Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter : 10- The Beggar with the concerned video

Summary

Advocate Sergei was detained by a beggar one day. The beggar was crying for pity and told him he had been a school teacher but had lost his position.

The beggar was in rags. He had dull, sunken cheeks and red spots on either cheek. He wore one high shoe and one low shoe.

Sergei recognised the beggar and told him he had met him in Sadovya Street. Then he had called himself a student. Sergei warned that he would inform the police.

The beggar admitted the truth and asked for work. Sergei asked him to chop wood. The beggar agreed, though unwillingly. The beggar was taken by Sergei’s servant Olga to the shed where he had to chop the wood.

Olga gave the beggar the axe. Sergei seeing a drunken and a spoiled man at work in the cold, felt sorry for him and went away.

The beggar would cut wood on the first of every month. He would also shovel snow, beat the dust out of the rugs and mattresses and put the wood-shed in order. When Sergei moved into another house, the beggar packed and carried the furniture.

Lushkoff, the beggar was now offered other work. Sergei asked him to go to his friends. They gave him some copying work as he could write. Sergei was happy he had put the man on the right track.

Two years went by. One evening standing at a ticket window of a theatre Sergei saw the man again. Lushkoff told him that he was a notary and was paid thirty-five roubles a month. He thanked Sergei for what he had done for him. He said that if he had not helped him he would still have been telling lies.

He asked Sergei to thank Olga, the cook. Lushkoff told Sergei that Olga would rebuke, call him names then she would sit opposite him and weep. Then she would chop the wood for him. Due to Olga’s actions, he had a change of heart. He was set right by Olga and would never forget her.

TEXTUAL EXERCISES

(Page 67)

Think About It

Question 1.

Has Lushkoff become a beggar by circumstance or by choice ?

Answer:

Lushkoff has become a beggar not by circumstance but by choice. This is clear in his talk with Sergei. To him he pretends that he can’t get any work.

Question 2.

What reasons does he give to Sergei for his telling lies ? (CBSE)

Answer:

Lushkoff gives out the reasons that he can’t get along without lying. No one will give him anything when he tells the truth. So he tells that he can’t do anything except telling lies.

Question 3.

Is Lushkoff a willing worker ? Why, then, does he agree to chop wood for Sergei?

Answer:

Lushkoff is not a willing worker. He agrees to chop wood for Sergei. It is because he fears that if he doesn’t, Sergei would report to the police.

Question 4.

Serggi says, “I am happy that my words have taken effect.” Why does he say so ? Is he right in saying this ?

Or

‘Sergei looked satisfied with the performance of the beggar. He was happy that his words had a positive effect on him.’ How effective were his words ? (CBSE 2016)

Answer:

Sergei says so because his words are morally good for Lushkoff. They change him into a good human being. Lushkoff becomes a worker from a beggar. So Sergei helps to change Lushkoff into a responsible human being.

Question 5.

Lushkoff is earning thirty five roubles a month. How is he obliged to Sergei for this?

Answer:

Earlier Sergei did not earn his livelihood honestly. He begs but he can work. So begging is morally wrong on his part. Now he earns his livelihood by hard work. He can raise his head in self-respect. This all is due to Sergei. So he feels obliged to Sergei for this.

Question 6.

During their conversation Lushkoff reveals that Sergei’s cook, Olga, is responsible for the positive change in him. How has Olga saved Lushkoff ?

Answer:

Olga knew that Lushkoff won’t work. So she felt pity for him like a sincere mother and worked for him. She sat down opposite to him. She rebuked him when he didn’t work. Very soon this changed his heart. And he started working. He stopped drinking and became a good man.