Chapter 2.4: Have you Earned your Tomorrow
Complete the following web.
SOLUTION:
Care for the elderly
Plant saplings to benefit the whole community
Help our a friend/relative
Provide financial aid to the needy
Discuss with your partner about the different idioms/proverbs related to word ‘tomorrow’. One is done for you
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
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SOLUTION:
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
Tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today.
Every tomorrow is an outcome of what I do today, and the beauty of it all is that today is happening all the time.
The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow.
When you make your future plans you think of:
Career
___________
___________
___________
SOLUTION:
Career
Education
Travel
Money
‘Plan your tomorrow’ by completing the table given below. One is done for you.
SOLUTION:
Discuss with your friend how she/he spent the whole day that was beneficial for others.
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SOLUTION:
Do it yourself.
‘was it well or sorely spent’? Explain the meaning and give illustrations.
SOLUTION:
This is one of the interrogative statements that the poet uses to ask the reader whether he has lived his life well for the day, or whether he has wasted the day by spending it bitterly. In the light of the poem, a well-spent day is one when we make others happy, when we are remembered by someone when someone says a few kinds words about us when we greet others cheerfully when our deeds make others feel grateful when we help even a single person out of the many that we meet when even a single heart rejoices because of us, and when we instil courage in someone who is losing hope. On the other hand, a day is sorely spent when we don’t even greet a friend properly as we go on about our day, or when we are purely selfish in our rush to get to the next task, thus ignoring the needs of others around us. It is the way we spend our day that decides whether we have earned our tomorrow or not. If we have helped even one person to minimize his problems, we have earned ourselves a good future. However, a day spent serving only the self, might not earn us our tomorrow.
‘As you close your eyes in slumber do you think that God would say, You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?’
Elaborate the idea expressed in these lines.
SOLUTION:
These lines mean that at the end of the day, we should know it in our heart that we have made a difference in someone else’s life by helping them out or by just making them happy. Once we know that we have genuinely contributed positively to other people’s lives, will we be able to hear God’s voice telling us that we have earned our tomorrow because of the good deeds that we did today.
The poet suggests that one should do good to others. Complete the table by giving examples of doing good to following people.
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Pick out the describing words from the poem and add a noun of your own. One is done for you.
SOLUTION:
Match the words given in column A with their meaning in column B.
SOLUTION:
There are a few examples of homonyms in the poem. For example ‘spoke’. List homonyms from the poem and give their meanings.
SOLUTION:
Find out expressions/phrases which denote, ‘going away’, from each stanza. One is given below. “Vanish in the throng”.
SOLUTION:
Stanza 1 – passed his way
Stanza 2 – rushed along
Stanza 3 – parting with, slipping fast, passed
Stanza 4 – leave a trail
The poet has used different poetic devices like Alliteration and Interrogation in the poem. Identify them and pick out the lines.
SOLUTION:
Poetic Device - Alliteration
Alliteration (a poetic device where words beginning with consonant sounds repeated for poetic effect)
Lines:
1. This day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;
2. and then vanish in the throng
3. Were you selfish pure and simple as you rushed along the way,
4. deed you did
5. Can you say tonight, in parting with the days that’s slipping fast,
6. Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said;
7. Did you waste the day, or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?
Poetic Device - Interrogation
Interrogation (a poetic device where the poet asks a question, not to obtain an answer, but to emphasise a point)
Lines:
1. Is anybody happier because you passed his way?
2. Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?
3. Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?
4. Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came along?
5. Or a churlish sort of “Howdy” and then vanish in the throng?
6. Or is someone mighty grateful for a deed you did today?
7. Can you say tonight, in parting with the days that’s slipping fast, That you helped a single brother of the many that you passed?
8. Does a man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?
9. Does a man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?
10. Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?
11. As you close your eyes in slumber do you think that God would say, You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?
The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is ‘aabb’. Find the rhyme scheme of other stanzas
SOLUTION:
Stanza 2 - ccaa
Stanza 3 - ddee
Stanza 4 - ffaa
Write an appreciation of the poem considering the following points.
