SSLC English Exam Preparations: Character Sketches of some important characters

 

The boy in the story  ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’  The boy, who is the protagonist in the story ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’, appears to be a lover of books and nature. He is enchanted by nature and likes to be in company with various creatures in nature. In his grandpa’s English model garden, there is an old magnificent banyan tree. The boy has made the tree his domain and built a platform half way up the tree where he spends his afternoons reading books. He likes various kinds of books including adventure stories and novels. Whenever he is not in a mood of reading he sits on the platform and enjoys the sights and sounds in nature.   He loves all the creatures in nature and likes to have pet animals. He has made friendship with one of the squirrels living in the banyan tree, which delves into his pocket and takes food from him.  He has also made a white rat his pet, which his grandfather bought from the bazaar. He often takes this white rat to the banyan tree and it mates with one of the squirrels there. Thus the squirrel gives birth to three white baby squirrels. The boy and his grandparents are in the thrill of having this nature’s rarest gift, a wonderful family in nature. The boy is proud of his new friends – the white rat, the grey squirrel, and the white baby squirrels.

 

The Grandfather in the story  ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree' The grandfather in the story ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’ is a sixty-five year old man.  He lives happily with his wife and their grandson in their house. He has made an English model garden near his house. In the garden there is a huge banyan tree which is older than him. He is sixty-five years old and he cannot climb the trees now. His wife often teases him about this. He is very loving and caring towards his grandson and at the same time fond of nature and its creatures.  He maintains his garden well and sometimes talks and complaints to the plants growing there. He is happy to hear that the mongoose has won in the fight with the cobra.  He wants the mongoose to be there in his garden to keep snakes away. He is a man who loves pets. Once he brings home a white rat which he bought from the bazaar. He amuses himself with it and at the same time wants to make his grandson happy. He seems to be a happy man as he gets enough delight and relief in his old age from his pet animals and plants in the garden. He lives comfortably with his wife and grandson loving and caring nature.

 

The Homeopath in the story  ‘The Snake and the Mirror’ The homeopathic doctor is the protagonist of the story The Snake and the Mirror by the renowned Malayalam writer Vaikom Mohammed Basheer. The story is a humorous account of the doctor’s encounter with a cobra. He was a young and unmarried doctor recently set up his medical practice, and therefore, his income was very meagre. He  was staying alone in a rented house, and there were lots of rats to share the room with him. He was very beauty-conscious and often lived in the world of dreams.  He was very proud of himself for being a young, handsome bachelor and a doctor by profession. He wanted to marry a rich, young woman doctor having a good medical practice.     The doctor was really a funny character. He wanted his future wife should be a fat woman. She should not be able to run after him and catch him if he did any mistake and wanted to escape from her.    He appeared to be very bold too. Even when a cobra landed on his shoulder he did not tremble or cry out.    He sat still like a stone image thinking about the mercy of God. When the snake left him and moved towards the mirror, he cleverly made use of the opportunity to escape. The doctor was a jovial person having a good circle-of-friends. He liked to spend time with them smoking beedis, discussing various topics, joking and telling stories. The ‘snake story’ is one of such stories.

Mr. Thorat Mr. Thorat was the ringmaster of the Bharat Circus. He played a major role in realising Ray’s film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, and  Ray gratefully remembered him in Ray’s memoir ‘Project Tiger.  He was a South Indian, but looked like a Nepali. He was very well-built and around forty years of age. He was in charge of the risky tasks of training and keeping wild animals in the circus company. He had to face many tiger attacks, and he had a scar on his forearm which had been caused by a tiger.  He  was a man with enough practical wisdom. He brought two tigers instead of one to the shooting location.  His idea was that if one tiger did not behave well, the other one could be used. He seemed not to be confident enough about setting his tigers free on their own at the shooting location. But he himself suggested a solution. A thin but strong iron wire could be fixed around the neck of the tiger and it would not be visible to the camera.  He was seen very much frightened and helpless at the unexpected behaviour of the ferocious tiger. He failed to control the animal when it turned violent.  But Mr. Thorat was hard working and adventurous and a man of high regard for others. When the first shooting attempt failed, he readily agreed to take the risk of bringing the tigers for the second time.  He was a very cooperative person, and without his cooperation Ray’s film ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ would not have been realized.

