The Snake and the Mirror - Q&A
Thinking about the TextI. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30-40 words).
1. "The sound was a familiar one." What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the text.) When and why did the sounds stop?
Answer: The doctor heard a scuffling noise from above. He thought it was the sound of rats, which he believed he shared the room with. He heard it three times:
1. "I heard a noise from above as I opened the door."
2. "Again I heard that sound from above."
3. "Again came that noise from above."
The sounds stopped suddenly when the snake fell from the roof with a dull thud. The rats likely ran away or went silent due to the presence of the snake.
2. What two "important" and "earth-shaking" decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
Answer:
1. Important Decision: He decided to shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome because he was a bachelor and a doctor.
2. Earth-shaking Decision: He decided he would always keep his attractive smile on his face to look more handsome.
3. "I looked into the mirror and smiled," says the doctor. A little later he says, "I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself." What is the doctor's opinion about himself when: (i) he first smiles, and (ii) he smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?
Answer:
(i) When he first smiles, he is full of vanity and pride. He admires his beauty and feels important as a bachelor and a doctor.
(ii) When he smiles again, his opinion changes to humility and helplessness. He sees himself as a "poor, foolish and stupid doctor."
Reason for change: His thoughts change because a deadly cobra lands on him. The realization of immediate death makes his earlier vanity regarding his looks and profession seem silly and insignificant.
II. This story about a frightening incident is narrated in a humorous way. What makes it humorous? (Think of the contrasts it presents between dreams and reality. Some of them are listed below.)
1. (i) The kind of person the doctor is (money, possessions)
(ii) The kind of person he wants to be (appearance, ambition)
Answer: The humour lies in the contrast. Realistically, he is a poor doctor living in a non-electrified rented room full of rats, with only sixty rupees, a few dhotis, and one dirty vest. However, he ambitiously wants to look handsome, grow a moustache, and keep smiling to impress others, behaving as if he is a very important person.
2. (i) The person he wants to marry
(ii) The person he actually marries
Answer: He wants to marry a woman doctor who has plenty of money and a good medical practice. He also wants her to be fat so she cannot catch him if he runs away. Ironically, in reality, he marries a thin, reedy person who has the gift of a sprinter (can run very fast).
3. (i) His thoughts when he looks into the mirror
(ii) His thoughts when the snake is coiled around his arm
Answer: When looking in the mirror, he is lost in self-admiration, planning to look more handsome. When the snake coils around his arm, he turns to stone, holding his breath, and realizes he has no medicines for the bite. He humbly calls himself a "foolish and stupid doctor," completely forgetting his earlier vanity.
Thinking about Language
I. Here are some sentences from the text. Say which of them tell you, that the author: (a) was afraid of the snake, (b) was proud of his appearance, (c) had a sense of humour, (d) was no longer afraid of the snake.
1. I was turned to stone.
(a) was afraid of the snake
2. I was no mere image cut in granite.
(d) was no longer afraid of the snake
3. The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
(a) was afraid of the snake
4. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, 'O God'.
(a) was afraid of the snake
5. I didn't tremble. I didn't cry out.
(a) was afraid of the snake (He was too scared to move)
6. I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
(b) was proud of his appearance
7. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
(d) was no longer afraid of the snake
8. I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
(b) was proud of his appearance
9. The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness...! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
(c) had a sense of humour
10. Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead.
(c) had a sense of humour
II. Expressions used to show fear Can you find the expressions in the story that tell you that the author was frightened? Read the story and complete the following sentences.
1. I was turned to stone.
2. I sat there holding my breath.
3. In the light of the lamp I sat there like a stone image in the flesh.
III. Match the meanings with the words/expressions in italics, and write the appropriate meaning next to the sentence.
1. I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits.
(very frightened)
2. I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge.
(frightened by something that happens suddenly)
3. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.
(very frightened)
4. You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.
(frightened by something that happens suddenly)
5. Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end.
(makes another feel frightened)
6. Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors.
(too scared to move)
7. The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.
(too scared to move)
IV. Reported questions Report these questions using if/whether or why/when/where/how/which/what. Remember the italicised verbs change into the past tense.
1. Meena asked her friend, "Do you think your teacher will come today?"
Meena asked her friend if she thought her teacher would come that day.
2. David asked his colleague, "Where will you go this summer?"
David asked his colleague where he would go that summer.
3. He asked the little boy, "Why are you studying English?"
He asked the little boy why he was studying English.
4. She asked me, "When are we going to leave?"
She asked me when we were going to leave.
5. Pran asked me, "Have you finished reading the newspaper?"
Pran asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.
6. Seema asked her, "How long have you lived here?"
Seema asked her how long she had lived there.
7. Sheila asked the children, "Are you ready to do the work?"
Sheila asked the children if they were ready to do the work.
Speaking Using some of the expressions given above in exercise III, talk about an incident when you were very scared. You may have a competition to decide whose story was the most frightening.
Sample Response:
One night, I was walking home alone through a dark alley. Suddenly, a large dog jumped out from behind a dumpster and barked loudly. I nearly jumped out of my skin! I stood there, paralysed with fear, not moving a muscle. The dog growled, and I felt my hair stand on end. I was scared out of my wits until the owner came running and pulled the dog away. I got such a fright that I ran the rest of the way home.
Writing 1. Try to rewrite the story without its humour, merely as a frightening incident. What details or parts of the story would you leave out?
Answer:
To rewrite the story as a purely frightening incident, I would remove the details about the doctor's vanity, his admiration of his own smile, and his desire to marry a fat, rich woman. The jokes about the vest and the thief would also be removed.
Revised Summary:
It was a hot, dark night. The room was silent except for the scuffling of rats. Suddenly, there was a dull thud. As I turned, a cold, heavy weight landed on my shoulder. A full-blooded cobra coiled around my left arm, its hood spread out just inches from my face. I sat frozen like a stone, holding my breath, aware that death lurked just four inches away. There was no medicine in the room. I felt the immense power of the snake crushing my arm and prayed silently to God for survival.
Answer:
The monkey had found a strange, shiny object in the debris left by humans. Curiosity piqued, it picked up the piece of mirror and gazed into it. "Who is this stranger?" the monkey wondered, tilting its head. It realized the stranger moved exactly as it did. Fascinated, the monkey began to preen, smoothing its fur and checking its teeth. "I am quite the handsome fellow," it seemed to think. "Perhaps I am the fairest of them all in this jungle." The mirror became a prized possession, a window into a world where the monkey could admire its own reflection endlessly.
Translation Compare the two translations on the basis of the following points.
- the tense of narration (past and present tense)
- short, incomplete sentences
- sentence length
Comparison:
1. Tense of narration: Translation A is written in the past tense ("When the phone rang I was in the kitchen..."). Translation B is written in the present tense ("I'm in the kitchen cooking spaghetti when the woman calls.").
2. Short, incomplete sentences: Translation A uses complete, grammatically standard sentences. Translation B uses short, fragmented sentences like "Perfect spaghetti-cooking music!" and "Ignore it."
3. Sentence length: Translation A has longer, more complex sentences that flow together. Translation B has shorter, punchier sentences that create a sense of immediacy.
Preference:
I prefer Translation B. The use of the present tense makes the scene feel like it is happening right now, which is more engaging. The short, incomplete sentences mimic the way people actually think in real-time ("Ignore it. Let the spaghetti finish cooking"), making the narrative feel more natural and modern compared to the more formal style of Translation A.