G K SHETTY VIVEKANANDA VIDYALAYA SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, AMBATTUR, CH-53

CLASS:XII QUESTION BANK

Poets and Pancakes
1. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?
2. What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?
3. What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studios? Why was he
disappointed?
4. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios?
5. Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on?
6. Who was Subbu’s principal?
7. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special abilities.
8. Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by others?
9. What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?
10. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?
11. Why was the Moral Rearmament Army welcomed at the Studios?
12.Name one example to show that Gemini Studios was influenced by the plays staged by MRA.
13. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?
14. Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as unexplained mystery?
15. Who was the English visitor to the studios?
16.How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?
17.What does ‘The God that Failed’ refer to?
18.The author has used gentle humour to point out human foibles. Pick out instances of this to show how this
serves to make the piece interesting.
19.Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios?
20.How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing the audience at Gemini
Studios?
21.What do you understand about the author’s literary inclinations from the account?
22. What was filmmaking like in the olden days at Gemini Studions? Explain.
23. What can be inferred from the author’s comment that leisure ws a pre-requisite for poetry?

Going Places

1. Where was it most likely that two girls would find work after school?
2. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her for having such
dreams?
3. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Daney Casey?
4. Does Geoff believe what Sophie say about her meeting with Daney Casey?
5. Does her father believe her story?
6. How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of her future?
7. Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
8. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
9. Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?
10. The story is written in a manner that makes it difficult to point out clearly if Sophie met Danny Casey or
not. Suggest possible reasons for such writing.
11. Why is Sophie attracted to Danny Casey?
12. “Sophie felt a tightening in her throat. She went to look for her brother Geoff.” In the light of this quote,
discuss the relationship Sophie shared with Geoff.
 Long Answer Questions

1. Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends. What were the differences between them that show
up in the story?

2. What Socio economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family’s
financial status?
AUNT JENNIFER’S TIGERS

1. How can you say that marriage was a compromise for Aunt Jennifer? Support your response with two
justifications.
2. Explain the irony at the end of the poem, ’Aunt Jennifers’ Tigers.
3. Explain the significance of the ‘denizens pacing in sleek certainty’ in the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.
4. How are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers different from her?
5. 'It is only when we are fearless that we begin to create.’
Does this statement hold true in the case of the poem, Aunt Jennifer's Tigers? Support your stance with
evidence from the text.
6. How does the poet use the image of ‘fingers fluttering through the wool’ to highlight Aunt Jennifer’s
victimization?
7. Read the given quote. Every poem breaks a silence that had to be overcome. – Adrienne Rich .In your
opinion, what silence does the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ break?

8. Adrienne Rich chose to express her silent revolt through her poem, Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, just as Aunt
Jennifer did with her embroidery. Explain.
9. Would you say that the poem ends on a note of hope? Justify your opinion.
10. How might the message of the poem, ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ be different if the following last four lines
were omitted?
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and
unafraid 11.‘Their mother sighed.
Sophie watched her back stooped over the sink and wondered at the incongruity of the delicate bow which
fastened her apron strings.’

The prose selection, Going Places includes this telling comment about Sophie’s mother.
In Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, we are told that –
‘The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s Hand.’
Imagine a conversation between Sophie’s mother and Aunt Jennifer. Create this exchange with reference to
the two extracts given above.
You may begin the conversation like this …
Sophie’s mother: Your embroidery is so beautiful. Do you love tigers?

12.Read the given extract from an article published in The Independent:

“Turn your pain into art”: it’s a phrase most of us have heard before… The theory that achieving something great
requires suffering dates back to ancient times… Pain, however, is less an artistic necessity and more a result of
“contagion” – a term used for the spreading of a harmful idea or practice…In the context of the struggling artist,
it allows mental illness to fester; to be glamourized and admired; even encouraged in the name of art.
i. Do you think Aunt Jennifer “turned her pain into art”? What kind of “contagion” might her pain be a result of?
ii. Evaluate Aunt Jennifer and her artistry in light of the above extract.
13. Imagine that Aunt Jennifer read the poem that Adrienne Rich wrote about Every poem breaks
a silence that had to be overcome. - Adrienne Rich.
After much contemplation, she decided to write a letter to her husband expressing her feelings and thoughts.
Write the letter as Aunt Jennifer.

14. Observe the following lines from two different poems.

(Aunt Jennifer's Tigers)
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie Still
ringed with ordeals she was mastered by. (The
Roadside Stand)
I can’t help owning the great relief it would be To
put these people at one stroke out of their pain.
There are many commonalities between the two poems. Imagine that you are interviewing Adrienne Rich and
Robert Frost together. Ask them any two questions that would highlight two points of similarity between their
poems, and create their responses to each.
You may begin this way:
Interviewer:
Rich:
Frost:
15. The different portrayals of women in the texts 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers', 'Going Places', 'Lost Spring', and 'My
Mother at Sixty-six', offer insights into the experiences of women in society.
You have been asked to address your peers and share-
→ the ways these portrayals highlight the diversity of the female experience.
→ the importance of understanding each individual woman's challenges and experiences.
Compose this draft, with reference to any three of these prescribed texts listed above. You
may begin this way:
Good morning, everyone.
As I analyzed the allotted texts...
You may end this way.
To conclude, I’d like to say that ...
16. What knitting was to Aunt Jennifer; poetry was for Adrienne Rich? Do you agree? Comment with reference
to the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers?
17.What is suggested by the phrase ‘Massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band?

