Welcome to “A Doctor’s Journal Workbook Ans : ICSE Treasure Chest (Evergreen),” where we explore the profound and evocative poem “A Doctor’s Journal,” featured in the ICSE English Literature Treasure Chest by Evergreen Publications. This post offers meticulously crafted answers to multiple-choice and contextual questions, deepening your understanding of the harrowing experiences captured in this powerful narrative.
Through careful analysis, we unravel the poem’s essence, highlighting the emotional journey of the doctor as he navigates the aftermath of a devastating event. Each question serves as a gateway to dissect the text, urging readers to explore the poem’s structure, vivid imagery, and the intense emotions conveyed by the poet. Contextual inquiries broaden our understanding, inviting critical engagement with the themes of human suffering, resilience, and the impact of war.
By delving into this examination, readers sharpen their analytical skills and gain a profound appreciation for the poem’s literary craftsmanship and the universal themes it addresses. Whether you are a student navigating the ICSE English Literature syllabus or a poetry enthusiast exploring powerful narratives, “ICSE Treasure Chest: A Doctor’s Journal Workbook Answers” promises to be a valuable companion. Join us on this literary journey as we illuminate the path to understanding, one workbook solution at a time.
Table of Contents
Poem In Details :
The poem is narrated by a doctor. It was dawn and the doctor was half-clad as he had just got up from bed. He stretched out his arms and looked at the leaves of trees in the garden. Suddenly there were two strong flashes of light, one after the other. The roof and the walls of his house collapsed. Debris was scattered all over. The doctor found that his drawers and undershirt had disappeared. He was badly wounded. He called out to his wife. She came out holding her elbow which had pobably become dislocated. He assured her that they would be fine.
The couple came out of the house. On their way they stumbled over the head of a man who was crushed to death. There were more scenes of horror and destruction on the way. The couple saw a house that ’tilted’ and ‘swayed’. They realized that they should go to a hospital. The doctor was panting and thirsty but he did not stop. He was naked but strangely felt no shame. He asked his wife to go ahead alone. His wife reluctantly obeyed.
The doctor found that his body was failing, though his mind was active. On the way, he saw shadow-like appearances. Some looked like ghosts and some scarecrows. Some of the victims were walking with their arms hanging loose from their body. There were a number of such injured people, going to the hospital. There was a woman with a child, both naked. The doctor realized that something strange had happened and that had burnt down people’s clothes. The people were badly wounded but there was eerie silence. No one was uttering a word or a cry of pain.
Line Wise Explanation :
Lines 1-4
The speaker (a doctor), out in his garden, describes what he saw on that fateful day. It was a calm, pleasant morning. The doctor was half-clad as he was enjoying a relaxed day. He looked at the leaves shaking and shadows. Then all of a sudden there was a strong flash of light, followed by another. It surprised and shocked him.
Lines 5-13
The lines refer to a horrible scene. The doctor saw his stone lantern was lit by something. He thought they must be magnesium flares. Soon the roof and the walls of his house fell down in a heap of wood. There was dust rising up from the pile. The doctor was shocked to find himself naked; his drawers and the undershirt that he was wearing were gone. A small piece of wood was sticking out of his thigh. His right side was bleeding profusely, and so was his cheek. He dispassionately pulled out a shard of glass from his torn cheek. All this time he was trying to comprehend what had happened.
Lines 14-25
As the speaker was trying to understand what had happened, he wondered where his wife was. He called her aloud, “Where are you, Yecko-san?” He found that his artery was punctured and was bleeding. He feared he would die. He again called out to his wife in panic. Yecko-san, weak, frightened and blood-stained, holding her elbow. appeared. The doctor assured her that they would be all right and suggested her going out of the house immediately. On their way in the street they tripped on by something-it was the head of a dead man who had been crushed under a gate. The couple stood him, scared.
Lines 26-35
The couple saw before them a house that tilted, swayed and fell down with a crash Fire rose up from the heap of dust and was spread by the wind. The couple realized as they were injured they must go to a hospital. The doctor’s selflessness comes to fore when we learn as to how in his own precarious condition he thought of helping his staff. Though he did not know how he could help them. His legs failed him as he had this thought. He sat down. He was thirsty and tired. His breath was short. Then he got up to go. It shows his strong will to survive.
