Yearly Archives: 2021

Read and Find Out
Q1. What kind of a person was Evans?

ANSWER:
Evans was a young, clever prisoner. He had escaped thrice from the prison for which he was known ‘Evans the Break’. He was not a violent sort of a person. He was quite a pleasant person and was a star at the Christmas concert.

Q2. What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?

ANSWER:
For smooth conduct of the examination, various precautionary measures were taken. All sharp instruments like razor nail scissors were removed. The Governor, senior prison officer Jackson and officer Stephen were put on duty. A special invigilator was arranged. A microphone was fitted in the prison cell where the examination was to be conducted.

Q3. Will the exam now go as scheduled?

ANSWER:
Everything had been in order for the exam to start on its scheduled time, but the Governor, still apprehensive, ordered a last minute change in plan. As another precautionary measure, he ordered frisking the invigilator as well, before allowing him to carry out his assigned job. This wasted some time and the exam started at 9:25am, ten minutes later than the scheduled time.

Q4. Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of relief?

ANSWER:
Evans was a shrewd man who allowed only a momentary sigh of relief to the Governor and his staff. The exam was supposed to have ended peacefully, but when Stephens rechecked Evans’s cell, he was stunned to see a profusely bleeding McLeery still in the cell. He concluded that the man he had escorted to the gate was actually Evans.
Measures were taken to recapture Evans with the help of the bleeding McLeery, who was later sent off to a hospital for treatment. However, soon it was exposed that this ‘bleeding McLeery’ was the real Evans. Finally, when the Governor traced Evans and ordered him to be taken back to the prison with a prison officer in the official van, another conspiracy unfolded. Evans fled again, as the prison officer and the van were part of his back-up plan. His flawless plans left everyone perplexed and troubled.

Q5. Will the injured McLeery be able to help the prison officers track Evans?

ANSWER:
Injured McLeery, showcasing his knowledge of German, reveals the supposed plan of Evans through the superimposed question paper. He proposes to guide the officials to the whereabouts of Evans. However, this is later revealed to be a part of the Evans plan to flee to safety, as it was Evans himself who was disguised as the injured McLeery. It can be, thus, noticed that the disguised McLeery’s help to the officials was fake as it was just a part of Evans’s escape plan.

Q6. Will the clues left behind on the question paper, put Evans back in prison again?

ANSWER:
Evans escaped from the prison with the help of a clever, infallible plan. Certain clues were left behind by the shrewd fugitive which was a “careless” act according to the Governor. There was a superimposed question paper with directions to the supposed plan. However, it was soon seen that all of it was fake and part of the plan to misguide the officials.
But the little German the Governor knew and the ‘correction slip’ did help them to track him down.

Q7. When Stephens comes back to the cell he jumps to a conclusion and the whole machinery blindly goes by his assumption without even checking the identity of the injured ‘McLeery’. Does this show how hasty conjectures can prevent one from seeing the obvious? How is the criminal able to predict such negligence?

ANSWER:
Evans was a smart and perceptive criminal. He hadassessed the weaknesses of the jail officers successfully. Stephen was new recruit to the prison set up. When he saw the injured Mcleery in the cell he was so overwhelmed that he did not even check who he really was and neither did anyone else. It did not occur to anyone to question how there could there be two persons – one in the cell and the other who had been escorted out by Stephens. It was for this very reason that friends of Evans, who, posing as the Governor on the phone, have directed Stephens that he himself should escort the parson out, when the exam is finished. The Governor and his officers, in effect actually lead Evans out of the prison. The question paper is left behind to mislead the Governor. This shows that Evans the criminal had enough time to study the behavior patterns of the jail officers and plan their strategy well.

Q8. What could the Governor have done to securely bring back Evans to the prison when he caught him at the Golden Lion? Does that final act of foolishness really prove that “he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor, that was all”?

ANSWER:
The Governor took all the precautions to make sure that Evans should not have any chance to escape from the prison. He even tracked and arrested him at the Golden Lion after his sensational escape from the prison. But his overconfidence once again proved that he was no match for the clever and crafty Evans.
The Governor after finding the clues from the question paper tracked Evans at the Golden Lion. When Evans entered the room he was shocked to see the Governor. Evans offered no resistance and was arrested. The gullible Governor gloated over his success and said goodbye to him. Evans was handcuffed and made to sit in the police van. The Governor did not take care to check the identity of the driver, the van and the officer. A little more vigilance could have averted the escape of the criminal. If theGovernor had accompanied Evans to the prison cell with full police arrangements the criminal would not have escaped.This act of negligence proved that he was “just another good-for-a-giggle gullible governor that was all”.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:

Q1.What request did the Secretary of the Examination Board receive from the Governor of Oxford Prison?
ANSWER:  The request was to create an examination centre in the prison for one candidate named James Roderick Evans. He had started night classes in O-Level German last September. He was the only one in the class and said that he was keen to get some sort of academic qualification. The Secretary agreed to give him a chance and promised to send all the forms and stuff.

Q2. What enquiry did the Secretary of the Examination Board make about Evans? What did the Governor tell him about Evans?
ANSWER:  The Secretary wanted to know if Evans was a violent sort of person. The Governor told him that there was no record of violence. He was informed that Evans was quite a pleasant fellow—an amusing person. He was good at imitation and hence h star at the Christmas concert. He suffered from the desire to steal. He had this disease from birth.

Q3. What facts about Evans did the Governor of Oxford Prison not reveal to the Secretary of the Examination Board?

ANSWER:  Evans was called ‘Evans the Break’ by the prison officers. He had escaped from prison three times already. He would have done so from Oxford Prison as well if there had pot been unrest in the maximum security establishments up north.

Q4. What issue regarding conducting the examination did the Secretary of Examination Board raise? What was he told?
ANSWER:  The Secretary wanted to know whether a room could be arranged for holding examination. The Governor told him that Evans had a cell on his own. He could sit the exam in there. Secondly, they could easily get one of the parsons from St. Mary Mags to invigilate. The Secretary hoped that they would not have much trouble in keeping Evans without communicating with others.

Q5. Who met Evans on the eve of the examination? What does this brief interview reveal?
ANSWER:  It was Evans’ German teacher who shook him by the hand at 8.30 p.m. on Monday, 7 June. They met in the heavily guarded Recreational Block, just across from D Wing. The teacher wished him good luck in German, which Evans failed to understand. The teacher observed that he had a remote chance of getting through. Evans remarked that he might surprise everybody. These remarks prove quite meaningful and prophetic.

Q6. Who visited Evans on the morning of the Examination? What did they visit him for?
ANSWER:  Mr Jackson and Mr Stephens visited Evans. Jackson was the senior prison officer on D Wing and Stephens was a burly, surly-looking, new recruit. They visited him to ensure that he did not retain any potential weapon with him. Mr Stephens was asked to take away the razor after Evans had shaved himself.

Q7. What evidence do you get from the text to show that Mr Jackson and Evans “had already become warm enemies” ?
ANSWER: Jackson nodded curtly. He addressed Evans as “little Einstein” and mockingly enquired about him. He felt annoyed as Evans pointed out his ignorance about Einstein. Jackson genuinely loathed about the long, wavy hair of Evans. He had taken away the nail-scissors and nail-file of Evans. He used the word ‘bloody’ too often while addressing Evans.

Q8. How was the Reverend Stuart McLeery dressed and why ?
ANSWER:  He had put on a long black overcoat and a shallow-crowned clerical hat. His spectacles had thick lenses. It was a chilly day for early June and the steady drizzle, which had set in half an hour earlier still continued. In his right hand he was carrying a small brown suitcase.

Q9. What were the contents of the small brown suitcase that McLeery carried?
ANSWER: It had a sealed question paper envelope, a yellow invigilation form, a special ‘authentication’ card from the Examination Board, a paper knife, a Bible, and a current copy of ‘The Church Times’. Except the last two articles, the rest were related to his morning duties as invigilator.

Q10. What was the object found in McLeery’s suitcase that puzzled Mr Jackson? How did McLeery react to Mr Jackson’s query?
ANSWER: There was a smallish semi-inflated rubber ring. Even a young child with a waist of about twelve inches might have to struggle into it. Jackson asked McLeery if he was thinking of going for a swim. McLeery’s amiable demeanour was slightly ruffled by this tasteless pleasantry. He answered Jackson somewhat sourly and told him he suffered from piles.

Q11. What instructions did the invigilator issue to the examiner before the examination?
ANSWER:  He asked the examinee if he had got a watch. He would tell him when to start and again
when he had five minutes left. He asked him to write the name of the paper, 021-1, in the .
top left-hand comer, and his index number-313 in the top right-hand comer. Just below that he was to write his centre number-271.

Q12. How did the Governor, who was listening-in, react to these numbers at that time and later on after the escape of Evans?
ANSWER:  Initially, the Governor took them as innocuous, routine information and did not pay much attention. Later on, when Evans had escaped, he consulted the Ordnance Survey Map for Oxfordshire. He found that the six-figure reference 313/271 pointed to the middle of Chipping Norton—the place of hiding for run away Evans.

Q13. What was the import of the two phone calls the Governor received after a quarter of an hour of the start of the examination?
ANSWER:  The first phone call was from the Assistant Secretary of the Examination Board. It was about a correction slip in the O-Level German paper. The word ‘Golden Lion’ was to replace ‘Golden Lowe’. The second call was from the Magistrate’s Court. They needed a prison van and a couple of prison officers for a remand case.

Q14. How did the Governor react to the two phone calls he received in quick succession?
ANSWER:  When the Governor received the first call, he checked it immediately by dialling the number of the Examination Board. He wanted to ascertain whether it was a fake phone call or some signal or secret message. He found the line engaged. After the second phone call, the Governor was wondering whether that could be a hoax. Then he told himself not to be so silly. His imagination was beginning to run riot.

Q15. What did Stephens notice on looking through the peep-hole of Evans’ cell?
ANSWER:  He found Evans sitting with his pen between his lips. He was staring straight in front of him towards the door. Opposite him sat McLeery. His hair was amateurishly clipped pretty closely to the scalp. His eyes were fixed at ‘The Church Times’. His right index finger was hooked beneath the narrow clerical collar. The fingers of the left hand were slowly stroking the short black beard.

Q16. What request did Evans make about half an hour before the end of the examination? How did McLeery and Stephens react to it?
ANSWER: Evans made a polite request if he could put a blanket round his shoulders as it was a bit chilly there. McLeery told Evans to be quick about it. A minute later, Stephens was surprised to see a grey blanket draped round Evans shoulders.

Q17. Who was the phone call three minutes before the end of the examination meant for? How important did it prove?
ANSWER:  The phone call was meant for Stephens. Jackson told him that the Governor wanted to speak to him. Stephens listened to the rapidly spoken orders. The phone call was important. Stephens had to accompany McLeery to the main prison gates. He was to see the door locked on Evans after McLeery had left the cell. It was also important for Evans. He could make swift changes and adjustments, in his dress and make-up.

Q18. What did* Stephens notice on coming back to the cell of Evans? What did he assume?
ANSWER: Stephens saw a man sprawling in Evans’ chair. The front of his closely cropped, irregularly tufted hair was covered with red blood. It had dripped already through the small black beard. It was now spreading over the white clerical collar and down into the black clerical front. He assumed that Evans had hit McLeery and left the prison impersonating McLeery.

Q19. How did the Prison machinery swing to action? What point was overlooked?
ANSWER:  Sirens were sounded. Prison officers shouted orders. Puzzled prisoners pushed their way along the corridors. Doors were banged and bolted. Phones were ringing everywhere. Jackson and Stephens supported McLeery on either side and brought him to the prison yard. The identity of the injured “McLeery” remained unchecked. Thus, hasty conjectures prevented them from seeing the obvious.

Q20. How did the injured “McLeery’’ behave? What, do you think, did he achieve by this sort of behaviour?
ANSWER: The injured “McLeery” claimed to know where Evans was. He showed more interest in arrival of police than of ambulance. He drew the Governor’s attention to the German question paper. The photocopied sheet in German contained the route of escape. He diverted the attention of the prison officers and the police to the person (Evans) who had already left the prison.

Q21. What did the Governor tell Detective Superintendent Carter when he enquired about the injured “McLeery”?
ANSWER:  Carter wondered who had hit “McLeery”. Before the Governor could explain anything, McLeery told the officer to go to Elsfield Way, where Evans… The Governor told Carter to take “McLeery” with him if he thought he would be all right. He was the only one who seemed to know what was happening. Thus, injured “McLeery” left the prison in police car as a witness.

Q22. What conclusion did the Governor arrive at after reading the German text on the question paper?
ANSWER:  The text advised Evans to drive to the Headington roundabout from Elsfield Way. The Examinations Board was in Elsfield Way. Someone from the Board must have been involved in the escape plan from the very beginning. It was clear from the question paper and the correction slip.

Q23. What did the Governor’s questioning of Stephens reveal?
ANSWER:  It was Stephens who had taken “Evans” to the main gates. Stephens claimed that he had acted as he had been told by the Governor on phone at about twenty past eleven just before the paper was over. The Governor said that he had not rung him. He had used the telephone at that time, unsuccessfully, to get through to the Examinations Board.

Q24. Why was the Governor angry with Jackson?
ANSWER: Jackson had spent two hours in Evans’s cell the previous evening. He had confidently reported that there was nothing hidden away there. Yet Evans had concealed a false beard, a pair of spectacles, a dogcollar and other material of a priest. He also had a weapon with which he hit McLeery across the head.

Q25. What did the Governor think of Evans and his plan after ringing up Detective Chief Inspec¬tor Bell?
ANSWER:  The Governor admired clever Evans and his beautifully laid plan. He called it careless of him to leave the question paper behind. He observed that all criminals made mistakes somewhere. That is why they were nabbed. He hoped that very shortly Mr clever-clever Evans would be back inside the prison.

Q26. What did Detective Superintendent Carter inform the Governor about Evans?
ANSWER: Superintendent Carter informed the Governor that McLeery had spotted Evans driving off along Elsfield Way. They had got the number of the car all right. They had given chase immediately, but they had lost him at the Headington roundabout. He assumed that Evans must have doubled back into the city.

Q27. Where, according to the Governor, was Evans likely to be found and why ? What did he think about himself after this episode?
ANSWER:  The Governor said that Evans was on his way to Newbury. He explained his reasons for believing so. The clues in the German text pointed to this. It was now a police job to arrest him. He thought he was merely a laughing stock, a credulous governor.

Q28. What truth did the enquiries about injured “McLeery” from (i) Carter and (ii) the Radcliffe reveal?
ANSWER:  Carter said that he was in the Radcliffe. He was really groggy near the Examination offices. They rang for the ambulance from there. The accident department of the Radcliffe informed him that there was no parson named McLeery there. They had sent an ambulance to Elsfield Way, but the fellow had vanished from there by then.

Q29. Where did they find the Reverend S. McLeery and in what condition? What can you deduce from it?
ANSWER:  A quarter of an hour later they found the Reverend S. McLeery in his study in Broad Street. He was bound and gagged securely. He said that he had been there since 8.15 a.m. when two men had called and… It is obvious that the two men were helpers of Evans and one of them acted as the Reverend S. McLeery during the Exam.

Q30. What did the inmates of the prison come to know by tea-time?
ANSWER: They came to know what had really happened. Earlier, it was presumed that Evans had impersonated McLeery and walked out of the prison. The truth was that Evans, impersonating McLeery, had stayed in.

Q31. What sort of hair did Evans have? How then did he personate McLeery?
ANSWER:  Evans had long, wavy hair, whereas the hair of McLeery had been amateurishly clipped pretty closely to the scalp. Jackson had pinched Evans’s scissors. So, he had to remove his hair off his head with his only razor. Then he kept his head covered with a bobble hat to prevent detection.

Q32. Jackson had thoroughly searched Evans’s cell for two hours the previous evening. How then was Evans able to disguise himself as a parson?
ANSWER:  Evans had really nothing hidden in the cell. It was McLeery who had worn two black fronts and two collars. Evidently, Evans put on one set of these. He used the blanket to cover his act. The parson suddenly seemed to have grown slimmer when he left the Oxford Prison.

Q33. “It was that bloody correction slip, I s’pose”. Who said this, when and why?
ANSWER: Evans said this when he found the Governor of Oxford Prison in his room in Hotel Golden Lion in Chipping Norton. He knew he was beaten. The details of the escape plan were there on the correction slip and he had left it there on the table.

Q34. What two purposes did the correction slip serve? Which of them did Evans consider more important?
ANSWER:  The correction slip provided Evans the name of the hotel and its location. Secondly, it contained the exact time the exam started. The really important thing for Evans was that the phone rang just before the exam finished. Thus, he was able to get the prison officers out of the way for a couple of minutes.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION:

Q1. Should criminals in prison be given the opportunity of learning and education ? Give reasons in support of your answer.
ANSWER: Modern prisons are no longer the dark dungeons of the middle ages where even the rays of the sun could not penetrate. Human rights are observed scrupulously in all civilised countries even in jails. These prisons are gradually becoming reform houses. Under the prevailing conditions criminals are given the opportunity of self improvement. Provision is made for learning and education. The light of knowledge, it is hoped, will reform the criminals, change their thoughts and make them responsible citizens. They will join the mainstream, give up crime and contribute to the well-being of society and nation. Instead of physical torture and mental agony, love and sympathy be used to transform the bitterness, cruelty and evil bent of mind. Let us hate sin and crime, not the sinner and criminals. Hence, the criminals should be given opportunity of learning and education in prison.

