DAV Class 7 English Literature Book Solutions Chapter 3 A Hero

Get complete, authentic, and step-by-step DAV Class 7 English Literature Chapter 3 Question Answers: A Hero by R. K. Narayan. This comprehensive study guide includes Detailed Summary & Character Analysis, Understanding the Story (Short Answer Questions), Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), Life Skills & Values, and Writing Skills (Informal Letter) strictly aligned with the prescribed DAV Board curriculum.

1. Detailed Summary and Character Analysis

Author: R. K. Narayan
Protagonist: Swaminathan (Swami)
Setting: Malgudi (Swami’s Household)

Story Overview:
Swami is an ordinary young boy who is deeply attached to his grandmother (Granny) and sleeps peacefully beside her in the hallway every night. One evening, his father reads a newspaper report about a village boy who bravely fought a tiger while returning home through a jungle path, staying atop a tree until villagers arrived and killed the beast.

When Father praises the boy’s bravery, Swami argues that a mere child could never fight a tiger; the person must have been a strong, grown-up man. Father disagrees firmly, stating that courage is everything – strength and age do not matter. To test Swami’s courage, Father challenges him to sleep completely alone in his dark office room that very night.

Swami tries desperately to evade the ordeal, citing dust and scorpions behind law books, and promising to sleep alone from the next month. However, Father is unyielding. Confined to the dark office, Swami is plagued by terrifying memories of ghosts and devils. He crawls under a wooden bench for safety and falls into a nightmare where a tiger pursues him.

Awakening in terror, Swami notices a dark figure creeping toward him in the room. Believing it to be a devil coming to kill him, Swami acts out of desperate self-defense – he crawls forward, grabs the creature’s leg, and bites hard into its ankle. The intruder cries out in agony: “Aiyo! Something has bitten me!” Father, the cook, and a servant rush in and overpower the man. The intruder turns out to be one of the most notorious housebreakers (burglars) wanted by the police! Swami is celebrated as a hero by his school and the police, although he happily returns to sleeping safely beside Granny the next night.

2. Understanding the Story (Textbook Question-Answers)

Q1: What report in the newspaper sparked the argument between Swami and his father?
Answer: The newspaper reported the heroic story of a village boy who came face-to-face with a tiger on a jungle path, fought it off courageously, and waited on a tree for hours until villagers rescued him. Father admired the boy’s courage, while Swami insisted that only an adult could perform such a feat.

Q2: How did Swami try to avoid sleeping in his father’s office room?
Answer: Swami tried multiple excuses to avoid sleeping alone:
1. He suggested sleeping alone from the first of the coming month.
2. He claimed the office room was dusty and infested with scorpions behind law books.
3. He pretended to be deeply asleep beside his grandmother before Father came to wake him.
4. He pleaded to keep a lamp burning in the room.

Q3: What fears haunted Swami during the night in the office room?
Answer: Swami was haunted by memories of all the ghost and devil stories he had heard from his friend Mani. He recalled how devils slapped a boy’s cheek near the river bank and how his friend’s father spat blood. Every rustle of the wind, ticking of the clock, and rustle of trees seemed like an approaching demon.

Q4: How did Swami capture the burglar?
Answer: While hiding under the wooden bench, Swami saw a dark shape moving in the pitch darkness. Believing it was a devil coming to tear him to pieces, Swami lunged forward in desperate self-defense, seized the intruder’s leg, and bit down violently into his ankle. The burglar’s cries alerted Father, the cook, and the servant, who rushed in and captured him.

Q5: Did Swami intentionally catch the thief? Explain what actually happened.
Answer: No, Swami did not intentionally catch the thief. He acted out of pure mortal terror, assuming the shadow was a demon coming to kill him. His bite was a desperate reflex of self-preservation that accidentally led to the apprehension of a notorious burglar.

3. Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

Q1: “Courage is everything, strength and age are not important.” Analyze Father’s view in contrast with Swami’s accidental heroism.
Answer: Father’s philosophical view highlights that mental grit and determination can triumph over physical size. However, the irony of the story lies in the fact that Swami’s action was not premeditated moral courage, but rather an instinctive reaction born of extreme fear. Swami became a ‘hero’ purely by coincidence, demonstrating the humorous gap between perception and reality in human hero-worship.

4. Life Skills and Values

Life Skills: How should parents handle children’s fear of darkness and loneliness with empathy?
Answer: Parents should recognize that childhood fears are real to the child. Instead of forcing sudden confrontation through rigid orders, parents should guide children gradually – by talking through fears, using nightlights, and building self-confidence step-by-step through encouragement rather than intimidation.

Values: Facing life’s unexpected emergencies with prompt action.
Reflection: Even though Swami acted out of fear, his readiness to fight back rather than freeze helped save himself and capture a criminal. In life, taking decisive action during crises is crucial.

5. Writing Skills: Informal Letter

Task: Write a letter from Swami to his friend Mani narrating his unforgettable night in Father’s office room.

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