Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 2 – The Mark on the Wall Important Question Answers from Kaleidoscope Book
Class 12 English (Elective) The Mark on the Wall Question Answers – Looking for questions and answers for CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 2- The Mark on the Wall? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising Class 12 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Non Fiction Chapter 2- The Mark on the Wall now. The questions listed below are based on the latest CBSE exam pattern, wherein we have given NCERT solutions to the chapter’s extract-based questions, multiple choice questions and Extra Question Answers
Also, practising with different kinds of questions can help students learn new ways to solve problems that they may not have seen before. This can ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the subject matter and better performance on exams.
- The Mark on the Wall NCERT Solutions
- The Mark on the Wall Grammar Exercise
- The Mark on the Wall Extra Question Answers
- The Mark on the Wall Multiple Choice Questions
- The Mark on the Wall Extract Based Questions
Related:
The Mark on the Wall Textbook Questions (NCERT Solutions)
Stop and Think
1. What is the string of varied thoughts that the mark on the wall stimulates in the author’s mind?
Ans. The mark on the wall leads the author to think about different things and shows the stream-of-consciousness style of writing. At first, she thinks it might be from a nail, but she quickly changes her mind and reflects on the personalities of the people who lived in the house before. When she begins to see the mark as an ink stain instead of just a hole, she starts to think about death. Then, she looks at the mark as just a shadow and considers Shakespeare’s writings and how he creates his characters.
2. What change in the depiction of reality does the author foresee for future novelists?
Ans. The author believes that future novelists will no longer use already-used features and clichés of reality to create their characters. Instead, they will dig deeper into reality and show the hard-to-see truths that people often ignore.
Stop and Think
1. What is the author’s perception of the limitations of knowledge and learning?
Ans. For the author, knowledge does not depend on education. People can gain knowledge simply by thinking, and anyone can think, no matter the situation. She describes a world where thought flows freely, like a fish gliding through water. The author does not support blindly chasing knowledge or education. Instead, she suggests living a life without professors or specialists.
2. Describe the unbroken flow of thoughts and perceptions of the narrator’s mind, using the example of the colonel and the clergy.
Ans. The narrator reflects on the mark on the wall and explores many ideas. This leads to a continuous stream of thoughts in her mind. She thinks of the mark as a hole and questions the work of an antiquary, who cannot prove anything without evidence. She uses the example of a colonel, who must consider both sides of an issue before choosing a side. For an instance of a retired colonel she says “Retired Colonels, for the most part, I daresay, leading parties of aged labourers to the top here, examining clods of earth and stone, and getting into correspondence with the neighbouring clergy”.
Understanding the Text
1. An account of reflections is more important than a description of reality according to the author. Why?
Ans. The author believes that writers can reveal the deeper truths of human experiences through their characters. She thinks that future authors will dig deeper into these realities, exploring the complexities of life instead of sticking to traditional descriptions of reality.
2. Looking back at objects and habits of a bygone era can give one a feeling of phantom-like unreality. What examples does the author give to bring out this idea?
Ans. To describe the objects and habits of the past, which the author sees as unreal, she uses Shakespeare as an example. This well-known Elizabethan writer sits by the fireplace, resting his hand on his forehead, while ideas and inspirations flow to him from above. She also refers to ‘Whitaker’s Table of Precedency’ to illustrate this imaginary figure. For her, traditional ideas about Good and Evil, the Devil and God, and Hell and Heaven hold no value and represent unreality.
3. How does the imagery of (i) the fish and (ii) the tree, used almost poetically by the author, emphasise the idea of stillness of living, breathing thought?
Ans. The narrator thinks about the lives of a tree and a fish to highlight the idea of stillness in living and thinking. She mentions, “Wood is a pleasant thing to think about. It comes from a tree, and trees grow, and we don’t know how they grow,” to show how nature works quietly without noticing the world around it. Then she uses the image of a fish, saying, “I like to think of the fish balanced against the stream like flags blown out,” to describe the stillness in a parallel world that we often overlook. Everything around us is moving, falling, and disappearing, or as the narrator puts it, “There is a vast upheaval of matter.”
4. How does the author pin her reflections on a variety of subjects on the ‘mark on the wall’? What does this tell us about the way the human mind functions?
