Class 11, Solutions of NCERT (CBSE) English Supplementary Reader
Snapshots
The address by Marga Minco
SNAPSHOTS - Answers of NCERT Supplementary Reader in English for Class XI
(Textbook Exercise Solutions)
Reading with Insight
Question.1: ‘Have you come back?’ said the woman. ‘I thought
that no one had come back.’ Does this statement give some clue about the story?
If yes, what is it?
Answer: Yes, the words of this statement made by Mrs. Dorling to
the narrator give us many clues about the story.
The given statement shows how the
war caused devastation in the lives of the people of Holland. During the
pre-war times and when the war was not in its full fury, Mrs. Dorling visited
Mrs. S, the narrator’s mother frequently. Mrs. Dorling used to exploit her
fears and insecurity. After each visit she took away antiques and other
valuable items from the narrator’s mother assuring her that she would keep
those things safe during the war. Mrs. S trusted her to take care of the
valuables while the narrator was not convinced of Mrs. Dorling’s intentions. The
narrator and her mother, Mrs. S had to leave Holland to save their lives during
the war. After the war was over, Mrs. S was dead. The narrator came back and
went to Mrs. Dorling’s address in search of her mother’s belongings. Mrs.
Dorling was shocked and surprised to see narrator standing at her door when she
made the above statement. Mrs. Dorling’s statement clearly proves she knew the
narrator already although she refused to recognize her. Rather she behaved rudely
and unfriendly. This particular behaviour of Mrs. Dorling towards the narrator
reveals her uncharitable, unfaithful nature and reluctance to return Mrs. S’s
belongings to her daughter, which she had been using all these years.
Question.2: The story is divided into pre-war and post-war
times. What hardships do you think the girl underwent during these times?
Answer: (Not important question for Exam pt. of view)
Question.3: Why did the narrator of the story want to forget the
address?
Answer: Once the war was over the narrator went to Mrs. Dorling’s
address in search of her mother’s belongings. But the woman pretended not to
recognize her. Nor does she show any intention of returning the things which
she had taken from the narrator’s mother. The narrator was shocked to see the ‘nice
belongings’ of her mother lying unceremoniously in unpleasant surroundings in
Mrs. Dorling’s house. She felt nostalgic and resolved that she would not try to
possess them. Their true owner was no longer in this world and the things seemed
to have lost their worth. She felt that it was better to forget the address of
the uncharitable Mrs. Dorling, which symbolizes a tragic past.
Question.4: ‘The Address’ is a story of human predicament that
follows war. Comment.
Answer: War brings with it death and destruction. Marga Minco’s
short story “The Address” describes human predicament that follows war. War in
Holland had caused an upheaval in the lives of its people. People lost their
lives, properties and homes. Mrs. S too was a victim of war. Even before the
war was in its full fury, Mrs. S felt insecure and afraid of losing her home
and valuables. Her situation was exploited by her acquaintance Mrs. Dorling,
who took away the valuable items and antiques assuring that she would keep them
safe until the war was over. In fact, Mrs. Dorling had no intentions of
returning the valuables as she was sure that Mrs. S and her family would not
survive the war. So when the narrator, Mrs. S’s daughter, went to Mrs. Dorling’s
house to claim those articles to which her mother’s precious memories were
associated, she became surprised to see the narrator, at her address, 46 Marconi
Street and even pretended not to recognize her. The narrator was shocked to see
the ‘nice belongings’ of her mother lying unceremoniously in unpleasant
surroundings in Mrs. Dorling’s house. She felt nostalgic and the things appeared
to have lost their worth in absence of their true owner. Therefore, she decided
to leave those things and forget the address forever.
Thus the story presents the upheaval
in the lives of the narrator and her mother caused by the war. The story shows
how war brings a dehumanizing effect on human beings. It kills the finer
feelings of love and sympathy. It makes man cruel and selfish.
very nice answerrs....... thnx a lot.
ReplyDeletenice....thnx
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