THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : Sample Questions

The SAQ

Answer the following questions in a single sentence each (1 mark each question) :

1. What type of text is it ?
2. At which station did the girl get into the train  ?
3. Who came to see the girl off at the station of Rohana ?
4. Why were the girl’s parents very much anxious about her comfort ?
5. What did the girl’s parents advise her to avoid ?
6. How did the narrator attempt to strike up a conversation with the girl ?
7. What was the narrator’s very first clue about his fellow traveller in the train ?
8. How did the narrator know that the girl wore slippers ?
9. Why was the narrator unable to tell anything about the look of the girl ?
10. Whose voice startled the girl ?
11. Why did the voice of the narrator startle the girl ?
12. What do people with good eyesight fail to see ?
13. “I didn’t see you either.” – who is the speaker ?
14. What is the narrator’s opinion about aunts ?
15. “Aunts are usually formidable creatures.” – who made this remark and when ?
16. “Oh, how lucky you are.” – who said this and about whom ?
17. Why did the girl consider the narrator lucky ?
18.  What did the girl say about Mussoorie ?
19. “Then I made a mistake” – what was the mistake ?
20. “That always happens.” – what always happens ?
21. “But it was a safe remark.” – What was the remark ?
22. How did the narrator praise the girl ?
23. “You have an interesting face.”--Who said this and about whom ?
24. When did the girl laugh pleasantly ?
25. What was the girl tired of ?
26. How did the narrator compare the girl’s voice ?
27. “We’ll soon be at your station.” – Which ‘station’ is referred to here ?
28. “And a high-pitched female voice near the carriage door”- Whose voice was it ?
29. “You must be disappointed.” – Who said this and to whom ?
30. What did the narrator ask the new passenger about the girl ?
31. What did the new passenger say about the girl ?
32. “...and we moved off.” – Who are ‘we’ in this statement ?
33. What did the narrator want to play once again ?
34. Why were the beautiful eyes of the girl useless ?

The DAQ

Answer the following questions in not more than 100 words each (5 marks each question) :

1. Would you agree that this story is a comment on ‘seeing’ ? Support your point with instances from the text.
2. Does the author help us anticipate the ironical twist in the end during the course of the narrative ? If yes, give examples from the text to support your argument.
3. Is the narrator somewhat cautious about not revealing too much about himself? Support your point with instances from the text.
4. How was a game of deception played between the narrator and the girl?
5. “Then I made a mistake.”—What mistake is referred to here? Was there really any mistake? How did the speaker get rid of his doubt?
6. How did the narrator try to impress the girl ?
7. How does ‘irony’ play an instrumental role in the story ?
8. “You have an interesting face.” – Who said this and to whom ? How did the person spoken to react? How did the speaker mend his/her comment?
9. “You are a very gallant young man.” –Who is the ‘young man’? Why is he called ‘gallant young man’? How does the remark impress him?
10. “Oh, how lucky you are.” – Who said this? Who was considered to be ‘lucky’ and why? How did the person react to the above remark?
11. Write a short note on the appropriateness of the title.

Links of Similar Posts :

• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : An Analysis
• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : Word-notes
• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : A Quiz

THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond: An Analysis

The Writer

Ruskin Bond, born in 1934 at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, is an Indian writer of British descent. He is an outstanding figure of international repute among the contemporary Indian English writers. He does much to standardise our national English literature. He is a prolific and powerful writer. He has written short stories, essays, novels and children books. The setting of most of his stories is Dehra, as Malgudi is for R K Narayan. He has received many awards. His first novel, The Room on the Roof brought him the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. He received the Sahitya Academy Award in 1992 for his short story collection, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and the N D Mehra Memorial Award in 2003 for his contribution to children’s literature. Ruskin, a versatile writer and a man of colourful personality, is still active. He now lives in Landour near Mussoorie. His profound love for his own birth place and his passion for literature are the treasure of his life. Let his powerful pen run long.

The Source

The Eyes Have It, a very popular short story by Ruskin Bond, was originally published in Contemporary Indian English Stories. Later it was included in many other collections with different titles such as The Eyes Are Not Here, The Girl on the Train, etc.