Q2. What precautions were taken for the smooth conduct of the O-Level German examination in prison and why ?
ANSWER: James Roderick Evans was a smart fellow. He was known as ‘Evans the Break’ among the prison officers. He had escaped from prison three times. Now he was taking O-Level German Examination in prison.His solitary cell was located in D-Wing, which had two heavy gates—outer and inner. Both were locked securely. Evans’s cell was kept under strict observation. Prison officer Mr Stephens watched his activities every minute through the peep-hole. Mr Jackson, the incharge of D-Wing, was in constant touch with the Governor on phone. The Governor himself listened in to the conversation in the cell. During his stay in prison, Evans was not allowed to have any visitor or letters.
All potential weapons such as knife, scissors, nail-file and razor had been removed from the cell of Evans. The contents of the suitcase of the invigilator, Reverend S. McLeery were also thoroughly searched. Even the paper-knife was taken away. In short, all precautions had been taken to see that Evans did not get a means to escape.

Q3. How was Evans able to devise foolproof plan for escape from prison as well as items for disguise in spite of severe restrictions and strict observation ?
ANSWER: First, Evans joined the 0-Level German night classes in last September. He was the only student. The Governor had appointed a teacher from the Technical College. Since Governor did not check on the person, a friend of Evans joined as German teacher. He was in contact with him everyday and visited him even on the eve of the examination to say good luck. The plan was devised slowly—from September to June.
Reverend S. McLeery, who was to invigilate, was bound and gagged in his flat. A friend of Evans replaced him as invigilator. McLeery put on double clerical collar, two black clerical fronts. He carried a pair of reading glasses and the semi-inflated rubber ring for piles in his suitcase.
Evans had friends in the Examination Board as well. The correction slip fixed the hotel and provided exact time of start of paper. Two more telephone calls proved handy—One asking for prison-van for court and the other for giving instructions to Stephens. It was near the Examination Board that Evans as “injured McLeery” got a car to change his make¬up and clothes and escape to Golden Lion. Here, it is worth-mentioning that the silent prison officer and the driver, who drove the prison van from the Golden Lion and helped Evans escape, were his friends.

Q4. What factors, other than friends, do you think, contributed to the success of the plan of the escape devised by Evans?
ANSWER: Evans’s calm, pleasant, amusing temperament and his insight into the working of the minds of prison authorities helped him a lot. He devised everything carefully and executed the plan skilfully. Every detail was worked out beforehand. For example, he knew that Mr Jackson who used rough tone, had some compassion for him deep inside. He granted Evans’s request to keep the filthy looking red and white bobble hat on his head during the examination. It was, in fact, a device to hide his recently closely cropped hairs. Secondly, he knew that the whole prison machinery blindly goes by assumption. He impersonated McLeery and posed to be injured. No one checked the injured “McLeery”. The hasty conjecture was that Evans, impersonating McLeery, had hit the parson and escaped. It prevailed. The police was after run away Evans while the real Evans left the prison with the police as the only witness. He claimed to have seen Evans driving. When they reached Examination Board he acted as if he was quite weak. The police officer phoned for an ambulance and left Evans there. He got into the car his friends had kept for him and disappeared from the scene. Thus, his ingenuity, presence of mind and theatricality also helped him.

Q5. What lapses on the part of the police and prison authorities helped Evans to escape from the prison?
ANSWER: In spite of elaborate precautions and careful arrangements, Evans succeeds in slipping away. Certain lapses on the part of the police and prison authorities contribute to it. The Governor, who smells a rat in every call and tries to cross check it, fails at vital moments. For example, no one tries to verify the identity of the German teacher, the invigilator, the “injured” McLeery, the driver of prison-van and the “silent” prison officer who handcuffs Evans at the Golden Lion hotel. Sometimes, appearance—the outward form and dress— deceives as it is accepted to be genuine. The criminals impersonate even the prison officer and driver. The Detective Superintendent too acts hastily. He does not drive to the Rad- cliffe and get the “injured” McLeery admitted there. This provides him God-sent opportunity to disappear. The greatest lapse is on the part of the Governor who nabs Evans at Golden Lion hotel and fails to bring him to jail as he gets tricked by the prison-van, “silent” prison officer and driver. Had he waited for police escort, Evans would not have escaped yet again.

Q6. What estimate do you form of the Governor of Oxford Prison ?
OR
How far do you agree with the observation: “He was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor, that was all” ?
ANSWER:  The Governor was a fussy sort of person. He would carry things to the extreme and in his enthusiasm, sometimes overdid them and ignored the obvious. His imagination seemed to run riot. He was apprehensive that Evans might try to take advantage of the examination and escape. He was filled with doubts. Evans might take advantage of the invigilator and hi-jack-knife him.
The Governor wag duty-conscious. He did not run away from responsibility. He listened- in to the conversation in the cell himself. In spite of all his virtues, the Governor had a serious flaw. He was too credulous. He had full faith in his officers and the law-enforcing machinery. He believed the injured “McLeery” and let him accompany Superintendent Carter to help him trace Evans. Actually, he let Evans leave the prison.
The final act of foolishness was when he let Evans be carried in a prison-van, without sufficient police escort. He had used his intelligence to locate the hide-out of Evans and nab him. His gullible nature deprived him of all credit. In the end, he appeared as “another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor.”

Q7. Using examples from the play ‘‘Evans Tries An 0-Level’ show how the criminals like Evans turn the tables on the Governor of Oxford Prison and the local police.
ANSWER:  Evans is familiar with the methods of the prison authorities and he anticipates all their moves. Hence, in the battle of wits between himself and the official machinery he employs tricks unknown to them. The new German teacher and the replaced invigilator are merely stooges of Evans. Carrying blood in a rubber ring for piles is a novelty. The device of the correction slip to fix the hide out and the route to it is another piece of ingenuity. The master-stroke is when Evans impersonating wounded “McLeery” stays in prison and misguides the police to trace the parson. The use of modem devices such as prison-van, car, telephone, Ordnance Survey Map for Oxfordshire etc. shows how the criminals can misuse these facilities for their own ends. The whole operation is run by someone in the Examination Board who remains unknown till the end. It is well-planned and skilfully executed escape using the prison-van and prison staff.

Q8. What impression do you form of ‘Evans the Break’?
OR
Attempt a brief character sketch of James Roderick Evans.
ANSWER:  “Evans the Break” as he was known among the prison officers was a jail-bird. He was a congenital kleptomaniac, but he was non-violent. He was quite a pleasant sort of person— an amusing chap; a star at the Christmas concert good at imitations.
Evans had long wavy hair. When we meet him for the first time his face was unshaven and he wore a filthy looking red and white bobble hat upon his head. He had tucked a grubby string-vest into equally grubby trousers. He smiled cheerfully at the prison officers. “Evans is smart, cunning and resourceful. He makes a request to Mr Jackson to allow him to put on his bobble hat. But he complains to the invigilator against Stephens. Stephens’ presence disturbs Evans’ concentration. He makes a very polite request to cover himself with blanket as it is chilly. He uses it to put on the clerical collar and black front. He employs the brief absence of prison officers to disguise himself as parson McLeery and spill blood on himself to look injured. He acts the part of injured parson well. He offers to help police and wins their confidence. He becomes groggy and is left there to wait for ambulance.
Evans enjoys the faith, support and active cooperation of his dedicated friends. They plan carefully, working out the minute details and execute it skilfully. He never loses his calm or presence of mind even in the worst circumstances.

Q9. Comment on the ending of the play ‘Evans Tries An O-Level’.
ANSWER:  The ending of the play is qyite surprising and unexpected. Only a couple of minutes ago the Governor of Oxford Prison had nabbed Evans from his hide-out at the ‘Golden Lion’. A silent prison officer handcuffed the recaptured Evans. Then the two men clambered awkwardly into the back seat of the prison-van.
The Governor bade him farewell but wished to see him soon in his jail. Evans too behaved as if he would remain there for a long time and wanted to know about the O-Level Italian classes coming up next September. The Governor remarked that perhaps Evans might not be with them then. Evans pondered over it and said that he wouldn’t. After a couple of minutes Evans implemented what he had predicted. Not only were the handcuffs unlocked, but the van moved on fast towards Newbury.
Evans is once again free. The broad Scots accent leaves us in no doubt who the driver was. Once again Evans scores over the prison authorities.

Q10. Comment on the aptness of the title ‘Evans Tries An O-Level’
OR
Do you think the title ‘Evans Tries An O-Level’ is appropriate. Give reasons in support of your answer.
ANSWER: The title ‘Evans Tries An O-Level’ is quite apt and suggestive. The action of the play begins with a conversation between the Secretary of the Examination Board and the Governor of the Oxford Prison about holding the O-Level examination in German at the prison. The play ends with the mention of O-Level Italian classes and Evans’s interest in them. The middle portion of the play is devoted to the holding of the O-Level Examination and its consequences—escape of Evans impersonating McLeery, the Invigilator. In short, the title dominates the play and is interwoven in the whole action.
The title indicates how criminals may exploit a facility for their selfish purpose of escaping from prison. It, thus, throws a comment on crime and punishment. The complacent Governor and methodical prison officers are outwitted again by a smart criminal ahd his friends who help in his adventure. It makes us laugh at the discomfiture of the efficient prison authorities.

Q11. Describe the precautions taken by the prison officers to prevent Evans from escaping.[Delhi 2014]
ANSWER:  Special precautions were taken by the prison staff to prevent him from escaping during Evans O-level German test. A parson from St. Mary Mags was called to invigilate. Evans “was put in the heavily guarded recreational block. Between the cell and the yard there were two locked doors. The prison officers were on alert. In Evan’s cell a microphone was installed while Mr. Stephens kept eye on Evans. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Stephens, the two prison officers checked his cell thoroughly for the possible escape.

Read and Find Out
Q1. Who is Mr. Lamb? How does Derry get into his garden?

ANSWER:

Mr Lamb is an old man with a tin leg. His real leg was blown off years ago during the war. He lives all alone in his house. There is a garden near the house. It has ripe crab apples looking orange and golden in colour. Mr Lamb is sitting in his garden when Derry climbs over the garden wall to get into his garden. Though the gate is open, the boy does not use it.

Q2. Do you think all this will change Derry’s attitude towards Mr. Lamb?

ANSWER:
Derry’s burnt face made him the center of ridicule. Although people sympathized with him, it was never a heartfelt one. This resulted in his pessimistic approach towards life. He thought that everyone detested and despised him. On the contrary, Mr. Lamb did not show any pity towards him. He considered Derry to be his equal and welcomed him in his garden. He helped the boy to love and live life happily without any contempt for his own self. Derry had initially considered the old man to be like others, but he gradually started respecting and liking him for what he said.

Reading with Insight

Q1. What is it that draws Derry towards Mr. Lamb in spite of himself?

ANSWER:
Derry finds Mr. Lamb different from others. Mr. Lamb shows no shock or fear on seeing Derry’s burned face. Rather he talks to him in a loving manner. He welcomes him to his garden. He offers to pluck apples and make jelly for him. He calls him his friend. He says that things look outwardly different, but inwardly they are all the same. He gives the example of flowers, trees, herbs and weeds. They look different, but they are all growing living things. Similarly, people can have different looks, but inwardly they are all the same. Derry says that he hates some people. At this, Mr. Lamb says that it can do him more harm than any bottle of acid. Acid burns only the face, but hatred burns one away inside. He tells Derry never to think of his burned face. He has two arms, two legs, eyes ears, tongue and a brain. And if he has a firm mind, he can do better than others. It is by such words of encouragement that Mr. Lamb draws Derry to himself.
Q2. In which section of the play does Mr. Lamb display signs of loneliness and disappointment? What are the ways in which Mr. Lamb tries to overcome these feelings?

ANSWER:
Although the loneliness of Derry dominates the play, there are evident traces of Mr. Lamb’s loneliness throughout the first scene of the play. The old man says that having heard the bees for a “long time” he knows that they “sing”, not buzz. It not only depicts how his perception was different from others but also illustrates that he was lonely and that he did not have any one to be with.
Another evidence of his loneliness is the fact that whole day he sat in the sun and read books. This proves that books were his only true friends. He says that his “empty house” is full of books, underlining the way in which the void of his empty life was filled in by books.
By the end of this scene, it becomes even clearer that he is lonely and sad when he mutters to himself that no one comes back to him after the first meeting. Likewise, he did not expect Derry to return. He was so sure that Derry would never return that he climbed the ladder to collect all the apples himself, although Derry had offered to help him after informing his mother. Ironically, the old man would have died unnoticed if Derry had not returned to fill the emptiness of his own life.

Q3. The actual pain or inconvenience caused by a physical impairment is often much less than the sense of alienation felt by the person with disabilities. What is the kind of behaviour that the person expects from others?

ANSWER:
A person with any physical impairment can live life with respect and honour, if he is not ridiculed and punished with heartless pity. He expects empathy rather than sympathy. If everyone looks down at him with a pessimistic approach, he may never be able to come out of his sorrow, and consequently, recline to his own secluded world. He is already in tremendous mental and emotional pressure. So, he expects others to be understanding rather than remind him of his disability.
In the play, Derry and Mr. Lamb, both are caught in a similar situation. Mr. Lamb, as an adult, is able to cope with such problems, but Derry, being a child, is not able to untangle this web alone. He develops a strong liking for this old man because he spoke the words a person, with such problem, would want to hear.

Q4. Will Derry get back to his old seclusion or will Mr. Lamb’s brief association effect a change in the kind of life he will lead in the future?

ANSWER:
The brief association of Derry with Mr. Lamb boosted his self-confidence and helped him to respect his own self. The manner in which the old man made Derry realize the importance of his being self-dependent, of respecting himself and of holding on to hope helped Derry undergo a remarkable change. The new found self-esteem makes him tell his mother that his looks are not important.
It is not likely that the death of Mr. Lamb would take him back to his secluded life. This big change is definitely here to stay and would not be undone due to setbacks.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :

Q1.“Mind the apples!”, says Mr Lamb. Why do you think, does he issue this instruction, to whom and how many times?
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb issues this instruction to Derry, a boy of fourteen, who climbs over the garden wall and enters the garden. He asks Derry twice to mind the apples which have been blown down by the wind from the trees and strewn in the grass. He (Derry) could put his foot on some apple, fall down and hint himself.

Q2. What is the attitude of Mr Lamb to the small boy who comes to his garden ?
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb’s attitude to the small boy is quite gentle, protective and accommodating. Like an elder in the family offering advice and instructions to the younger members, Mr Lamb advises the young boy to mind the apples lest he should trip. He also advises the boy not to feel afraid.

Q3. What explanation does the small boy offer for coming into the garden? How does Mr Lamb react to it?
ANSWER:  The boy thought that this was an empty place. He did not know there was anybody there. Mr Lamb assures him that it is all right. He asks the boy what he is afraid of. He tells the boy that the house is empty as he is in the garden and is likely to stay there. Such a beautiful day should not be wasted indoors.

Q4. “T ‘m not afraid. People are afraid of me,” says Derry. What do people think on seeing his face? How do they react then?
ANSWER:  On looking at Derry’s face they find it bad and frightful. They think that it is the ugliest thing they have ever seen. They call him a poor boy as one side of his face has been burnt by acid. Some of them are afraid of his ugly and horrible face.

Q5. How does Mr Lamb change the subject from ugly face to ripe apples?
OR
How does Mr Lamb keep himself busy when it is a bit cooler ?
ANSWER:  There is a momentary pause in the conversation. Then Mr Lamb changes the subject. He says that when it is a bit cooler, he will get the ladder and a stick. Then he will pull down those ripe crab apples. He makes jelly. He calls these orange coloured and golden apples magic fruit. September is a good time to make jelly. He tells the boy that he could help him.

Q6. Why, according to Derry, has the old man changed the subject?
ANSWER: Derry says that people always change the subject. They don’t ask him about his physical impairment. They simply pretend that it is not true and isn’t there. They don’t want the boy to mind and get upset. He thinks that the old man has changed the subject because he is afraid to ask him about his burnt face.

Q7. “You got burned in a fire,” says Mr Lamb. What do you think, had happened to Derry’s face?
ANSWER:  Derry’s face did not get burned in a fire. He got acid all down that side of his face and it burned it all away. Derry says that this acid not only ate his face up, it also ate him up. One side of his face is ugly and it won’t ever be any different.

Q8. How does Mr Lamb react to Derry’s query: ‘Aren’t you interested’?
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb tells Derry that he is interested in anybody and anything. There’s nothing God made that does not interest him. Fruit and flowers, trees and herbs, grass and weeds all interest him. Even stuff or rubbish is interesting. He finds no essential difference between a “weed’ and another ‘flower’ as both represent life—developing or growing.

