1. Why was the speaker's husband committed suicide?
Ans. The farmer was in dept and had no crops to sell. He was unable to bear the
shame and was unwilling to strech his hand for help. Being hounded by creditors he
committed suicide.
2. How would the master look at the enquiries about the slaves birthday?
Ans. The white masters want their slaves to be totally ignorant of their parentage.
They hide their date of birth and seal the prospects of the slave children knowing
who their fathers are. The slave children seldom come nearer to their birthday than
planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. It is as if the society
of the whites has a conspiracy of emotionally depriving the black children of a sense
of belonging. The slave children cannot cling to any root and are forced to be with
their masters. This ploy on the part of the white masters must have been to ensure
that the slave children grew up with no self-confidence. Such a meek existence
would ensure that the children .did not rebel against the injustice meted out to them
in any way.
3. Why wasn't Douglass affected much by his mother's death?
Ans. Frederick Douglass was born in February 1817 on the eastern shore of
Maryland. His autobiographical works are My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and
Life and Times of Frederick Douglass(1881).
He says that his exact date of birth remains unknown. His mother, from whom he
was separated at an early age, was a slave named Harriet Bailey. She named her son
Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey.
He never knew exactly who his father was. He was forced to work hard and suffered
cruel treatment while working on the property of Captain Aaron Anthony.
4. How is the plight of the old woman depicted in the poem?
Ans. Arun Kolatkar is a bilingual Poet. An Old Woman is selected from Jejuri, a
collection his of poems. The old woman he has tried to create is the one who
represents our culture, our heritage and our naturalbeauty.
Initially it seems that she is little adamant when speaker refuses to give her any
money. But, it also shows how she does not resolve to beggary. She wishes to take
the speaker to the horse shoeshrine; in return she demands a mere fifty paisa coin.
Poverty and old age are two curses that can cripple a person and make him utterly
helpless. The old woman is shown as a helpless woman who laments saying “What
else can an Old Woman do on hills as wretched as these?”
5. Bring out the significance of the phrase 'cracks around her eye' in relation to the
description of the woman as ' Shatter proof crone ' .
Ans. An Old Woman is taken from Jejuri, a collection of his poems. ‘Cracks’ are
simply a sign of old age. Age is an important factor. As the age passes by it starts
leaving its ugly impact on the body. With the passage of time even the hills and
temples which were strong earlier develop cracks. It is a natural process. The
‘cracks around her eyes’ are symbolic of her old age and rich experience. It also
talks about the wisdom that comes with age. The hills and temples represent the
same wisdom and dignity that a woman stands for. The old woman and the hills
have been around for centuries. Inspite of being old the woman is able to carry on
and find means to keep her life going just like the hills and the temples.
6. List the different things that the boys did to earn their living?
Ans. Nicola and Jacopo seem to be jacks of all trades. In addition to selling
strawberry, the boys sold newspaper, shined shoes, ran errands such as procuring
American cigarettes and opera tickets for the foreigners and acted as their tourist
guides in not only taking them around the beautiful place but also giving them useful
information as to which restaurants served good pasta. It looks as if they were
prepared to take up any and every avenue of making money. But, what is remarkable
is that none of these tasks has even an element of dishonesty or underhand dealing
and the boys are honourable in all that they do.
7. In different ways ways were the boys useful to narrator?
Ans. The boys proved to be extremely useful to the narrator. Whenever they wanted
a pack of American cigarettes or seats for the opera or the name of a good
restaurant that could provide ravioli, they satisfied their needs with their usual
cheerful competence.
8. Do you think mada the story is a telling comment on the true character of
gentleman ? Elaborate.
Ans. A J Cronin (1896-1981) was Scottish novelist and Physician. Cronin wrote his
first novel Hatter’s Castle. This was such a great success that he gave up medicine
to pursue literature. He wrote several novels like “The keys of the Kingdom’, The
Spanish Gardener’ etc. His works have been translated into many languages and
several of his books have been filmed. The story is definitely telling a comment on
the true character of a gentleman, because the two small boys have all the qualities
of a true gentleman. At that young age, they behave in a perfectly matured way. They
are polite, sensitive and compassionate. They do not want to trouble or bother
others about their problems. They never complain about their past and are ever
smiling.
