The Blind Men and the Elephant V ENGLISH

The Blind Men and the Elephant V – ENGLISH CHAPTER -6 CLASS: 5 TH STANDARD 1

SUBJECT: ENGLISH 2020 - 2021 2

Scope of Syllabus: • To describe different perspectives and how those perspectives impact an individual's point of view. • To encourage students to develop perspective awareness— awareness that each of us creates a unique view of the world based on personal experience, language, and culture. 3

Follow the link for detailed explanation of the chapter https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Vn 9 BUf. UCL 4 I

Introduction to chapter . • The parable of the Blind Men and an Elephant originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent. • It is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. • Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. • They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other. In some versions, they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest and they come to blows. 5

The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the huge animal. "An elephant is smooth and solid like a wall!" he declared. "It must be very powerful. “ The second blind man put his hand on the elephant's limber trunk. "An elephant is like a giant snake, " he announced. The third blind man felt the elephant's pointed tusk. "I was right, " he decided. "This creature is as sharp and deadly as a spear. “ The fourth blind man touched one of the elephant's four legs. "What we have here, " he said, "is an extremely large cow. “ The fifth blind man felt the elephant's giant ear. "I believe an elephant is like a huge fan”, he said. The sixth blind man gave a tug on the elephant's coarse tail. "Why, this is nothing more than a piece of old rope. Dangerous, indeed, " he scoffed. 7

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While they waited, the six blind men talked about the elephant. "An elephant is like a wall, " said the first blind man. "Surely we can finally agree on that. " "A wall? An elephant is a giant snake!" answered the second blind man. "It's a spear, I tell you, " insisted the third blind man. "I'm certain it's a giant cow, " said the fourth blind man. "A huge fan. There's no doubt, " said the fifth blind man. "Don't you see? " pleaded the sixth blind man. "Someone used a rope to trick us. " Their argument continued and their shouts grew louder and louder. "Wall!" "Snake!" "Spear!" "Cow!" "Fan!" "Rope!" "Stop shouting!" called a very angry voice. It was the Raja, awakened from his nap by the noisy argument. "How can each of you be so certain you are right? " asked the ruler. The six blind men considered the question. And then, knowing the Raja to be a very wise man, they decided to say nothing at all. "The elephant is a very large animal, " said the Raja kindly. "Each man touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will see the truth. Now, let me finish my nap in peace. " "He is right, " said the first blind man. "To learn the truth, we must put all the parts together. Let's discuss this on the journey home. " The first blind man put his hand on the shoulder of the young boy who would guide them home. The second blind man put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to travel together.

Moral The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people's limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true.

Spelling from Text Book 1. Blind folded 16. Arranged 2. Villagers 17. Shoulder 3. Imagine 18. Creature 4. Listener 19. Touched 5. Traveller 20. Announced 6. Curious 21. Spear 7. Elephant 22. Dangerous 8. Trample 23. Answered 9. Frighten 24. Insisted 10. Argued 25. Awakened 11. Graceful 26. Noisy 12. Pierce 27. Question 13. Magical 28. Journey 14. Declared 29. Perspective 15. Argument 30. Trumpet

Meanings 1. Pierce- to make a hole in 2. Declared- to announce 3. Tug- a hard or sudden pull 4. Trample- to tread on and crush 5. Spear- a weapon with a pointed metal tip and a long shaft 6. Insisted- to state something forcefully

Answer the following question Q 1) How did the six blind men try to learn about life outside the village? Ans 1 The six blind men listened carefully about stories told by travellers in order to learn about life outside the village. Q 2) What had made the blind men curious about elephants? Ans 2 The blind men were curious about elephants because they were told that they could trample forests, carry huge burdens and frighten everyone with their loud trumpet calls. Q 3) Why did the villagers arrange for the blind men to meet an actual elephant? Ans 3 When the villagers grew tired of their arguments, they arranged for the curious men to meet an actual elephant.

Q 4) What made third blind man imagine that the elephant was a creature as sharp and deadly as a spear? Ans 4 The third blind man felt the elephant’s pointed tusks, and imagined that the elephant was a creature as deadly as a spear. Q 5) Why did the six blind men not argue with Raja? Ans 5 The six blind men new that the Raja was a very wise man. So, they decided to say nothing at all.

