Introduction:- The Snake and the Mirror | English Literature for Grade 9 PDF Download

INTRODUCTION

This is an interesting story. It is about a doctor’s encounter with a snake. The doctor lived in a small rented room full of rats. One night, he was reading a book. A kerosene lamp was burning on the table. There was also a large mirror on the table. Suddenly something fell on the back of the chair. He turned to see what it was/He froze with fear when he saw that it was a big snake. The snake then coiled itself around the doctor’s left arm. The doctor prayed to God. Then the snake looked into the mirror on the table. Luckily, the snake liked its own image in the mirror. It wanted to have a closer look at its image. So it uncoiled itself from the arm and came on the table. The doctor at once got and ran out of the room. He spent the night at the house of one of his friends. The next morning he came back to his room. He was shocked to find that during the night some thief had taken away everything from his room.

THEME

The humorous anecdote revolves around the theme of human vanity and fears and how they affect people. The narrator is a homeopath doctor who is struggling with his poverty and sluggish practice. Nonetheless, he is vain about his looks with or without his mustache and beard and has the ambition of looking more and more handsome. He also hopes to marry and lead a happy life. The sudden arrival of a snake on the scene turns him pale with fear, but somehow he manages to keep his calm. Meanwhile, attracted by the mirror, the snake decides to ignore him. The narrator takes this opportunity to make good his escape. The snake appears to be almost as vain as the doctor himself. An allied theme in the story is how crises make people turn to God for help.

TITLE

The story is appropriately titled “The Snake and the Mirror”, for it relates an incident in which a snake is so enamored with its image in the mirror that it spares the life of the narrator. The entire action of the story revolves around the snake and the mirror. The main narrator, who is at the center of the narrative until the snake appears, turns into a marginal element who is affected by the action instead of affecting it. He has to be thankful for the mirror that the snake spared his life. Had the snake-bitten him, he would have surely died of fear and poison, for there was no medicine in his room for snake-bite.

WORD-MEANINGS

Coil = wind = लपेटना ; full-blooded = frightening = डरावना ; homeopath = a kind of doctor = होम्योपैथी का डॉक्टर ; attentively = with attention = ध्यान से ; meal = food = भोजन ; familiar = known = परिचित ; share = lived together = साथ रहना ; kerosene = paraffin oil = मिट्टी का तेल ; rented = hired = किराए का ; earnings = income = आमदनी ; meagre = small = तुच्छ ; possessed = had = रखता था ; solitary = only= एक मात्र अकेला ; vest = undergarment = बनियान ; facing = in front of = के सामने ; yard = open space at the front Of back of the house = आंगन ; supporting = giving the support = सहारा देने वाले ;  gable = three cornered part of a wall below the sloping roof= ढलान वाली छत के नीचे तीन कोनों वाली दीवार का भाग ; beam = rafter = शहतीर ; close = near = नजदीक ; Taken time off = on leave = छुट्टी पर ; beneath = under = नीचे ; beside = near = पास ; tempted = inclined = प्रेरित हुआ ; admirer = one who praises = प्रशंसक ; handsome = good looking = सुंदर ; adjusted = set = व्यवस्थित किया ; parting = division = भाग ; moustache = hair on the upper lip = मूंछ ; attractive = charming = आकर्षक ;  earth shaking = important = महत्वपूर्ण ;  bachelor = unmarried = कुंवारा ; paced = walked = चहलकदमी की ; up and down = from one side to the other = इधर –उधर ; plenty = much = काफी ;valid = proper =उचित ; silly = foolish = मूर्ख ; resumed = took again = फिर से लिया ; dull thud = heavy sound = भारी आवाज़ ; wriggled = made a sharp movement = बलखाते हुए आया ; Landed = came = आया ; simultaneous = at the same time = साथ – साथ ; tremble = shiver = कांपना ; slither = slip = फिसलना ; hood = the spread head of the snake = फन ; merely = only =केवल ;image = statue = मूर्ति ; drained of = without = के बिना ; flesh = flesh = माँस ; leaden = made of lead = दर्पण का ; molten = turned to liquid with fire = पिघला हुआ ; crushing = pressing hard =कुचलना ; lurked = hidden = छिपा हुआ ; struck = attacked = प्रहार किया ; feebly = weakly = कमजोरी से ; stupid = foolish = मूर्ख ;appreciated = valued = तारीफ करना , अच्छा समझना ; reflection = image = प्रतिबिंब; admiring = praising = प्रशंसा करना ; mascara = an item of cosmetics = एक सौंदर्य प्रसाधन ; vermilion = red lead = सिंदूर ; Male = masculine = पुल्लिंग ; female = feminine = स्त्रीलिंग ; unwound = uncoiled = अलग किया ;slithered = slid = फिसला ; crept = crawled = रेंगने लगा ; granite = stone = पत्थर ; veranda = veranda = बरामदा ; leapt = jumped = कूदा ; for all I was worth = with all my force = पूरी ताकत से ; willed = desired = इच्छा की ; reedy = very thin = बहुत पतला ; sprinter = racer = धावक ; smeared = applied = मला ; rascal = rogue = धूर्त ; rinse = wash = धोना I