Ans. The author explores deep thoughts to understand the mark on the wall. This shows our natural curiosity and how our minds work. To solve a small mystery, a person can think about many different ideas. The mark on the wall makes her reflect on history back to Shakespeare and the traditional norms. These thoughts lead her to consider the future as well. She also talks about nature and how it can interrupt our thinking and push us to take action. This highlights the vastness of the human mind when it comes to taking action.
5. Not seeing the obvious could lead a perceptive mind to reflect upon more philosophical issues. Discuss this with reference to the ‘snail on the wall’.
Ans. Not noticing something obvious can make a thoughtful person think about deeper issues. The story “Mark on the Wall” is a great example of this. The mysterious mark creates a plot, but the story takes a different direction. The narrator quickly discovers what the mark is by standing up and looking closely, but she instead decides to think about what could have caused it. While making these guesses, she gets lost in serious philosophical thoughts. The snail, which is revealed at the end of the story, acts as the central figure that drives the plot. The narrator’s thoughts flow because of the snail on the wall and her reflections while sitting in her chair.
Talking about the Text
1. ‘In order to fix a date, it is necessary to remember what one saw’. Have you experienced this at any time? Describe one such incident and the non-chronological details that helped you remember a particular date.
Ans. I will always remember the 16th of December as I lost my favourite uncle to war. The war started when Pakistan launched Operation Chengiz Khan, which included surprise airstrikes on eight Indian airbases. These attacks caused India to declare war on Pakistan, which led them to support Bengali nationalist forces fighting for East Pakistan’s independence. My uncle might have saved India and others’ homes but couldn’t save his own home. My home turned into ashes with him. The horror of that incident still wakes me up from my dreams.
2. ‘Tablecloths of a different kind were not real tablecloths’. Does this sentence embody the idea of blind adherence to rules and tradition? Discuss with reference to ‘Understanding Freedom and Discipline’ by J. Krishnamurti that you’ve already read.
Ans. Virginia Woolf and J. Krishnamurti both criticize strict rules and traditions. In Mark on the Wall, Woolf talks about how following these rules limits personal freedom. In Understanding Freedom and Discipline, Krishnamurti explains how rules make people give up their desires. Woolf also questions the importance of knowledge and learning. She challenges common views of reality, like those in Shakespeare’s works, and shares her ideas about knowledge and understanding reality.
3. According to the author, nature prompts action as a way of ending thought. Do we tacitly assume that ‘men of action are men who don’t think’?
Ans. Woolf believed that nature creates distractions to stop her thinking. She views this as a challenge and resists the urge to jump up and quickly solve the mystery of the mark on the wall. Instead, she takes her time and uses her strong thinking skills to figure it out. This leads to a stream of thoughts in many directions. For the narrator, knowledge comes from the ability to think, and nature places obstacles in our way. According to the narrator, those who take action do not think. Therefore, in the context of the story, it is fair to say that “men of action are men who don’t think.”
Appreciation
1. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of narration: one, where the reader would remain aware of some outside voice telling him/her what’s going on; two, a narration that seeks to reproduce, without the narrator’s intervention, the full spectrum and continuous flow of a character’s mental process. Which of these is exemplified in this essay? Illustrate.
Ans. The mark on the wall is a clear example of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Stream of Consciousness’ style. This type of narration aims to show a character’s thoughts without interference from a narrator. In the story, the narrator focuses on the mark she sees on the wall while sitting in a chair and smoking a cigarette from a distance. As she tries to figure out the mystery behind the mark, she shares many unrelated thoughts and opinions. These thoughts encourage the reader to think and engage their mind. The thoughts the mark brings to the narrator’s mind are quite unrelated to the actual cause of the mark—a snail.
2. This essay frequently uses the non-periodic or loose sentence structure: the component members are continuous, but so loosely joined, that the sentence could have easily been broken without damage to or break in thought. Locate a few such sentences, and discuss how they contribute to the relaxed and conversational effect of the narration.
Ans. The following sentences show a style of writing called continuous loosely joined sentences. This technique gives the story a relaxed tone. The narrator is sitting in her chair, smoking a cigarette, and trying to understand the mark on the wall, but she is too lazy to get up and figure it out quickly. This relaxed tone suggests confusion and a flood of thoughts that the mark brings to the narrator’s mind. At the same time, the informal tone creates a conversational effect, drawing the reader in and making it feel like the narrator is speaking directly to them. This style makes readers curious about the mysterious mark on the wall.
