Question

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

‘I have decided I want to learn the Kannada alphabet from tomorrow onwards. I will work very hard. I will keep Saraswati Puja day during Dassara as the deadline. That day I should be able to read a novel on my own. I want to be independent.’ I saw the determination on her face. Yet I laughed at her. ‘Avva, at this age of sixty-two you want to learn the alphabet? All your hair is grey, your hands are wrinkled, you wear spectacles and you work so much in the kitchen...’ Childishly I made fun of the old lady. But she just smiled. ‘For a good cause if you are determined, you can overcome any obstacle. I will work harder than anybody but I will do it. For learning there is no age bar.’

(i) What does the grandmother’s statement, “I want to be independent,” reveal about her character?

1. She wanted to be literate.
2. She desires self-sufficiency.
3. She wants to prove her intelligence to others.
4. She feels pressured by society to learn.

(ii) Fill in the blank with the appropriate option from those given in brackets.

The grandmother’s determination shows that learning has no ______.
(age limit/gender bias/cultural barriers)

(iii) Complete the following with a suitable reason.

The narrator laughs at her grandmother’s decision to learn the alphabet at the age of sixty-two because ______.

(iv) List any two qualities displayed by the grandmother.

(v) How can we say that the narrator is making assumptions about her grandmother?

Answer 1

(i) The grandmother wants to read independently without depending on anyone else.

Explanation:

The grandmother wants to read independently without depending on anyone else.

(ii) The grandmother’s determination shows that learning has no age limit.

(iii) The narrator laughs at her grandmother’s decision to learn the alphabet at the age of sixty-two because she thinks that the grandmother is too old to start learning at that age.

(iv) Two qualities displayed by the grandmother are:

• Determination: She is firmly committed to learning.
• Hard work: She promises to work harder than anyone to achieve her goal.

(v) We can say that the narrator is making assumptions because she judges her grandmother’s ability to learn based only on her age and appearance, such as her grey hair, wrinkled hands and spectacles.