Mr. John The Character Mr. John has an equally important role as that of the narrator Dr AJ Cronin in the anecdote ‘The Best Investment I Ever Made’. He is in his early 40s, and  rather short in build with a fair complexion and clear blue eyes. His thin hair has begun to recede from his forehead.  He looks serious and reserved in his dark suit, sober tie and rimless spectacles.  Mr. John was an orphan and had an unhappy and miserable past.  When he was young, he led a loose life. To enjoy pleasures of life, he pledged all his belongings, borrowed huge amount from others, stole some money from his workplace and gambled.  Lost everything , finally he tried to commit suicide, but was fortunately saved by Dr. AJ Cronin. All these happened 25 years ago. He learned a good lesson from his tragedy and determined to change himself.  Now he is a solicitor by profession and director of a charitable organisation. He wished for a second meeting with Dr. Cronin. But when Mr. John unexpectedly meets him after 25 years during a voyage , he cannot approach him. His diffidence prevents him from approaching Dr Cronin. Finally encouraged by his wife, he approaches and tells him his story. Dr. Cronin becomes extremely happy to know that Mr. John is now a social worker.

Martha  Martha, the central character in the story 'The Scholarship Jacket' is a character of mixed feelings. She is bold and brilliant and sensitive too. She is a 14 year-old eighth grade student maintaining a consistent ‘A’ level since her first grade. She is qualified enough to win the prestigious scholarship jacket, an award to the class valedictorian of her school.  Martha is the daughter of a poor Mexican farm labourer. Owing to the poverty in her family, she has been living with her grandparents. In appearance she is very lean and her friends call her ‘beanpole’ and ‘string bean’.  Once she happens to overhear a heated argument between her two teachers. She understands that a conspiracy is going on to undermine her chance of winning the jacket. Eventually the principal asks her to pay 15 dollars for the award.  Although bold and brilliant, this incident makes her cry in despair. But when Martha's granddad tells her that a paid award is not an award at all, she accepts his words.  She strongly believes that she deserves the award by merit and it should come on her way. She determines to tell the principal looking straight into his eyes that she is not ready to pay for the award. Here, we see a bold Martha. However, later when Martha hears the happy news that she is going to get the jacket, she cannot control her happiness. While rushing back home to impart her happy news to her grandpa and grandma, she can’t help crying – but this time it was a cry of joy. Martha's words and deeds show that she is quite bold and sensible but at the same time sensitive and childlike too.

Martha’s Grandfather  Martha’s grandfather is probably the most important character in the story, The Scholarship Jacket.  He will have the place of a hero in the minds of the readers of the story. His words “if you pay for it, it won’t be a scholarship jacket” made even the principal change his decision. He is somewhat a rich farmer owning two hundred acres of ranch. He is seen in the story always working in his farm field. He is a sort of reserved type but a man of strong determination. Though he is uneducated, he believes that it is injustice to pay for a deserving award. So he strongly stands with his belief even when his granddaughter cried for money. Finally, his words win and Martha gets the award. On both the occasions when he hears the sad and happy news regarding the scholarship jacket, his reaction does not change. When his granddaughter tells him about her winning the jacket, he still doesn’t express his rejoice in words. He just gives her a smile and a pat on her shoulder. As the proverb ‘still waters run deep’ says, some people will not show overtly their deep love and affection. We are sure that Martha’s grandfather is a man of this sort.

Aunt Jane in the one-act play ‘The Never-Never Nest’  Aunt Jane is one of the major characters in the one-act play ‘The Never-Never Nest. Her words and deeds make the play humorous and interesting. She appears to be a lady with a generous and philanthropic mind.  She loves her nephew Jack and his wife Jill very much and shows much concern in their well-being. Aunt Jane had given Jack and Jill a gift-cheque for two hundred pounds at the time of their wedding. Now she doubts whether it was really two hundred pounds or by mistake she had written two thousand! The reason is that now when she visits their house and sees their comfortable and luxurious life with all modern facilities, she cannot just believe it. Jack and Jill have a cosy and luxurious house with all facilities like refrigerator, radio, various items of furniture, piano, car, etc. They say that they own the house and all the household things on instalment system and they do not pay rent. But Aunt Jane disapproves the instalment system and opposes the way of using others’ things as theirs.  She even refuses to sit on the furniture and travel in Jack’s car because she believes that these things actually belong to someone else. She proclaims that her motto is cash down payment, and she dislikes owing a penny to others. She feels restless and wants to leave the house immediately. But even when she leaves Jack and Jill being displeased in their way of life, she shows her love and generosity by giving them a cheque for ten pounds.

