Sup. Reader : Chapter 10 The Beggar English (Language & Literature) - Sup. Reader : Chapter 10 The Beggar

          “Then take this letter to a friend of mine tomorrow and you will be given some copying to do. Work hard, don’t drink, and remember what I have said to you. Goodbye!”
          Pleased at having put a man on the right path, Sergei tapped Lushkoff kindly on the shoulder and even gave him his hand at parting. Lushkoff took the letter, and from that day forth came no more to the yard for work.
         Two years went by. Then one evening, as Sergei was standing at the ticket window of a theatre paying for his seat, he noticed a little man beside him with a coat collar of curly fur and a worn sealskin cap. This little individual timidly asked the ticket seller for a seat in the gallery and paid for it in copper coins.
         “Lushkoff, is that you?” cried Sergei, recognising in the little man his former wood-chopper. “How are you? What are you doing? How is everything with you?”
         “All right. I am a notary now and am paid thirty-five roubles a month.”
          “Thank Heaven! That’s fine! I am delighted for your sake. I am very, very glad, Lushkoff. You see, you are my godson, in a sense. I gave you a push along the right path, you know. Do you remember what a roasting I gave you, eh? I nearly had you sinking into the ground at my feet that day. Thank you, old man, for not forgetting my words.” “Thank you, too.” said Lushkoff. “If I hadn’t come to you then I might still have been calling myself a teacher or a student to this day. Yes, by flying to your protection I dragged myself out of a pit.”

1. What happened to Lushkoff after Sergei gave him a letter and advice?
a) He continued to work diligently in Sergei's yard.
b) He disappeared and never returned for work.
c) He became a successful notary and earned a good salary.
d) He fell back into his old habits of drinking and idleness.

2. Describe the transformation in Lushkoff's life after Sergei's intervention and advice.

3. Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) Sergei encounters Lushkoff at a theatre ticket window, where he notices the former wood-chopper now dressed in finer attire. Lushkoff reveals that he is now a notary, earning a respectable salary. Sergei expresses joy at Lushkoff's success, attributing it to the guidance he provided him earlier, and Lushkoff acknowledges Sergei's role in helping him change his life for the better.
(b) Sergei encounters Lushkoff at a theatre ticket window, where he notices the former wood-chopper now dressed in finer attire. Lushkoff reveals that he is now a notary, earning a respectable salary. Sergei expresses joy at Lushkoff's success, attributing it to the guidance he provided him earlier, and Lushkoff acknowledges Sergei's role in helping him change his life for the better.
(c) Sergei encounters Lushkoff at a theatre ticket window, where he notices the former wood-chopper now dressed in finer attire. Lushkoff reveals that he is now a teacher, earning a respectable salary. Sergei expresses joy at Lushkoff's success, attributing it to the guidance he provided him earlier, and Lushkoff acknowledges Sergei's role in helping him change his life for the better.

4. How did Lushkoff express his gratitude to Sergei for the positive change in his life?

         Sergei’s anger had vanished and he now began to feel a little sorry and ashamed of himself for having set a spoiled, drunken, perhaps sick man to work at menial labour in the cold.
        An hour later Olga came in and announced that the wood had all been chopped.
        “Good! Give him half a rouble,” said Sergei. “If he wants to he can come back and cut wood on the first day of each month. We can always find work for him.”
         On the first of the month the waif made his appearance and again earned half a rouble, although he could barely stand on his legs. From that day on he often appeared in the yard and every time work was found for him. Now he would shovel snow, now put the wood-shed in order, now beat the dust out of rugs and mattresses. Every time he received from twenty to forty copecks, and once, even a pair of old trousers were sent out to him.
        When Sergei moved into another house he hired him to help in the packing and hauling of the furniture. This time the waif was sober, gloomy, and silent. He hardly touched the furniture, and walked behind the wagons hanging his head, not even making a pretence of appearing busy. He only shivered in the cold and became embarrassed when the carters jeered at him for his idleness, his feebleness, and his tattered, fancy overcoat. After the moving was over Sergei sent for him.
       “Well, I am happy that my words have taken effect,’” he said, handing him a rouble. “Here’s for your pains. I see you are sober and have no objection to work. What is your name?’”

