His First Flight Class 10 Questions and Answers - Study Mitra
His First Flight: NCERT Solutions & 35 Extra Important Questions
Welcome students to Study Mitra! The story "His First Flight" by Liam O'Flaherty is a powerful narrative about overcoming fear and gaining self-confidence. Below, you will find complete NCERT textbook solutions and 35 extra important questions to help you master this chapter.
📌 Part 1: NCERT Textbook Exercise Solutions
Q1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Does a human baby also find it a challenge to take its first steps?
Answer: The young seagull was afraid to fly because he lacked confidence in his wings. When he looked down at the vast sea below, he felt certain that his wings would never support his weight. Yes, it is completely natural for almost all young birds to feel a bit hesitant or afraid during their very first flight. However, some individual birds can be noticeably more timid and cautious than others. Similarly, a human baby also faces a great physical and mental challenge when trying to balance and take its very first independent steps.
Q2. "The sight of the food maddened him." What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Answer: This suggestion indicates that the young seagull was completely exhausted and desperately hungry after being left alone without food for over twenty-four hours. When he saw his mother tearing at a piece of fish, the intense hunger overcame all his deep-seated fears. This extreme starvation ultimately compelled him to dive blindly at the fish in his mother's beak, causing him to fall off the ledge and force his wings to open, which led to his successful First Flight.
Q3. "They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly." Why did the seagull's father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Answer: The young seagull's parents were constantly calling, shrieking, threatening, and cajoling him because they knew that flying was absolutely essential for his survival. They threatened to let him starve to death on his lonely rock ledge simply to give him a harsh but necessary push to overcome his lack of confidence, as self-reliance is the most important lesson in nature.
Q4. Have you ever had a similar experience, where your parents compelled you to do something that you were too afraid to try? Discuss this in pairs or groups.
Answer: Yes, most of us have experienced situations where our parents pushed us out of our comfort zones to learn a difficult skill. For example, learning how to ride a bicycle or swimming in a deep pool for the first time can be terrifying. In my case, I was extremely afraid of water, but my parents gently forced me into the shallow end and guided me. Eventually, just like the young seagull, I overcame my initial fear and learned how to swim smoothly.
Q5. In the case of a bird flying, it seems a natural act, and an attempted outcome might have been inevitable. What hints are there in the story of a humorous character that the seagull's story was not as serious as he was portraying it?
Answer: The story contains several light-hearted and cheerful hints indicating that the seagull's future journey would be very comfortable and successful. As soon as he overcame the initial panic, his family celebrated his victory by flying around him, soaring, diving, and screaming with intense joy. Furthermore, when he landed on the green sea, he initially thought he was sinking, but once his belly touched the water, he began floating effortlessly without any effort, while his family proudly offered him small pieces of fish as a reward.
📌 Part 2: 35 Extra Most Important Questions
Short Answer Type Questions (2-3 Marks)
Q6. Where was the young seagull sitting at the beginning of the story?
Answer: The young seagull was sitting completely alone on his narrow rock ledge, watching his two brothers and his sister fly away across the sea.
Q7. What did the young seagull do to attract his mother's attention?
Answer: He walked slowly to the very brink of the ledge, stood on one leg and hid the other under his wing, and closed his eyes, pretending to fall asleep.
Q8. How did the seagull's brothers and sister learn to skim the waves?
Answer: Even though their wings were much shorter than the young seagull's own wings, they ran to the brink, flapped their wings boldly, and flew away without fear.
Q9. For how long had the young seagull been left alone on the rock?
Answer: The young seagull had been left entirely alone on his ledge without a single scrap of food for twenty-four long hours.
Q10. What did the young seagull find on the ledge to eat when he was starving?
Answer: He searched frantically and discovered a dried piece of a mackerel's tail at the far end of his ledge, and later chewed on the dry bits of his own eggshell.
Q11. Why did the young seagull walk out to the edge of the ledge with his legs fast?
Answer: He walked out in such a way to attract his mother's attention, hoping she would feel bad for him and help him overcome his fear.
