NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 8 Follow That Dream
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
Follow That Dream (prose, printed pages 231–244) is a personal letter , and its form is its argument. It opens with permission — “By all means follow that dream” — and closes with a wish, “I wish at least one of your dreams comes true too.” Everything hard sits in between, so the caution never reads as refusal. The mother even names the risk and disowns it: “No, I am not going to put a wet blanket on your dreams, … but you will also have to consider the years you need to chase your dream.” Her method of persuasion is worth watching. She uses a rhetorical question to plant a hard fact without lecturing — “Do you know that to reach world-class standard in any field, one has to be singularly and intensively pursuing the subject for at least ten years?” — and then anecdotes instead of rules :
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua)
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley)
Quick revision
| Word or phrase | What it means | Where it appears in the chapter | Used in a fresh sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| insight | clear and deep understanding (book’s gloss, page 232) | “The mother shares valuable insights into life, equipping her daughter for its challenges.” (page 232) | One remark from the coach gave her more insight than a week of practice. |
| singularly | exclusively (book’s gloss, page 232) | “one has to be singularly and intensively pursuing the subject for at least ten years” (page 232) | He worked singularly on the tabla, and gave up every other hobby. |
| imperative | necessary (book’s gloss, page 232) | “then comes the conviction that it is imperative to realise it” (page 232) | It is imperative to submit the form before Friday. |
| plunge | throw oneself into the activity (book’s gloss, page 232) | “if it is still burning in your blood and you are ready to commit yourself to the task, plunge” (page 232) | After a year of thinking about it, she finally plunged into farming. |
| buoyed up | kept afloat (book’s gloss, page 232); lifted in spirit | “often you are buoyed up only by the knowledge that you are doing what you love best” (pages 232–233) | The whole team was buoyed up by the crowd at the district final. |
| wistfully | longingly (book’s gloss, page 233) | “everyone at one time or other has wistfully said to oneself, ‘I wish I could be this or the other’” (page 233) | He looked wistfully at the cricket kit in the shop window. |
| dreamscape | a world of dreams (book’s gloss, page 234) | “the people who are participants in your dreamscape would be many more” (pages 233–234) | Her dreamscape now had room for her whole family, not just herself. |
| put a wet blanket (on) | to spoil someone’s enthusiasm; a wet blanket is a spoil-sport | “No, I am not going to put a wet blanket on your dreams” (page 233); Vocabulary II.5, page 238 | Don’t be a wet blanket — the whole class is looking forward to the trip. |
| burn in your blood | to feel a passionate, unshakeable desire | “Then if it is still burning in your blood … plunge.” (page 232); Vocabulary II.1, page 238 | The idea of a science lab in the village burned in his blood for years. |
| coursing through your veins | flowing through the body | “if the burning conviction is still coursing through your veins” (page 233); Vocabulary II.6, page 239 | Relief came coursing through her veins when the results were announced. |
| wishful thinking | a hopeful belief that is unlikely to come true | “they have never got beyond just wishful thinking” (page 233); Vocabulary II.4, page 238 | Hoping to top the class without opening a book is wishful thinking. |
| -scape | a suffix meaning ‘a view or scene of’ — mindscape (the inner world of thought), seascape, landscape, cityscape | Vocabulary and Structures in Context I, page 237 | The train window offered one long landscape of paddy and palm. |
| status quo | Latin: ‘the state in which’ — the existing state of affairs, things left unchanged | “There is such ease in comfort / To maintain the status quo” (poem, stanza 3); Vocabulary in Context I, page 251 | The committee voted for the status quo and shelved every new proposal. |
| antithesis | a rhetorical device that pairs contrasting ideas in a parallel grammatical structure, to sharpen the contrast | Check your Understanding VIII, page 249; “Will it pull you forward / Or push you back in fear?” (poem, stanza 2) | ‘Man proposes, God disposes’ is antithesis in four words. |
| rhetorical question | a question asked not for an answer but to make the reader think or agree | Vocabulary in Context II, page 252; “Will it pull you forward / Or push you back in fear?” (poem, stanza 2) | “How can we stay silent when we know what is right?” is a rhetorical question. |
| ad hoc | Latin: for one specific purpose or situation, often temporary | Vocabulary in Context I, page 251 | An ad hoc committee was set up for the sports meet and dissolved after it. |
| in media res | Latin: into the middle of things — beginning a story at a crucial point | Vocabulary in Context I, page 251 | The film opens in media res, with the train already off the rails. |
| quid pro quo | Latin: a favour given in return for something | Vocabulary in Context I, page 251 | He offered his notes as a quid pro quo for a seat in the front row. |
Exercises
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Reflect and Respond Page 231
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Check Your Understanding Page 234
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Critical Reflection Page 235–237
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Vocabulary and Structures in Context Page 237–240
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Listen and Respond Page 241
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Speaking Activity Page 241–242
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Writing Task Page 242–243
- Follow That Dream (letter by Irene Chua) — Learning Beyond the Text Page 243–244
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Reflect and Respond Page 245
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Check your Understanding Page 247–249
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Critical Reflection Page 250–251
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Vocabulary in Context Page 251–253
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Listen and Respond Page 253
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Speaking Activity Page 254–255
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Writing Task Page 255–256
- Believe in Yourself (poem by Robert Langley) — Learning Beyond the Text Page 256–258