“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 (ii) he smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?

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Chapter 5

NCERT

Class 9

English

Solutions

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

Question:

“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 (ii) he smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?

Answer:

(i) The doctor’s opinion about himself when he first smiles is that his smile is attractive and he is a handsome bachelor and a doctor too. He has to make his presence felt.

(ii) During the next smile he considers himself poor, foolish and stupid because the snake would have struck him and he had no medicine in his room. At first he seems to be relaxed and was conscious of his handsome : appearance because he believed that the sound was of the rats. The second time death lurked near him. The snake had coiled around his left arm. This time he thought that he was a foolish man.

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