Lines 36-45
The realization that he was naked strangely made the doctor feel no shame. It was such a situation in which one could not bother about social niceties and traditions. A soldier handed him a towel to wrap his legs. He failed to do so because his legs had gone stiff with dried blood. In desperation, he asked his wife to go on ahead. She reluctantly obeyed him. After she had left him, the doctor was suddenly seized by a dreadful loneliness. His body was failing his still agile mind.
Lines 46-53
What the doctor saw was horrifying. Some people looked like ghosts as they walked. Some others looked scarecrows. All were dumb. Their arms were stretched out as they walked. The friction on their burns caused them much pain, so they could not bear to touch their wounds. They were all heading towards the hospital for some possible help.
Lines 54-63
The doctor then saw a woman with a child; both were naked. An absurd idea flashed across the speaker’s mind: had they come straight from their bath? It was, of course, a silly idea. Again, he saw another naked man. Then he had the realization that some strange thing had deprived them of all of their clothes. There was then an old woman lying on the ground, writhing with pain, but she made no sound. In fact, all the victims, including the doctor-speaker, were silent. No one uttered a word or a cry of pain.
These horrifying images reveal the deadly aspect of war. We feel revulsion for those war-mongers who cause such mass-scale destruction and damage.
Workbook MCQs :
Read the following questions and select the correct option:
1. Select the option that shows a correct relationship between statement (1) statement (2).
1. Blood gushed out of the narrator’s neck.
2. He feared bleeding to death.
(a) 1 is a contradiction of 2.
(b) 1 is an explanation of 2.
(c) 1 is an example of 2.
(d) 1 is the cause for 2.
Answer :- (d) 1 is the cause for 2.
2. Which of these statements is NOT true about the narrator?
(a) he was weak and timid.
(b) He was dazed.
(c) He was confused.
(d) He was trying to understand the situation.
Answer :- (a) he was weak and timid.
3. ……. My mind
Ran at high speed, my body crept behind.
Which of the following lines contains the same literary device as the one in the lines given above.
(a) All the world’s stage
(b) Death, be not proud
(c) Some sat/poised like mud grenades
(d) For who can bear to feel himself forgotten
Answer :- (b) Death, be not proud
4. What seemed to be at odd in the midst of all pain, loss and destruction to the narrator?
(a) scenes of dead bodies
(b) shrieks and cries of the victims
(c) silence of the victims
(d) heaps of wood and dust
Answer :- (c) silence of the victims
5. Where are you, Yecko-san?”
Which of the following words best describes the narrator’s state of mind?
(a) happy
(b) alarmed
(c) exicted
(d) frustrated
Answer :- (b) alarmed
6. Who is the speaker in the poem?
(a) the poet
(b) a wounded person
(c) a doctor
(d) none of the above
Answer :- (b) a wounded person
7. What kind of morning was referred to by the doctor?
(a) hot and sultry
(b) rainy
(c) calm and warm
(d) chilly
Answer :- (c) calm and warm
8. Which of these statements is NOT true?
(a) The doctor lit up his stone lantern.
(b) The doctor’s clothes were inexplicably gone.
(c) The doctor’s wife came out, numb and scared.
(d) One of the doctor’s cheeks was torn by a piece of glass.
Answer :- (a) The doctor lit up his stone lantern.
9. What was it that made the couple trip?
(a) a stone
(b) a dead body
(c) a piece of wood
(d) the head of a dead man
Answer :- (d) the head of a dead man
10. The idea of helping his staff reveals that the doctor was …….. by nature.
(a) generous
(b) conscientious and selfless
(c) silly
(d) weird
Answer :- (b) conscientious and selfless
11. The doctor’s wife left him quite ………
(a) reluctantly
(b) indifferently
(c) ruthlessly
(d) willingly
Answer :- (a) reluctantly
12. Who provided the towel to the doctor?
(a) a soldier
(c) a woman
(b) an injured man
(d) his wife
Answer :- (a) a soldier
13. ‘I was still naked, but I felt no shame’.