Vanka Vanka is the central character in the story Vanka by Anton Chekhov. He is a nine year old orphan. He was living in a village with his mother and grandfather. After his mother’s death, he was sent to Moscow to apprentice under a shoe-maker named Alyakhin.  At a very tender age he became a child labourer. He was deprived of all his child rights. He did not get his primary education other than what he learned from his play-mate Olga. Vanka has to suffer a lot at Alyakhin’s house. It has been only three months since he reached Moscow. But his sufferings are so severe and beyond description that made him write a letter pleading his grandpa to come and save him as quickly as possible. Vanka is very much afraid of his master, mistress and other senior apprentices. When he wrote the secret letter, he was watchful not to be seen by others. He is very nostalgic about his village life, especially of the Christmas time when he used to spend with his mother, grandpa and Olga.  Vanka’s child-like innocence is very visible in his letter. Even when he wrote about his miserable life, which was worse than that of a dog, he did not forget to write about the wonderful sights of the big town of Moscow. In a little village boy’s eyes, shops selling fishing-hooks, guns and even butchery are sights of surprise.  The boy is very innocent and he does not know even the basics of sending a letter. He posted the letter without proper address and postage stamp. Then the innocent boy spends days in the dreams of his grandpa’s arrival, his sole saviour!

Konstantin Makarich Konstantin Makarich is the grandfather of Vanka, the protagonist in the story Vanka. He is a night watchman on the estate of the Zhivarev family. He is a small, lean, old man about sixty-five years of age. He is remarkably lively and agile with a smiling face and eyes bleary with drink. He is a fun-loving man. In the day time either he sleeps in the back kitchen or spends time cracking jokes with the cooks and other kitchen maids.  In the night he does his watchman duty walking round and round the estate, sounding his rattle, wearing a large sheepskin coat and felt boots. He has two dogs named Kashtanka and Eel. He will always be in the company of his beloved dogs. He has the habit of snuffing tobacco and he will offer the snuff to kitchen maids and even to his dogs. He enjoys seeing them sneeze, breaking out into jolly laughter.  This grandfather is the only relative of Vanka  now remaining in this world for him. When we read  about Vanka’s miserable plight at Alyakhin’s house, we might ask ourselves why this man has sent the boy to such a cruel person. But we cannot blame the old, innocent and illiterate man. We are sure that while sending Vanka to Moscow, he must have in his mind only the thought that his grandchild should learn a trade and earn a living!

Kiran in the story ‘The Castaway’  Kiran is a major character in the story ‘The Castaway’ having equal importance with the protagonist Nilkanta. She is a favourite of all in her native village. Once she fell seriously ill and her husband Sharat and mother-in-law took her to a riverside house in Chandernagore Village for a change. She believes now that she has become fully recovered. She is very active and always wants to be in the company of the villagers. She cannot bear the lonely life in the riverside house and wants to get away from there as early as possible. Though she is a grown-up woman and wife of Sharat, she still loves lots of fun like a child.  When Nilkanta comes to the riverside house unexpectedly, she becomes much delighted and forgets about going back to her home in the village. Soon Kiran and Nilkanta become good friends. She likes his presence and enjoys his various theatrical performances. She always supports him and ignores all the mischief he and his naughty friends make, without paying any attention to the complaints of her husband and mother-in-law. She takes the role of his mother and sister combined. But when Satish, her brother-in-law, comes to stay with them, she ignores Nilkanta. Like a playful child, she engages in all merry-making activities with Satish .  At the time of leaving the riverside house, she wants to take Nilkanta with them and argues for him. But she has to yield before the opposition of all other members of the family. She tries to protect Nilkanta from being termed as the thief when Satish’s inkstand is missing. She feels enormous pity on the homeless boy and puts in his box two new suits of clothes, a pair of shoes and a bank note as a surprise gift.  Kiran is a kind-hearted and trustful woman but at times appears to be rather childish than a matured and responsible wife.

Nilkanta in the story ‘The Castaway’  Nilkanta is the protagonist of the story ‘The Castaway’ by Rabindranath Tagore. He belonged to a theatrical group. One stormy evening he reached the riverside house as a castaway after his boat perished in the river. It was hard to tell his age from his innocent and hairless face. But his way of talking and the habit of smoking suggested that he was beyond seventeen.  Soon he became the favourite of Kiran as he could give her good company and entertain her with his theatrical performances. He made a bad friendship with the naughty village boys and made a mongrel dog his pet. Together they made all the mischief. This irritated Sharat and his mother. Sharat often punished him, but he did not take it serious. He was happy because he got enough to eat and enjoyed much care and love from Kiran.  When Satish - Kiran’s brother-in-law -  came to live with them, Kiran’s attention diverted from Nilkanta to Satish. This made Nilkanta angry, and his behaviour became wild towards all his friends and even to his pet dog. He took secret revenge upon Satish. He took Satish’s favourite inkstand intending to throw it into the river. When the family decided to go back to their native village, he wished to join them, but in vain. All except Kiran opposed to take him with them. This pained him too much. When Kiran found out the missing inkstand from his box, he could not face her as he was unable to prove that he was not a thief.  Soon he left the place without anybody’s notice.  Nobody knew, including  the police, where he disappeared.