Here we have provided In The Snake and the Mirror Question Answer. The Snake and the Mirror Question Answer will help you understand the chapter better and will be helpful in your exam preparation.
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 5 । The Snake and the Mirror Question Answer
Thinking about the text (Page 60)
I. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30–40 words).
1. “The sound was a familiar one.” What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the text.) When and why did the sounds stop?
Ans:- The doctor heard the sound of a snake hissing in his room. At first, he thought it was a whistling sound made by the wind. He heard the sound twice. The sounds stopped when he saw the snake in the mirror and realised the danger he was in. The snake had been coiled up behind a bottle and had not made any noise after its initial hiss.
2. What two “important” and “earth-shaking” decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
Ans:- The doctor made two important choices while looking in the mirror that would ultimately affect everything. He decided to stop drinking alcohol, and he also decided to change his profession from doctor to snake charmer.
3. “I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says, “I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” What is the doctor’s opinion about himself when: (i) he first smiles, and (ii) he smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?
Ans:- The doctor’s initial smile was an attempt to reassure the mirror image that he was not terrified by the snake. He still believed that he was in charge of the circumstance at this time. When he finally smiled once more, it was a feeble one since he was aware of the risk.
II. This story about a frightening incident is narrated in a humorous way. What makes it humorous? (Think of the contrasts it presents between dreams and reality. Some of them are listed below.)
- 1. (i) The kind of person the doctor is (money, possessions)
- (ii) The kind of person he wants to be (appearance, ambition)
- 2. (i) The person he wants to marry
- (ii) The person he actually marries
- 3. (i) His thoughts when he looks into the mirror
- (ii) His thoughts when the snake is coiled around his arm
Write short paragraphs on each of these to get your answer.
1. Ans:- The story “The Snake and the Mirror” presents contrasts between dreams and reality that contribute to its humorous tone. illustration is the difference between the doctor’s current personality and the one he aspires to have. The doctor is presented as obsessed with money and material belongings, yet he secretly longs to be a successful, attractive guy who is respected by others. This contrast is humorous because it highlights the doctor’s superficiality and reveals the absurdity of his desires.
2. Ans:- The doctor’s desire to marry one person and his real marriage to another is another difference in the narrative. The doctor hopes to wed a gorgeous, wealthy woman but instead marries a plain, nondescript woman who is unconcerned with material things.
3. Ans:- The doctor’s feelings when he looks in the mirror and when the snake is wrapped around his arm are contrasted in the story. The doctor thinks of himself as attractive and accomplished when he looks in the mirror, but when the snake is wrapped around his arm, he learns how powerless and defenceless he actually is. This contrast is amusing because it demonstrates how easily the doctor’s sense of self may be destroyed and how ridiculous his sense of importance is in the face of danger.
Thinking about the language
I. Here are some sentences from the text. Say which of them tell you, that the author: (a) was afraid of the snake, (b) was proud of his appearance, (c) had a sense of humour, (d) was no longer afraid of the snake.
- I was turned to stone.
- I was no mere image cut in granite.
- The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
- I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’.
- I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.
- I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
- I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
- I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
- The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness…! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
- Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead.
Answers
- (a) – (1), (3), (4), (5)
- (b) – (6), (8)
- (c) – (9), (10)
- (d) – (2), (7)
2. Expressions used to show fear
Can you find the expressions in the story that tell you that the author was frightened ?
- I was turned.
- I sat there holding.
- In the light of the lamp I sat there like
Ans:-
- 1.I was turned to stone.
- 2.I sat there holding my breath and waiting for death.
- 3.In the light of the lamp I sat there like a stone image with my eyes fixed on the mirror.
Match the meanings with the words/expressions in italics, and write the appropriate meaning next to the sentence. The first one has been done for you.
- I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits. (very frightened)
- I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge.
- He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.
- You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.
- Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end.
- Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors.
- The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.
Answer:-
- (very frightened)
- (a sudden feeling of fear)
- (startled or frightened)
- (a sudden feeling of fear)
- (to be extremely frightened or terrified)
- (overwhelmed with fear to the point of being unable to move or act)
- (not making any movement, staying completely still
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