“I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts. To steady myself, let me catch hold of the first idea that passes.. Shakespeare.. Well he will do as well as another. A man who sat solidly in an arm-chair, and looked into the fire, so—A shower of ideas fell perpetually from some very high Heaven down through his mind. He leaned his forehead on his hand, and people, looking in through the open door,—for this scene is supposed to take place on a summer’s evening—But how dull this is, this historical fiction! It doesn’t interest me at all.”
The Mark on the Wall Grammar Exercises
Language Work
A. Grammar: Content Words and Function Words
A sentence has words in it. What kind of words?
It has nouns:
(1a) I looked up and saw the mark on the wall.
and verbs
(1b) I looked up and saw the mark on the wall.
It may have adjectives
(2a) How readily our thoughts swarm upon a new object…
and adverbs
(2b) How readily our thoughts swarm upon a new object…
Such words have a meaning that can be readily explained; these words can be defined. They also have content. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are content words. But what about the remaining words in our examples above? Take for example the word and. What is its ‘meaning’?
(3) I looked up and saw the mark on the wall.
Its meaning is in its function in the sentence. It joins together two words, phrases or sentences. It is a conjunction.
A conjunction is a function word. Function words are the kind of words that we leave out when we send telegrams, when we can guess at the meaning. Look at this example.
…saw mark on wall
What words have been left out in this message? Two occurrences of the word the. We can call the the definite article. What is its function? In example (1), it shows that a unique mark on a unique wall is being spoken about. Virginia Woolf isn’t speaking about ‘a mark on a wall’, that is, any mark on any wall. She’s speaking about a particular, definite mark on a particular, definite wall.
(4) I looked up and saw the mark on the wall.
Definite and indefinite articles are function words. What about the words I and our?
(5a) I looked up and saw the mark on the wall.
(5b) How readily our thoughts swarm upon a new object…
These are pronouns; they occupy the place of a noun. But are they, therefore, content words, like nouns? We shall argue that they are not. (Notice that they get left out in telegraphic language.) We can make up new nouns in a language, but we cannot make up new pronouns. Pronouns are a closed set; nouns are an open set. So, we shall say, pronouns are function words.
The words that remain in our examples are up, on, upon, and how. The first three are prepositions. Are prepositions content words or function words? We can argue that prepositions have meaning, and treat them as content words. (Notice that they occur in telegraphic language.) Or we can argue that prepositions are a closed set of words like pronouns, and treat them as function words. So this question does not have a single answer.
Finally, what is the function of how in our example in (2)? How, we all know, usually asks a question; it is a question word. But our example in (2) is not a question. It is an exclamation. How occurs in the exclamation (2) in place of the intensifying word so in (6a)
(6a) Our thoughts swarm upon a new object so readily!
(6b) How readily our thoughts swarm upon a new object!
How occurs instead of so in (6b) because the emphasised word readily has moved to the front of the sentence.
Summing up: Content words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and perhaps prepositions.
Function words include conjunctions, pronouns, determiners and demonstratives, quantifiers and intensifiers, question words, and perhaps prepositions.
TASK
(i) Can you say which words are content words in the examples below, and which are function words? All the examples are from the text in this unit.
(ii) Can you name the kind of word (its category as noun, pronoun, etc.?). A dictionary may help you to do this. You can work in pairs or groups, discussing the reasons for your analysis.
- Ants carry a blade of straw so feverishly, and then leave it.
- They wanted to leave this house because they wanted to change their style of furniture.
- I don’t believe it was made by a nail after all; it’s too big, too round, for that.
- There was a rule for everything.
- The tree outside the window taps very gently on the pane.
Ans.
- Ants carry a blade of straw so feverishly, and then leave it.
Ants- Content Word, Noun
Carry- Content Word, Verb
a- Function Word, Article
Blade- Content Word, Noun
of- Function Word, Preposition
Straw- Content Word, Noun
So- Function Word, Adverb
Feverishly- Content Word, Adverb
And- Function Word, Conjunction
Then- Content Word, Adverb
Leave- Content Word, Verb
It- Function Word, Pronoun
- They wanted to leave this house because they wanted to change their style of furniture.
