The Poets and Pancakes

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.Why did the legal adviser lose his job in the Gemini Studios?
Answer: The legal adviser worked in the story department of the Gemini Studios which was later closed by
the boss. So, in this way, the legal adviser lost his job.

Question 2.What do you understand by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make up?
Answer: The makeup room was glowed by many incandescent lights which produced very fiery heat. Artists
had to face that extreme heat as they had to sit there for makeup. They were pitiful and could not do
anything in this regard.

Question 3.What do you infer of Robert Clive from the text?

Answer: Robert Clive was Commander-in-Chief of British India who owned many buildings in Madras and
fought many battles and married a maiden in St. Mary’s Church in Fort St. George in Madras.

Question 4.What do you understand by national integration?

Answer: The national integration is a combination which consists of each and every, many castes, tribes and
communities in it. National Integration is above than any of the religion or thinking and it unites various
people from various places and cultures.

Question 5.What happened with Subbu’s literary achieve-ments? ‘

Answer: Though, Subbu was a tailor made for films but he had a talent of poetry and writing novels. Later,
as his filmy career grew higher, his literary talent and achievements were overshadowed and dwarfed by his
own success.

Question 6.What could be the reason of the shut of the story department?
Answer: The story department was comprised of many poets and writers and also a lawyer with them. But
later, it was closed. The possible reason for the shutting down of the story department may be its uselessness
or unbearable expenses or regular salary of the members and less output in return.

Question 7.Which poets from England were known to the Gemini Studios’ staff ?
Answer: The ordinary staff of the Gemini Studios knew or heard about Wordsworth and Tennyson; and the
more literate ones knew of Keats, Shelly and Byron or about Eliot. But they didn’t know about Stephen
Spender, who was invited at the Gemini Studios.

Question 8.‘The God That Failed’ was the composition of six eminent men of letters. Describe.
Answer: The God That Failed’ contained six separate essays of six renowned essayists about their journeys
into communism and their disillusioned return. Those six distinguished writers were : Andre Gide, Richard
Wright, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler, Louis Fischer and Stephen Spender.

Question 9.What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up?
Answer: The writer means that the artists who were subjected to make-up had to bear very intense heat due
to the multiple incandescent lights and reflecting big mirrors.

Question 10.What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?
Answer: Make-up department is the fine example of national integration that the author refers to as people
from various and distinct parts of India used to work there together.
Question 11.hat work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studios? Why was
he disappointed?
Answer: During the crowd shooting in the Gemini Studios, the office boy used to paint their faces slapping
with heavy paint. Thinking that he would become a top star, screen writer or a director or lyrics writer; he
joined the Gemini Studios. He couldn’t succeed and was disappointed due to his faliure and thought that his
talent was going to be wasted.

Question 12.Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios?
Answer: The author’s duty was to cut the newspaper clip-pings for the subject, arrange them in a file and
some-times writing by hand and this work appeared to be ^useless or valueless in others’ view.

Poets and Pancakes Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.Write a brief note on what you have learnt about Subbu’s Character?
Answer: Subbu, KothamangalamSubbu was a Brahmin by caste and placed at no. 2 position at the Gemini
Studios. He always remained cheerful and satisfied. Though he was very generous to all people of the
Gemini Studios as well as all the relatives and acquaintances, yet he too was having his woes. People
disliked him because of his closeness to the boss. He was very loyal to his boss.At Gemini Studios, he had
the solution of all problems at one place. He seemed to be indulged in every important affair of the
company. He also had the artistic talent as he was a poet and novelist also. He used to write in a simple way
for common mass as he composed several folk dictions and deftly created characters for novel. He was an
amazing actor though never acted for a lead role but got more praise than the main character. He was a
tailor-made actor with unmatchable capacities.

Question 2.Describe the make-up department of Gemini Studios?

Answer: The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was established on the upstairs of a building that
was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stables. The make-up room had the look of a hair-cutting salon
with lights at all angles. The lights were incandescent which produced the extreme heat and about half dozen
big mirrors reflected the light, that was totally unbearable for the artists to be made-up.The make-up
department was first headed by a Bengali who when left, a Maharashtrian headed it with an assistant
DharwarKannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the usual local Tamils. In
this way, there was a great deal of national integration. A strict hierarchy could be noticed at make-up
department. The chief make-up man attended to the chief actors and actresses. His senior assistant looked to
the ‘second’ hero and heroine, the junior assistant the main comedian and so forth.The players who played
the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy. He used to mix his paint in a giant vessel and slap it on
the crowd players. So, the gang of nationally integrated make-up men could turn any decent-looking person
into a hideous crimson hued monster with the help of truck-loads of Pancake and a number of other locally
made potions and lotions. Thus, the make-up room was not less than a torcher room for the artists who were
to be prepared for the shoot.

The Interview

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.Other than celebrities, what do some people think about an interview?
Answer: Other than celebrities, mostly common persons think that an interview is the only and best source
of truth. It according to them, is an art.

Question 2.In which way do the celebrities take an inter-view?

