A Retrieved Reformation Class 8 English ICSE Textbook Solutions
About the passage
A. Read to understand
1. Answer these questions
a)Why did Jimmy Valentine go to Mike Dolan’s cafe?
Jimmy Valentine after getting released from the prison, takes a train to another town where he meets up with his friend and Confederate, Mike Dalon in his cafe. He picks up his keys from Mike and returns back to his room above the restaurant where he lived before Ben arrested him.
b) How did Ben Price guess that the burglaries were done by Jimmy Valentine?
A week after Jimmy Valentine got released from the prison, a string of bank safe
burglaries in the MidWest came to Ben Price’s attention. Ben Price was a detective, who arrested Jimmy for his last robbery. Ben was doubting Jimmy for
this robbery too as he was quite confident that Jimmy would surely join back
his business of robbery. So he was hiding and keeping his eyes on Jimmy’s
activities.
c)How did Jimmy get information about Annabel and the town?
Jimmy went to Elmore with an intension to rob the bank but falls in love with a
young woman. There was a boy sitting outside the bank, Jimmy called him and
asked him about the town. While talking to him, with a hope to get few pieces of information he willingly asked the boy if the young woman was Polly. Clearing his
doubts, the boy unknowingly helps Jimmy to gather informations about her that
she’s Annabel Adams, whose father owns the bank and also gathers information
about the town.
d)Why was the clerk at the Planter’s hotel impressed with Ralph
Spencer?
Jimmy registered himself in the hotel as “Ralph D Spencer”. Leaning on the desk of the clerk he declared that he was in search of a location to start his new business. He also asked whether the shoe business was good in town. The clerk was quite impressed by his clothes and manners. The clerk positively replied to Jimmy and said that Elmore does not have a shoe store and that business was good in the town. He was also said that he would find it a pleasant town to live with the sociable people.
e)What happened to Agatha in the bank?
While Mr Adams owner of the bank was busy boasting about his new safe installed and was explaining about its working, Agatha gets locked in the safe. Annabel’s niece May and Agatha the two little ones were delighted by the shining metal of the safe. While playing, May playfully locked Agatha in the bank vault and threw the bolts.
f)Why was Annabel’s father worried about Agatha?
Agatha and May were Annabel’s two little nieces. While playing, May trapped
Agatha in the safe of the bank by accident which created a panic situation. Adams got worried and exclaimed in horror that it was impossible to open the
safe as the timer and combinations were not yet set. He was worried that the little girl would soon run out of the air in the vault.
2. Answer these questions with reference to the context.
1.”Everything was just as he had left it even Ben Price collar button”
i)Who is ‘he’ in the sentence?
‘He’ here refers to Jimmy Valentine. He was a skilled young safecracker who returned to society after getting released from the bank.
ii)Who is Ben Price?
Ben Price was a detective who arrested Jimmy Valentine for his robberies.
iii) How did he come in possession of Ben Price collar button?
Jimmy being burglar by profession, used to rob banks by cracking the safe or the vault using his tools. Being a detective Ben arrested Jimmy when he came to know about his robberies. While arresting him, the collar button had been torn from Ben’s collar when they had overpowered him.
2. ”With the act, Ralph D Spencer passed away and Jimmy Valentine took his place.”
i)What does ‘that act’ refer to in the sentence?
Jimmy Valentine cracked the safe of the bank with his tools and skills to save Agatha, the little one who got locked in the safe.
ii)In what sense did Ralph D Spencer pass away?
Jimmy had left robbery and started a new life being Ralph D Spencer. But later
Ralph passed away and Jimmy took back his place but in a positive way. He cracked the safe of the bank, he used his robbery skills to help someone instead of committing a crime.
iii)What did Jimmy Valentine Do after taking Spencer’s place?
As Agatha the little one got locked in the safe of the bank, Jimmy decided to save the girl using his skills and tools. He kept his suitcase in the table and using his tools cracked the safe with his magic effect breaking the burglarious record, he saved Agatha. He was completely reformed, this time he used his robbery skills to help someone instead of committing a crime.
3. ”I don’t know that it makes much difference now.”
i)Who said this and to whom?
After cracking the safe of the bank and saving the little girl Agatha, Jimmy Valentine said this to the detective, Ben Price.
ii)What does ‘it’ refer to?
Here ‘it’ refers to the action Jimmy had performed. He willingly or unwillingly cracked the safe of the bank and it was witnessed by Ben Price.
iii)Why does he say so?
Jimmy thought that his new life was at risk. He was cracking the safe for saving someone’s life but he was also wrecking his upcoming marriage. After saving the girl he took his coat and walked towards the front door and asked Ben to take him. He knew that everything positive would come to an end. He thought that Ben Price would arrest him again for cracking the safe no matter whatever the reason is.
B. Read to infer
1.” Sorry, we couldn’t make it sooner…”.Who is the ‘we’ the speaker could be referring to?
‘We’ here refers to Mike and his group. Mike was Jimmy’s partner in crime, friend
and Confederate who was always there in back supporting him. Jimmy was arrested and imprisoned for his involvement as a safecracker in a robbery. They couldn’t release him fast still Jimmy served even less than half of his imprisonment because of Mike and other criminal connections in high places.
2. Ben Price never handles petty criminals. How do you know that?
Ben Price was a detective by profession. He arrested Jimmy and imprisoned him as he was involved as a safecracker in a robbery in a bank. Jimmy was a very skilled safecracker. Later when, a string of bank safe burglaries in the MidWest came to Ben Price’s attention he was doubting Jimmy for this robbery too as he was quite confident that Jimmy would surely join back in his business of robbery.
So he was hiding and keeping his eyes on Jimmy’s activities.
3. Even though Dolan had the key to the room, he never used the room. How do you know this?
Dolan was Jimmy’s partner in crime, friend and Confederate who always supported and helped him. Before Jimmy got arrested he was staying in Mike’s restaurant, all his belongings were left over there and the keys were safely kept by Mike. After he returned from prison he met Mike and got back the keys, returning back to his room he found his safe cracking tools still hidden in the wall
where he had left them. Everything was the same exactly as he had left.
4. Why did Jimmy Valentine decide to live a ‘straight life’?
After Jimmy got released from prison, he joined his business. He took his tools and travelled to Elmore with a plan to rob the bank but he encounters a beautiful young woman. Their eyes meet, and in that instant, Jimmy undergoes a complete reformation. He changes to a new man for his love. He decides to leave robbery and start his own business. He opened a shoe store in Elmore and achieved success in his business and also in his love life.
5. Why did Spencer show ‘ a courteous but not too intelligent interest in the safe’ ?
While Mr Admas, father of Annabel and the owner of the bank was boasting about his new safe installed, Jimmy showed courageous but little ignorance and less interest. As Jimmy had recently changed himself, he was a burglar by profession in past. He knew all the skills and it was very easy for him to crack that safe. He was a skilled safecracker, he knew no matter how much burglar proof it be, he could easily crack that if he wills to do so.
6. Why do you think Ben Price pretended not to recognize Jimmy Valentine?
Ben was sure that after being released from the prison Jimmy would again join his
business. So he was hiding and keeping his eyes on Jimmy’s activities. When he
witnessed that Jimmy again repeated the same thing but this time he used his
skills to help someone instead of committing a crime. He was happy to see that
Jimmy was reformed by his life. So, he pretended not to recognize Jimmy and
walked away leaving Valentine to marry Annabel and enjoy his new life.
C. Discuss
1. The safe had to be broken to save a life. Was it an easy decision for Jimmy Valentine to make? Why/ Why not?
No, replacing Jimmy with Ralph was not at all an easy decision.
Jimmy knew that his new life was at risk. He would crack the safe for saving someone’s life but he would also wreck his life. But he chose to save that little girl by using his skills and tools as he knew that he could do it easily. He was no more conscious about the present and using his tools, cracked the safe with his magic effect breaking his burglarious record, he saved Agatha, he saved a life.
2. Do you think Ben Price did the right thing by saying “I don’t believe I know you”? What does this show about Ben sense of Justice?
Yes, he did the right thing by denying to recognize Jimmy.
Ben understood that Jimmy has actually reformed. He understood the reason why Jimmy cracked the safe again. After witnessing the complete scenario he walked away leaving Valentine to marry Annabel and enjoy his new life. Ben was being impartial and he showed humanity and provided him with the perfect justice he deserved. He supported Jimmy and gave him the courage to live his new life happily being a good human being.