Social Science Class 10 Important Questions History Chapter 8 Novels, Society and History

Social Science Class 10 Important Questions History Chapter 8 Novels, Society and History

Very Short Answer Questions (VSA) 1 Mark

Question 1.
Which was the earliest novel written in Marathi? (2012)
Answer:
Yamuna Paryatan

Question 2.
Who wrote the novel Sultana’s Dream? (2012)
Answer:
Rokeya Hossein

Question 3.
Who was the novel ‘Anguriya Binimoy’ written by? (2013)
Answer:
Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay

Question 4.
Which novel depicts a topsy turvy world in which women take the place of men? (2013)
Answer:
Sultana’s Dream

Question 5.
Who wrote the novel ‘Oliver Twist’? (2014)
Answer:
Charles Dickens

Question 6.
Identify the hero of the novel ‘Indulekha’. (2014)
Answer:
Hero of ‘Induleka’ was Madhavan, a member of the newly English-educated class of Nayars from the University of Madras. A first rate sanskrit-scholar, dressed in western clothes, with a long tuft of hair.

Question 7.
By whom was the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ written? (2015)
Answer:
‘Pride and Prejudice’ was written by Jane Austen giving a glimpse of the world of women in genteel rural society in early 19^th Century Britain.

Question 8.
Name the first novel written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya. (2015)
Answer:
‘Durgeshnandini’ (1865) was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya’s first novel. The plot of the novel had many interesting twists and turns. It was written in prose style and was relished for its language.

Question 9.
Who was the novel ‘Anguriya Binimoy’ was written by? (2017 D)
Answer:
Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay

Question 10.
Name the novel written by Rokeya Hossein which depicts a topsy turvy world in which women take the place of men. (2017 OD)
Answer:
Sultana’s Dream

Short Answer Questions (SA) 3 Marks

Question 11.
Describe how the works of Munshi Prem Chand reflect the social conditions of the Indian society in the early 20^th century and promote the feeling of nationalism. (2015)
Answer:
Munshi Prem Chand was one of the greatest literary figures of modem Hindi and Urdu literature:

1. Munshi Premchand’s novels are filled with powerful characters drawn from all the levels of the society. In his novels one can meet aristocrats and landlords, middle-level peasants and landless – labourers, middle class professionals and people from all the sections of the society.
2. Premchand’s Sevasadan throws light on the lives of ordinary people, mainly poor people and their sufferings.
3. His story Rangbhoomi was inspired by Gandhiji’s ideas and throws light on the negative effect of the caste system which had led to social injustice. His characters created a community based on democratic values.
4. Issues such as child marriage, dowry system were highlighted in his writings to draw the attention of the educated class and reformers so that something could be done to remove these evils.
5. Premchand’s writings also covered the lives of upper class Indians and the ways in which they used whatever little opportunities they got from colonial authorities to govern themselves.
6. Godan published in 1936 remains Premchand’s best known work. It is an epic on Indian peasantry. The theme of the novel revolves around the socio-economic conditions of the Indian peasants.

Question 12.
In what ways did novels help to give the people a vision of being ideal characters without losing one’s identity? Explain. (2012)
Answer:
Although novels were about imaginary stories, they often spoke to the readers about the real world. Sometimes they presented a vision of how things ought to be.

1. Social novelists often created heroes and heroines with ideal qualities, who their readers could admire and imitate.
2. The characters in the novels show how to be modem without rejecting tradition, how to accept ideas coming from the West without losing one’s identity.
3. Chandu Menon portrayed ‘Indulekha’, as a woman of breathtaking beauty, high intellectual abilities, artistic talent and with an education in English and Sanskrit.
4. Madhavan, the hero of the novel was also an ideal character. He was a member of the newly educated class of Nayars from the University of Madras. He was also a Sanskrit scholar. He dressed in western clothes but had kept a long tuft of hair, according to the Nayar custom.
5. Under the colonial rule, many of the English educated class found the western ways of living and thinking attractive. Characters like Indulekha and Madhavan showed readers how Indian and foreign lifestyle could be brought together in an ideal combination.

