GOING PLACES

Theme
Going Places' is a story based on teenagers, their dreams and hero-worship. The story also
focuses on the complexities of human relationships, especially among different members of
a family. It emphasises that the act of fantasising may lead to miseries in case it is beyond
one's approach. It is useless to build castles in the air.
Q/[Link] Questions
(Page 79)

01. Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?

Ans. The two girls would most likely find work in the biscuit factory after school. Sophie
had dreams of becoming a designer or a manager of a boutique, but Jansie knew that those
aspirations would remain in Sophie's imaginations and were unlikely to be fulfilled.

2. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her
from having such dreams?

Ans. Sophie dreamt of owning a boutique or becoming a manager or a fashion designer like
Mary Quant. She also thought she could become an actress and have a boutique on the
side. She wanted to do something sophisticated. However, Jansie, being realistic, tried to
discourage her as listening to Sophie made Jansie gloomy. She knew that they would end
up working at the biscuit factory. She tried to dissuade Sophie from her dreams as all the
other professions required a lot of money which neither girl had as both were from a lower
middle-class background.

(Page 81)

Q.1. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Ans. Sophie was uncomfortable when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey
as she knew that her father usually did not believe what she said. He always told her that
she would get herself into a lot of trouble because of the stories she made up. When Geoff
told her father about her meeting with Danny Casey, he looked at her with contempt and
said that he was sure it was another one of her 'wild stories'.

Q2. Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans. Geoff did not seem convinced that Sophie had really met Danny Casey. His initial
reaction on hearing about the meeting was one of disbelief. He asked his sister to describe
the footballer which she did, but still he did not seem to be convinced that she had actually
met Danny Casey

Q.3. Does her father believe her story?

Ans. Sophie's father did not believe her story as he believed that her meeting with Danny
Casey was one of her 'wild stories'. He warned her that if she was not careful, her words
would get her into a lot of trouble one day.

Q.4. How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of her future?

Ans. Sophie wanted to know everything about her brother, Geoff, as she knew that there
about riding behind Geoff, who would be wearing new shining, black leathers and was one
part of his life about which she did not know anything. She fantasised she would be in a
yellow dress with a cape that flew out from behind. She wanted the entire world to greet
them with applause.

Q.5. Which country did Danny Casey play for?

Ans. Danny Casey played football for Ireland, although at that time, he was playing for the
team 'United'.

(Page 85)

Q.1. Why didn't Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?

Or

Why didn't Sophie want Jansie to know about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Or

Damn that Geoff, this was a Geoff thing, not a Jansie thing'. Why did Sophie say so?

Ans. Sophie was annoyed that Geoff had told Jansie's brother, Frank, of her encounter
with Danny Casey as Frank, in turn, had told his sister about it. She had not wanted Jansie
to know about her meeting with Danny Casey because she had wanted it to be a secret
between herself and her brother. Also, Jansie liked to gossip and Sophie was afraid that her
friend would tell the entire neighborhood of her encounter. Sophie did not want a row, if
her dad came to know.

Q.2. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?

Ans. Sophie did not really meet Danny Casey. The encounter was a part of her imagination
and the unreal world she lived in. She described Danny Casey's appearance and the
encounter in such detail that one is tempted to believe what she is saying. However, the
entire meeting was something she had dreamt up.

Q.3. Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?

Ans. The only time Sophie saw Danny Casey in person was when she went with her family
to watch the football match on Saturday. She sat near the goal with her father and younger
brother, Derek. Danny Casey scored the winning goal and Sophie glowed with pride.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

(Page 85)

Q.1. Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends. What were the differences between
them that show up in the story?

Ans. Sophie and Jansie were friends but they were very different from each other
Sophie was immature and had unrealistic dreams of becoming a designer, a manager or an
actress. She never considered where she would get the finances to proceed in such a venture
nor did she think about what she would do after school. She told wild stories which were
unbelievable, for example, her meeting with Danny Casey and that they were to meet again
just so he could give her his autograph.

Jansie, on the other hand, was practical and down-to-Earth. She knew that they were both
earmarked for the biscuit factory after they left school. However, she was a bit of a
gossipmonger and Sophie feared that she would tell the entire neighbourhood about her
meeting with Danny Casey.