They- Function Word, Pronoun
Wanted- Content Word. Verb
To- Function Word, Preposition
Leave- Content Word. Verb
This- Function Word, Pronoun
House- Content Word, Noun
Because- Function Word
They- Function Word, Pronoun
Wanted- Content Word, Verb
To- Function Word, Preposition
Change- Content Word, Verb
They’re- Function Word, Determiner
Style- Content Word, Noun
Of- Function Word, Preposition
Furniture- Content Word, Noun
- I don’t believe it was made by a nail after all; it’s too big, too round, for that.
I- Function Word, Pronoun
Don’t- Content Word, Adverb
Believe- Content Word, Verb
It- Function Word, Pronoun
Was- Content Word, Verb
Made- Content Word, Verb
By- Function Word, Preposition
a- Function Word, Article
Nail- Content Word. Noun
After all- Function Word, Preposition
It’s- Function Word, Pronoun
Too- Content Word, Adverb
Big- Content Word, Adjective
Too- Content Word, Adverb
Round- Content Word, Adjective
For- Function Word, Conjuncture
That- Function Word, Pronoun
- There was a rule for everything.
There- Content Word, Adverb
Was- Function Word, Verb
a- Function Word, Article
Rule- Content Word, Noun
For- Function Word, Coniunctiom
Everything- Function Word, Pronoun
- The tree outside the window taps very gently on the pane.
The- Function Word, Article
Tree- Content Word, Noun
Outside- Content Word. Noun
The- Function Word, Article
Window- Content Word, Noun
Taps- Content Word, Verb
Very- Content Word, Adverb
Gently- Content Word, Adverb
On- Function Word, Preposition
The- Function Word, Article
Pane- Content Word, Noun
B. Pronunciation
We have seen how the segments of spoken language, i.e. vowels and consonants, combine to produce syllables, words and sentences. When we articulate these segments, we notice that there is some variation. That is, in connected speech, we do not isolate sounds, but several things can happen to the pronunciation of their individual segments. The speed and rhythm can cause some segments to have weak forms, some to drop out, and some put in.
Words, sometimes, have both strong and weak forms, depending on whether they are pronounced with force. The word ‘is’, for instance, is pronounced /iz/ when said in isolation, or in emphasis as in
He is responsible.
[Meaning: He cannot get away from the fact that he is responsible.]
But in the utterance
He is a doctor
The word ‘is’ has no emphasis, and so it is pronounced as /s/ or /z/.
TASK
| a | and | had | is | not |
(i) Look at the following words
Notice the difference in pronunciation when they are said in isolation and in normal conversation.
(ii) Find out five more words which have both strong and weak forms.
Ans.
- The pronunciation of the word “a” is typically a short “uh” sound, but in normal conversation, it can be reduced to a schwa sound, similar to the “uh” in “about”.
- When “and” is spoken in isolation, it’s pronounced with a clear, distinct “and” sound, but in normal conversation, it’s often reduced to a weaker, faster “and” sound, sometimes even sounding like “n”.
- In isolation, “had” is pronounced with a short “a” sound, like in “bad” ( [hæd] ), but in normal conversation, it often becomes a reduced, almost silent “d” sound, especially when followed by a vowel, sounding like “uh” ( [həd] ).
- In isolation, “is” is pronounced with a short “i” sound followed by a “z” sound (like “iz”), while in normal conversation, it’s often reduced to a weak, almost silent “s” sound, especially when followed by a word starting with a vowel.
- In isolation, “not” is pronounced with a clear “n” sound followed by a distinct “ot” sound, while in normal conversation, it’s often reduced to a quick, almost silent “n” sound before the following word, especially when not emphasized.
(ii) The five more words which have both strong and weak forms are “have”, “that”, “to”, “and”, and “but”.
CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 2- The Mark on the Wall Extra Question and Answers
Answer the following questions.
Q1. Explain the metaphor ‘torn asunder’ in Woolf’s ‘The Mark on Wall’.
Ans. The reference to ‘torn asunder’ is a metaphor for the stream of consciousness. The ‘torn asunder’ can describe the abrupt, violent, and fragmented nature of thoughts and feelings as they flow through the mind, mirroring the discontinuous and often chaotic nature of real-life thought processes.
Q2. What was the narrator’s opinion about Whitaker’s Table of Precedency?