Question 13.
What are the main features of the novel ‘Sevasadan’ written by Munshi Premchand? Mention any three. (2012)
Answer:
Main features of the novel ‘Sevasadan’

1. ‘Sevasadan’ (The Abode of Service) written by Munshi Premchand lifted the Hindi novel from the realm of fantasy, moralising and simple entertainment to a serious reflection on the lives of ordinary people and social issues.
2. It deals mainly with topics like the poor condition of women in society, child marriage and dowry.
3. It also tells about the ways in which the Indian upper classes used opportunities they got from colonial authorities.

Question 14.
How did the characters like Indulekha and Madhavan inspire the contemporary generations to strike a balance between the Western ideas and Indian traditional culture? (2012)
Answer:
During the colonial period social novelists often created heroes and heroines with ideal qualities who could imbibe western lifestyles without rejecting traditional Indian culture and one’s own identity. Chandu Menon portrayed “Indulekha” as a woman of breath-taking beauty, high intellectual abilities, artistic talent, and with an education in English and Sanskrit. Madhavan, the hero of the novel, was also presented in ideal colours.

He was a member of the newly English-educated class of Nayars from the University of Madras and a first-rate Sanskrit scholar. He dressed in Western clothes but at the same time, he kept a long tuft of hair, according to the Nayar custom. Characters like Indulekha and Madhavan through their ways of living and thinking showed how Indian and foreign lifestyles could be brought together in an ideal combination.

Question 15.
Differentiate between the novels written by Charlotte Bronte and the novels written by Jane Austen. (2013)
Answer:
The novels of Jane Austen gave a glimpse of the world of women in genteel rural society in early 19th century Britain. They make us think about a society which encouraged women to look for ‘good marriages and find wealthy or propertied husbands, as stated in Jane Austens ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Austen portrays women to be preoccupied with marriage and money.

Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ published in 1874, shows Jane as young and assertive. She is independent and protests against the hypocrisy of her elders. Her novel dealt with women who broke established norms of society before adjusting to them and therefore found sympathetic readers.

Question 16.
Explain any three main contributions of novel to modem society. (2013)
Answer:
Novels had a unique contribution in making the modem world:

1. As novels began to be mass circulated and widely read, they made an immense contribution in shaping the behaviour and minds of people.
2. Novels also helped in establishing a relationship with the past. Many of them told thrilling stories of adventures and intrigues set in the past. Through glorified accounts of the past, novels helped in creating a sense of national pride among their readers.
3. The most exciting element of novels was the involvement of women, who began both reading and writing novels. Novels began exploring the world of women-their emotions, identities, their experiences and problems. Women novelists did not only popularise their domestic roles but also wrote to mould and shape society and the contemporary world.

Question 17.
How does Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ justify colonialism? Explain. (2013)
Answer:

1. Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ made the readers feel that they are a part of a superior community.
2. The hero is a slave trader and adventurer.
3. He treats coloured people not as human beings equal to him, but as inferiors.
4. He rescues a native and makes him his slave and calls him ‘FRIDAY’.
5. He idolizes the idea that colonised people are primitive, barbaric and less than humans.

Question 18.
How does the novel ‘Pariksha Guru’ reflect the inner and outer world of the newly emerging middle classes? Explain. (2013)
Answer:
Srinivas Das’s novel, ‘Pariksha Guru’ cautioned young men of well-to-do families against the dangerous influence of bad company and consequent loose morals.
It reflected the inner and outer world of the emerging middle classes through the characters of the novel who are caught in difficulty of adapting to colonised society and at the same time preserving their own cultural identity. The colonial modernity seems to be both frightening and irresistible to the characters. The novel tries to teach the reader the right way to live and expects all ‘sensible men’ to be worldly wise and practical. It also suggests to live life with dignity and honour and to remain rooted in the values of tradition and culture.

In the novel the characters attempt to bridge two different worlds through their actions. The young are urged to cultivate the ‘healthy habit of reading newspapers. The novel emphasised that colonial modernity must be adopted without sacrificing the traditional values of the middle-class household.

Question 19.
How did novels fulfil the task of nation building during the British period? Explain. (2013)
Answer:
The modern novel developed in India in the nineteenth century during the British period. Leading novelists wrote to develop a modern literature of the country. They wanted to produce a sense of national belonging and cultural equality with the British. Novels could be read by people from all walks of life. This helped in creating a sense of collective identity on the basis of one’s language. Novels helped people to understand about the culture of other parts of the country. They helped to create a sense of pan-Indian belonging.