The Story

The Eyes Have It is a marvellous short story of Ruskin Bond who has used first person narrative technique in the story. Here everything is narrated by the person who himself is blind. His eyes are sensitive only to light and darkness. While going to Dehradun by train he comes across a girl. He starts conversation and gradually becomes interested in her. He tactfully hides his blindness from the girl to impress her. But the conversation does not last long. The girl bids him good-bye as the train arrives at her destination. After her departure, a new male passenger comes into the compartment. From that man the narrator learns that the girl was completely blind. The revelation shocks the narrator. He feels that he has deceived himself. This is an ironical twist that makes the end of the story so appealing.

The Features

• The Eyes Have It is an ideal short story. It is short in length and can be easily finished in one go. It has a limited number of characters – the narrator, the girl and the new passenger.
• It illustrates Bond’s art of story telling which is simple in approach but universal in appeal. It tells a simple tale in a lucid style with a deep insight into the psychology of men. It ends with a striking discovery, and its plot is well-knit. Bond makes the story a vivid one by using the first person narrative technique.
• The setting of the story is very simple and interesting. Everything happens in the train compartment and the time chosen is October when Mussoorie looks beautiful.
• It is full of ironical turns and twists. There is a real humour in the narrator’s attempt to conceal his blindness. But this humour takes an ironical turn when he discovers that the girl is also blind.
• It shows Ruskin Bond’s sympathy for the blind and for their troubles and loneliness. Through the personal experience of the blind narrator Bond focuses on universal human experiences.
• It shows Bond’s mastery in the art of characterization. Like the great French master Maupassant Bond also chooses common people to create interesting situations.

Links of Similar Posts :

• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : Words-notes
• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : Sample Questions
• THE EYES HAVE IT by Ruskin Bond : A Quiz

LEELA'S FRIEND by R K Narayan: Latest Questions

MCQ

Complete the sentences which follow, choosing the correct answers from the alternatives given:  1 mark each

Text Book Questions

• Sidda was hired because – i) he came with an introduction from the doctor ii) he had a good record of housekeeping iii) Leela decided he had to stay iv) he pleaded with Mr. Sivasanker to be hired.
• The relationship that Leela and Sidda enjoyed was one of – i) friendship and trust ii) employer and employee iii) suspicion and caution iv) hatred and enmity.
• Sidda was taken to the police station because – i) the police had proof that sidda stole the chain ii) the police found the chain from Sidda iii) Sidda confessed to stealing the chain iv) the police assumed Sidda stole the chain.
• Leela’s mother was unable to tell her a story when requested because – i) she did not know any ii) her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Sidda iii) she was too sleepy to narrate a story iv) she did not want to indulge Leela just then.

Sample Questions

• Leela’s box was full of – i) catalogues, pens and chalks ii) illustrated books, cards and pins iii) Chocolates, eraser and pencils iv) catalogues, illustrated books and stumps of pencils.

Class XI Annual Examination Questions

• 2014 > Leela keenly examined the ball for traces of – i) dust ii) cloud iii) moon iv) stars.

SAQ

Answer each of the following questions in a single sentence: 1 mark each

Text Book Questions

• Where does Mr. Sivasanker first meet Sidda ?
• What is Mr. Sivasanker’s first impression of Sidda ?
• List Sidda’s chores in the Sivasanker household.
• What do you understand about Sidda from his conversations with Leela ?
• How did Sidda react when Leela’s mother asked him about the chain ?

Sample Questions

• How, according to Sidda, can he touch the sky ?

Class XI Annual Examination Questions

• 2014 > a) What kind of job did Sida do in the Sivasanker household ? ii) Where did Leela’s mother find the chain ?

D/AQ

Answer each of the following questions in not more than 100 words:  5 marks each

Text Book Questions

• List the ways in which Sidda’s company makes Leela “supremely happy”, and also how Leela attempts to ‘educate’ him in turn.  3+2
• What is the relationship between Mr. Sivasanker and Sidda ? Trace the difference in their relationship at the beginning of the story and at the end of the story.  3+2
• How do Mr. and Mrs. Sivasanker react to Leela’s missing chain ? How does Leela herself react ? What does this suggest about each of them ?  3+1+1
• What message is conveyed by Mr. Sivasanker’s final words in the story, “In any case, we could’t have kept a criminal like him in the house.”
• What is your own view of Sidda ? Do you think he is a suitable friend for Leela ? Give at lest three examples from the text to support your argument.  3+2

Sample Questions

• What did Leela’s mother do when she found the gold chain in the tamarind pot ? How did Leela’s father react ?  3+2

Class XI Annual Examination Questions

• 2014 > How did Leela try to make Sidda write ? What was the result ?  3+2

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SHALL I COMPARE THEE by William Shakespeare: An Analysis

 The Author:

 William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is the greatest poet and dramatist of England. He is usually considered the greatest dramatist the world has known, as well the finest poet who has written in the English language. His works have been translated into more languages than any book in the world except the Bible. He is the sweetest, the richest and the noblest poet of the Elizabethan playwrights. He has written many immortal plays and sonnets.

The Source:

 There are one hundred and fifty four (154) sonnets of Shakespeare. Sonnets 1 to 126 form a series, addressed to a beautiful youth. Sonnets 127 to 152 are addressed to a dark lady. The last two sonnets (153 and 154) are the conventional love-sonnets on Cupid. The present sonnet "Shall I Compare Thee..." is sonnet no.18 and falls in the first series.

The Theme:

 The sonnet is a sincere tribute by the poet to the eternal beauty of his friend. He feels the destructive touch of time on all worldly elements. The loveliness of summer, the beautiful buds of May, the sun -- all fair forms of nature are subjected to decay. This very thought is certainly painful, but the poet has no feelings of dismay. He is rather inspired by his firm faith in the eternal appeal of his friend's beauty. His friend will ever live and thrive, despite the cruel blow of time, through the lines of his verse written in his praise.

The Features:

   The sonnet is one of the well-known sonnets. It is addressed to a young friend of the poet, possibly the Earl of Southampton. It is vibrant with the characteristic vigour and technical artistry of Shakespeare. It clearly denotes the singularity of his theme of friendly love and devotion. It also marks his faith in his poetic power and technical innovation.

  The main theme of the sonnet is the celebration of the beauty of the poet's friend. It testifies ti his high idealism of love and his glorification of its triumph over time. The poem has a great contribution to the time-love theme of Shakespearea's sonnet. Here the poet expresses his fervent zeal to perpetuate his friend's beauty through the power of his verse. The concluding lines strike this most:

"When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breath or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

  The poem is also characterised by the compact but clear imagery drawn by the poet to describe his friend's beauty. 'The darling buds of May' shaken by the rough winds of summer, the 'gold complexion' of the sun and 'shade' of death are some images which are well conceived and sharply presented here by the poet. His happy and devoted tone is properly balanced with the images.

  The sonnet strictly follows the Shakespearean pattern. It has three quatrains and a concluding couplet. The first two quatrains express, through suitable images, the changes and decay in the natural world even in the lovely summer season. The third quatrain declares the poet's faith in the friend's everlasting beauty and its triumph over death. The whole theme is summed up in the concluding couplet where the poet happily declares that his friend shall live as long as his lines live. The poem, as a typical Shakespearean sonnet is written in iambic pentameter. There are seven rhymes in the lines -- ab, ab, cd, cd, ef, ef, gg.

The Comparison:

  In the sonnet “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” (Sonnet No. 18), William Shakespeare proposes to compare his friend to the sweet day of the summer season. A summer day is rich in the plenty as well as beauty of nature and is truly charming. But the poet considers his friend to possess no less charm, no less grace. The friend even seems to possess greater loveliness and serenity than the pleasant summer day. In fact, his beauty is more attractive and impressive than what the summer season has. Moreover, it is not subjected to the decay or mutability which is wrought by time to nature in summer. The little, lovely buds of May are often tossed by the high wind of summer. All the graceful and lovely elements of summer, too, do not last long. They have a fixed time for stay and fade away in no time. The sun, no doubt, is bright and sparkling in summer. Yet, it does not remain always pleasing and lively. Its rays become occasionally scorching, unbearable. Again, its bright, golden look changes and becomes pale now and then. In fact, every lovely natural object is subjected to some decay or change that is inevitable. But the poet’s friend has a beauty that is sure to withstand the ravages of time. The poet asserts that his friend’s beauty stands superior to the natural beauty of a summer day. 

