The Snake and The Mirror
Chapter Summary and Q & A
Author: Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
Summary:
1. A lonely unmarried Homeopathy specialist lived in a non-zapped leased life with his few visiting rodents and cats.
2. On a hot summer night, the doctor came back to his room after dinner and heard a noise, when he opened the door. Noise, being a familiar one, he did not pay any attention to it and lay down on his bed but could not sleep.
3. He took out a book, opened it on the table. He looked into the large mirror kept on the table and admired himself as a young, handsome, unmarried doctor.
4. The doctor heard some sound again but he wasn't serious about it as rats also used to make such sounds.
5. While looking into the mirror he examined that developing slim moustache and a grin all over would make him more appealing.
6. A lovely thought of marrying a rich woman doctor with plenty of money and had a good medical practice. His wife must be fat so that if he committed some silly mistake and needed to run away she might not be able to run after him and catch him.
7. He sat on the chair opposite to the mirror. Suddenly he heard a thud and before he could see the object, a fat snake wriggled over the back of the chair and landed on his shoulder their coiled itself around his left arm. The hood spread out scarcely four inches from his face.
8. Death lurked (hanged) four inches away from him but he could do nothing. He sat stoned as a statue, motionless, but his mind was very active.
9. Suddenly the snake turned its head and saw its own reflection in the mirror. It unwound itself from his arm and slowly creeping the table and moved towards the mirror.
10. Taking advantage, he got up from the chair and quietly went out through the door and ran as fast as he could and reached a friend's house.
11. Next morning, accompanied by his friends, he came to his room to take away his things from there. But there was hardly anything left for him to carry. Some thief had stolen most of his things, except the dirty vest.
Question: 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?
2. What two “important” and “earth-shaking” decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
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:
1. The doctor heard a sound caused by the development of something on the pillar. He believed that the sound was being made by the movement of rodents. He heard the sound thrice. After the third time, the sounds stopped. All of sudden, he heard a dull thud as if a rubber tube had fallen to the ground. When he turned, he saw a snake that crawling over the back of the chair and landed on his shoulder.
every day and grow a thin moustache to look more nice looking and handsome. The second earth-shaking choice he took was that he would dependably keep his alluring smile all over to look more attractive.
3. When he looked into the mirror, he was brimming with thankfulness for his great looks. He was an extraordinary admirer of excellence and had confidence in making himself look nice looking. He investigated his confront and concluded that he would shave every day and grow a thin moustache to look significantly more nice looking. At that point, he investigated the mirror and grinned. He chose to keep smiling as he considered his grin extremely appealing. In any case, later when the snake was curled around his arm, he transformed into a stone. Then, he felt the nearness of God close him. In his creative ability, he attempted to compose "O God!" in splendid letters. He felt torment in his left arm where the snake was curled.
He understood that if the snake struck him, at that point he didn't have any medicines in his room for the same. That was the point at which he suspected that he was a poor, silly, and moronic doctor. Along these lines, his musings and thoughts changed from considering himself an unmarried specialist who looked exceptionally attractive to considering himself a poor, absurd, and inept specialist. This arrangement of occasions additionally given funniness to the story.
Question: 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.
2. I was no mere image cut in granite.
3. The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
4. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, "O God".
5. I didn't tremble. I didn't cry out.
6. I looked in the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
7. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
8. I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
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.
10. Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eyeshadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead?
Answer:
1. Was afraid of the snake
2. Had a sense of humour
3. Was afraid of the snake
4. Was afraid of the snake
5. Was afraid of the snake
6. Was proud of his appearance
7. Was no longer afraid of the snake
8. Was proud of his appearance
9. Had a sense of humour