In Bengal, many historical novels were about Marathas and Rajputs. These novels portrayed the nation to be full of adventure, heroism, romance and sacrifice. Bankim’s Anandmath is a novel about secret Hindu militia which fights Muslims to establish a Hindu kingdom. This novel inspired many kinds of freedom fighters.

Question 20.
How did the historical novels in India try to create a sense of Pan-Indian belonging? 2014, 2015
Or
How did novels fulfil the task of nation-building during the British period? Explain.
Answer:

1. In India, many novels were written for glorification of India’s past, to create a sense of national pride among people and a sense of collective belonging.
2. Many novels were written in all the main Indian languages in different parts of the country that helped in the growth of national feelings among the readers of the entire nation and propagated the idea of uprooting the foreign rule.
3. Some of the greatest novelists of modern India were protagonists of the national movement like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. He infused the ideas of nationalism and freedom from colonial rule in novels like ‘Anandamath’ and ‘Kapalkundala’.
   In Bengal, many historical novels were about Marathas and Rajputs. These novels portrayed the nation to be full of adventure, heroism, romance and sacrifice. Bankim’s Anandmath is a novel about secret Hindu militia which fights Muslims to establish a Hindu kingdom. This novel inspired many kinds of freedom fighters. Several other novelists wrote for the same cause.
4. The novels also helped in the nation building process by taking up the cause of the poor and downtrodden people, women and such sections of society who were being exploited by rich aristocratic people.
5. Novels also attacked the racial superiority of the English people who regarded the Indian culture as inferior. Novels took up the cause of nationalism and urged the people to be true to their culture and fight for the freedom of their country.

Question 21.
Describe the growth of Hindi novels from their origin to the period of excellence. (2014)
Answer:
Growth of Hindu novels from origin to period of excellence:
In the north, Bharatendu Harishchandra encouraged many poets and writers to recreate and translate novels from other languages. The first modem novel was written by Srinivas Das of Delhi, who published his novel ‘Pariksha Guru’ in 1872. The novel cautioned young men of well to do families against bad company. The young are urged to cultivate the ‘healthy habit’ of reading the newspapers. The novel could not win many readers as it was too moralising.

The writings of Devaki Nandan Khatri created a novel-reading public in Hindi. His best-seller ‘Chandrakanta’ a romantic fantasy contributed to popularising Hindi language and the Nagari script among the educated.
With the writing of Premchand, Hindi novels achieved excellence. He drew on the traditional art of Kisa- goi (storytelling). His novel ‘Sewasadan’ lifted the Hindi novel to a serious reflection on the lives of ordinary people and social issues.

Question 22.
Describe in brief about any two famous novels written by Charles Dickens. (2014)
Or
Examine the contribution of Charles Dickens in the field of English literature. (2015)
Answer:
Charles Dickens highlights the changes brought about in people’s lives and characters, by industrialization. His novels stress on the evil effects of industrialization.

• In his novel ‘Hard Times’ (1854), he describes Coketown (a fictitious industrial town) ‘as a grim place full of machinery, smoking chimneys, rivers polluted purple and buildings that all looked the same.’ Workers had no identity, they were known as ‘hands’ — operators of machines. The greed for more profits had reduced human beings into simple instruments. Humane qualities were fast disappearing. Rich people had no concern for the poverty stricken people living in inhuman conditions.
• His ‘Oliver Twist’ (1838) gives harsh details of the grim conditions of the workers and the unemployed poor. Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’ is the tale of a poor orphan who lived in a world of petty criminals and beggars. It gives harsh details of the grim conditions of the workers and the unemployed poor. However, Oliver was finally adopted by a wealthy man and lived happily ever after.

Question 23.
Who wrote the novel ‘Saraswati Vijayam’? Highlight any two messages given to the people through the novel. (2014)
Answer:
Potheri Kunjambu, a Tower caste’ writer from North Kerala, wrote a novel called ‘Saraswati Vijayam’ in 1892, mounting a strong attack on caste oppression. This novel shows a young man from an ‘untouchable’ caste, leaving his village to escape the cruelty of his Brahmin landlord. He converts to Christianity, obtains modern education and returns as the judge of the local court. Meanwhile, the villagers thinking that the landlord’s men had killed him, file a case. At the conclusion of the trial, the judge reveals his true identity, the Nambuthri (Brahmin) repents and reforms his ways. The novel lays emphasis on the importance of education for the upliftment of the lower castes.