Answer: Celebrities find themselves as victims, they take interview as an unwarranted intrusion into their
lives which somehow diminishes them.
Question 3.What made ‘The Name of the Rose’ a hugely successful novel?
Answer: According to Umberto Eco, the most possible reason about the success of the novel was a time’s
mystery and actually nobody could predict the exact reason of it.

Question 4.What is Umberto Eco’s theory of interstices?

Answer: Umberto Eco says about the elimination of empty spaces from the universe, from all the atoms and
then the universe would become as big as his fist.

Question 5.How many copies of the novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ were sold?
Answer: More than 10 million copies of the novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ were sold.

Question 6.How and when did Umberto Eco start to write novels?
Answer: Umberto Eco started to write novels accidently at the age of 50. Then only on Sundays, he used to
write the content of the novels.

Question 7.Umberto Eco does many things, but says, “I am always doing the same thing but that is more
difficult to explain”. What does he mean to say?
Answer: Umberto Eco says that he has philosophical interests which reflect in all his writings : fiction and
non-fiction. In this way, he does the same thing, though he seems to pursue various activities : writing notes
for newspapers, novels, teaching, writing essays, children’s books etc.

Question 8.Despite the drawbacks, the interview is a ‘supremely serviceable medium of communication’.
Explain.
Answer: Despite its drawbacks, the interview has its own advantages. Though, interview is an intrusion into
the personal life of the interviewee, it is always a supremely serviceable medium of communication.
Through the interviews only, we get vivid impressions of our contemporary celebrities. We get a glance of
their way of working.

Question 9.What are some of the positive views on inter-views?

Answer: Interview is considered as a reliable source of truth. Contemporaries and their success can be read
through the interviews. A very important part of journalism is interview now a days.

Question 10.Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed ?

Answers : Most celebrity writers despise being interviewed because they have faced the fright of interview.
Among them, interview is regarded as an unwarranted entrance into their privacy.

Question 11.Do you think Umberto Eco like, being Inter viewed? Give reasons for your opinion.
Answer:Umberto Eco surely likes being interviewed as a part of his interview is presented in this chapter.
He answers every question asked by Mukund and never frustrates and criticizes the interview like many
other celebrity writers.

Question 12.How does Eco find the time to write so much?

Answer: Umberto Eco uses each and every moment of time. Even he is capable to utilize the little space
between different act.s. So he calls it as usage of interstices; the management of time.

Question 13.What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?

Answer: Eco’s academic writing style can be said as narrative which is personalised and interesting. Ecos
writing style is not dull and boring; different from others.
Question 14.Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
Answer: Umberto Eco firstly considered himself as an academic scholar because he was a professor and
wrote many academic texts while he wrote his first novel at the age of 50 accidenty.

Question 15.What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?
Answer: The Name of the Rose is a serious detective story but delved into metaphysics, theology and
medieval history. The novel got a huge success and the reason Umberto Eco assesses is its favourable
publication time.

The Interview Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.Give a character sketch of Umberto Eco on the basis of the chapter ‘The Interview’.
Answer: Umberto Eco, a university professor at the university of Bologna in Italy, is an academician and a
famous novelist. He, through various interview discloses his secret of success in life and never hates the
interviewers. He has his taste in various fields of writings as academic texts, fiction and non-fiction, literary
fiction, essays, children’s books, newspaper articles etc.He always wanted to be called as an academician
not a novelist. He used to participate in academic conferences, on the other hand, he avoided the meetings of
writers and Pen Club Members. He has written forty scholarly works and novels only five. He used to
denote time for writing novels on only ‘Sundays’. He discovered a magical trick of working in interstices.He
used to use even the seconds of his time. He captured the empty spaces for writing notes or any content. He
had an expertise in ‘Semiotics’: the study of signs. He never became a slave of proud as he openely admitted
that his novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ got success accidently and the time was in his favour. He didn’t have
any attitude of the celebrity though his novel was bought by more than the 10 million of the readers.

Question 2.‘MukundPadmanabhan’ was a reporter from ‘The Hindu’. In the context of the chapter, re-veal
his traits as an interviewer.
Answer: MukundPadmanabhan was surely a successful and well thought-out reporter who always used to
ask answerable and dexterous questions to his interviewees. He used to plan and prepare to con-duct an
interview of a celebrity. He never asked ugly or embarrasing questions and on the other hand, the celebrity
whom he interviewed always seemed to be comfortable with his questions. Through the inteviews, readers
not only got the informationsabout the celebrities but many other important aspects of Mukund’s personality
also came in their knowledge. He asked brief and quality questions to his interviewees scrupulously. He let
the interviewees spoke in their own manner and never tried to interrupt or cross-questioned them.His
interviewees used to be free and frank with him. He was always a prepared interviewer. Mukund, in advance
arranged the informations and personality traits of his interviewees and then with full preparations, started
his sessions. In all we can say that MukundPadmanabhan was a disciplined and dedicated interviewer.

Going Places

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.Who was Jansie and Sophie? Where were they likely to find work?
Answer: Jansie and Sophie were two school-going girls. They belonged to low middle class families. After
completing their school, they both were earmarked to work in a biscuit factory.

