I Have A dream by Martin Luther King Jr.

Bihar Board Rainbow English Book Class 12 Solutions

Chapter 4 'I Have A dream by Martin Luther King Jr.'

Text Book Questions and Answers

B. 1. Write ‘T’ for true and ’F’ for false statements -

a) The hopes of the Negro population were fulfilled by the signing of the emancipation Proclamation. - T
b) The condition of the Negroes was appalling. - T
c) The ‘bank of justice’ is bankrupt. - T
d) The author prefers racial discrimination. - F
e) The nation could overlook Negro problems. - F
f) The Negroes of America had citizenship rights. - F
g) The author hates white Americans. - F
h) He advocates non-violent struggle. - T

B. 2. Answer the following questions briefly -

1. What is the author trying to achieve through his speech?

Ans: The author is trying to achieve the support of the listeners in the freedom struggle for Negroes by his speech. He also wants to attract the listener towards the piteous condition of the Negroes.

2. Do you think Martin Luther is a great orator? What, according to you, are qualities of a great orator? What does Martin Luther urge his people to do?

Ans: Yes, I think Martin Luther King is a great orator. I think a great orator is a speaker who holds up the excitement of the listener and influences their mind. A great orator has the quality of striking the listener’s heart about the topic. Martin Luther urged his people to fight for the freedom, rights, and justice of the Negroes.

3. What is their pledge?

Ans: They pledge to march ahead and never to turn back. They are not satisfied until they get their rights and till they will march for freedom and justice and go ahead.

4. What are the 'trials and tribulations’ the author talks about?

Ans: The trials and tribulations’ author talks about are the hardship and torments people had to suffer when they raise their voices against injustice and discrimination.

B. 3. Answer the following questions briefly -

1. ‘This is our hope’ (Paragraph-19). What is hope?

Ans: The hope is the dream of every valley being exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, the rough places being plain, the crooked places made straight and the hope that the glory of God is seen by all flesh will see together. The hope is a dream which the author sees and he is sure it will come true. The hope is the expectation of the dream coming true (or the author).

2. If America is to be a great nation, what must become true?

Ans: If America has to become a great nation, it should not overlook the problems of Negroes and give all the citizenship rights to them. America should prohibit racial discrimination and work for the welfare of negroes, the natives of America.

3. Why and when will they thank the Almighty?

Ans: They will thank Almighty when the freedom rings in every state and city, village, and town, everywhere. They will thank Him, because, with His mercy, at last, the blacks will be free and all could live with the same rights and freedom.

C.1. Long Answer Questions -

1. ‘The life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination’. Elaborate.

Ans: It has the clear meaning that the life of Negro is still like that of a disabled person because it is captivated with the handcuffs of separation (on basis of race) and the fetters of discrimination. The Negroes are thought to be inferior to the whites and so are not given the proper rights of a citizen but are tormented everywhere. In such circumstances, Negroes are like disabled people who cannot do anything on and for their own. They are racially discriminated against everywhere and are still fettered. They are tribulated, tortured, and tormented. They are not given the right to vote, they are not allowed to go to public places and are cut off from society as if they are not allowed to go to public places and are cut off from society as if they are not humans. This inhuman act done with them has crippled their life.

2. What would be fatal for the nation? Why? Explain.

Ans: It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. It would be so because the sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom. Negro is granted his citizenship rights and they will begin a revolt for their rights and justice. The whirlwinds of this revolt will continue to shake the foundations of the nation until the bright day of justice emerges and if the nation does not even understand them and do something for Negroes, this revolt will take a furious form and that could be seriously fatal and injurious for the nation.

3. What was the ‘dream’? How many times “I have a dream’ appears in the lesson? Discuss the importance of this repetition?

Ans: The ‘dream’ is that someday the racial discrimination would come to an end, the son of slaves and owners will share the same table of fraternity, Mississippi state will calm down with justice and freedom, his children will never have to suffer racial discrimination, Albama has black and white children together hands in hands. ‘I have a dream’ phrase is repeated Nine times in the chapter. The importance of repetition is that the writer wants to draw the attention of people towards the dream because it is the dream after which they have to start the revolt and to see the dream come true, they have to fight against the brutality of the government. This repetition is done to signify its meaning.

