NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Chapter 5 The Snake and The Mirror
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Chapter 5 The Snake and The Mirror
THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT
Q. 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 rats. The sound was a familiar one. He heard this sound four times. The phrases are 'Again l heard that sound from above', 'Again came that noise from above', 'Suddenly there came a dull thud as if a rubber tube has fallen'. The sounds stopped after the appearance of the snake.
2. What two "important" and "earth-shaking" decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
Ans. The doctor took the following two 'important' and 'earth shaking decisions :
(a) He would shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome,
(b) He would always that attractive smile on his face.
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 $.miles, and
(ii) he smiles again ? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?
Ans. The doctor thought that he had a good smile when he first smiled, But when he smiled a little later, he laughed at his destiny. His life was in danger. His thoughts got changed of the shake. He was quite near to death.
Q. 11. 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)
Ans. The doctor is a poor man. He does not have suffice money. His house is unelectrified. It is a small rented room which has many rats. He has about sixty rupees in his suitcase. Along with some shirt and dhotis, he also possesses one solitary black coat.
(ii) The kind of person he wants to be (appearance, ambition)
Ans. He wants to be a handsome person. So he decides to shave daily and grow a thin moustache. He also wishes to accumulate wealth.
2. (i) The person he wants to marry
Ans. He intends to marry a woman doctor who has plenty of money and a good medical practice. He wishes to have a fat wife so that she cannot run after him and catch him.
(ii) The person he actually marries
Ans. The person he actually marries is a thin reedy person with the gift of a sprinter.
3. (i) His thoughts when he looks into the mirror
Ans. He thinks that he should look smart. So he decides to shave daily and retain his smile. He is happy and contented 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.
Ans. When the snake coiled around his left arm above the elbow, he kept sitting there holding his breath. He was turned to stone. He was afraid of the snake.
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Chapter 5 The Snake and The Mirror
Q. 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.
1. I was turned to stone.
2. I was no mere image cut in granite.
3. The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
4. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, `O God'.
5. I didn't tremble. I didn't cry out.
Compare the two translations on the basis of the following points:
• the tense of narration (past and present tense)
• short, incomplete sentences
• sentence length
Which of these translations do you like? Give reasons for your choice.
Ans. Do yourself.
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Chapter 5 The Snake and The Mirror
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q. 1. Who was making the noise in the narrator's room?
Ans. It was a hot summer night. It was about ten o'clock. The narrator, a doctor, had his meal at the restaurant and returned to his room. He heard a noise from above. He lighted the kerosene lamp on the table. Later he found that it was a snake who was making the noise.
Q. 2. What two 'important' and 'earth-shaking' decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
Ans. The doctor took two decisions while he was looking into the mirror. First, he would shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome. Second, he would always keep an attractive smile on his face.
Q. 3. What happened to the doctor when he was sitting in his chair?
Ans. As the doctor resumed his seat in the chair, there came suddenly a dull thud as if a rubber tube had fallen on the ground. He turned around to take a look. No sooner had he turned than a fat snake wriggled over the back of the chair and landed on the doctor's shoulder.
Q. 4. What made the doctor say, "Death lurked four inches away"?
Ans. When the snake landed on the doctor's shoulder, he didn't jump or tremble. He didn't cry out. He knew that at the slightest movement, the snake would strike him. Then he said, "Death lurked four inches away."
Q. 5. What did the doctor do when the snake jumped onto the table and moved towards the mirror?
Ans. The doctor got up from his chair and quietly went out through the door. He reached the verandah, jumped into the yard and ran as fast as he could. He kept on running till he reached a friend’s house. There he smeared oil all over himself and took a bath. He changed into fresh clothes.
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Chapter 5 The Snake and The Mirror
LONG ANSWER TYPE
QUESTIONS
Q. 1. Describe the doctor's feelings when the snake coiled round his arm.
Ans. The doctor got terrified when the snake landed on his shoulder. He remembered the Almighty and sat there like a stone image in the flesh. He had pain in his left arm. It was as if a rod of molten fire was powerfully crushing his arm. The arm was beginning to be drained all the strength. He felt that his end was near. The snake spread its hood and its head was hardly three or four inches from his face. So, the doctor got afraid of the snake and he prayed to God for his safety.
Q. 2. "I was but a poor, foolish and stupid doctor." Justify the statement in the light of the story, "The Snake and the Mirror."
Ans. The author uttered these words. He was right in using these words. His financial condition was not sound. He was living in a rented room and had no facility there. He endured the company of rats. When the snake was about to strike him, he thought about medicines. He did not have any medicine at home. So he cursed his poverty and declared himself foolish for not keeping any medicine.
The house he was living in, was not electrified. He had just set up medical practice and his earnings were meagre. He did not heed the sound in the room and took it casually. Consequently a
snake sat on his shoulder. It shows that the author acted in a stupid manner. Thus we can say that the words used by the author for himself are justified.
Q. 3. How did the author get rid of the snake and where did he go after his escape from the snake's clutches and what did he do?
Ans. The snake coiled round the narrator's left arm and its head was hardly three or four inches from his face. He remembered and prayed to God for his well being. The snake looked into the mirror and saw its reflection. The doctor made no efforts to get rid of the snake. It turned its face itself and crept onto the table and moved towards the mirror. In this way he got rid of the snake.
The doctor ran and reached a friend's house. He smeared oil all over himself and took a bath. He changed into fresh clothes. The next morning at about eight thirty he took his friend and one or two others to his room to move his things from there. But he did not find anything there because most of the things had been stolen by some thief.
NCERT Solutions for Class-9 English Chapter 5 The Snake and The Mirror
This is a very interesting story about a snake. The narrator, who is a doctor, explains his experience with a snake here. He narrates an incident of a hot summer night when he used to live in a room in the village. When he came to his room, it was about ten o'clock. As he opened the door, he heard sonic noise. There were a lot of mice around the room. Therefore, the narrator did not give much attention to it.
The house was not electrified so he lighted a lamp. He took off his black coat and hung it. He sat in the chair lying against the table. He took out a medical hook from the box below the table and started reading it. A mirror was also placed on the table. The narrator saw himself in the mirror. He adjusted his parting and sat back. It was very hot and he decided to get tip and go out for some air. His room had a tiled roof.
After some time he went back into the room. Then he lit a beedi and started thinking. He was thinking about marrying a fat woman. He wanted his wife to be a doctor with a lot of money. Thinking so, he again sat on the chair. Suddenly, he heard "a sound and a snake fell upon his shoulder”. The narrator turned into a statue out of fear. The snake slithered round his arm. The narrator could think only this much as which medicine he should take if the snake bit him. The snake was hardly four inches away from his face.
The narrator had no strength left in him to do anything. The snake was coiling harder. Suddenly the snake saw its reflection in the mirror. It was so attracted to its reflection that he uncoiled from the narrator's hand and slipped on to the table. It sat there and started looking at the mirror. This-gave an opportunity to the narrator to run away. He ran with his full strength and reached the house of one of his friends. The narrator went to his room only in the morning with his friend. But they found that a thief had stolen all his belongings except a dirty vest. The narrator said laughing that perhaps the snake was captivated by its own beauty.