CBSE Class 12 English Notes Flamingo English Flamingo for Class 12 - CBSE Curriculum is created by Class 12 teachers & experts for students preparing for Class 12 syllabus. It will help everyone preparing for Class 12 syllabus with already 75085 students enrolled. You can download Class 12 English Notes Flamingo - CBSE Curriculum pdf from this course as well.
The Last Lesson Summary
Lost Spring Summary
Deep Water Summary
The Rattrap Summary
Indigo Summary
Going Places Summary
My Mother at Sixty-six Summary
An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Summary
Keeping Quiet Summary
A Thing of Beauty Summary
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary
1.The Last Lesson Summary CBSE Notes for The Last Lesson Summary ’The last lesson’ written by Alphonse Daudet narrates about the year 1870 when the Prussian forces under Bismarck attacked and captured France. The French districts of
Alsace and Lorraine went into Prussian hands. The new Prussian rulers discontinued the teaching of French in the schools of these two districts The French teachers were asked to leave. Now M. Hamel could no longer stay in his school. Still, he gave lesson to his students with utmost devotion and sincerity as ever. One such student of M. Hamel, Franz who dreaded French class and M. Hamel’s iron rod, came to the school that day thinking he would be punished as he had not learnt his lesson on participles.
But on reaching school he found Hamel dressed in his fine Sunday clothes and the old people of the village sitting quietly on the back benches. It was due to an order from Berlin. That was the first day when he realized for the first time that how important French was for him, but it was his last lesson in French. The story depicts the pathos of the whole situation about how people feel when they don’t learn their own language. It tells us about the significance of one’s language in one’s life for the very existence of a race and how important it is to safeguard it. Please refer The Last Lesson Summary for more information.
2. Lost Spring Summary CBSE Notes for Lost Spring Summary The first part tells the writer’s impressions about the life of the poor rag pickers. The rag pickers have migrated from Dhaka and found a settlement in Seemapuri. Their fields and homes had been swept away by storms. They had come to the big city to find a living. They are poor. The writer watches Saheb every morning scrounging for “gold” in her neighborhood. Garbage is a means of survival for the elders and for the children it is something wrapped in wonder. The second part deals with the life of Mukesh, who belongs to the family of Bangle-makers. Firozabad is best known for its glass-blowing industry. Nearly 20,000 children are engaged in this business and the law that forbids child labor is not known here. The living condition and the working environment is a woeful tale. Life in dingy cells and working close to hot furnaces make these children blind when they step into adulthood. Please refer Lost Spring Summary for more revision notes.
3. Deep Water Summary CBSE Notes for Deep Water Summary The story, “Deep Waters” tells us how the writer overcame his fear of water and learned swimming with sheer determination and will power. He had developed a terror of water since childhood. When he was three or four years old, the writer had gone to California with his father. One day on the beach, the waves knocked the child down and swept over him. The child was terrified but the father who knew, there was no harm, laughed. The experience bred a permanent fear of water in the child’s subconscious mind. Still another incident, more serious, increased his terror.
The writer was trying to learn swimming in the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool in Yakima. One day while he was waiting for other boys, a big boy suddenly played a dangerous prank and pushed him into the water. The writer was terribly frightened. He went down nine feet into the water. When he reached the bottom, he jumped upward with all his strength. He came up but very slowly. He tried to catch hold of something like a rope but grasped only at the water. Please refer Deep Water Summary for more information.
4. The Rattrap Summary CBSE Notes for The Rattrap Summary A rattrap peddler went around selling small rattraps. His clothes were in rags. His cheeks were hollow. He had the look of a starved man. He made wire traps. He begged the material from stores and big farms. Sometimes he resorted to begging and a little stealing to survive. The world had never been kind to him. He had no home, no shelter. The peddler led a lonely life. One day while he was thinking about his rattraps, an idea struck him. He thought that the world itself was a rat trap. As soon as anybody touched it, the trap closed on them. He was amused to think of some people who were already trapped, and some others who were trying to reach the bait in the trap. It was a cold
evening in December. He reached a cottage on the roadside. He knocked at the door and asked for a night’s shelter. Please refer The Rattrap Summary for more revision notes.
