Class:XI Lesson:01

Class:XI 

Sub:English

Book:Hornbill

Lesson:01 

The Portrait of a Lady 

Questions and Answers 

Short Answer Type

Question 1.

Why was it hard for the author to believe that the grandmother was once young and pretty?

Answer:

It was difficult for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty. In fact, the thought was almost revolting. He had seen her old for the last twenty years. He felt she could age no further. The very thought of her playing games as a child seemed quite absurd and undignified.

Question 2.

The grandmother has been portrayed as a very religious lady. What details in the story create this impression?

Answer:

The author recalls his grandmother as a very religious woman. He remembers her hobbling about the house, telling the beads of her rosary. He recalls her morning prayers and her reading scriptures inside the temple. The author recounts how, during the last few days, she spent all her time praying.

Question 3.

The grandmother had a divine beauty. How does the author bring it out?

Answer:

The grandmother was not pretty but had a divine beauty. She dressed in spotless white. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale, puckered face, and her lips constantly moved in an inaudible prayer. The author describes her “like the winter landscape in the mountains”a personification of “serenity, breathing peace and contentment.”

Question 4.

What proofs do you find of friendship between the grandmother and grandson in the story?

Answer:

The grandmother and grandson were good friends. She got him ready and walked him to and back from school. In the city, they shared a common bedroom. The author’s grandmother saw him off, silently, but kissing him on his forehead, when he went abroad and celebrated his return five years later.

Question 5.

The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.

Answer:

The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. On her way back from school, she would feed the village dogs with stale chapattis. In the city, when she could not move out, she took to feeding sparrows that came and perched on her legs, shoulders, and head.

Question 6.

“This was the turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point?

Answer:

The turning point in the friendship arrived when they shifted to the city. They saw less of each other as she could neither accompany him to school, nor understand English. She did not believe in science. She could not keep pace with the author’s modem education that he received in the city school.

Question 7.

Draw a comparison between the author’s village school education and city school education.

Answer:

The village school was attached to a temple and the students were taught the alphabet and morning prayers. The author and his grandmother walked to the school in the village. However, in the city he went by the school bus. He was taught science and English but not taught about god. He was also taught music.

Question 8.

What was the happiest moment of the day for the grandmother?

Answer:

The happiest moment of the day for the grandmother in the city was when she was feeding the sparrows. They perched on her legs, shoulders, and head but she never shooed them away.

Question 9.

What was ‘the last sign’ of physical contact between the author and the grandmother? Why did the author think that to be the last physical contact?

Answer:

The author was going abroad for five years. His grandmother kissed his forehead. He presumed this as the last sign of physical contact between them. He feared that she would not survive till he returned since he was going away for five years.

Question 10.

Everybody including the sparrows mourned the grandmother’s death. Elaborate.

Answer:

When the grandmother died, thousands of sparrows collected and sat in the courtyard. There was no chirruping. When the author’s mother threw some breadcrumbs for them, they took no notice of the breadcrumbs. They were full of grief at her death and flew away quietly after the cremation.

Question 11.

Describe the author’s grandfather as he looked in his portrait.

Answer:

In the portrait, the grandfather was dressed in a big turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long white beard covered the best part of his chest and he looked at least a hundred years old. He looked grandfatherly to the author; someone who could never have been young.

Question 12.

How does the author describe his grandmother?

Answer:

The author describes his grandmother as short, old, fat and slightly bent. To him, she looked the same for twenty years. It was difficult for him to imagine her young and pretty. But he found a beauty in her old age, like the serene winter landscape.

Question 13.

How does the author react to the idea of the grandmother being young at a point of time and playing games?

Answer:

The author could not conceive his grandmother as young and pretty, and playing games as a little girl. To him, it was like one of the myths and fables she told him.

Question 14.

How did the grandmother prepare the author for going to school?

Answer:

The grandmother woke him up each morning, bathed him, dressed him and got him ready for school. There after, she plastered his wooden slate, gave him breakfast and walked him to school. While the author sat in the veranda learning the alphabet and morning prayers, the grandmother sat inside the temple reading scriptures.

Question 15.

Why was the grandmother distressed by the education imparted in the city school?

Answer:

The grandmother disapproved of the author’s education in the English school; they were taught science. She could not understand English and did not believe in science. It made her unhappy that they were not taught about god. The music lessons in school made her unhappier as she felt it was not meant for the gentle folk.

Good Evening to all students. 

GR Dhaka English Guru