About the poem/poet and the title
The theme
Poetic style
The language/poetic devices used in the poem
Special features
message, values, morals in the poem
Your opinion about the poem
SOLUTION:
Appreciation of the poem
‘Have You Earned Your Tomorrow’
‘Have You Earned Your Tomorrow’ by Edgar Guest is an inspirational poem written in rhyming couplets and contains four quatrains (four stanzas of four lines each). The theme or the central idea of the poem is the importance of living each day by being kind and helpful towards others and by making small contributions to improve their lives; as the good deeds done by us today will earn us our tomorrow. It is set to a rhyme scheme of ‘aabbccaaddeeffaa’. The language of the poem is simple and straightforward, which leaves no room for subjectivity. The use of rhetoric questions by the poet, to convey his ideas and inspire the readers, add gravity to the poem and make a unique literary impact. The poet employs a number of poetic devices in the poem like Alliteration, Antithesis, Consonance, Interrogation, Inversion, Metaphor, Personification, Repetition, Synecdoche, Tautology and Transferred Epithet. The most prominent figure of speech used throughout the poem is Interrogation, wherein the poet asks simple questions to the reader about how he/she treats the people he comes across in his/her life. All these poetic devices serve to impart an earthy sense to the verse and hence enhance its poetic appeal. The tone and type of the poem are inspirational and didactic as the poet tries to urge the readers to be good towards others. A special feature of the poem is the use of visual imagery in “vanish in the throng”, “rushed along the way”, “slipping fast” and “close your eyes in slumber”, which add to the overall appeal of the poem. The other special features are the interrogative lines in which the poem has been written and the repetitive sounds of “ay” in the first, second and fourth stanzas, which add an element of unification in the poem. The message being conveyed by the poem is that even the smallest good deed on one’s part is enough to guarantee a better tomorrow for oneself. In my opinion, this poem was a brilliant effort by the poet to prod the readers into questioning their own goodness and help others in any way possible; thereby earning themselves a well-deserved future.
Prepare a mind map on ‘How to plan a goal for tomorrow’ or ‘My future goal’. Take the help of points given in ‘Writing Skills Section’ for preparing a mind map.
SOLUTION:
The future is uncertain for each one of us. The least we can do, though, is plan for the best yet be prepared for any outcome. We can have a road map which we apply to all walks of life, so that we have a plan that moves us closer toward our desired milestones.
A Mind Map on ‘How to Plan a Goal for Tomorrow’ or ‘My Future Goal’
Write a set of 8 to 10 interview questions to be asked to a social worker. Take the help of the following points.
Childhood
Education
Service
Difficulties
Future plans
Achievements
Message
SOLUTION:
Good Afternoon, Miss Pooja Joshi. I, Miss Minali Chopra, welcome you on behalf of our college. We would like to get to know you better, so let me begin the interview.
1. Where did you spend your childhood years? Tell us about any fond memories or incidents of that time.
2. Help us understand your academic background. What subjects did you study in college? What was the course like and what were your major subjects?
3. Also, what has been the impact of your academic experiences in your life so far?
4. Help us understand if getting into the social sector was a planned move or did it happen due to some trigger, later in life?
5. What is the cause that you work for?
6. Why is this cause close to your heart?
7. There are many constraints with regard to working in the social sector. Can you share few of the most pressing challenges during a normal day?
8. How do you plan to work towards achieving these milestones for your cause?
9. If you had to leave us with a message, what would that be?
It was a real pleasure speaking with you, Miss Joshi. Thank you for your time.
Compose 4-6 lines on your own on ‘Good deeds’.
SOLUTION:
Good Deeds
That I shall reach out to my brother in need,
To the one without nothing to hold but a reed,
Shun I shall all the material greed,
My bit of humanity I will seed,
In emancipating him, I must take the lead.
Find out different career opportunities in the field of social work.
SOLUTION:
The field of social work is quite extensive and spans multiple career opportunities. Depending upon one’s qualification, career goals, and the type of people one wants to work for, one can choose an area of specialization in the field of social work:
1. Mental Health Counsellors
2. Social and Community Service Managers
3. Psychologists
4. Teachers
5. Sociologists
6. Labour Welfare Specialist
7. Criminology Specialist
8. Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist
9. Human Rights Specialist
10. Administrative roles in old age homes and orphanages.
Collect information of the NGOs working for the underprivileged section of the society.
SOLUTION:
