NCERT Solution of Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
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Summary of Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
The narrator and his wife plan a voyage around the world just like the famous Captain James Cook. They have been preparing and perfecting their seafaring skills for the past 16 years. They get a ship which is 23 meters long and weighs 30 tons wooden-hulled, named Wave Walker. They test it in the rough weather for months.
In July 1976, they all start their journey from Plymouth, England. They sail from Africa to Cape Town which was quite a pleasant journey. Before heading East, the narrator hired two crewmen, Larry Vigil, and Herb Seigler, to help them tackle one of the roughest seas – the Southern Indian Ocean.
They encounter strong and alarming waves during the second day. By December 25, they all managed to reach 35,000 kilometres east of Cape Town. The family, somehow, manages to surpass the bad weather and celebrates Christmas together.
The weather changes for the worse and on January 2, the big waves hit them. They try to slow the ship down by dropping storm jib and hitting a heavy mooring rope in a loop across a stern but it doesn’t help much. They carry their life-raft drill, attach lifelines, don life jackets and oilskins.
Later, in the evening, a vertical and huge wave strikes the ship and the narrator is thrown off from the ship. He accepts his ‘approaching death’ and starts losing consciousness. When the ship is about to overturn, a huge wave hits again and turns it right back. He suffers injuries in his ribs and mouth. He grabs the guard rail and sails into the ship’s main boom.
He instructs his wife Mary to guard the wheel as he realizes that the ship has water in the lower parts. His crewman starts pumping out the water. The narrator goes to his children’s cabin and checks on them. His daughter, Sue, informs him about a bump on her head which he ignores because his major concern is to save the ship.
The narrator does waterproofing on the gaping holes. This makes water to deviate on the right side. The hand pump gets blocked due to debris and electric pump gets short-circuited. However, he later finds a spare electric pump and connects it to drain the water. They all keep pumping the water all night long. Their Mayday calls are not answered as they are in the remotest corner of the world.
Sue, on the other hand, has now a swollen black eye and a deep cut in her arm. On being asked by her father about her injuries, she tells him she didn’t want him to worry as he was trying to save them. After 15 hours the situation gets under control. The narrator decides to work in rotation and rests. The water levels are controlled but the leaks were still there, below the waterline.
The ship is in bad shape now. It is not in a condition to reach Australia, and so, they decide to reach the nearest island, lle Amsterdam, a French Scientific base. As their supporting engines were also damaged, the chances of the ship reaching the destination are low.
After pumping the water out continuously for 36 hours, they took a sigh of relief. Only a few centimeters of water was left to be pumped out of the boat. They hoisted the storm jib as the mainmast was destroyed. They ate their first meal in two days, some corned beef and crackers. The weather soon started changing and again the black clouds took over by the morning of January 5. His son, Jonathan, told him that he didn’t fear death as long as they were all together. This filled him with determination to fight the sea.
The struggle continued and the narrator tried his best to protect the weakened starboard side. The same evening, the narrator and his wife sat together holding hands, thinking that their end was near. His children continuously supported him which gave him moral support to keep going.
The Wavewalker sailed through the storm and made it. The narrator then calculated their exact position by working on the wind speed. While he was brainstorming, Sue, gave him a card that she had made expressing her love and gratitude towards the family.
He instructed Larry to steer the course to 185 degrees. He said that if they were lucky, they could hope to find an island by 5 pm. He dozed off and suddenly got up around 6 pm. He believed that they didn’t make it and was disappointed. His son came and informed him about how they reached the lle Amsterdam Island and he called him ‘best daddy’ and ‘best captain’.
They reached the island with little struggle and with the help of inhabitants. The whole team, the family and two crew members, never stopped trying. Their struggle and hard work finally saved them.
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question Answer of Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question 1:
List the steps taken by the captain
(i) to protect the ship when rough weather began.
(ii) to check the flooding of the water in the ship.
Answer
(i) The storm jib was dropped. Heavy ropes were tied across the stern of the ship. Everything was bound securely with ropes.
