Chapter 5

RAY OF HOPE


1. Who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and for what reason?

Answer: Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

2. According to the Nobel Committee, why must children go to school?

Answer: According to the Nobel Committee, children must go to school and not be financially exploited. Education is essential for peaceful global development and for ensuring the rights of children and young people, especially in poor and conflict-ridden areas.

3. How did Kailash Satyarthi contribute to the cause of children’s rights?

Answer: Kailash Satyarthi, following Gandhi’s tradition, led peaceful protests and demonstrations against the exploitation of children for financial gain. He also helped develop important international conventions on children’s rights.

4. What makes Malala Yousafzai’s contribution especially remarkable?

Answer: Despite her young age, Malala Yousafzai fought bravely for girls’ right to education under extremely dangerous conditions. She became a leading spokesperson for girls' education through her courage and example.

5. What significant point did the Nobel Committee highlight in awarding an Indian and a Pakistani together?

Answer: The Nobel Committee highlighted the importance of an Indian and a Pakistani joining together in a common struggle for education and against extremism, which promotes fraternity between nations.

6. What global progress has been made in reducing child labour, according to the citation?

Answer: The citation notes that the number of child labourers has decreased from 246 million in 2000 to 168 million in 2014, showing that the world is moving closer to eliminating child labour. 

7. Who was Vanka Zhukov and where was he staying?

Answer: Vanka Zhukov was a nine-year-old boy who had been apprenticed to Alyakhin, a shoemaker, for the past three months.

8. What did Vanka do on Christmas Eve instead of going to bed?

Answer: On Christmas Eve, instead of going to bed, Vanka waited until everyone went to church and then began writing a letter to his grandfather.

9. Whom was Vanka writing the letter to, and why?

Answer: Vanka was writing the letter to his grandfather, Konstantin Makarich, because he missed him dearly and had no other family left. His letter also expressed his hope for blessings and conveyed Christmas greetings.

10. How did Vanka prepare to write the letter?

Answer: Vanka took out a bottle of ink, a pen with a rusty nib, and a crumpled sheet of paper. He placed the paper on the bench and knelt on the floor to write.

11. What emotions did Vanka show before he began writing?

Answer: Vanka seemed anxious and nervous, as shown by how he glanced at the door and window and sighed quiveringly before starting to write.

12. Who was Konstantin Makarich and what was his job?

Answer: Konstantin Makarich was Vanka’s grandfather. He worked as a night watchman on the estate of a noble family named Zhivarev.

13. How does Vanka describe his grandfather’s appearance and behavior?

Answer: Vanka describes his grandfather as a small, lean, and agile old man of about sixty-five. He had a cheerful face and eyes bleary from drinking. During the day, he slept in the kitchen or joked with the kitchen staff, and at night he patrolled the estate in a sheepskin coat, sounding his rattle.

14. Who were Eel and Kashtanka?

Answer: Eel and Kashtanka were the two dogs that followed Vanka’s grandfather during his night rounds.

15. Why was the dog named Eel?

Answer: The dog was named Eel because of his long, weasel-like black body.

16. What kind of behavior did Eel show?

Answer: Eel had a respectful and humble appearance, but he was actually cunning and unfriendly. He would sneak up to bite people, steal food, and often got beaten for his mischief, yet he managed to survive it all.

17. What was Vanka’s grandfather likely doing on Christmas Eve, according to Vanka’s imagination?

Answer: Vanka imagined his grandfather standing at the gate looking at the light from the church, walking around in his felt boots, joking with the servants, pinching maids playfully, offering snuff from his snuffbox, and laughing heartily.

18. How did the two dogs react when given snuff?

Answer: Kashtanka sneezed, shook her head, and walked away offended. Eel, on the other hand, did not sneeze; he wagged his tail politely.

19. How is the weather and village described by the narrator?

Answer: The weather is described as still, fresh, and transparent. Though it was night, everything in the village—white roofs, chimney smoke, frosty trees, snowdrifts—was clearly visible. The sky was full of twinkling stars and the Milky Way looked as if freshly scrubbed and polished.

20. Why was Vanka beaten by the master?

Answer: Vanka was beaten with a stirrup-strap because he accidentally fell asleep while rocking the baby.

21. What happened when Vanka made a mistake while gutting a herring?

Answer: When Vanka started gutting the herring from the tail instead of the head, the mistress got angry, picked up the herring, and rubbed his face with its head.

22.What kind of treatment did Vanka receive from the other apprentices?