Q9. “We’re not the same”, says Derry. How does Mr Lamb try to convince him that there is no essential difference between them?
ANSWER:  Derry and Mr Lamb are both of the same species. They represent various stages of growth. Derry is young, Mr Lamb is old. Both suffer from the same physical impairment. Derry has a burnt face. The old man has got a tin leg. But this physical disability is not important. What is important is that both are alive. Derry is standing there whereas Mr Lamb is sitting.

Q10. How, according to Derry, does the tin leg not trouble Mr Lamb? What explanation does the old man offer?
ANSWER:  Derry thinks that the old man can put on trousers and cover up his tin leg. Then no one sees it. So, people don’t have to notice and stare at, as they do at his face. Mr Lamb replies that some people do notice and stare at his disability. Some don’t. In the end, they get tired of it. Moreover, there are plenty of things to stare at.

Q11.“There’s plenty of other things to stare at.” Which ‘things’ are worth staring at and why?
ANSWER:  According to the old man there are plenty of things to stare at. These include crab apples or the weeds or a spider climbing up a silken ladder, or his tall sun-flowers. All of them are beautiful and ‘growing’. Derry is surprised at the mention of ‘things’. Mr Lamb tries to convince him that it is all relative. Then he mentions ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

Q12. How does Derry interpret the fairy stoiy ‘Beauty and the Beast’? What does he feel about himself?
ANSWER:  Derry says that he has been told that story before. It teaches us that outward appearance does not matter. It is what one is inside that is important. Handsome is that handsome does. Beauty loved the monstrous beast for himself. When she kissed him, he changed into a handsome prince. No one except Derry’s mother kisses him. She too kisses him on the other side of the face. He has developed a negative attitude and says he does not care ’ “if nobody ever kissed” him.

Q13. How, according to Derry, do people try to console those suffering from some physical impairment?
ANSWER: They ask the person to look at all those people who are in pain and brave. They never cry or complain. They don’t feel sorry for themselves. Then the person is asked to think of all
those persons worse off than him. One might have been blinded or bom deaf, or confined to a wheelchair, or be crazy and dribble. Since Derry has none of these disabilities he is far better placed.

Q14. Why do these arguments fail to console Derry ?
ANSWER:  Derry has developed negative attitude. He says that the arguments to console him will not make his face change. He feels more hurt and pained by the comments of persons or what he overhears. Once he heard a woman in the street whispering to another, “Look at that, that’s a terrible thing. That’s a face only a mother could love.” Derry calls it cruel of them.

Q15. How does Mr Lamb try to remove the baseless fears of Derry’?
ANSWER:  Derry has developed withdrawal symptoms. He doesn’t like being near people. Mr Lamb tells him the story of a person who was afraid of everything in the world. So he went into his room and locked the door. He got into his bed and stayed there for a while. Then a picture fell off the wall on to his head and killed him.

Q16. Which fears did the man suffer from? What is the common factor in all of them?
ANSWER: The man feared that a bus might run him over, or a man might breathe deadly germs onto him, or a donkey might kick him to death or lightning might strike him down, or he might love a girl and the girl would leave him, and he might slip on a banana skin and fall and people who saw him would laugh their heads off. Most of these fears are imaginary.

Q17. What peculiar things does Derry notice about the old man?
ANSWER:  Derry thinks that the old man is peculiar. He says peculiar things. He asks questions which Derry does not understand. There are no curtains at the windows in his house. He likes the light and darkness and hears the wind with the windows open.

Q18. What does Derry listen about himself? How does he react to it?
ANSWER:  Derry listens to what his parents talk about him downstairs when he is not there. They seem to be anxious about him and his future. What he will ever do and how will he ever get on in that world. What is going to happen to him with that bum mark on his face. They say what is going to happen to him when they have died.

Q19. In what ways does Mr Lamb inspire Derry to overcome his physical disability?
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb tells Derry that he ‘has got two arms, two legs and eyes and ears. He has got a tongue and a brain. He will get on the way he wants, like all the rest. And if he chooses and sets his mind to it, he could get on even better than all the rest.

Q20. “People are never just nothing. Never.” Why does Mr Lamb say so? Why does he advise Derry not to hate anyone?
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb says that he has friends every where. Derry says that the people passing us in the street are not our friends. Mr Lamb tells him that they are not enemies either. When Derry says they are “Just nothing”, Mr Lamb makes this remark. He tells Derrry that hatred does more harm than any bottle of acid. Acid only bums the face, but hatred may bum a person away inside.

Q21. How should people be judged?
ANSWER:  People should not be judged by what they look like. They must be judged by their actions. Appearances may be deceptive. On the other hand, people with physical impairments overcome their disabilities and perform wonderful feats in different spheres.

Q22. How, according to Mr Lamb, can one overcome of sense of hurt or humiliation caused by remarks at one’s physical disability?
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb does not provide a straight forward solution. He says that in the street kids shout “Lamey-Lamb” at him. Still they come to his garden. They are not afraid of him because he is not afraid of them. He simply ignores their comments. He concentrates on other things which are encouraging and positive.

Q23. What possibility does Derry indicate in the old man’s act of getting the crab apples down? What is its dramatic importance?
ANSWER:  Derry says that if the old man fell down the ladder and broke his neck, he might lie on the grass and die, in case he was alone in the garden. This observation proves prophetic. The last scene shows the ladder falling back with Mr Lamb. The playwright uses the device of foreshadowing to prepare us for the eventual end.

Q24. What does Deny want to know? How, according to the old man, can he know that?
ANSWER:  Derry wants to know what he could do. The old man tells him that he does not know everything. He can’t tell the boy what to do. He has to find it out himself by waiting, watching, listening sitting here or going there. Derry says that he wants something no one else has got or ever will be. Something just his own.

Q25. What makes Derry think that the old man is always alone and miserable? What does he tell the old man? 
ANSWER:  Derry asks Mr Lamb whether the persons who come there talk to him and ask him things. As usual, Mr Lamb says that some do, some don’t. He asks them as he likes to learn. This makes Derry think that nobody ever comes there.
He tells the old man that he is there all alone by himself and miserable. He says no one would know if he were alive or dead and nobody cares.

Q26. Why does Derry’s mother oppose his going back to the old man’s garden?
ANSWER:  Derry’s mother tells him that she has heard things about the old man. In fact, she has been warned. Though they have lived there for three months, she knows what is worth knowing and Derry is not to go back there.

Q27. What argument does Derry give to convince his mother why he wants to go to the old man’s garden?
ANSWER:  Derry says that the old m^n has a tin leg. He lives in a huge house without curtains. He has a garden. Derry wants to be there and listen to things that matter. Things nobody else has ever said. Things he wants to think about. They are not about his face and how he looks.

Q28.What makes Derry resolve to go to the old man?
ANSWER: He no longer cares about his face and looks. He is more concerned with what he thinks and feels, what he wants to see and find out and hear. He knows that if he does not go back there, he will never go anywhere in that world again. He wants the world. He no longer shuns it or avoids the people.

Q29. Comment on the ending of the play ‘On The Face Of If.
ANSWER: The play has a pathetic but dramatic ending. Mr Lamb who works actively in spite of his physical disability loses balance and falls down along with the ladder. Derry enters and tries to converse with Mr Lamb, who does not respond. Mr Lamb’s “exit” is exactly the same as envisaged by Derry earlier in the play.

Q30.What other ending would you suggest to the above story ?
ANSWER: I would like the play to end on a happy note. Derry’s efforts will revive the old man. After regaining his consciousness, Mr Lamb will grant permission to Derry to live with him and see, hear and learn things.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q1. How does Derry behave on entering Mr Lamb’s garden?
ANSWER:  Derry does not use the gate to enter the garden. He climbs over the garden wall. His footsteps are heard as he walks slowly and hesitantly through the long grass. He is startled when Mr Lamb asks him to mind the apples and warns that he might trip. Deny shows signs of fear and nervousness. He explains that he took it for an empty place. Mr Lamb, the old man, tells him that the house is empty till he goes inside. That beautiful day is not to be spent inside. Derry panics and says he has got to go. He becomes angry to learn that the old man was watching him. He explains his intentions. He has not come there to steal anything. When Mr Lamb again asks him not to be afraid, Derry remarks that people are afraid of him because his face is ugly and frightful.

Q2. What efforts does Mr Lamb make to strike up a friendship with Derry, the small boy, who enters his garden ?
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb is quite gentle, accommodating and protective. He asks Derry to mind the apples as he might trip. Instead of feeling angry over the way of his entry, he points out that the gate is always open and he is welcome. His cordial manner and conciliatory tone touch the inner most chords of a defiant boy like Derry who does not want to mix up with others. On learning about his burnt face, he does not react like others. Instead of exhibit¬ing fear and revulsion, he shows understanding and affection. He admits that he is the same as the boy. If the boy has a burnt face, he has got a tin leg. Gradually, he tries to win over the confidence of Derry by reminding him of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. He then tells him the story of a man who feared everything and shut himself in a room. His positive attitude towards life inspires the boy to talk to him like a friend.

Q3. What is the bond that unites the two—old Mr Lamb and Derry, the small boy ? How does the old man inspire the small boy?
ANSWER:  It is the bond of physical impairment that unites old Mr Lamb and the small boy, Derry. He got his leg blown off during the war and since then he has a tin leg. Derry got one side of his face burnt by acid. Their respective disabilities have not only caused pain and suffer¬ing to the body but to their mind and soul as well. They have to live with their physical impairment. Mr Lamb has adjusted himself to the ways of the world and stopped bother¬ing about what people call him. He keeps himself busy in meaningful activities like pick¬ing apples, making jelly, bee-keeping and preparing toffee from honey. He loves reading books, hearing music, observing beautiful things and thinking about them. He inspires the small boy by saying that he has all the God-given organs intact. He has to decide what to do. He must work for it and then he can outshine even the others. Derry admits that ‘Handsome is he who handsome does.’ For him his face or how he looks does not matter now. He has become positive and has started thinking differently.

Q4. What is the theme of the play ‘On The Face Of It’? How has it been worked out?

ANSWER:  The theme of the play is the consequences of physical impairment on the affected person’s body, mind and soul. The actual pain and inconvenience caused by the disabilities is often much less than the sense of alienation felt by the disabled person. People think that a person who has lost an organ or suffered some deformity such as a disfigured face should either be confined to the hospital or allowed to move in the company of people having the same disability. The playwright does not approve of this idea as it will create a strange sort of world. The attitude of persons towards the victims of accidents or disasters needs com¬plete change. They must be considerate and thoughtful. They must appreciate the efforts of the physically challenged persons to overcome their disability and compete with others. The theme has been worked out through the interaction of two characters—old Mr Lamb and a young boy, Derry. Through his peculiar way of looking at things and asking ques¬tions, Mr Lamb persuades Derry to have a positive approach to fife. Only positive attitude towards life will give one true happiness.

Q5. Compare and contrast the characters of Mr. Lamb and Derry.
ANSWER:  Both Mr. Lamb and the young boy Derry have one thing in common—their physical im¬pairment. Both are victims of these disabilities after birth. The leg of Mr. Lamb was blown off during the war. Derry’s face was burnt by acid. One side of his face looked very ugly and frightful.
Apart from this, they have nothing in common. Mr. Lamb is old, Derry is a young boy of fourteen. Mr. Lamb enjoys company and wants to talk. Derry is very withdrawn and defiant. He does not want to come in contact with people.
Mr Lamb does not bother about his lameness. He has developed love for reading books, hearing music, seeing beautiful things and thinking about them. He is calm and patient. He asks peculiar questions. He forces Derry to see that actions are more important than mere looks. In spite of his lameness he picks apples, makes jelly, maintains a beehive and makes toffees from honey. The gate of his garden is always open. Derry develops a new vision of life under his guidance. He becomes positive and looks happy.

Q6. What impression do you form of Derry, the small boy, in the play ‘On The Face Of It’ ?
ANSWER:  Derry is a fourteen year old boy who is very withdrawn and defiant. One side of his face has been burnt by acid and it looks very ugly and frightful. This incident has made him a victim of inferiority complex.
Derry is highly sensitive to what others—his parents, family friends, well-wishers or even total strangerssay about him. Their anxiety, concern, fear and revulsion pains him more than the bum did.
Derry is quite intelligent. When Mr Lamb mentions the story ‘Beauty and the Beast’, Derry at once comes out with its moral: ‘Handsome is as handsome does.’ He, however, evokes self-pity by saying, “I won’t change… and no one’ll kiss me ever.”
Derry is sensitive to the sufferings of others. He arouses sympathy for himself by making enquiries about the old man’s leg, pain and how he passes his life alone. Derry has the capacity to learn. He is impressed by the old man’s way of life in spite of physical handicap. In the end, he does not bother about his face or looks and wants to see, hear, learn and think and do what no one else has done. In short, Derry is a developing character.

Q7. Which qualities of Mr Lamb have impressed you most?
OR
Draw a character sketch of old Mr Lamb.
ANSWER:  Mr Lamb is the protagonist in the play. He dominates the play from beginning to end. He impresses us as a sensitive, watchful, kind, considerate and sympathetic person. He is quite gentle, accommodating and protective. He is more concerned about the boy’s well-being than the apples.
He is a victim of alienation due to his physical impairment. Though he keeps his gates open and says he has many friends, actually he lives alone and is quite miserable. He loves company and wants to talk. He shares his thoughts even with the young boy.
Mr Lamb is like a modem communicator and a psychologist who believes in drawing out the best of an individual. His tactful handling and peculiar questions make Derry shed some of his firmly fixed notions and respond to the things of the world around him. Thus he is a source of inspiration to the depressed and gloomy.
Mr Lamb is pragmatic. His way of life is an object lesson for all who suffer some physical handicap or the other. One can always undertake some meaningful activities which give life some purpose and aim and save it from boredom. Even in his fall with the ladder, he exhibits Christ-like grace.

Q8. Comment on the ending of the play ‘On The Face Of It’. How far do you find it effective ?
ANSWER:  The ending of the play is quite suggestive. Mr Lamb, who has been picking apples, falls down along with the ladder. As Derry enters the garden, he finds total silence pervading there. He is surprised and shocked to see Mr Lamb on the ground. He hopes it is all right. He kneels near Mr Lamb and announces that he has come back and he is there. He implores the old man to get up and talk. As the old man does not respond to Derry’s repeated requests, he begins to weep.
The ending is quite dramatic and stageworthy. The old man with the ladder under him is a Christ-like figure. It is a pathetic ending, no doubt, but it does not spread gloom. Rather, it acts like a beacon light. The old generation has handed over the charge to the younger one. It is like a soldier making an exit with the satisfaction of mission accomplished. The old man has handed over his philosophy of life to Derry and inspired him to find out what he wants to be. Thus, though the old man expires physically, his ideas inspire Derry to pursue higher goals and Achieve them. In this sense, the ending is quite effective and meaningful.

Q9. What do you understand by ‘On The Face Of If ? Do you think the title ‘On the Face of If is appropriate? Give reasons in support of your answer.
ANSWER: ‘On The Face Of It’ is used to say that something seems to be good, true, etc. but that this opinion may need to be changed when you know more about it.
Apparently, the play seems to be an interaction between two persons suffering from physi¬cal impairment. Being a drama of ideas, it has minimum physical action. The old man’s efforts to strike up a friendship with a young boy of fourteen, who is very withdrawn and defiant, seems to be the main issue. The old man’s effort is worth appreciation.
However, as we go on reading further, more is in store for us. We learn the mental anguish, emotional starvation and physical distress of the physically challenged who are unable to lead normal life among normal persons. The play is not didactic but it inspires people like Derry, who have some physical blemish, to ignore it as well as comments of people about it. They should set goals for themselves and strive to outshine even the other normal persons. Thus, the title is quite appropriate and highly suggestive.

Q10. Both Derry and Lamb are physically impaired and lonely. It is the responsibility of society to understand and support people with infirmities so that they do not suffer from a sense of alienation. As a responsible citizen, write, in about 100 words what you would do to bring about a change in the lives of such people. [All India 2014]
ANSWER: Both Mr. Lamb and the young boy Derry have one thing in common—they are physically impaired. Both are victims of these disabilities after birth. Such type of people should not be reprimanded but they must be honoured with. They must be given respect and honour in the society. If somebody looks upon them with pessimistic approach, they may never be able to come out of their sorrow. But they will go into the world of alienation. As a responsible citizen, it must be our duty to provide them a respectable place in the society. Then only they can come into the mainstream of the society and live like a normal people. They must not be reminded of their disabilities. Only then we can play the role of a responsible citizen.

Read and Find Out
Q1. Who is Jo? How does she respond to her father’s story telling?
ANSWER:
Jo is the shortened form of Joanne. She is the four year old daughter of Jack and Clare. For the last two years, her father, Jack, has been telling her bed-time stories. Since these stories are woven around the same basic tale and have the same characters and turn of events,
She was an intelligent and inquisitive child. Her mind was bubbling with queries regarding whatever she heard or saw. Her responses to the stories were a curious mixture of emotions caught in recognition of the known and eagerness to explore the unknown aspects woven in the basic tale by her father. An impatient Jo wanted the story to move with a fast pace and yet cannot proceed with conflicting ideas or unresolved queries in her mind. She was also a very observant listener and corrected her father wherever she felt he faltered. The intensity of her engagement with the story was apparent from her body language and facial expressions. She empathized with the protagonist and rejected whatever did not fit in her own narrow world. The eagerness to understand and the restlessness to assert her point of view kept her awake. She was even willing to fight with her father and to coax him to end the story according to her standpoint. Her responses indicate that she had started developing a personality of her own.

