Study Material of Keeping it from Harold (Summary, Character Sketch and Word Meanings)
Character Sketch• Harold: He was son of Bill bramble and Jane Bramble. He was an extraordinary child and an exceptional child by all standards. He was completely devoted to his books and won many competitions. He was a model of excellent behaviour and respected his parents a lot. He was also a good singer also keen interested in fighting.
• Mr. Bill Bramble: He was a professional boxer with public name ‘Young Porky’ and proud of this. He is sensitive father and cared for his child’s education so he kept secret about his profession from Harold as it might affect his child education adversely.
• Mrs. Jane Bramble: She was house wife. Like her husband she cared her son very much. She is proud of her son.
• Major Percy Stokes: He was brother of Jane Bramble. He is as much concerned about Harold and his academics as Mrs. and Mr. Bramble. He also wanted to hide Bill’s profession from Harold so he changed Bill’s mind not to fight at the Nationals Sporting club.
• Jerry Fisher: He was trainer at White Hart, where Bill was training for the match. He was completely fed up with the decision of Bill not to play the match. To took his revenge, he wanted to spoke the truth of his profession to Harold.
Summary of the Chapter
Mr and Mrs Bramble were immensely proud of their son Harold. Harold was ten years old, a prodigy and an exceptional child by all standards. An intellectual, he won prizes in competitions. He was very classy and so superior that even his parents developed a complex. Harold was a model of excellent behaviour and he respected his parents a lot. Mr Bramble was a professional boxer and had been proud of his fame but ever since Harold was born, he had kept this as a secret. Harold was told that his father was a commercial traveller. Mr Bramble who had thrived on his feats in the boxing ring, trembled to see his name in print now. Both Mr and Mrs Bramble were secretly a little afraid of their son and did not wish to fall in his esteem. Mr Bramble was already thirty-one years old and he had decided to have his last boxing match and then retire. A week away, Bill Bramble was scheduled to have his last fight, the twenty-round contest with American Murphy at the National Sporting Club, for which he was training at the White Hart down the road.
Mrs Bramble sends Harold for a walk but she is surprised to see her husband and her brother, Major Percy Stokes in the doorway. She is shocked to know that Bill has decided not to fight and there is lot of discussion regarding his decision with Percy Stokes. Mrs Bramble makes it clear that this step was unacceptable to her, even if she did not like her husband’s profession. Bill Bramble was supposed to win five hundred pounds, and one hundred and twenty, even if he lost. This money was very much needed to cater to Harold’s education. The trainer, Jerry Fisher, enters at this juncture and he is also shocked to discover that Bill has decided to back out at the eleventh hour.
Jerry begs, pleads, cries and tempts Bill but he is stead fast in his decision because this fight will be covered by all newspapers and Harold will discover this secret. Tempers are running high, and at this critical moment, Harold makes his entry. Mr Jerry Fisher feels cheated, he wants his revenge. So he spills over the entire story to Harold, despite all opposition. Bill feels let down in front of his son and tells him frankly that he was not a man of wrath but just a professional boxer and he is withdrawing from his last match. Harold who had been watching all, suddenly surprises everyone. He is angry with his parents for hiding this secret but the content of his speech takes everyone’s breath away. Harold reveals that he was betting his pocket money on the defeat of Jimmy Murphy and his friends would have been awefully proud of him, had they known that his father was ‘Young Porky’. He even requests for a photograph of his father to impress his friends. This talk encourages Jerry Fischer and Bill also goes to complete his training. Harold reverts back to playing games with his mother and continues with his affectionate chat.
Terms and Meanings from the Chapter
• Amiable – friendly
• Fat-headedness – foolishness
• Decorous – proper
• Evasions – avoidance
• Wrath – intense anger
• Glistening – shining
• Persuasive – convincing
• Demur – objection
• Philanthropist - people who give donations or care about others.
• Furtive – cautious
• Quailed – showed fear
• Formed a corner - attained mastery in
• Defying – disobeying
• Comported – behaved
• Moment – importance
• Fat-headedness – foolishness
• Decorous – proper
• Evasions – avoidance
• Wrath – intense anger
• Glistening – shining
• Persuasive – convincing
• Demur – objection
• Philanthropist - people who give donations or care about others.
• Furtive – cautious
• Quailed – showed fear
• Formed a corner - attained mastery in
• Defying – disobeying
• Comported – behaved
• Moment – importance
• Insinuated - suggested something bad indirectly.
• Propitiatory – appeasing
• Vouchsafed – guranteed
• Weedy – thin
• Primrose path – pursuit of pleasure
• The fat would be in the fire – there would be trouble
• Ferret - a small yellowish white animal related to the weasel.
• Knickerbockers - loose-fitting trousers or knickers gathered at the knee or calf.
• Guttural - produced in the throat
• Consternation – dismay
• Swanking – showing off Convulsively – uncontrollably
• Propitiatory – appeasing
• Vouchsafed – guranteed
• Weedy – thin
• Primrose path – pursuit of pleasure
• The fat would be in the fire – there would be trouble
• Ferret - a small yellowish white animal related to the weasel.
• Knickerbockers - loose-fitting trousers or knickers gathered at the knee or calf.
• Guttural - produced in the throat
• Consternation – dismay
• Swanking – showing off Convulsively – uncontrollably