1. The narrator was still a struggling writer.
2. He promptly said 'yes' to the woman's proposal for lunch at the Foyot's.
3. The woman did not approve of the narrator's choice of eating meat.
Answers
Explanation:
The conductor’s voice was deliberately louder, with an angry rasp to it; the charladies twisted and craned their necks in their efforts to discover the reason for his sudden brusqueness. The slim woman remained standing cool, remote, undismayed by the conductors’ threatening attitude or the pointedly hostile glances directed at her by the women in their immediate sympathy and solidarity with the conductor against someone who was obviously not of their class.
(i) Did the conductor speak louder deliberately? If so, then why?
Answer : Yes, the conductor’s voice was deliberately louder. He was angry at the slim woman because she was not following the bus rules. The conductor indicated a vacant seat but she gave no sign that she had heard him. Even after being told that it is not allowed to stand in the bus, she did not pay any heed to it. Thus, the conductor spoke louder in order to embarrass her.
(ii) Who was the slim woman? Why was she not following the conductor’s commands?
Answer : The slim woman was one of the passengers travelling in the bus. She was smartly dressed and was offered a seat next to the narrator. She was pleased at his but when she saw that the narrator was a black, she was taken aback with surprise. She did not sit on the vacant seat and kept standing. She refused to follow conductor’s repeated commands and ignored him because she did not consider it appropriate for herself to sit beside a black man. She was a racist who thought herself superior to the blacks.
(iii) How did the lady react to the conductor’s brusqueness?
Answer : The slim woman remained standing cool, remote and undismayed by the conductor’s threatening attitude. She did not even bother about the deliberate use of loud voice by the conductor. She ignored him completely . Infact she was fearless and nothing forced her to take the vacant seat beside the narrator, who was a black. She returned the conductor’s gaze with the cool effrontery of a patrician.
(iv) How did the other passengers react to the conductor’s brusqueness and the slim woman’s racist attitude? Were there any other black passengers in the bus?
Answer : The other passengers, i.e., the charladies twisted and craned their necks in their efforts to discover the reason for the conductor’s brusqueness . They pointedly directed hostile glances at the slim woman. They did not approve of her behaviour. However, they had their immediate sympathy and solidarity with the conductor against someone who was obviously not of their class.
All the passengers in the bus were women except the narrator. The narrator was the only black passenger travelling in the bus.
(v) What was the narrator’s reaction to the whole situation? What impression did he form of the slim woman?
Answer : The narrator was angry at the slim woman’s undisguised prejudice against him. However, his quick anger was tinctured by a certain admiration for her fearless, superior attitude. She was more than a match to all the hostile glances that were pointed to her. She looked at the conductor straight in the eye. The narrator could observe a suppressed smile around her mouth. It was as if she was secretly enjoying herself. She was smooth, elegant and superior. The moment the narrator got down at his shop, he could see the woman take the same seat which he had just vacated. She was a racist.
Question 2 : Read the following extract and