Question 2.Why did Jansie discourage Sophie from having dreams?

Answer: Jansie and Sophie both belonged to low middle class families. They did not have any means to
fulfil their ambitions and dreams. Jansie had calmly accepted her fate. But Sophie was a very ambitious girl.
She had very unrealistic dreams and fantasies. Jansie knew that her friend had to meet disappointment in the
end. Therefore she discouraged Sophie from having dreams.
Question 3.What did Sophie think of doing after her school?
Answer: Sophie was a highly ambitious girl. First she decided to open a boutique, then she thought of
becoming a manager to start with. She also thought of becoming an actress.

Question 4.Why did Sophie long for her brother’s affection?

Answer:Sophie liked her brother more than any other person. But he was very introvert. He would not tell
any of his secrets. However he was the only person who listened to Sophie’s wild stories. Therefore, Sophie
longed for her brother’s affection.

Question 5.Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her meeting with Danny?
Answer: Sophie thought if Jansie came to know about her meeting with Danny, she would tell everyone.
Then thousands of people would come to her house. It would make her father very angry. She thought that
her father could then possibly murder her.

Question 6.Why did Jansie discourage Sophie from entertaining thoughts about the sports-star Danny
Casey? .
Answer: Jansie knew her friend Sophie well. She knew that Sophie’s meeting with Danny Casey was just
her imagination. She wanted Sophie to be practical. She a Juiew such thoughts would create troubles for
Sophie. Therefore she discouraged Sophie from entertaining thoughts about the sports-star Danny Casey.

Question 7.It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What would you say are benefits and
disadvantages of such fantasising?
Answer: Teenage is considered the best period in person’s life. In this age, the person has maximum energy
and he is free from every responsibility. But it is also the age when the person has dreams and fantasies.
Every teenager has some role model also. It would be beneficial for the person if he goes into the direction
of his/her dreams diligently. But mere fantasising and dreaming bring nothing but disappointment.

Question 8.‘Damn that Geoff, this was a Geoff thing not a Jansie thing.’ Why did Sophie say so?
Answer: Sophie told her brother, Geoff about her meeting with Danny Casey. She was sure that that he
would not tell anybody her secret. But on the other hand, Geoff told that secret to Jansie’s brother and Jansie
asked Sophie about it. Sophie became very angry with her brother and said, ‘Damn that Geoff, this was a
Geoff thing not a Jansie thing.’

Question 9.How did Sophie’s father react when Geoff told him about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Answer: Sophie’s father turned his head on his thick neck to look at her. His expression was one of disdain.
Sophie told him that Danny Casey was going to buy a shop. At this her father muttered, “This is another of
your wild stories. One of these days you’re going to talk yourself into a load of trouble.” This shows that the
old man knew his daughter very well.

Question 10.What is the profession of Geoff ? How is he different from his sister?
Answer: Geoff left his school three years ago. Now he works as an apprentice mechanic. He has to travel to
his work to the far end of the city. But he is very introvert. He is not a daydreamer like Sophie. But he loves
his sister very much so he listens her wild stories patiently.

Question 11.Who was Danny Casey? How can you say that the members of Sophie’s family were great fan
of his?
Answer: Danny Casey was a young football player. He played for the United. Sophie and the members of
her family were a great fan of his. Sophie even started dreaming to have a date with him. Her family went to
see a football match in which Danny was playing.
Question 12.Where did Sophie meet Danny Casey as she claimed?
Answer: Sophie met Danny for the first time in the arcade. It was she who spoke first. She wanted an
autograph for her little brother Derek. But neither of them had any pen. Therefore, they just talked a bit.

Question 13.Do you think that Sophie’s meeting with Danny actually happened or it was just a part of her
imagination?
Answer: It appeared possible that Danny might have met with Sophie at the arcade. It also appeared possible
they might have talked a bit. But it didn’t appear to be I possible that Danny would have called her to meet i
the next week. The last part of her story is highly improbable. It was just a part of her imagination.

Question 14.What thoughts come to Sophie’s mind as she sit by the canal?
Answer: Sitting by the side of the canal Sophie waits for Danny Casey to come. The time keeps on passing.
She starts feeling pangs of doubt inside her. Then she remembers Geoff saying he would never come. She
thinks that she will never be able prove that the others were wrong to doubt her.

Question 15.Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Answer: Sophie knew that her father would become angry when he came to know about her meeting with
Danny Casey. She knew he would scold her badly and severely. Therefore, she wriggled when Geoff told
her father that she had met Danny Casey.

Question 16.Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Answer: Geoff doesn’t believe Sophie when the latter tells him about her meeting with Danny Casey. He
knows his sister well and knows she lives in the world of dreams.

Question 17.Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Answer: Sophie didn’t want Jansie to know her story about Danny Casey. She thought that Jansie would tell
everyone about it. Then the people would come in large numbers to know about it in detail. Sophie was very
afraid of her father. She feared that her father would become’ furious. He could also murder her.

Question 18.Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?

Answer: It is very difficult to say whether Sophie met with Danny Casey. She might have seen him from
distance and then she weaved the whole story about her meeting with him in her mind.

