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| Chapter | 1. Freedom |
| Subject | English |
| Textbook | Kaleidoscope, Non Fiction |
| Class | Twelve |
| Author | G.B. Sha, J. Krishnamurti |
| Category | NCERT Solutions for Class 12 |
The NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English are an excellent choice for students preparing for their board or any competitive exams. These solutions are made by expert teachers and faculties of English. Class 12 English Solutions, made by NCERTian, will help students understand the central theme of each chapter. They will strengthen your foundation in English and help you score good marks in the board examination. On this page, we have provided you with the Solutions of Kaleidoscope Non Fiction Chapter 1 – Freedom.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Kaleidoscope Chapter 1
Freedom Solutions
Stop And Think
Q1) What are the links between natural jobs, labor and slavery?
Answer) According to George Bernard Shaw there are links between natural jobs, labor and slavery because natural jobs can be slavery in their context we are doing natural jobs to earn a living for that we are using other living beings as our slaves and we are also the slaves of the masters who provide us the job and he will be a slave of some others and this cycle continues in the society therefore there is a link between natural job, labor and slavery.
Q2) What ought to be the object of all governments, and what do we actually find it to be?
Answer) The object of all honest governments should be to protect the citizens from slavery and to ensure a peaceful living condition to them and their family. But the object of most actual governments, is exactly the opposite. They enforce our slavery and call it freedom. But they also regulate our slavery, keeping the greed of our masters within certain bounds.
Stop And Think
Q1) What causes the master class to be more deluded than the enslaved classes?
Answer) A gentleman whose mind has been formulated at a primary school about the privileges the sons of gentlemen could enjoy in the society, followed by a public school and university course, is much more thoroughly taken in by the misleading history and dishonest political economy and the snobbery taught in these places than any worker can possibly be, because the gentleman’s education teaches him that he is a very fine fellow, superior to the common run of men whose duty it is to brush his clothes, carry his parcels, and earn his income for him, and as he thoroughly agrees with this view of himself, he honestly believes that the system which has placed him in such an agreeable situation and done such justice to his merits is the best of all possible systems, . But the great mass of our rack-rented, underpaid, treated-as-inferiors cast-off-on the-poor workers cannot feel so sure about it as the gentleman.
Q2) According to Aristotle, what are the conditions to be fulfilled for the common people to accept law and order, and government, and all that they imply?
Answer) According to Aristotle the condition to be fulfilled for the common people to accept law and order and government and all that they imply is that they must make men ignorant idolaters before they will become obedient workers and law-abiding citizens so that they will obey each and every rule implemented by the government since they are ignorant idol worshippers.
Q3) How can reasonable laws, impartially administered, contribute to one’s freedom?
Answer) If laws are reasonable and impartially administered we will have no reason to complain, because they increase our freedom by protecting us from assault, highway robbery, and disorder generally. If we are living in a modern country we ought to obey some rules which restricts us from doing certain things that is our freedom is denied there so laws should be reasonable, impartially administered will contribute to one’s freedom.
Q4) What are the ways in which individual freedom gets restricted?
Answer) If we live in a civilized country our freedom is restricted by the laws of the land enforced by the police, who compel us to do this, and not to do that, and to pay rates and taxes. If we do not obey these laws the courts will imprison us, and, if we go too far, they will subject us to death.
Stop And Think
Q1) Why do most people find it easier to conform, imitate, and follow a self-appointed guru?
Answer) Most people find it easier to conform, imitate and follow a self-appointed guru because according to common people to follow somebody is easy than making unique paths because following somebody imitating them will have less strain because the path is made by somebody else and he also made a code of conduct to follow when walking through his path and people find it easier to imitate and follow those rules because no hard work or creativity is needed to do so.
Q2) What is the inward struggle that the author refers to?
Answer) Intelligence demands us to break away from usual tradition and live on our own style. but we are enclosed by our parents whose ideas of what should we do and what we should do not do and by the traditions of society. So, there is a conflict going on inwardly among youngsters about the do’s and dont’s they should follow in the society leading to a conflict in mind when we want to do something and being prevented from doing it.
Understanding the Text
Q1) Point out the difference between the slavery of man to Nature and the unnatural slavery of man to Man.
