Snapshots- Chapter 2: The Address

English
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Chapter 2: The Address

Class: XI
(Snapshots)

Exercise number – 1

Question 1

‘Have you come back?’ said the woman.’ I thought that no one had come back.’ Does this statement give some clue about the story? If yes, what is it?

Answer 1

The statement quoted above points out that the two families were known to each other. When the war was going on some people left their houses to take refuge in faraway lands. Few of the people who remained there thought that the people who had left their land were never going to come back. That’s why the woman was surprised to see one of them returning. Usually people care more for the material things than for the human beings. But this cannot be said for all humans. The narrator & her mother were completely different in their nature. They were trusting and loving human beings. Hence, the given statement does give some clue about the story.

Question 2

The story is divided into pre-war and post-war times. What hardships do you think the girl underwent during these times?

Answer 2

"The Address" is divided into pre-war and post-war times. There are clear indications of the privation which the narrator had to undergo as a young girl during that timeframe. The girl belonged to a rich family. The family had a lot of valuable belongings. Later the war broke out. Mrs. Dorling renewed her contact and started visiting their house. She took away all their possessions on the ground that she wanted to save all their nice things in case they had to leave the place. When the war was over and things became almost normal, the girl was living all alone in a rented house. She wanted to meet Mrs. Dorling and ask for those valuables. When she went to meet her she found that Mrs. Dorling was using her mother’s things recklessly. All of a sudden, she lost interest in those things that had belonged to a connection that no longer existed. She decided to leave it all behind and was firmly determined to move on.

Question 3

Why did the narrator of the story want to forget the address?

Answer 3

The narrator went to Mrs. Dorling’s house. Mrs. Dorling was the one who had kept many valuable items of her mother during the war days in order to save those valuable items. The address of the lady helped her in finding the house of the lady. But now she wanted to forget the address because after visiting her she found how the belongings of her mother were kept in a strange manner. They had lost all their emotional value for the narrator. The narrator now lived in a small rented room. She had no place to keep all those things. The lady treated her very insolently. She didn’t even recognise her. She did not let her enter the house. That was why she wanted to forget that address.

Question 4

‘The Address’ is a story of human predicament that follows war. Comment.

Answer 4

The phenomenon of war brings lot of suffering for us humans. War, along with it, brings death and destruction. It kills the feelings of sympathy & love. The story, "The Address" is based on this theme. The narrator’s mother leaves all her valuable things with an acquaintance during the war period. The narrator’s mother died and many years later, the narrator came to the woman to have a look at her mother’s belongings. But the woman shows no compassion towards her. In fact, she behaves in a very strange manner. She doesn’t even let the narrator to enter the house and sit for a while. She shuts the door. Hence, we find that war leaves the world desolate not only on the physical level but also on the spiritual & emotional level.