Going Places Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.Sophie lives in a world full of dreams which she does not know she cannot realise. Comment.
Answer: Sophie belongs to a low middle class family. She has no means to gain name and fame.Therefore,
she starts weaving in her mind the unrealistic dreams and fantasies. First of all she thinks that she would
open a fine boutique in the city. When her friend Jansie tells her that it would take a lot of money to open a
boutique, she says that she would become a manager to begin with. She does not realise that no one would
make her a manager straight off.Then she thinks of becoming an actress. She takes a chance meeting with
Danny Casey as a beginning of love-affair with him. She dreams of meeting with him. But this and her other
dreams are just a product of her imagination. She does not know how to realise them.

Question 2.How different is Jansie from Sophie?

Or
Jansie is just as old as Sophie but she is very different from her. Bring out the contrast be-tween the two
friends, citing relevant instances from the story, “Going Places”.
Answer: Sophie and Jansie are classmates and friends. But they are poles apart as far as their character and
temperament is concerned. Jansie is very down to earth girl. She knows that she belongs to a low middle
class. She knows her limitations. She has accepted her fate that she has to work in a biscuit factory as a petty
employee after her school education.On one hand Sophie is an ambitious girl. She too belongs to a low
middle class. But she has very unrealistic ambitions and dreams. First of all, she says that she will open a
boutique, then she says she will become a manager. She also wants to become an actress. In fact she doesn’t
know what she wants to become. She weaves a fantasy around a famous football player. She imagines that
he would come and meet her. As a result of her unrealistic dreams and fantasies she has to face
disappointment.

Question 3.Describe the character of Sophie’s father and the role played by him?
Answer: Sophie’s father belongs to labour class. He goes to his work on his bicycle. He is very careless and
care¬free person. He has very rough eating manners. He likes to enjoy himself by going to a pub. He doesn’t
care much even about his children. But this doesn’t mean that he knows nothing about the temperament of
his children.When Sophie keeps on saying that she has met Danny Casey, he looks at her disdain and says,
“This another of your wild stories? One of these days you are going to talk yourself into a load of trouble.”
In the end he proves true when Sophie has to meet disappointment regarding her supposed meeting with
Danny Casey.

Question 4.Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind. Discuss.
Answer: Sophie belonged to a low middle class family. She had no means to gain name and fame. Therefore
she started weaving in her mind the unrealistic dreams and fantasies. First she thought that she would open a
fine boutique in the city. When her friend Jansie told her that it would take a lot of money to open a
boutique, she said that she would become a manager to begin with.She did not realise that no one would
make her a manager straight off. Then she thought she would become an actress. She took a chance meeting
with Danny Casey as a beginning of love-affair with him. She dreamt of meeting with him. But this and her
other dreams were just product of her mind and not based on any reality.

Question 5.What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family’s
financial status?
Answer: Sophie belonged to a low middle class family. She was going to leave her school within a few
months and was earmarked to work in a biscuit factory as a petty employee. This showed that she was not
going to do high studies. She lived in a small house which remained smoky. Her father belonged to labour
class and had only a bicycle to go to his work.He had very rough eating manners. He used to enjoy himself
in a pub. Her telder brother had left school about three years ago yet was just an apprentice mechanic. All
these were the indicators that showed that Sophie’s family was not a well-to-do family.

Question 6.Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and Mends. What were the differences between them that
show up in the story?
Answer: Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends. But they were poles apart as far as their character
and temperament is concerned. Jansie was very down to earth girl. She knew that she belonged to a low
middle class. She knew her limitations. She had accepted her fate that she had to work in a biscuit factory as
a petty employee after her school education.On the other hand Sophie was an ambitious girl. She too
belonged to a low middle class. But she had very unrealistic ambitions and dreams. First she said that she
would open a boutique, then she said she would become a manager. She also wanted to become an actress.
In fact she didn’t know what she wanted to become. She wove a fantasy around a famous football player.
She imagined that he would come and meet her. As a result of her unrealistic dreams and fantasies she had
to face disappointment.
 A Roadside Stand
Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid any heed to the roadside stand or to
the people who ran it. If at all they did, it was to complain, which lines bring this out? What was their
complaint about?
Answer: Lines which bring this are :
“The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead, or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts; At having the
landscape marred with the artless paint; Of signs that with N turned wrong and sturned wrong…” Their
complaint was that the wrongly made signs had spoiled the natural beauty.

Question 2.What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
Answer: The plea of roadside stand sellers was the ignorance by the vehicles.Theypleaed that nobody
stopped there to buy their products.

Question 3.What is the ‘Childish longing’ that the poet refers to? Why is it vain?
Answer: ‘Childish longing’ seems through the desire of the poor farmer who sits near the open window all
day and prays for the stopping of any car.

Question 4.Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the throught of the plight of
the rural people?
Answer: The lines about the insufferable pain that the poet feels are :
“Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear the thought of so much Childish longing in vain, the sadness that
lurks near the open window there.” “I can’t help owning the great relief it would be to put these people at
one stroke out of their pain.”

Question 5.What is the Childish longing of the poet ?