5. Indigo Summary CBSE Notes for Indigo Summary This story describes Gandhi’s struggle for the poor peasants of Champaran. In those days most of arable land in the Champaran district was divided into large estate owned by Englishmen and worked by Indian tenants. The chief commercial crop was Indigo. The landlords compelled all tenants to plant 15% of their Indigo and surrender the entire Indigo harvest as rent. This was done by long term contract. The British didn’t need the Indigo crop any more when Germany had developed synthetic Indigo. Just to release the peasants from the 15% agreement they demanded compensation. Some illiterate peasants agreed but the others refused. One of the sharecroppers named Raj Kumar Shukla met Gandhi in this regard and compelled him to visit Champaran because of the long term injustice of landlords. Then the two of them boarded a train for the city of Patna in Bihar. Please refer Indigo Summary for more information.
6. Going Places Summary CBSE Notes for Going Places Summary Sophie, a teenager is filled with fantasies and desires. She comes from a poor financial background. She dreams of owning a boutique one day or being an actress or fashion designer but her friend Jansie believes that they are from a poor financial background and have to work in a biscuit factory. Jansie, who is more realistic, tries to pull Sophie to reality, but in vain. Sophie lives in a small house with her parents and brothers, Geoff and little Derek. Though she voices her feelings and desires, her parents don’t believe her because they, unlike her, are more mature and know the harsh realities of life. Sophie finds a sort of fascination for her elder brother Geoff, who is tall, strong, handsome and reserved. She
envies his silence and often wonders about his thoughts and areas of his life that she doesn’t know about. Sophie fantasizes about Danny Casey, an Irish football player whom she had seen playing in innumerable matches.
She makes up a story about how she met him in the streets and tells this to Geoff. Geoff, who is more sensible than Sophie, does not really believe her, even if she wants to. It seems an unlikely incident for Sophie to meet the prodigy in their street, but when Sophie describes the meeting in all her details, he begins to hope that it could be true. She tells him that Danny has promised to meet her somewhere again. Sophie gets so pulled into the story she made that she herself begins to believe that it’s true. She waits for the Irish player, but obviously, he never arrives. Then, she makes her way home, wondering how her brother would be disappointed on knowing that Danny Casey never showed up. However, Sophie still fantasizes about her hero, Danny Casey and believes he would definitely come to meet her. Please refer Going Places Summary for more information.
7. My Mother at Sixty-six Summary CBSE Notes for My Mother at Sixty-six Summary One last Friday morning, the poetess was driving from her parents’ home to the Cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside her in the car. She suddenly had a look at her mother. She found that her mother was dozing with her open mouth. Her face was as pale as that of a corpse. The poet painfully realized that her mother is not going to live long. This painful thought haunted her. But soon she tried to put it off by looking out of the car window. She saw the young trees running past them. She looked at the merry children coming out of their homes. As she saw life and vitality in the outside world, the painful thought passed away from her mind. After reaching the airport, she went through the security check. Her mother was standing outside a few yards away. After the security check, she looked at her mother again. Her face was pale white like a late winter’s moon. She felt the old familiar ache of childhood in her heart which is usually felt by a child due to the fear of separation from his/ her mother.
But she contained herself and kept on smiling in order to conceal her emotions. She spoke no word to her mother. All that she said was, “See you soon, Amma” and bade goodbye to her mother with a hope to see her again. My Mother at Sixty-six Summary for more information.