Q2. What possible plot line could the story continue with?
ANSWER:
From the perspective of Jo, the story should have ended with a happy note of Roger Skunk getting rid of the foul smell forever and being able to play with all other children. However, from the perspective of Jack, the story may not have such an innocent fairy tale ending. In the process of story telling, it was evident that Jack got nostalgic about his own childhood and his mother. Thus, he brought in his own perspective. His sense of belongingness to his mother and his experience of dealing with reality resulted in a mature and compromising end where the reality limited the scope of fiction. As he associated himself with Roger Skunk of his story, he avoided getting into the problematic situation of identity crisis and of blaming his mother.

Q3. What do you think was Jo’s problem?
ANSWER:
Little Jo had been accustomed to the happy ending of the stories of Roger, where the wizard was helpful to him in fulfilling his wish. At the request of Roger Skunk, the wizard had changed his awful smell to that of the roses. Other small animals liked it and played with Roger Skunk happily. She could not digest the ending of the extended story where Roger Skunk’s mother hit the wizard on the head and forced him to change Skunk’s smell to the earlier foul one.
Jo could not accept that mother’s stubbornness-hitting the well wisher of her son, Roger Skunk. Jo insisted that her father should tell her the same story again the next day with changed ending. The wizard should hit that unreasonable mummy on the head and leave Roger Skunk emitting the pleasant smell of roses. In the beautiful world of a child’s imagination, fairies and wizard’s are more real than reality itself. She could not digest the harsh realities of life. She did not like the unfeeling mother who hit the benefactor of her son.

Reading with Insight

Q1. What is the moral issue that the story raises?

ANSWER:
The story examines moral issues dependent on different levels of maturity. There is a sharp contrast between an adult’s perspective of life and the worldview of a little child. Children represent innocence. Hatred and injustice have no place in the their world. In the story, the baby skunk was able to make friends only after he smelled of roses. In Jo’s perspective, the happiness of being able to make friends surpassed any other thing. As a result, she is unable to assess the reason why the mother skunk pressurized her child to get his original foul body odour restored.
On the contrary, Jack tried to justify the skunk’s mother and wanted Roger to listen to his mother even if it means smelling bad again. Jack, a typical father, wanted his daughter to believe that parents are always correct and they know what is best for their children. Thus, the story raises the question of whether parents should always be followed blindly.

Q2. How does Jo want the story to end and why?

ANSWER:

Jo was not convinced with the ending of the story and coaxed her father to retell the story the next day giving the story a predetermined path that she had set. According to her, neither Roger Skunk nor the wizard was wrong in the story. Jo refused to accept the end where Roger Skunk’s mother hits the wizard and that too without being hit back. She wanted the story to end with the wizard hitting back the mother skunk with his magic wand and chopping off her arms ‘forcely’.

Q3. Why does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother?

ANSWER:

Jack has the typical parental attitude. He is of the opinion that the parents know what is best for their children. He asserts the parental authority tiroe and again to quieten Jo and stifle her objections and amendments to the story of the foul smelling Skunk related by him.
He defends the attitude of Roger Skunk’s mother. She does not approve of the unnatural, unskunk like smell that Roger has. She calls the sweet smell of the roses an awful smell. Earlier the little skunk smelled the way a little skunk should. She wants the natural characteristic-the foul smell-restored. He says that she knew what was right. Secondly, the little skunk loved his mommy more than he loved all the other animals. That is why, he took his mommy to the wizard. She hit the wizard and forced him to change the smell of roses to his earlier bad odour. He insisted on this ending to emphasise the concern of the parents for children and their role in bringing them up on proper lines.

Q4. What makes Jack feel caught in an ugly middle position?

ANSWER:
Jack feels that he has been caught in an ugly middle position physically, emotionally as well as mentally. The woodwork, a cage of mouldings and rails and skirting boards all around them was half old tan and half new ivory.
He was conscious of his duties as a father and as a husband. Little Bobby was already asleep. His efforts to make Jo fall asleep proved quite fatiguing. She kept on interrupting him, asking for clarifications, pointing errors and suggesting alternatives.
Jack did not like that women should take anything for granted. He liked them to be apprehensive. So he extended the story, though he was in a haste to go down stairs and help his pregnant wife in her hard work of painting the woodwork. The result of the extension to the story proved unfruitful and unpleasant for Jo, Jack and Clare. Jo wanted him to change the ending of the story. Clare complained that he had told a long story. Jack felt utter weariness and did not want to speak with his wife or work with her or touch her. He was really caught in an ugly middle position.
Q5. What is your stance regarding the two endings to the Roger Skunk story?

ANSWER:
Considering the tender age of Jo, both the endings seem a little irrational. It is certain that she will be learning from whatever she hears and visualizes at this age. If the story ends according to Jack, Jo will never be able to question anything she considers wrong in life since this ending stresses that elders are always right in whatever they do. In addition, the story shows the skunk’s mommy hitting the wizard for no fault of his. The wizard had only done what he was asked to. This may scare the four-year-old Jo, as it teaches that mothers, being elders, have the right to hit anyone, even if they are not at fault.
On the contrary, if the story ends as Jo wanted it to, it will stop her from believing in and respecting her elders. She may even start believing that there is nothing wrong in hitting elders.
A balanced view may be given in an apt ending, where the mommy either does not hit the wizard at all or realizes her mistake soon.

Q6. Why is the adult’s perspective on life different from that of a child?

ANSWER:
A child’s speech and line of thought, his actions and reactions, are natural and not guided by any outward influence. He speaks from his heart in accordance with what is ethically right in his perspective. On the other hand, an adult has many things to consider before speaking or reacting. Thus, the influence of society governs and dominates his thoughts.
In this chapter, Jo speaks what she considers correct. But Jack, an adult caught in a dilemma, kept thinking on the consequences of accepting his daughter’s ending to the story and what the society has made him learn over time.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :

Q1.What custom did Jack follow in the evenings and for Saturday naps?
ANSWER: Jack would tell his four year old daughter Joanne (or Jo) a stoxy out of his head in the evenings and for Saturday naps. This custom had begun when she was two and now it was nearly two years old.

Q2. What was the basic tale underlying each story that Jack told?
ANSWER:  A small creature named Roger had some problem. He would go to the wise owl who told him to go to the wizard. Theiwizard performed a magic spell. It solved Roger’s problem. He demanded more pennies than Roger had. Then he directed Roger to the place where extra money could be found. Roger felt happy and played many games with other creatines. He then went home. His daddy arrived from Boston. They had supper. The stoiy wound up with the description of the items of their supper.

Q3. How was the custom of story telling especially fatiguing on Saturdays?
ANSWER: Jo was growing up. She never fell asleep in naps any more. Her brother, Bobby, who was two was already asleep with the bottle. But Jo would not take her nap like an infant. The bumps her feet made under the covers were hallway down the bed. Her fat face deep in the pillow shone in the sunlight. The custom seemed futile and especially fatiguing on Saturdays.

Q4. Which animal did Jo suggest for the story that day? What do you know about this new animal?
ANSWER:  Jo suggested ‘skunk’ for the story that day. It was a new animal for her. They must be talking about it at nursery school. A skunk or a pole-cat is a small black and white North American animal. It can produce a strong unpleasant smell to defend itself when it is attacked.

Q5. Why did Roger Skunk go to see the old owl? [All India 2014]
ANSWER:  Due to foul body odour of Skunk, other animals were not interested in playing with him. But he wanted to play with friends. So, Roger Skunk went to the wise owl to get rid of the foul smell.

Q6. How did Jo and Jack react as the new animal was mentioned?
ANSWER: Jo squeezed her eye&Shut and smiled to be thinking that she was thinking. She opened her blue eyes and said firmly, “Skunk”. Having a fresh hero momentarily stirred Jack to creative enthusiasm. He started telling the story of Roger Skunk that smelled so bad that none of the other little woodland creatures would play with him.

Q7. How did Jack imagine the reaction of Roger Skunk on being universally detested ?
ANSWER:  Whenever Roger Skunk went out to play, all of the other tiny animals would cry: “Uh-oh, here comes Roger Stinky Skunk”. Then they would run away. Roger Skunk would stand there all alone. Two little round tears would fall from his eyes. Jack would relate all this with zest, remembering certain humiliations of his own childhood.

Q8. How do you think, did Jo identify with Roger Skunk, the victim of the hatred of other creatures?
ANSWER: Jo seemed to share the pleasure and pain of the hero of the stray—Roger. So complete was her identification that the mention of tears in Roger’s eyes brought tears in her eyes. Her mouth drooped down and her lower lip bent forward. Jack’s finger traced the course of a tear along the side of her nose.

Q9.Which two opposite forces acted on Jack while he was telling Jo a story about the little skunk?
ANSWER:  Jack was happy that he was telling Jo something true, something she must know. He had no wish to hurry on. But just then, a chair scraped downstairs. He realised that he must get down to help his wife, Clare to paint the woodwork in the living room. Thus, the interests of daughter and wife pulled him in different directions like two opposite forces.

Q10.“This was a new phase, just this last month, a reality phase.” What do you learn about Jo’s reality phase? How did her parents try to convince her?
ANSWER: Jo would ask if the magic spells were real. When Jack told her that spiders ate bugs, she would turn to her mother and ask if that was really so. When Clare told her God was in the sky and all around them, she would turn to her father to know the reality. Jack tried to convince her by saying? “They’re real in stories.”

Q11. “He felt being an old man suited him.” How would Jack play the old wizard?
ANSWER: The wizard’s voice was one of Jack’s own favourite effects. He did it by scrunching up his face and somehow whining through his eyes. During this brief period of time his eyes would become full of watery secretions. He would say, ‘Eh? Whatzis? Whatcher want? You smell awful.’

Q12. How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack? [Delhi 2014]
ANSWER: The stories told by Jack were well taken by Jo. But the ending of the Skunk’s story did not satisfy her. She believed that the wizard should have hit back Skunk’s mommy and Skunk would have kept smelling like roses.

Q13. How did Jack make the role of the wizard more impressive?
ANSWER: Jack fixed Jo with the trance like gaze. Then he chanted a magic spell in the wizard’s elderly irritable voice. The chanting was rhythmical and had sweet rhymes. The exclamation “Bingo!” confirmed the pleasure, the pleasure of the wizard at having done what he had been trying to do. All of a sudden, the whole inside of the wizard’s house was full of the smell of roses.

Q14. How did Jo react to Jack’s chanting of the magic spell ?
ANSWER: Jack chanted the magic spell as the wizard would do. When he paused, he noticed a rapt expression widening out from his daughter’s nostrils. She forced her eyebrows up and her lower lip down in a wide noiseless grin. This expression reminded Jack of his wife’s expression while feigning pleasure at cocktail parties.

Q15. “Very silly of your stupid old daddy,” says Jack. Why, do you think, did Jack say so?
ANSWER:  While narrating the story of Roger Skunk, Jack by chance said Roger Fish. Jo was quick to interrupt him and point out the error. She repeated twice that he had said Roger Fish and asked if that wasn’t silly. Jack had to admit that it had been very silly of him.

Q16. What action of Jo annoyed Jack? What do you think disturbed him?
ANSWER: Roger Skunk began to cry as he had only four pennies. Jo made the crying face again, but this time without a trace of sincerity. This annoyed Jack. Some more furniture rumbled down stairs. Jack thought that Clare shouldn’t move heavy things. He was worried because she was six months pregnant. It would be their third child.

Q17. Which two factors made Jack continue the story?
ANSWER:  Roger Skunk had returned home at dark after playing happily with the other little animals. Jo did not fall asleep. She was starting to fuss with her hands and look out of the window. She thought the story was over. Jack did not like women when they took anything for granted. He liked them to be worried. So he continued the story.

Q18. Why was Roger Skunk’s mommy angry? What did she finally tell him?
ANSWER:  She was angry because Roger Skunk had an unusual smell of roses. She called it awful and asked Roger who made him smell like that. When he said, “The wizard”, she ordered him to come with her and they were going right back to that very awful wizard. She seemed to be very angry with the wizard.

Q19. Why, do you think, did Roger Skunk’s mommy insist on taking him to the wizard at once?
ANSWER:  Roger Skunk’s mommy wanted young skunk to smell the way a little skunk should. She did not want him to acquire the artificial and uncharacteristic smell of the roses. The foul smell was a tool for him to keep the enemy away. That is why she hit the wizard right over the head and he agreed to restore the original ‘foul’ smell.

Q20. How did Jo want the wizard to behave when mommy skunk approached him?
ANSWER:  Jo had a deep regard for the wizard. He had magical powers and could do anything. She did not agree with her father’s version. She said that the wizard hit her (Roger Skunk’s mommy) on the head and did not change that little skunk back. She did not want that the other little animals should hate him again for his awful smell.

Q21. Why does Jo insist that her father should tell her the story with a different ending—where the wizard hit that mommy?
ANSWER:  Jo was not convinced that the little animals eventually got used to the way the little skunk was and did not mind it all. It was just the opposite of what her father had said at the beginning. (The other tiny creatures called him Stinky Skunk and would run away, leaving Roger alone to shed tears.) Later, when the wizard made the skunk smell like roses, the other little animals gathered around him and played with him till dark. Hence Jo wanted the wizard to punish the stupid mommy.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :

Q1. Why did Jack conduct the ‘story-session’ and what story did he tell? How did he ensure active participation of the listener in the development of the story?
ANSWER:  Jack started telling bed-time stories to his two-year-old daughter Jo (Joanne) two ye&fs ago. Now she was four-year-old and had recently entered the reality phase. Jack would tell her stories in the evenings or for Saturdays naps.
Each new story was a slight variation of a basic tale. The central character was a small creature named Roger. He could be Roger Fish, Roger Squirrel, Roger Chipmunk or Roger Skunk. Roger had some problem and went for help to the wise, old owl. The owl would tell him to go to the wizard. The wizard would perform a magical spell that solved the problem. He would demand more pennies than Roger had. He would direct unhappy Roger to the place where extra pennies could be found. Roger would then feel happy and play games with other small creatures till dark. Then he went home to his mommy. His daddy arrived from Boston and they had their supper. The story would end with the description of the items of supper.
Since the plot of the story and the actions and reactions of the various characters remained the same, both Jo and Jack would enact typical scenes. Thus, Jo felt involved in the story.

Q2. What problem did Roger Skunk have? How was it solved?
ANSWER: Roger Skunk smelled very bad—in fact so bad that none of the other little woodland creatures would play with him. Whenever Roger Skunk went out to play, all the other tiny animals would cry: ‘Uh-oh, here comes Roger Stinky Skunk.’ Then they would run away. Roger Skunk would stand there all alone. Two little round tears would fall from his eyes. Roger Skunk walked along very sadly and came to a very big tree. There was a huge, wise, old owl on the topmost branch of the tree. He told the owl that all the other little animals ran away from him because he smelled very bad. The owl admitted that he did so. Skunk wanted to know what he could do and cried hard. The owl advised Roger Skunk to go to the wizard who lived in the dense forest over a little river. The wizard too observed that the Skunk smelled awful. He asked what he wanted. Roger Skunk told his problem. The wizard found his magic wand and asked Roger Skunk what he wanted to smell like. Roger thought and said, “Roses”. The wizard chanted a magical spell. There was a smell of roses all around the wizard’s house. Roger Skunk now smelled like that of roses

Q3. Why, do you think, was Roger Skunk’s mommy angry ? Does her anger seem justified? What did she decide to do?
ANSWER:  Roger Skunk’s mommy was angry because he had lost his God-given smell. He no longer emitted the foul smell he was bom with. On the other hand, he had an awful and unusu¬ally sweet smell of roses. She wanted her young one to smell the way a young skunk should. This smell was God-given protection against danger. The predator could be kept at bay.
The newly acquired smell of roses, howsoever pleasant and sweet smelling could endan¬ger the skunk’s life by attracting the predators to the tiny skunk. She wanted to know who had done so. She felt very angry at the wizard. Her anger is justified because by his simple act he had put the life of the young skunk in danger. No mother can act peacefully or rationally when there is some danger to her young one. Hence, she at once decided to go to the wizard with Roger Skunk so that his foul smell might be restored and his life might be free from dangers.

Q4. Comment on the ending of the story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’?
ANSWER:  The story does not end with the wizard being hit by the mother. Joanne, who believes the fictional characters to be real, wants her papa to tell the story that the wizard hit the stupid mommy. Instead of having a nap, she kicks her legs up and sits down on the bed. Jack advises her to have a rest.
When he went downstairs, he found that his wife, Clare had spread the newspapers and opened the paint can. She was wearing an old shirt of his on top of her maternity smock. She was stroking the chair rail with a dipped brush. He heard footsteps moving overhead and scolded Joanne.
Jack watched his wife labour. He had come there to help her, but the story-session had filled him with utter weariness. Clare remarked that it was a long stoiy. Jack uttered only three words: ‘The poor kid’. He felt caught in an ugly middle position. Though he felt the presence of his wife there, he did not wish to speak to her, touch her or work with her. It leaves us baffled. We begin to ponder over human relationships. Thus, the ending is thought provoking.