4. What is the pledge? When will it be fulfilled?

Ans: The pledge is to always march ahead on the path of freedom and never to turn back but to move ahead with chest puffed. It will be fulfilled when the Negroes get their rights and freedom. They get justice and are not tortured, tormented, segregated, discriminated against, and separated from the rest of society. It will be fulfilled when Negros are free from the clutches of slavery and are given citizenship rights

5. Do you have a dream for your state? Narrate your dream in your own words.

Ans: I have a dream that my state is a clean and tidy state where all the people are employed. All children go to school. All the people are literate. The roads are plain without holes and ditches in them. Stray animals do not roam here and there around the city. The city is green and spotlessly clean. Everybody follows the traffic rules. The government rules justly. There is no discrimination based on race, color, caste, creed, etc. None of the officials are Corrupt. Everybody has the same rights to give a vote or to elect their representative. Everybody gets proper food, clothes, and shelter. Justice, nonviolence, and truth prevail everywhere.

C. 3. Composition -

Write a paragraph in about 100 words on each of the following -

a) Human rights.

Ans: Right, are the necessities of human life. They make our life meaningful. This removes discrimination in society. This encourages peace and harmony. This makes everybody’s life move smoothly. Today this has not importance everywhere and is present in the constitution. There are courts to see if these are implemented well and everybody gets this. It seems that nobody should be exploited. We should raise a voice against if anybody’s rights are violated. Then only it can be meaningful.

b) Secularism.

Ans: Secularism means that no religion is the state religion. All religions have equal status. In India, we follow secularism. It is in our ‘Constitution’. The government does not discriminate among any religion. It wants all religions to remain and prosper in the country. It does not support or favor any particular religion. Holidays are given for festivals of all religions. It promotes peace and harmony in society. It strengthens the unity of the country.

D. Word Study - 

D.1. Dictionary Use -

Ex. 1. Correct the spelling of the following words - 

• opporunity - opportunity
• begining - beginning
• hatered - hatred
• prodegeons - prodigious
• curvacous - curvaceous
• antem - anthem

Ex. 2. Look up a dictionary and write two meanings of each other of the following words – the one in which it is used in the lesson and the other which is more common –

Exile – banishment(noun); expel(verb)
Decree – command; judgement
Stream – a small river; group of choice in education
Despair – hopelessness; to give up
Ring – a small circular band; an enclosed space for fights or excitement

D. 2. Word-formation -

Read the following sentences carefully -

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.

In the sentence given above the word ‘unmindful’, is derived from ‘mind’ adding a prefix ‘un-‘ and a suffix ‘-full’. Find out the root words and the prefixes/ suffixes added to in the following words - 

Main Word	Root Word	Prefix/Suffix
Momentous	Moment	-ous
Segregation	Segregate	-ion
Discrimination	Discriminate	-ion
Marvelous	Marvel	-ous
Righteousness	Righteous	-ness
Persecution	Persecute	-ion
Nullification	Nullify	-ion
Freedom	Free	-dom
Community	Commune	-ity
Devotee	Devote	-e
Brotherhood	Brother	-hood
Spiritual	Spirit	-ual

D. 3. Word-meaning:

Ex 1. Match the words given in Column ‘A’ with their meaning in Column ‘B’ -

Column 1	Column 2
Legitimate	In accordance with the law
Threshold	The point before a new situation
Inextricably	Closely bound
Staggered	Walk or move unsteadily
Redemptive	Freedom
Oppression	Unpleasantly harsh
Tranquilizing	Becoming calm
Molehill	Small pile of earth
Jangling	Cruelty
emancipation	Compensating for the faults

D. 4. Phrases - 

Ex. 1. Read the lesson carefully and find out the sentences in which the following phrases have been used. Then use the phrases in sentences of your own -

• so far as — So far as my parents are concerned I will listen to it.
• cooling off — Anu is cooling off her anger outside.
• seek to — Anju advised Sima to seek the goal of life.
• instead of — Riya said she would go with Rashmi instead of Roshan.
• blow off — Pritam blew off all the problems which came in her way.
• bound to — All brothers and sisters are strongly bound to their families.
• stand up for — Krish and Deepak always stand up for helping the needy.

E. Grammar -

Ex. 1. Put the correct form of verbs given in the brackets given and complete the sentence - 

a) The Negro still finds himself an Exide in his own country, (find)
b) People have come to realise the plight of the Negroes, (come)
c) We will not be satisfied until justice is done. (satisfy)
d) Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. (ring)
e) Martin Luther did make America proud. (do)

Related Posts - 

• Ideas That Have Helped Mankind by Bertrand Russell

• I Have A dream by Martin Luther King Jr.

• A Pinch of Snuff by Manohar Malgaonkar

• Indian Civilization and Culture by Mahatma Gandhi

• Bharat is My Home by Dr. Zakir Husain

• Snake by D. H. Lawrence