describe the end of the story of the portrait of lady
class 11
Hornbill
Ch-1
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
Hornbill Class 11 English Question 1:
The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before lie left else country to study abroad.
Answer:
The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad are:
childhood – when he went to the village school and the grandmother helped him to get ready and went to school with him.
boyhood – when he went to the city school in a bus. He shared a room with grandmother but she could no longer help him in his studies.
early youth – when he went to the university and was given a room of him own. The common link of friendship was snapped.
Hornbill Class 11 English Question 2:
Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when m started going to the city school.
Answer:
The three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school are:
She hated western Science and learning.
She was pained to know that there was no teaching of God and the scriptures there.
She was allergic to music. She thought it was not meant for decent people and gentlefolk. It was the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.
Hornbill Class 11 English Question 3:
Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Answer:
The three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up are:
She lived alone in her room as she had accepted her loneliness quietly.
She sat at her spinning wheel reciting prayers.
In the afternoon, she would feed the sparrows for half an hour.
Hornbill Class 11 English Question 4:
The odd ways in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
Answer:
Just before her death, the author’s grandmother refused to talk to them. Since she
had omitted to pray the previous night while she was singing songs of homecoming and beating the drum, she was not going to waste any more time. She ignored their protests. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling beads.
Hornbill Class 11 English Question 5:
The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.
Answer:
Thousands of sparrows sat silently surrounding the dead body of the author’s grandmother. There was no chirruping. The author’s mother threw some crumbs of bread to them. They took no notice of them. As soon as the grandmother’s corpse was carried off, they flew away quietly. Thus the sparrows expressed their sorrow.
The Portrait of a Lady Talking About the Text
Talk to your partner about the following:
Question 1:
The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was a deeply religious lady. We come to know this through the different ways of her behaviour. She visited the temple every morning and read scriptures. At home she always mumbled inaudible prayer and kept telling the beads of rosary. She would repeat prayers in a sing-song manner while getting the writer ready for school. She hoped that he would learn it by heart. She didn’t like English school as there was no teaching of God and scriptures.
Even while spinning at her spinning-wheel she would recite prayers. Perhaps it was only once that she forgot to say her prayers. It was on the evening prior to her death when she felt over excited while celebrating the arrival of her grandson with songs and beatings of drum. She continued praying and telling beads of her rosary till her last breath.
Question 2:
Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
Answer:
During his boyhood, the author was completely dependent on his grandmother. She was a part of his life. The turning point in their friendship came when they went to city. She could no longer accompany him to school as he went there by bus. They shared the same room but she could not help him in his studies. She would ask him what the teachers had taught. She did not believe in the things that were taught at school. She was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. She felt offended that music was also being taught. She expressed her disapproval silently. After this she rarely talked to him. When he went to university, he was given a room of his own. The common link of friendship was snapped.
However their feelings for each other did not change. They still loved each other deeply. She went to see the author off at the railway station when he was going abroad for higher studies. She showed no emotion but kissed his forehead silently. The author valued this as perhaps the last sign of physical contact between them. When the author returned after five years, she received him at the station. She clasped him in her arms. In the evening she celebrated his homecoming by singing songs and beating an old drum.