WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate options:

1. “Is it me?” I asked.

Which of the following words best describes the speaker‟s mood ………….

(a) disbelief and surprise

(b) sadness and frustration

(c) pleasing and playful

(d) None of these

2. The photographer looked at the narrator ………………

(a) cheerfully

(b) with enthusiasm

(c) without enthusiasm

(d) indifferently

3. The narrator was asked to wait for ………………..

(a) 15 minutes

(b) 30 minutes

(c) one hour

(d) 45 minutes

4. The studio was ……………………..

(a) well-furnished

(b) quite modern

(c) dimly lighted

(d) very big

5. The photographer had the looks of ……………………..

(a) a sick man

(b) an angry man

(c) a natural scientist

(d) a crooked politician

I. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

The photographer looked at me without enthusiasm. He was a drooping man in a gray

suit, with the dim eyes of a natural scientist. But there is no need to describe him. Everybody

knows what a photographer is like.

i. Why do you think the photographer did not look at the narrator with enthusiasm?

The photographer did not look at the narrator with enthusiasm because the

narrator's face had no attraction for him. He thought that the narrator's face was wrong for

a photograph.

ii. Explain the narrator's attitude towards the photographer.

The narrator's attitude towards the photographer is that of dislike and displeasure.

He does not even want to describe the photographer.

iii. What was the narrator's experience with the photographer?

The narrator's experience with the photographer was quite depressing and

uninspiring.

iv. What tells you about the appearance of the photographer?

The narrator describes the photographer as a man having the eyes of a natural

scientist. He looked drooping in his gray suit.

II. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

He was only in it a second, - just time enough for one look at me,-and then he was

out again, tearing at the cotton sheet and the window panes with a hooked stick,

apparently frantic for light and air.

i. Who is „he‟ here in this extract? Was „he‟ at peace with himself?

In this extract 'he' refers to the photographer. He was not at peace with himself as

he looked frantic for light and air.

ii. What do you think of the studio where the photographer was to take the narrator‟s

photograph?

The studio where the photographer was to take a photograph of the narrator was a

dimly lighted and suffocating place.

 iii. What was the photographer trying to do in his studio?

The photographer was trying to take a photograph of the narrator. He adjusted the

camera for this purpose.

III. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

“The ears are bad, “he said;”droop them a little more. Thank you. Now the eyes.

Roll them in under the lids. Put the hands on the knees, please, and turn the face just a

little upward. Yes, that‟s better.

i. Which features are asked to be improved upon? What is the tone of the speaker here?

The eyes, the ears, knees and the face are the features of the narrator that the

photographer wants to improve. The tone of the speaker here is authoritative and

commanding.

ii. Do you think the narrator is happy and satisfied with the photographer?

No, the narrator is not happy with the photographer. He expresses his irritation

and dislike against the photographer time and again. He even leaves his photograph with

him.

iii. Which things other than the ones mentioned later in the context ate to be set right?

The narrator suggests that apart from his mouth, face, eyes, eyebrows etc., the

photographer should put his own attitude right and not distort the originality of the

photograph.

IV. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

“Stop, “I said with emotion but, with dignity.”This face is my face. It is not yours, it is mine. I‟ve

lived with it for forty years and I know its faults. I know it‟s out of drawing. I know it wasn‟t

made for me, but it‟s my face, the only one I have_“

i. Who is the speaker? Who is he talking to? What is the occasion?

The speaker here is the narrator. He is talking to a photographer. He talks to the

photographer on the occasion of his visit to get his photograph clicked.

 ii. What prompted the speaker to say, “It is not yours, it is mine”?

The photographer pointed out several drawbacks in the narrator‟s face. He told

the narrator that his face needed improvement. It prompted the narrator to say that it was

his own face and not of the photographer that he was suggesting Alteration in it.

iii. What is the tone of the speaker?

The tone of the speaker is full of anger and irritation.

iv. What does the extract tell about the narrator‟s present mood?

The extract tells that the narrator is annoyed and in a disturbed and angry mood.

V. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

The photographer beckoned me in. I thought he seemed quieter and graver than

before. I think, too, there was a certain pride in his manner.

He unfolded the proof of a large photograph, and we both looked at it in silence.

“Is it me?” I asked.

i. Where was the narrator asked to come and by whom?

The narrator was asked to come inside the studio of the photographer. He was

invited there by the photographer.

ii. What was the photographer proud of?

The photographer was proud of the proof of a large photograph of the narrator.He

was to further work on it to develop the photograph.

iii. Both the photographer and the narrator looked at the proof of the photograph in silence.

Why do you think both were silent?

Both of them were silent while looking at the proof of a photograph. The narrator

was silent because he was surprised to see the negative that hardly resembled his face.

The photographer was quite proud of his achievement in making the negative of the

narrator‟s photograph and this pride turned him silent.