Question 4 - Chapter 2 - The Address - Snapshot - Chapters (Literature) - English Class 11

Read the extract and answer the following questions.

Extract:

‘Won’t you sit down?’ asked the girl. She held open the door of the living-room and I went inside past her. I stopped, horrified. I was in a room I knew and did not know. I found myself in the midst of things I did want to see again but which oppressed me in the strange atmosphere. Or because of the tasteless way everything was arranged, because of the ugly furniture or the muggy smell that hung there, I don’t know; but I scarcely dared to look around me. The girl moved a chair. I sat down and stared at the woollen table-cloth. I rubbed it. My fingers grew warm from rubbing.

(The Address)

Question (i)

List any two sensory details present in this extract.

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

Two sensory details present in this extract are "the muggy smell that hung there" and "My fingers grew warm from rubbing".

Step-by-step explanation: 📝

•  Sensory details are words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
•   To find sensory details in a text, we can look for words that describe how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels.
•   In this extract, one sensory detail is " the muggy smell that hung there", which describes how the room smelled damp and stale. This appeals to the sense of smell and atmosphere.
•   Another sensory detail is "My fingers grew warm from rubbing", which describes how the narrator felt a change in temperature and sensation in her fingers as she touched the table-cloth. This appeals to the sense of touch and movement.

Question (ii)

 Complete the sentence appropriately.

The phrase "I was in a room I knew and did not know" suggests that ____________.

Answer:

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Answer as written by the student:

The phrase "I was in a room I knew and did not know" suggests that the narrator had some familiarity with the room but also some unfamiliarity or discomfort with it.

Step-by-step explanation: 📝

•   To complete a sentence with an appropriate word or phrase, we need to understand the meaning and context of the sentence.
•  In this case, the sentence is about the narrator's reaction to entering the living-room of the woman who had taken her mother's belongings.
•   The phrase "I was in a room I knew and did not know" means that she had some recognition and memory of the room but also some confusion and uneasiness with it.
•   Therefore, we need to fill in the blank with something that explains what she knew and did not know about the room or why she felt that way.
•   Based on the extract, we can infer that she knew some of the things in the room because they belonged to her mother, but she did not know how they ended up there or why they were arranged in a tasteless way. We can also infer that she felt oppressed and horrified by seeing them again in a strange atmosphere.
•   So, we can complete the sentence with "the narrator had some familiarity with the room but also some unfamiliarity or discomfort with it".

Question (iii)

 Explain any one possible inference that can be drawn from the line "I scarcely dared to look around me".

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

One possible inference that can be drawn from this line is that the narrator was afraid or ashamed of what she might see or find in the room.

Step-by-step explanation: 📝

•  An inference is a logical conclusion based on evidence and reasoning from a text.
•   To explain an inference, we need to provide both the evidence from the text and our reasoning behind it.
•  In this case, the line "I scarcely dared to look around me" is a statement made by the narrator about her reluctance or hesitation to observe the room more closely.
•   The evidence from this line is that the narrator says that she barely had the courage or willingness to look around her, which means that she avoided or resisted doing so.
•  Our reasoning behind this inference is that this statement implies that she was afraid or ashamed of what she might see or find in the room, because she knew that it contained some of her mother's things that had been taken by the woman without her consent or knowledge, and that they had been altered or damaged by her tasteless arrangement or ugly furniture.
•   Therefore, we can explain our inference by saying that this line shows that the narrator was afraid or ashamed of what she might see or find in the room.

Question (iv)

Identify the line from the text that bears evidence to the fact that the woman had changed or ruined the narrator's mother's things.

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The line from the text that bears evidence to the fact that the woman had changed or ruined the narrator's mother's things is " but which oppressed me in the strange atmosphere. Or because of the tasteless way everything was arranged, because of the ugly furniture or the muggy smell that hung there".

Step-by-step explanation: 📝

•   To identify a line from the text that supports a fact, we need to look for words or phrases that show or imply the fact.
•   In this case, the fact is that the woman had altered or damaged the narrator's mother's things, and not preserved or respected them as she claimed.
•   The line that shows this fact is "but which oppressed me in the strange atmosphere. Or because of the tasteless way everything was arranged, because of the ugly furniture or the muggy smell that hung there".
•   This line implies that the woman had changed or ruined the narrator's mother's things by creating a strange and oppressive atmosphere in the room, by arranging everything in a tasteless and unappealing way, by using ugly and mismatched furniture, and by letting a damp and stale smell linger in the air.
•   Therefore, we can identify this line as the evidence for the fact.

Question (v)

 What does the term 'beckoned' indicate about the narrator's mother's intention or gesture?

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The term 'beckoned' indicates that the narrator's mother's intention or gesture was to invite or signal her to come closer or join her.

Step-by-step explanation: 📝

•   To explain what a term indicates about something, we need to define the term and relate it to the context of the text.
•    In this case, the term is 'beckoned', which means to make a gesture with one's hand or head to encourage someone to come nearer or follow.
•     The term is used to describe how the narrator's mother called her when she saw her and introduced her to the woman who had taken her things.
•    This indicates that the narrator's mother's intention or gesture was to invite or signal her to come closer or join her, and not to push her away or ignore her.
•    Therefore, we can explain what the term indicates by saying that it shows that the narrator's mother's intention or gesture was to invite or signal her to come closer or join her.

Question (vi)

 Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?

1. A Woman's Shocking Discovery of Her Mother's Things
2. A Woman's Unpleasant Visit to a Strange House
3. A Woman's Curious Interaction with a Familiar Woman
4. A Woman's Horrified Reaction to a Changed Room

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The best headline that suggests the central idea of the extract is (d). A Woman's Horrified Reaction to a Changed Room.

Step-by-step explanation: 📝

•   To choose the best headline for an extract, we need to consider which one captures the main theme or message of the text.
•    In this case, the extract is about a woman who enters a living-room where she sees some of her mother's things that have been taken and altered by another woman who lives there.
•    The central idea of this extract is how the woman feels shocked and oppressed by seeing how her mother's things have been changed or ruined in a strange and tasteless way.
•    The headline that best reflects this idea is D. A Woman's Horrified Reaction to a Changed Room, because it summarizes the main emotion and outcome in the extract.
•    The other headlines are either too specific (A), too general (B), or too irrelevant (C) to convey the central idea of the extract.

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