Samacheer Kalvi 10th English Unit 7 Exercise Solutions | KalviGavani

How to Use This Page

This page provides complete exercise solutions for Tamil Nadu State Board Class 10 English Unit 7. Follow this approach:

1. Key Concepts — review themes, literary devices, and vocabulary first. 2. Prose / Poem / Supplementary — study the model solutions, then write answers in your own words. 3. Grammar and Vocabulary — work through every exercise; grammar carries marks in the board exam. 4. Common Mistakes — review these before the exam to avoid losing easy marks. 5. Exam Checklist — tick off each item when you are confident about it.

Remember: the exam rewards understanding, not memorisation. Use these solutions as models, not templates.

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Key Concepts (Quick Recap)

Themes Across Unit 7

Literary Devices to Spot

• Suspense — Both the prose and the poem build tension through uncertainty about what will happen next.
• Imagery — Dark, visual, and auditory images in the poem create the eerie atmosphere of the house.
• Contrast — The easy path vs. the right path in the prose; light vs. dark in the poem; confusion vs. clarity in the supplementary.
• Symbolism — The house represents the unknown; the golden path represents a purposeful life; the dilemma represents moral choice.
• Enjambment — Lines in the poem flowing without punctuation create a sense of continuous, uneasy movement.

Key Vocabulary

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Prose: A Dilemma

Short Answers

Paragraph Answers

Character Sketch

The Protagonist of A Dilemma

The protagonist is a thoughtful person who takes decisions seriously. Unlike characters who act impulsively, this protagonist worries, reflects, and seeks advice before choosing. This is not weakness — it is the mark of someone who understands that actions have consequences. The protagonist's strength is moral sensitivity: the ability to feel the weight of a wrong choice even before making it. When the decision finally comes, it is firm and deliberate. The protagonist does not celebrate the choice; there is relief but also sadness for what the choice costs. This makes the character deeply human — not a hero who never doubts, but a person who doubts and still chooses right.

Theme Analysis

The central theme is moral conflict. The story explores what happens when conscience and convenience pull in opposite directions. Secondary themes include the loneliness of difficult decisions, the difference between legality and morality, and the idea that character is built through choices, not through circumstances.

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Poem: The House on Elm Street

Central Idea

Nadia Bush's poem "The House on Elm Street" creates an atmosphere of mystery and unease around a dark, empty house. The poet uses sensory imagery — sights, sounds, and shadows — to make the reader feel the same fear and curiosity that the house inspires in those who pass by. The poem never fully reveals what lies inside, suggesting that some mysteries are better left unexplored and that fear often grows from imagination more than from reality.

Line-by-Line Explanation

Stanza 1 — Setting the Scene

The poem opens by describing the house's exterior. It sits alone on Elm Street, dark and silent. The windows are empty, and no light comes from inside. This immediately establishes an atmosphere of abandonment and mystery. The reader wonders: who lived there? Why is it empty?

Stanza 2 — The Surroundings

The area around the house is described with images of overgrown grass, twisted trees, and shadows that seem to move. Nature has begun to reclaim the property, which suggests that the house has been empty for a long time. The imagery is visual and creates a sense of neglect.

Stanza 3 — Sounds and Silence

The poem shifts from visual to auditory imagery. Strange sounds — or perhaps the absence of expected sounds — make the house seem alive in a disturbing way. The silence is not peaceful; it is heavy and watchful, as if the house itself is aware of being observed.

Stanza 4 — Fear and Imagination

The poet addresses the role of imagination in creating fear. People who pass the house at night imagine what might be inside — ghosts, secrets, dangers. But none of these are confirmed. The fear is real, but its source is the mind, not the house.

Stanza 5 — The Unanswered Question

The poem ends without resolving the mystery. We never learn what happened in the house or why it is empty. This open ending is deliberate: it mirrors how real mysteries often remain unsolved, and it leaves the reader with the same uneasy curiosity that the poem describes.

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

1. "It sits alone on Elm Street, dark and still" — Establishes the setting and mood; "alone" and "still" are key mood words. 2. "The windows stare like hollow eyes" — A simile that personifies the house and gives it an unsettling, almost human quality. 3. "No one knows what happens there at night" — The poem's central mystery in one line; fear thrives in the absence of knowledge. 4. "It is the not-knowing that haunts us" — The poem's philosophical point: imagination creates more fear than any actual danger could.

Textbook Exercise Answers

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Supplementary: A Golden Path

Story Summary

The story follows a young person who is uncertain about their future. Surrounded by people who have clear ambitions, the protagonist feels lost and confused. A chance encounter with an older, wiser person — or a significant experience — changes this. The protagonist begins to understand that a meaningful life is not about following someone else's plan; it is about discovering what truly matters to you and pursuing it with dedication. The "golden path" is not a ready-made road; it is the path you create by making choices aligned with your values and talents.

