The story The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 written by Muhammad Basheer revolves around a horrific incident that happened with a bachelor doctor who encountered a snake while admiring himself in the mirror. The doctor narrates the story and seems to take the situation humorously despite the danger. In this article, you can read about summary, notes, question answers, and the conclusion. you can download the pdf of the same.
Table of Contents
The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 Summary
The Snake and the Mirror”, written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, is a narrative inside a narrative. The Narrator of the Story is a homeopathic doctor who talks about his dangerous encounter with a snake while he was resting in his room. Being a doctor himself, he narrates this tale to some people about his feelings after having a face-to-face encounter with a huge snake. He begins the story with how he lived in a small rented room as a bachelor.
One hot summer evening, he was returning to his room after having a meal at a restaurant. Suddenly he heard a noise from the roof of his room that sounded familiar, but he ignored it. His rented room was in a terrible state where there was regular traffic of rats to and from the beam of his room. The tiled roof of his room was supported by gables which in turn were held up by the beam. As there was no electricity, he quickly took out a box of matches and lightened the kerosene lantern kept on his table. Since the homeopath’s income was comparatively low, he could not afford to stay in a plush house with clear surroundings.
He had around sixty rupees in his suitcase, a few shirts, and dhotis, and one solitary black coat he would often wear. Soon, he took off his coat, shirt, and vest and hung them up on a hanger. He opened the window of his room and made his bed, and pulled it closer to the wall. He tried to sleep but couldn’t due to the humid weather.
He rose from his bed to get some fresh air on the veranda, yet the weather was dry outside. He returned to his room, sat on a chair, opened a box beneath the table, and took out a book named ‘Materia Medica’ to read.
While he opened it to read it, there was a large mirror beside the lamp and a small comb kept near the mirror. Again, he heard the same noise above the roof, yet he ignored it. Who doesn’t like admiring oneself when they see themselves in the mirror? The doctor was no exception. So, as he began gazing at the mirror, he couldn’t help admiring himself and wanted to look more presentable. As he picked up the comb and adjusted the parting of his hair in a neat section, he started thinking he should work on his looks and always wear a smile.
Gradually, his chain of thought shifted from self- administration to marrying a bulky women doctor who would earn plenty of money and have an excellent medical practice. He wanted to marry a fat woman so that whenever he committed a blunder, she was unable to run after him and catch him. The doctor was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t pay heed to the pin-drop silence in his room, and the rats’ scurrying was suddenly interrupted. Furthermore, there was a sudden thud like a rubber tube on the ground.
He didn’t react to the sound at all. But just as he turned around, he saw a snake wriggling on the back of his chair that landed on his shoulder. The snake coiled on the doctor’s left arm above the elbow in no time. The snake was roughly a few inches away from his face. Consequently, the doctor was completely numb and remained still like a statue. At that moment, the doctor could feel that god might have punished him for his arrogance. He realized that he was a simple human being, and he should not have bragged about his looks.
While the doctor was lost in this realization, the snake slowly moved away from him and went closer to the mirror. As the snake observed itself in its reflection, it was filled with admiration for its own beauty. Seeing this, the doctor silently escaped from his room and ran for his life until he reached a friend’s house. The next morning he returned to his room to find that all his belongings had been robbed except the dirty vest hanging on the hanger.
As the doctor concluded this tale, the listeners were eager to know about the whereabouts of the snake and asked him several questions about it. The doctor finally wrapped the story stating that he never saw the snake again and assumed probably it was enticed by his own beauty.
The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 Notes
Introduction
The Brief introduction to the lesson and its Characters – The Story “Snake and the Mirror” is a subplot within a subplot. The writer tells us about a homoeopathic doctor who told him a story. As the title suggests, the snake and the mirror are the two most crucial characters in the narrative. When this homoeopathic doctor came upon a snake, the serpent bit him. The snake became more interested in its reflection in the mirror, and the doctor’s life was saved. Furthermore, a doctor in this novel remembers a time in his adolescence when he was single. On a sweltering summer night, the doctor arrives at his compartment and persuades while deep in thought.
The doctor was in the middle of it when he was suddenly attacked by a snake, which landed on him. The doctor went into shock, but the snake quickly noticed its reflection in a mirror and moved towards it. The snake appeared to be more interested in his reflection than the doctor. As a result, the doctor’s life was preserved.
Author
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (1908-1994) was a Malayalam fiction writer. He was a humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer. He is known for his path-breaking, disarmingly down-to-earth style of writing that made him equally famous among literary critics as well as the commoner. He is regarded as one of India’s most successful and outstanding writers. Translation of his works into other languages has won him worldwide acclaim. Basheer is fondly known as the ‘Beypore Sultan’. Basheer is known for his unconventional style of language.
He did not differentiate between literary language and the language spoken by the commons and did not care about the grammatical correctness of his sentence. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1982 for his overall contributions to the nation as a freedom fighter, writer, and political activist.
Word Meaning:
1. Meagre- small in quantity
2. Solitary- single
3. Gable- upper part of a wall below a sloping roof
4. Paced- walked
5. Wriggled- crawled
6. Slithered- twisting and crawling motion of the snake
7. Lurked- hid
8. Feebly- Weakly
9. Vermilion spot- red bindi
10. Tempted-inclined
11. Full bonded- frightening
12. Bachelor- a man who is not and has never been married
13. Smeared- covered with
14. Beam- rafter
15. Tempted-inclined
16. Tremble- shiver
17. Dull thud- heavy sound
18. Molten- turned to liquid with fire
19. Sprinter- race
20. Willed- desired
The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 Pdf Download
The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 Question and Answers
1. Why did the doctor have to light the kerosene lamp on reaching his room?
2. What kind of room did the doctor live in ?
3. Why did the doctor lives in a small, poor house?
4. When did the doctor feel like a foolish, weak person? Why?
5. How was the doctor relieved of the hold the snake?
6. Why does the doctor remark that the snake was “taken with its own beauty”?
The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 Conclusion
The story- ” The Snake and the Mirror” teaches us that we should not be so boastful of our looks and should accept whatever we have and consider it as a blessing from god. Without any support you are nothing. The time he realized that god had recalled the snake who just left without hurting orbiting him. The doctor was very arrogant and overconfident which led to bad things.