Q5. Why, do you think, the title has a question mark? How far do you find it a convincing and appropriate title?
ANSWER:  The question mark in the title ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ focuses the reader’s attention on the two well-wishers of the main character—Roger Skunk. The wizard solves Roger Skunk’s problem of bad smell and gives him the smell of roses at his request. The skunk’s mother is angry, because her baby has been deprived of the bad odour which a skunk of his age should emit. This bad odour is a sort of armoura protection against predators who are kept away by the dirty smell. The mother skunk hits the wizard on the head and forces him to restore the foul smell to the skunk.
Jo, the four-year-old girl, for whom the wizard is a real do-gooder, can’t digest his humiliation at the hands of a stupid mother. From her point of view, the smell of roses make skunk popular among the other little animals.
The story can take either direction and ending depending on the point of view of the adult or child. The author very cunningly seeks the reaction of his readers by putting a ques¬tion mark at the end of the title. One may approve of it or reject it. Thus, the title is quite convincing and appropriate one.

Read and Find Out

Q1. How do geological phenomena help us to know about the history of humankind?

ANSWER:
The geological phenomenon of separating various continents and water bodies from one compact landmass tells us about the age of existence of human race on the earth. Six hundred and fifty million years ago, no human race existed on the earth because the environment was not favourable. After the time when the dinosaurs were wiped out, the Mammals started existing and after the separation of landmass, the human race started flourishing on the earth.

Q2. What are the indications for the future of humankind?
ANSWER:
The future of the humankind can get in danger if the emission of carbon- dioxide and other poisonous gases go on in the same manner. These gases deplete the ozone layer and allow the ultra-violet rays of the sun to enter the earth’s environment. This causes the rise in temperature of the earth and giving rise to the phenomenon called global warming. Increased temperature can melt the ice of the Antarctica, and cause other environmental problems, thus jeopardizing the future of human kind.

Reading with Insight

Q1. ‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica.’ How is the study of this region useful to us?

ANSWER:
It gives an idea, how the earth was like, before it drifted into continents and countries. It shows how slight changes in the climate can change the shape of the region. It gives the explanation how the climatic conditions of the earth were not favourable for life before and how slowly rising temperature made earth a place to sustain life. All secrets are embedded in the layers of ice in the form of half million year old carbon records.

Q2. What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?

ANSWER:
Geoff Green took the high school students to one end of the world, to provide them the opportunity to develop the respect and understanding for the earth. He wanted to make the future policy-makers to experience how difficult it would have been for the earth to sustain life by rising its temperature. He wanted them to understand that any interference in nature can cause drastic mishappenings in the future when the students see the ice shelves melting and collapsing, they can estimate the kind of environmental troubles ahead in their future.

Q3. ‘Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ What is the relevance of this statement in the context of the Antarctic environment?

ANSWER:
This statement has great relevance in the context of the Antarctic environment. A small change in the environment can give rise to drastic developments. Antarctica has a small biodiversity. The example of small grass called phytoplankton can be studied in this context. These microscopic grasses undergo the process of photosynthesis and serve as food for number of marine birds and animals. The author says if there is further depletion of the ozone layer, it will affect the phytoplanktons and the carbon cycle on the globe. This whole process can jeopardize the existence of all the marine birds and animals. So if we take care that processes carried over by these small grasses are carried out properly, the bigger animals and birds will fall into the place on their own.

Q4. Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?

ANSWER:
Antarctica gives us an idea, how the earth would have been like millions of years ago and how it got divided into various earth masses. The melting and colliding ice masses also give us an insight into how our future is going to be, if we continue with interference in the working of the nature. Moreover, Antarctica holds into the depths of its ice half-million year old carbon records, which are helpful in understanding the past, present and future of the earth. Therefore, Antarctica is the place which reveals our past, shows our present and visualizes our future.

READ AND FIND OUT
Q1. Who was Dr Sadao? Where was his house?

ANSWER: Dr Sadao Hoki was an eminent Japanese surgeon and scientist. He had spent eight valuable years of his youth in America to learn all that could be learnt of surgery and medicine there. He was perfecting a discovery which would render wounds entirely clean.
Dr Sadao’s house was built on rocks well above a narrow beach that was outlined with bent pines. It was on a spot of the Japanese coast.

Q2. Will Dr Sadao be arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy?
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao knew that they would be arrested if they sheltered a white man in their house. The wounded man was a prisoner of war who had escaped with a bullet on his back. Since Japan was at war with America, harbouring an enemy meant being a traitor to Japan. Dr Sadao could be arrested if anyone complained against him and accused him of harbouring an enemy.

Q3. Will Hana help the wounded man and wash him herself?
ANSWER:   The gardener and the cook were frightened that their master was going to heal the wound of a white man—an enemy. They felt that after being cured he (the white man) will take revenge on the Japanese. Yumi, the maid, was also frightened. She refused to wash the white man. Hana rebuked the maid who had refused to wash a wounded helpless man. Then she dipped a small dean towel into the steaming hot water and washed the white man’s face. She kept on washing him until his upper body was quite dean. But she dared not turn him over.

Q4. What will Dr Sadao and his wife do with the man?
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao and his wife, Hana, had told the servants that they only wanted to bring the man to his senses so that they could turn him over as a prisoner. They knew that the best possible course under the circumstances was to put him back into the sea. However, Dr Sadao was against handing over a wounded man to the police. He dedded to carry him into his house. He operated upon him and extracted the bullet from his body. He kept the white man in his house. He and his wife looked after him and fed him till he was strong enough to walk on his legs. .

Q5. Will Dr Sadao be arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy?
ANSWER:   It was the seventh day since Dr Sadao had operated upon the young white man. Early that morning, their three servants left together. In the afternoon, a messenger came there in official uniform. He told Dr Sadao that he had to come to the palace at once as the old General was in pain again.
Hana, who had thought that the officer had come to arrest Dr Sadao, asked the messenger, “Is that all?” The baffled messenger enquired if that was not enough. She tried to cover her mistake by expressing regret and admitted that the General’s illness was enough. Dr Sadao told the General about the white man he had operated upon. Since Dr Sadao was indispensable to the General, he promised that Dr Sadao would not be arrested.

Q6. What will Dr Sadao do to get rid of the man?
ANSWER:  Dr Sadao had told the old General that he had operated upon a white man. The General promised to send his private assassins to kill the man silently and secretly at night and remove his body. Dr Sadao left the outer partition of white man’s room open. He waited anxiously for three nights. The servants had left their house. His wife Hana had to cook, clean the house and serve the wounded man. She was unaccustomed to this labour. She was anxious that they should get rid of the man.
Dr Sadao told Tom, the white man, that he was quite well then. He offered to put his boat on the shore that night. It would have food and extra clothing in it. Tom might be able to row to the little island which was not far from the coast. It had not been fortified. The .water was quite deep. Nobody lived there, as it was submerged in storm. Since it was not the season of storm, he could live there till he saw a Korean fishing boat pass by. He gave the man his flashlight. He was to signal twice with his flashlight at sunset in case his food ran out. In case, he was still there and all right, he was to signal only once.
Dr Sadao gave the man Japanese clothes and covered his blond head with a black doth. In short, Dr Sadao helped the man to escape from Japan. At the same time he also got rid of the man.

READING WITH INSIGHT
Q1.There are moments in life when we have to make hard choices between our roles as private individuals and as citizens with a sense of national loyalty? Discuss with reference to the story you have just read.
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao Hoki faces a dilemma when he finds the body of an unconscious wounded white man lying on the lonely coast with dangerous rocks near his house. His first reaction was that the person was perhaps a fisherman who had been washed from his boat. He ran quickly down the steps. His wife, Hana came behind him. When they came near, Sadao found that the man was wounded and lay motionless. His face was in the sand. As they saw his face, they found that he was a white man with long yellow hair and a rough yellow beard.
Being an expert surgeon, Dr Sadao saw that the man had a gun-wound on the right side of his lower back. He at once packed the wound with sea moss to stanch the fearful bleeding. Since Japan was at war with America, the white man was an enemy. Dr Sadao muttered, “What shall we do with this man?” He answered the question himself, “The best thing that we could do would be to put him back in the sea.” His wife approved of his decision.
Then Sadao made another observation. If they sheltered a white man in their house they would be arrested and if they turned him over as a prisoner, he would certainly die. Hana still insisted on putting him back into the sea. From his battered cap, Dr Sadao concluded that he was a sailor from an American warship. The man was a prisoner of war. He had escaped and that was why he was wounded in the back..
Hana asked if they were able to put him back into the sea. Sadao then said that if the man was whole he could turn the man over to the police without difficulty. He cared nothing for the man. He was their enemy. All Americans were their ‘enemy’. But since he was wounded… Hana understood his dilemma and realised that in the conflict between his sense of national loyalty and his duty as a doctor, it was the latter which proved dominant. Since Sadao too could not throw him back to the sea, the only course left for them was to carry him to their house. Sadao enquired about the reaction of the servants.
Hana said that they would, tell the servants that they intended to give the man to the police. She told Sadao that they must do so. They had to think of the children and the doctor’s position. It would endanger all of them if they did not give that man over as a prisoner of war.
Sadao agreed and promised that he would not think of doing anything else.

Q2. Dr Sadao was compelled by his duty as a doctor to help the enemy soldier. What made Hana, his wife, sympathetic to him in the face of open defiance from the domestic staff?
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao and his wife, Hana, together lifted the wounded man and carried him to an empty bedroom in their house. The man was very dirty. Sadao suggested that he had better be washed. He offered to do so if she would fetch water. Hana was against it. She suggested that the maid, Yumi, could wash the man. They would have to tell the servants. Dr Sadao examined the man again and remarked that the man would die unless he was operated upon at once. He left the room to bring his surgical instruments.
The servants did not approve of their master’s decision to heal the wound of a white man. Even Yumi refused to wash the white man. There was so fierce a look of resistance upon Yumi’s round dull face that Hana felt unreasonably afraid. Then she said with dignity that they only wanted to bring him to his senses so that they would turn him over as a prisoner. However, Yumi refused to have anything to do with him. Hana asked Yumi gently to return to her work.
The open defiance from the domestic staff hurt Hana’s feelings. She had told the servants to do what their master commanded them. She was convinced of her own superiority. She now became sympathetic to her husband and helped him in his efforts to heal the wounded man. Though the sight of the white man was repulsive to her, she washed his face and his upper body. She prepared herself to give him the anaesthetic according to her husband’s instructions. She had never seen an operation. She choked and her face turned pale like sulphur. She felt like vomiting and left for a while. She returned after retching and administered anaesthetic to the man. Thus she co-operated with her husband fully to save the wounded man.

Q3. How would you explain the reluctance of the soldier to leave the shelter of the doctor’s home even when he knew he couldn’t stay there without risk to the doctor and himself?
ANSWER:   On the third day after the operation, the young man asked Dr Sadao what he was going to do with him and if he was going to hand him over. Dr Sadao said that he did not know himself what he would do with the mem. He ought to hand him over to the police as he was a prisoner of war.
The young man saw that Dr Sadao and his wife Hana were different from other Japanese. They spoke English well, looked after him and served him food. Seven days after the operation of the man, Dr Sadao was called to the palace to see the General. Hana thought that the police had come to arrest Dr Sadao. Dr Sadao confided in the General and he (General) promised to send his personal assassins to kill the man and remove his body. Dr Sadao waited for three nights. Nothing happened. Then he made a plan to let the prisoner escape. He told Tom, the young American, about it. The young man stared at him and asked if he had to leave. It seemed he was reluctant to leave. Dr Sadao told him that he should understand everything clearly. It was not hidden that he was there and this situation was full of risk for himself as well as for the doctor and his family. Thus it is quite clear that the reluctance of the soldier was caused by the single motive of self-preservation. He knew from the treatment he had received from the couple that they would save him.

Q4. What explains the attitude of the General in the matter of the enemy soldier? Was it human consideration, lack of national loyalty, dereliction of duty or simply self-absorption?
ANSWER:   During his meeting with the General, Dr Sadao told him about the man he had operated on successfully. He explained that he cared nothing for the man. The General appreciated his skill and efficiency and promised that he would not be arrested.
The General thought it quite unfortunate that the man had been washed up to Dr Sadao’s doorstep and thought it best if he could be quietly killed. He promised to send his private assassins to do so and remove his dead body. He suggested that Dr Sadao should leave the outer partition of the white man’s room to the garden open at night.
It is evident that the General had no human consideration in this matter. For him an enemy was an enemy and must be wiped out. He wanted the man to be eliminated silently to save the doctor from being arrested. It was neither lack of national loyalty nor dereliction of duty that guided and inspired his decision. It was simply his sense of self-absorption. He “wanted to keep Dr Sadao safe only for his own sake. He had no faith in the other Germany trained doctors. He might have to be operated upon anytime when he had another attack and he had full faith in the skill and loyalty of Dr Sadao only.
This fact is further corroborated by the General’s remarks to Dr Sadao, one week after the emergency operation upon the General. Dr Sadao informed him that the man had escaped. The General asked whether he had not promised Sadao that he would kill the
man for him. Dr Sadao replied that he had done nothing. The General admitted that he had forgotten his promise as he had been suffering a great deal and he thought of nothing but himself. He revealed the whole truth. He admitted that it was careless of him to have forgotten his promise. But added that it was not lack of patriotism or dereliction of duty on his part.

Q5. While hatred against a member of the enemy race is justifiable, especially during wartime, what makes a human being rise above narrow prejudices?
ANSWER:   It is the consciousness of the demands of one’s calling that make a sensitive soul respond to the call of his duty as a professional doctor to attend to the wounded human being regardless of his being an enemy.
In the story ‘The Enemy’ Dr Sadao Hoki finds a prisoner of war washed ashore and in a dying state thrown to his doorstep. As a patriot, it is his duty to hand him over to the police. If he does not want to be entangled, the next best thing is to put him back to the sea.
However, the surgeon in him instinctively inspires him to operate upon the dying man and save him from the jaws of death. First, he packs the wound with sea-moss to stanch the fearful bleeding. Then he brings him home with the help of his wife. In spite of stiff opposition and open defiance of the servants, he operates upon the man and harbours him till he is able to leave. He knows fully well the risk of sheltering a white man—a prisoner of war—in his house. But his sentimentality for the suffering and wounded person help him rise above narrow national prejudices and extend his help and services even to an enemy.

Q6. Do you think the doctor’s final solution to the problem was the best possible one in the circumstances?
ANSWER:  Yes, I think the doctor’s final solution to the problem was the best possible one in the circumstances. Initially, the doctor as well as his wife thought that the best as well as kindest thing would be to put him back into the sea. But neither of them was able to put him back into the sea.
Sadao explained that if the man was whole he could turn him over to the police without difficulty, but since he was wounded, the doctor could not throw him back to the sea. He could not kill the man whom he had saved from the jaws of death.
The General promised to send his private assassins to kill the man and remove his dead body. Sadao waited for three nights for their arrival, but they never came as the General being preoccupied with his own suffering, forgot everything else.
Meanwhile the fear of Hana, the doctor’s wife, that he would be arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy kept on mounting. Dr Sadao made up his mind to get rid of the man as it was not only inconvenient but also dangerous for them to have him there any longer. He, therefore, quietly devised the plan of letting the prisoner escape by using his own boat and Japanese clothes.
As soon as the enemy left, the servants returned and life became normal once again. Dr Sadao informed the General that “the man” had escaped. The General admitted that he had forgotten his promise as he thought of nothing but himself as he was suffering a great deal. He confessed that it was careless of him but it was not his lack of patriotism or dereliction of duty. In short, the doctor’s strategy to let the prisoner escape was the best possible solution to the problem under the prevailing circumstances.

Q7. Does the story remind you of ‘Birth’ by A. J. Cronin that you read in ‘Snapshots’ last year? What are the similarities?
ANSWER:   Yes, the story ‘The Enemy’ by Pearl S. Buck certainly reminds us of the story ‘Birth’ by A. J. Cronin. Both the stories have certain obvious similarities. Both the stories revolve around the protagonist who is a doctor. Both of them focus on the doctor’s devotion and dedication to his duty and his concern for the well-being of his patient. The doctor sacrifices his own rest and comfort while attending to the patient. If the doctor brings a ‘still-born’ baby back to life in the story ‘Birth’, Dr Sadao Hoki performs no less a miracle. He saves an almost dying man from the jaws of death by skilfully extracting the bullet from his body and giving him medicines and injections for quick relief.
Dr Sadao runs a greater risk than Dr Andrew Mason. While the former could be arrested on the charge of harbouring an enemy and condemned to death, the latter (Dr Andrew) was foregoing rest and staking his reputation as a medical practitioner. He had had a disappointing evening with Christine, the girl he loves, but he forgets his personal feelings and concentrates on the safe delivery of child and then of reviving the middle-aged mother and the still-born child. Similarly, Dr Sadao is dedicated to his patient and his problems. He forgets everything while concentrating on the operation. His servants have defied him for sheltering an enemy and run away. His wife, Hana, has to do menial jobs while attending to the patient and her retching disturbs him. Her distress and his inability to attend to her make him impatient and irritable, but he does not desert the man who is under his knife. To conclude, we may say that the zeal, dedication and efforts of both the doctors are similar. There is difference of degree in the risk factor, but their devotion to suffering humanity is undoubtedly of the same kind.

