Prose Chapter 8 - Going Places

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Going Places was by author A. R. Barton. Here you will find a detailed explanation of chapter 8 along with meanings of difficult terms. A summary of the chapter has also been provided.

Introduction 

Going Places is a story that centres around an adolescent girl named Sophie, her family and friends. Sophie is a daydreamer and is always lost in her dreams. She wants to become rich and lead a sophisticated life, but in reality, she works in a biscuit factory and belongs to the lower-middle class. The story suddenly takes a turn when she has a wild imagination of meeting a famous footballer Danny Casey. Sophie then goes on to reiterate this imagination to her brother that Casey will meet her on an arranged day as he had promised to do.

Summary 

Sophie and Jansie are teenagers who work in a biscuit factory. The story begins with both of them coming back home from school. Sophie gets lost in her imagination and starts daydreaming about owning a boutique shop and that she was as famous as Mary Quaint, a well-known fashion designer. Jansie advises Sophie not to dream big as it takes a lot of money and time to reach it, and they did not have sufficient money with them as they belonged to a lower-middle-class family. Jansie was a realistic person, and she did not support Sophie’s dreams and thoughts.

When they reach home, Sophie feels suffocated in their small house, which is full of steam emitted from the stove and is kept dirty and untidy because of the dirty dishes. Her mother is busy preparing food in the kitchen, and her father is eating. She meets her older brother Geoff, who is a mechanic trainee and is busy repairing a part of the motorcycle. Geoff is a private person and does not often talk about his personal life. This made Sophie curious about his personal life and began to imagine that his life is interesting, and she wanted to become a part of it.

Sophie shares a secret with her brother that she met Danny Casey in a Royce Arcade. However, her father and her brother Geoff don’t believe her. She tried her to convince both of them. She goes on to tell Geoff that she went on a date with Danny. Her brother doesn’t believe her story, instead pretends that he does.

All of them are big fans of football and go to watch it on a Saturday afternoon. Their favourite team ‘United’ wins the game because of a goal which was made by none other than Danny Casey. When they returned home from the game, her younger brother Derek and Jansie question Sophie about the truth behind her meeting Danny Casey. Sophie becomes furious as her brother did not keep her secret to himself, but she handles the situation carefully. She imagines visiting her hero Danny Cassey in a secret place situated near the canal. However, he doesn’t show up. Sophies knows she is daydreaming, but she is so in love with Danny that she cannot seem to pull herself out of it. She finally heads home with a deep sadness in her heart. On her way home, she comes across the boutique and begins to daydream again.

Theme 

Adolescent, hero-worshipping and fantasising.

Going Places NCERT Solutions also comes with Going Places Class 12 Questions and Answers. You can download Going Places Class 12 PDF for further reference.