Class 6 English Notes Chapter 8 (A Game of Chance; Vocation) – HoneySuckle Book

Detailed Notes with MCQs of Chapter 8 from your Honeysuckle textbook. This chapter includes a story, 'A Game of Chance', and a poem, 'Vocation'. Both offer valuable insights and are important for your understanding and potential exam questions. Let's break them down.

Chapter 8: A Game of Chance; Vocation

Part 1: A Game of Chance (Story)

• Author: Not specified in the textbook, likely adapted or retold.

• Setting: An Eid fair held in the narrator's village. Fairs are bustling places with many shops, food stalls, and entertainment.

• Characters:

  • Rasheed: The narrator, a young boy. He is innocent and easily tempted.
  • Uncle: Rasheed's guardian at the fair. He is wise and experienced.
  • Bhaiya: An older boy (likely a domestic help or relative) accompanying Rasheed.
  • The Lucky Shop Owner: A cunning man who tricks people into losing money.
  • Other 'Players': An old man and a boy who 'win' prizes – later revealed to be the shopkeeper's accomplices.

• Plot Summary:

  1. The Fair: Rasheed attends the vibrant Eid fair with his Uncle and Bhaiya. The fair has many attractions.
  2. Uncle's Warning: Uncle meets some friends and leaves Rasheed with Bhaiya, strictly warning him not to buy anything or wander off alone.
  3. The Lucky Shop: Rasheed and Bhaiya explore the fair and come across a shop called the 'Lucky Shop'.
  4. The Game: The shopkeeper explains the game: pay 50 paise, pick any six numbered discs, add up the numbers, and win the article marked with that total number.
  5. The Trick: Rasheed observes an old man winning a beautiful clock and a boy winning several small items (comb, fountain pen, wristwatch). This makes the game look easy and tempting.
  6. Rasheed Plays: Encouraged by these 'wins', Rasheed decides to try his luck, ignoring Bhaiya's potential hesitation.
  7. Losing Money: Rasheed plays again and again, spending all his pocket money (several rupees), but only wins trifles like pencils, which he loses back in subsequent attempts. He gets increasingly upset.
  8. Public Reaction: People watching start laughing at Rasheed's bad luck and foolishness.
  9. Uncle's Return: Uncle returns, sees Rasheed is upset, and Bhaiya explains what happened.
  10. The Revelation: Uncle doesn't scold Rasheed. He calmly takes him away, buys him nice gifts (like a new umbrella, biscuits, sweets), and then explains the truth: The 'Lucky Shop' was a scam. The shopkeeper cheated. The old man and the boy who 'won' were actually the shopkeeper's friends, part of the act to lure innocent people like Rasheed. They weren't lucky; they were pretending. Uncle emphasizes that Rasheed's 'bad luck' was simply the result of the shopkeeper's trickery, not actual chance.

• Themes:

  • Innocence and Gullibility: Rasheed's innocence makes him easily believe the shopkeeper's trick.
  • Deception and Fraud: The story highlights how dishonest people can exploit others' desires (to win prizes easily).
  • Appearance vs. Reality: The game appeared fair and based on luck, but in reality, it was rigged.
  • Importance of Guidance: Uncle's warning and later explanation are crucial for Rasheed's understanding and learning.
  • Learning from Experience: Rasheed learns a valuable lesson about scams and trusting appearances.

• Key Vocabulary:

  • Fair: A gathering for trade, entertainment, often held periodically.
  • Tradesmen: People engaged in trade; shopkeepers, vendors.
  • Tempted: Attracted or wanting to do something, often something unwise.
  • Obliged: Forced or required to do something.
  • Trifle: An item of little value or importance.
  • Handsome (prize): Attractive, valuable, or generous (in this context).
  • Sympathy: Feeling sorry for someone else's misfortune.
  • Foolishness: Lack of good sense or judgment.

• Moral/Lesson: Be wary of schemes that seem too good to be true. Don't be easily swayed by what others appear to gain. Listen to the advice of experienced elders.

Part 2: Vocation (Poem)

• Poet: Rabindranath Tagore (A renowned Indian poet, writer, and philosopher).

• Speaker: A young school-going child.

• Summary: The poem expresses the child's desires and fantasies about the lives of different working people encountered during the day. The child sees their work not as toil, but as a form of freedom from the routines and restrictions (like school, fixed paths, staying clean) that the child experiences.