Answer: The poet childishly longs for the betterment and growth of those unfortunate people but these
desires and expectations would never be fulfilled by the greedy good-doers.

Question 6.Why those cars are named as ‘selfish’ ?

Answer: Cars (vehicles) continuously pass through that road but out of those thousand of cars, not a single
stop there even to inquire about the prices of the products of the farmers.

Question 7.Why do the cars stop there occasionally?

Answer: Cars stop at roadside stand occasionally to ask about the route’s destination or for demanding the
fuel (gas) for their vehicles.

Question 8.How does the poet feel himself helpless?

Answer: The poet finally concludes that he is totally helpless to remove the pain of the farmers. He can’t put
those people out of their pain at one stroke.

A Roadside Stand Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.Write in brief the summary of the poem.

Answer: Poet, Robert Frost experienced the pain of the poor formers who established their little shedded
stalls to sell various products grown or manufactured by them but the poet observed that out of thousands of
the visitors and vehicles, nobody is interested in their offerings. On the other hand, the selfish travellers
criticized their presentations and passed throughly proudly.Poet is hurt by their behaviour and attitude and
has a complaint for their survival as they too want to be the part of the flow of economy; presently mainly
run by the city dwellers only. They too have the right to live comfortably like their ideals. But they are
always used for the self motives of the greedy good-doers. They enforce their benefits over the poor farmers,
misguide them and destroy their ancientculture and way of living by lullying them. They just want to grasp
their fields and houses. Poet is tired and finds his expectations failed, too much disappointed by the financial
condition and struggle V of the distressed peasants who for whole day sit, pray and wait for the cars to stop
at least to inquire or to buy but the self-centred egoistic persons use the empty place to turn their vehicles or
sometimes stop to ask about the path or fuel.Anger of farmers is natural, they reply and ask’ irritatingly for
the common sense of the proudy persons. Poet realizes that no miracle can be seen and he is unable to
console the poverty-stricken farmers and it’s impossible to extricate the villagers out of their pain at one
stroke. He realizes, when finds himself sensible, that his call is futile, to help them and no one is ready to
help them.

Question 2.Have you ever stopped at a roadside stand ? What have you observed ?
Answer:Yes, I’ve stopped at a roadside stand on a highway twice or thrice and found that the villagers have
too much expectations from us, who pass from those roads. They work hard for whole day and whole family
members of them sit there to sell fresh vegetables, fruits, juices and other products.Very few of us actually
purchase something but only use them for general queries like asking about road map, gas or petrol for our
vehicles or many a times to use that broad empty space to turn our vehicles. I also observed that those
farmers are pitiful and facing very miserable condition and fighting for their existence and survival.Those
merciful poor farmers should be helped and treated like the human beings and dwellers of cities. They
should not be cheated and used for the introversion purposes. They also contribute to the growth and
economy of the country as they grow crops for whole mankind.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Short Answer Type Questions:
Question 1.How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes ?
Answer: Tigers are the denizens of the world of green. The . tiger is considered very brave and courageous
animal. They are not afraid of anyone.
Question 2.Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering through her wool’ in the second stanza ?
Why is she finding the needle so hard to pull ?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer has become so old that it appears that her fingers are trembling through wool. She
has become so weak that she even finds the needle hard to pull. The poet means to say that unending
household chores have made aunt very weak.

Question 3.What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ ?
Answer: The poet says that Uncle’s wedding band lies very heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand. She has to
work endlessly from morning till night and also have to bear Uncle’s tyranny. Aunt Jennifer has to slavishly
follow all the orders of uncle.

Question 4.Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified with in the third stanza ?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer is terrified of endless household chores and Uncle in the third stanza. She thinks that
even after her death she will not be free from these household chores.

Question 5.What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by, why is it significant that the poet uses the
word ‘ringed’ ? What are the meanings of the word ‘ringed’ in the poem ?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by household chores. These chores are no less than ordeals for her be-
cause willingly or unwillingly she has to do them. The word ‘ringed’ has been used to convey that Aunt
Jennifer is so surrounded by her ordeals that she can never think to come out of them.

Question 6.Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character ?
What might the poet be suggesting, through this difference ?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer is old and submissive woman. But the tigers she is embroidering on the panel appear
to be bold and chivalric. The suggestion given here is that women give birth to men but the same men
tyrannise women when they grow up.

Question 7.Interpret the symbols found in this poem.

Answer: The poet has used the symbol of tigers in this poem. The tigers represent creative energy of women.
The tigers also represent the male-dominant society. The poet wants to say that the women give birth to
men, but the same men tyrannise women when they grow up.

Question 8.What will happen to Aunt Jennifer’s tigers when she is dead ?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer has embroidered tigers on a panel. These tigers represent not only women’s creativity
but also tyranny of men towards women. It will continue even after the death of Aunt Jennifer. Therefore her
tigers will also keep prancing on the panel.

Question 9.Why did Aunt Jennifer choose to embroider tigers on the panel ?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer has been tyrannised by her husband all her life. Her husband has become a picture of
terror for her. She is in fact venting out all her inner feelings by embroidering tigers on the panel. In the
form of tigers she has in fact embroidered the fearful face of her husband.

