NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 6 I Want Something in a Cage

NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 6 I Want Something in a Cage are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 6 I Want Something in a Cage.

NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 6 I Want Something in a Cage

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS
Comprehension Check
(Page 38)

Question 1.
Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of following statements.
(i) Mr. Purcell sold birds, cats, dogs and monkeys. _______________
(ii) He was very concerned about the well-being of the birds and animals in his shop. _______________
(iii) He was impressed by the customer who bought the two doves. _______________
(iv) He was a successful shop owner, though insensitive and cold as a person. _______________
Answer:
(i) True
(ii) True
(iii) False
(iv) True

Question 2.
Why is Mr. Purcell compared to an owl ?
Answer:
Mr. Purcell wore large glasses. These magnified his eyes which looked like those of an owl. So Mr. Purcell is compared to an owl.

Question 3.
From the third paragraph pick out
(i) words associated with cries of birds,
(ii) words associated with noise,
(iii) words suggestive of confusion and fear.
Answer:
(i) Words associated with cries of birds : twitters, cheeps and squeaks.
(ii) Words associated with noise : stir, rustling, scampered. ‘
(iii) Words suggestive of confusion and fear : squeals, bewildered, frightened.

Question 4.
“…Mr. Purcell heard it no more than he would have heard the monotonous ticking of a familiar clock.” (Read para beginning with “It was a rough day …”)
(i) What does ‘it’ refer to ?
(ii) Why does Mr. Purcell not hear ‘it’ clearly ?
Answer:
(i) ‘It’ refers to the sounds and noise made by the caged animals.
(ii) Mr. Purcell does not hear it clearly because he was quite used to it.

Comprehension Check
(Page 42)

Question 1.
Do you think the atmosphere of Mr. Purcell’s shop was cheerful or depressing ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
The atmosphere of Mr. Purcell’s shop was depressing. There were perhaps many beautiful animals. They could, however, bring no cheer to a sensitive person. The reason was that these beautiful creatures were themselves miserable and unhappy. The constant noise could turn a thoughtful man crazy. That was why the strange customer had asked Mr. Purcell, “Doesn’t it get you ?”

Question 2.
Describe the stranger who came to the pet shop. What did he want ? (Imp.)
Answer:
The stranger who came to the pet shop was coming straight from the prison. He had spent ten years there. His total earning of those ten years was five dollars.
He had shiny shoes. His suit was cheap. His dress was ill-fitting but new. He had close-cropped hair and unsteady eyes.
The stranger was not very clear about what he wanted. He had tasted freedom after ten years. Now all he wanted was to share it with someone else. This ‘someone else’ could be any creature. All he wanted was to feel the pleasure of liberty in his heart. So he said that he wanted something in cage but capable of flying.

Question 3.
(i) The man insisted on buying the doves because he was fond of birds. Do you agree ?
(ii) How had he earned the five dollars he had ?
Answer:
(i) No. The man did not love birds. The man had tasted freedom after ten years. He wanted something else also to taste the same freedom. He wanted to see and feel it. So he chose the doves. Their flight could give him a sense of freedom.
(ii) He earned five dollars after working hard as a prisoner for ten years.

Question 4.
Was the customer interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought ? If not, why not ?
Answer:
No, the customer was not interested in the care and feeding of the doves. It was so because he was not interested in keeping the doves. He intended to let them go free.

EXERCISES
(Page 42)

Discuss the following topics in groups.
Question 1.
Why, in your opinion, did the man set the doves free ? (Imp.)
Answer:
The man set the doves free in order to have a taste of freedom. The pleasure of liberty can be felt not only by our own freedom. We can feel this pleasure when we see mute animals being free. The man had been released from prison after ten years. This was also his way of saying ‘thanks’ to God. He did it by freeing two of God’s creatures. The cost was too high. It took all the money that he had earned after ten years of labour in prison.

Question 2.
Why did it make Mr. Purcell feel “vaguely insulted” ? (Imp.)
Answer:
Mr. Purcell felt vaguely insulted because of the action of his strange customer. For monetary gains, he had imprisoned so many of God’s creatures. Yet he considered himself a gentleman. Here was a poor man, all his earnings of ten years in prison were five dollars. He spent these five dollars in granting freedom to the doves. Thus by his action, the stranger had shown his contempt for Mr. Purcell’s profession. So it was natural for Mr. Purcell to feel vaguely insulted.

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