Answer) Through the chapter, the author has explored the concept of freedom. G.B. Shaw highlights the fact that no person can ever be free throughout life. The first type of slavery of man to Nature is essential in every human being. Man’s slavery to Nature is always joyous. A person feels happy in fulfilling his natural needs. However, we end up becoming slaves to our instincts of cleanliness, sleep, hunger, dressing up, etc. all these natural duties are a part of every individual’s daily life. However, the second type of slavey is man to man, which is unnatural. It becomes worse both physically and spiritually. It is the type of slavery where the upper hand gets favourable results, whereas hard labour yields nothing. The standard of a person is distinguished among humans. Hence, the slavery of a man to Nature gives us comfort and joy and slavery of a man to man is hatred. It creates class wars between the poor and the rich, workers and businesspeople. Ultimately, there can be no peace as long as this type of slavery exists.
Q2) What are the ways in which people are subjected to greater control in the personal spheres than in the wider political sphere?
Answer) Nature always has some amount of control over every living being. As part of Nature itself, human beings cannot escape from Nature’s responsibilities upon us. In the first type of slavery, the essential habits of every human, like eating, drinking, sleeping etc., are all a part of Nature’s control over us. It is physically impossible to escape these duties as we are all slaves to Nature.
However, in the second type of slavery, man to man slavery, the work pressure is given from person to person or any external force. It’s our call whether to continue or to avoid that person’s instructions. Hence, we can choose whether to follow a leader or unfollow based on the circumstances of our situation in the broader political sphere. However, in the personal sphere, we are all slaves to Nature and cannot choose when complying with its orders. Hence, people are subjected to greater control in their personal sphere than in the wider political sphere.
Q3) List the common misconceptions about ‘freedom’ that Shaw tries to debunk.
Answer) The author has brought out a few major misconceptions about freedom in this chapter. Firstly, the author puts out a general question, “What is a perfectly free person?”. According to him, no person is free throughout their life. They are either controlled by Nature or by another man. Thus, the author here debunks the first misconception that an individual can be completely free. Secondly, the author talks about democracy and the freedom it holds. Although freedom is an essential aspect of democracy, leaders tend to change the rules according to their needs. For example, the freedom to select between candidates is not a choice because whoever is already chosen would be from a powerful position controlled by the rich, who would work according to the wishes of the ruling class. Therefore, it would not benefit ordinary people in any way. Thus, the author debunked the concept of freedom in democracy as fake.
Q4) Why, according to Krishnamurti, are the concepts of freedom and discipline contradictory to one another?
Answer) J. Krishnamurti believed that discipline and freedom are contradictory to one another. Disciplines are a set of rules to be followed with certain morals. When bound by such laws and regulations, people cannot achieve their required freedom. No individual can question the rules; hence there cannot be any intellectual development or free-thinking, and thus, can never achieve true freedom. We become self-controlled and cannot be in a stage to help other struggling individuals. Ordinary people do not have any right to question, follow the traditional rules blindly, and there would not be any developmental growth, resulting in loss of freedom. Thus, the concepts of freedom and discipline contradict each other.
Q5) How does the process of inquiry lead to true freedom?
Answer) Questioning or inquiring about the current set of laws and regulations imposed upon us will help develop other aspects and lead to the development of our intellectual society. The inquiry process leads to absolute freedom, which makes us think deeply and discover what is true and false. Hence, we would grow stronger mentally and gain more knowledge than we could have received when rules bound us. So, the author tries to tell us that instead of blindly following the rules, we must inquire about the traditional significance to have a more comprehensive understanding of their importance. Thus, we can secure several perspectives and develop our minds, leading us to true freedom.
Talking about the Text
Q1) According to the author, the masses are prevented from realising their slavery; the masses are also continually reminded that they have the right to vote.
Do you think this idea holds good for our country too?
Answer) The author gradually exposes the concept of democracy in this chapter. According to the author, democracy does not explore freedom. Therefore, the masses are prevented from realising their slavery which is changed according to the convenience of the rulers. The change in systems does not necessarily create any benefits for the people ruled. Through their newspapers, schools, and parliaments, the higher class makes extreme efforts to prevent us from realising our slavery. Hence, the entire scenario on democracy painted by the author, G.B Shaw, in this chapter holds true for our country.
Q2) ‘Nature may have tricks up her sleeve to check us if the chemists exploit her too greedily.’ Discuss.
Answer) In today’s world, the Industrial Revolution, the age of machinery, new technologies have developed rapidly with the production of goods that have opened doors for humankind. There have been new-age technologies that have helped speed up agricultural domains and result in overgrowing productions. ‘Nature may have tricks up her sleeve to check us if the chemists exploit her too greedily’ is related to today’s context as overexploitation of resources is very harmful to today’s Nature. When all these technologies override Nature without any control, we humans have to face many problems in the future. The use of chemical fertilisers in factories, agricultural fields create a varied impact on Nature. Thus, the author, G.B Shaw, means that there should be a check on natural resources.
Q3) Respect for elders is not to be confused with blind obedience. Discuss.