Question 10.Aunt Jennifer’s efforts to get rid of her fear proved to be futile. Comment.
Answer: Aunt Jennifer embroidered tigers on the screen. These tigers are symbol of her husband, whom she
is very afraid. She thinks that by embroidering tigers she will get a sort of relief from her fear. But it proves
quite futile. The poet says that even after her death, the fear of her husband’s tyranny will keep on haunting
Aunt Jennifer.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.Write in brief the summary of the poem.

Answer: The poet refers to an old woman, Aunt Jennifer. She has embroidered some tigers on a screen.
These tigers are jumping across the screen. The poet says that these tigers appear so real as if they were
actually the inhabitants of the jungle. Some men are shown beneath the tree. But these tigers are fear¬less.
They are not afraid of these men. Aunt Jennifer has become so old that it appears that her fin¬gers are
trembling through wool. She has become so weak that she even finds the needle hard to pull.The poet says
that the uncle wedding band lies very heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand. The poet means to say here that Aunt
Jennifer has to slavishly follow all the orders of uncle. Aunt Jennifer is terrified of endless household chores
and Uncle. She thinks that even after her death she will not be free from these household chores.

Question 2.Write in brief the central idea of the poem.

Answer: In this poem the poet narrates the tale of an old woman Aunt Jennifer. She is a typical housewife.
She is embroidering tigers on a frame. Aunt Jenni-fer has suffered all her life because of male-dominance.
The tigers she is embroidering are in fact symbol of her husband. They can also be seen as a symbol of a
woman’s creative energy. The women give birth to men and the same men tyrannise women when they
grow up. The poet says that Aunt is crushed due to male chauvinism and it appears she won’t be free from
the bondage of her household chores even after her death.
 On the face of It
Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.What is the bond that unites the two, Mr Lamb and Derry? How does Mr Lamb inspire the boy?
Answer: Mr Lamb and Derry are suffering from the same sort of physical impairment. Mr Lamb does not
have one leg while Derry’s face is burnt from one side. They both are feeling lonely. No one ever comes to
see Mr Lamb and people have spread many stories about him. People look at awe at Derry’s face and
generally avoid him. Thus they both are suffering from common problems. This bond unites Mr Lamb and
Derry.

Question 2.Who is Mr Lamb?

Answer: Mr Lamb is an old man. He is retired from the army. He has lost one of his legs in a bomb blast. He
lives alone in a house that has a garden. No one ever comes to visit him. Kids call him Lamey Lamb. People
have spread stories about him.

Question 3.What peculiar things does Derry notice about the old man, Lamb?
Answer: Mr Lamb is retired from the army. He leaves his doors always open. Everybody is welcomed in his
garden. There are no curtains on his windows. These are quite peculiar things for Derry.

Question 4.What physical impairment is Mr Lamb suffering from?

Answer: Mr Lamb lost one of his legs in a war. There is a tin leg in its place. The children would mockingly
call him ‘Lamey Lamb’. Also, no one ever comes to see him. People have spread many stories about him.

Question 5.Why had Derry come to the garden?

Answer: Derry had thought it was an empty place and no one lived there. He wanted to see what kind of
place it was. He had no mind to steal any apple.

Question 6.In what sense is the friendship between Mr Lamb and Derry fruitful?
Answer: The friendship between Mr Lamb and Derry proved quite fruitful for both of them. Mr Lamb instils
self confidence in the young boy. While the young boy’s company helps Mr Lamb to ward off his
loneliness.

Question 7.What did Derry’s mother think of Mr Lamb?

Answer: Derry’s mother did not have any good opinion about Mr Lamb. She considered him to be a
worthless man. She thought that Mr Lamb’s talk was all nonsense. She did not want Derry to go there.

Question 8.How does Mr Lamb react when Derry enters his garden?
Answer: Mr Lamb welcomes Derry in his garden. He only asks him to mind crab apples lest he should trip.
When Derry wants to run away from there Mr Lamb says that he need not go. Everyone is welcomed to
come in his garden.

Question 9.What kind of garden does Mr Lamb have? Why does he like it?
Answer: Mr Lamb has a garden-outside his house. It has flowers, grass, trees arid bees. He likes every inch
of his garden. He has positive attitude of mind. For him even weeds in his garden are living things. He likes
humming of bees. He passes his time by making jam from the crab apples. Thus, he remains busy due to his
garden. Therefore, he likes it very much.

Question 10.What does Derry hear people talking down the downstairs?
Answer: He hears people talking about him and saying, “What will he ever do? What is going to happen to
him when we are gone? How will he get on in this world with that face?”
Question 11.What realisation comes to Derry about his face at the end of the play?
Answer: At the end of the play, Derry realises that external looks do not matter much. The only thing
matters is the person’s worth. He decides now he would not care about anybody. He will care about what he
feels, thinks or hears.

On the face of It Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.Narrate the first meeting between Mr Lamb and Derry?