Q8. Is there any film you have seen or novel you have read with a similar theme?
ANSWER:   I remember an old Hindi film ‘Dr Kotnis ki Amar Kahani’ that deals with a similar theme. The eminent doctor gives up his practice and goes to the war front to look after the wounded and ailing soldiers and render them medical help. He spares no pain in performing his duties. He ignores the demands of his own body that is sleep, rest and comfort. Service to suffering humanity is his sole motivation and in his zeal to restore the maximum number of victims back to health, the doctor suffers from physical and mental exhaustion and ultimately dies.
The film based on the life of Florence Nightingale, the lady with the lamp, also glorifies the spirit of service and sacrifice of a member of the medical profession. It is through her sheer hard work and dedication to duty that Florence Nightingale raises the job of a nurse to a high pedestal.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :

Q1.What do you learn about Sadao’s father from the story ‘The Enemy’?
ANSWER:  Sadao’s father was a visionary. He knew that the islands near the sea coast were the stepping stones to the future for Japan. No one could limit their future as it depended on what they made it. His son’s education was his chief concern. He sent his son to America at the age of twenty-two to learn all that could be learned of surgery and medicine. He loved the Japanese race, customs and manners.

Q2. Why was Dr Sadao being kept in Japan and not sent abroad with the troops?
ANSWER:   Sadao was an eminent surgeon and a scientist. He was perfecting a discovery which would render wounds entirely clean. Secondly, the old General was being treated medically for a condition for which he might need an operation. Due to these two reasons Sadao was being kept in Japan and not sent abroad with the troops.

Q3. Who was Sadao’s wife? Where had he met her? Why did he wait to fall in love with her?
ANSWER:   Hana was Sadao’s wife. He had met her by chance at an American professor’s house. Professor Harley and his wife had been kind people. They held a party at their home for their few foreign students. Hana was a new student. He waited to fall in love with her until he was sure she was Japanese. It was because his father would never have received her unless she had been pure in her race.

Q4. When and where did Sadao marry Hana? How was their married life?
ANSWER:   Sadao married Hana when they returned to Japan after finishing their work at medical school. Sadao’s father saw her. The marriage was then arranged in the old Japanese way. They had been married years enough to have two children. Their married life was quite happy. They still loved each other.

Q5. ‘Both of them saw something black came out of the mists’. What did they see and how did they react to it?
ANSWER:   It was a man who had been flung up out of the ocean, to his feet by a breaker. He staggered a few steps with his arms above his head. Then the curled mists hid him again. When they next saw him, he was on his hands and knees crawling. Then they saw him fall on his face and lie there. Sadao thought that he was perhaps a fisherman who had been washed from his boat. He ran quickly down the steps. Hana followed him.

Q6. In which state did Sadao and Hana find the man? What did they learn about him?

ANSWER:  The man lay motionless with his face in the sand. As they turned the man’s head, they saw that he was a white man with long yellow hair. His young face had a rough yellow beard. He was unconscious. From his battered cap they learnt that he was a sailor from an American warship.

Q7. What did Sadao learn about the white man’s wound?
ANSWER:   Sadao saw that a gun-wound had been reopened on the right side of his lower back. The flesh was blackened with powder. The man had been shot recently and had not been tended. It was bad chance that the rock had struck the wound and reopened it.

Q8. How can you say that Sadao’s head and hands worked in different directions?
ANSWER:   Sadao’s head told him to put the man back into the sea as he was an American soldier-an enemy of Japan. His trained hands seemed, of their own will, to be doing what they could to stanch the fearful bleeding. He packed the wound with the sea-moss that strewed the beach. The bleeding was stopped for the moment.

Q9.What dilemma did Sadao face about the young white man?
ANSWER:   The white man was wounded. He needed immediate medical care. Dr Sadao could do so. But if they sheltered a white man in their house, they would be arrested. On the other hand, if they turned him over as a prisoner, he would certainly die. Dr Sadao was in a fix. It was difficult for him to come to any decision.

Q10.What was the attitude of Sadao and Hana towards the white man?
ANSWER:   They stared upon the inert figure of the white man with a curious repulsion. Both talked of putting him back into the sea, but neither of them was able to do so alone. They hesitated. Sadao said that being American, the man was his enemy. He would have handed him over to the police if he had not been wounded. But since he was wounded… He left the sentence incomplete, implying that he couldn’t do so.

Q11.What solution did Hana offer to resolve Sadao’s predicament?
ANSWER:   Hana found that neither of them could throw the white man back into the sea. There was only one thing to do. They must carry the man into their house. They must tell the servants that they intended to hand him over to the police. She reminded her husband of his position and children. It would endanger all of them if they did not give that man over as a prisoner of war.

Q12. How did Sadao and Hana take the man inside their house?
ANSWER:   Together they lifted the man. He was very light. His arms were hanging down. They carried him up the steps and into the side door of the house. This door opened into a passage. Down the passage, they carried him towards an empty bedroom. They laid the man on the deeply matted floor.

Q13. Hana took out a soft quilt from the wall cupboard. Then she hesitated. Why? What did her husband suggest? Why did she not agree?
ANSWER:   The quilt was covered with flowered silk and the lining was pure white silk. Secondly, the man was quite dirty. So Hana hesitated. Her husband suggested that he should be washed. He offered to wash him, if she was willing to fetch water. She could not bear for him to touch the man and offered to tell Yumi, the maid, to wash him.

Q14. Why did Dr Sadao had to touch the man? What did he observe?
ANSWER:   The utter pallor of the man’s unconscious face moved Dr Sadao first to stoop and feel his pulse. It was faint but it was there. Then he put his hand against the man’s cold breast. The heart too was yet alive. He observed that the man would die unless he was operated on.

Q15. Why did Hana come behind Sadao when he went out of the room quickly?
ANSWER:  Hana did not wish to be left alone with the white man. He was the first she had seen since she left America. He seemed to have nothing to do with those whom she had known there. Here he was her enemy, a menace, living or dead.

Q16. How did the servants react when their master told them about the wounded white man?
ANSWER:  The servants were frightened and puzzled. The old gardener told Hana that the master ought not to heal the wound of that white man. He said that the white man ought to die. First he was shot. Then the sea caught him and wounded him with her rocks. If the master healed what the gun and the sea had done, they would take revenge on them.

Q17. Why had Hana to wash the wounded man herself?
ANSWER:   Hana told Yumi to fetch hot water and bring it to the room where the white man was. Yumi put down the wooden bucket, but refused to wash the dirty white man. Hana cried at her severely. She told her to do what her master commanded her to do. The fierce look of resistance upon Yumfe dull face made Hana afraid. Under these circumstances, Hana had no option but to wash the white man herself.

Q18. How did Hana wash the wounded man?
ANSWER:  First, Hana untied the knotted rugs that kept the white man covered. When she had his breast bare, she dipped a small clean towel into the steaming hot water and washed his face carefully. She kept on washing him until his upper body was quite clean. But she dared not turn him over for fear of the wound.

Q19. What help did Dr Sadao seek from Hana while operating the wounded white man?
ANSWER:   First, he asked her to fetch towels. Then he told her that she would have to give him the anaesthetic if he needed it. Since, Hana had never done so, he told her that it was easy enough. He asked her to soak the cotton with anaesthetic and hold it near his nostrils. When he breathed badly, she had to move it away a little. Thus, Hana proved herself helpful to her husband.

Q20. How did Hana react to Sadao’s absorption in his work?
ANSWER:   Sadao went on with his swift concise movements. He did not seem to hear her. She was used to his absorption when he was at work. She wondered for a moment if it mattered to him what the body was upon which he worked so long as it was for the work which he did so excellently.

Q21. What did Sadao remark when he peered into the wound with his bright surgeon’s light?
ANSWER:   He remarked that the bullet was still there. He said so with cool interest. He then wondered
how deep that wound was. If it was not very deep it was possible that he could get the bullet. He observed that the bleeding was not superficial. The man had already lost much blood.

Q22. What made a cool surgeon (like Dr Sadao) speak sharply to his wife? How did she react to his command?
ANSWER:   The sight of blood made Hana choke. Her face turned pale. She had never seen an operation. Dr Sadao spoke sharply and asked her not to faint. He did not put down his exploring instrument. He argued that if he stopped then the man would surely die. Hana clapped her hands to her mouth, leaped up and ran out of the room. He heard her retching in the garden. But he went on with his work.

Q23. What forced Dr Sadao to be impatient and irritable with his patient?
ANSWER:   Sadao heard Hana retching in the garden and said that it would be better for her to empty her stomach. He went on with his work. He had forgotten that she had never seen an operation. But her distress and his inability to go to her at once made him impatient and irritable with the man who lay like dead under his knife.

Q24. What instructions did Sadao give to Hana to administer the anaesthetic and when?
ANSWER:   The man was beginning to stir. Hana asked Sadao where the anaesthetic was. Sadao motioned with his chin. She now had the bottle and some cotton in her hand. Sadao instructed her to saturate the cotton with anaesthetic and hold it near the man’s nostrils. She had to move it away a little when he breathed badly.

Q25. How did Hana react to the stories they heard of the sufferings of the prisoners of war? What made her think so?
ANSWER:   These stories came like flickers of rumour, told by word of mouth. They were always contradicted. Hana wondered whether these stories were true. In the newspapers the reports were that people received the Japanese armies gladly with cries of joy at their liberation.

Q26. In what context does Hana remember General Takima? What does she infer?
ANSWER:   General Takima was a ruthless despot. At home he beat his wife cruelly. No one mentioned it now because he had won a victory in a battle in Manchuria. Hana remembers him in the context of the sufferings of the prisoners of war. She infers that if a man (like General Takima) could be so cruel to a woman in his power, he would be quite cruel to a prisoner. The deep red scars on the white man’s neck confirmed her apprehension.

Q27. “Ml thought left him. He felt only the purest pleasure.” Why, do you think, did Dr Sadao behave in this way?
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao was concentrating hard on locating the bullet. He felt the tip of his probing instrument strike against something hard, dangerously near the kidney. He was filled with the purest pleasure at the success of his skill. He thought only of curing his patient and did not answer even his wife’s query.

Q28. Dr Sadao was ‘familiar with every atom of this human body’. Who had seen to that knowl¬edge and how?
ANSWER:   It was Sadao’s old American professor of Anatomy who had seen to the perfect knowledge of human body. He would tell his students, ‘Ignorance of the human body is the surgeon’s cardinal sin.” He would go a step further and impress upon the budding surgeons to have as complete knowledge of the body as if they had made it. To operate with anything less than that meant a murder.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :

Q1. Why did Sadao Hoki go to America? What do you learn about his experiences there?
ANSWER:   Sadao’s education was his father’s chief concern. So he had been sent at twenty-two to America to leam all that could be learnt of surgery and medicine. He studied there for eight years and returned to Japan at thirty. Before his father died, Sadao had become famous not only as a surgeon, but also as a scientist.
He had had great difficulty in finding a place to live in America because he was a Japanese. The Americans were full of prejudice and it had been bitter to live in it, knowing himself to be superior to them. An ignorant and dirty old woman at last consented to house him in her miserable home. He found her repulsive to him even in her kindness.
One of his American professors and his wife were kind people. They were anxious to do something for their few foreign students. But their rooms were quite small, the food was very bad, the professor was a dull person and his wife was a silly talkative woman.

Q2. How can you say that Dr Sadao’s father was a Japanese to the core?
ANSWER:  Dr Sadao’s father had high dreams about the future of Japan. There was no limit to their future as it depended on what they made it. He never played or joked with his only son. But he spent infinite pains upon him. For the sake of the best possible medical education, he sent his son to America. Sadao met Hana there, but waited to fall in love with her until he was sure she was Japanese. His father would never have received her unless she had been pure in her race. Their marriage was arranged in the old Japanese way only after Sadao’s father had seen her when both of them had come home to Japan after finishing their education.
He was a Japanese every inch. The floor of his room was deeply matted. He would never sit on a chair or sleep in a foreign bed in his house. The quilt was covered with flowered silk and the lining was pure white silk. In short, everything here had been Japanese to please him.

Q3. What do you learn about Dr Sadao and Harm from the story ‘The Enemy’?
ANSWER:   Sadao and Hana represent modem, enlightened and educated Japanese who get the benefit of American training in medical science, yet retain love and respect for their moth¬erland and its customs and traditions. He was an obedient and caring son who had deep regard for his father. He married Hana only after his father had seen her. Their marriage was arranged in the old Japanese way. They were perfectly happy and had two children. Even years after their marriage they retained the same love and affection for each other. Since Japan was at war with America, they considered the Americans as their enemies. The waves of the ocean had flung up a wounded young American to their doorstep. They wanted to put him back into the sea, but neither of them was able to do so. They brought the wounded man inside their house in spite of repulsion for him. Sadao had been trained not to let a man die if he could help him. The ethics of the medical profession forced him to save even his enemy. His wife Hana obeyed all his commands and instructions like a child though she suffered a lot internally.

Q4. What was the dilemma that Sadao faced when he saw a wounded, young white man washed to his doorstep? What solution did his wife, Hana, offer to resolve his (Sadao’s) predica¬ment?
ANSWER:   The young white man was bleeding. He had a bullet wound on his lower back. He needed immediate medical attention. Dr Sadao, an eminent surgeon, could do so. But if they sheltered a white man in their house, they would be arrested. On the other hand, if they tinned him over as a prisoner, he would certainly die. Neither of them could put him back into the sea and get rid of him. They were true humanist. So, they hesitated.
Sadao declared that being an American, the man was his enemy. He would have handed him over to the police if he had been hale and hearty. But since he was wounded… He left the sentence unfinished implying that he could not do so as he had been trained not to let a man die if he could help him.
Hana suggested that they must carry the man inside the house. They must tell the ser¬vants that they intended to hand him over to the police. She reminded her husband of his position and the children. It would endanger all of them if they did not hand that man over as a prisoner of war. His doubts were removed and they decided to carry the man into their house.

Q5. How did Dr Sadao take the man inside his house and try to save him?
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao and Hana lifted the man together. He was very light. His arms were hanging
down. They carried him up the steps and into the side door of the house. This door opened •
into a passage. Down the passage, they carried him towards an empty bedroom. They laid the man on the deeply matted floor. The man was quite dirty, so Dr Sadao suggested that he should be washed.
The utter pallor of the man’s unconscious face moved Dr Sadao first to stoop and feel his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Then he put his hand against the man’s cold breast.
The heart too was yet alive. He observed that the man would die unless he was operated upon immediately. He left the room to bring his instruments to perform an emergency operation to save the man’s life.

Q6. How did the servants initially react to the presence of a white man in their masters house?
ANSWER:  When Dr Sadao told the cook and the gardener about the wounded young white man, they
had brought inside the house, the two servants were frightened and puzzled. The *
superstitious old gardener looked so annoyed that he pulled the few hairs on his upper lip.
He bluntly told Hana that the master ought not to heal the wound of that white man. He said that the white man ought to die. First he was shot. Then the sea caught him and wounded him with her rocks. If the master healed what the gun and the sea had done, they would take revenge on them.
Even the maid, Yumi, refused to wash the man though Hana cried at her severely and told her to do what the master had commanded her to do. The servants seemed to be in a defiant mood. The fierce look of resistance upon Yumi’s dull face frightened Hana. She thought that the servants might report something that was not as it happened. She main¬tained her dignity and told the maid that they wanted to bring him to his senses so that they could turn him over as a prisoner. Even this explanation failed to convince Yumi and she refused to do anything for the white man.

Q7. What was the change in the mood of open defiance of their master on the part of domestic staff as time passed and the white man was kept in Dr Sadao’s house ?
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao not only kept the young white man at his home, but also operated upon him. It was the third day after the operation. The servants continued their open defiance of their master and did not enter the white man’s room. Hana served him herself. Hana told Sadao what the servants had conveyed through Yumi. The domestic staff felt that they could not stay there if their. master sheltered that man any more. They accused them of having forgotten to think of their own countiy because they had lived for a long time in America. They thought that their master and mistress liked Americans. Dr Sadao tried to clarify his position as a man and as a doctor. Hana told him that the servants could not understand this subtle distinction.
”Somehow the household dragged on. The servants grew more watchful day by day. They were careful in their courtesy as ever but their eyes were cold. The old gardener was the most vocal. He taunted that their master knew very well what he ought to do. He was sore why Sadao had not let the young man bleed when he was so near to death. The cook remarked contemptuously that the young master was so proud of his skill to save life that he saved any life. Yumi added that they must think of the children. She enquired: “What will be their fate if their father is condemned as a traitor?”
Since the white man was not handed over to the police, even after a week, all the servants left on the seventh day after that.

Q8. Hana was a loving, caring, devoted and obedient wife who was quite anxious about her husband’s wellbeing, position and reputation? Discuss.
ANSWER:   Hana is the alter ego of her husband, Dr Sadao Hoki. She has adapted herself to his ways. She knows that saving a life is a mission for him and when he is attending on his patient, he forgets everything else—even Hana herself. Even years after their marriage, they retain the same love and affection for each other.
She cared for him a lot and would not let him stand outside in the cold foggy February night. She was a bit sentimental, yet pragmatic in her approach. She was quick to judge what went on in her husband’s mind and suggested solutions. She maintained her dignity when the servants showed resistance and open defiance. As an obedient and devoted wife, she carried out all the orders and instructions of her husband. She washed the wounded white man, gave him anaesthesia and later on food.
She was worried about her husband’s safety, position and reputation. Initially, she suggested to throw the man back into the sea. She was afraid that the servants might misreport. Her fears are exhibited clearly when a messenger in uniform arrives from the palace. In order to calm down her fears, Dr Sadao decides to get rid of the white man anyhow. In short, she is an ideal life partner.

Q9. What impression do you form of Dr Sadao as a man and as a surgeon from your reading of the story ‘The Enemy’?
ANSWER:   Dr Sadao Hoki was a true Japanese like his father. He was a brave boy who obeyed and respected his father and loved Japanese culture, tradition and people. He was intelligent and hard working and studied surgery and medicine in America for eight years. He mar¬ried a Japanese girl, Hana, whom he had met in America. But he waited for his father’s approval and their marriage was arranged in the old Japanese way after they had re¬turned home to Japan. They had two children. He still loved his wife as warmly as ever. He returned home at fixed hours.
Dr Sadao was an eminent surgeon as well as scientist. The old General had full faith in him. He was not sent abroad with the troops because the old General might need an operation. Dr Sadao was called even at odd hours from the palace. Dr Sadao was a real doctor. He would not let a man die if he could help him. That is why he cured even an “enemy” of bullet wound and did not hand him over to the police. He faced a great risk to his position and life by sheltering the man. Since Dr Sadao could not kill the man himself, he sought the help of the old General to get rid of him. When that plan failed, he let the prisoner escape in order to calm down the fears of his wife and let the household run properly. It may be a blemish from a narrow patriotic angle but a sensitive soul can’t take back what he has given.

Q10. Under what circumstances did Dr Sadao let the wounded white man escape? Was it lack of national loyalty, professional ego and sentimentality, human consideration or just an attempt to save his skin?
ANSWER:   Hr Sadao had no love for the repulsive Americans and he considered them his enemies. Unfortunately, the sea-waves pushed a wounded white man to his doorstep. He knew that the best possible thing was to throw him back into the sea. He could not handover a wounded ‘enemy’ to police because he would certainly die. Being a doctor, he could save him and not kill him. His efforts to get him removed with the help of the old General’s private assassins did not bear fruit.
He was under a severe strain. His domestic servants had left him. His wife had to do unaccustomed labour and run the household. Moreover, his wife was anxious about his safety. They might be arrested for harbouring an enemy prisoner of war and condemned as traitors.
Dr Sadao let the man escape in the larger interest of professional ethics and human consideration. He rose above narrow national loyalty and sentimentality. He did not think of himself as the General had already assured him that no harm would be caused to him. The matter remained unreported and closed from public eyes and ears. The servants returned after the white man had “left”. Everything became normal again.

Q11. Comment on the role of the old General in the story ‘The Enemy’.
ANSWER:   The old General plays an important role in the story. He is being treated medically for a condition which might need an operation any time. Since he has full faith in Dr Sadao, he is kept back in Japan. Dr Sadao is indispensable to the General. He assures Sadao that nothing will happen to him and he will not be arrested.
The arrival of the messenger rouses Hana’s worst fears. She thinks that police has come to arrest her husband. Dr Sadao gets distressed at her anxiety and decides to get rid of the white man for her sake. When Dr Sadao confides in the General, the latter promises to send two of his private assassins to remove the man from the scene.
The old General has an unsual sense of humour as well as frankness and ability to admit his mistake. Dr Sadao keeps on waiting for three nights for the assassins who fail to turn up. He loses sleep and rest. Finally he lets the white man escape.
When Dr Sadao tells the General that the man has escaped, the General admits that he forgot his promise. He was suffering a great deal and thought of nothing but himself. It was careless of him but not lack of patriotism or dereliction of duty, It is his self-absorption and instinct of preserving himself that saves Dr Sadao and his family from being arrested.

Q12. The ending of the story ‘The Enemy’ epitomises the attitude of a Japanese towards Americans during the war. Elucidate.
OR
Comment on the ending of the story ‘The Enemy’.
ANSWER:   The ending of the story, ‘The Enemy’ is highly artistic. The old General, recovering from the operation, promises that Dr Sadao will be rewarded as he is a good man. Dr Sadao has his reward when he finds that his prisoner has gone away safely from the island. He now recalls all the other white faces he ever came across. The professor, at whose house he met Hana, was a dull man and his wife had been a silly, talkative woman, in spite of her wish to be kind. His old teacher of anatomy had been insistent on ‘mercy with the knife’. He remembered the face of his fat and slatterly landlady whom he had despised for being ignorant and dirty. He remembered the difficulties he faced in finding a place to live in America because he was a Japanese. The Americans were full of prejudice and, it had been bitter to live in America. He found the white people repulsive. It was a relief to be openly at war with them. Then he remembered the youthful, haggard face of the prisoner. It was also white and repulsive. He thought it strange that he spared his enemy. He is left wondering why he could not kill the white man “his enemy”.

Q13. Do you think the title ‘The Enemy’ is appropriate? Give reasons in support of your answer.
ANSWER:   The title ‘The Enemy’ is quite appropriate and highly suggestive. It focuses our attention on the wounded man who is incidentally washed ashore to the doorstep of a famous Japanese surgeon, Dr Sadao Hoki during the war.
The first reaction of the Japanese pair is typical of average, patriotic Japanese who hate their white enemies. However, the doctor in Sadao prompts him to bring the man inside his house and cure him. The doctor’s involvement with the white enemy annoys the domestic staff who show open defiance and resistance. The doctor faces grave danger to his position, safety, name, fame and family by harbouring the enemy. He could be condemned as a traitor and killed.
In spite of all the odds, the doctor finds himself emotionally unable to hand him over to the police. He has no love for the man. He regards him his enemy, yet he can’t kill him. He tells the old General how he operated on the white man and saved him. The General is all praise for his skill, hopes for his own successful operation at his hand, and promises to kill the man for him.
The doctor faces a lot of tension—mental, emotional and physical. He passes sleepless nights waiting for the assassins, who never turn up. Meanwhile, ‘the enemy’ recovers and the doctor devises means to let him escape in order to get rid of him. At the end of the story he is left wondering why he could not kill that man.

Q14. What was the General’s plan to get rid of the American prisoner ? Was it executed ? What traits of the General’s character are highlighted in the lesson ‘The Enemy’?[All India 2014]
ANSWER:   The General made a plan to get rid of the American prisoner by sending his personal assassins to kill the prisoner. He also wanted to remove the body of American prisoner from Sadao’s house. But, unfortunately he could not succeed in his attempt. The plan was i not executed. The General could not send the assassins.
The General had an unusual sense of humour as well as frankness and ability to admit his mistake. Dr. Sadao keeps on waiting for three nights for the assassins who fail to turn up. He loses his rest and sleep. Finally he lets the white man escape. When Dr. Sadao tells the General that the man has escaped, the General admits that he forgot his promise. It was carelessness of him but not the lack of patriotism. It is his self-absorption and instinct of preserving himself that saves Dr. Sadao and his family being arrested.

In This Post we are  providing Chapter-2 Hydrogen NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 11 CHEMISTRY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON HYDROGEN

1.Why does hydrogen occupy unique position in the periodic table?

Ans. Inspite of the fact that hydrogen, to a certain extent resembles both with alkali metals (ns’) and halogens (ns² np⁵), it differs from them as well. Hydrogen has very small size as a consequence H⁺ does not exist freely and is always associated with other atoms or molecules. Thus, it is unique in behaviors and is therefore, best placed separately in the periodic table.

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2.Give the main characteristics of isotopes.

Ans. Since, the isotopes have the same electronic configuration, they have almost the same chemical properties. The only difference is in their rates of reactions, mainly due to their different enthalpy of bond dissociation. However, in physical properly of these isotopes differ considerably due to their large mass differences.

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3.How can the production of dlhydrogen obtained from ‘coal gasification be increased’?

Ans. By reacting carbon monoxide of syngas mixtures with steam in the presence of iron chromate as catalyst

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4.Why is dihydrogen used an fuel cells for generating electrical energy?

Ans. Because it does not produce any pollution and releases greater energy per unit mass of fuel in comparison to gasoline or any other fuel.

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5.What is understood by hydrogenation?

Ans. Hydrogenation is used for the conversion of polyunsaturated oils into edible fats.

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6.Which fuel is used as a rocket fuel?

Ans. Dihydrogen is used as a rocket fuel in space research.

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7.What happens when sodium hydride reacts with water?

Ans. Saline hydride (sodium hydride) react violently with water producing dihydrogen gas 

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8.What is the geometry of the compound formed by group 14 to form molecular hydride?

Ans. Tetrahedral in structure.

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9.What are the characteristic features of ionic or saline hydrides?

Ans. The ionic hydrides are crystalline, non – volatile non – conducting in solid state. However their melts conduct electricity.

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10.Which gas is produced on electrolysis of ionic hydride?

Ans. Dihydrogen gas is produced at the anode on electrolysis of ionic hydride.

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11.How does H⁺ ion forms hydronium ion (OH₃⁺) in water?

Ans. In water H⁺ ion forms a covalent bond with H₂O and forms hydronium ion, (H₃O⁺).

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12.Show with reaction the amphoteric nature of water.

Ans. Water acts as an acid with NH₃ and base with H₂S

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13.Why is ice less dense then water and what kind of attractive forces must be overcome to melt ice?

Ans. The structure of ice is an open structure having a number of vacant spaces. Therefore, the density of ice is less than water. When ice melts the hydrogen bonds are broken and the water molecules go in between the vacant spaces. As a result, the structure of liquid water is less open than structure of ice. Thus ice is less dense than water                                                                                     

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14.Why does hard water not form lather with soap?

Ans. Hard water does not produce lather with soap readily because the cations (Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺) present in hard water react with soap to precipitate of tcalcium and magnesium salts of fatly acids.

From hard water sodium stearate form Ca/Mg stearate

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15.Why is water an excellent solvent for ionic or polar substances?

Ans. Water is a polar solvent with a high dielectric constant. Due to high dielectric constant of water the force of attraction between cation and anion gets weakened. Thus water molecules are able to remove ions from the lattice site using in dipole forces easily.

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In This Post we are  providing Chapter-1 REDOX REACTION NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 11 CHEMISTRY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON REDOX REACTION

Question 1.
What are redox reactions? Give an example.

Answer:
Redox reaction is a reaction in which oxidation and reduction take place simultaneously, e.g.
Zn (s) + Cu²⁺(aq) → Zn²⁺(aq) + Cu(s)

Question 2.
Define oxidation and reduction in terms of electrons.

Answer:
Oxidation involves loss and reduction involves the gain of electrons.

Question 3.
How many grams of K₂Cr₂O₇ is required to oxidize Fe²⁺ present in 15.2 gm of FeSO₄ to Fe³⁺ if the reaction is carried out in an acidic medium.

Answer:
The balanced chemical equation for the redox reaction is
K₂Cr₂O₇ + 6FeSO₄ + 7H₂SO₄ → K₂SO₄ + Cr₂(SO₄)₃ + 7H₂O
from the balanced equation, it is clear that 6 moles of FeSO₄ = 1

a mole of K₂Cr₂O₇ or 6 × 152 gm of FeSO₄ are oxidized by
K₂Cr₂O₇ = 294 gm
or
15.2 gm of FeSO₄ are oxidized by K₂Cr₂O₇

Question 4.
15.0 cm3 of 0.12 M KMnO₄ solution are required to oxidize 20 ml of FeSO₄ solution in an acidic medium. What is the concentration of FeSO₄ solution?

Answer:
The balanced chemical equation for the redox reaction is
2KMnO₄ + 10FeSO₄ + 8H₂SO₄ → K₂SO₄ + 2MnSO₄ + 5Fe₂(SO₄)₃ + 8 H₂O

Applying molarity equation to the above redox reaction

Question 5.
16.6 gm of pure KI was dissolved in water and the solution was made up to one liter, cm³ of this solution was acidified with 20 cm³ of 2 MHCl the resulting solution required 10 cm³ of decinormal KIO₃ for complete oxidation of I- ions to ICl. Find out the value of v.

Answer:
The chemical equation for the redox reaction is
IO- + 2I^– + 6HCl → 3ICl + 3Cl^– + 3H₂O

Molarity of KI solution = 16.6166 = 0.1 m

Applying molarity equation
0.1×v2 (KI) = 10×0.11(KIO3)
v = 20 cm³

Question 6.
Calculate the cone of hypo (Na₂S₂O₃ 5H₂O) solution in g dm-3 if 10.0 of this solution decolorized 15 ml of M/40 iodine solution.

Answer:
The balanced equation for the redox reaction is
2S₂O₃^2- + I₂ → 2I^– + S₄O₆^2-
from the balanced equation, it is evident that
2 moles of Na₂S₂O₃ = 1 mole of I₂

Applying the molarity equation we have,

Thus, the molarity of the hypo solution = 3/40 M
mol. mass of Na₂S₂O₃.5H₂O = 248 g mol^-1
cone, of Na₂S₂O₃.5H₂O = 248×340
= 18.6 gdm^-3

Question 7.
How many millimoles of potassium dichromate is required to oxidize 24 cm³ of 0.5 M mohr’s salt solution in an acidic medium.

Answer:
No. of millimoles of K₂Cr₂O₇ present in 24 cm³ of 0.5 m solution = 24 × 0.5 = 12
The balanced chemical equation for the redox reaction is
K₂Cr₂O₇ + 6(NH₄)₂SO₄.FeSO₄.6H₂O + 7H₂SO₄ → K₂SO₄ + 6(NH₄)₂SO₄ + 3Fe₂(SO₄)₃ + Cr₂(SO₄)₃ + 43H₂O from the balanced equations.

6 moles mohr’s salt are oxidised by K₂Cr₂O₇ = 1 moles
∴ 12 millimoles of mohr’s salt will be oxidised by
K₂Cr₂O₇ = 16 × 12 = 2 millimoies.

Question 8.
2.48 gm of Na₂S₂O₃.xH₂O was dissolved per liter of the solution. 20 cm³ of this solution required 10 cm³ of 0.01 M iodine solution. Find out the value of x?

Answer:
The balanced equation for the redox reaction is
2Na₂S₂O₃ + I2 → Na₂S₄O₆ + 2NaI
Let the molarity of Na₂S₂O₃ .xH₂O solution = M₁.

Applying molarity equation to the above redox reaction, we have
M1×202(Na2S2O3) = 10×.011(I2)
∴ M₁ = 0.01 M

mol wt. of Na₂S₂O₃.xH₂O
= 2 × 23 + 2 × 32 + 3 × 16 + x × 18
= 158 + 18x

Amount of Na₂S₂O₃.xH₂O present per litre
= (158 + 18x) × 0.01 g

But the actual amount dissolved = 2.48 g. equating these values, we have
(158 + 18x) × 0.01 = 2.48
or
x = 5.

Question 9.
The half cell reactions with their oxidation potentials are:
Pb(s) → Pb²⁺(aq) + 2e^–, E°_oxi = + 0.13 v.
Ag(s) → Ag⁺(aq) + e^–, E°_oxi = – 0.80 v.
Write the cell reaction and calculate its EMF.

Answer:
The equations are as
Pb²⁺(aq) + 2e^– → Pb(s), E°_oxi = – 0.13 v
Ag⁺(aq) + e^– → Ag(s), (E° = + 0.80 v) …(2)

To obtain the equation for the cell reaction, multiply equation (2) by 2 and subtract equation (1) from it we get
Pb(s) + 2Ag⁺(aq) → Pb²⁺(aq) + 2Ag(s)
E°_cell = + 0.80 – ( – 0.13) = + 0.93 v

Question 10.
Predict whether zinc or silver reacts with 1 M H₂SO₄ to give out hydrogen or not. Given that the standard potential of zinc & silver are – 0.76 v & + 0.80 v respectively.

Answer:
(a) To predict the reaction of zinc with H₂SO₄ If Zn reacts, the following reactions should take place.
Zn + H₂SO₄ → ZnSO₄ + H₂
i.e. Zn + 2H⁺ → Zn²⁺ + H₂

By conventions, the cell will be represented as-
Zn / Zn²⁺ ∥ H⁺ / H₂

standard EMF of the cell,
E°cell = E°_H⁺/H2 – E°_zn²⁺/zn
= 0 – (- 0.76) = + 0.76 v

Thus the EMF of the cells comes out to be positive. Hence the reaction takes place.

(b) To predict the reaction, of silver with H₂SO₄.
If Ag reacts, the following reactions should take place.
2Ag + H₂SO₄ → Ag₂SO₄ + H₂
2Ag + 2H⁺ → 2Ag⁺ + H₂

By convention, the cell may be written as
Ag / Ag⁺ ∥ H⁺ / H₂
E°_cell = E°_H⁺,H2 – E°_Ag⁺,Ag
= 0 – 0.80 = – 0.80 v.
The EMF of the cell is negative
Hence, this reaction does not take place.