8. An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Summary CBSE Notes for An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Summary The poem describes an elementary school classroom in a slum. These slum children look very pathetic. Their faces are pale and reflect sadness. They are ‘like rootless weeds’ as they lack proper nutrition. Moreover, they are unwanted plants which grow on their own without being cared for, totally neglected. The tall girl has a ‘weighed – down head’ as she is burdened with the load of poverty. In fact she is so subdued and suppressed that her head had bowed down with the burden of her misfortunes. The ‘paper thin’ – extremely thin boy has ‘rat’s eyes’ because the poor undernourished boy is deprived of all the basic amenities of life. He is timid like a rat and full of anxiety, he searches for food and security. This unfortunate boy suffers from malnutrition and his growth is also ‘stunted’ not properly developed. He has also inherited from his father ‘twisted bones’ – bent and distorted bones. He has inherited the poverty, disease and despair from his parents.
His body is also deformed because of the twisted bones which he has inherited. He appears to be as sick as his parents. There is a sweet tender looking student who sits at the back of the class. This boy is different from the others as ‘his eyes live’ in a dream – he is dreaming and probably thinking about a better future. He is lost in his own world, therefore, not sad like the others. This boy thinks of the ‘squirrel’s game’ (metaphor). He wants to enjoy and play freely like the squirrel in the garden outside. The squirrel climbs trees and hides in their holes. The boy also dreams to be free but he cannot as he must sit in the dull and dreary classroom. In the boys imagination ‘tree room’ – the hollow in a tree, is full of fun, curiosity and mystery. This is in contrast to the gloomy classroom. Please refer An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Summary for more information.
9. Keeping Quiet Summary CBSE Note for Keeping Quiet Summary This poem advocates the importance of silence and self-introspection. It can transform not only the life of an individual but also the face of the earth. The poet says that it does not need much time to look within and examine oneself. It will take only as long as it will take to count to twelve. During this time of introspection (self-examination), one should keep quiet and say nothing at all. It will give him a strange feeling of togetherness with all others. Although it may seem a little strange in the beginning, it will eventually bring us all together. This silence will be free from ‘the disturbing sounds of engines and people rushing to get their work done’ for some time. He feels contended imagining the change that will be brought about in those moments. The men who hurt their hands while collecting salt will get a little rest. Even the people who seek fresh wars, using fatal gas and weapons, will put on clean clothes and get a chance to walk among their brothers. Please refer Keeping Quiet Summary for more information.
10. A Thing of Beauty Summary CBSE Notes for A Thing of Beauty Summary A beautiful thing is a source of eternal joy, its loveliness grows with the passage of time and its impact never fades away. It is as soothing as cool shade. It never passes into nothingness. It gives us good health, sound sleep and mental peace. It provides the beholder with a haven of tranquility and solace. Man and nature are inseparable. It is the beauty of nature that keeps us attached to this earth. Every morning we collect fresh lovely flowers and prepare garlands. They refresh our moods and we forget our worries for a while. Every person gets a bitter taste of sorrow, suffering and grief. Disease, disappointments and misfortunes give us mental and physical suffering. It is the beautiful things that remove the pall of sadness from our lives and make us happy and hopeful. Please refer A Thing of Beauty Summary for more information.
11. Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary CBSE Notes for Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary In the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ a woman expresses her suppressed feelings through her art. Aunt Jennifer is the victim of the male-dominated society. She has no one to tell her mental and physical pain. She makes a picture to convey her deep feelings. The speaker describes the tigers which her aunt produced on the panel. They are set in motion. They are moving quickly by raising the front legs and jumping forwards on the back legs. In the green jungle, they look free, bright, brave, fearless and magnificent. There are men sitting under the tree, but the Tigers do not.
They move on to their goal boldly and smoothly. Jennifer finds it difficult to make pictures by using the ivory needle. She is tired of doing the household work after she got married. She can’t get herself involved in her artistic work. She has to do it in her leisure time. Even then she has to be sure whether her husband is watching her or not. So her hands are terrified. She will not be free from fear until she dies. She will be dominated by her husband. She will die, but her art will express her desire to move proudly and fearlessly like the tigers she has made. Please refer Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary for more revision notes.