Question

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

“Yes,” said the photographer thoughtfully, “that’s so; but I can fix that all right in the print. We have a process now - the Sulphide - for removing the ears entirely. I’ll see if - -”

1. What had not been tampered with as far as the body features were concerned? (Understanding)
2. To which question of the narrator does the photographer say ‘yes’? Does he agree to improve upon the picture? (Understanding)
3. Which features had the photographer retouched to make them look better? (Understanding)
4. How do the photographers bring about changes in a photograph so that it looks completely different from the original? (Understanding and Analysis)
5. What made the narrator express his anger at his photographer later? What did he want to convey? (Understanding and Analysis)

Answer 1

1. The narrator’s ears had not been altered sufficiently in the photograph. They were still recognizable as his own ears, which the photographer considered a defect.
2. The photographer agrees when the narrator points out that the photograph still resembles his face in certain respects. Yes, he immediately offers to improve it further by using the sulphide process to remove the ears from the photograph.
3. The photographer had retouched several features, including the narrator’s eyes, mouth, chin, ears, eyebrows, and hair. He altered these features according to his own idea of what an attractive face should look like.
4. Photographers can use retouching and photo-editing techniques to alter facial features, remove imperfections, adjust proportions, and change lighting or shadows. In the story, the photographer uses such techniques to transform the narrator’s natural appearance into an artificial version of himself.
5. The narrator became angry because the photographer wanted to alter his appearance so drastically that the final photograph no longer represented him. He wanted to convey that his face, with all its imperfections, was his own and should be accepted rather than completely changed.