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UNIT 1, GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS, CHAPTER 1, , FLIGHTS OF FREEDOM, 1. Elaborate the idea expressed in the following:, ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to, continue that counts’., - Winston Churchill, Winston Churchill through these words throws light on the, importance of courage and determination; the quintessentials in, life. As human beings, we need to understand that success is not, everything in life, also failure is not the end of life. This is a, universal truth that one often forgets or rejects; as a result of, which people often end up disastrously in life., Success acquired once, doesn’t mean that you would be successful, throughout thereafter, and won’t fail any more in life. Failure, is, actually a stepping stone towards success. Hence, one shouldn’t, fear of it or run away from it. The various phases of life doesn’t, involve happiness and success alone or a phase of sorrows and, failures alone. Rather (instead), life is a series of simple and, complex experiences, composed of emotions, achievements,, success, failures, losses etc., The focus, therefore should be, how you survive in life, without, compromising the ideals. Courage, confidence and determination

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help you to flourish. People who cherish such qualities, taste the, fruits of success even after continuous failures or setbacks in life., 2. ‘Some are born great; some achieve greatness; some have, greatness thrust upon them.’ - William Shakespeare, Prepare a paragraph expressing your opinion., In our society, we find some are born and brought up in, circumstances that are favourable to groom their innate traits, (qualities). Eventually, they excel in life and acquire greatness. For, instance (for example), Indira Gandhi, our first woman Prime, Minister, had all opportunities to polish and sharpen her strong, traits acquired genetically. Certain others like, Nelson Mandela,, fighting all adversities (unfavourable conditions) came up in life;, merely through dedication, perseverance and will power. They, become great through the driving forces that act behind them., Hence, greatness in my opinion can be an innate trait at times, but, mostly it is achieved through sheer hard work and determination, by the majority. Unfortunately, it is also thrust upon certain, people, who don’t actually deserve it., In my view, greatness is undoubtedly the fruit of perseverance. So, we should tread the path of great achievers and should in turn, strive to be inspiration to many., 3. ‘A dream doesn’t realise through magic.’ Draft a write up., A dream doesn’t become real through magic; it takes sweat,, determination and hard work. Beyond doubt one can claim that the, price of success is hard work and determination. If one takes a, look at the life of the successful, one comes to realise that they, climbed the stairs of success after years of hard work. Such people, burn the midnight oil to master their skills and become competent, in their trade or profession.

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Gandhi dreamt of an independent India, when the British set foot, on our motherland. If he had believed in magic, we wouldn’t have, been free from the bondage of the British even today. He worked, day and night on the path of truth and non-violence, which by any, standards were not easy to gain us independence. Today we, celebrate freedom; thanks to the dedication, determination and, hard work of all those great freedom fighters. Besides, there had, been many legendary figures who had struggled to improve the, living standards of the people and the world, through their, inventions and discoveries. Their dreams became a reality because, they were confident that their sincere efforts would pay off one, day. People who are focused and determined to be successful, do, not believe in the world of magic; it is for those who are lazy. One, who follows the path of magic is ignorant and oblivious to the key, to success, which by no means falls all of a sudden from the sky., Success comes to those who believe in themselves and not in the, futile ways of magic. It is important to dream, as it gives a purpose, to life. At the same time one should be able to distinguish between, dreams and reality. To make one’s dream true, one should be, diligent, confident, hard working and goal oriented in life, where, magic has absolutely no role to play., 4. Role of parents in the lives of their children, Parents have a significant role in the well being of their children., They adopt various methods and measures to make children, perfect. Their love, care, attention, kindness, advice, scolding,, beating etc. enable the kids to prosper in life. Family is the first, school for every child, from where he or she learns the first, lessons of good behaviour, manners, sacrifice and co-operation., Children acquire many good qualities from their parents as they

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grow up. These help them to survive and flourish in life. They lead, children to the right path and keep them away from wrong ways., Parents know very well how to get things done out of their, children. Kids would feel angry and disappointed by such attitudes, of their parents, but as they grow, they realise that their parents, were correct. The support of the family is very important, which is, well depicted in the story ‘His First Flight’., Thus, all parents have a very crucial role to play in developing, good behaviour, attitudes and manners in children, which in the, due course make them good citizens and human beings., 5. Review – His First Flight, Liam O’ Flaherty was a major Irish novelist and short story writer, whose works are noted for their psychological insight into life’s, problems and the ways of overcoming them. The story, His First, Flight is a metaphorical representation of a man’s need to be, independent and confident as well as the significant role of parents, in grooming their children into perfection. Through the story of, the seagulls, the writer conveys the importance of self-esteem and, self-reliance., In the story, the young seagull was left alone on the ledge, by his, parents and siblings because he was afraid to fly. He thought his, wings would never support him, even his sister whose wings were, far shorter than his, flapped her wings and flew away, courageously. His parents tried innumerable times to inspire and, motivate him to fly, but all in vain, and in the end they threatened, to starve him on the ledge. Still, he was scared. The last piece of, food he got to eat from the ledge was a dried piece of mackerel’s, tail. After that there was nothing left. When there wasn’t a scrap to, satisfy his hunger, he even had to eat the dried pieces of his own, eggshell, which was like eating a part of himself. Because himself,

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his two brothers and the little sister were hatched from those, shells., None of his family members cared for him. He had watched his, parents teaching his brothers and sister the art of flight, they were, taught to skim the waves and dive for fish. His family had settled, on a plateau just opposite to him and taunted and teased him for, his cowardice., He experienced a very dismal situation and starved for food., He attracted the attention of his mother to gain food and somehow, she felt pity and flew towards him with a piece of fish in her beak., But as soon as she reached near to him she stood motionless in the, air with her legs hanging limp. Maddened by hunger the young, seagull dived for the fish. Though he fell outwards and then, started falling downwards in the beginning, within seconds his, wings spread out naturally and he started flying. His family, expressed their joy on his successful flight., The psychology and intelligence of the bird family have been, described effectively by the writer and conveys a moral to the vast, human society. Children should be trained to lead an independent, life with the support and guidance of the parents. There is only, one thing that makes a dream impossible, it is the fear of failure;, optimism is the faith that leads to achievement., The author has succeeded in carrying out his message to the, readers, by describing the experiences, feelings, emotions and, thoughts of the young seagull, in a language that totally justifies, the construction of the plot. The choice of words captures the, minds of the readers and is really praiseworthy. He has succeeded, in bringing the images related to the life and mannerisms of the, seagulls.

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The story, His First Flight motivates the young generation who, lack confidence and self-esteem. It urges the youngsters to, undertake challenges and overcome the obstacles on their path, in, their own unique ways, which eventually lead them to greatness. It, also highlights the importance of perseverance and will power and, reminds that smooth seas do not make skilful sailors.