Chapter 8 Humour and Satire

Chapter 8 Humour and Satire 

Class 11 English 

Exercise 

Robertson Davies 

Ways With Words

A. Match the following. 

transcendental – spiritual, nonphysical or mystical 

deplore – to feel or express strong disapproval of (something) 

absolve – set free from blame, guilt, or responsibility; release 

juju – a charm or fetish used by some West African people 

crude – natural state 

chronicle – a written record of historical events 

B. Find the contextual meanings of the following words from the text and then
use them in sentences of your own. 

a. condemn: to express disapproval 

Sentence: Don’t condemn him before you hear the evidence. 

b. terror: a feeling of extreme fear 

Sentence: He lived in terror of being caught. 

c. unbidden: without being asked, invited or expected 

Sentence: She shook her head to remove the unbidden thoughts. 

d. persist: to continue to exist 

Sentence: The reporter persisted with his questioning. 

e. devout: having or showing strong religious feeling/ religious 

Sentence: His grandfather is a devout Buddhist. 

f. banish: to make somebody/something go away 

Sentence: The good wizard protected the temple with a spell to banish evil
spirits. 

g. creed: a system of principles or religious beliefs 

Sentence: Other countries have adopted this political creed enthusiastically.

h. hasten: to make something happen more quickly 

Sentence: The edge in his voice made her hasten her step. 

i. sober: serious and sensible 

Sentence: He was as sober as a judge. 

j. scorn: feel or express contempt or disdain for 

Sentence: He felt scorn for his working-class parents. 

k. yearning: a strong and emotional desire 

Sentence: They had a deep yearning for their homeland. 

l. aloof: not friendly/ disinterested in other people 

Sentence: His aloof response made her look up. 

m. swarthy: having dark skin 

Sentence: My friend is skinny, with a swarthy complexion. 

n. humbler: having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s importance 

Sentence: The leader of a third troop took a humbler tone. 

C. Trace the origins of each of the following words finding such explanations in
a dictionary or the Internet. Then make sentences by using each word. 

Minatory: From Latin minatorius 

Meaning = threating 

Sentence: The hate group left a minatory threat in the form of a burning cross
on the couple’s lawn.

 Placated: From Latin Placast 

Meaning = make somebody less angry 

Sentence: She was well placated when he did go on to choose Marley. 

Cajoled: From French Cajoler 

Meaning = pursuit somebody gently 

Sentence: I managed to cajole her out of leaving too early. 

Antedates: From Latin ante 

Meaning = predate; put earlier date; occur earlier than something 

Sentence: This event antedates the discovery of America by several centuries. 

Proliferated: From Latin prolifer 

Meaning = increase greatly; give birth 

Sentence: Bead stores seem to have proliferated the American landscape.

Philter: From Greek philtron 

Meaning = magical tonic; love potion 

Sentence: He’s just full of magic philter. 

D. List any five words found in an English dictionary beginning with the prefix
‘super-.’ What common meaning do all of these words share? How do the
words in your list change meaning if you eliminate the prefix? 

a.
Superimpose = lay over; place on the top 

Impose = enforce something; insist on something 

b.
Superman = exceptional man; man with strength power 

Man = adult male human; person 

c.
Supernatural = super human; beyond the nature 

Natural = related to nature; produced by nature 

d.
Supernumerary = extra; exceeding; many of 

Numeracy = number; of numbers 

e.
Superstar = above other artist; more popular artist 

Star = mass of gas in space; popular artist 

Comprehension 

Answer these questions. 

a. According to the author, what are the four types of superstition? 

Answer: According to the author, the four types of superstition are Vain
Observances, Divination, Idolatry and Improper Worship of the True God. 

b. Which language is the word ‘superstition’ derived from? What does it mean? 

Answer: The word ‘superstition’ is derived from the Latin language
‘supersisto’. It means to stand in terror of the Deity. 

c. How do psychologists understand superstition? 

Answer: Psychologists understand superstition as a compulsion that neurosis
does not banish.

d. How does superstition differ from religion? 

Answer: The difference between Religion and Superstition is that they differ in
the belief of a community. Religion is confined to worshiping Gods and
devoting them. Superstition is just a belief that relies on rituals performed over
them. 

e. What is the belief of some people in Middle Europe about sneezing? 

Answer: Some people of Middle Europe believe that when a person sneezes,
his/her soul is absent from body for a moment and they hasten to bless him. 

f. In the author’s view, why are people so fascinated about superstition? 

Answer: In the author’s view, people are so fascinated about superstition
because people’s desire to know their fate, and to have some hand in deciding
it. 

Critical Thinking 

a. What is the key takeaway of this essay? Do you think that this essay is
satirical? Why? 

The essay aims to convey the message that we are following superstition
knowingly and unknowingly. Every individual no matter how logical or rational
he/she is, carries superstitions. The essayist believes that many superstitions
are widespread and too old that must have been risen from a depth of human
mind that is indifferent to any race or creed. 

The essay is satirical in the sense that it satirizes to those educated and
uneducated people who are the victim of it. Throwing salt over the left
shoulder after spilling it or avoiding walking under a ladder, resolving a matter
related to university affairs by consulting the I Ching, placing jujus, lucky coins
and other bringers of luck on the desks of the candidates in an examination
hall, etc. are some of the superstitious activities he satires on. 

b. Can education bring change in the belief of superstition? Present your
arguments to support your answer. 