Answer: The first meeting between Mr Lamb and Derry takes place in Mr Lamb’s garden. A teenager
named Derry comes into the garden. He thinks that no one is in the garden. But then he hears Mr Lamb’s
voice,” “Mind the apples.” Derry is startled to hear that voice. He has thought that no one was there in the
garden. He wants to run way from there but Mr Lamb says that he is most welcomed in the garden.Derry sits
beside Mr Lamb. They have heart to heart talk. They thoroughly enjoy each other’s company. Mr Lamb has
been retired from the army. One of his legs had been blown due to a bomb blast. Nobody comes to visit him.
People have spread many stories about him. Children mockingly call him ‘Lamey Lamb’. The condition of
Derry is also not much different. One side of his face is burnt due to acid.

Question 2.Why do you think Derry is so pessimistic? How does Mr Lamb give solace to the boy?
Answer: One side of Derry’s face is burnt due to acid. People look at him in awe. They say that it is the
ugliest’ thing that they have ever seen. Derry feels afraid of him when he sees himself in the mirror. He has
become highly pessimistic. He knows even his mother doesn’t love him truly. She just fulfils her duty as a
mother.Therefore, she never kisses him on the burnt side of his face; she would always kiss on the other side
of his face.But Lamb gives the boy great solace and inspiration. He tells him he is not handicapped like him.
He has two legs, two eyes, two ears and two hands. He can do anything in life. He also advises him to have
optimistic approach in life.

Question 3.What lesson of life does Mr Lamb tell Derry? What effect it has on him?
Answer:Mr Lamb has lost one of his legs in a war. He tells Derry he is not handicapped like him. He has
two legs, two eyes, two ears and two hands. He can do anything in life. He also advises him to have
optimistic approach in life. Then he starts explaining Derry about his own approach towards life. He says
every¬thing interests him that is created by God.He says that people say the bees buzz but according to him .
they hum. According to Lamb, every growing thing has life in it. For him even weeds are important. He tells
Derry that it’s not what he looks like; it’s what he is inside. This makes Derry understand that beauty is only
skin deep. He understands that he is not inferior to anybody. He can do whatever he likes.

Memories of Childhood

The Cutting of My Long Hair

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.What does this chapter tell us about the weather in the land of apples on the very first day?
Answer: Zitkala-Sa unfolds that the first day in the land of apples was a bitter cold one; for the snow still
covered the ground, and the trees were bare.

Question 2.How were the Indian girls dressed? Why did Zitkala feel sinking in the floor?
Answer: The Indian girls were in stiff shoes and closely clinging dresses. The small girls wore sleeved
aprons and singled hair. It appeared very immodest to Zitkala. She felt sinking in the floor because her
blanket had been stripped off from her shoulders.
Question 3.Who was Judewin? What did she tell Zitkala?
Answer: Judewin was a friend of Zitkala. She knew a little English. She had overheard the white woman
saying that they would shingle Zitkala’s long, heavy hair. She said that Zitkala had to submit to them.

Question 4.What had Zitkala’s mother told her about the tradition regarding hair in their tribe?
Answer: Zitkala’s mother had told her that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair
shingled by the enemy. Among her tribe, short hair were worn by mourners and shingled hair by cowards.

Question 5.Where did Zitkala hide herself to save her hair?

Answer: Zitkala hid herself in a big room. The windows were covered with dark green curtains, which made
the room very dim. No one was there in the room. She crawled under a bed and huddled herself in the dark
corner.

Question 6.How were Zitkala-Sa’s long hair shingled?

Answer: Women and girls entered the room where Zitkala-Sa was hiding. She was dragged out. She resisted
and cried aloud. They tied her fast in a chair. She was shaking her head all the while until she felt the cold
blades of the scissors against her neck. Thus her hair were shingled.

Question 7.At the dining table why did Zitkala-Sa begin to cry when others start eating?
Answer: At the dining table all the others started eating us¬ing knife and fork. But Zitkala began to cry. She
found eating by formula a very hard trial for her.

Question 8-How did Zitkala-Sa’s first day in the land of apples begin?
Answer: The first day in the land of apples was very cold. Zitkala saw. that the Indian people were bearing
tight clinging clothes which appeared very immodest to her. At the dining table, she began crying since she
could not eat with knife and fork. And in the end her hair were shingled.

We Too are Human Beings

Question 9.How long would it take Bama to reach her home?

Answer: It was actually possible to walk the distance in ten minutes from Bama’s school to her home. But,
usu¬ally it would take her thirty minutes at the very least to reach home. Many interesting things would
tether her feet to the ground.

Question 10.What did she see one day when she came from school?
Answer: One day, when she came to her street she saw at the opposite corner a threshing floor had been set
up, and the landlord watched the proceedings, seated on a piece of sacking spread over a stone ledge. The
people of her community were hard at work, driving cattle in pairs, round and round to tread out the grain
from the straw.

Question 11.What scene made Bama laugh loudly?

Answer: Bama saw an elder of her street came along from the direction of the bazaar. He was carrying a
small packet in his hands. Bama guessed there was something like vadais in the packet. Bama wanted to
laugh loudly when she saw this. He was holding out the packet by its string, without touching it. She thought
that in this manner, the packet could be undone and all the contents would fall out.

