Lesson 2: Clearing in The Sky
This chapter is from the 11th class English book 1 and it has been written by the Jess Staurt. we have presented the important questions of this chapter for the intermediate (part 1) FSc FA first year students.
Questions Answers
Q: Why did Jess’s father not act upon the doctors’ advice?
Ans: Jess’s father was a farmer who took keen interest in his land. He loved his profession. The doctors’ advice would have kept him away from his farm. He could not afford this. So he ignored their advice.
Q: Justify the title.
Ans: The title “Clearing in the Sky is quite justified. Jess’s father cleared the land at the top of a mountain. This mountain was so high that it looked to be touching the sky. So this was a clearing in the sky.
Q: Describe the physical appearance of the old man.
Ans: The old man was seventy years old but was very active. His face was red and had wrinkles. He had pale blue eyes. He was suffering from heart disease.
Q: What moral lesson does the story “Clearing in the Sky” teach?
Ans: This story tells us a moral lesson that active life-style can save us from various health problems. Moreover, a strong will-power can defeat all the problems. The hero of the story proved it practically.
Q: Why did Jess’s father like those woods, and what did he remember?
Ans: Jess’s father had a great emotional link with this area. He remembered that in summer they used to come to hunt Squirrels. He liked these woods because they reminded him of his youth.
Q: Describe how Jess and his father used to hunt rabbits in October.
Ans: In October, the rabbits in this area were ripe. Jess and his father came along with their hounds Rags and Scout to hunt them. These hounds would make the rabbits circle.
Q: Describe the physical appearance of the old man?
Ans: The old man was seventy years old. He had pale blue eyes and a red, wrinkled face. He had been a heart patient for the last forty years. His doctors advised him to take rest, but he ignored their instructions. Though he walked with the help of a stick, he ploughed the top of this mountain all alone. He had a strong will-power.
Q: How did the old man feel about the land?
Ans: The old man was a progressive grower. He loved farming in new lands. He did it for the first time on the slope of the mountain. When he turned seventy, he wanted to have the same experience again. As there was no more new land left, he went onto the mountain-top. There he found the pure land. It was not ever ploughed before. It was the land as God had made it. It was full of richness. The old man said that anything grown in that land would be tasty and enjoyable. When ploughing this piece of land, he remembered his youthful days. This is why he enjoyed this experience.
Q: What did the son remember from his childhood? Were these good memories?
Ans: This son was the eldest one. As such, he was very close to his father. His father took him to the fields. He saw his father hunting fox-squirrels, rabbits and other things. He remembered that his father and mother worked together on their farms. They cleared the land of wild plants and trees. They raised crops and corn. Sometimes he also helped them. His father once made him a small plough. With the help of this plough, he thinned corn. So we see that he remembered the golden days of his childhood. These were surely good memories.
Q: Write the story in your own words?
Ans: This is the story of a hard-working farmer told by his son. He cultivated a new land at the slope of a mountain. When he was thirty years old, he suffered from heart disease. But he ignored his doctors’ advice and continued working. He had lived to raise a family of five children. When he turned seventy, he wished to plough a new land again. This time only the mountain top was available. So he went there and ploughed the top all alone. Then he showed it to his son who was surprised at it.
Q: What moral lesson does the story teach?
Ans: This story teaches us the moral lesson that hard work is a key to success. Man must love his profession and must work with the sense of responsibility. Only in this way he can enjoy his work. The man who has a strong will-power can succeed in overcoming his problems. This old man ploughed the piece of land on the top of the mountain for two reasons. First, he wanted to this type of farming again. Second, he wanted to see his physical fitness. If we all work like him, we are sure to enjoy our work.
Q: Why did Jess not want to go with his father?
Ans: Jess had already walked half a mile uphill from his home to his parents home. He had carried a basket of dishes to his mother. As he was tired because of this exercise, he did not want to go with him.
Q: Why had Jess come to his father’s home on foot in such a hoť Weather?
Ans: No doubt, the Weather was very hot, but he came on foot because the journey by car was risky because of a couple of slips in the road.
Q: What happened with Jess’s father from January to April that year?
Ans: From January to April, Jess’s father went to eight different doctors. He was suffering from Some heart disease.
Q: Why didn’t Jess’s father follow the advice of his doctors?
Ans: He had a strong will-power. He wanted to get better with the help of this will-power. He took his illness as a challenge. He wanted to prove his doctors wrong. This is why he ignored their advice.
