Introduction:- The Little Girl | English Literature for Grade 9 PDF Download

INTRODUCTION

This is a story about a little girl. She feared her father greatly. She thought that he was hard-hearted and strict. She always avoided him. He often rebuked her. Once he beat her severely for tearing his important papers. But one night, her mother was in the hospital. The little girl was afraid of the dark. But her father consoled her. She slept beside her father. Then she realised that her father was very good.

THEME

The story is based on the theme of a young child’s point of view about her father. Children take time to understand the actions of their elders. Till then, they tend to develop a negative opinion and sometimes even distrust. However, as kids grow older, their attitude towards their elders undergoes change. The theme of this story is based on this process of change that makes little children notice the soft and caring heart of their overly strict elders.

Theme (2)

Parents need to punish their children when it is necessary to do so and children who have been punished exceedingly too much or too less undergo poor development. Kezia’s father belongs to the wrong kind of parents. His act of upbringing his little child was unfit and the instance of his hitting Kezia for ruining his very important speech-sheets was unjustifiably wrong. On one side the sheets were important for him but the fact that Kezia ruined them for making him a birthday gift stands strongly against the father.

TITLE

The title of the story “The Little Girl” is apt as it is about a little girl Kezia. All the episodes in the story describe the experiences, opinions and observations made by Kezia. This story is in fact narrated from the point of view of Kezia alone. Her views about her father, her mother, her grandmother, their cook Alice, and their neighbours – Mcdonalds, let the reader know what a little girl thinks and how she feels regarding the people around her. Thus, the title is appropriate.

Justification of the Title (2)

Kezia’s father was a busy man and she was afraid of him. Her father would always give her instructions but never made any effort to know what she expected from him. She wanted his love and company. He only wanted her to be obedient, disciplined, organised and a perfect person. As a little girl, she couldn’t build up self-confidence to feel free to talk. The entire story moves around her expectations. So, the title is apt and appropriate.

Upset = sad = उदास , परेशान ; feelings = emotions = भावनाएं ; echo = sound = आवाज़ ; figure = form = आकृति ; avoid = keep away =दूर रहना ; casual = informal = अनौपचारिक ; respond = answer = उत्तर देना ; relief = comfort = राहत ; slippers = a type of shoe =चप्पल ; terrify = frighten = भयभीत करना ; stutter= stammer = हकलाना  Properly = in a right manner = उचित ढंग से ; wretched = unhappy = दु:खी ; brink = the extreme edge = किराना ; suicide = to kill oneself =आत्महत्या करना ; stretched out = lay comfortably लेटा हुआ ; snore = breathe noisily while sleeping =खर्राटे भरना ; Double cotton = double stitch = दोहरा धागा ; stitch= sew = सीना ; scraps = small unwanted pieces = कतरनें ; stuff = fill tightly with = से भरना ; search = look for= ; instant = moment= पल ; dragged = pulled = घसीटा ; pace = walk to and fro = चहलकदमी करना ; shadowed = closed = बंद ; pattern = Structure = ढाँचा ; Rock = sway to and fro = आगे –पीछे हिलाना या हिलना ; clung= to hold tightly = चिपट गया  upset = worried = परेशान ; tag = name of a sport = एक खेल का नाम ; hose = flexible tube of rubber etc. = रबड़ आदि की बनी हुई लचीली टयूब ; nightmare = terrible dream = दु : स्वप्न ; grannie = grandmother = दादी ; Dreadful = terrible = भयानक ; passage = corridor =गलियारा ; tuck up = pull the bedclothes up round and under the mattress = बिस्तर में सुला देना ; snuggle = lie or get close to =सटकर लेट जाना या सट  जाना ; funny = strange = अनोखा ; stir = move = हिलना –डुलना ; sigh = a deep breath = आह भरना ; Figure—shape; Avoid—keep away; Casual—without deep affection or interest; Respond-reply; Glad—happy; Relief—comfort; Carriage—car; Faint—slow; Staircase—a set of stairs; Drawing-room-common room for visitors; Paper—ne“PaPer; Slowly—gradually; Push—to use force to move something away from you;Spectacles—eyeglasses;Terrifying—frightening;Hurry up—do quickly; Stutter—stammer; Properly—in a right way; Matter—case; Wretched—worried; Brink—position; Suicide—kill oneself; Carefully—with care; Yawn—an act of opening one’s month wide and inhaling air deeply due to tiredness; Giant—gigantic man; Stretch—expand; Handkerchief—a square cloth carried in one’s pocket for wiping one’s nose, Snoring—sleep noisily; Gravely—seriously; Cold—blowing of nose; Suggest—produce any idea; Silk—a fine, strong, soft, lustrous fibre; Laboriously—with hard work; Stitch— sew; Wander—move without aim; Scrap—residue of something; Gathered—collect; Stuffed—to fill; Hue and cry—noise; Surprise—gift; Scream—cry; Straight—a part of something that is not curved or bent; Instant—that very moment; Drag—pull; To and fro—backward and forward; Sharp—loud; Explain—to make something clear; Whisper—to speak in a low. voice; Fetch—go and bring; Damned—used especially to express anger; Instant—a precise moment of time; Lay—put to bed; Shadow—darkness; Pattern—arrangement of shapes; Floor—surface; Ruler—scale; Beat—hit; Belong—related; Palm—the inner surface of the hand; Wrap—cover; Rock—shake; Clung—hold; Sob—weeping silently; Forget—unable to remember; Quickly—hurriedly; Gap—hole; Fence—wall; Tag—a children’s game; Hanging—falling down; Shaking—moving with short quick movement; Hose—pipe; Cook—a person who cooks food;Afraid—frightened; Nightmare—frightening dream; Grannie—grandmother; Socks—a short stocking reaching a point between the ankle and the knee; Butcher—a person who kills animals; Dreadful—fearful; Shiver—tremble; Creep—crawl; Snuggle—warm; comfortable and protected; especially from the cold; Tight—firmly; Rub—to press and move; Warm—hot; Tired—lose of energy; Hard—difficult;Stir—mix.