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The Browning Version Class 11 English Notes

Please refer to The Browning Version Class 11 English Notes and summary provided below. The following summary and solved questions have been designed as per the latest syllabus and books issued by CBSE, NCERT, and KVS. By going through and learning the below notes for Class 11 English you will be able to understand the entire chapter and easily solve questions in your exams. Also, refer to the Class 11 English Chapter Summary for all chapters in your textbooks.

Class 11 English The Browning Version Summary and Questions

The following The Browning Version Class 11 English Notes and questions answers will help you to easily learn the entire chapter. You will be able to solve all questions in upcoming Class 11 English exams and score better marks

Summary

The Browning Version’ presents a conversation between a lower fifth-grade student, Taplow and Mr Frank, a teacher from the school where Taplow studies. From their conversation, we come to know that Taplow is there to do extra work extra duty as punishment for his teacher, Mr Crocker-Harris. Although we do not see CrockerHarris in the play, we get to know a lot about him through Taplow’s conversation with Mr Frank According to Taplow, Mr Crocker-Harris is a different kind of a teacher.

He is too strict and ‘hardly human’. Unlike other teachers, he does not tell his students their results before the last day of the term. Tap low had asked Mr CrockerHarris about his remove and in response, the teacher told him that he has given Taplow exactly what he deserves – “No less; and certainly no more”.

Frank admits envying Mr Crocker-Harris for the effect he has on his students. He asks Tap low if Mr Crocker-Harris beat his students. However, Taplow tells Frank that unlike one or two other teachers, Mr Crocker-Harris is not a ‘sadist’. He is not the sort of a person who would beat students and vent out his frustration on students. He is hard like a nut all shrivelled up.

He is heartless. He possesses no feelings at all. Tap low admits that in spite of all this, he likes Mr Crocker-Harris.

At this point, Millie, the wife of Mr. Crocker-Harris arrives there and sends Taplow to a chemist’s shop with a prescription.

Important Points

  • When the play opens in your textbook, you meet Taplow, a young student, waiting at Crocker’s gate because he had been asked to collect his result in the last hour. Taplow had missed a class in Latin so he had to take a re test and hence a late result.
  • Here Taplow meets another teacher – Frank.
  • Here crops up a conversation. Frank asks Taplow the following question.
    o If Taplow would opt for science if he passed the exam?
    o Why are students scared of Crocker Harris?
    o What magic did Crocker Harris work in the classroom.
  • Taplow is making a bitter comment on the Latin book prescribed for him.
    o Aeschylus is boring.
    o Latin is very difficult.
  • Frank seems to be a little bitter about Crocker Harris. He then makes Taplow abuse Crocker and Taplow did a little abusing and a little praising.
    o He said Crock was extra ordinary.
    o He said Crock had no emotions so could be no sadist.
    o He said that most teachers in the school were sadists.
  • At this point Millie comes out. Probably she had been waiting for Frank. In the pretense of emergency, she sends Taplow to get certain medicines.
  • Here the play ends and you could get nothing out of it, right

Short Questions

Question. Taplow says that Crocker-harris is hardly human. What makes him say that?
Answer: – Taplow is a little-outspoken boy. He speaks out his mind honestly. His personal equation with Crocker-Harris is not smooth. One day Mr Crocker-Harris told a Latin joke in the class and no one laughed at it because not a single student understood it, including Taplow. Still, Taplow laughed out of politeness; but then his teacher asked him to explain the joke. This makes Taplow feel that he is hardly human.

Question. How does Frank read Taplow’s motive behind doing extra work?
Answer: – Frank is a science teacher who knows well the nature of his colleague. He does not approve of Crocker-Harris’s step to call a boy to do extra work on the last day of school. He points out that Taplow can now hope to get his promotion through doing extra work.

Question. Taplow has a grudge against his Latin master, Crocker-Harris. Why?
Answer: – Taplow is a young boy in the fifth form. He loves to play golf on a fine day. But he dare not disobey Mr Crocker-Harris who had called him to school a day before the final results were to be declared. Taplow is made to do extra work to make up for his absence one day the previous week. His promotion is to be decided by Crocker-Harris.
Taplow’s grudge is that Crocker-harris is overstrict and even Inhuman. He does not give the boy any assurance about his promotion in spite of calling him to do extra work.

Question. How does Taplow make fun of his teacher? Why? Who encourages him to ridicule Mr Crocker-Harris?
Answer: – Taplow is a young boy, studying in the fifth form. His final result is to be announced the next day. He asks Mr Crocker-Harris about his chances for promotion. But Crocker-Harris gives him a vague answer. He tells the boy that he would get what he deserves, no less and no more. Moreover, Mr Crocker-harris has called Taplow to do extra work even on the last day of school. This irritates the boy and he makes fun of his teacher in front of Mr Frank. Taplow is encouraged by Frank to mimic Crocker-Harris’s voice and repeat his words. This is how he tries to hit back at the teacher.