Answer) The famous writer, J. Krishnamurti, gives us an honest insight into the concepts of freedom and discipline. So, according to him, respecting elders is not to be confused with blind obedience. On the contrary, respecting elders is very much essential. Respecting and obeying elders is the usual tradition of our society. We are usually instructed never to question them, and sometimes to follow the same, which is said to be very helpful to us. However, obedience and blind obedience both have different meanings. Obedience is when individuals will have their ethics in their thoughts and check whether the elders’ advice meets our views on the topic, and blind obedience is slavery, not freedom. Hence, one can never achieve true freedom through blind obedience, and it does more harm than good.
Appreciation
Q1) Both the texts are on ‘freedom’. Comment on the difference in the style of treatment of the topic in them.
Answer) The author G.B. Shaw explains the concept of freedom sarcastically through the chapter ‘Freedom’. He presents his statements about freedom with pure justification using historical facts. The author also gives out a witty observation on the reader’s conscience using his sharp brain. He debunks the entire idea of freedom in his sarcastic style of writing. Shaw can make strong statements, be it democracy or any topic, and support it with all the required proofs from history without shying away from expressing his thoughts bravely.
On the other hand, the famous writer, J. Krishnamurti, treats freedom and discipline much smoother. His work appears to be more straightforward and explains the concept of freedom and discipline in a precise manner. Thus, both authors are different writers in their styles. Moreover, while Shaw’s way of handling the topic is sarcastic, using historical facts into account to justify his statements, Krishnamurti treats it through explanations to justify his interpretation.
2. When Shaw makes a statement, he supports it with several examples.
Identify two sections in the text which explain a statement with examples. Write down the main statement and the examples. Notice how this contributes to the effectiveness of the writing.
Answer) There are many statements which Shaw make in the text, two of which are as follows:
Example 1:
“The object of all honest governments should be to prevent your being imposed on in this way. But the object of most actual governments, I regret to say, is exactly the opposite. They enforce your slavery and call it freedom.” – Living in a civilised country, and the government controls our freedom by directing us to what not to do. Its complete slavery in the name of freedom.
Example 2.
“The slavery of man to man is the very opposite of this. It is hateful to the body and to the spirit.”
For instance, we have been told by our teachers, parents what is right and what is wrong. “You know what people say, what the priest says, what tradition says, and what you have learned in school”. Yet, you say you are free when all these forms a kind of enclosure within which you live, and we living in that space makes us feel free.
Q3) Notice the use of personal pronouns in the two texts.
Did this make you identify yourself more with the topic than if it had been written in an impersonal style? As you read the texts, were you able to relate the writer’s thoughts with the way you lead your own life?
Answer) The use of personal pronouns has enriched both texts. Yes, using personal pronouns helps us identify ourselves in the text with the context of absolute freedom. But, in addition, as both the texts have been written using personal pronouns, it helps us relate the writer’s thoughts with our own life.
Task
Split the following sentences into their constituent clauses.
- There is no freedom if you are enclosed by self-interest or by various walls of discipline.
Answer)
(a) There is no freedom-subordinate clause
(b) if you are enclosed by self-interest or by various walls of discipline – the main clause
Reason: We can see that (b) is complete in its sense. So, this is the main clause. Here, the meaning of the clause is that (a) depends on (b) so this is the subordinate clause. Sentences with the main clause and one or more subordinate clauses are complex sentences.
- When you see a servant carrying a heavy carpet, do you give him a helping hand?
Answer)
(a) When you see a servant carrying a heavy carpet – the main clause
(b) do you give him a helping hand? – subordinate clause.
- Very young children will eat needles and matches eagerly—but the diet is not a nourishing one.
Answer)
(a) Very young children will eat needles and matches eagerly – main clause
(b) but the diet is not a nourishing one. – subordinate clause
- We must sleep or go mad: but then sleep is so pleasant that we have great difficulty in getting up in the morning.
Answer)
(a) We must sleep or go mad- subordinate clause
(b) but then sleep is so pleasant that we have great difficulty in getting up in the morning- main clause
- Always call freedom by its old English name of leisure, and keep clamouring for more leisure and more money to enjoy it in return for an honest share of work.
Answer)
(a) Always call freedom by its old English name of leisure, and keep clamouring for more leisure- main clause
(b) more money to enjoy it in return for an honest share of work. – subordinate clause
That’s it. These were the solutions of NCERT Class 12 English Kaleidoscope Chapter 1 – Freedom. Our team hopes that you have found these solutions helpful for you. If you have any doubt related to this chapter then feel free to comment your doubts below. Our team will try their best to help you with your doubts.