Question 2 - Chapter 3 - Mother’s Day - Snapshot - Chapters (Literature) - English Class 11

Read the extract and answer the following questions.

Extract:

MRS PEARSON: [embarrassed] Mrs Fitzgerald —I know you mean well —in fact, I agree with you —but I just can’t —and it’s no use you trying to make me. If I promise you I’d really have it out with them, I know I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise. 

MRS FITZGERALD: Then let me do it. 

MRS PEARSON: [ flustered] Oh no —thank you very much, Mrs Fitzgerald —but that wouldn’t do at all. It couldn’t possibly be somebody else — they’d resent it at once and wouldn’t listen— and really I couldn’t blame them. I know I ought to do it — but you see how it is? [She looks apologetically across the table, smiling rather miserably.] 

(Mother’s Day)

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 "flustered" and "smiling rather miserably".

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 "flustered", which describes how Mrs Pearson felt nervous and confused by Mrs Fitzgerald's offer to confront her family for her. This appeals to the sense of emotion and sound.
•    Another sensory detail is "smiling rather miserably", which describes how Mrs Pearson expressed her embarrassment and helplessness with her facial expression. This appeals to the sense of sight and emotion.

Question (ii)

 Complete the sentence appropriately.

The phrase "they’d resent it at once and wouldn’t listen" suggests that ____________.

Answer:

-lock-

Answer as written by the student:

The phrase "they’d resent it at once and wouldn’t listen" s uggests that Mrs Pearson's family would react negatively and defiantly to Mrs Fitzgerald's interference or criticism.

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 Mrs Pearson's reason for rejecting Mrs Fitzgerald's offer to have it out with her family on her behalf.
•   The phrase "they’d resent it at once and wouldn’t listen" means that they would feel angry or offended by it immediately and would not pay attention or heed to it.
•   Therefore, we need to fill in the blank with something that explains what this implies or reveals about their attitude or behavior towards Mrs Fitzgerald's interference or criticism.
•   Based on the extract, we can infer that they would react negatively and defiantly to it, because they would not appreciate or accept someone else telling them what to do or how to treat their mother better.
•   So, we can complete the sentence with "Mrs Pearson's family would react negatively and defiantly to Mrs Fitzgerald's interference or criticism".

Question (iii)

Explain any one possible inference that can be drawn from the line "I know I ought to do it — but you see how it is?"

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

One possible inference that can be drawn from this line is that Mrs Pearson felt guilty and conflicted about her inability or unwillingness to stand up to her family.

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 know I ought to do it — but you see how it is?" is a statement made by Mrs Pearson to Mrs Fitzgerald about her dilemma of confronting her family or not.
•    The evidence from this line is that Mrs Pearson says that she knows she ought to do it, which means that she recognizes or acknowledges her duty or responsibility to do so. But she also says that she sees how it is, which means that she understands or accepts the reality or difficulty of doing so.
•    Our reasoning behind this inference is that this statement implies that she felt guilty and conflicted about her inability or unwillingness to stand up to her family, because she admitted that she agreed with Mrs Fitzgerald but also expressed her hesitation and apology for not being able to do it.
•    Therefore, we can explain our inference by saying that this line shows that Mrs Pearson felt guilty and conflicted about her inability or unwillingness to stand up to her family.

Question (iv)

Identify the line from the text that bears evidence to the fact that Mrs Fitzgerald was more assertive and confident than Mrs Pearson.

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The line from the text that bears evidence to the fact that Mrs Fitzgerald was more assertive and confident than Mrs Pearson is "Then let me do it".

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 Mrs Fitzgerald was more assertive and confident than Mrs Pearson, which means that she was more willing and able to express her opinions or wishes strongly and clearly.
•   The line that shows this fact is "Then let me do it".
•   This line implies that Mrs Fitzgerald was more assertive and confident than Mrs Pearson by offering to confront her family for her, which shows that she had no fear or hesitation in doing so and that she thought she could handle the situation better than her.
•   Therefore, we can identify this line as the evidence for the fact.

Question (v)

 What does the term 'embarrassed' indicate about Mrs Pearson's emotion or reaction to Mrs Fitzgerald's advice?

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The term 'embarrassed' indicates that Mrs Pearson's emotion or reaction to Mrs Fitzgerald's advice was negative and uncomfortable.

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 'embarrassed', which means feeling or showing awkwardness or shame in a social situation.
•   The term is used to describe how Mrs Pearson felt when Mrs Fitzgerald told her to put her foot down and be the mistress of her own house and the boss of her own family.
•   This indicates that Mrs Pearson's emotion or reaction to Mrs Fitzgerald's advice was negative and uncomfortable, because she did not agree or appreciate it and felt exposed or humiliated by it.
•   Therefore, we can explain what the term indicates by saying that it shows that Mrs Pearson's emotion or reaction to Mrs Fitzgerald's advice was negative and uncomfortable.

Question (vi)

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

1. A Woman's Attempt to Persuade Her Friend to Change Her Life
2. A Woman's Struggle to Accept Her Friend's Help and Support
3. A Woman's Apology to Her Friend for Not Following Her Advice
4. A Woman's Explanation to Her Friend for Not Confronting Her Family

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The best headline that suggests the central idea of the extract is (d). A Woman's Explanation to Her Friend for Not Confronting Her Family.

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 conversation between two women, Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Pearson, who are friends and neighbours. Mrs Fitzgerald advises Mrs Pearson to be more firm and assertive with her family, who are thoughtless and selfish towards her. Mrs Pearson rejects her offer to do it for her and explains why she can't do it herself.
•    The central idea of this extract is how Mrs Pearson justifies and rationalizes her inability or unwillingness to stand up to her family and how she feels guilty and conflicted about it.
•    The headline that best reflects this idea is D. A Woman's Explanation to Her Friend for Not Confronting Her Family, because it summarizes the main action and reason in the extract.
•    The other headlines are either too specific (C), too general (A), or too irrelevant (B) to convey the central idea of the extract.

-endlock-