(ii) He took some waterproof hatch covers. He screwed them across the big holes. Thus he tried to check the flooding in of water.
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question 2:
Describe the mental condition of the voyagers on 4 and 5 January.
Answer
On January 4, the voyagers felt a little relieved. They had their first meal in almost two days. But in the evening the weather again got worse and they were again in the same plight.
By the dawn on January 5 they were in a desperate situation. All of them realised that they were going to die.
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question 3:
Describe the shifts in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text. Give a subtitle to each section.
Answer
The first section: The first section opens on a cheerful note. The narrator and his family are all set for their ultimate dream- to take up an around-the-world voyage like Captain James Cook did. They have perfected their seafaring skills. They begin the voyage and despite of the bad weather, they celebrate Christmas on the ‘Wavewalker’.
The second section: This part of narration covers the hazards faced by the voyagers. There is a shift in the narration from cheerful to intense. They find themselves in an extremely fatal and disastrous situation. A huge wave hits their boat and the narrator is thrown overboard. Despite getting injured, he maintains his composure and applies every possible way to tackle the critical situation. They manage to pump out maximum amount of water out of the boat in about 36 hours. But as they continue to face bad weather conditions the narrator loses hope. The children remain fearless, courageous and optimistic throughout.
The third section: The children provide moral support to the narrator and he continues with his efforts. Under the captaincy of the narrator, they manage to reach Ile Amsterdam. The narrator proves his seamanship and receives the title of “the best daddy” and “the best captain” from his children.
The above three sections can be subtitled as follows:
a) The first section: Round-the-world voyage begins
b) The second section: The attack of the big wave
c) The third section: Ultimate victory
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question 4:
What difference did you notice between the reaction of the adults and the children when faced with danger?
Answer
There was a huge difference between the reaction of the adults and the children. The adults lose their hope at the end and wait for their fate of death. On the other hand, the children were hopeful and gave the narrator moral support. With the support of his children, Jonathan and Suzanne, he decided to make it to the island at any cost. The children showed maturity. His son expressed courage as to how he wasn’t afraid to die if they all were together. His daughter made him a card expressing her love and affection towards her parents and wrote a beautiful message. She was injured still, she didn’t let it become a hurdle for her parents who were trying to save the ship.
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question 5:
How does the story suggest that optimism helps to endure “the direst stress”?
Answer
One who keeps his face to the sunshine, has no fear of shadows. One who is optimistic, has no fear of failures. Nothing is too difficult or impossible for him. He goes on and on with the hope that he will succeed. Gordon Cook’s story conveys the same idea. It was only his courage and optimism that did not let him give up. He kept fighting the storm with rare courage. He never gave up his hope of success. Any other person in his place would have given up in despair and died on the sea. Thus Cook’s story proves that optimism helps to endure the direst stress.
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question 6:
What lessons do we learn from such hazardous experiences when we are face-to-face with death?
Answer
Hazardous experiences may bring us face to face with death, but they impart us many important lessons of conduct. Life is not always a bed of roses. We must react to dangers and risks with patience and fortitude. Adversity is the true test of character. The purity of gold is judged by putting it in fire. The hazardous experiences bring out the best in us. Coward persons die many times before their death. Fear is a negative feeling and leads to inactivity and abject surrender to circumstances. Such sailors or soldiers lose the battle against the odds in life. On the other hand, persons with self confidence, courage, resourcefulness and presence of mind face all the dangers boldly and overcome all disasters.
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Question 7:
Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks involved?
Answer
Man is adventurous by nature. The greater the risk, the more the thrill. Adventure beckons only those who dare to face challenges in life. It’s the thrill and excitement that they see and not the risk involved.It is true that sometimes adventures are quite risky and prove fatal. The failures of some people do not daunt (discourage) the real lovers of adventure. The success of an adventurous expedition brings name, fame and wealth.
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Class 11 English Chapter 2 We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
