Hi Everyone!! This article will share Alone On The High Seas Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers A Boy and His Dad, The Chimney Sweeper and The Poem of Adventure so, you can check these posts as well.
Alone On The High Seas Questions & Answers
Word Galaxy
- Canoe – a lightweight narrow boat
- Serpent – a snake
- Skirted – went around
- Omen – a sign that something is going to happen
- Bow – the front part of a boat
Question 1: Why was the summer the best time on the island?
Answer: The summer is the best time on the island because the sun is warm then and the winds blow milder out of the west, sometimes the south.
Question 2: What hope did Karana have during the summer months? When did she lose hope? Why?
Answer: Karana hoped that in summer months the ship might return and she spent most of her time on the rock, looking out into the east, towards the country where her people had gone, across the sea that was never-ending. The first storm of winter ended her hopes because she has to wait until winter has gone.
Question 3: When did Karana decide to leave the island and why?
Answer: During the days of the storms, when she had given hope of seeing the ship Karana decided to leave the island because she was feeling very lonely and was terrified.
Question 4: How did she prepare for the trip to seek a new homeland?
Answer: She first removed all the large rocks in front of the canoe. She then filled in all these holes with pebbles and along this path laid down long strips of seaweed, making a slippery bed. The shore was steep and once she got the canoe to move with its own weight, it slid down the path and into the water.
Question 5: Why did Karana feel afraid when she lost sight of the island of the Blue Dolphins?
Answer: Karana was afraid when she lost the sight of the island because there were only hills and valleys of water around her. When she was in a valley, she could see nothing, and when the canoe rose out of it, only the ocean stretching away and away.
Question 6: How did the girl navigate her way across the ocean with the help of stars? Was she skilled in following the stars?
Answer: The girl navigated her way across by seeing the first star which was in front of her towards the east. The wind grew quiet. Since it always died down when the night was half over so she knew how long she had been travelling and how far away the dawn was. No, she was not skilled in following the stars.
Alone On The High Seas Questions & Answers
Question 7: What made Karana take the hard decision to turn back?
Answer: Kanara took the hard decision to turn back as the canoe began to leak again. She could see that the planks were weak from one end to the other, because the canoe had been stored for long in the sun. She realized that they might open along their whole length if the waves grew rougher.
Question 8: Read and answer the questions:
But, somehow, I kept moving towards the star which shone in the east.
(a) Where was the narrator going?
Answer: The narrator was going to her country in the east direction.
(b) What is the significance of the star which shown in the east.
Answer: It was the first star that appeared in the sky towards the east. Following this star, the narrator was confident that she was going in the east direction.
(c) Do you think this method of navigation is effective?
Answer: Yes, this method of navigation is effective.
Question 9: Read and answer the questions:
It meant far less than the thought of staying on the island alone, without a home or companions, pursued by wild dogs.
(a) What meant far less than the thought of staying on the island alone?
Answer: To cross the sea in the canoe meant far less than the thought of staying on the island alone.
(b) What were the disadvantages of staying on the island alone?
Answer: The disadvantages of staying on the island alone were staying on the island without a home or a companion, pursued by wild dogs.
(c) Do you think the narrator is a confident person? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Yes, the narrator was a confident person. This can be known from the fact that she alone started her journey. Even though water was seeping through the holes she tried to conceal it with the help of the cloth. She alone paddled the boat in the dark when nothing was visible.
Alone On The High Seas Questions & Answers
Question 10: Read and answer the questions:
It made him happy to have them swimming around the canoe.
(a) Who are ‘them’ here?
Answer: ‘Them’ are blue dolphins.
(b) Why was the narrator happy to see them?
Answer: The narrator was happy to see them because they are good omen. Her hands were bleeding from the chafing of the paddle but she forgot her pain by just watching them.
(c) How did they make her feel?
Answer: The made her feel happy and she was not feeling lonely with them around.
Question 11: Read and answer the questions:
The thought of turning back after all this labour was more than I could bear.
(a) Why did the narrator have to turn back?
Answer: The narrator has to turn back because water was seeping in through the holes in the canoe.
(b) What labour had the narrator put in?
Answer: The labour was making the passage for the canoe to the water, filling in the cracks with the pebbles, paddling the boat all alone.
(c) Why was the thought of turning back so unbearable?
Answer: The thought of turning back was unbearable because the thought of the deserted island she would return to, of living there alone and forgotten. For how many suns and how many moons?
So, these were Alone On The High Seas Questions & Answers.