The Caucasian Chalk Circle: Literary Appreciation Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow

      

The Caucasian Chalk Circle: Literary Appreciation
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow
GRUSHA : Simon!
SIMON : Is that Grusha Vasnadze?
GRUSHA : Simon!
SIMON (formally): A good morning to the young lady. I hope she is well.
GRUSHA (getting up and bowing low): A good morning to the soldier. God be thanked he has returned in good
health.
SIMON : They found better fish, so they didn’t eat me said the haddock
GRUSHA : Courage, said the kitchen boy. Good luck, said the hero
SIMON : How are things here? Was the winter bearable? The neighbor considerate?
GRUSHA : The winter was a trifle rough, the neighbor as usual Simon.
SIMON : May one ask if a certain person still dips her toes in the water when rinsing the linen?
GRUSHA : The answer is no. Because of the eyes in the bushes.
SIMON : The young lady is speaking of soldiers. Here stands the paymaster
GRUSHA : A job worth twenty piasters?
SIMON : And lodgings?
GRUSHA (with tears in her eyes) : Behind the barracks under the date trees
SIMON : Yes there. A certain person has kept her eyes open
GRUSHA : She has, Simon.
SIMON : And has not forgotten? (GRUSHA shakes her head) So the door is still on its hinges as they
say? (GRUSHA looks at him in silence and shakes her head again) What’s this? Is anything
not as it should be?
GRUSHA : Simon Shashava, I can never return to Nuka. Something has happened.
SIMON : What can have happened?
GRUSHA : For one thing, I knocked an Ironshirt down
GRUSHA : Simon Shashava, I am no longer called what I used to be called
SIMON (after a pause):I do not understand
GRUSHA : When do women change their names, Simon? Let me explain.
Nothing stands between us. Everything is just as it was. You must believe that.
SIMON : Nothing stands between us and yet there is something?
GRUSHA : How can I explain it so fast and with the stream between us?
Couldn’t you cross the bridge there?
SIMON : Maybe it’s no longer necessary
GRUSHA : It is very necessary. Come over on this side, Simon. Quick!
SIMON : Does the young lady wish to say someone has come too late?

a) Place this excerpt in its immediate context
b) Where is this scene taking place .
c) Discuss the relationship between Grusha and Simon in this excerpt.
d) 'May one ask if a certain person still dips her toes in the water when rinsing the linen?' In which other scene does
Simon use the very words to Grusha? Explain what was happening in that scene .
e) Grusha says she cannot go to Nuka because something has happened. Explain. .
f) Describe the character trait of Simon as brought out in this excerpt .
g) Explain the meaning of the following saying and word as used in the excerpt
i) They found better fish, so they didn’t eat me, said the haddock.
ii) Gaily
h) Identity and illustrate the major theme present in this excerpt

  

Answers


Martin
(a) Before: Grusha washes linen by the stream accompanied by Michael. She advises him to go and play with the
other children. As the children play, they re-enact the beheading of the Governor, Michael’s father. However,
instead of playing the Governor, Michael insists that he be allowed to behead the fat boy. Unexpectedly, Simon
appears and he seems prepared to marry Grusha.
After: Grusha looks up at Simon in despair in tears. Simon stares before him, picks up a piece of wood and
enquires if there is a little one already, to which Grusha admits but says the child is not hers

(b) By a stream, Grusha is washing linen

(c) Strained Relationship - Simon learns that all is not well and the relationship may be headed to the rocks. Grusha
is reluctant to reveal fully what has happened, but Simon can tell there is a problem. He says: “Nothing stands
between us and yet there is something?'

(d) At the gateway of the church square. Simon (a palace guard) is flirting with Grusha (a kitchen maid). Simon
reveals that he often hides behind a bush and watches over Grusha as she washes linen in the river so that he can
see her dip her legs. After learning this, Grusha feels embarrassed and runs off enraged

(e) Because she is already married to Jussup (the dying man). She had to get married to protect Michael. In addition,
she needed to leave her brother’s house because of the inquisitive sister in-law. The laws do not allow one to have
a child out of wedlock and similarly it does not allow one to leave the husband, thus Grusha is stuck up in the
Northern Mountains

(f) Faithful: - He comes back for Grusha just like he had promised. He is now prepared to marry her. This shows
his commitment. Humorous - he is lively and jocular. He tells Grusha, he wasn’t eaten because they found better
fish. He also asks if a certain lady still dips her feet in water. This eases the tension between him and Grusha in
this excerpt

(g) (i) Other soldiers died in the war but Simon survived. He returned to the
Mountains safely.

(ii) Happily

h) Love - Simon comes back to look for Grusha
- Grusha assures Simon that everything is just as it was
Betrayal - Simon feels betrayed when Grusha indicates that she is no longer called what she used to be
called.
marto answered the question on May 23, 2019 at 11:34


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