FLAMINGO

CHAPTER AUTHOR THEME SETTING MAIN

PROTAGONISTS
The Last lesson Alphonse Daudet The pain inflicted on the people of a Franco-Prussian war (1870- Franz
territory by its conquerors by taking 71)
away the right to study or speak their The Last Lesson is set in the M.Hamel
own language. days of the Franco-Prussian War
SUB-THEME (1870-1871) in which France
1. Student and teacher attitudes to was defeated by Prussia led by Old Hauser( had brought
learning and teaching. Bismarck. Prussia then consisted along the old primer)
2. Procrastination of what now are the nations of Former Mayor
Germany, Poland and parts of
Austria Wachter (blacksmith)
Lost Spring Anees Jung analyses The plight of street children forced 1. Slums of Seemapuri( rag The writer Anees Jung as
the grinding poverty into labour early in life and denied pickers) the narrator
and traditions which the opportunity of schooling. 2. Firozabad (bangle makers)
condemn these SUB-THEME Saheb
children to a life of The callousness of society and the
exploitation political class to the sufferings of the Mukesh
poor. His grandmother
Savita & the old woman (
ek waqt ser bhar khana
bhi nahin khaya)
Old man
Deep Water William O. Douglas A real-life personal account of A pool at the Y.M.C.A. in Douglas
The excerpt is taken experiencing fear and the steps taken Yakima
from Of Men and to overcome it. It reveals how as a young boy Bully (big bruiser of a
Mountains by SUB-THEME Psychological William Douglas nearly boy)
William O. Douglas. analysis of fear drowned in a swimming pool. In
this essay, he talks about his fear Instructor
of water and thereafter, how he
 finally overcame it. Notice how
the autobiographical part of the
selection is used to support his
discussion of fear.
The Rattrap Selma Lagerlof 1. A universal theme — a belief that This story is set amidst the Peddler is mistaken for
the essential goodness in a human mines of Sweden, rich in iron Captain von Stahle
being can be awakened through ore, which figure large in the
understanding and love. history and legends of that Crofter
2. The trap of material benefit that country. The story is told Blacksmith
most human beings are prone to fall somewhat in the manner of a Ironmaster
into. fairy tale. Edla Wilmansson
SUB-THEME Once upon a time, there was a
The human tendency to redeem man….
oneself from dishonest ways 2. Happy ending…
Indigo Louis Fischer The leadership shown by Mahatma - to complain about the injustice Raj Kumar Shukla
It is an excerpt from Gandhi to secure justice for of the landlord system in Bihar.
his book- The Life of oppressed people through convincing -The news of Gandhi’s advent Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi. argumentation and negotiation. and of the nature of his mission
SUB-THEME Contributions made spread quickly through Lawyers
by anonymous Indians to the freedom Muzzafarpur and to
movement. Champaran.
- Civil disobedience had
triumphed, the first time in
modern India.
Poets and Pancakes An account of the events and Asokamitran Narrator
personalities in a film company in the recounts his years at Gemini
early days of Indian cinema. SUB- Studios in his book My Years Office boy
THEME with Boss which talks of the
Poets and writers in a film company influence of movies on every Kothamangalam Subbu.
environment. aspect of life in India. The duty
of Asokamitran in Gemini
Studios was to cut out
 newspaper clippings on a wide
variety of subjects and store
them in files. Many of these had
to be written out by hand.
Although he performed an
insignificant function he was the
most well-informed of all the
members of the Gemini family.
The Interview Part I Christopher The interview as a communication From the Introduction to The Famous writers
Silvester genre. SUB-THEME Penguin Book of Interviews Mukund Padmanabhan
Part II An Interview An excerpt from an interview with edited by Christopher Silvester from The Hindu.
with Umberto Eco an author. Umberto Eco, a professor
by Mukund at the University of
Padmanabhan Bologna( Baloni) in Italy
Going Places A.R. Barton Adolescent hero-worship and poor socio-economic family Sophie
fantasising. Jansie
SUB-THEME Relationships-family, Geoff (older brother)
friends Sophie’s dad
Sophie’s mother
Derek(younger brother)