Answer: Education may or may not bring change in the belief of superstition.
Education can make people less superstitious. At least educated people are
more likely to send the sick to the hospital, than to call priests to cast out
demons in order to cure the sick. Education provides an understanding of the
diseases, the cause and the cure of the diseases. 

Superstitions are due to fear of the unknown. Once the unknown becomes
known, there is no longer any superstition. Education has the potential to
change superstitious beliefs. It enhances thinking abilities and intellect. People who are educated are less prone to be superstitious, and they may educate
others about it too. 

Now the question is can education eradicate superstition? It is only possible
when human beings gain complete knowledge of everything, then education is
able to eradicate superstition. For the present, education does reduce a lot of
superstitious beliefs around the world.

Writing 

a. Write an essay on superstitions that exists in your community in about 250
words. 

Answer:
Superstitions in My Community
Superstitions are as old as man. The earliest men who had no scientific
knowledge fell on easy prey to superstition. Thus, illiteracy and lack of
knowledge and capacity to reason out are the hotbeds which generate and
perpetuate superstition. 

Mahatma Buddha was probably the first great man to expound and explain the
value and significance of reason which eliminated superstition altogether. He
emphasized that everything should be thoroughly studied, judged and tested
before being believed. Later, many other great men like Guru Nanak and Kabir
exhorted the people to shun superstitions. 

Many people may believe that faith is also a form of superstition. But, as we
can see if we think deeply, there is a difference. Faith is a positive factor
whereas superstition is a negative factor.
Earlier, superstition was rampant in villages. The belief in ghosts was common.
It was believed that these ghosts operated at night and that they were visible
to some people and invisible to others. Taking advantage of this many clever
men burned into tan tricks and controllers of ghosts. They cheated the gullible
villagers. Unfortunately, even at present, such clever men are at work. 

There are many kinds of superstitions which are observed by common people.
The throbbing of eyes, a cat crossing our way, coming across a Brahmin-all
these are believed to be inauspicious. The cawing of a crow indicated the
possibility of a guest visiting our house that day. Similarly, if we come across a
sweeper early in the morning, it is considered to be auspicious. 

We should try to develop a scientific spirit of mind and judge everything on the
basis of reason.

b. “Superstition is prevalent in every walk of life.” Argue for or against this
statement. 

Answer: Yes it is true that superstition is prevalent in every walk of life. The
man started to believe in superstitions when he got a feeling that humans are
at the mercy of natural elements. Similarly, some superstitions were also
created because of social values. As a result, people worship forces of nature for
a long time. 

The Greeks and Pagans used to worship elements of nature in the form of Gods
and Goddesses. The same is the case with Nepalese tradition. People continue
to worship the sun, moon, stars, planets, plants and more believing these
things have the power to influence our lives. You might have heard ‘it is
because of the impact of some evil star’ and more when a disease overtakes or
disaster strikes. Even the people in the West have been believing in them. You
will find instances in Shakespeare’s plays where he includes things like omens,
witches and more. 

In fact, ever since a long time till date, people still consider the number 13 to
be unlucky. Similarly, salt spilling over the dinner table is also an ill-omen. In
Nepal, people consider the black cat crossing the way to be unlucky. Similar is
the case of an owl hooting or a dog wailing. 

If we look at it closely, there is no logic as such behind the beliefs in
superstitions. However, they have grown age-old and despite all the scientific
advancement, they are not going anywhere soon and hence they are prevalent
in every walk of life. 

Grammar
B. 

Put the verb into the correct form, present simple or present continuous. 

a. Nisha speaks (speak) English very well. 

b. Hurry up! We are waiting (wait) for you. 

c. Excuse me! Do you speak (you/speak) English? 

d. She is having (have) a shower in bathroom. 

e. How often do you read (you/read) a newspaper? 

f. I’m sorry, I don’t understand (not/understand). Can you speak more
slowly? 

g. You can turn off the radio. I am not listening (not/listen) to it.

h. I usually get up (get up) at 5 o’clock every morning. 

i. Look! The river is flowing (flow) very fast. 

j. Amrita does not seem (not/seem) very happy at the moment. 

C. Are the underlined verbs in the correct form? Correct them where necessary. 

a. Water boils at 100° C. 

➜ Water boils at 100° C. 

b. The water boils. Can you turn it off? 

➜ The water is boiling. Can you turn it off? 

c. I must go now. It gets late. 

➜ I must go now. It is getting late. 

d. This sauce’s tasting really good. 

➜ This sauce tastes really good. 

e. I’m thinking this is your key. 

➜ I think this is your key. 

f. Are you believing in God? 

➜ Do you believe in God? 

g. I usually go to school on foot. 

➜ I usually go to school on foot. 

h. Look! That man tries to open the door of her car. 

➜ Look! That man is trying to open the door of her car. 

i. The moon is going round the earth. 

➜ The moon goes round the earth. 

j. I’m getting hungry. Let’s go and eat. 

➜ I’m getting hungry. Let’s go and eat.