Unit 4.2 A Sunny Morning Complete Exercises 2024

This article has all the exercises for Unit 4.2 of Class 11’s English, A Sunny Morning Complete Exercises.

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a. What makes Dona Laura think that Don Gonzalo is an ill-natured man? Why does neither Dona Laura nor Don Gonzalo reveals their true identities?
→ Gonzalo looks at everything negatively. He is reluctant to sit on the bench of Laura and insists that he wants his own bench. When he sees his usual bench occupied by the priests already, he is angry and curses them. He asks his servant, Juanito to drive them away. Gonzalo scares the pigeons that Laura was feeding. Because of all these reasons, Laura thinks that Gonzalo is an ill-natured man.

They are both ashamed of their failed love affair. Now they have lost their youth and taken different courses in life. That’s why talking about their past relationship directly is meaningless. Exposing their identities simply makes them unhappy and sad. That’s why in order to avoid bitter feelings, they don’t reveal their identity.

b. At what point in time, do you think, Laura and Gonzalo begin to recognize each other?
→ When both of them start talking about the failed love affair of Laura Llorente and a gallant lover, they slowly recognize each other. However, Laura says that the woman was her best friend and Gonzalo says that the lover was his cousin. Both of them know the events in detail. It makes them sure that they were old lovers.

c. When does Dona Laura realize that Don Gonzalo was her former lover?
→ When Laura says that the silver maiden was very unfortunate because of her sad love affair, Gonzalo also answers in the same way as if he knows about that affair. It makes Laura clear that Gonzalo was her lover, otherwise, he would not have known the personal matters of others.

d. Why do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo spin fictitious stories about themselves?
→ They spin fictitious stories to prove that they were really serious in their love, but because of the providence of destiny, their love could not be successful. They wanted to hide their weaknesses and prove each other really helpless. They do it to collect sympathy.

e. How do Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo feel about each other?
→ When they know each other as old-time lovers, they feel good. The emotional tides again bind them together. A new friendship starts and they promise to meet again at the park. Someone has rightly said about lovers and wine-the older they are the better they taste and feel.

Reference to the context

a. Look at the extract below and answer the questions that follow:

“Yes, you are only twenty. (She sits down on the bench.) Oh, I feel more tired today than usual. (Noticing Petra, who seems impatient.) Go, if you wish to chat with your guard.”

i. Who is the speaker?
→ Dona Laura is the speaker.

ii. Who does ‘you’ refer to?
→ ‘You’ refers to Dona Laura’s maid Petra.

iii. Who is the ‘guard’ the speaker is talking to?
→ The ‘guard’ is the ‘park’s guard’ the speaker is talking to.

b. Read the extracted dialogue from the play and answer the questions that follow:

DONA LAURA: (Indignantly.) Look out!
DON GONZALO: Are you speaking to me, senora?
DONA LAURA: Yes, to you.
DON GONZALO: What do you wish?
DONA LAURA: You have scared away the birds who were feeding on my crumbs.
DON GONZALO: What do I care about the birds?
DONA LAURA: But I do.
DON GONZALO: This is a public park.

c. Who is Dona addressing by saying “Look out”?
→ Dona is addressing Don Gonzalo by saying “Look out”

d. What was Dona doing?
→ Dona was feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons in the park.

e. Who scared the birds? Are they pet birds?
→ Don Gonzalo scared the birds. No, they aren’t pet birds.

f. Where are the speakers at the time of the conversation?
→ The speakers are in a park at the time of conversation.

g. What is the effect of flashbacks in the play when Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo knew that they were lovers in the past?
→ The flashback makes the drama more meaningful and effective. That gives clear information to the readers about their unsuccessful love affairs of the past. The past memory is still fresh in their minds and that unites them again as new friends. After, a flashback, they recognize each other and feel emotionally close. That makes the readers clear that they were separated because of some causes.

h. Discuss how the play is built around humor and irony.
→ The play is full of irony. Two old-time lovers hide their identities and talk to each other as strangers. However, they know that they are old-time lovers. Laura calls herself the best friend of the Silver Maiden and Gonzalo says that it was his cousin. From the inside they are lovers from the outside they are strangers. Similarly, that irony creates humor. Laura makes Gonzalo speechless in many situations because of her witty statements. They try to fool each other by fabricating false stories, but from inside they know they are lying. They know they lie too much. but appear as if they don’t know each other personally. When Gonzalo says he had visited America when he was six, Laura says he might have gone with Columbus. Similarly, when Gonzalo cleans his shoes with his handkerchief, Laura asks whether he uses his shoe brush as a handkerchief. Gonzalo makes up a heroic ending of himself and Laura shows the emotional depth of the Silver Maiden.

i. How is the title ‘A Sunny Morning’ justifiable? Discuss.
→ This play is set in a park in Madrid, Spain on a sunny morning. In this setting, the entire play has been presented. A sunny morning has provided an ideal setting for a reunion of two former lovers in their golden years. They argue, know each other, conceal their identities, admire, tell fabricated stories about their deaths, prefer to meet again the next sunny morning, and so on. From start to finish, the entire play continues to make us laugh hysterically while remaining in this setting of a sunny morning. As a result, the title ‘A Sunny Morning’ is quite appropriate, as it depicts a reconciliation of former lovers in a park with great humor.

Reference beyond the context

a. What do you predict will happen in the next meeting between Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo? Discuss.
→ I predict that Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo will be much more excited in the next meeting. They will talk and share their feelings through fake means this time too. Both of them will try to make each other happy. Don Gonzalo will certainly be much franker this time. He will try to show his respect toward her. The readers will get a chance to see their shyness. They will surely get much more fun through their pretentious acts.

b. Was it wise for Dona Laura and Don Gonzalo to keep their identities secret? How might their secrets affect future meetings?
→ Yes, it was wise for Dona Laura and Don to keep their identities secret. At the age of seventy, they both realized that they were former lovers who separated due to their ill fate. But, they did a good job of not revealing their real identities. Both of them were quite old with weak physical conditions. They were not happy due to their old looks. At this age, the revelation of their reality would be in vain. They thought it better to hide their identities and pretend to be unfamiliar. They chose the best way to enjoy their sweet youthful memories through fake means. Their secrets might affect them in their future meetings if they keep on lying in such a way. There was a high risk of the revelation of secrets due to their old age. If they reveal their realities unknowingly, they won’t get to meet with each other in the upcoming future. Hence, it was wise for them to keep their identities secret.

Click on this link to get to the PDF of class 11’s English Book. If you have any confusion, feel free to drop a comment down below. In the meantime, you can read these articles.

Unit 4.2 A Sunny Morning Complete Exercises

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

Reference to the context

Reference beyond the context

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