Welcome to your essential study guide for Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve’s The Medicine Bag, featured in the ISC Class 11 & 12 English Literature syllabus. This blog provides detailed The Medicine Bag workbook answers : ISC Prism (Evergreen) solutions to help you explore this touching intergenerational story of cultural heritage and identity.
Table of Contents
About The Story :
‘The Medicine Bag’ is a story about a young boy Martin’s relationship with his grandfather who actually represents the cultural past of their family. The narrator Martin’s mother is a Native American but his father is a white man. His grandfather is from Sioux, South Dakota belonging to Lakota tribe.
Martin and his sister Charyl visit their eight-six year old great grandfather on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota every summer. On their return to Iowa, where they live, they often depict a very impressive picture of their grandpa and the place he belongs to. They bring beautiful and wonderful things from that place to show to their friends. Their friends are fascinated by all the details about grandpa and the place he lives in.
The young boy Martin has never shown any picture of his grandpa to his friends. The old man does not look like the way such people I.e. Indians are shown on Television or in films. Therefore when his Grandpa actually comes to visit them, Martin feels upset. He feels embarrassed by Grandpa’s behaviour in the street when dogs bark at him. He runs into street to meet the old man. Grandpa greets Martin in a traditional way.
Martin’s mother feels shocked that the old man had come from South Dakota to lowa just to meet them. She avoids hugging the old man while greeting him . She thinks that her hugging the old man will not be considered dignified. But the little girl Charyl goes and hugs the old man.
When the young boy helps his grandpa into bed, he realizes that the old man is very weak. He finds a leather pouch around Grandpa’s neck. As he removes Grandpas boots, he finds them stuffed with money. A doctor visits and tells that the old man was suffering from heat exhaustion. After taking some soup the old man tells the purpose of his visit. He felt lonely and decided to visit Martin’s family as they were his only surviving relatives. He describes the way a policeman helped him take a bus and he finally reached the street where these people lived. All in the family feel guilty that Grandpa faced difficulties in reaching them. Martin has a feeling of respect for the old man who bravely set out to the unknown place.
Grandpa tells the family that he had saved one hundred dollars for his funeral. This was the money he carried in his boots. Now eh wants them to spend the money on groceries as he does not want to be a burden on the family. Martin’s father realises his fault in never asking Grandpa to come to their house and live with them. But the old man says that earlier the time was not right to come to them. He believes that right time to visit the family had come now and he had come to hand over the medicine bag to Martin. The boy feels shocked that he will have to take the bag if it is offered to him.
Martin does not want his friends to come and meet the Grandpa. He fears the boys will not like him or his ways to conduct himself. But his friends come unannounced. Their meeting with the old man goes well and pleases them all. Grandpa tells Martin that he knew when the boys were to come. Therefore, he was formally dressed to welcome Martin’s friends. They were quite respectful to the oldman and felt impressed by him . Martin’s thoughts about Grandpa change completely.
The Grandpa tells Martin that the medicine bag is to be given to a man. He tells the story about the medicine bag and the quest of his own father. During his vision quest he (Grandpa’s father) had found an Iron Shell in an old campfire which he put into an elk skin bag made for the quest. The old man was later sent to a boarding school where he learnt the trade of blacksmithing. Iron Shell gave the bag to Grandpa. But grandpa wanted to give his bag to Martin as his own son had died in War. Martin’s earlier fears of wearing the medicine disappear as he waits for the Grandpa to put it over his head. After Grandpa’s death the family brings him to the Reservation for burial. Martin puts a piece of sacred prairie sage into the bag. It signifies that Martin has accepted his heritage.
Workbook MCQs :
(I) The narrator and his family lived in :
(a) lowa
(b) Dakota
(c) Italy
(d) India
Answer :- (d) India
(II) On one of his visits Grandpa gave Martin :
(a) moccasins
(b) a horse
(c) a decorated drum
(d) a golden ball
Answer :- (b) a horse
(III) They had not shown Grandpa’s picture to their friends because :
(a) they were ashamed of him
(b) the glorious tales told about him did not match him.
(c) they did not have any picture of their Grandpa
(d) Mom had asked the children not to show the picture to anyone.