In This Post we are  providing Chapter-7 EQULIBRIUM NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 11 CHEMISTRY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON EQUILIBRIUM

Question 1.
Justify the statement that water behaves like acid as well as a base on the basis of the protonic concept.

Answer:
Water ionizes as H₂O + H₂O ⇌ H₃O⁺ + OH^–
With strong acids, water behaves as a base by accepting a proton from an acid.
HCl + H₂O ⇌ H₃O⁺ (aq) + Cl^– (aq)
While with bases, water behaves as an acid by liberating a proton
NH₃ + H₂O ⇌ NH₄⁺ (aq) + OH (aq).

Question 2.
What is p^OH? What is its value for pure water at 298 K?

Answer:
p^OH = – log [OH^–]
p^H + p^OH = 14 for pure water at 298 K
p^H = 7
or
p^OH of water at 298 = 7.

Question 3.
Calculate the p^H of a buffer solution containing 0.1 moles of acetic acid and 0.15 mole of sodium acetate. The ionization constant for acetic acid is 1.75 × 10^-5.

Answer:

Question 4.
An aqueous solution of CuSO₄ is acidic while that of Na₂SO₄ is neutral. Explain.

Answer:
CuSO₄ + 2H₂O ⇌ Cu(OH)₂ + H₂SO₄ (weak base strong acid)
CuS04 is the salt of weak base Cu(OH)₂ and a strong acid H₂SO₄.
Thus the solution will have free H⁺ ions and will, therefore, be acidic.

Na₂SO₄, being the salt of a strong acid H₂SO₄ and a strong base.
NaOH does not undergo hydrolysis. The solution is, therefore, neutral.

Question 5.
The dissociation constants of HCN, CH₃COOH, and HF are 7.2 × 10^-10, 1.8 × 10^-5, and 6.7 × 10^-4 respectively. Arrange them in increasing order of acid strength.

Answer:
More the value of Ka, the stronger the acid
Their Ka1S are 6.7 × 10^-4 > 1.8 × 10^-5 > 7.2 × 10^-10
∴ HCN < CH₃COOH < HF.

Question 6.
The dissociation of PCl₅ decreases in presence of Cl₂. Why?

Answer:
For PCl₅ ⇌ PCl₃ + Cl₂.
According to Le Chatelier’s principle, an increase in the concentration of Cl₂ (one of the products) at equilibrium will favor the backward reaction, and thus the dissociation of PCl₅ into PCl₃ and Cl₂ decreases.

Question 7.
The dissociation of HI is independent of pressure while dissociation of PCl₅ depends upon the pressure applied. Why?•

Answer:
For 2HI ⇌ H₂ + I₂
K_c = x24(1−x)2
where x = degree of dissociation

For PCl₅ ⇌ PCl₃ + Cl₂
K = x2V(1−x)2; V = Volume of container.

K_c for HI does not have a volume factor- and dissociation is independent of volume and hence pressure.
K_c for PCl₅ has volume in the denominator and hence dissociation of PCl₅ depends upon the volume and consequently pressure.

Question 8.
The reaction between ethyl acetate and water attains a state of equilibrium in an open vessel, but not the decomposition of CaCO3. Explain.

Answer:
CH₂ COOC₂H₅ (l) + H₂O (l) ⇌ CH₃COOH (l) + C₂H₅OH (l)
Here both reactants and products are liquids and they will not escape from the vessel even if it is open. Therefore equilibrium is attained.
CaSO₃ (s) ⇌ CaO (s) + CO₂ (g)
Here CO₂ is a gas. It will escape from the vessel if it is open and so backward reaction cannot take place. Therefore equilibrium is attained.

Question 9.
The degree of dissociation of N₂O₄ is α according to the reaction
N₂O₄ (g) ⇌ 2NO₂ (g) at temperature T and total pressure P.
Find the expression for the equilibrium constant of this reaction.

Answer:

Total moles at eqbm. = 1 – α + 2α = 1 + α
If P is total pressure

Question 10.
Why NH₄Cl is added in precipitating III group hydroxides before the addition of NH4OH?

Answer:
To prevent precipitation of IV group hydroxides (especially Mn) along with III group hydroxides. NH₄Cl decreases dissociation of NH₄OH and thus limited OH ions are present in solution to precipitate III group cations only
NH₄OH ⇌ NH₄ (aq) + OH (aq) to a small extent
NH₄Cl (aq) ⇌ NH₄ (aq) + Cl (aq) to a large extent
Due to common ion affect the degree of dissociation of NH₄OH decreases leaving only a small no. of OH̅ ions.

Question 11.
If concentrations are expressed in moles L^-1 and pressures in atmospheres. What is the ratio of K_p to K_c for the
2SO₂ + O₂ (g) ⇌ 2SO₃ (g)
Answer:

Question 12.
The equilibrium constants for the reactions
N₂ + O₂ ⇌ 2NOand
2NO + O₂ ⇌ 2NO₂ are K₁ and K₂ respectively, then what would be the equilibrium constant for the reactions.
N₂ + 2O₂ ⇌ 2NO₂?
Answer:

Question 13.
What qualitative information can be obtained from the magnitude of the equilibrium constant?

Answer:

1. Large values of equilibrium constant (> 10³) show that the forward direction is favored i.e. concentration of products is much larger than that of the reactants of equilibrium.
2. Intermediate values of K (10^-3 to 10³) show that the concentrations of the reactants and products are comparable.
3. The low value of K (< 10^-3) shows that the backward reaction is favored, i.e., the concentration of reactants is much large than that of. products.

Question 14.
The following reaction has attained equilibrium
CO (g) + 2H₂ (g) ⇌ CH₃OH (g); ΔH° = – 92.0 kJ mol^-1.
What will happen if

(i) the volume of the vessel is suddenly reduced to half?
Answer:
K_c = [CH₃OH]/[CO][H₂]², K_p = PCH₃OH/PCO × PH₂
When the volume of the vessel is reduced to half, the concentration of each reactant or product becomes double. Thus
Q_c = 2[CH₃OH]/2[CO] × {2[H₂]}² = i K..
As Q_c < K_p, equilibrium will shift in the forward direction.

(ii) The partial pressure of hydrogen is suddenly doubled (ii) an inert gas is added to the system.
Answer:
As volume remains constant, molar concentration will not change. Hence there is no effect on the state of equilibrium.

Question 15.
How does the degree of ionization of a weak electrolyte vary with concentration? Give exact relationship. What is this law called?

Answer:
α = Ki/c−−−−√ . It is called Ostwald’s dilution law.
(K_i is ionization constant and c is the molar concentration).

In This Post we are  providing Chapter-6 THERMODYNAMICS NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 11 CHEMISTRY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON THERMODYNAMICS

1.With the help of first law of thermodynamics and H = U + pv, prove = q_p

Ans.The enthalpy is defined as

H = U + pv

For a change in the stales of system,

= 

= 

= …………(i)

The first law of thermodynamics states that –

= …………………….(ii)

From (i) and (ii),

= 

When the pressure is constant,

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2.Why is the difference between and not significant for solids or liquids?

Ans. The difference between and is not usually significant for systems consisting of only solids and / or liquids because they do not suffer any significant volume changes upon heating.

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3.What is an extensive and intensive property?

Ans. Extensive property is a property whose value depends on the quantity or size of matter present in the system.

Intensive property is a property which do not depend upon the quantity or size of matter present.

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4.Calculate the heat of combustion of ethylene (gas) to from CO₂ (gas) and H₂O (gas) at 298k and 1 atmospheric pressure. The heats of formation of CO_2, H₂O and C₂H₄ are – 393.7, – 241.8, + 52.3 kJ per mole respectively.

Ans. C₂H₄ (g) + 30₂(g) 2CO₂(g) + 2H₂O (g)

reactants

= [2 x (CO₂) + 2 x ] – 

= 2 x[(-393.7)m+2x (-241.8)] – [(523.0) + 0)]

= [-787.4 – 483.6 ] -53.3

= – 1323.3 kJ.

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5.Give two examples of reactions which are driven by enthalpy change.

Ans. Examples of reactions driven by enthalpy change:

The process which is highly exothermic, i.e. enthalpy change is negative and has large value but entropy change is negative is said to be driven by enthalpy change, eg.

(i)

(ii)

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6.Will the heat released in the following two reactions be equal? Give reasons in support of your answer.

(i)H₂ (g) + 

Ans. No, the heats released in the two reactions are not equal. The heat released in any reaction depends upon the reactants, products and their physical states. Here in reaction (i), the water produced is in the gaseous state whereas in reaction (ii) liquid is formed. As we know, that when water vapors condensed to from water, heat equal to the latent heat of vaporization is released. Thus, more heat is released in reaction (ii).

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7.What is the relation between the enthalpy of reaction and bond enthalpy?

Ans .A chemical reaction involves the breaking of bonds in reactants and formation of new bonds in products. The heat of reaction (enthalpy change) depends on the values of the heat needed to break the bond formation .Thus

(Heat of reaction = (Heat needed to break the bonds in reactants – Heat liberated to from bonds in products).

= Bond energy in (to break the bonds) – Bond energy out (to form the bonds)

= Bond energy of reactants – Bond energy of products.

8.The are given + 61.17kJ mol^-1 and + 132 Jk^-1mol^-1 respectively. Above what temperature will the reaction be spontaneous?

Ans. The reaction

2Ag₂O (s) 

Will be spontaneous when is negative.

Since 

Shows that would be –ve when,

Or T > 

The process will be spontaneous above a temperature of .

9.Give the relationship between for gases.

Ans.For gases the volume change is appreciable.

let V_A be the total volume of gaseous reactants, and

V_B be the total volume of gaseous product.

n_A be the number of moles of the reactant and

n_B be the number of moles of the product,

Then at constant pressure and temperature,

p V_A = n_A RT

p V_B = n_B RT

or p V_B – pV_A = (n_B – n_A) RT

or p 

where and is equal to the difference between the number of moles of gaseous products and gaseous reactants.

Substituting the value of p awe get.

(heat change under constant pressure)

(heat change under constant volume)

for gaseous system.

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10.It has been found that 221.4J is needed to heat 30g of ethanol from 15⁰C to 18⁰C. calculate (a) specific heat capacity, and (b) molar heat capacity of ethanol.

Ans.(a) Specific heat capacity

C = 

= 

Since 1⁰C is equal to 1k, the specific heat capacity of ethanol = 2.46Jg^-1 0c^-1.

(b) Molar heat capacity, Cm = specific heat x molar mass.

Therefore, Cm (ethanol) = 2.46 x 46

= 113.2 Jmol^-1 0c^-1

The molar heat capacity of ethanol is 113.2 J mol^-1 0c^-1.

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In This Post we are  providing Chapter-5 STATES OF MATTER NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 11 CHEMISTRY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON STATES OF MATTER

Question 1.
Ammonia and Sulphur dioxide gases are prepared in two comers of a laboratory. Which gas will be detected first by a student working in the middle of the laboratory and why?

Answer:
Molecular mass of NH₃ = 17 Molecular mass of SO₂ = 64
NH₃ is a lighter gas and diffuses at a faster speed than SO₂
∴ NH₃ gas will be detected first.
[∵ Acc. to Graham’s law of diffusion r1r2=d2d1−−√

Question 2.
What is the effect of hydrogen bonding on the viscosity of a liquid?

Answer:
Hydrogen bonding leads to an increase in the effective size of the moving unit in the liquid. Due to an increase in the size and mass of the molecule, there is greater interval resistance of the flow of the liquid. As a result, the viscosity of the liquid rises.

Question 3.
Which are the two faulty assumptions in the kinetic theory of gases.

Answer:

1. There is no force of attraction between the molecules of the gas.
2. The volume of the molecules of the gas is negligibly small as compared to the total space (volume) occupied by the gas.

Question 4.
What is the relationship between the density and molar mass of a gaseous substance? Derive it.

Answer:
Ideal gas equation is PV = nRT
or nV=pRT
Replacing n by mM, we get

Question 5.
What is meant by the term: Non-ideal or real gas?

Answer:
The gas which does not obey the Cas law:
Boyle’s law, Charles’ law, Avogadro^ law at all temperatures and pressures is a called-non-ideal or real gas. Most of the real gases show ideal behaviour at low pressure and high temperature.

Question 6.
Derive the ideal gas equation PV = nRT.

Answer:
According to Boyle’s law V ∝ 1P if n and T are constant.
According to Charles’ law V ∝ T at constant P.and n
According to Avogadro’s law V ∝ n at constant T and P
Combining the three laws
In
V ∝ TnP
or
PV ∝ nT
or
PV = nRT where R is a constant of proportionality called universal gas constant.

Question 7.
Why liquids have a definite volume, but no definite shape?

Answer:
It is due to the fact that in liquids intermolecular forces are strong enough to hold the molecules together, but these are strong enough to hold the molecules together, but these forces are not strong enough to fix them into definite or concrete positions as in solids. Hence they possess fluidity but no definite shape.

Question 8.
How do the real gases deviate from ideality above and below the Boyle point?

Answer:
Above their Boyle point, real gases show positive deviations from ideality and the values of Z are greater than one. The forces of attraction between the molecules are very feeble. Below the Boyle point, real gases first show a decrease, in Z value with increasing pressure, the value Of Z increases continuously.

Question 9.
Write down the van der Waals, equation for n moles of a real gas. What do the constants ‘a’ and ‘b’ stand for?

Answer:
(P + an2V2) (V – nb) = nRT
where p, Vindicate gas pressure and its volume. T is the Kelvin temperature of the gas. R is gas constant. Value of ‘a’ is a measure of the magnitude of intermolecular attractive forces within the molecule and is independent of temperature and pressure, ‘rib’ is approximately the total volume occupied by the molecules themselves. ‘a’ and ‘b’ are called van der Waals constants and their value depends upon the nature of the gas.

Question 10.
One mole of S02 gas occupied a volume of 350 mL at 27°C and 50 atm pressure. Calculate the compressibility factor of the gas. Comment on the type of deviation shown by the gas from ideal behaviour.

Answer:
Compressibility factor, Z =
Here n = 1, P = 50 atm, V = 350 × 10^-3 L = 0.35 L
R = 0.0821 L atm K^-1 mol^-1; T = 27 + 273 = 300 K
∴ Z = 50×0.351×0.0821×300 = 0.711
For an ideal gas Z = 1
As for the given gas Z < 1, it shows a negative deviation, i.e., it is more compressible than expected from ideal behaviour.

Question 11.
A mixture of CO and CO₂ is found to have a density of 1.5 g L^-1 at 20°C and 740 mm pressure. Calculate the composition of the mixture.

Answer:
1. Calculation of average molecular mass of the mixture
M = dRTP=1.50×0.0821×293740760 = 37.06

2. Calculation of percentage composition
Let mol% of CO in the mixture = x
Then mol% of CO? in the mixture = 100 – x

Average molecular mass

Question 12.
A 5-L vessel contains 14 g of nitrogen. When heated to 1800 K, 30% of molecules are dissociated into atoms. Calculate the pressure of the gas at 1800 K.

Answer:
N₂ ⇌ 2N

Initial moles = 1.428 = 0.05
Moles left = 0.05 – 30100 × 0.05 = 2 × 0.015 = 0.03

∴ Total no. of moles = 0.035 + 0.030 = 0.065
i.e. n = 0.065 mol, V = 5 L, T = 1800 K; P =?
P = nRTV=0.065×0.0821×18005
= 1.92 atm.

Question 13.
A given mass of a gas occupies 919.0 mL in a dry state at STP. The same mass when collected over water at 15°C and 750 mm pressure occupies on litre volume. Calculate the vapor pressure of water at 15°C.

Answer:
If p is the vapor pressure of water at 15°C, then P₂ = 750 – p
From the gas equation P1V1T1=P2V2T2, we get
760×919273=(750−p)×1000288
or
p = 13.3 mm

∴ Vapour pr. of water = 13.3 mm.

Question 14.
A steel tank containing air at 15 atm pressure at 15°C ¡s provided with a safety valve that will yield at a pressure of 30 atm. To what minimum temperature must the air be heated to below the safety valve?

Answer:
P1P2=T1T2
i.e., 1530=288 T2
or
T₂ = 576 K
or
t₂°C = 576 – 273 = 303°C

Question 15.
Calculate the pressure exerted by 110 g of CO₂ in a vessel of 2 L capacity at 37°C. Given that the van der Waals constants are a = 3.59 L² atm mol^-2 and b = 0.0427 L mol^-1. Compare the value with the calculated value if the gas were considered ideal.

Answer:
According to van der Waals equation

110
Here, n = 11044 = 2.5 moles. Putting the given values, we get
P = 2.5×0.0821×310(2−2.5×0.0427)−3.59×2.52
= 33.61 atm – 5.61 atm = 28.0 atm

If the gas were considered an ideal gas. applying ideal gas equation
PV = nRT
or
P = nRTV
∴ P = 2.5×0.0821×3102 = 31.8 atm