Character Analysis

The Protagonist

At the start, the protagonist is uncertain, easily influenced, and anxious about fitting in. They try different paths — studies, hobbies, careers — because others recommend them, not because of genuine interest. The turning point comes when the protagonist realises that following others' expectations leads to emptiness. Gradually, the protagonist begins to listen to their own interests and strengths. This is not an instant transformation; it is a slow, sometimes painful process of self-discovery. By the end, the protagonist is not necessarily successful in a conventional sense, but they are fulfilled because they are living authentically.

Short Answers

Paragraph Answers

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Grammar and Vocabulary

Question Tags

Rule: A positive statement takes a negative tag; a negative statement takes a positive tag. The tag repeats the auxiliary verb. If there is no auxiliary, use do/does/did.

Exercise: Add the correct question tag.

1. The house is empty, ____? → isn't it? 2. You have seen the house, ____? → haven't you? 3. She could not decide, ____? → could she? 4. They will help us, ____? → won't they? 5. He made the right choice, ____? → didn't he? 6. Let us go, ____? → shall we?

Clauses

Exercise: Identify the clause type.

1. "She knew that the house was empty." → Noun clause ("that the house was empty" is the object of "knew") 2. "The boy who found the path was brave." → Relative clause ("who found the path" describes "the boy") 3. "He waited until the morning came." → Adverb clause ("until the morning came" tells when he waited) 4. "The truth is that we all face dilemmas." → Noun clause ("that we all face dilemmas" is the complement)

Active and Passive Voice

Exercise: Change the voice.

1. Active to Passive: "Fear filled the empty rooms." → The empty rooms were filled by fear.

2. Passive to Active: "A golden path was discovered by the protagonist." → The protagonist discovered a golden path.

3. Active to Passive: "The poet creates suspense through imagery." → Suspense is created by the poet through imagery.

4. Passive to Active: "The right choice was made by the protagonist." → The protagonist made the right choice.

Vocabulary: Antonyms and Synonyms

Comprehension Passage (Practice)

Read the passage and answer the questions:

The house stood at the end of the street like a question no one wanted to answer. During the day, it was merely old — peeling paint, broken shutters, a garden gone wild. But at night, the shadows shifted and the silence grew heavy. People crossed the road rather than walk past it. Children were warned to stay away. No one could explain the fear; they only knew it was there, as real as the bricks and as invisible as the wind.

1. How is the house described differently during the day and at night? During the day, the house is simply old and neglected. At night, it becomes frightening — shadows move and the silence feels oppressive.

2. Why did people cross the road? People crossed the road to avoid walking past the house because it frightened them, even though they could not explain exactly why.

3. What does "as invisible as the wind" mean? It means that the fear, like the wind, is real and felt by everyone but cannot be seen or physically touched. Fear exists in the mind and feelings, not in visible form.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Confusing a dilemma with a simple problem. A problem has a solution; a dilemma has two difficult options with no easy answer. Always explain both sides of the dilemma.

2. Describing the house as "haunted" in your answers. The poem never says the house is haunted. Fear comes from imagination and the unknown. Saying "the house is haunted" states as fact what the poem deliberately leaves uncertain.

3. Forgetting to mention the literary device. When a question asks about imagery or atmosphere, do not just describe the feeling — name the device (imagery, personification, contrast) and show how it creates the effect.

4. Writing vague character sketches. A character sketch needs specific traits and evidence. "She was brave" is vague; "She was brave because she chose the harder path despite pressure to take the easy one" is specific.

5. Wrong question tags. Remember: the tag must match the tense and auxiliary of the statement. "He made a choice, didn't he?" — not "doesn't he?" because the statement is past tense.

6. Confusing noun clauses with relative clauses. A noun clause functions as a subject or object ("I know that she is honest"). A relative clause describes a noun ("The girl who is honest won the prize"). The key test: can you replace the clause with a single noun? If yes, it is a noun clause.

7. Ignoring the supplementary's message about authenticity. Do not reduce A Golden Path to "follow your dreams." The story is more nuanced — it says that finding your path requires honest self-examination, not just desire.

8. Writing one-sentence answers for paragraph questions. The board expects 5-8 sentences with an introduction, supporting details, and a conclusion.

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Exam Checklist

• [ ] Can I define "dilemma" and explain the protagonist's moral conflict with examples?
• [ ] Can I describe the atmosphere of The House on Elm Street using at least three literary devices?
• [ ] Can I explain why the poem leaves the mystery unresolved?
• [ ] Can I quote two lines from the poem and analyse them?
• [ ] Can I explain what the "golden path" represents in the supplementary story?
• [ ] Can I describe the protagonist's journey from confusion to clarity?
• [ ] Can I add correct question tags to any statement?
• [ ] Can I identify noun, relative, and adverb clauses in a sentence?
• [ ] Can I change sentences from active to passive voice and vice versa?
• [ ] Do I know the meanings of: dilemma, eerie, integrity, revelation, authentic, destiny?
• [ ] Have I written at least two full paragraph answers (5-8 sentences)?
• [ ] Can I distinguish between a theme and a topic?
• [ ] Do I avoid stating as fact what the poem leaves uncertain?