NCERT Solutions 09th English Chapter 2 A Dog Named Duke

1.How did Hooper become paralysed? How did Marcy and others react to this fatal accident?

Ans. One autumn night, when Hooper was driving back home, a car suddenly pulled in front of his car without warning. It was a serious accident and Hooper suffered from subdural haemorhage in the motor section of the brain, leaving his left side completely paralysed. When Marcy reached the hospital, she was shocked to see that her husband couldn’t talk, he could only breathe and see, and his vision was double. She knew that Hooper was very critical, and that he would have to be in the hospital for a long time, so she sent Duke to the kennel. Secretly, she used to cry, watching her husband’s grin fade away.

2. ‘On January 4, Hooper made the big move.’ What was this big move? Was this move welcome or did it create further problems?

Ans. The big move made by Hooper on January 4, was that for the first time, without Duke’s help, he walked the distance of 200 metres from the clinic to the local branchoffice of his company. For a person who had been paralysed, with there being hardly any hope of his recovery, it was really a big move. Everyone was amazed to see him in his office. When he told the manager that he wanted to continue work initially for one hour, everyone was shocked. In the company headquarters, Chuck’s move presented tough problems because, seeing Chuck’s courage and determination, nobody had the courage to tell him that he wouldn’t be able to handle his old job. Moreover, they didn’t know what to do with his demand to do a desk job just for an hour, when his job of a salesman required him to move around all the time.

3. Is ‘it lrony of Fate’ that Duke who had nursed Hooper back to normalcy, had to meet such a terrible end? Discuss.

Ans. When Chuck was admitted to the hospital after his accident, every effort made by the doctors and others had failed to cure his paralysis. The intelligent effort made by Duke had changed an impossible situation into apossibile one. It is really an irony that he who had nursed Hooper back to normalcy, himself met with an accident. Just like Hooper, he was also hit by a vehicle. It is an irony that he who had been successful in bringing life to Hooper, himself could not survive and met with such a terrible end.

4. “Firm determination and strong will-power can achieve even the impossible.’’ How does this statement prove true in case of Chuck Hooper?

Ans. Tragedy is inevitable in human life. The only variable is what we do about it. Whether we choose to overcome handicaps or wallow in it, it is our choice. So tragedy proves to be the true touchstone of a person’s character. Chuck Hooper could have chosen to remain paralysed and not respond to Duke’s helpful gestures. Duke awakens what was lying dormant in Hooper’s mind, the will to fight back and emerge victorious. Life had ceased to be cakewalk for Hooper. Misery, regret, depression had reduced him to a vegetable. When Duke offers challenges, it is Hooper who rises to meet them. Pain, exhaustion, frustration take their toll but ‘Never say die’ spirit spurs him on. Days and weeks stretch into months. Step by step planning, setting deadlines – all were strategies towards a greater objective. Hooper doesn’t want to remain an object of pity. Instead, he becomes an inspiration for others in his daily trek. Neighbours and passers by became testimony to Hooper’s daily progress towards sanity and normalcy. His pattern of progress is painful, stretches too long but in the end yields results. Hooper manages to walk not only to his office but is also ready to resume his duties. But he is not fit for a full day’s work. So he walks through the street, pulled faster and faster by Duke, to step up his endurance and stability. Life takes a full circle and Hooper becomes the Regional Manager. Destiny wishes him to move on in life, even without Duke. Though Duke was not with him in Hooper’s final triumph, but what he had imparted to Hooper had aleady become an inseparable part of Hooper’s psyche. Firm determination, perseverance and strong will can never be thwarted.

5. ‘‘It was like lighting a fuse.’’
Explain the context of the above statement.

Ans. One evening, Chuck’s good hand hooked into Duke’s lead of the collar to hold him still. It was like ‘lightning a fuse’ because on the spur of the moment, an idea struck the dog’s mind as to how to help Chuck move about and walk.

6. Why did Chuck feel more lonely at home?

Ans. When Chuck was in the hospital, getting treated for paralysis, there were other injured people too, and so he was not lonely there. But at home, each morning when his wife, Marcy, went out to work, he was left all alone with his thoughts.

7. How did Chuck Hooper happen to take his first step?

Ans. When Chuck’s good hand hooked into the leash of Duke’s collar, Duke moved u-shaped and walked ahead with bigger steps. Chuck struggled for balance and with his good hand he placed the leash in his left, paralysed hand. With Marcy’s help, he moved his right leg out, causing the left foot to drag forward. Duke had helped him take his first step.

8. What was the reaction of the neighbours as they watched Chuck’s progress everyday?

Ans. The neighbours used to watch very keenly and curiously the daily struggle in front of Marcy’s house. On the sidewalk, they saw the dog pull his leash tightly and then stood and wait for Hooper to follow him. They watched every step of progress made by Hooper. When on June 1, Hooper and Duke made it to the intersection, this news spread quite far away.

9. What objectives were set up by Chuck Hooper in his pattern of progress?

Ans. When Chuck was making good progress, he and Duke started making two trips in a day. They lengthened their targets to one-drive-way at a time. Even Duke no longer waited at each step. One day, Chuck Hooper walked to his office without Duke and expressed his willingness to work for an hour in a day in the beginning.