  • Morning (10 AM): The child hears the gong signaling school time. He sees a hawker selling bangles ("Bangles, crystal bangles!"). He wishes he were a hawker, free to choose any road, travel anywhere, and return home at any time, unlike his own fixed school routine.
  • Afternoon (4 PM): Returning from school, the child sees a gardener digging in the heat. He wishes he were a gardener, free to play in the dust, get his clothes dirty with soil, with no one to scold him.
  • Evening (Night): As it gets dark, the child sees the watchman walking up and down the lonely street with a lantern. He wishes he were a watchman, free to walk the streets all night, chasing shadows, never having to go to bed.

• Themes:

  • Childhood Longing for Freedom: The central theme is the child's yearning for independence from rules and routines.
  • Child's Perspective on Work: Work is idealized and seen as play or freedom, ignoring the hardships or responsibilities involved.
  • Imagination: The poem showcases a child's imaginative view of the world.
  • Routine vs. Adventure: The child contrasts their own structured life (school, bedtime) with the perceived unstructured lives of the hawker, gardener, and watchman.

• Literary Devices:

  • Repetition: The phrase "I wish I were..." emphasizes the child's longing.
  • Imagery: Vivid descriptions appeal to the senses (sound of the gong, sight of bangles, dust, lantern, shadows).
  • Simile: "The lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head."

• Key Vocabulary:

  • Vocation: A person's job, profession, or trade; a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career.
  • Gong: A metal disc that makes a resonant sound when struck.
  • Hawker: A person who travels about selling goods, typically advertising them by shouting.
  • Spade: A tool with a sharp-edged metal blade and a long handle, used for digging.
  • Soils (verb): Makes something dirty.
  • Watchman: A person employed to guard a building or area, especially at night.
  • Lane: A narrow road or street.

• Message: The poem captures the innocent perspective of a child who sees freedom in the lives of adults, unaware of the constraints and difficulties they might face. It reflects a universal childhood desire to escape routine and explore different ways of living.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. In 'A Game of Chance', where did Rasheed go with his Uncle and Bhaiya?
   a) To the market
   b) To a wedding
   c) To the Eid fair
   d) To visit relatives

2. What warning did Uncle give Rasheed before leaving him with Bhaiya?
   a) Not to eat too much
   b) Not to buy anything or go too far alone
   c) To stay near the entrance
   d) To wait for him near the giant wheel

3. What was the name of the shop where Rasheed lost his money?
   a) The Winner's Shop
   b) The Eid Bonanza
   c) The Lucky Shop
   d) The Fortune Wheel

4. How did the shopkeeper in 'A Game of Chance' trick people?
   a) By using faulty discs
   b) By having his friends pretend to win prizes
   c) By changing the rules suddenly
   d) By distracting the players

5. What did Uncle tell Rasheed about his 'bad luck' at the Lucky Shop?
   a) That he should try again next year
   b) That bad luck is part of life
   c) That there was no luck involved, it was a trick
   d) That he was too young to play such games

6. In the poem 'Vocation', who does the child see first in the morning?
   a) The gardener
   b) The watchman
   c) The hawker
   d) The teacher

7. Why does the child in 'Vocation' wish to be a gardener?
   a) To grow beautiful flowers
   b) To earn money
   c) To dig and get dirty without being scolded
   d) To work with his hands

8. What does the child admire about the watchman in 'Vocation'?
   a) His uniform
   b) His freedom to walk the street all night
   c) His bravery
   d) His lantern

9. What is the main theme of the poem 'Vocation'?
   a) The importance of hard work
   b) The different jobs people do
   c) A child's longing for freedom from routine
   d) The beauty of nature

10. Who is the poet of 'Vocation'?
    a) William Wordsworth
    b) Sarojini Naidu
    c) Rabindranath Tagore
    d) Ruskin Bond

Answer Key for MCQs:

1. c) To the Eid fair
2. b) Not to buy anything or go too far alone
3. c) The Lucky Shop
4. b) By having his friends pretend to win prizes
5. c) That there was no luck involved, it was a trick
6. c) The hawker
7. c) To dig and get dirty without being scolded
8. b) His freedom to walk the street all night
9. c) A child's longing for freedom from routine
10. c) Rabindranath Tagore

Study these notes carefully. Understand the plot, the characters' motivations, the underlying themes, and the meaning of the poem. This will help you answer various types of questions effectively. Good luck!