Ans. There were rules for everything under the Whitaker’s Table of Precedency. The guideline for tablecloths at that time dictated they should be made of tapestry with little yellow squares, like those seen in images of the carpets in royal palace corridors. Any other kind of tablecloth was not a true tablecloth. It was shocking for the narrator, yet also remarkable to realize that these genuine things like Sunday meals, walks, country estates, and table linens were only partially real, resembling illusions, and the curse upon those who disbelieved in them was merely a feeling of uncertified freedom. The narrator wonders what has replaced those standard elements in their lives perhaps men were women; the masculine perspective that shapes their existence, which sets the standard and established Whitaker’s Table of Precedency, which has turned, she suspects, into a mere illusion for many men and women since the war, and may soon be sent to the dustbin along with other illusions, the mahogany sideboards and Landseer prints, Gods and Devils, Hell, and so forth, leaving humans with an exhilarating sense of forbidden freedom if indeed freedom exists.
Q3. How is the world going to be without the hegemony of the Whitaker’s Almanack?
Ans. A world without professors, experts or housekeepers resembling policemen, a world that one could slice through with thought just like a fish slices through the water with its fin, grazing the stems of the waterlilies, hovering above nests of white sea eggs. The narrator pictured it as a tranquil world down there, grounded at the centre, looking up through the grey waters, with their sudden flashes of light and their reflections, if it weren’t for Whitaker’s Almanack if it weren’t for the Table of Precedency.
Q4. What does the narrator mean by the line ‘a smooth tumulus like those barrows on the South Downs’?
Ans. She would encounter a small rounded mass at a specific point—a smooth mound reminiscent of those barrows on the South Downs that some claim are either burial sites or camps. Of the two, the narrator would prefer to think of them as burial sites, as she shares the English likeness for melancholy, finding it natural at the end of a walk to consider the bones resting beneath the grass.
Q5. What is nature’s strategy against Whitaker’s Table of Precedency?
Ans. The narrator has comprehended Nature’s strategy to act as a means of stopping any thoughts that could cause excitement or discomfort. This may explain humans’ mild hatred for individuals who act but do not engage in thought. Nevertheless, there’s no harm in putting an end to unpleasant thoughts by focusing on a spot on the wall since everyone is subordinate to someone, such is the essence of Whitaker’s philosophy, and the crucial matter is to understand who succeeds whom.
Class 12 The Mark on the Wall Multiple Choice Questions
Q1. What was the mark on the wall?
A. Snail
B. Rose leaf
C. Nail
D. Burrow
Ans. A. Snail
Q2. What is the main theme explored in “The Mark on the Wall”?
A. Observation and the thought process of the human mind.
B. The importance of Whitaker’s Almanac
C. The importance of knowledge
D. The importance of possessions.
Ans. A. Observation and the thought process of the human mind.
Q3. What was the shape of the mark on the wall?
A. Square shaped mark
B. Heart-shaped mark
C. Small round mark
D. Big oval mark
Ans. C. Small round mark
Q4. How long was the mark on the wall?
A. Three inches
B. One inch
C. Six or seven inches
D. Two inches
Ans. C. Six or seven inches
Q5. In which season did the narrator see the mark on the wall?
A. Spring
B. Autumn
C. Summer
D. Winter
Ans. D. Winter
Q6. How does the narrator’s mind wander throughout the story?
A. The narrator thought about the mark on the wall
B. The narrator’s thoughts jump from the mark to unrelated topics, reflecting on a variety of subjects.
C. The narrator constantly thought about war
D. The narrator constantly thought about Whitaker’s Almanack
Ans. B. The narrator’s thoughts jump from the mark to unrelated topics, reflecting on a variety of subjects.
Q7. In which month did the narrator see the mark on the wall?
A. January
B. December
C. February
D. March
Ans. A. January
Q8. What brings back the narrator to reality?
A. Neighbours
B. Whitaker Almanack
C. The Whitaker’s Table of Precedency
D. The mark on the wall
Ans. D. The mark on the wall
Q9. What is the mode of narration in ‘Mark on the Wall’?
A. omniscient
B. Objective
C. stream of consciousness.
D. direct address
Ans. C. stream of consciousness.
Q10. What was the last thing the Colonel thought about before dying?
A. His career
B. His family
C. His life
D. The camp and arrowhead
Ans. D. The camp and Arrowhead
Q11. What does she think she might gain if she realises what the mark is?
A. Knowledge
B. Anxiety
C. Contentment
D. Fear
Ans. A. Knowledge
Q12. What is referred to as a ‘scraping paring affair’?
A. Colonels
B. Life and desires
C. Life and Nature
D. Life and Whitaker’s Almanack
Ans. B. Life and desires
Q13. How would the world be without Whitaker’s Almanack?
A. Hierarchical
B. Political disharmony
C. Tranquil
D. War
Ans. C. Tranquil
Q14. What is the Table of Precedency?
A. A formal protocol list that determines the presidents
B. An informal protocol list that determines the presidents
C. An informal protocol list that determines the order of rank
D. A formal protocol list that determines the order of rank
Ans. D. A formal protocol list that determines the order of rank
Q15. Why newspapers weren’t worth buying?
A. It’s all about politics
B. It’s all about war
C. It’s costly
D. Nothing relevant
Ans. B. It’s all about war
Q16. What does the narrator love to think about?
A. Colonels
B. The Whitaker Table of Precedency
C. Whitaker Almanack
D. Nature
Ans. D. Nature
Q17. Who wrote ‘Wall on the Mark’?
A. William Faulkner
B. Dorothy Richardson
C. James Joyce
D. Virginia Woolf
Ans. D. Virginia Woolf
Q18. What is the primary focus of the narrator’s attention in “The Mark on the Wall”?
A. War impact on the mind of the narrator
B. The mark on the wall
C. Her neighbour’s viewpoint on art
D. A philosophical debate about the nature of reality.
Ans. B. The mark on the wall
Q19. Who coined the term ‘Stream of Consciousness’?
A. William Faulkner
B. Virginia Woolf
C. Dorothy Richardson
D. James Joyce
Ans. B. Virginia Woolf
Q20. Which literary technique Virginia Woolf used in Mark of the Wall?
A. Unreliable Narrator
B. Bildungsroman
C. Picaresque
D. Stream of Consciousness
Ans. D. Stream of Consciousness
CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 2- The Mark on the Wall Extract-Based Questions
Answer the following extract-based questions.
A.
Perhaps it was the middle of January in the present year that I first looked up and saw the mark on the wall. In order to fix a date it is necessary to remember what one saw. So now I think of the fire; the steady film of yellow light upon the page of my book; the three chrysanthemums in the round glass bowl on the mantelpiece. Yes, it must have been the winter time, and we had just finished our tea, for I remember that I was smoking a cigarette when I looked up and saw the mark on the wall for the first time. I looked up through the smoke of my cigarette and my eye lodged for a moment upon the burning coals, and that old fancy of the crimson flag flapping from the castle tower came into my mind, and I thought of the cavalcade of red knights riding up the side of the black rock. Rather to my relief the sight of the mark interrupted the fancy, for it is an old imagination, an automatic fancy, made as a child perhaps. The mark was a small round mark, black upon the white wall, about six or seven inches above the mantelpiece.
Q1. When did the narrator see the mark on the wall?
Ans. It was in the middle of January when the narrator first noticed the mark on the wall.
Q2. Which season did the narrator see the mark on the wall?
Ans. It was winter when the narrator saw the mark on the wall.
Q3. What does the mark look like?
Ans. The mark was a small round mark, black upon the white wall, about six or seven inches above the mantelpiece.
Q4. What did they fancy about while glancing up through the smoke from a cigarette?
Ans. The narrator glanced up through the smoke from a cigarette and saw for a moment on the glowing coals an old imagination of the crimson flag fluttering from the castle tower, along with thoughts of the procession of red knights walking or riding on the horse ascending the side of the dark rock.
Q5. What did the narrator notice about the surroundings while looking at the mark on the wall?
Ans. The narrator thinks back to the fire, the steady yellow glow on the page of my book, and the three chrysanthemums (daisy plant) in the round glass vase on the mantelpiece.
B.