Question 12.When Bama did come to know about the social discrimination towards her community?
Answer: Bama came to know about it when she was just a school going girl. She saw an elder of their
commu¬nity carrying a packet of vadais from its string. She thought that in this manner, the packet could be
un done and the whole contents would be spilt out. But her brother told her that the reason for that was that
the person for whom that snacks brought belonged to high caste and he thought that the very touch of any
from their community would pollute him.

Question 13.What advise did Annan give to Bama?

Answer: Annan advised Bama that she should study with care and learn all. Then the people would come to
her of their own accord and attach themselves to her. These words of Annan made a deep impression on her.

Question 14.Why did the landlord’s man ask Bama’s brother on which street he lived? What was the
significance?
Answer: The people of the community to which Bama be longed were segregated and lived in a particular
street. The landlord’s man wanted to ascertain the caste of Bama’s brother. Therefore he asked him on
which street he lived.

Memories of Childhood Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.Explain in detail Zitkala’s experience at the land of apples?

Answer: It was bitterly cold on the first day at the land of apples. A large bell rang for breakfast. There was
annoying clatter of shoes on the floor. An elderly white woman came up after them. She saw Indian (Native-
Americans) girls in stiff shoes and closely clinging dresses. It appeared quite immodest to her. While the
boys entered from the other door.They all were marched for the breakfast.A small bell was tapped and all
the students drew a chair from under the table. Zitkala thought they were perhaps going to sit. She also sat
down but she found that the others were standing murmuring a sort of small prayer. Zitkala-Sa also stood
up.But then she found that the others had sit in their seats. Then she heard a voice of a man. Every one
picked up their knife and fork and began eating. But Zitkala found this eating by formula very difficult. But
this was not the hardest trial for her. Her hair were shingled and she felt herself like an animal in a herd.

Question 2.What did Zitkala do to prevent her hair? How did her efforts prove futile?
Answer: Zitkala decided that she would not let her hair shingled. She watched her chance and when no one
noticed, she disappeared. She hid herself in a big room. The windows were covered with dark green
curtains, which made the room very dim. No one was there in the room. She crawled under a bed and hid
herself in the dark comer.From her hiding place she heard footsteps nearby. In the hall some voices were
calling her name. Even her friend Judewin was searching for her. The sounds came nearer and nearer.
Women and girls entered the room. She was dragged out. She resisted and cried aloud. They tied her fast in
a chair. She was shaking her head all the while until she felt the cold blades of the scissors against her neck.
Thus her hair were shingled.

Question 3.How long did Bama take to reach home from school and why? Write briefly what she did on her
way?
Answer: It was actually possible to walk the distance in ten minutes. But usually it would take her thirty
minutes at the very least to reach home. Many interesting things would tether her feet to the ground. There
could be a performing monkey. There could be a snake charmer with his snake kept in a basket. There could
be a cyclist who had not got off cycle for three days.She would watch the huge bell hanging at the temple.
She would watch the Pongal offerings being cooked. Then there could be some entertainments going on the
way-a street play, a puppet show or a magic show. These were the things that stopped her at many points in
her way.

Question 4.The two accounts that you read above are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonality
of theme found in both of them?
Answer: The first account refers to a Native American girl, Zitkala-Sa. The European settlers, there are
prejudiced against the native people. For them Native Americans are no better than enemies. They shingled
Zitkala’s hair much against her wish. They did not care to respect their culture. The second account is of
Bama. She belonged to a downtrodden community. The people of upper caste looked at them with hatred.
They thought that the very touch of the people of her community would pollute them. Thus we can see that
Zitkala and Bama belonged to different cultures and communities. Yet the theme of both the accounts is
same that people of downtrodden communities are treated like animals and racial prejudice is there in almost
every part of the world.

Question 5.It may take a long time for oppression to be resisted, but the seeds of rebellion are sowed early in
life. Do you agree that injustice in any form cannot escape being noticed even by children?
Answer: Elders of downtrodden communities become used to oppression. They consider it a part of their
destiny and thus do not protest against any oppression. But the minds of children are very impressionable.
They understand every oppression or humiliation. They generally rebel against any oppression.They feel
quite disturbed when they see injustice being done to someone. When they grow up, they try their best to
root out all the traditions that consider them to inferior beings. Thus, we can say that the seeds of rebellion
are sowed early in life.

Question 6.Bama’s experience is that of a victim of the caste system. What kind of discrimination does
ZitkalaSa’s experience depict? What are their responses to their respective situations?
Answer: Zitkala-Sa was a Native American. The European settlers have great prejudice against the Native
Americans. They consider them inferior beings. They have no respect for their traditions. That was
whyZitkala’s long was shingled. On the other hand, Bama belongs to a downtrodden community. The
people of high caste consider them inferior beings. They think that the very touch of theirs would pollute
them. Both Zitkala and Bama reacted to their respective situation in their own way.Zitkala hid herself in a
room to prevent her hair from being shingled. But she was found out and her hair were shingled. When
Bama came to know the humiliation of an elder of their street’ she was filled with anger. She studied very
hard so that the others realise her worth and come to her as friends.