His First Flight - Liam O’ Flaherty

KP

Question 1: Why was the young seagull alone on his ledge? How did he feel there all alone?
What did his parents do at this time?

Answer: The young seagull was alone on his ledge because he was afraid to fly and when his
parents motivated him to learn the art of flying, he could not respond to them.
He felt lonely and miserable and he was also hungry. His parents left him for a while and
started to give flight lessons to his brothers and little sister who were obeying their
instructions.

Question 2: Why were the parents of the young seagull scolding him?

Answer: His parents were scolding him because he was not making any efforts to learn
flying.

Question 3: What did the parents expect him do?

Answer: The parents expected him to follow their instructions like his brothers and sister
and learn to fly.

Question 4: Why could the young seagull not move?

Answer: The young seagull could not move because he was afraid to fly and failed to muster
up courage to take a plunge from the cliff. He felt that his wings would never support him.

Question 5: Why did the young seagull run back to his little hole under the ledge?

Answer: The young seagull ran back to his little hole under the ledge because his heart sank
when he looked at the vast expanse of the sea which was visible from the brink of his ledge.
He felt that it was so many miles down and his wings would never support him.
His First Flight - Liam O’ Flaherty
KP
Question 6: Why hadn't anybody come near the young seagull?

Answer: Nobody had come near the young seagull because they had not been able to
motivate him enough to take the plunge.
So, they moved away from him and let him be alone.

Question 7: How did the young seagull's parents try to coax him to fly?

Answer: In order to coax him to fly, his parents came around calling to him shrilly,
upbraiding him, threatening to let him starve on the ledge unless he flew.

Question 8: What cowardice did the family members of the young seagull taunt him for?

Answer: The family members of the young seagull taunted him for being afraid and not
mustering up enough courage to take a plunge from the cliff in order to learn the art of
flying.

Question 9: What did the young seagull watch all day long?

Answer: All day long, the seagull watched his parents flying about with his brothers and
little sister, perfecting them in the art of flight. They taught them how to skim the waves
and how to dive for fish. He also saw his older brother catch his first herring and devour it
while his parents circled around him raising a proud cackle.

Question 10: What was the young seagull's family doing on the plateau?

Answer: Throughout the morning, the young seagull's family was walking about on the big
plateau midway down the opposite cliff. They were taunting him for his cowardice so that
he might get persuaded to take the plunge and fly.
His First Flight - Liam O’ Flaherty
KP
Question 11: Why did the young seagull feel the heat of the ascending sun? What did he do?

Answer: The young seagull felt the heat of the ascending sun because he had not eaten
anything since the previous nightfall.
He then stepped slowly out to the brink of the ledge, and standing on one leg, closed his
eyes one by one pretending to sleep and draw sympathy of his family.

question12: How did the young seagull's family respond when he pretended to fall asleep?

Answer: When the young seagull pretended to fall asleep,the young

Question 13: Why was the young seagull maddened by the sight of food?

Answer: The young seagull was maddened when he saw his mother tearing a piece of fish
and scraping her beak on the rock. He had not eaten anything during the past twenty-four
hours and the sight of food made him mad with hunger.

Question 14: How and why did the young seagull beg his mother to bring him food? How
did she respond to him?

Answer: As the young seagull had not eaten anything since the previous nightfall so, he
cried 'ga, ga, ga' begging his mother to bring him some food. However, she screamed back
'gaw-col-ah' in a harsh-derisive tone. The young seagull still kept calling plaintively till he
saw her flying across to him with a piece of fish in her beak.

Question 15: '...after a minute or so he uttered a joyful scream. Why did the young seagull
scream joyfully? How did he express his joy?

Answer: When the young seagull saw that his mother had picked up a piece of fish and was
flying across to him with it, he screamed joyfully. He expressed his joy by eagerly leaning
out, tapping the rock with his feet, and trying to get nearer to her as she flew across.
His First Flight - Liam O’ Flaherty
KP

Question 16: Why did the young seagull's mother halt on reaching close to him with a piece
of fish in her beak?
How did the young seagull respond when she halted?

Answer: On reaching close to the young seagull, the mother halted with a piece of fish in
her beak because she wanted to tempt him with food and encourage him to overcome his
fear so that he would make an effort to fly.

However, the young seagull was surprised when his mother halted and maddened by
hunger, he dived at the fish, falling outwards and downwards into space.

Question 17: What happened to the young seagull when he dived at the fish?

Answer: The young seagull was seized by terror for a minute when he dived at the fish. It
was like a monstrous fear gripping him. His heart stood still and he could not hear
anything. But the next moment, his wings spread outwards and he felt the wind rushing in
under his stomach. Instead of falling headlong, he soared gradually downwards and
outwards. He was no longer afraid but he just felt a bit dizzy.

Then, he flapped his wings once and soared upwards.

Question 18: Describe the reaction of the young seagull's family when he started flying.

Answer: When the young seagull started flying, his family felt happy and excited to see him.
His mother swooped past him with her wings making a loud noise. His father flew over him
screaming. His two brothers and his sister flew around him curveting, banking, soaring and
diving.

question19: How did the young seagull feel on flying over the vast green sea?

Answer: To the young seagull, the sea appeared interesting on his first flight. He saw its
vast green stretch beneath him, with little ridges moving over it. This amused him and he
reacted by turning his beak sideways and cawing.
His First Flight - Liam O’ Flaherty
KP
question20: Why did the young seagull feel terrified upon landing on the sea?
What did he do to overcome this feeling?

Answer: Upon landing on the sea, the young seagull felt terrified because his legs sank into
the green sea when he dropped them to stand on it. To overcome his fright, he attempted
to rise again by flapping his wings. However, he could not fly as he was tired and weak with
hunger. As he sank further, his belly touched the sea and he began floating naturally.

Question 21: "Necessity is the mother of invention." How does this saying stand true in
context of the story "His First Flight"?

Answer: The saying stands absolutely true in context of the story. The young seagull learnt
the art of flying only after it became necessary for him to satisfy his hunger.
Though, his parents had tried to motivate and coax him however, he could not overcome
his fear of falling down to the sea. As a bird, flying was his natural talent but he was so
afraid that he could not discover it. In the end, it was the necessity to get food which made
him ignore his tear and dive at the fish that his mother was holding in her beak. He finally
achieved success in learning the art of flying. Again, it was the necessity to save himself
from falling into the sea deep below that helped the young seagull to find his potential.
Thus,for the young seagull, necessity becomes the mother of an invention. He learns to fly
only after overcoming his fear of falling into the great expanse of sea miles beneath his
ledge.