The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse

-William Saroyan

Short Answer Questions:

1. Why was it difficult for Aram to believe the sight of his cousin Mourad with the
beautiful white horse?

Ans: When Aram looked through the window, he saw his cousin Mourad with a beautiful
white horse and it was a sight which was very difficult for him to believe for two reasons:

First, the whole of the Garoghlonian family to which the two boys belonged were extremely
poor and therefore it was not possible for Mourad to buy that horse. Secondly, in that case, it
would mean that Mourad had stolen that horse. But that was also not possible, because the
Garoghlonian family was also very much famous for their honesty and therefore Mourad could
not steal that horse either.

2. Where had Mourad been hiding the horse?

Answer: Mourad had been hiding the horse in the barn of a deserted vineyard which was owned
by a farmer named Fetvajian.

3. What did the farmer John Byro tell the two boys when one day they accidentally met him
with his horse in their custody?

Answer: The farmer examined the horse when one morning he found it with the two boys and he
told them that he could swear that the horse was his very horse which had been stolen from him
many weeks before if he did not know about their parents. He added that the fame of their
family for honesty was very well known to him and therefore he liked to say that the horse could
be the twin of his stolen horse.

4. What did John Byro tell Aram’s mother and Uncle Khosrove when he got his horse back?

Answer: After John Byro got his horse back mysteriously one day, he came to Aram’s house and
told Aram’s mother and Uncle Khosrove that he did not know what to think about the whole
matter. It was because the horse was stronger that ever and was better tempered too and therefore
he thanked God.

5. What were the two things for which the Garoghlonian family was famous?

Answer: The Garoghlonian family was famous for the following two things:
1. Their poverty

2. Their honesty

6. What points were put forward by Aram in defense of Mourad’s act of stealing the horse?

Answer: Aram argued to himself that stealing a horse for a ride was not the same thing as
stealing something else, such as money. And then he went a little ahead by saying that if one
was so much crazy about horses the way Mourad and he himself were, it was not stealing at all.
It would not become stealing until they offered to sell the horse and he was sure that last thing
they would never be doing.

7. Which excuses were given by Aram to himself for taking a ride on the horse despite knowing
fully the truth about the theft of the horse by Mourad?

Ans: Aram dismissed stealing a horse as much grave a crime as stealing money. Secondly, he
believed that if it was something like a horse for which both he and his cousin were crazy then it
couldn’t be stealing. Additionally, it was not going to become stealing until they offered to sell
the horse.

8. Why was Aram unwilling to return the horse so soon?

Ans: Aram was crazy for horse and he wanted to learn horse riding at all costs. The horse
would not let him to ride over it and hence he was unwilling to return the horse at least till he
would learn to ride it.

Long Answer Questions

1. Why did the two boys ultimately return the horse all of a sudden although they had planned
to keep it at least for six months?

Answer: Although the two boys had planned to keep the horse for at least six months, they
returned it all of a sudden the morning after they accidentally met the farmer John Byro from
whom Mourad had stolen the horse. The farmer examined the horse and told them that he could
swear that the horse was his very horse which had been stolen from him many weeks before if
he did not know about their parents. He added that the fame of their family for honesty was very
well known to him and therefore he liked to say that the horse could be the twin of his stolen
horse. What John Byro told them served as an eye opener for the two boys especially Mourad
and they became conscious how precious and strong their family’s fame for honesty was and
therefore they did not want to tarnish that name and prestige and immediately returned the horse.

2. Mourad was the natural descendant of the crazy streak of uncle Khosrove. Explain the
statement giving instances from the story, ‘The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse’.
Ans: Uncle Khosrove was considered in the Garoghlanian tribe as one of the craziest persons. It
was also believed that the tribe that Mourad was the natural descendant of the crazy streak in
their tribe. Uncle Khosrove’s craziness was out of the world. He had the largest moustache in the
surrounding. His talk was not less than roaring, which was but natural for him. Once when his
son came running to tell him about his house on fire, he simply said, ‘It is no harm; pay no
attention to it’. The barber who reminded him that it was his own house also got rebukes.
Khosrove also asked John Byro not to worry about the horse or the loss of money or even for his
paining legs and answered in the same way.

Mourad was considered the natural descendant of this man though not a biological descendant
mainly because of the crazy acts he was involved in. The act of stealing a horse because he was
crazy about it is an example to prove the same. Like the punch line of uncle khosrove i.e. ‘It is
no harm; pay no attention to it’ Mourad used to say that he had a way with the things, animals
and even people. Thus Mourad said that he had a way with the horse, with the dogs and with
the farmers too.

3. ‘I knew my cousin Mourad enjoyed being alive more than anyone else who had ever fallen
into the world by mistake.’ Explain the statement with help of the instances from the story.

Answer:

Value Points:

-Mourad’s nature

-His crazy deeds

-Having a way with the things

-Considerate towards animals

-A true member of the tribe

4. Write a brief note on the Garoghlanian tribe.

Value Points:

-The traits of the tribe

-Economic condition

-The members of the tribe

-Its uniqueness
Questions for Practice

Long Questions:

1. Does the social atmosphere described in the story differ from your social
atmosphere? How?
2. What are moral lessons that the story put forward?
3. Compare and contrast the character of Aram and Mourad.
4. What picture of rural life does the story paint?
5. Describe Aram’s horse-riding lesson.
Short Questions:

1. How does Mourad has a ‘way with the dogs’?

THE ADDRESS By – MARGA MINCO

Short Answer Questions

1. “I was in a room I knew and did not know.” Why does the narrator say that she was in a
room which she knew and yet she did not know?

Answer: The second time the narrator went to Mrs. Dorling’s house she was taken inside the
house by Mrs. Dorling’s daughter. When the door of the living room was opened to her, she went
inside and she was immediately horrified by whatever she saw inside the room. The room was
full of all their belongings which had been taken away by Mrs. Dorling at the beginning of the
war. She felt she ‘knew’ the room because it was full of all her belongings and as the room was
not theirs but was a different room and the things were kept in a different manner she felt she
‘did not’ know the room.

2. Why does the narrator come back without claiming her belongings?

Answer: The narrator came back without claiming her belongings. She says that the objects
which are linked in our memory immediately lose their value when those objects are seen after
some time in strange surroundings. All her belongings, the silver cutlery, the clothes etc. had
lost their charm when they were seen in Mrs. Dorling’s house. She knew that if taken back they
would again seem strange in her new small rented room.