Question 24.
Explain how novel reading became a popular source of pleasure in India. (2015)
Answer:
As elsewhere in the world, in India too, the novel became a popular medium of entertainment among the middle class. The circulation of printed books allowed people to amuse themselves in new ways.

Picture books, translations from other languages, popular songs composed on contemporary events, stories in newspapers and magazines—all these offered new forms of entertainment.

Within this new culture of print, novels soon became immensely popular.

Question 25.
Explain any three reasons for the popularity of novels. (2012)
Answer:

1. Novels became very popular because the world, which the novels created, was absorbing and believable and seemingly real.
2. While reading novels, the reader travelled to another person’s world and began looking at life as it was experienced by the characters of the novel.
3. Besides, novels allowed individuals the pleasure of reading in private as well as the joy of publicly reading or discussing stories with friends or relatives.
4. In rural areas, people would collect to hear one of them reading a novel aloud, often becoming deeply involved in the lives of the characters.

Question 26.
Differentiate between the novels written by Charlotte Bronte and the novels written by Jane Austen. (2017 D)
Answer:
The novels of Jane Austen gave a glimpse of the world of women in genteel rural society in early 19^th century Britain. They make us think about a society which encouraged women to look for ‘good marriages and find wealthy or propertied husbands, as stated in Jane Austens ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Austen portrays women to be preoccupied with marriage and money.

Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ published in 1874, shows Jane as young and assertive. She is independent and protests against the hypocrisy of her elders. Her novel dealt with women who broke established norms of society before adjusting to them and therefore found sympathetic readers.

Question 27.
How does Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ justify colonialism? Explain. (2017 OD)
Answer:

1. Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ made the readers feel that they are a part of a superior community.
2. The hero is a slave trader and adventurer.
3. He treats coloured people not as human beings equal to him, but as inferiors.
4. He rescues a native and makes him his slave and calls him ‘FRIDAY’.
5. He idolizes the idea that colonised people are primitive, barbaric and less than humAnswer:

Long Answer Questions (LA)

Question 28.
Why were people worried about the ill-effects of novels on women and young people? (2012)
Answer:
People got worried about the effects of the novel on women and young readers because:

• Novels took away readers from their real surroundings into an imaginary world where anything could happen.
• People wrote in magazines and newspapers, advising people to stay away from the immoral influences of novels. Women and children were often singled out for such advice as they were seen as easily corruptible.
• Parents kept novels in the lofts in their houses, out of their childrens’ reach. Young people often read them in secret. Even older women who could not read listened with attention to popular novels by their grandchildren.
• A reason for the popularity of novels among women was that it allowed for a new conception of womanhood. Novels showed women who could control their lives. Stories of love, which was a staple theme of many novels, showed women who could choose or refuse their partners and relationships.
• It was believed that novels would pollute the minds of women and children and make them suffer from ailments and diseases. Many men were suspicious of women writing novels or reading them.

Question 29.
Compare the novels written by Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens and bring out the difference in their theme. (2012)
Answer:
The novelist Charles Dickens in his novel ‘Hard Times’ wrote about the terrible effects of industrialization on people’s lives and characters. The industrialization in Europe was accompanied by an economic philosophy which celebrated the pursuit of profit and under-valued the lives of workers. He was deeply critical of this development. In other novels too, Dickens focussed on the terrible conditions of urban life under industrial capitalism.

On the other hand the novelist Thomas Hardy, wrote about traditional rural communities of England that were fast vanishing, and the old rural culture with its independent farmers was dying out. This sense of change is beautifully caught in Hardy’s ‘Mayor of Casterbridge’. We can see that Hardy mourns the loss of the more personalized world that is disappearing, even as he is aware of its problems and advantages of the new order.

Question 30.
Describe the appearing of novels in South India during the period of colonial rule. (2013)
Answer:
Novels began appearing in South Indian languages during the period of colonial rule. Early novels came out of attempts to translate English novels into Indian languages.

