CBSE Class 12 English My Mother at Sixty-six VBQs Set 02

My Mother At Sixty-Six

–Kamala Das

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realized with pain that she was as old as she looked but soon put that thought away… 

Question. Choose the option that best applies to the given extract.
(1) a conversation
(2) an argument
(3) a piece of advice
(4) a strategy
(5) a recollection
(6) a suggestion
(a) 1, 3 and 6
(b) 2, 4, and 5
(c) Only 5
(d) Only 1
Answer: (c) Only 5

Question. Choose the book title that perfectly describes the condition of the poet’s mother.
Title 1 You’re only Old Once! —by Dr. Seuss
Title 2 The Gift of Years —by Joan Chittister
Title 3 Somewhere Towards the End —by Diana Athill
Title 4 The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read —by Philippa Perry
(a) Title 1
(b) Title 2
(c) Title 3
(d) Title 4
Answer: (c) Title 3

Question. Choose the option that applies correctly to the two statements given below.
Assertion: The poet wards off the thought of her mother getting old quickly.
Reason: The poet didn’t want to confront the inevitability of fate that was to dawn upon her mother.
(a) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.
(b) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
(c) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.
(d) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.
Answer: (c) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.

Question. Choose the option that displays the same literary device as in the given lines of the extract. “her face ashen like that of a corpse...”
(a) Just as I had this thought, she appeared and…
(b) My thoughts were as heavy as lead that evening when …
(c) I think like everyone else who…
(d) I like to think aloud when…
Answer: (b) My thoughts were as heavy as lead that evening when …

And looked out at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes, but after the airport’s security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late winter’s moon and felt that old familiar ache… 

Question. What is the most likely reason the poet capitalised ‘Young Trees’? This was to:
(a) convey a clearer meaning
(b) highlight the adjective noun combination.
(c) enhance the contrast.
(d) draw a connection with the title.
Answer: (c) enhance the contrast.

Question. Choose the option that appropriately describes the relationship between the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The poet knows her mother has aged.
Statement 2: The poet feels the pain of separation.
(a) Beginning – Ending
(b) Cause – Effect
(c) Question – Answer
(d) Introduction – Conclusion
Answer: (b) Cause – Effect

Question. Choose the option that completes the sentence given below. Just as the brightness of the winter’s moon is veiled behind the haze and mist, similarly, ___________.
(a) the pain of separation has shaded mother’s expression.
(b) age has fogged mother’s youthful appearance.
(c) growing up has developed a seasoned maturity in the poet.
(d) memories warm the heart like the pale moon in winter.
Answer: (b) age has fogged mother’s youthful appearance.

Question. Choose the correct option out of the ones given below.
(1) Simile: the merry children spilling. Metaphor: old familiar ache.
(2) Metaphor: pale as the late writer’s moon. Imagery: Young trees sprinting.
(3) Imagery: all I did was smile. Personification: the merry children spilling.
(4) Personification: Young tree sprinting. Simile: pale as a late writer’s moon.
(a) option 1
(b) option 2
(c) option 3
(d) option 4
Answer: (d) option 4

Question. Who is the poet of poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’?
(a) John Keats
(b) Rudyard Kipling
(c) William Wordsworth
(d) Kamala Das
Answer: (d) Kamala Das

Question. What is the significance of the title ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’?
(a) Poet’s fear of losing her old mother
(b) Poet’s fear of moving fast
(c) Poet’s inability to express her feelings
(d) All of the options
Answer: (a) Poet’s fear of losing her old mother

Question. What is the main idea of the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’?
(a) Painful old age
(b) Discolouration of skin
(c) Carelessness of a daughter
(d) Lack of strength
Answer: (a) Painful old age

Question. What is the distinctive feature of the poem?
(a) metaphors are used
(b) simile is used
(c) alliteration is used
(d) narrative style using a single sentence in a set of 14 lines
Answer: (d) narrative style using a single sentence in a set of 14 lines

Question. What does the narrative style of the poem signify?
(a) differing thoughts
(b) many thoughts
(c) contrasting thoughts
(d) a single thread of thought mixed with harsh realities
Answer: (d) a single thread of thought mixed with harsh realities

Question. Who lives in Cochin?
(a) Poet
(b) Her parents
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of the options
Answer: (a) Poet

Question. Name the poetic devices used in the poem.
(a) metaphor
(b) simile
(c) alliteration
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels in the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’?
(a) losing her mother
(b) heart attack
(c) headache
(d) children screaming at her
Answer: (a) losing her mother

Question. What did the poet realise with pain?
(a) her mother’s appearance like a corpse
(b) she is inconsiderate
(c) old age is pleasant
(d) she has duties
Answer: (a) her mother’s appearance like a corpse

Question. What is the familiar ache?
(a) poet’s childhood fear
(b) poet’s mother’s weak health
(c) poet’s duties
(d) poet’s helplessness
Answer: (a) poet’s childhood fear

Question. What was the poet’s childhood fear?
(a) Parting from her husband
(b) Parting from her friends
(c) Parting from her siblings
(d) Losing her mother
Answer: (d) Losing her mother

Question. Which poetic device is used in “Trees sprinting-” ?
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Alliteration
(d) Personification
Answer: (d) Personification

Question. What do the running trees signify?
(a) fast moving appearance
(b) speed of the moving car
(c) fast moving change in human life from childhood to old age
(d) None of the options
Answer: (c) fast moving change in human life from childhood to old age