2.2. How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie's father? Ans.
Sophie's father worked hard and came home grimy and full of sweat, He was a
part of the lower middle-class strata of society. He enjoyed football and was also a fan of
Danny Casey like many others in his family. At the Saturday night match, he cheered for
Danny Casey along with the rest of the audience and then stopped at the pub to celebrate
his victory.
He also admired Tom Finney. He was practical and realised that his daughter, Sophie, did
not always tell the truth. He warned her about getting into trouble because of her 'talk' and
her wild stories,

Q3. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her
perspective, what did he symbolise?

Ans. Sophie was jealous of her brother's silence as he did not speak much. She wanted to be
a part of the world that he never spoke about. She fantasised herself wearing a yellow dress
and a cape and riding behind her brother. She imagined that the entire world would greet
them by applauding for them. Her brother symbolised a world she could not be a part of a
more glamorous and appealing one.

Q4. What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her
family's financial status?

Or

How do we know that Sophie's family lived in poor circumstances?

Ans. Sophie and her family were from the lower middle-class strata of society. They did not
have much money. Her mother did all the housework herself and even had a crooked back
from doing so much work. That day, when Sophie came home, her mother was washing the
dirty dishes while a pile of laundry was still lying in the corner. The room was so small that
it had become steamy because of the heat of the stove.

The entire family, Sophie, her parents and her two brothers all lived together in a small
house. The author has mentioned how hungry, grimy and full of sweat her father was when
he returned from work hinting that he was a laborer riding a bicycle which could be seen
outside the pub. Geoff, Sophie's brother, apprentice mechanic.

Q Imagine Sophie meets Danny Casey after several years

Write a dialogue exchange between them where Sophie explains what that meeting means
to her.
Ans. Sophie: Danny, it's been years since that day at the arcade. You know, that meeting
meant everything to me. It was a moment of freedom, of defiance against all the rules and
expectations. It was the first time I felt truly alive. You were my hero.

Danny: I remember that day. You seemed so excited to meet me.

Sophie: It wasn't just about meeting a football star. It was about the dreams I held onto.
You symbolized everything I hoped for, a glimpse into a world beyond our struggles.

Danny: Sophie, you showed me a side of life I never knew existed.

Sophie: But that meeting, that chance to talk with someone I idolized, it felt like a spark, a
possibility of a different life. I held onto that moment, hoping it would change things for me
Danny: “I am glad it meant so much you have got to hold on to those dreams”
Sophie: “I do. They keep me going. It reminds me of who I am, of what truly matters.

Additional Questions
1. What do you know about Sophie and Jansie?
Ans 1. Sophie and Jansie were good friends as classmates. They belonged to a middle class
family. Both are different from each other. Sophie always lived in the world of fantasy, always
indulged in the world of dreams but on the other hand Jansie was practical, down to earth .
She knew very well that they both were earmarked to work in a biscuit factory.
2. How did Sophie dream of herself in Geoff’s world?
Ans 2. Sophie wished that her brother would take her to his world which she had not seen . She
saw herself riding behind Geoff and the world greeting them with applause.
3. How did Sophie imagine herself with Danny Casey?
Ans 3. Sophie imagined in one of her wild stories that she met Danny Casey in the arcade, where
she was looking at the clothes in Royce’s window when Danny Casey came and stood beside her.
She asked him for an autograph for little Derek, but neither of them had any paper or pen. She
claimed that Danny had invited her to meet him next week.
4. Why did Sophie’s father express fear that Sophie would land herself into a load of trouble?
Ans 4. When Sophie’s father was discussing Danny's performance in the game of football that he
should take his game more seriously, Sophie argued in favour of his ability. She told her father
that Danny had informed her about his decision of buying a shop, this made her father assume it
as one of her wild stories and expressed fear that this habit of hers would land her into loads of
trouble.
5. Where did Sophie go to wait for Danny?
Ans 5. After dark, Sophie walked by the canal, along a sheltered path lit only by the glare of the
lamps from the wharf across the water. It was a secluded place, a common spot of the lover’s
.She sat down under the shade of the tree on the wooden bench to wait for Danny Casey.
.Q 6 Where did the family see Danny? What was Sophie’s reaction?
Ans6. The family went to watch United play on Saturday. They saw Danny score a goal, leading
his team to victory. Sophie blushed with satisfaction as her hero won the match for them.
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