O. Chandu Menon, tried to translate English novel, Henrietta Temple by Benjamin Disraeli into Malayalam. He realised that his readers were not familiar with the way in which the characters in English novels lived; their clothes, ways of speaking and manners were unknown to them. They would find a direct translation of an English novel boring.

He gave up the idea and wrote instead a story in Malayalam in the ‘manner of English novel books’. The novel called Indulekha published in 1889 was the first modern novel in Malayalam. Kandukuri Viresalingam wrote an original Telugu novel called ‘Rajasekhara Caritamu’ in 1878.

Question 31.
Describe the features of the big modern city of Calcutta (Kolkata) as viewed by the gods in the novel written by Durgacharan Ray. (2014)
Answer:
In 1880, Durgacharan Ray wrote a novel ‘Debganer Martye Aagaman’ (The Gods Visit earth), in which Brahma, the creator in Hindu mythology took a train to Calcutta with some other gods. As Varuna, the Rain god conducted them around the capital of British India, the gods were wonderstruck by the big, modern city—the train, the large ships on the river Ganges, factories emitting smoke, bridges and monuments, shops selling commodities. The gods were so impressed by the metropolis that they decided to build a Museum and a High Court in heaven.
The two faces of the city of Calcutta as described by Durgacharan Ray in his novel ‘Debganer Martye Aagaman’ were:

1. It was a big, modern city with trains, large ships on the river Ganges, factories belching smoke, bridges, monuments, a dazzling array of shops selling a wide range of commodities. The visitors were impressed by the marvels of the teeming metropolis. The city of Calcutta in the 19th century was brimming with opportunities for trade, commerce, education and jobs.
2. The other features of the city were its cheats, thieves, grinding poverty, poor quality of housing for many. The confusions about caste system, religious and gender identities in the city were disturbing.
3. Wealth and poverty, splendour and dirt, opportunities and disappointments were the contrasting factors of the city of Calcutta in the 19th century.

Question 32.
Analyse the role and involvement of women in the readership and authorship of novels in India. (2014)
Answer:
Women were singled out and advised to stay away from immoral influence of novels as they were seen as easily corruptible. Old women listened with fascination to popular Tamil novels.

But women did not remain mere readers of stories written by men, they also began to write novels. In some languages, the early creations of women were poems, essays or autobiographical. Stories of love showed women who could to some extent control their lives. Some women authors also wrote about women who changed the world of both men and women. Rokeya Hossein, a reformer, wrote a fantasy in English called ‘Sultana’s Dream’ showing a world in which women take the place of men.

Men became suspicious of women writing novels or reading them. In the south, women and girls were often discouraged from reading novels.

Question 33.
Who translated the novel “Henrietta Temple” written by Disraeli in Malayalam? Why did the author give up the idea of translating English novels? What did he do instead in the literary field? (2014, 2015)
Answer:
Novels began appearing in South Indian languages during the period of colonial rule. Early novels came out of attempts to translate English novels into Indian languages. O. Chandu Menon, tried to translate English novel, ‘Henrietta Temple’ by Benjamin Disraeli into Malayalam. He realised that his readers were not familiar with the way in which the characters in English novels lived; their clothes, ways of speaking and manners were unknown to them. They would find a direct translation of an English novel boring.

He gave up the idea and wrote instead a story in Malayalam in the ‘manner of English novel books’. The novel called Indulekha published in 1889 was the first modern novel in Malayalam.

Kandukuri Viresalingam wrote an original Telugu novel called ‘Rajasekhara Caritamu’ in 1878.

Question 34.
Explain any five uses that the novels served in India. (2015)
Answer:
Novels served the following uses:

1. For colonial administrators ‘vernacular’ novels became a valuable source of information on native life and customs. Such information was useful in governing Indian society, with its large variety of communities and castes.
2. The new novels in Indian languages often had descriptions of domestic life. They gave details of how people dressed, their religious life, their beliefs and practices.
3. Indians used the novels as a powerful medium to criticize what they considered defects in their society and to suggest remedies. Writers like Viresalingam used the novel to propagate their ideas of society.
4. Many novels were written for glorification of India’s past, to create a sense of national pride among people and a sense of collective belonging.
5. Many novels helped in the growth of national feelings and propagated the idea of uprooting the foreign rule.

Social Science Class 10 Important Questions

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