Question. How does Taplow react on the arrival of Mrs Crocker-Harris?
Answer: – Taplow was frightened to see Millie. His fear was that she must have heard what he had been saying about Mr Crocker-Harris. In case, she reports the matter to her husband. Taplow will miss his promotion.

Question. How does Taplow finally get back his freedom?
Answer: – It is Mrs Millie Crocker-Harris who finally comes to the rescue of Taplow. She reports that Crocker-Harris will not be back early. Hence, Taplow had better go. He can at least run away for 15 minutes and come back later. She
assures the boy that no harm will come to him. She gives him a doctor’s prescription and tells him to bring medicines for Mr Crocker-Harris. This being a good excuse, Taplow goes out free from fear.

Question. What is meant by ‘remove’ in English schools?
Answer: – In English schools, the word ‘remove’ means promotion to the next higher class. Much depended on the rating given by Crocker-Harris to Taplow. So the boy is nervous and afraid about his result.

Question.Why did Taplow stay back at school on the last day of his form?
Answer: – Taplow had come back to school to do extra work. He was ordered by his teacher Mr Crocker-Harris. The boy had missed a day the previous week. So Crocker-Harris had called him to pay for it and make up for the loss.

Question. Who are the two teacher-characters in the play? What information do you get about them?
Answer: – The two teachers arc Mr Crocker-Harris and Frank. Crocker-Harris teaches the Latin language while Frank teaches science. Crocker-Harris is middle-aged and strict. Frank is a young science teacher. The students are scared of Crocker-Harris. Frank wonders how Crocker-Harris had managed to over-awe the students, though he does not even beat them; Frank is envious of him.

Question. How does Taplow recount the incident of Crocker-Harris’s joke in the class?
Answer: – One day Mr Crocker-Harris told a Latin joke in the class. No student laughed at it because no one understood it. Taplow was no exception. Still, he laughed at the poor joke out of common politeness. Crocker-Harris cornered him. He asked Taplow to explain the joke to other boys. That was Crocker-Harris’s way of dealing with the boys. He did not like it even if someone tried to help him.

Question. What does Taplow think of Mr Crocker-Harris?
Answer: – Taplow, the fifth form boy, is a good judge of persons, especially his teachers. He ridicules Crocker-Harris whom he calls ‘hardly human’. He mocks his master by mimicking his voice and words. He is mortally afraid of Crocker-Harris. He dare not disobey or go Against the wishes of Crocker-Harris. But at the same time, he has a word of praise as well for his teacher. He tells Frank that Crocker-harris never beats a boy although he is shrivelled up like a nut at heart. And he is not a ‘sadist’. Like one or two other teachers who got pleasure out of giving pain. Crocker-Harris’s drawback was that he hated it even when people tried to like him. Taplow finally tells Frank that in spite of all this he did like Crocker-Harris better than other teachers.

Long Questions

Question.Draw a brief character sketch of Mr. Crocker Harris.
Answer: –Mr. Crocker Harris is a middle-aged senior teacher in the same school where Frank is also a teacher. Mr. Harris teaches Latin to students. He is a very strict teacher and enjoys an admirable command over his students. He follows rules and regulations of the school quite meticulously. He is strict with his students; but he is not a sadist. He does not want his students to like him; he wants them to make sincere efforts in learning. He gives extra-work to students who show carelessness and make mistakes. Though he is strict, his students admire him.

Question. Comment on the attitude shown by Taplow towards Mr Crocker-Harris.
Answer: – Taplow expresses very bitter feelings for Mr Crocker-Harris. He dislikes the fact that none other than Mr Harris abides by the school rule that results are to be announced only by the headmaster on the last day of the term. He is not interested in the Classics like Agamemnon that is taught by Mr Harris. He is interested in science and does not seem to like the way the Classical Literature is taught in the class by Mr Harris who would punish them for getting the Greek words wrong.
Taplow had missed a day the previous week for which he was asked to do extra work. It was the last day of school and he wished to be outdoors but Mr Harris made it compulsory for him to take the extra work. However, Taplow felt that no amount of extra work would change his fate as MR. Crocker-Harris had already told him that he had given him exactly what he deserved. Taplow further thought that he might have given him low marks on purpose to make him work harder. He considers Mr Harris to be “hardly human”. Taplow mocks his master behind his back but in reality, he is very scared of him. He is shocked at the mere idea of leaving after Mr Harris has not shown up. He considers Mr Crocker-Harris as someone who is even worse than a sadist as to be a sadist, one must exhibit some emotions. According to Taplow, Mr Harris was incapable of possessing any feelings. He figured that Mr Harris hates people liking him.
However, in spite of all these, Taplow seems to like Mr Harris. To support this, he recalls an episode and narrates it to Frank where Mr Harris made one of his classical jokes and none of the students laughed at it because no one understood it. Taplow knew that it was meant to be funny and laughed to please Mr Harris.

The Browning Version Class 11 English Notes

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