Prepare a newspaper report on the dedicated service of Dr. Cronin and Hasan in
treating the smallpox victims in the ship Ranaganji.
Answers
Answer:
Question 1.
What was notable about the appearance of the Indian sprang?
Answer:
He was squat and looked very ugly. He was with short legs and a large disproportionate head.
Question 2.
Who were the passengers were on the Ranaganji?
Answer:
The passengers were on the Ranaganji were tourists and pleasure seekers.
Question 3.
Who was Miss Jope-Smith? Write a short character sketch.
Answer:
Miss Jope-Smith was a passenger on the Ranaganji. She was a thrusting person. She was over thirty but she dressed herself smartly and in a dashing style to look younger. She was a first class passenger on the Ranaganji. She was always seen with her male companion Ronnie. She was a snob and a big bore. Her comment aboutjhe serang was ‘an absurdly comic creature’. When, aTthe end of the story, she asks the narrator whether he had kept the serang in a cage, the narrator gave her a befitting reply. He said that he had kept the serang in a cage but all the animals were outside. He meant that she was an animal with her rude remark about people and her showing off nature.
Question 4.
What was the condition of the seamen who were brought by the serang to Dr Cronin?
Answer:
The seamen did not look well. They complained of general illness, strong headache and severe bone pains. They looked frightened, as the doctor began to examine them. Both had fever. Theirtongueswere covered with thick sputum. They had dry skin, which is nature’s gravest warning. The doctor then discovered hard little nodules under the wrist skin of each man. It was the sure symptom of smallpox.
Question 5.
How did AJ Cronin conclude that the seamen were inflected with smallpox?
Answer:
AJ Cronin concluded that the seamen were inflected wi.th smallpox because he discovered hard little nodules under their wrist skin. It was the sure symptom of smallpox.
Question 6.
Describe Captain Hamble. What was his reaction when he heard about the breakout of smallpox on the ship?
Answer:
Captain Hamble was a thickset man of fifty five. He was known as a strict disciplinarian. When the doctor told him that two of the deckhands had small pox, Captain Hamble’s lips drew tightly together showing his tension. He was also a just and fair-minded officer. When he heard about the breakout of smallpox on the ship, he asked the doctor to do his best to keep the disease frorn spreading. He also wanted others not to know of the disease as passengers would then get panicky.
Question 7.
Where and how was the shelter for the infected patients made?
Answer:
The shelter for the infected patients was made in the back part of the ship where it wouldn’t be so visible to others. Hasan was the main person who made the shelter. In an hour he erected a large canvas shelter. Mattresses and sheets were then brought up and the two patients were placed there.
Question 8.
How did the serang take care of the diseased patients?
Answer:
The serang was very sincere and compassionate in caring for the diseased patients. It was a situation to test the strongest nerves. But the serang was calm and undisturbed. In attending the patients, he seemed untiring. The doctor had to beg him to be careful and asked him not to go too close to the patients. But the serang was not afraid and he continued taking care of the patients in all possible ways.
Question 9.
What information did Dr Cronin collect about the serang?
Answer:
Dr Cronin I gathered some information about the serang’s past history. His name was Hasan. He was from the Punjab. But his parents had moved into south India. There like many others in the coastal region he had taken to the sea-faring life. For nearly 40 years, he had been travelling in the various oceans of the world. In the Ranaganji he had spent 15 years. He had no place on shore; he had no friends or family. He had never married. He was a Muslim. All his life he had acquired nothing, neither money nor property. What he had was worth a few rupees and it was in the ship.
Question 10.
What was Hasan’s attitude to life, as explained to Cronin?
Answer:
Hasan thought money was of no use for someone who had all that he needed. He was quite happy with the way he was. He needed no extra money for his service. He had no respect for money and he despised it. He was never worried about tomorrow.