English (Core) · Class 12 Languages
Ch 16Journey to the End of the Earth — Class 12 English (Core), concept-first.
The writer "Journey to the End of the Earth" is a reflective travel essay by Tishani Doshi, a writer, poet and journalist. Doshi is known for prose that mixes personal experience with wider reflection, and this piece, which appears in the CBSE Class 12 English NCERT syllabus (Vistas), is a good example of that manner.
19
Q&A
1
Concept
40m
Section weightage
Section C · Literature Textbooks (Flamingo & Vistas) · across all 19 lessons
Key concepts
Hover a concept to preview it and jump to its most relevant Q&A.
Reading Comprehension
Think about the last time you read a WhatsApp message from a friend and completely misunderstood their tone. Or the time you read a news headline and later realised the article said something quite different.
Most relevant Q&A
- 'The world's geological history is trapped in Antarctica.' How is the study of this region useful to us?Free
- What are Geoff Green's reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?Free
- 'Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.' What is the relevance of this statement in the context of t…Preview
- Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth's present, past and future?Preview
- Why does the author call Antarctica the coldest, driest and windiest continent, and what was her first emotion on arriving there? (Answer in…Free
Chapter contents
The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.
About the Author and the Text
The writer "Journey to the End of the Earth" is a reflective travel essay by Tishani Doshi, a writer, poet and journalist.
Summary of the Lesson
The long journey south The essay opens with the sheer scale of the author's journey to Antarctica. Setting out from the warmth of Madras, Tishani Doshi travels aboard the Russian research vessel Akade…
Themes
Tishani Doshi's travel account is not merely a description of a voyage to a cold, remote continent; it is a meditation on what Antarctica can teach an attentive human being about the past, the present…
Key Ideas in the Essay
Because "Journey to the End of the Earth" is a work of reflective travel writing rather than a story with a plot, its interest lies less in characters than in the ideas Tishani Doshi unfolds as she tr…
Antarctica and Gondwana (Part of History)
Doshi's deepest wonder on reaching Antarctica is that India and Antarctica were once part of the same landmass.
Human Impact and Climate Change
Against the vast backdrop of geological time, Doshi measures the brief span of human existence. Human civilisations have been around for a "paltry 12,000 years — barely a few seconds on the geological…
Students on Ice and Geoff Green
The expedition that carries Doshi to Antarctica is "Students on Ice," a programme that takes high-school students to the ends of the world and gives them inspiring educational opportunities meant to f…
Walk on the Ocean and the Phytoplankton Lesson
Antarctica's simple ecosystem and lack of biodiversity make it, Doshi says, the perfect place to study how tiny changes in the environment can have big repercussions.
Title and Message
The title of the essay and the message Doshi leaves us with are closely bound together. The two sub-sections below unfold the layered meaning of the phrase "journey to the end of the Earth" and then d…
The Significance of the Title
The title works on more than one level, and its richness is part of what makes the piece memorable.
The Message of the Story
The message of the lesson is that to understand the world's past, present and future, and to grasp how urgently it must be protected, we need to witness places like Antarctica for ourselves.
Summary
- The journey begins in Madras (about 13.09 degrees north of the Equator) aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy, heading for the coldest, driest and windiest continent on Earth — Anta…
Read and Find Out
As you read this Vistas lesson, the NCERT textbook stops you at a few points with short boxed questions — the "Read and Find Out" questions — that check whether you have followed the story so far.
Reading with Insight
+−Reading with Insighti4 questions
- Q1'The world's geological history is trapped in Antarctica.' How is the study of this region useful to us?Free
- Q2What are Geoff Green's reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?Free
- Q3'Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.' What is the relevance of this statement in the context of t…Preview
- Q4Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth's present, past and future?Preview
Additional Practice
Extra exam-style practice questions written by us on this lesson — beyond the NCERT textbook's own exercises — for more CBSE board-exam preparation.
+−Additional Practicei13 questions
- Q1Why does the author call Antarctica the coldest, driest and windiest continent, and what was her first emotion on arriving there? (Answer in…Free
- Q2What was Gondwana, and how is it relevant to Antarctica? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Free
- Q3What is the 'Students on Ice' programme, and what is its purpose? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Free
- Q4What signs of climate change and human impact does the author reflect on during her journey? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
- Q5What lesson does the example of the phytoplankton teach about the ecosystem? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
- Q6Why does the author say Antarctica is the place to go to understand the planet's past, present and future? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
- Q7How does the author use the idea of geological time to put human history in perspective? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
- Q8Discuss the theme of climate change and environmental awareness in 'Journey to the End of the Earth'. (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
- Q9How does the essay connect Antarctica to Earth's geological history and the ancient supercontinent Gondwana? (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
- Q10Why is the 'Students on Ice' programme significant, according to the author? (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
- Q11Explain the phytoplankton example and what it teaches about the interconnectedness of life. (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
- Q12What impressions of Antarctica does the author convey, and why does she feel it is important to protect it? (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
- Q13Attempt a critical appreciation of 'Journey to the End of the Earth' as a reflective travelogue. (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview