A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Extract Questions: Treasure Chest Workbook Solutions of ICSE Class 9 English written by Vikram Seth. The Treasure Chest ( A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories) workbook passage wise questions and answer of English. Visit official website CISCE for detail information about ICSE Board Class- 9 English.
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Extract Questions: Treasure Chest Workbook Solutions of ICSE Class 9 English written by Vikram Seth
| Board | ICSE |
| Publications | Evergreen Publications |
| Subject | English |
| Class | 9 |
| Book Name | Treasure Chest |
| Chapter | A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 |
| Writer | Vikram Seth |
| Topics | Extract Questions |
Extract Questions Solutions of Evergreen Publications
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Extract Questions: Treasure Chest Workbook Solutions of ICSE Class 9 English written by Vikram Seth
Question:– Read the following extract from the poem ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 by Vikram Seth and answer the questions that follow
A strong flash, then another, …… …….. and undershirt disappeared.
Que-1: Who is the speaker? Where was he at the moment? What pleased him?
Ans: The speaker is a doctor He was in his garden. It pleased him that the morning was calm and pleasant; he was half-clad as he was enjoying a relaxed day, looking at the leaves.
Que-2: What happened suddenly? What does the question mark in Line 3 signify?
Ans: There was a strong flash of light, followed by another Suddenly,, which makes the speaker surprised and shocked . The question mark in the line “Magnesium flares ?” signifies the speaker’s debate or thought process as he wondered if what he saw were magnesium flares.
Que-3: What happened to the house and the speaker’s clothes?
Ans: The roof and the walls of the speaker’s house fell down in a heap and dust was rising up. The speaker was shocked to find himself naked; his drawers and the undershirt that he was wearing were gone.
Que-4: Whom did he call later in panic? What were his fears?
Ans: Later, he called out to his wife, in panic. His fears were that his artery was wounded and bleeding, and he feared he would die.
Que-5: Explain, ‘the world /collapsed in timber and debris’.
Ans: ‘the world / collapsed in timber and debris’ means that the speaker’s immediate surroundings, with the roof and walls of his house, fell down in a heap of wood. To him, in that moment of sudden and devastating destruction.
A splinter jutted from …. …… ……… panic-stricken, to my wife
Que-1: What had happened on that calm morning?
Ans: A nuclear bomb had fallen, causing a nuclear explosion. producing strong flash of light, followed by another, and the roof and walls of the speaker’s house collapsed, with debris scattered here and there.
Que-2: What did the doctor notice about his injuries?
Ans: The doctor noticed that a splinter touched from his destroyed thigh, his right side bled, and his cheek was torn. He also drew out, a piece of glass from his torn cheek.
Que-3: What made the doctor think he would die?
Ans: The doctor thought he would die because his blood released, and he suspected an artery in his neck was damaged and bleeding, making him afraid for his life.
Que-4: What did the doctor decide? What happened as he and his wife came out of their house?
Ans: The doctor decided with his wife to go to a hospital. He also suggested to his wife that they get out of the house immediately. Then he and his wife came out of their house and were on their way in the street, they tripped on something, which turned out to be the head of a dead man.
Que-5: What should have been a cause of shame to the speaker? Why did he not feel any shame?
Ans: Seeing himself naked speaker have been a cause of shame. He did not feel any shame because the realization that he was naked strangely made him feel no shame; it was such a situation in which one could not bother about social niceties and traditions.
Pale, bloodstained, frightened, ….. ……. There we stood, afraid
Que-1: Where was the speaker? Why was he afraid for his life?
Ans: The speaker was stumbling to the street, who just come out of his collapsed house. He was afraid for his life because of serious bleeding, and he examine that his artery was damaged..
Que-2: Why did the speaker have to assure his wife that they would be fine?
Ans: The speaker had to assure his wife that they would be well because she had emerged pale, bloodstained, frightened, and holding her elbow.
Que-3: What startled them on the way?
Ans: They stumbling to the street, when they fell, having tripped over something at their feet. The speaker gasped out when he saw it was a head of a man who was dead.
Que-4: Why did the doctor feel no shame at his nakedness?
Ans: The doctor felt no shame at his nakedness because it was such a situation of extreme crisis and shock that one could not bother about social niceties and traditions.
Que-5: What did the doctor notice about the wounded people heading towards the hospital?