Q12. What was the young seagull's immediate physical reaction when he fell from the ledge?
Answer: Initially, a monstrous terror seized his heart, his chest stood still, and he couldn't hear anything for a minute as he fell downward into space.
Q13. How did the young seagull realize that he was actually flying and not falling?
Answer: He felt the cool wind rushing against his breast feathers, under his stomach, and against his wings. He realized that the tips of his wings were cutting through the air smoothly.
Q14. What did the seagull's family do when they saw him flying successfully?
Answer: His parents, brothers, and sister flew all around him, screaming with joy, soaring high up, curving, and diving to celebrate his victory.
Q15. Why did the young seagull's parents and siblings land on the sea before him?
Answer: His family had landed on the green water to beckon him to follow. They wanted to encourage him to take the next step and land on the deep sea.
Q16. What happened when the young seagull's belly finally touched the water?
Answer: As soon as his belly touched the surface, he stopped sinking and began floating effortlessly on the sea, completely safe and relaxed.
Q17. What lesson does the story "His First Flight" teach the readers?
Answer: The story teaches us that fear is a mental barrier. Success can only be achieved when we find the inner courage to take a leap of faith and overcome our self-doubt.
Q18. How did the young seagull's father and mother try to make him leave his ledge earlier?
Answer: They flew around him constantly, upbraiding him shrilly, scolding him, and threatening to let him starve to death unless he flew away from the ledge.
Q19. Describe the weather conditions when the young seagull took his first flight.
Answer: The sun was now ascending the sky brightly, blazing warmly down upon his south-facing rock ledge, making him feel the heat intensely because he was already starved.
Q20. Why did the young seagull feel the heat of the sun so intensely?
Answer: He felt the heat of the sun very intensely because he had been starving since the previous nightfall and his body was physically weak.
Q21. What was the mother doing when the young seagull looked at her from the ledge?
Answer: She was standing on a small plateau, tearing at a piece of fish below her feet, and scraping each side of her beak on the hard rock.
Q22. What sound did the young seagull make to beg his mother for food?
Answer: He uttered a low, pitiful cry, saying "Ga, ga, ga," to beg her to bring him some food from across the plateau.
Q23. How did the mother respond to the young seagull's pitiful cries?
Answer: She screamed back derisively, "Gawl-ool-ah," but soon picked up a piece of fish and flew across toward him to satisfy his hunger.
Q24. Why did the young seagull lean out eagerly as his mother approached?
Answer: He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get as close to her as possible as she flew across with the food.
Q25. What happened to the young seagull's wings as he plunged into the open space?
Answer: His wings spread outwards automatically; he felt the tips of them cutting through the air as he began to soar and glide.
Q26. Why was the young seagull unable to rise immediately after landing on the sea?
Answer: He was completely exhausted by the strange exercise and could not rise due to weakness from missing food for a whole day.
Q27. What reward did the young seagull's family offer him after his successful flight?
Answer: His family praised him with loud cries, flew around him, and offered him fresh scraps of delicious dog-fish from their beaks.
Q28. How does the writer describe the view of the sea from the seagull's flight?
Answer: The writer describes it as a vast green sea stretching beneath him, with tiny ridges moving under him as he let his beak tilt sideways and cawed amusedly.
Q29. Why did the young seagull's brothers and sister not face the same struggle?
Answer: They did not struggle because they did not let self-doubt control them; they simply trusted their wings and took the leap when their parents called.
Q30. What role did hunger play in the young seagull's journey?
Answer: Hunger acted as a powerful catalyst; it became so unbearable that it completely broke the fear of falling, forcing him to take the life-saving dive.
Long Answer Type Questions (5 Marks)
Q31. Describe the young seagull's feelings before and after his first flight.
Answer: Before his first flight, the young seagull was trapped in deep fear, anxiety, and a total lack of self-confidence. He felt absolutely certain that his wings could never support his weight, making him run back to his dark hole in fear while watching his siblings fly. His thoughts were filled with failure. However, after his accidental plunge off the cliff, his feelings transformed entirely. After a brief moment of panic, he felt a thrilling rush of energy, his wings opened naturally, and he felt the joy of soaring. He felt a sense of immense victory, pride, and excitement as he screamed, soared, and celebrated with his proud family.
