The document summarizes a story titled "The Portrait of a Lady" from the perspective of a student studying English literature. It includes a glossary of terms from the story, questions about characters and events, and prompts for short answers and paragraphs summarizing parts of the story. The story is about a boy and his grandmother, and their daily life together in a village. It describes the grandmother as a pious woman who prays daily and accompanies the boy to his village school. It also details the grandmother's last days before she passes away.
The document summarizes a story titled "The Portrait of a Lady" from the perspective of a student studying English literature. It includes a glossary of terms from the story, questions about characters and events, and prompts for short answers and paragraphs summarizing parts of the story. The story is about a boy and his grandmother, and their daily life together in a village. It describes the grandmother as a pious woman who prays daily and accompanies the boy to his village school. It also details the grandmother's last days before she passes away.
The document summarizes a story titled "The Portrait of a Lady" from the perspective of a student studying English literature. It includes a glossary of terms from the story, questions about characters and events, and prompts for short answers and paragraphs summarizing parts of the story. The story is about a boy and his grandmother, and their daily life together in a village. It describes the grandmother as a pious woman who prays daily and accompanies the boy to his village school. It also details the grandmother's last days before she passes away.
The document summarizes a story titled "The Portrait of a Lady" from the perspective of a student studying English literature. It includes a glossary of terms from the story, questions about characters and events, and prompts for short answers and paragraphs summarizing parts of the story. The story is about a boy and his grandmother, and their daily life together in a village. It describes the grandmother as a pious woman who prays daily and accompanies the boy to his village school. It also details the grandmother's last days before she passes away.
SCHOOL,RASIPURAM STANDARD - XI ENGLISH UNIT – 1 Prose : The Portrait of A Lady
GLOSSARY : 1.Mantelpiece - shelf projecting from the wall above a fireplace 2.Absurd - inconsistent / illogical 3.Fables - tales / stories 4.Hobbled - walked unsteadily 5.Puckered - wrinkled 6.Expanse - wide area 7.Monotonous - unchanging / boring 8.Snapped - broke / cut 9.Seclusion - isolation 10.Bedlam - noisy confusion 11.Perched - sat / rested 12.Rebukes - scoldings 13.Dilapidated - damaged 14.Pallor - an unhealthy pale appearance 15.Shroud - cloth used to wrap a dead person I) Answer the following in one or two sentences based on your understanding of the story. a. Describe the grandfather as seen in the portrait. In the portrait the grandfather was found wearing a big turban and loose fitting clothes. He had a long white beard which covered the major portion of his chest and he looked as if he was hundred years old. b. Why was the author left with his grandmother in the village? The author was left with his grandmother in the village because his parents went to live in the city. c. Where did the author study in his childhood? The author studied in the village in his childhood. His school was attached to a temple and the priest was their teacher. d. Why did the grandmother accompany the author to school? The grandmother accompanied the author to school because she had a chance to feed the stray dogs with stale chapattis. Moreover she had time to read scriptures inside the temple. e. What made the dogs follow the grandmother after school hours? When the grandmother with the author went back home, she used to throw chapattis to the dogs. So the dogs followed the grandmother after school hours. f. Why didn’t the grandmother feel sentimental when the author went abroad for higher education? The grandmother was old but she believed that she would live to see the author after his completion of studies abroad. So she was not sentimental. g. What was the happiest time of the day for grandmother? In the afternoon the grandmother felt relaxed to feed the sparrows with bits of bread. That was the happiest time of the day for grandmother. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS II) Answer the following in one or two sentences 1. What was the grandmother’s reaction when the author went abroad? The grandmother went to the railway station. She was not emotional. She was saying her prayers with the beads of her rosary. She silently kissed him on his forehead. 2. Why did the grandmother carry stale chapattis with her? She carried the chapattis to feed the street dogs. 3. When was the common friendship between grandmother and grandson broken? When he joined the University for higher education, he was given a separate room. Then the common friendship was broken. 4. Describe the life of the grandmother after the friendship with the author was snapped. She accepted her isolation with resignation. She spent her time with the spinning wheel reciting her prayers. In the afternoon, she was feeding a host of sparrows with bits of bread. 5. How did the sparrows react at the death of the grandmother? Thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor without their usual chirruping. The author’s mother tried to feed them but they refused to eat. When the body was carried, they flew away quietly. III) Answer the following questions in three or four sentences each. a.Describe the author’s grandmother. The author’s grandmother was an old woman with wrinkled skin. She had been like that for twenty years. Once she had been young and pretty. b. What was the daily routine of the grandmother at home? The grandmother walked about the house in neat white dress. She always had a rosary with her. Every morning she woke the author up for the school. While she bathed him, she said her prayer. Then she went to school with him. She had some stale chapattis with her to feed the stray dogs. c. How is school education in the village different from that in the city? The village school was attached to a temple. The priest acted as the teacher and taught the children alphabet and morning prayer. In the city, school is run in a separate building and qualified teachers are appointed to teach the children. There is no teaching about God and the scriptures. d.The grandmother appreciated the value of education. Give instances in support of your answer. According to the grandmother children should be taught prayer and scriptures. She was very upset to know that in city school there was no teaching about God. She did not think that the subjects taught in the school would not teach any value to the children. e. The grandmother was strong-minded. Justify. When the author decided to go abroad for further studies, he thought that the grandmother would be upset. But she was not sentimental. When she went to the railway station with the author, she did not show any emotion. She only prayed for the author.
f. How did the grandmother spend the last few
hours of her life? When the grandmother realized that her end had come, she stopped her prayer. She gathered some women. She got an old drum and sang the home- coming of warriors. The next morning she was taken ill. The doctor said that it was not serious. But she said that her end was near. She stopped talking to her people. She lay peacefully in bed praying and saying her beads. In a short time she died. IV. Answer the following in a paragraph of 100 – 150 words each. 1.How do you say that the grandmother was a pious lady? Give examples from the story. This short story ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ was written by the famous Indian writer Kushwant Singh. The grandmother was an old lady with wrinkled skin. She walked around the house in clean white dress. Every morning she recited her prayer thinking that the author would listen and learn the prayer by heart. When she accompanied him to school she carried some stale chapattis for the stray dogs. While the children inside the temple learnt alphabet and prayer, she sat inside and read the scriptures. When she went to city she was not happy to know that in the city school they did not teach about God. She was not interested in the music class too. When he joined the University he was given a separate room. She spent most her time with the spinning wheel reciting her prayers, When she embraced him at the railway station he could hear her reciting prayers. One evening a change came over her. She did not pray. Next day she fell ill. She lay peacefully in bed praying with her beads. In a short time she died. 2. Describe the last days of the grandmother. This short story ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ was written by the famous Indian writer Kushwant Singh. The grandmother was an old lady with wrinkled skin. She walked around the house in clean white dress. She always kept one hand on her waist to balance her bent. When she went to city she was not happy to know that in the city school they did not teach about God. She was not interested in the music class too. She spent most of her time with the spinning wheel reciting her prayers. One evening a change came over her. She did not pray. She collected some old ladies from the neighbourhood and was playing a drum for a long time without minding others’ words to stop that. Next day she fell ill. The doctor said that it was not serious. But she said that her end was near. She stopped talking to her people. She lay peacefully in bed praying with her beads. In a short time she died. When her body was lifted for cremation thousands of sparrows spread all over the place. When his mother threw some bread crumbs they refused to eat. When her body was carried out of the house, all the sparrows flew away quietly.