Ans: the wounded people looked like ghosts or scarecrows as they walked. They were all dumb, and their arms were stretched out as they walked because the friction on their burns caused them much pain, so they could not bear to touch their wounds.
My breath was short, …. ….. ……. she must go on ahead.
Que-1: Who was the speaker by profession? Who was with him? Where were they going and why?
Ans: Dr was the speaker. His wife was with him. They were going to the hospital because they were injured and needed aid.
Que-2: How did he feel about his physical condition at the time?
Ans: the speaker’s breath was short. Although his strength seemed to revive bit by bit, his legs, stiff with dried blood, rebelled. His body was failing his still agile mind.
Que-3: ‘I was still naked, but I felt no shame’. What does this statement reveal about the speaker’s state of mind?
Ans: The statement reveals that the speaker was in a state of shock and survival mode, where social niceties and traditions became irrelevant. The realization that he was naked strangely made him feel no shame, indicating he was numb and dazed by the devastating situation.
Que-4: Why did he ask his wife to leave him and go ahead?
Ans: He asked his wife because his legs, stiff with dried blood, rebelled, and he was physically struggling to move. In their distress and his desperation, as his body was failing, he urged her to proceed to the hospital without him.
Que-5: What did he observe about a woman with a child later in the extract?
Ans: The doctor observed a woman with a child, and both of them were naked.
Ran at high speed, …….. …….. ……… caused so much pain.
Que-1: Why was the doctor’s wife reluctant to leave him? (Understanding and Analysis)
Ans: The doctor’s wife, was reluctant to leave him because she did not wish to, likely out of concern for his injured state and the natural desire not to be separated during such a distressing and dangerous time.
Que-2: ‘My mind/Ran at high speed, my body crept behind’. What does this reveal about the speaker’s condition?
Ans: The statement reveals that the speaker’s body was failing his still agile mind. His mind was active, processing the horrific events and urging action, but his severely injured and weakened physical body could not keep pace with his thoughts, moving very slowly.
Que-3: What did people look like? What had happened to them?
Ans: People looked like ghosts, and some were like scarecrows. They were all wordless and dumb, with their arms stretched straight out.
Que-4: Why were some people moving with outstretched hands? Had they lost their senses?
Ans: Some people were moving with outstretched hands because the friction on their burns caused them so much pain that they could not bear to touch their wounds or let their arms chafe against their bodies.
Que-5: What common thing among the victims of the holocaust was noticed by the doctor on his way to the hospital?
Ans: A common thing among the victims of the destruction noticed by the doctor was the eerie silence; no one was uttering a word or a cry of anguish. Many were also naked, as some strange thing had stripped them of their clothes or burnt them down.
A woman with a child, …… …… ……. or a single word.
Que-1: What had happened on that fateful day? What had happened to the speaker?
Ans: On that fateful day, , A nuclear bomb fell on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 6, 1945 causing a nuclear explosion and mass-scale destruction.
The speaker, found himself naked and lying on the ground after the explosion; he was badly wounded, with a splinter in his mangled thigh, his right side bleeding, his cheek torn.
Que-2: Why did the speaker ask his wife to come out of the house immediately?
Ans: Because the roof, the walls, and as it seemed, the world had collapsed in timber and debris. The house was destroyed, making it dangerous to remain inside, and they needed to seek safety and medical aid.
Que-3: What did he observe on the way to the hospital?
Ans: the doctor observed more scenes of horror and destruction, including a house that tilted, swayed, and crashed, with fire springing up from the dust. He saw shadowy forms of people, some looking like ghosts and some like scarecrows, walking with their arms stretched out, all wordless and dumb.
He also saw a woman with a child, both naked, and an old woman on the ground marred with suffering but making no sound. A common observation was the eerie silence, with no cries of anguish or a single word from the victims.
Que-4: What was the doctor’s reaction on seeing a woman with a child, both naked? Was it appropriate in the context?
Ans: He wondered if they had come back from the bath. He was at a loss until he saw another naked man and then realized that some strange thing had stripped them of their clothes. His initial thought, while inappropriate in a normal context, reflected his dazed, confused, and shocked state as he tried to make sense of an incomprehensible and horrific situation.
Que-5: Explain the last two lines of the extract.
Ans: The last two lines, “Silence was common to us all. I heard / No cries of anguish, or a single word,” explain that all the victims, including the doctor-speaker, were silent.
–: A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Extract Questions: :–
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