―Nobody knows my name is the title of one of James Baldwin‘s celebrated books. Who knows the name of the old man sitting amidst ruins pondering over his hubble-bubble? We do not. It does not matter. He is there like the North Pole, Everest and the Alps but with one difference. The North Pole, Everest, and the Alps will be there when he is not there any more.
Can we really say this? ―Dust thou art and unto dust thou returneth was not spoken of the soul. We do not know whether the old man‘s soul will go marching on like John Brown‘s while his body lies moldering in the grave or becomes ash driven by the wind or is immersed in water – such speculation is hazardous.
A soul‘s trip can take one to the treacherous shoals of metaphysics where there is no ―yes or ―no. ―Who am I? asked Tagore of the rising sun in the first dawn of his life. He received no answer. ―Who am I? he asked the setting sun in the last twilight of his life. He received no answer. We are no longer on solid ground with dust which we can feel on our hands, scatter to the wind and wet with water to turn it into mud.
For this much is sure, that in the end, when life‘s ceaseless labour grinds to a halt and man meets death, the brother of sleep, his body buried or burnt, becomes dust. In the form of dust he lives, inanimate yet in contact with the animate. He settles on files in endless government almirahs, on manuscripts written and not published on all shelves, on faces and hands. He becomes ubiquitous, all pervasive, sometimes sneaking even into hermetically sealed chambers.
1.What is the difference between the old man and the North Pole, Everest and the Alps?
(A) He ponders over his hubble-bubble while they don‘t
(B) they are known to all while he is known to all while he is known to none
(C) they remain while he will soon become dust
(D) they are not as old as he
2.What according to the passage, happens to a person‘s soul after death?
(A) The soul also dies with the body
(B) The soul continues to live after the body is dead
(C) The soul certainly becomes dust after death
(D) It is dangerous to guess
3.Which of the following statements is true?
(A) The rising sun told Tagore who he was
(B) The rising sun did not tell Tagore who he was
(C) The rising sun advised Tagore to ask no questions.
(D) The rising sun told Tagore that he would become dust
4. What happens to man after he becomes dust?
(A) He disappears from the world for ever
(B) He appears in the form of man again
(C) He becomes all pervasive as dust
(D) He often sneaks into hermetically sealed chambers.
5.What figure of speech is used in the expression ―the brother of sleep‖?
(A) Simile (B) Metaphor
(C) Oxymoron (D) Personification
ANSWER
1.C) they remain while he will soon become dust
2. D) It is dangerous to guess
3. (B) The rising sun did not tell Tagore who he was
4. He becomes all pervasive as dust
5. (B) Metaphor
YOU MAY LIKE THIS POSTS