Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

Sudden gray phantom seemed to manifest upon inner room walls where a curtain was still undrawn against the night, or there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomblike building was still open.

1. What are the gray phantoms? Why are they so called here? (Analysis)
2. Where would he see the grey phantoms? (Understanding)
3. Why are the houses tomblike? What kind of picture is this? (Understanding and Analysis)
4. What did walking past the houses feel like? (Understanding)
5. What kind of life is hinted at here? (Evaluate)

Answer 1

1. The grey phantoms are the people inside their houses, appearing as shadows on the walls while watching television. They are called phantoms because they seem lifeless, silent and ghost-like.
2. Mead would see them on the inner walls of houses where the curtains were still open. Their shadows appeared because of the light from the television screens inside.
3. The houses are called tomblike because they are dark, silent and lifeless, with people shut inside. This creates a gloomy and eerie picture of the future society.
4. Walking past the houses felt like walking through a graveyard, because everything was silent and still, with only occasional shadows or whispers coming from the houses.
5. It hints at a lonely, isolated and dehumanised life. People are so dependent on television and technology that they have lost interest in outdoor life and human interaction.