Question. What does the poet notice outside the car ?
(a) sprinting trees and running children
(b) schools and roads
(c) other vehicles
(d) many people on the road
Answer: (a) sprinting trees and running children

Question. Why has the poet used the imagery of merry children spilling out of their homes?
(a) to show hope
(b) to show happiness
(c) to show youthfulness of her age
(d) to show hope and happiness in children
Answer: (d) to show hope and happiness in children

Question. What does the narrative single sentence style of the poem highlight?
(a) Poet’s feelings
(b) Poet’s insecurities
(c) Poet’s thoughts
(d) Poet’s intertwining thoughts
Answer: (d) Poet’s intertwining thoughts

Question. Which rhyming scheme is used in the poem?
(a) coupled rhyme
(b) monorhyme
(c) Alternate rhyme
(d) free verse
Answer: (d) free verse

Question. Quote an example of a simile used in the poem.
(a) familiar ache
(b) like that of a corpse
(c) wan and pale
(d) the merry children
Answer: (b) like that of a corpse

Question. Quote an example of a metaphor used in the poem.
(a) As a late winter’s moon
(b) The merry children spilling out of their homes
(c) Driving from my parent’s home
(d) None of the options
Answer: (b) The merry children spilling out of their homes

Question. Quote an example of alliteration used in the poem.
(a) like ashen
(b) smile, smile and smile
(c) Friday morning
(d) None of the options
Answer: (b) smile, smile and smile

Question. Quote an example of personification used in the poem.
(a) sprinting trees
(b) home to Cochin
(c) airport’s security check
(d) All of the options
Answer: (a) sprinting trees

Question. How is the imagery of ‘young trees and merry children’ a contrast to the mother?
(a) mother is old in comparison to the trees and children
(b) mother is like ash while the trees are green and children are happy
(c) like spring and autumn season
(d) mother’s health-hopelessness and trees and merry children- youthfulness and hope
Answer: (d) mother’s health-hopelessness and trees and merry children- youthfulness and hope

Question. What was the expression of the poet’s face while parting from her mother?
(a) satirical
(b) funny
(c) sad
(d) smiling
Answer: (d) smiling

Question. Why does the poet feel parted, upset and sad?
(a) because of her fears
(b) because she was getting late
(c) fear of missing her flight
(d) because of her duty towards mother and her own needs
Answer: (a) because of her fears

Question. Why did the poet look at her mother again?
(a) because she was busy
(b) because she was going away
(c) because she wanted to stay back
(d) because of fear and insecurity
Answer: (d) because of fear and insecurity

Question. What question arises from the complexity of the situation in the poem?
(a) what to do in old age
(b) how to take care of one’s loved ones
(c) how to drive
(d) how to strike a balance between duties and responsibilities
Answer: (d) how to strike a balance between duties and responsibilities

Question. What is the tone of the poem towards the end?
(a) sad
(b) hopeless
(c) cheerful
(d) resignation with acceptance
Answer: (d) resignation with acceptance

Question. What do the parting words “See you soon Amma” signify?
(a) her carelessness
(b) her optimistic farewell full of cheerfulness
(c) she bids goodbye like this
(d) she is in a hurry
Answer: (b) her optimistic farewell full of cheerfulness

Question. What does the expression smile, smile and smile signify?
(a) poet was going home and was elated
(b) poet was happy
(c) poet was hopeless
(d) poet’s desperate efforts to hide her fears
Answer: (d) poet’s desperate efforts to hide her fears

Question. What does the poet’s smile signify in the poem?
(a) her assurance to mother and helplessness inside
(b) she has responsibilities
(c) she has to do her duty first
(d) she is a loving daughter
Answer: (a) her assurance to mother and helplessness inside

Question. ‘Smile and smile and smile’ is an_______.
(a) anaphora
(b) simile
(c) alliteration
(d) personification
Answer: (c) alliteration

Question. The poetess says her mother looked pale like a_____.
(a) corpse
(b) ghost
(c) malnourished child
(d) anaemic person
Answer: (a) corpse

Question. Kamala Das is a ______.
(a) Bengali
(b) Punjabi
(c) Keralite
(d) Gujarati
Answer: (c) Keralite

Question. The tone of the poet in the poem is primarily a combination of _________ and ________. 
1. dauntlessness
2. apprehension
3. dejection
4. disappointment
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 4
Answer: (b) 2 and 3

Question. The phrase ‘old familiar ache’ has been used to refer to a _____.
(a) fear
(b) sadness
(c) happiness
(d) anxiety
Answer: (a) fear

Question. Assertion: The poet was worried about her mother. Reason: Her mother was going to other city.
(a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer: (c) Assertion is true and reason is false.

Question. Assertion: Poet’s mother looked very dull and lethargic. Reason: She was tired of her work.
(a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer: (c) Assertion is true and reason is false.

Question. Assertion: The poet looked at the young trees and playing children out of the window.
Reason: She wanted to avoid the thought of her mother who was growing old.
(a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer: (a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.

Question. Assertion: The smile on the poet’s face was natural and the outcome of her going to Cochin.
Reason: The poet was not confident whether she would be able to see her mother again.
(a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer: (d) Assertion is false and reason is true.

Question. Assertion: The poet’s mother has been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’.
Reason: She was as beautiful as the moon in her young age.
(a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer: (c) Assertion is true and reason is false.