (2) To appreciate beauty To find the best in others
Why I like the poem: I like this poem because it defines ‘success’ in a very special way.

Here, ‘success’ is not just an individual achievement. It is not taking advantage of others around us. It is, instead, giving back to society it is about making society a better place by our little contribution.