The Hope:

  The poet expresses his firm hope for perpetuating his beauty in this mortal world through the power of his verse. He finds in his friend’s beauty greater loveliness and serenity than that of the summer day. He also feels this beauty imperishable. It is subjected to no decay or destruction, although every fair element of nature loses its beauty in course of time. The cold, cruel touch of death is unable to claim this beauty and drag it down to the dark, lifeless realm as a victim against the enlivening effect of his verse. The poet’s friend will, in fact, ever live and thrive through his verse. As long as the human race lives and loves to read, this very sonnet will remain to celebrate his beauty. It will give him an eternal life which no ravage of time can ever take away. In this transient human world, he will live ever. 

 The MCQ Data Bank:

• Nature of the poem  >>  sonnet.
• Shakespeare’s sonnet no. >> 18
• Written in >> Iambic pentameter, with three quatrains and a concluding couplet.
• Rhyme pattern >> ab, ab, cd, cd, ef, ef, gg.
• Addressed to >> a young friend, possibly the Earl of Southampton.
• The main theme >> time-love
• The poet proposes to compare his friend to >> the lovely day of summer.
• The point of comparison >> beauty
• Shall I compare ....summer’s day >> This is a sort of rhetorical interrogation in which the question carries the answer. The poet implies here that the friend is lovelier than a summer day.
• Temperate >> restrained, even-tempered, moderation, not of the extreme form.
• Rough winds ... of May >> This is a case of personal metaphor.
• The darling buds of May >> the lovely buds that bloom in the month of May.
• Summer’s lease >> the fixed period of summer
• A date >> a period, a specific time
• The eye of heaven >> the sun (This is an example of the periphrasis – a roundabout statement).
• Gold complexion >> golden rays of the sun
• Dimm’d >> becomes pale
• Untrimm’d >> faded, deprived of trimming, without proper trimming.
• Eternal summer >> the enduring charms of the beauty of summer; everlasting beauty
• Ow’st >> possess, own.
• Nor shall Death ...in his shade >> death is here personified.
• Brag >> boast
• In his shade >> in his dark realm
• Eternal lines to time >> lines which will last all through the time
• Nature of the poem  >>  sonnet.
• Shakespeare’s sonnet no. >> 18
• Written in >> Iambic pentameter, with three quatrains and a concluding couplet.
• Rhyme pattern >> ab, ab, cd, cd, ef, ef, gg.
• Addressed to >> a young friend, possibly the Earl of Southampton.
• The main theme >> time-love
• The poet proposes to compare his friend to >> the lovely day of summer.
• The point of comparison >> beauty
• Shall I compare ....summer’s day >> This is a sort of rhetorical interrogation in which the question carries the answer. The poet implies here that the friend is lovelier than a summer day.
• Temperate >> restrained, even-tempered, moderation, not of the extreme form.
• Rough winds ... of May >> This is a case of personal metaphor.
• The darling buds of May >> the lovely buds that bloom in the month of May.
• Summer’s lease >> the fixed period of summer
• A date >> a period, a specific time
• The eye of heaven >> the sun (This is an example of the periphrasis – a roundabout statement).
• Gold complexion >> golden rays of the sun
• Dimm’d >> becomes pale
• Untrimm’d >> faded, deprived of trimming, without proper trimming.
• Eternal summer >> the enduring charms of the beauty of summer; everlasting beauty
• Ow’st >> possess, own.
• Nor shall Death ...in his shade >> death is here personified.
• Brag >> boast
• In his shade >> in his dark realm
• Eternal lines to time >> lines which will last all through the time

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