The line shows that the doctor was ……..
(a) shameless
(b) numb and dazed
(c) indifferent
(d) strong willed
Answer :- (b) numb and dazed
14. How did the doctor feel when his wife had gone?
(a) sad
(b) sorrowful
(c) terribly lonely
(d) cheerful
Answer :- (c) terribly lonely
15. What kind of tone is adopted by the speaker ?
(a) sentimental
(b) detached
(c) ironic
(d) sarcastic
Answer :- (b) detached
Comprehension Passages :
Passage – 1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Suddenly
A strong flash, then another, startled me.
I saw the old stone lantern brightly lit. Magnesium flares? While I debated it, The roof, the walls and, as it seemed, the world Collapsed in timber and debris, dust swirled Around me in the garden now – and, weird, My drawers and undershirt disappeared.
(I) Who is the speaker? Where was he at the moment? What pleased him?
Answer :- The speaker isa doctor. He was in the garden of his house. The pleasant morning, calm, beautiful and warm, pleased him.
(II) What happened suddenly? What thought came across the speaker’s mind?
Answer :- Suddenly strong flashes, one after the other, appeared. The thought of magnesium flares came across the speaker’s mind. He could not think that they were flashes before the nuclear explosion.
(III) What happened to the house and the speaker’s clothes?
Answer :- The walls and the roof collapsed into timber and debris. The speaker’s clothes just disappeared.
(IV) Whom did he call later in panic? What were his fears ?
Answer :- The speaker called his wife aloud in panic. He feared she was no more.
(V) Describe the physical condition of the doctor and his wife.
Answer :- The doctor was badly injured. His right side was bleeding. His cheek was torn. The artery in his neck seemed to have punctured. His wife was frightened and bloodstained. Her elbow seemed to have been dislocated.
Passage – 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
A splinter jutted from my mangled thigh.
My right side bled, my cheek was torn, and I Dislodged, detachedly, a piece of glass,
All the time wondering what had come to pass.
Where was my wife? Alarmed, I gave a shout,
‘Where are you, Yecko-san?’ My blood gushed out.
The artery in my neck? Scared for my life, I called out, panic-stricken, to my wife.
(I) What had happened on that calm morning?
Answer :- A nuclear bomb had exploded that calm morning, causing all-round destruction, killing and injuring a large number of people.
(II) What did the doctor notice about his injuries?
Answer :- The doctor noticed that the right side of his body was bleeding. His cheek was torn. A sharp piece of glass had pierced his body. He feared the artery in his neck had been punctured.
(III) Why did the doctor think he would die?
Answer :- The doctor thought he would die as a result of excessive blood loss due to the injury to his artery in the neck.
(IV) What did the doctor decide? What happened as he and his wife came out their house?
Answer :- The doctor decided to come out of their house. As he and his wife came out of their house, they fell, tripped by the head of a dead person.
(V) What should have been a cause of shame to the speaker? Why did he not feed any shame ?
Answer :- The speaker’s nakedness should have been a cause of shame to him. However, he felt no shame as he was totally dazed and numbed.
Passage – 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Pale, bloodstained, frightened, Yecko-san emerged, Holding her elbow. ‘We’ll be fine,’ I urged – ‘Let’s get out quickly. Stumbling to the street We fell, tripped by something at our feet. I gasped out, when I saw it was a head: ‘Excuse me, please excuse me – He was dead: A gate had crushed him. There we stood, afraid.
(I) Where was the speaker? Why was he afraid of his life ?
Answer :- The speaker was in the garden of his house. He was afraid for his life because blood was gushing out of his artery in the neck.
(II) Why did the speaker have to assure his wife that they would be fine?
Answer :- As his wife was in a very bad condition, the speaker had to assure her that they would be fine.
(III) What startled them on the way?
Answer :- On the way they saw horrible scenes. A house collapsed before their eyes. There was a dead man crushed by a gate. A fire rose from the debris and was soon spread by the wind.
(IV) Why did the doctor feel no shame at his nakedness?
Answer :- The doctor was so dazed and numbed that he felt no shame at his nakedness.
(V) What did the doctor notice about the wounded people heading towards the hospital?
