Stand up for yourself - by -Yevgeny Yevtushenko | Question Answer

Stand up for yourself

Stand Up For Yourself

By Yevgeny Yevtushenko

About the author:

The author Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko (1933-2017) is a Russian poet, novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, actor, editor, and a director of films.

Summary:

The present essay gives a poetic description of the author's beloved encounter with a hoodlum while as a boy he was living in Moscow. The author injects realism in his narration of the incident. 

The essay begins with the author's description of his divorced parents. Their divorce drove him into the street. His life started in the street. It became his home. He found his world in it. He describes his life in the street in a lighter vein. It was in the street that he swore and smoked. Here he learnt the spirit of fearlessness. 

The author gives a vivid account of the ruler of the street. A boy about sixteen nicknamed Red was the hero of the street. He was a picture of panic to all. He was walking up and down the street careless of the people around him. His wide legs, fiery forelock and green eyes dominated the street. He was always moving with two or three lieutenants. Red was a ruffian. His lieutenants could stop any boy unhesitatingly and empty out his pocket.

The whole street reacted in blatant fear. The author was also not free. But still he was seized with a desire to conquer his fear of Red. He wrote a poem about the ruffian who always carried a heavy metal knuckle-duster in his pocket. The poem was on everybody's lips. The whole street exhibited their dislike for Red with great joy. One morning on the way to school, the author accidentally met Red and his lieutenants. His eyes were fixed on the author with hatred and vengeance. He struck his head violently with his knuckle-duster. He was unconscious and was confined to bed for several days. 

He again saw Red and torn by panic, he quickly escaped his notice. A sense of shame and cowardice overwhelmed him. He mustered courage. Fierce determination stared him in the face, He would defeat Red come what may. It was a challenge to him. He took to training with parallel bars and weights. He also remembered the Japanese method of wrestling which he had read in a book. He had to barter his ration card for a text-book on ju-jitsu which deals with the Japanese art of self-defense. He was engrossed in practicing this art with his friends for three weeks. He was filled with renewed confidence. He went out to meet the challenge of his life. 

Sitting on the lawn, Red was lost in playing vingt-et-un with his lieutenants. In spite of lurking fear, he faced them with utter rudeness scattering their cards. Red flew into anger and before he used knuckle-duster, the author crushed him. Writhing with pain, Red lay on the ground. He came to him like a maddened bull. What that writer had read in the book prompted him to deal with him without a shred of fear. He caught his wrist and squeezed him. His knuckle-duster could not help him. He fell down and was left to sob and wipe out his tears of defeat. The strong ruffian's vanity and rule of the street were torn to pieces. 

The incident still clings to the author's memory. His encounter with the monarch of the street taught him a lesson. One can easily overcome the fear of the strong, and the secret to beat them is to master the Japanese art of self-defense. Another lesson which he learnt was that to be a poet one need not only write poems, but to support its essence. 

Unit -1

1. Is the narrator a child or an adult narrating his childhood experiences? 

Ans:  The narrator is an adult narrating his childhood experiences. 

 

2. Does the narrator have happy experiences in his childhood? Why/Why not?

Ans:  The narrator has both happy and unhappy experiences in his childhood. His parents were divorced. His mother left him. These circumstances made him lonely. The street became his teacher. He cultivated all bad habits. Another good habit he developed was the spirit of fearlessness which he has kept intact till today. 

3. What was his relationship with his father? 

Ans:  The narrator's father lived somewhere in Kazakhstan with his new wife and hardly he got letters from his father. In short, there was no genuine relationship between father and son. 

4. How did his mother spend his time?

Ans:  His mother spent her time singing and giving entertainment for the troops.

5. What does 'my education was left to the street' mean here? 

Ans:  After divorce, his father lived with his new wife and his mother spent time in singing and giving entertainment for the troops. As a result, he became lonely and the street became his master. It taught him both good and bad habits. 

6. What were two habits that remained with him all his life? 

Ans:  The two habits that remained with him all his life were his preparedness to face the battle of life any moment and the spirit of fearlessness.

7. What in your opinion was the best lesson that the street taught to the writer?

Ans:  In my opinion the best lesson that the street taught to the writer was the habit of fearlessness. It taught him not to fear anyone.

Unit-2

1. What made red look older than he really was?

Ans:  His big and broad shoulder made Red look older than he really was.

2. How did Red roam in the street?

Ans:  Hero mod carelessly in the street with legs wide. He walked like a seaman on the floor of a ship.

3. How did he dress himself?

Ans:  He dressed himself in a peculiar manner. He put on a cap. From under his cap the writer noticed its peak at the back of his head.

