Freedom (G.B Shaw) — NCERT Solutions

For Krishnamurti, freedom and discipline are contradictory because discipline usually means imposed control, resistance, and conformity. Freedom means being able to think, inquire, and discover for oneself. If a person is enclosed by rules, fears, and “do’s and don’ts,” the mind cannot be truly free. So discipline, as he describes it, blocks freedom instead of producing it.

Inquiry leads to true freedom because it makes a person question tradition, think for oneself, and discover what is true. Instead of accepting ready-made ideas, one examines, tests, and understands. This develops intelligence, alertness, and sensitivity. A mind that is enquiring is not merely conforming, and that is what creates real freedom.

Yes, this idea can be seen as relevant to our country too. Many people are told that voting alone makes them free, but real freedom also depends on education, awareness, economic conditions, and protection from exploitation. If people are unaware of how they are controlled, the right to vote by itself does not end inequality or injustice. So Shaw’s warning can still apply, though the exact situation may differ.

The line means that if humans exploit nature too greedily through modern science and chemicals, nature may respond by creating problems for us. The chapter mentions that we can increase production by using fertilizers and chemicals, but nature may have ways to check us if we overuse and misuse her resources. So the point is to use science carefully and not recklessly harm the environment.

Respect for elders means listening with courtesy and giving due regard to their experience. But it does not mean blind obedience. Blind obedience stops independent thinking and may lead to wrong actions. In the spirit of the chapter, one should question and think for oneself, even while remaining respectful. So elders should be respected, not automatically followed without reflection.

The two texts treat freedom in very different styles. Shaw’s essay is satirical, argumentative and humorous; he uses irony, examples, exaggeration and sharp social criticism to expose false ideas of freedom. Krishnamurti’s piece is serious, reflective and philosophical; he speaks directly to the reader about inner freedom, discipline, inquiry and sensitivity. Shaw focuses on social and political freedom, while Krishnamurti focuses on mental and personal freedom.

Two sections where Shaw supports a statement with examples are:

1. Statement: Natural jobs cannot be shirked. But the things connected with them can be controlled by others.

Examples: eating requires food, sleeping requires beds and houses, walking requires clothes; food can be stolen, a horse can be made a slave, and human beings can also be forced into slavery.

2. Statement: History is taught as a series of triumphs for freedom.

Examples: Magna Charta, defeat of the Spanish Armada, execution of King Charles, Bill of Rights, American Declaration of Independence, Waterloo, Trafalgar, and the conversion of empires into republics.

These examples make the writing effective because they give force, concreteness and humour to Shaw’s argument.

The use of personal pronouns makes both texts feel direct and involving. Shaw repeatedly uses you, which makes the reader feel personally addressed and exposed to the argument. Krishnamurti also uses you and we, which makes his talk intimate and reflective. Yes, this helps the reader identify more closely with the topic than an impersonal style would, because the ideas seem connected to one’s own life and choices.

• There is no freedom / if you are enclosed by self-interest or by various walls of discipline.
• When you see a servant carrying a heavy carpet, / do you give him a helping hand?
• Very young children will eat needles and matches eagerly / but the diet is not a nourishing one.
• We must sleep or go mad / but then sleep is so pleasant / that we have great difficulty in getting up in the morning.
• Always call freedom by its old English name of leisure, and keep clamouring for more leisure and more money to enjoy it in return for an honest share of work.

Examples of rhetorical questions include:

• “What is a perfectly free person?” — to suggest that such a person does not really exist.
• “Do you feel you are much better than they...?” — to make readers examine their attitudes to villagers and the poor.
• “Can a man ever be free as long as he lives in a prison?” — to show that freedom cannot exist inside mental and social imprisonment.
• “What good is the vote?” — to question the value of voting when people remain exploited.

These questions are not asked for answers; they are used to make the reader think and accept the writer’s point.

The sound sequences are:

• sleep — CCVVC
• thrift — CCVCC
• snake — CCVVC
• task — CVC
• smear — CCVVC
• facts — CVCCC
• sweet — CCVVC
• boasts — CVVCC
• strain — CCVVC
• street — CCCVVC
• strangle — CCCVCCV
• strengths — CCCVCCC