How readily our thoughts swarm upon a new object, lifting it a little way, as ants carry a blade of straw so feverishly, and then leave it… If that mark was made by a nail, it can’t have been for a picture; it must have been for a miniature—the miniature of a lady with white powdered curls, powder-dusted cheeks, and lips like red carnations. A fraud of course, for the people who had this house before us would have chosen pictures in that way—an old picture for an old room. That is the sort of people they were—very interesting people, and I think of them so often, in such queer places, because one will never see them again, never know what happened next. They wanted to leave this house because they wanted to change their style of furniture, so he said, and he was in the process of saying that in his opinion art should have ideas behind it when we were torn asunder, as one is torn from the old lady about to pour out tea and the young man about to hit the tennis ball in the back garden of the suburban villa as one rushes past in the train.
Q1. Why did the person before the narrator leave the house?
Ans. They wished to leave the house because they aimed to update their furniture style, as the person who was living before the narrator had mentioned.
Q2. Why does the narrator dismiss the idea that the mark on the wall was left by a nail?
Ans. The narrator thought that if a mark was left by a nail, it couldn’t have been for a painting; it must have been intended for a miniature, which could be a small portrait of a lady with elegantly styled white curls, cheeks dusted with powder, and lips resembling red flowers. It’s a deception, for the previous owners of this house would have likely selected artworks that matched the room’s age as such was the nature of those fascinating individuals.
Q3. What was the reason the narrator first thought about it when she first saw the mark on the wall?
Ans. The narrator thought that the mark on the wall was left by the nail for a miniature.
Q4. What was the person who lived before the narrator thought about art?
Ans. From the perspective of the person who lived before the narrator, art should convey underlying concepts.
Q5. How did the Wolf emphasize the fickle human mental process in the given context?
Ans. Woolf first compared the thoughts to ants energetically transporting a piece of straw, as how quickly people’s minds move toward a new subject, raising it momentarily only to abandon it afterwards. Similarly, the reference to ‘torn asunder’ is a metaphor for the stream of consciousness. The ‘torn asunder’ can describe the abrupt, violent, and fragmented nature of thoughts and feelings as they flow through the mind, mirroring the discontinuous and often chaotic nature of real-life thought processes.
C.
No, no, nothing is proved, nothing is known. And if I were to get up at this very moment and ascertain that the mark on the wall is really—what shall we say? the head of a gigantic old nail, driven in two hundred years ago, which has now, owing to the patient attrition of many generations of housemaids, revealed its head above the coat of paint, and is taking its first view of modern life in the sight of a white walled fire-lit room, what should I gain?—Knowledge? Matter for further speculation? I can think sitting still as well as standing up. And what is knowledge? What are our learned men save the descendants of witches and hermits who crouched in caves and woods brewing herbs, interrogating shrew-mice and writing down the language of the stars? And the less we honour them as our superstitions dwindle and our respect for beauty and health of mind increases… Yes, one could imagine a very pleasant world. A quiet, spacious world, with the flowers so red and blue in the open fields. A world without professors or specialists or house-keepers with the profiles of policemen, a world which one could slice with one’s thought as a fish slices the water with his fin, grazing the stems of the waterlilies, hanging suspended over nests of white sea eggs… How peaceful it is down here, rooted in the centre of the world and gazing up through the grey waters, with their sudden gleams of light, and their reflections—if it were not for Whitaker’s Almanack*—if it were not for the Table of Precedency!
Q1. What does the narrator mean by the line ‘a world which one could slice with one’s thought as a fish slices the water with his fin, grazing the stems of the waterlilies, hanging suspended over nests of white sea eggs’?
Ans. A world without professors, experts or housekeepers resembling policemen, a world that one could slice through with thought just like a fish slices through the water with its fin, grazing the stems of the waterlilies, hovering above nests of white sea eggs.
Q2. What is the narrator’s opinion about knowledge?
Ans. The narrator pondered what she would achieve through the knowledge or from further pondering. She could think just as effectively sitting still as she could by standing up. She further questioned what is knowledge as the scholars are but the successors of witches and hermits who crowd together in caves and woods, mixing herbs, questioning shrew-mice, and recording the language of the stars. Moreover, the less one respects them people’s superstitions fade and our admiration for beauty and mental well-being rises.
Q3. What does the narrator mean by the lines ‘the head of a gigantic old nail, driven in two hundred years ago’?
Ans. If the narrator were to rise and discover that the mark on the wall is the top of a massive old nail, hammered two centuries ago, which has now, due to the untiring wear of countless generations of housemaids, exposed its head above the coat of paint, and is observing modern life for the first time in the view of a brightly lit room with white walls.