1. What was Sergei's initial reaction after the beggar chopped wood for the first time?
a) He felt proud of himself for helping the beggar find work.
b) He was satisfied with the work and rewarded the beggar generously.
c) He felt sorry and ashamed for making the beggar work in the cold.
d) He was indifferent to the beggar's efforts and didn't acknowledge them.

2. Describe the transformation in the beggar's behavior and work ethic after Sergei hired him for various tasks.

3. Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) Sergei felt remorseful for being too harsh on the beggar and decided to help him regularly by offering small jobs and payments.
(b) Sergei decided to fire the beggar after realizing he was too weak and sick to do any work properly.
(c) The beggar refused to work again after being humiliated by Sergei and the carters during the moving of furniture.

4. How did Sergei reward the beggar for his work, and what did he observe about the beggar's willingness to work?

           The scarecrow of a beggar shrugged his shoulders, as if in perplexity, and went irresolutely after the cook. It was obvious from his gait that he had not consented to go and chop wood because he was hungry and wanted work, but simply from pride and shame and because he had been trapped by his own words. It was obvious, too, that his strength had been undermined by vodka and that he was unhealthy and did not feel the slightest inclination for toil.
         Sergei hurried into the dining-room. From its windows one could see the wood-shed and everything that went on in the yard. Standing at the window, Sergei saw the cook and the beggar come out into the yard by the back door and make their way across the dirty snow to the shed. Olga glared wrathfully at her companion, shoved him aside with her elbow, unlocked the shed, and angrily banged the door.
          Next he saw the pseudo-teacher seat himself on a log and become lost in thought with his red cheeks resting on his fists. The woman flung down an axe at his feet, spat angrily, and, judging from the expression of her lips, began to scold him. The beggar irresolutely pulled a billet of wood towards him, set it up between his feet, and tapped it feebly with the axe. The billet wavered and fell down. The beggar again pulled it to him, blew on his freezing hands, and tapped it with his axe cautiously, as if afraid of hitting his overshoe or of cutting off his finger; the stick of wood again fell to the ground.

1. Why does the beggar agree to go and chop wood for the advocate?
a) He is hungry and desperately needs work.
b) He feels proud and ashamed after being caught lying.
c) He is eager to prove his honesty to the advocate.
d) He is motivated by the promise of a good meal from the advocate.

2. Describe the scene when the cook and the beggar reach the wood-shed, including the actions and expressions of both characters.

3. Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) The beggar eagerly agreed to chop wood for the cook and showed great enthusiasm and skill in his work.
(b) The beggar reluctantly followed the cook to chop wood, struggling due to his poor health and lack of experience.
(c) The beggar refused to chop wood, arguing with the cook and eventually leaving the yard in frustration.

4. How does the beggar demonstrate his lack of enthusiasm for chopping wood?

      “This is dishonesty, my dear sir!” he cried angrily. “This is swindling — I shall send the police for you, damn you!”
      “Sir!” he said, laying his hand on his heart, “the fact is I was lying! I am neither a student nor a schoolteacher. All that was fiction. Formerly I sang in a Russian choir and was sent away for drunkenness. But what else can I do? I can’t get along without lying. No one will give me anything when I tell the truth, what can I do?”
     “What can you do? You ask what you can do?” cried Sergei, coming close to him. “Work! That’s what you can do! You must work!”
      “Work — yes. I know that myself; but where can I find work?”
       “How would you like to chop wood for me?”
       “I wouldn’t refuse to do that, but in these days even skilled wood-cutters find themselves sitting without bread.”
       “Will you come and chop wood for me?”
       “Yes sir, I will.”
        “Very well; we’ll soon find out.”
        Sergei hastened along, rubbing his hands. He called his cook out of the kitchen.
        “Here, Olga,” he said, “take this gentleman into the wood-shed and let him chop wood.”

1. What was the beggar's response when confronted about his dishonesty by the advocate?
a) He insisted on his innocence and fled the scene.
b) He apologized and promised never to lie again.
c) He admitted to lying and explained his difficult circumstances.
d) He accused the advocate of misunderstanding his situation.