Q: What had the doctors told Jess’s father?
Ans: The doctors had told him that he would die soon. One of them suggested to him not to walk the length of a city block. They all advised him to have complete rest.
Q: Write a short note on the determination of Jess’s father.
Ans: Jess’s father was a determined man. With his strong will-power, he fought against disease and death. When he made up his mind to do something, he would do it if he had to Crawl.
Q: Why did Jess’s father cut a wisp of alfalfa?
Ans: Jess’s father was proud of his crops. The hay produced in his land was of superior quality. To show this to Jess, he cut a wisp of alfalfa.
Q: How did Jess’s father improve the old worn-out acres?
Ans: Jess’s father worked very hard on his land for thirty years. He turned the old worn-out acres to lush green fields. He had performed a task that looked almost impossible.
Q: Describe the scenic beauty of the area.
Ans: Above them were pine trees on the mountain top. Around them the land was rugged, but trees and wildflowers made it look charming.
Q: Describe the path that Jess and his father took to reach the mountain-top.
Ans: There were several paths that went up to the mountain-top. Jess and his father took the steep one. The result was that they had to rest for a while.
Q: Why did the old man take the steep path?
Ans: The old man took the steep path because he wanted to show that he was fit. This climbing was difficult for his son but did it successfully. In this way, he proved his fitness.
Q: What did Jess’s father remember when he saw a fox-squirrel?
Ans: He remembered that in his youth he hunted those fox-squirrels for meal.
Q: What special thing did Jess see when they reached the mountain top?
Ans: He saw a small clearing on the mountain top. It was in the heart of this wilderness. It was not more than three-fourth of an acre. There was a fence of wire around this clearing.
Q: where did the old man (Jess’s father) take his son to?
Ans: The old man took his son to the mountain top. There he had planted the land for the first time. He had grown vegetables there. He called it a clearing in the sky.
Q: Had the son ever been there before?
Ans: Yes, the son had gone to the top of that mountain many times before. But for the past three years he could not go there. This is why he could not observe the great work of his father.
Q: What did Jess’s father do when he wanted to show the quality of the land at the mountin top?
Ans: He picked up a double handful of leaf-rot loam and smelled of the dirt. He whiffed the smell and said that it was the real land.
Q: What were the names of the vegetables the old man grew on his farm?
Ans: The vegetables that Jess’s father grew were tomatoes, yams and potatoes. He was sure that the vegetables grown in this area would be Superior in taste.
Q: Why had the old man planted his secret garden?
Ans: He planted the garden at the mountain top because it was the area where the sun shone for a long period. It was a fresh land and he wanted to enjoy working here.
Q: How did Jess’s father cheat death many times?
Ans: Jess’s father suffered from the heart disease. His doctors were hopeless about him and they advised him to take rest. But he did not bother it. He worked hard as usual. When he crossed seventy, he said that he had cheated death many times.
Q: What in Jess’s father’s opinion is the normal age granted to man?
Ans: In Jess’s father’s opinion the normal life granted to man by God is threescore years and ten – i.e., seventy years. After seventy, man’s time is borrowed.
Q: What, in Jess’s father’s opinion, happens to man when he reaches seventy years?
Ans: Jess’s father said that when man reaches seventy, something goes back. He loves – to go back to the places he knew and loved. He peeps back into his past.
Q: What were the feelings of Jess’s father himself when he was seventy years old?
Ans: Jess’s father felt excited at the age of seventy. He was happy that he had lived the period allotted by God. So he wanted to go back to the places he loved to visit.
Q: How did Jess’s parents set the piece of land in this area?
Ans: When Jess’s father was twenty-two and mother nineteen years old, they cleared the mountain slope together. They raised corn, beans, and pumpkins. This land was ploughed for the first time.
Q: How did Jess work with his parents in the field when he was a child?
Ans: In Jess’s childhood, his father made him a wooden plough. With this plough he thinned corn in the field. Unfortunately, he lost this plough in a furrow. Then his father made him another one.
Q: Why did the son at the age of six cry?
Ans: Jess loved the plough that his father had given him when he was six years old. He worked with his father in the field. With the help of this plough, he thinned the corn. He cried very much when this plough was lost.
Q: Describe the mountain slope when Jess’s father was more than seventy.
Ans: On this mountain slope there were big trees. They were sixty feet tall. Wild vines had matted their tops together. These trees were big enough to be sent to the timber market.
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