THE INTERVIEW
1. How would you evaluate Mukund Padmanabhan as a in interviewer? Mention atleast two qualities he
displays in his interview, supported by textual evidence.
2. What makes an interview 'a source of truth'? State any one feature.
3. Why do you think Christopher Silvester describes the viewpoints of other writers and authors when
discussing the concept of an interview? Support your opinion with reference to any one writer cited.
4. Christopher Silvester shares the authors’ reservations about interviewing. Bearing that in mind, would you
interview a writer of your choice? If so, what would you pay particular attention to in interviewing the said
writer?
5. Umberto Eco, with reference to "The Name of the Rose" says, “I think if I had written The Name of the
Rose ten years earlier or ten years later, it wouldn’t have been the same.” What could he have meant?
6. Imagine that you are Christopher Silvester. You have been invited to a seminar series titled – ‘Ethics and
Techniques of Interviewing’.
The organizers would like you to speak about the challenges of conducting interviews, and skills interviewers
must have in order to conduct good and ethical interviews.Based on your reading of The Interview, Part I and II,
draft your speech. Include relevant details from the text in support of your answer.
7. Mukund Padmanabhan was gifted the ‘Penguin Book of Interviews - An Anthology from 1859 to the
Present Day’ edited by Christopher Silvester, after interviewing Eco.
He shared his thoughts on his personal blog exploring his own concerns about interviewing a distinguished writer
like Eco, followed by an evaluation of the interview in light of his reading.As Mukund Padmanabhan, write the
blog post.
8.Part I of ‘The Interview’ is an excerpt from the Penguin Book of Interviews. Do you think that the extract fails to
present a balanced perspective about interviews?
Substantiate your answer with relevant textual details.
If this were the entire introduction, what would your expectation from the book be?
9.Umberto Eco does many things, but says, ‘I am always doing the same thing but that is more difficult to explain.’
What does he mean to say?
10. Compare and Contrast V.S.Naipaul’s attitude to Rudyard Kipling’s on the subject of interviews.
11. What form of literature satisfied Umberto Eco’s taste for narration?
12. .Why did Umberto Eco prefer himself to be called an academician than a novelist?
13.Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed? (2003 Delhi)

14.What was unique and distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style? (2004 Delhi)
15.State the reason for the huge success of the novel, “The Name of the Rose”.
16. “The Name of the Rose” deals with medieval history. Was it responsible for the novel’s success?
17. What made the American publisher think that the novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ won’t sell in America? What
actually happened? What was the secret of its success?
18.What drawbacks of interviews have been pointed out by Lewis Carrol?
19.Why do most celebrity writers hate to be interviewed?
20. What do you think about Umberto Eco? Does he like being interviewed? Give reasons in support of your
answer from the text ‘The Interview’.?

MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD
1.Why was Zitkala-Sa terrified when Judewin told her that her hair would be cut short?
2. What did Zitkala-Sa feel when her long hair was cut?
3. I felt like sinking to the floor,” says Zitakala-Sa. When did she feel so and why?
4. How long would it take Bama to walk home from her school and why?
5. When did Bama first come to know of the social discrimination faced by the people of her community?
6. What advice did Annan offer Bama?
7. Zitkala-Sa mentions the indignities she had to suffer as a child. How do such indignities break the morale of a
child?
8. Where there is oppression, there will be resistance.” Comment on this statement with reference to the story.
9. Bama’s innocence was lost when she came face to face with the ugly truth of racial discrimination. Do you
think children who have a difficult childhood become even more resolute than children who have a
comfortable one? Long Answer
1.Untouchability is not only a crime; it is inhuman too. Why and how did Bama decide to fight against it? 2.
Imagine your school has organised a panel discussion on ‘Oppression and Its Evils.’ You are one of the speakers.
As part of your address, you are required to reflect on the lessons and ideas from the story, ‘Memories of
Childhood’. Draft the address. You may begin like this: Good morning ladies and gentlemen! It is a pleasure to be
given an opportunity to speak today. I would like to begin by quoting James Baldwin, ‘Not everything that is faced
can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.’ Tolerating oppression in any form is… Q3. The two
accounts that you read above are based in two distant cultures. What is the commonality of them found in both
of them?
Q4. Bama's experience is that of a victim of the caste system. What kind of discrimination does Zitkala-Sa's
experience depict? What are their responses to their respective situations?