XI English 4.2 The Rising of the Moon :- Activities With Answers

4.2 The Rising of the Moon

(One Act Play)

Activity Sheet No.1.

A1. Describe the character of 'Sergeant'.
Answer:- The character of Sergeant is the main character of the drama. The story moves around him. So he is the central character. He is brave, smart, simple, obedient but fooled easily. He is patriotic and takes risk for his country. He has concern for his family. He has confusion at the end about what he had done.
 
A2. Theme.
Choose the two correct statements that describe the theme of play.
1) It is the discussion between the policemen about putting up the notice.
2) It is the description of the activities of the prisoner.
3) It is about the escaped prisoner and the arrangements to catch him.
4) It is about the love for country and the risk taken for the country.
Answer:- 

3) It is about the escaped prisoner and the arrangements to catch him.
4) It is about the love for country and the risk taken for the country.
 

Activity Sheet No.2

 A1. Character.
 Write character traits of the following characters.

Sr. No	Character	Attributes
1.	Sergeant	-----------------------------
2.	Prisoner (Man)	-----------------------------

 
Answer:-

Sr. No	Character	Attributes
1.	Sergeant	Strict, dutiful, simple, Patriotic, obedient
2.	Prisoner (Man)	Ballad singer, persuasive, smart, brave, frank

 
A2. Describe the attempt of the prisoner to influence the Sergeant.
Answer:- The sergeant did not allow the strange man to leave the place. The man claimed that he was a ballad - singer. He told the sergeant that he came to see any buyer for his ballad. He sang few verses. The man tried to convince the sergeant for his position. He sang the ballads and the sergeant corrected it. The man realized that he was also patriotic. The sergeant had pity for the boys who were fighting for the liberation of the country. The prisoner gave appeal to the patriotism of the sergeant and asked him indirectly to give him a chance to run away.
 

 Activity Sheet No.3

A1. Find.
The man and the sergeant needed each other's support. Find such examples.
Answer:- The man needed the Sergeant's support to allow him to stay by the sea, so he could sell his ballads to the men that came into the harbour. He could buy food from it. The sergeant needed the man's support because the man claimed that he knew the criminal. The sergeant wanted to catch the criminal so he wanted his information from that man.
 
A2. Describe the life of the singer.
Answer:- The singer is a poor man. He earns money by selling written songs. He is famous for his songs in the town of Ennis. By selling the ballads, he wants to buy food for that evening. He claims that he knows the prisoner mentioned in the notice.
 

 Activity Sheet No.4

A1. Find.
The man tries to enforce the Sergeant in favour of the criminal. Find the sentence from the text.
Answer:- The man tries to enforce the Sergeant in favour of the criminal. Its reference is:- “And may be the man you are watching for to- night used to be sitting on the wall, when he was young, and singing those same songs.”
 
A2. Give evidence.
The wavelength of the man and the Sergeant goes together. Find the evidence from the text.
Answer:- The sergeant joined the force to support his family. He wants to catch the escaped prisoner to get the prize and promotion. The man sings the ballads to earn a living. He reminds the Sergeant his past days and his sitting on the same wall where the prisoner may sit. In this way the wavelength of the man and the Sergeant goes together.
 

Activity Sheet No.5

A1. Give information.
The Sergeant's reaction surprises the audience. Give its information of that reaction.
Answer:- The sergeant is the loyal officer of the British Government, he desires to arrest the escaped prisoner. But the man persuades his mind and changes him as a patriotic person. The sergeant realizes the man as a prisoner but he lets him go. His changed reaction surprises the audience.
 
A2. Give your opinion.
The sergeant supports the man by misguiding his comrades. Write your views.
Answer:- I like the behaviour of the sergeant. As a loyal officer of British government, it is the duty of the sergeant to arrest the prisoner. But as a patriotic person he has a duty to see the benefit of his country. So the sergeant supports the man, who has been working for the good of his country, by misguiding his comrades.

Characters: 

1] Sergeant:- 

        Sergeant, an officer in the Royal Irish Constabulary, a force recruited from native Irishmen by the British authorities. The Sergeant reveals the ambiguities and divided loyalties of his professional role. He is a slow, cautious, and somewhat unimaginative character. Although he is not particularly enlightened, he is also not outside the range of patriotic sentiment’s appeal. His discovery that this is the case is as much of a surprise to him as it is to the audience. 

2] The Man:- 

           The Man, a character conceived of as the Sergeant’s antithesis. As a ballad singer, he is as identifiable a presence in the society of the time as a police officer. This populist disguise covers the character’s more subversive activities. Ballads provide a medium through which the Man’s political activities may be seen as legendary. His ability to win over the Sergeant’s collusion is an argument in favor of the innate appeal of his presence and his cause. 

3] Policeman B.:- 

          Policeman B., one of the play’s minor characters, who constitutes the search party with Policeman X. He is intent on little more than doing his duty. His speech at the end of the play reveals his lack of interest in the world of history and culture. His behavior indicates that he needs the Sergeant to issue orders to him in order to function. 

4] Policeman X.: 

       Policeman X., who is as one-dimensional and minor a character as his colleague, Policeman B. He is a little more committed to doing his duty in pursuit of the escaped prisoner. The play does not develop what this commitment means either to the character or to the play’s depiction of the powers that be. Together, the two policemen make up a framework of orthodoxy, within which the complications of the Sergeant’s loyalties may be perceived.