Answer: The other apprentices bullied him. They mocked him, sent him to the tavern to buy vodka, made him steal cucumbers from the master, and he was often beaten by the master with whatever object was at hand.

23. What did Vanka say about the food and his living conditions?

Answer: Vanka said he was given only bread in the morning and evening, and gruel for lunch. He never received tea or cabbage soup, which the others kept for themselves. He had to sleep in the passage and didn’t get proper rest as he had to rock the baby at night when it cried.

24. What was Vanka’s heartfelt plea at the end of the passage?

Answer: Vanka begged his grandfather to come and take him away, pleading “for the dear Lord’s sake.”


25. What promise does Vanka make to his grandfather in the letter?

Answer: Vanka promises to pray for his grandfather, grind his snuff, obey him, and even accept beatings if he is naughty. He also promises to help the steward, clean boots, or become a shepherd-boy, and later, when grown up, to take care of his grandfather and protect him.

26. Why didn’t Vanka run away from the shoemaker’s house?

Answer: Vanka didn’t run away because he didn’t have boots and was afraid of the cold frost.

27. What memories does Vanka recall about his life with his grandfather?

Answer: Vanka recalls going to get a Christmas tree with his grandfather. He remembers the joyful times, chuckling together in the frosty woods, and the fun they had during those trips.

28. What does Vanka ask his grandfather to save for him from the Christmas tree celebration?

Answer: Vanka asks his grandfather to take a gilded (gold-colored) nut from the Christmas tree at the big house and keep it for him in the green chest.

29. How does Vanka describe Moscow in contrast to village life?

Answer: Vanka finds Moscow too big, with many houses and horses, but no sheep. The dogs aren’t fierce, boys don’t roam with stars, and children are not allowed to sing in church at Christmas. He also mentions the shops with fishing hooks and expensive guns, and butchers selling game without saying where it was hunted.

30. What feelings are expressed by Vanka in this part of the letter?

Answer: Vanka expresses deep sadness, desperation, homesickness, and longing for his grandfather. He also shows hope and affection, offering promises and recalling happy memories from his village life.

31. How does Vanka describe the Christmas tree-cutting trip with his grandfather?

Answer: Vanka remembers it fondly — the frosty forest, his grandfather chuckling, the fir trees standing still, and a hare darting by as his grandfather would shout amusingly. These memories are filled with warmth, love, and happiness.

32. Who was Miss Olga Ignatyevna, and what did she do for Vanka?

Answer: Miss Olga Ignatyevna was Vanka’s favorite among the gentlefolk. She gave him sweets, taught him to read, write, count to a hundred, and even taught him to dance the quadrille when his mother was alive.

33. Why did Vanka become an apprentice to the shoemaker in Moscow?

Answer: After his mother Pelageya died, the orphaned Vanka was first sent to live with his grandfather. Later, he was sent to Moscow to work as an apprentice under the shoemaker Alyakhin.

34. What did Vanka request his grandfather not to give away?

Answer: Vanka asked his grandfather not to give his concertina (a small musical instrument) to anyone.

35. What address did Vanka write on the envelope?

Answer: He simply wrote: "To Grandfather in the village. To Konstantin Makarich."

36. What does this detail about the address reveal about Vanka’s understanding of the world?

Answer: It shows Vanka’s innocence and naivety. He doesn’t understand how postal systems work and believes that such a vague address would be enough for the letter to reach his grandfather.

37. How did Vanka imagine letters being delivered?

Answer: Vanka believed that letters were dropped into letter-boxes and then sent all over the world in mail coaches drawn by three horses, with drunken drivers and jingling bells.

38. What did Vanka do after finishing and posting the letter?

Answer: Vanka ran to the nearest letter-box and dropped his precious letter into it. Then, an hour later, feeling hopeful and comforted, he fell asleep.

39. What dream did Vanka have after falling asleep?

Answer: Vanka dreamed of his grandfather sitting on the stove-ledge with bare feet, reading the letter aloud to the cooks. Meanwhile, the dog Eel was walking back and forth, wagging his tail.

40. What does the dream at the end of the story reveal about Vanka's feelings?'

Answer: The dream shows Vanka's deep longing for love, warmth, and safety. It reflects his desperate hope that his grandfather will come to rescue him and that he will return to the happy, familiar life he once had.

41. What is the overall tone of the ending of the story?

Answer: The tone is bittersweet and deeply poignant. While Vanka sleeps peacefully, full of hope, the reader understands the tragic irony — that his letter is unlikely to reach his grandfather due to the vague address.