2. Discuss the advocate's response to the beggar's admission of dishonesty and his offer of work.

3. Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) Sergei encounters a man who had previously lied about being a student or schoolteacher, admitting that he used to sing in a choir but was dismissed for drunkenness. Sergei offers him a job chopping wood, emphasizing the importance of honest work. The man agrees to the job, acknowledging the difficulty of finding employment.
(b) Sergei encounters a man who had previously lied about being a student or schoolteacher, admitting that he used to sing in a choir but was dismissed for drunkenness. Sergei reprimands him for his dishonesty and threatens to call the police. The man confesses that he struggles to find work without resorting to lying.
(c) Sergei encounters a man who had previously lied about being a student or schoolteacher, admitting that he used to sing in a choir but was dismissed for drunkenness. Sergei sympathizes with the man's plight and offers him a job chopping wood. The man gratefully accepts, recognizing the opportunity for honest work.

4. What task does the advocate suggest to the beggar as a potential job opportunity?

         “KIND sir, have pity; turn your attention to a poor, hungry man! For three days I have had nothing to eat; I haven’t five copecks for a lodging, I swear it before God. For eight years I was a village schoolteacher and then I lost my place through intrigues. I fell a victim to calumny. It is a year now since I have had anything to do.”
         The advocate, Sergei, looked at the ragged, fawn-coloured overcoat of the suppliant, at his dull, drunken eyes, at the red spot on either cheek, and it seemed to him as if he had seen this man somewhere before.
         “I have now had an offer of a position in the province of Kaluga,” the mendicant went on, “but I haven’t the money to get there. Help me kindly; I am ashamed to ask, but — I am obliged to by circumstances.”
          Sergei’s eyes fell on the man’s overshoes, one of which was high and the other low, and he suddenly remembered something.
          “Look here, it seems to me I met you the day before yesterday in Sadovya Street,” he said; “but you told me then that you were a student who had been expelled, and not a village schoolteacher. Do you remember?”
        “N-no, that can’t be so,” mumbled the beggar, taken aback. “I am a village schoolteacher, and if you like I can show you my papers.”
        “Have done with lying! You called yourself a student and even told me what you had been expelled for. Don’t you remember?”
         Sergei flushed and turned from the ragged creature with an expression of disgust.

1. What is the beggar's initial plea to the advocate?
a) He asks for a job opportunity.
b) He requests financial assistance for food and lodging.
c) He seeks legal advice regarding his expulsion from school.
d) He appeals for help in resolving his disputes with the authorities.

2. Discuss the discrepancy between the beggar's initial claim and the advocate's recognition of him.

3. Read the following descriptions (a) - (c) and identify which one correctly corresponds to the extract:
(a) Sergei encounters a beggar claiming to be a village schoolteacher who has fallen on hard times. The beggar asks for assistance to travel to a job offer in the province of Kaluga. However, Sergei recognizes the beggar from a previous encounter in Sadovya Street, where the beggar had claimed to be a student expelled for misconduct.
(b) Sergei encounters a beggar claiming to be a village schoolteacher who has fallen on hard times. The beggar asks for assistance to travel to a job offer in the province of Kaluga. Sergei, recognizing the beggar's honesty, offers him the money needed for the journey.
(c) Sergei encounters a beggar claiming to be a village schoolteacher who has fallen on hard times. The beggar asks for assistance to travel to a job offer in the province of Kaluga. Sergei, suspicious of the beggar's story, questions him about inconsistencies in his previous claims and turns away in disgust when he catches the beggar in a lie.

4. How does the advocate react to the beggar's attempt to deny their previous encounter?

During their conversation Lushkoff reveals that Sergei’s cook, Olga, is responsible for the positive change in him. How has Olga saved Lushkoff?

Lushkoff is earning thirty five roubles a month. How is he obliged to Sergei for this?

Sergei says, “I am happy that my words have taken effect.” Why does he say so? Is he right in saying so?

Is Lushkoff a willing worker? Why, then, does he agree to chop wood for Sergei?

What reasons does he give to Sergei for his telling lies?

How can we help beggars/abolish begging?

Describe Sergei’s role in reforming Lushkoff.