What Katy Did (An extract from What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge)

About the passage

A.  Read to understand

Answer the following questions.

     1.   Why didn’t Clover and Cecy mind at being kept away from Katy’s room?

      Ans. Katy’s room was so gloomy and Katy was so annoyed that Clover and Cecy didn’t mind at being kept away from Katy’s room.

     2.   What were the various things that Cousin Helen noticed when she came for a visit?

      Ans. Cousin Helen noticed that Katy’s face had grown thin, and her eyes had red circles about them from continual crying. Her hair was looking like frowzy bush because she had run her fingers impatiently through it. She was in a calico dressing gown which though clean, was particularly ugly in pattern, and the room, for all its tidiness, had a dismal look, with the chairs set up against the wall and a row of medicine-bottles on the chimney piece.

     3.   ‘Isn’t it horrid?’

         a.   Who said this and to whom?

      Ans. Katy said this to Cousin Helen.

       b.   What was the ‘horrid’ thing mentioned by the speaker?

      Ans. Dismal look of the room with the chairs set up against the wall and a row of medicine-bottles on the chimney-piece was the ‘horrid’ thing mentioned by the speaker.

     4.   What were the different things that Katy wished to do?

      Ans. She wanted to study, help people and become famous. She also wanted to teach the children.

     5.   ‘That class has ever so many teachers.’

         a.   Who said this and to whom?

     Ans. Cousin Helen said this to Katy.

       b.   What is the ‘class’ being referred to here?

     Ans. Lesson of Hopefulness is being referred here.

     6.   What are the different lessons to be learnt in the ‘School of Pain’?

      Ans. Different lessons to be learnt in the ‘School of Pain’ are lesson of Patience, lesson of Cheerfulness, lesson of Making the Best of Things, lesson of Hopefulness, and lesson of neatness

B.  Read to infer

1.   Was Cousin Helen a healthy person? Justify your answer.

Ans. No, Cousin Helen was not a healthy person because Katy’s father brought Cousin Helen in his arms and sat her in a big chair beside the bed.

2.   Why did Cousin Helen believe that Katy’s current situation was suited to make an impact on the lives of those around her?

Ans. Cousin Helen believed that Katy’s current situation was suited to make an impact on the lives of those around her because when one’s own life is laid aside for a while, as hers is now, that is the very time to take up other people’s lives, as we can’t do when we are scurrying and bustling over our own affairs.

3.   Why do you think Katy listened to Cousin Helen but none of the others?

Ans. Cousin Helen was also living in same condition but she never complained about her life. She made herself strong and learnt to appreciate the little things in her life. Hence, Katy listened to Cousin Helen’s every piece of advice but none of the others.

C.  Discuss

1.   Katy had many ambitions and she talks of them remaining unfulfilled because she had become invalid for the time being. Do you know of anyone who has achieved their ambitions despite being an invalid for life? Talk about them in class.

Ans. Yes, Stephen Hawking is one such example.

Stephen Hawking is a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. He achieved his success while having ALS (a group of rare neurological diseases that mainly involve the nerve cells i.e. neurons responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a condition that has left him almost entirely paralyzed.

2.   The title of this passage is the same as the title of the book from which it has been taken. Discuss with your partner and come up with another suitable title for the passage.

Ans. Title - 'While there's life, there is hope'