Test: Going Places- 1 - Class 12 MCQ

A. R. Barton is a modern writer, who lives in Zurich and writes in English. In the story Going Places, Barton explores the theme of adolescent fantasising and hero worship.

Sophie, like most girls of her age, enjoyed living in her world of dreams which provided to her the refuge she needed from her middle – class reality. Through her dream world she visualised for herself a life that she would like to lead. Her imagination drew into her life all the things she desired and people she idolised but could never make a part of her real life. Sophie dreams of having her own boutique after she leaves school, a boutique which will be the most amazing in the city. Becoming an actress or a fashion designer is also her dream. She was conscious of a vast world which waited for her and she was very sure that she would adjust easily in that world. In her dream world, Sophie dreams of meeting the sensational footballer Danny Casey. She even fixes a date with him and actually travels to that place and waits for him to come. In her world of fantasy, Sophie moves rapidly from one dream to another through the leaps of her mind.

“nosey”, meaning inquisitive.“gawky”, meaning awkward, ungainly. These are words that are used in an informal way in colloquial speech.

Sophie belonged to a low middle class family. She was going to leave her school within a few months and was earmarked to work in a biscuit factory as a petty employee. This showed that she was not going to do high studies. She lived in a small house which remained smoky. Her father belonged to labour class and had only a bicycle to go to his work.

Sophie had never met Danny Casey. Her story is merely a part of her fantasy. Her fertile mind made up the story of her encounter with him. She told her brother that she had met Danny Casey in the arcade. When she was looking at the clothes in Royce’s window someone came and stood beside her and she looked around and saw Danny. She also told Geoff that Danny Casey has gentle, green eyes and he is not as tall as one would think him to be. She also asked Danny for his autograph but could not get it as none of them had a paper or pen with them. Sophie’s dream world makes her travel into those aspects of life which she may never be able to achieve in reality. Sophie imagines Danny Casey coming to her, her own excitement and subsequent disappointment.

Sophie and Jansie are two teenagers who are coming back from school. They both work in a biscuit factory. Sophie is lost in her imaginations of owning a boutique shop and becoming famous like Mary Quaint, a fashion designer.

Sophie told Jansie that she would become an actress since actress had not to work for the whole day. She said when she had earned enough money then she would open her boutique. Jansie knew that she and Sophie were both ear-marked for a biscuit factory. She wished that Sophie should not say such unrealistic things. Jansie wanted Sophie to be sensible and she wanted to discourage her from such fantasies

It troubled her seeing her mother in that state of balancing herself. There was a heap of dirty clothes piled in a comer. Her father was eating the shepherd's pie, Sophie felt uneasy and dryness in her throat. So she moved to look for brother Geoff in the next room.

Sophie had cooked up the story of her meeting with Danny Casey to impress Geoff who was a great fan of the football prodigy. So when Geoff told Jansie, Sophie cursed him because she knew Jansie would spread her story in the entire neighbourhood.

One Saturday, Sophie went with her family to watch a football match. Danny Casey was playing in this match for the United. He also scored a brilliant goal for his team. That was the only occasion when she saw Danny Casey in person.