Answer :- (b) the glorious tales told about him did not match him
(IV) When Grandpa came to visit Martin’s family, Martin :
(a) was very happy
(b) could not recognize him
(c) felt ashamed and embarrassed
(d) went out to tell his friends
Answer :- (a) was very happy
(V) Grandpa carried with him :
(a) a tin suit case
(b) a gold chain
(c) a big ball
(d) a beautiful toy for Martin’s sister
Answer :- (c) a big ball
(VI) The Grandpas’ get up and appearance :
(a) was out of place in Iowa
(b) did not look impressive and royal
(c) was quite natural at Martin’s place
(d) was disliked by all
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(VII) Martin picked up Grandpas’ suitcase and :
(a) asked him to go back
(b) told him to hide somewhere
(c) guided him to take him home
(d) informed his mother about Grandpa’s visit
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(VIII) Grandpa had saved the money :
(a) for Martin’s education
(b) to buy sweets for the children
(c) to donate
(d) for his own funeral
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(IX) Martin’s Dad felt sorry as :
(a) he had not gone to receive the old man
(b) he had not recognised Grandpa
(c) he had not helped the old man
(d) he had not thought of bringing Grandpa with them
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(X) The old man said that it was time for Martin to have the medicine bag :
(a) he wanted to pass on the bag to the oldest male child
(b) as Martin was ready to keep it
(c) because grandpa thought that he was going to die
(d) Both (a) and (c)
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
Logic Based Questions :
(I) Martin who lived in the city did not know the reality about the Indians because he knew about Indians only from movies and TV.
(II) Martin never showed his Grandpa’s picture to his friends because the glamorous tales they told about him did not match his picture.
(III) Martin thinks that his friends would have laughed at Grandpas’ picture because grandpa did not look as good as the Indians looked in TV or movies, his friends had seen.
(IV) Martin says, ‘I was os ashamed and embarrassed I could have died’ because he did not want that his friends should know that the grandfather lived all the himself in a poor house in the Rosebud Reservation.
(V) Now it sounded as if a whole pack of mutts were barking together in one place Martin says this because all the dogs were barking at the grandfather together. .
(VI) Grandpa’s get-up not out of place on the reservation, but it sure was there where Martin lived because [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(VII) At first, Martin seems to dislike the Grandpa’s visit to his place but after a few moments he guides the Grandpa to his house because [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(VIII) Grandpa’s shoes fit him very tight because [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(IX) Grandpa had saved one hundred dollars because [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(X) Martin’s Dad felt sorry because [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
Short Answer Questions :
1. What does the narrator say about his description of the Grandpa and the place he lived in ?
Answer :- The narrator had described the grandfather in a way that made him look glorious. In fact he was not like that. The narrator exaggerated details about the place where the grandfather lived. He did not talk about the Grandfather living in a poor hut in the Reservation. His description of the grandfather and the place he lived in was far from reality.
2. Describe the things Martin got from Grandpa during one of his visits.
Answer :- Martin’s grandfather would gift different things to him whenever he visited the old man. During one of his visits the grandfather gave him a small, round, flat rawhide drum. It was decorated with a painting of a warrior riding a horse. He gave Martin a leather covered stick to treat the drum.
3. Give some details about Grandpa’s appearance the narrator provides.
Answer :- Grandfather had always lived in a Reservation in a poor hut. He was unlike the Indians shown in the TV. He was not tall and stately. He had stringy gray strands of hair on his neck. He was an old man with leather brown complexion. He wore a black coat, a bright red satin shirt. The dress he wore was out of place at the place where Martin lived. He always carried a tin suitcase with him. When he visited the narrator’s place, he was wearing cowboy boots and there was a small leather pouch that hung round his neck.
4. Under what circumstances the narrator went to his Grandpa in the street and guided him to his house ?
Answer :- There are a number of dogs in Martin’s neighbourhood. One day a number of these dogs started barking together in one place. Martin ran out to see what was happening there. He saw a crowd of children yelling with the dogs around someone who was walking down the middle of the street. He found that it was his Grandpa. Martin stood there while the people in the neighbourhood surrounded the old man. Under these circumstances, Martin went to his Granda in the street and guided him to his house.
