Important Question and Answers
Q. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:
“Come and hire me”, I cried, while in the morning
I was walking on the stone-paved road.
Sword in hand the king came in his chariot
He held my hand and said, “I will hire you with my power”
But his power counted for naught and he went away in his chariot.
- Who is the speaker of the above lines?
Ans. An unemployed but freedom loving person is the speaker of these lines. - What does ’sword in hand’ suggest?
Ans. ‘Sword in hand’ suggests the power of the king. - Why could the king not conquer the narrator?
Ans. The king could not conquer the narrator because the narrator did not give any importance to his power.
Q. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with shut doors
I wandered along the crooked lane
An old man came out with his bag of gold.
He pondered and said, “I will hire you with my money.”
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.
- Why were the houses with the doors shut?
Ans. The houses had the doors shut because of the heat of the mid-day. - What did the old man bring out?
Ans. The old man brought out a bag of gold to hire the man. - How did the speaker react to the old man’s offer?
Ans. Speaker turned down the old man’s offer.
Q. The old man offered the speaker a lot of money. Why did he turn down the offer?
Ans. He turned down the offer because though he was offering him money but it would snatch away his freedom and liberty.
Q. How did the speaker feel after talking to the child on the beach?
Ans. After talking to the child on the beach, the speaker feels like a free man.
Q. What is bargain?
Ans. A bargain is an agreement in which both parties promise to do something for each other.
Q. Who is looking for work and what is he waiting for?
Ans. The narrator, symbolizing a common man is looking for work and he is waiting to be hired by someone.
Q. Why did the narrator deny the offer of the king?
Ans. The narrator denied the offer of the king because he wanted to hire him on the basis of his power (sword).
Q. Describe the surrounding where the child was playing.
Ans. It was a beach side, the sun glistened on the sand, the sea waves broke waywardly and an innocent child was playing with shells.