Answer the questions with reference to the context. 1. ‘The elephant is a very large animal, ’ said the Raja kindly. ‘Each of you touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will see the truth. ’ a. What did the first blind man declare about the elephant on touching it? Ans The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the animal. An elephant is smooth and solid like a wall! he declared. b. Why did the fifth blind man believe that an elephant was like a huge fan? Ans The fifth blind man felt the elephant’s giant ears and believed that an elephant was like a huge fan.

c. Which blind man had doubted the existence of elephants? Ans The sixth blind man doubted the existence of elephants. d. Why did the Raja have to remind the blind men that each of them had only touched one part? Ans The Raja had to remind the blind men because they were confused after touching the elephant and they started quarrelling. e. What did the Raja think was the best way of seeing the complete elephant? Ans According to Raja, the best way to see the complete elephant was to put the parts together.

Understanding the text Read the text and fill in the blanks with suitable words 1) The villagers treated the six blind men in a kind and considerate manner. 2) Elephants are often used to clear forest and build better roads. 3) According to the first blind man the elephant was a powerful giant whereas the second man declared it to be a giant snake. 4) The sixth blind man on feeling the elephant’s tail declared that the elephant could not be considered dangerous. 5) To learn the truth, all the parts must be put together.

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters added after the root of a word. Adding the suffix -lyto form adverbs. ●Adverbs are often formed by adding the suffix -lyto the end of an adjective. For example: quiet + ly= quietly Some more rules: ●For adjectives ending in -l (wonderful), add -ly (adverb-wonderfully) ●For adjectives ending in -y (greedy), change -yto –ily (adverb-greedily) ●For adjectives ending in –ble(suitable), change –ble to –bly(adverb-suitably) Words like fast and well are exceptions as we do not add -ly to them.

Change these adjectives into adverbs 1 arrogant 2 obstinate 3 foolish 4 soft 5 patient 6 efficient. Answers: arrogantly, obstinately, foolishly, softly, patiently, efficiently.

Fill in the blanks words made by adding appropriate suffixes. 1 Sachin Tendulkar is one of the greatest -------(cricket)of our time. 2 The-------(inhabit)of the village kept the blind men safe. 3 The family faced -------(starve)when it’s only earning member lost his job. 4 He found great -------(happy)in the company of children. 5 The writer of this book has -------(simple)the story for the children. 6 Wind, rain, thunder and lightning are -------(nature)phenomena. Answers: cricketers, inhabitants, starvation, happiness, simplification, natural.

An antonym is a word that is the opposite of another For example: cold-hot, asleep-awake, near –far, distant *Give antonyms 1 friend 2 week 3 entrance 4 pleasant 5 advance 6 harmony 7 enjoy 8 enable 9 destroy 10 quit 11 fact 12 arrive 13 drowsy 14 thank 15 doubt 16 rise. Answers: 1 foe , 2 laugh, 3 exit, 4 disagreeable, 5 retreat, 6 discord, 7 dislike, 8 disable, 9 create, 10 continue, 11 fiction, 12 depart, 13 awake, 14 blame, 15 believe, 16 fall.

Learning the language A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Let’s learn about some types of pronoun Pronoun Types. Words Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, Itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves Emphatic: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, Oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves Examples The white car is mine. He injured himself playing football. I myself have baked this cake.

*Circle the pronouns in the sentences and state what type they are 1 The ring she bought herself is very expensive 2 The explanation of yours isn’t very clear 3 The woman hurt herself while cooking 4 I will bring the books myself 5 Show me the books you bought for yourself 6 He himself should be responsible for the accident 7 I hate people interfering in business that is not theirs 8 This chair you’re sitting on is mine

Pronoun 1 she, herself 2 yours 3 herself 4 myself 5 me, yourself 6 He, himself 7 I, theirs 8 you’re, mine Type Personal, Emphatic Possessive Reflexive Personal, reflexive Personal, Emphatic Personal, Possessive