Question

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

“I’m sure it would,” I said enthusiastically, for I was glad to find that the man had such a human side to him. “So would yours. In fact,” I continued, “how many faces one sees that are apparently hard, narrow, limited, but the minute you get them three-quarters full they get wide, large, almost boundless in - -”

1. What was the narrator sure of? (Understanding)
2. “The man had such a human side to him”. What does the narrator wish to convey about the man? (Analysis)
3. How are the faces of the human beings made to look better? (Understanding)
4. What is the tone of the narrator when he says that human faces are made to look better? (Analysis)
5. Did the photographer himself need some improvement in his face or mind? How do you know this? (Evaluation)

Answer 1

1. The narrator was sure that the photographer’s face would also look better if it were photographed from a more suitable angle. He enthusiastically agreed that a face could appear different and more attractive when viewed from three-quarters full.
2. The narrator means that the photographer, despite his critical and professional attitude, also had ordinary human weaknesses. He felt pleased to discover that the photographer could understand the importance of making a face look better.
3. According to the narrator, faces can be made to look better by photographing them from a suitable angle. A face that appears hard or narrow from one angle may look wider, larger, and more attractive when viewed three-quarters full.
4. The narrator’s tone is humorous and mildly ironic. He speaks enthusiastically about improving faces, while the reader knows that the photographer has been criticising and altering his own face.
5. Yes, the photographer seemed to need improvement more in his attitude than in his face. He was excessively critical and wanted to alter almost every feature of the narrator. His obsession with artificial perfection shows that he lacked sensitivity towards the narrator’s natural appearance.