Answer :- The doctor noticed that the wounded people were heading towards the hospital with outstretched arms to avoid touching the painful wounds causing more pain.
Passage – 4
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
My breath was short, but bit by bit my strength
Seemed to revive, and I got up at length.
I was still naked, but I felt no shame.
This thought disturbed me somewhat, till I came
Upon a soldier, standing silently, Who gave the towel round his neck to me My legs, stiff with dried blood, rebelled. I said To Yecko-san she must go on ahead.
(I) Who was the speaker by profession ? Who was with him? Where were they going and why?
Answer :- The speaker was a doctor by profession. His wife was with him. They were going to the hospital to seek some medical aid as they were badly wounded.
(II) How did he feel about his physical condition at the time?
Answer :- He was in a naked condition. He felt no shame as he was hardly conscious of his nakedness. He was quite dazed and benumbed.
(III) ‘I was still naked, but I felt no shame’. What does this statement reveal about the speaker’s state of mind?
Answer :- This statement reveals that the speaker was dazed and benumbed by the shock of the event. He was not in a normal state of mind, so he felt no shame.
(IV) Why did he ask his wife to leave him and go ahead ?
Answer :- He wanted his wife to leave him and go ahead as he was unable to keep pace with her due to his injuries and weakness. Perhaps, he wanted to be alone for some time.
(V) What did he observe about a woman with a child later in the extract?
Answer :- He observed that the woman and her child were both naked as if they had come straight from the bath.
Passage – 5
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
My mind
Ran at high speed, my body crept behind.
I saw the shadowy forms of people, some
Were ghosts, some scarecrows, all were wordless dumb –
Arms stretched straight out, shoulder to dangling hand;
It took some time for me to understand
The friction on their burns caused so much pain.
(I) Why was the doctor’s wife reluctant to leave him?
Answer :- The doctor’s wife did not want to leave him alone. So she was reluctant to go ahead.
(II) ‘My mind/Ran at high speed, my body crept behind’. What does this reveal about the speaker’s condition?
Answer :- The statement reveals that though his mind was quite alert and agile, his body was quite weak and tired. Though his mind wanted him to run to the hospital for aid, his body failed him.
(III) What did people look like? What had happened to them?
Answer :- The people looked like ghosts and scarecrows. They had injured and distorted bodies as a result of the nuclear explosion.
(IV) Why were some people moving with outstretched hands?
Answer :- Some people were moving with outstretched arms. They wanted to avoid touching their painful wounds with their arms, as the pain increased with any touch.
(V) What common thing among the victims of the holocaust was noticed by the doctor on his way to the hospital?
Answer :- All the victims of the holocaust were in deep shock and silence. They were all in naked condition.
Passage – 6
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
A woman with a child stand in my path – Both naked. Had they come back from the bath? I turned my gaze, but was at a loss That she should stand thus, till I came across A naked man – and now the thought arose That some strange thing had stripped us of our clothes.
The face of an old woman on the ground
Was marred with suffering, but she made no sound.
Silence was common to us all. I heard
No cries of anguish, or a single word.
(I) What had happened on that fateful day? What had happened to the speaker?
Answer :- On that fateful day a nuclear bomb had exploded. The speaker was badly injured and shocked. He found himself naked as all clothes on his body were gone.
(II) Why did the speaker ask his wife to come out of the house immediately?
Answer :- The speaker asked his wife to come out of the house immediately as the house could collapse any time.
(III) What did he observe on the way to the hospital?
Answer :- He observed that people who were badly injured were silently going towards the hospital for medical treatment. They were all shocked and naked. They looked like ghosts and scarecrows.
(IV) What was the doctor’s reaction on seeing a woman with a child, both naked? Was it appropriate in the context?
Answer :- The doctor’s reaction was that the woman and her child seemed to have come from the bath. This was not an appropriate reaction, as both were naked, like others. Their clothes had disappeared.
(V) Explain the last two lines of the extract.
Answer :- The shock of the incident was so intense that all the people had gone into deep silence. It was the silence of shock. It was a mystery that even those who had painful injuries uttered no word or gave any cry of anguish.
