His First Flight by Liam O’Flaherty

Text book question and answer:

a) Why did the seagull fail to fly?

     Ans: The seagull failed to fly, because he was afraid to fly.

b) What did the parents do, when the young seagull failed to fly?

     Ans: When the young seagull failed to fly, his parents scolded him, and threatened to let him starve on the ledge.

c) What was the first catch of the young seagull’s older brother?

     Ans: Herring was the first catch of the young seagull’s older brother.

d) What did the young seagull manage to find in his search for food on the ledge?

     Ans: The young seagull managed to find the dried pieces of Mackerel’s tail in the previous night. The next morning, he found the dried pieces of eggshell to eat.

e) What did the young bird do to seek the attention of his parents?

     Ans: At first, the young bird pretended to fall asleep. Later in uttered a low cackle and kept calling sadly to draw the attention of his parents.

f) What made the young seagull go mad?

     Ans: The young seagull was very hungry and her mother did not come nearer to feed him. It made the young seagull go mad.

g) Why did the young bird utter a joyful scream?

     Ans: The young bird saw his mother picking up a piece of fish towards him. So, he uttered a joyful scream. Later when he began to fly, he uttered a joyful scream.

h) Did the mother bird offer any food to the young bird?

     Ans: No, the mother did not offer any food to the young bird.

i) How did the bird feel, when it started flying for the first time?

     Ans: When the seagull started flying for the first time, a monstrous terror seized him for a moment, but then he uttered a joyful scream.

j) What did the young bird’s family do when he started flying?

     Ans: The young bird’s family was very happy. His mother swooped past him, his father flew over him, and his brothers and sister were flying around him, high and low, out of joy.

A. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two:

1. How was the young seagull’s first attempt to fly? Or Why did the seagull fail to fly?

     Ans: The young seagull’s first attempt to fly was a failure, because he was afraid to fly. He failed to muster up courage to fly. Instead of flapping his wing and flying away, he ran back to the little hole.

2. How did the parents support and encourage the young seagull’s brothers and sister?

     Ans: The parents supported and encouraged the young seagull’s brothers and sister, by perfecting them in the art of flight, teaching them how to skim and surf the waves and how to dive for fish.

3. Give an instance that shows the pathetic condition of the young bird?

     Ans: The young seagull failed to muster up courage to fly. So, he had to stay in his nest. He had no food. He could not find anything but the dried pieces of eggshell to eat. This was the pathetic condition of the young bird.

4. How did the bird try to reach its parents without having to fly?

     Ans: He walked back and forth from one end of the ledge to the other. And also, he tried to find some means of reaching his parents without having to fly. But it couldn’t reach them.

5. Do you think that the young seagull’s parents were harsh to him? Why?

     Ans: No. I don’t think that the parents were harsh to him. Here the young seagull’s parents trained him to fly. The mother seagull showed a piece of fish to the hungry young seagull. Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish and began to fly.

6. What prompted the young seagull to fly finally?

     Ans: The mother seagull showed a piece of fish to the hungry young seagull. But he couldn’t reach the food as it was out of reach. Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. Thus, its natural bird instinct and its urge for survival prompted the young seagull to fly, finally.

7. What happened to the young seagull when it landed on the green sea?

     Ans: The young seagull landed on the green sea and sank into it. His belly touched the water and he sank no farther. He was floating on it.

Paragraph

Topper’s paragraph

Prose: His First Flight

Author: Liam O’ Flaherty

Theme: Overcoming Fear

About author

Liam O’Flaherty was a famous Irish novelist and short story writer. One of his great works is ” His First Flight, a story that proves the saying ‘ To master any art, one should overcome fear. “

The young seagull

The young seagull was one among the four offsprings of the father and the mother seagulls He was very timid. He was alone on the ledge. Unlike his two brothers and sister, he was afraid to fly. He failed to muster up courage to fly. Instead of flapping his wings and flying away, he ran back to the little hole.

The reaction of the parents

His parents had come around calling him shrilly, scolding him, threatening to let him starve on the ledge. He had no food. He could find nothing but the dried pieces of eggshell to eat. His parents wanted to teach him to fly.

The young one’s first flight

So, the mother seagull showed a piece of fish to the hungry young seagull. Hut he couldn’t reach the food as it was out of reach. Maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. In order to grab it. he had no choice other than to flap his wings and to fly towards his meal.

Landing on the water

He landed on the green sea and sank into it. His belly touched the water and he sank no farther. He was floating on the water.

The reaction of the family

The young binds family was very happy. His mother swooped past him, his father flew over him, and his brothers and sister were flying around him, high and low out of joy. They offered him scraps of dog – fish for the success of his first flight. Thus, bis natural bird instinct and his urge for survival prompted him to fly finally.

My view about the prose

These are the struggles underwent by the young seagull to overcome its fear of flying.

Moral: Necessity does the work of courage.

Slow Learner’s paragraph

Explanation of the poem with Tamil meaning: