The NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 5 – “The Snake and the Mirror” offers detailed explanations and answers to all the questions in the chapter. This humorous story, written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, revolves around a doctor who encounters a snake in his room, leading to a moment of self-reflection and irony. The solutions help students understand the themes of vanity, fear, and humor as the doctor contemplates his life while facing danger. Expertly crafted, these solutions enhance comprehension and critical thinking, providing students with a deeper understanding of the narrative and aiding in exam preparation as per the latest NCERT guidelines.
Here Are The NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
Think About the Text
I. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30 − 40 words).
Question 1. “The sound was a familiar one.” What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the text.) When and why did the sounds stop?
Answer: The doctor lived in a small, rented, unelectrified room that was full of rats. He heard the sound of rats, running back and forth the beam. He heard the thrice but then it stopped suddenly as if the rats had seen a snake in front of them.
Question 2. What two “important” and “earth-shaking” decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
Answer: The doctor first decided to shave daily and grow a thin moustache and secondly, he decided to keep an attractive smile always on his lips. These were the two “important” and “earth-shaking” decisions the doctor made while looking in the mirror.
Question 3. “I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says, “I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” What is the doctor’s opinion about himself when:
(i) He first smiles, and
Answer: He had an inflated opinion about himself when he first smiled looking in the mirror, when he was admiring his looks and profession.
(ii) He smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?
Answer: Later the doctor smiled at his helplessness and foolishness. But his thoughts changed after he encountered the snake and accepted his stupidity.
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
II. This story about a frightening incident is narrated in a humorous way. What makes it humorous? (Think of the contrasts it presents between dreams and reality. Some of them are listed below.) Write short paragraphs on each of these to get your answer.
1.
(i) The kind of person the doctor is (money, possessions)
Answer: The doctor is a poor person with hardly any wealth. He lived in a small rented room with no electricity and lots of rats in it, since he just started with his medical practice, he didn’t have much.
(ii) The kind of person he wants to be (appearance, ambition)
Answer: He wants to be a person who is rich and attractive and hence decides to grow a thin moustache.
2.
(i) The person he wants to marry
Answer: He wants to marry a woman who is fat so she couldn’t run after him to catch him. She should possess a lot of money and have a good medical practice.
(ii) The person he actually marries
Answer: He couldn’t marry the girl of his dreams. He instead got married to a thin reedy woman who has a gift of sprinter.
3.
(i) His thoughts when he looks into the mirror
Answer: While looking into the mirror, he found his smile attractive. He decides to grow a thin moustache and keep smiling to show the joy and satisfaction he carries within.
(ii) His thoughts when the snake is coiled around his arm
Answer: The sight of the snake frightened him. He sat like a stone image in flesh but his mind was active and felt the presence of the creator.
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
Thinking About Language
I.Here are some sentences from the text. Say which of them tell you, that the author:
(a) was afraid of the snake,
(b) was proud of his appearance,
(c) had a sense of humour,
(d) was no longer afraid of the snake.
- I was turned to stone.
- I was no mere image cut in granite.
- The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
- I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’.
- I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.
- I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
- I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
- I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
- The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness…! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
- Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead?
Answer:
| (a) was afraid of the snake, | (b) was proud of his appearance, | (c) had a sense of humour, | (d) was no longer afraid of the snake. |
| I was turned to stone. | |||
| I was no mere image cut in granite. | |||
| The arm was beginning to be drained of strength. | |||
| I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’. | I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God’. | ||
| I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out. | |||
| I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile. | |||
| I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood. | |||
| I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it! | |||
| The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness…! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water. | |||
| Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead? |
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
II. Expressions used to show fear
Can you find the expressions in the story that tell you that the author was frightened? Read the story and complete the following sentences.
Question 1. I was turned __________.
Answer: I was turned to stone.
Question 2. I sat there holding __________.
Answer: I sat there holding my breath.
Question 3. In the light of the lamp, I sat there like ____________.
Answer: In the light of the lamp, I sat there like a stone image in the flesh.
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
III. Match the meanings with the words/expressions in italics, and write the appropriate meaning next to the sentence. The first one has been done for you.
Question 1. I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits.
Answer: very frightened
Question 2. I got a fright when I realised how close I was to the cliff edge.
Answer: frightened by something that happens suddenly
Question 3. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.
Answer: very frightened
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
Question 4. You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.
Answer: frightened by something that happens suddenly
Question 5. Wait until I tell his story — it will make your hair stand on end.
Answer: makes another feel frightened
Question 6. Paralysed with fear, the boy faced his abductors.
Answer: too scared to move
Question 7. The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.
Answer: too scared to move
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
IV. Report these questions using if/whether or why/when/where/how/which/what. Remember the italicised verbs change into the past tense.
Question 1. Meena asked her friend, “Do you think your teacher will come today?”
Answer: Meena asked her friend if she thought her teacher would come that day.
Question 2. David asked his colleague, “Where will you go this summer?”
Answer: David asked his colleague where he would go that summer.
Question 3. He asked the little boy, “Why are you studying English?”
Answer: He asked the little boy why he was studying English.
Question 4. She asked me, “When are we going to leave?”
Answer: She asked me when we were going to leave.
Question 5. Pran asked me, “Have you finished reading the newspaper?”
Answer: Pran asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.
Question 6. Seema asked her, “How long have you lived here?”
Answer: Seema asked her how long she had lived there.
Question 7. Sheila asked the children “Are you ready to do the work?”
Answer: Sheila asked the children if they were ready to do the work.
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – The Snake and the Mirror
For the Next Chapter Solution Click Below
CHAPTER 2 – The Sound of Music
CHAPTER 4 – A Truly Beautiful Mind
CHAPTER 5 – The Snake and The Mirror