Q4. How does Woolf picture the world without Whitaker’s Almanack?
Ans. A world without professors, experts or housekeepers resembling policemen, a world that one could slice through with thought just like a fish slices through the water with its fin, grazing the stems of the waterlilies, hovering above nests of white sea eggs. The narrator pictured it as a tranquil world down there, grounded at the centre of the world, looking up through the grey waters, with their sudden flashes of light and their reflections, if it weren’t for Whitaker’s Almanack if it weren’t for the Table of Precedency.
Q5. What is the Table of Precedency?
Ans. A formal protocol list that determines the order of rank and importance for dignitaries, functionaries, and officials on ceremonial or state occasions, but it has no bearing on the day-to-day business of government.
D.
Indeed, now that I have fixed my eyes upon it, I feel that I have grasped a plank in the sea; I feel a satisfying sense of reality which at once turns the two Archbishops and the Lord High Chancellor to the shadows of shades. Here is something definite, something real. Thus, waking from a midnight dream of horror, one hastily turns on the light and lies quiescent, worshipping the chest of drawers, worshipping solidity, worshipping reality, worshipping the impersonal world which is a proof of some existence other than ours. That is what one wants to be sure of… Wood is a pleasant thing to think about. It comes from a tree, and trees grow, and we don’t know how they grow. For years and years they grow, without paying any attention to us, in meadows, in forests, and by the side of rivers—all things one likes to think about. The cows swish their tails beneath them on hot afternoons; they paint rivers so green that when a moorhen dives one expects to see its feathers all green when it comes up again. I like to think of the fish balanced against the stream like flags blown out; and of water beetles slowly raising domes of mud upon the bed of the river. I like to think of the tree itself: first the close dry sensation of being wood; then the grinding of the storm; then the slow, delicious ooze of sap. I like to think of it, too, on winter’s nights standing in the empty field with all leaves close-furled, nothing tender exposed to the iron bullets of the moon, a naked mast upon an earth that goes tumbling, tumbling all night long. The song of birds must sound very loud and strange in June; and how cold the feet of insects must feel upon it, as they make laborious progresses up the creases of the bark, or sun themselves upon the thin green awning of the leaves, and look straight in front of them with diamond-cut red eyes… One by one the fibres snap beneath the immense cold pressure of the earth, then the last storm comes and, falling, the highest branches drive deep into the ground again. Even so, life isn’t done with; there are a million patient, watchful lives still for a tree, all over the world, in bedrooms, in ships, on the pavement, living rooms, where men and women sit after tea, smoking cigarettes. It is full of peaceful thoughts, happy thoughts, this tree. I should like to take each one separately—but something is getting in the way… Where was I? What has it all been about? A tree? A river? The Downs? Whitaker’s Almanack? The fields of asphodel? I can’t remember a thing. Everything’s moving, falling, slipping, vanishing… There is a vast upheaval of matter.
Someone is standing over me and saying:
‘I’m going out to buy a newspaper.’
‘Yes?’
‘Though it’s no good buying newspapers… Nothing ever happens. Curse this war; God damn this war!… All the same, I don’t see why we should have a snail on our wall.’
Ah, the mark on the wall! It was a snail…
Q1. What turns out to be the mark on the wall?
Ans. Snail turns out to be the mark on the wall.
Q2. Who told the narrator about the snail on the wall?
Ans. Someone who is living with the narrator as it is referred to as ‘our wall’.
Q3. What does the narrator enjoy thinking about?
Ans. She enjoys thinking about wood, which comes from trees that grow quietly in meadows, forests, rivers and all the nice places. Cows relax under trees on hot days, and the rivers look lush and green. She imagines fish floating in the water and water beetles making mud homes on the riverbed. The tree starts dry and strong, survives storms, and has a slow flow of sap.
Q4. What was the narrator looking for?
Ans. The narrator was looking for a sense of reality, which is the mark on the wall. This sense of reality makes everything else, like the Archbishops and the Lord High Chancellor, fade away. It’s like waking up from a bad dream and turning on the light, feeling secure with the familiar things around her. This is the certainty she’s searching for.
Q5. What brings back the narrator to the sense of reality?
Ans. The mark on the wall brings back the narrator to the sense of reality.