4. Did he intentionally dress and work in the manner described?

Ans:  Yes, a villain as he was, Red intentionally dressed and walked in the manner described.

5. Why did his lieutenants also wear their caps back to front?

Ans:  His lieutenants also wore their caps back to front because they, like Red, wanted to evoke fear in everyone's mind. 

6. What pet animal comes to your mind when you read the expression "tripped at his heels"?

Ans:  When we read the expression "tripped at his heels" the pet animal that comes to my mind is a dog.

7. What was his way of forcing money out of other boys?

Ans:  His way of forcing money out of other boys was to stop them and say simply but family the one word 'money'.

8. How did he rule the street?

Ans:  He ruled the street by stopping any boy and saying simply but firmly nothing but the one word money. His hangers on emptied his pockets and they beat him ruthlessly in case he resisted.

9. What's the narrator afraid of Red? Quote the sentence from the text in support of your answer.

Ans:  The narrator was certainly afraid of Red. The line 'so was I' is a case in point. 

Unit - 3

1. What was the first thing the narrator did to overcome his fear of Red? 

Ans:  The first thing that the narrator did to overcome his fear of Red was to write a poem about him. 

2. How did the people in the street respond to the poem? 

Ans:  The people in the street learnt the poem by heart. They were filled with great joy and excitement. Their hatred for Red ruled the most. 

3. Explain the expression 'triumphant hatred'. 

Ans:  The narrator's poem about Red filled the people in the street with great joy and excitement. They gave up their fear of Red and expressed their hatred for him with great satisfaction. 

4. How did Red sneer at the narrator? 

Ans:  Red addressed the narrator as a poet slowly with a mischievous smile on his face. He commented sarcastically that at last he wrote verses and asked if they rhymed. 

5. What was the result of his first encounter with Red? 

Ans:  Red struck the narrator's head with a metal covering for the knuckles. As a result, he fell down with blood gushing out of his head and lost consciousness. He was confined to bed for several days. This was the result of his first encounter with Red. 

6. "This was my first remuneration as a poet' - was the narrator happy with his reward as a poet? 

Ans:  The narrator was not happy at all with his reward as a poet. 

7. What was a more difficult situation for the narrator : to be injured by Red or to overcome his fear of Red when he saw Red after his injury? 

Ans:  A more difficult situation for the narrator was to overcome his fear when he saw Red after his injury. 

8. What was the result of his second encounter with Red? 

Ans:  The result of his second encounter with Read was his determination to defeat fear of Red despite suffering shame and experiencing futile anger at his cowardice.

Unit - 4

1. How did the narrator train himself to grow stronger? 

Ans:  To grow stronger, the narrator trained himself with a pair of parallel bars meant for gymnastic exercises. Besides, he resorted to weights. 

2. How did he get a textbook on ju-jitsu?

Ans:  He got a text-book on ju-jitsu in exchange for a week's ration card. 

3. How long did he train himself before the final encounter with Red? 

Ans:  He trained himself for three weeks before the final encounter with Red. 

4. Where did the final encounter take place? What was Red doing then? 

Ans:  The final encounter took place on the lawn in their yard, when Red was lost in playing a card game called vingt-et-un with his hangers-on. 

5. How did the narrator attack Red? 

Ans:  The narrator kicked and scattered cards played by Red and his lieutenants. 

6. How did Red react to the narrator's attack? 

Ans:  Red reacted to the narrator's attack in a state of surprise and asked him mockingly if he was looking for more. 

7. How did the narrator tackle Red? 

Ans:  The narrator tackled Red by making a fast sudden blow to him. Confused, he came towards the former furiously. The narrator cut him to size by catching his wrist and squeezed slowly. 

8. How did Red suffer at the hands of the narrator? 

Ans:  Crying loudly in pain, Red rolled on the ground. His fingers suffered injuries. The narrator made him sob and rub the tears over his small-pox-marked face with his dirty fist. 

9. What lesson did the narrator learn during his encounter with a bully like Red? 

Ans:  During his encounter with a bully like Red, the narrator learnt that one needn't be afraid of the strong. Besides, it is imperative for all to know the technique of vanquishing them. 

10. What career did the narrator prepare himself for? 

Ans:  The narrator prepared himself for becoming a poet. Besides writing poems, he should defend their themes at any cost. 

11. Which of these do you think is true: courage means not having fear at all or courage means conquering fear? Justify your choice. 

Ans:  I think courage means conquering fear. The narrator's strong determination to defeat Red, the ruler of the street, bore a fruitful result and Red was defeated by him. This is a glittering example on point.