5. What happened when the narrator’s friends met Grandpa ?
Answer :- Martin’s friends often expressed the desire to meet Grandpa but he deliberately avoided this. He did not want them to laugh at his grandfather. When his friends came to meet Grandpa, he told them how he had killed a deer from which his vest was made. They were amazed and listened to him respectfully. They looked quite impressed by him. They left quite happy and expressed a desire to visit the old man once again.
6. Give an account of Grandpa’s Journey from Dakota to lowa.
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
7. How and what did the narrator find in Grandpa’s boots ?
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
8. What does Grandpa say about the money he has saved ?
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9. How did Martin feel when Grandpa told that he was to handover the medicine bag to him ?
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
10. What did Grandpa carry in the leather pouch around his neck ?
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
Long Answer Questions :
1. Explain the reason of Martin’s feeling upset on finding his Grandpa there near his house.
Answer :- Martin describes his Grandpa in glorious terms. He does not say anything about the poor conditions at the Reservation where Grandpa lived. Martin’s friends do not know the reality about the Indians like Grandpa. They have seen these people in TV and movies only. Martin always talks high about Grandpa and his personality. He knows this clearly. One day he finds his Grandpa actually visiting his place. It upsets him a lot. He fears that his friends will make fun of his grandfather. The typical appearance and behaviour of Grandpa being totally different from what he has told his friends troubles him. These feelings embarrass him. He thinks that his friends will criticize him, and the thought that they will make fun of the old man upsets him a lot.
2. How does the narrator describe the commotion in the street at the time of Grandpa’s arrival there ?
Answer :- The arrival of the narrator’s Grandpa in the street near Martin’s house causes a lot of commotion. The narrator heard the dogs barking together. These dogs usually barked at the mailman, but their creating a lot of noise prompted the narrator to go and see the reason of their making such a noise. The narrator came out and saw small children yelling and the dogs growling around someone. The crowd looked like a procession. In the center of this procession was a man wearing a tall black hat. He looked at the houses on either side of the street. Ultimately, he recognizes the old man. It turns out to be his Grandpa. The moment he recognizes the old man as his Grandpa, he runs to rescue him from the dogs. He kicked the dogs and sent them away. He guided his Grandpa to his house.
3. What happens before Grandpa is taken to the bed ?
Answer :- Martin took his Grandpa to his house after rescuing him from the dogs. He noticed fatigue on the old man’s face. His mother looked at the grandfather, in disbelief. She ran towards Grandpa but checked her move to embrace the old man. She felt that it was not appropriate to display her affection for him in this way. It was a different culture and would embarrass the old man. The narrator’s younger sister Charyl comes and the old man hugs her to greet her. Immediately after this, the old man collapsed as he had fainted. The narrator’s mother helped him in carrying the old man to bed. In fact, before coming to their house, the old man had travelled a lot. His journey had been tiring and difficult. He had to travel by bus for two and a half days. His long Journey had been tiring and the encounter with street dogs had troubled him much before he was put on a bed to have rest.
4. Give an account of Grandpa’s Journey from Dakota to the narrator’s house.
Answer :- Martin’s Grandpa felt lonely and planned to visit the place where he lived with his family. They were the only living descendants of the old man. He had to face many problems on his way to Bell View Drive, the place where the family lived. At first, he had to journey by bus. He had to change buses during his two and a half days ‘travelling. On his arrival to the city, he did not know what to do. He was tired and stiff because of sitting for a long time in buses. He walked on to find the house where the family lived. The old man stopped to have rest on the steps of buildings. A policeman found him. He was a helpful and sympathetic person. He took Grandpa to the bus stop and told the driver to let Grandpa out at Bell View Drive. On reaching this place, he found himself surrounded by a number of dogs. His grandson Martin hears the dogs barking and comes out. He is surprised to find Grandpa there and takes him home.
5. Why does Grandpa want to give the medicine bag to Martin ? What is Martin’s reaction on learning this ?
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
6. Give a description of Grandpa’s outlook and behaviour after Martin’s friend Hank tells him about his brother’s meeting with the old man.
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7. Explain the vision quest of Grandpa’s father.
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8. Write a note on Iron Shell’s life.
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
