Going Places - Important Questions

1.       Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?

2.         How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie’s father?

3.        Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?

4.       What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family’s financial status?

5.         Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?

6.         Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?

7.         Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?

8.         Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?

9.         Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?

10.       Does her father believe her story?

11.       How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of her future?

12.       Which country did Danny Casey play for?

13.       Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?

14.       What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her from having such dreams?

15.       Why is Sophie attracted to Danny Casey?

16.       Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence?

17.       How did Sophie’s father react when Geoff told him about her meeting with Danny Casey?

18.       What thoughts came to Sophie’s mind as she sat by the canal?

19.       Why did Jansie discourage Sophie from entertaining thoughts about the sports star, Danny Casey?

20.     Sophie was a dreamer. The lesson ‘Going Places’ reminds us that mere dreams will not help us to accomplish anything. What qualities, do you think, would help Sophie to realise her dreams?

21.       Attempt a character sketch of Sophie as a woman who lives in her dreams.

22.       Contrast Sophie’s real world with her fantasies.

23.       Which place did Sophie choose for her meeting with Daney Casey? Why do you think he did not come?

24.       “You are going to put yourself into trouble one of these days”. Why did Sophie’s father remark that?

25.       Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind. Discuss.

26.       “I can see the future and now I will have to live with this burden, “says Sophie. Discuss the statement in the light of the chapter ‘Going Places’.

27.       Justify the title of the story ‘Going Places’.