Q32. How did the seagull's family help him overcome his fear of flying? Was their behavior justified?
Answer: The seagull's family used a strategy of 'tough love' to help him conquer his fear. Initially, they flew around, circling his ledge, and threatening to let him starve to death. When these methods failed, his mother took a clever step; she used a piece of fish to exploit his intense hunger, flying close but staying just out of reach. This drove the starving bird to dive blindly. Yes, their behavior was justified because without this push, the young seagull would have stayed a helpless coward on the rock and eventually died of starvation.
Q33. "Necessity is the mother of invention." How does this proverb apply to the chapter "His First Flight"?
Answer: This proverb fits perfectly with the story of the young seagull. The young bird's basic necessity was food to stay alive, but his parents had left him all alone on the ledge. When his hunger became so extreme that it became unbearable after twenty-four hours, it forced him to forget his terror and dive at the fish in his mother's beak. His need for survival overcame his fear of death. This sudden necessity to save himself from falling forced his wings to open and discover their hidden strength, proving that when survival is at stake, we find the courage to do what seemed impossible.
Q34. Fear and lack of confidence are the biggest hurdles in the path of success. Elaborate based on the seagull's journey.
Answer: The journey of the young seagull clearly shows that fear and low confidence are the biggest walls standing between a person and their success. Physically, the young seagull was perfectly capable of flying, and his wings were even longer than those of his younger siblings. Yet, his mind convinced him that he would fall and drown, making him a prisoner on his own rock ledge. He suffered from hunger and isolation not due to a physical disability, but because of his internal mental block. The moment he dropped his thinking and was forced to dive, he realized that flying was natural and easy. This proves that our hesitation is often created by our own minds, and success is always waiting right on the other side of fear.
Q35. How does Liam O'Flaherty use vivid natural elements and imagery to make the seagull's story realistic?
Answer: Liam O'Flaherty uses masterful descriptive imagery and visual details to bring the seagull's world to life for the readers. He paints a vivid picture of the physical setting, using phrases like "the great expanse of sea stretched down beneath," "a sheer down-fall of cliff," and "the salt-cold sea." The descriptions of the bird's behavior—such as standing on one leg with a closed eye, tearing at a raw fish, scraping a beak against a rock, and feeling the wind rush through breast feathers—are incredibly accurate. This brilliant use of sensory details allows the reader to experience the sudden chill of the fall, the vastness of the sea, the pain of hunger, the sudden strike of victory, and the absolute joy of soaring on the wind, making the young seagull's story feel deeply real and inspiring.
Advanced Extra Questions (Exam Focused)
Q36. Why did the young seagull pretend to fall asleep on the brink of the ledge?
Answer: He pretended to fall asleep specifically to check if his family members would show any concern or pity for his starving condition and come to help him.
Q37. What were the young seagull's brothers and sister doing while he was starving on the ledge?
Answer: They were lying comfortably on the big plateau right opposite to him, dozing off with their heads sunk into their neck feathers, totally indifferent to his struggle.
Q38. What was the young seagull's father doing while the young seagull looked at him?
Answer: His father was preening (cleaning and clearing) the feathers on his white back, busy caring for himself and ignoring his son's plight.
Q39. What did the young seagull feel when his mother suddenly stopped in mid-air?
Answer: He was completely surprised and wondered why she was not coming any closer, and then, driven entirely by hunger, he decided to plunge at the fish.
Q40. How did the young seagull feel after he turned his beak sideways during his flight?
Answer: He felt a sense of great amusement and pride, expressing his pure joy of having finally conquered his fear of the sky.
We hope these 35 extra questions and NCERT solutions provide you with a comprehensive understanding of "His First Flight". Remember, your first step is always the hardest, but it leads to your greatest victories!
Got doubts? Drop a comment below! If you found this helpful, please share this Study Mitra link in your study groups to help your classmates. Happy learning!
— Team Study Mitra
