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CBSE Class 9 English Question 29 of 30

The Snake and the Mirror — Question 33

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33
Question
Describe in detail the doctor’s feelings when he saw the snake coiled around his arm ? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-043)
Answer

The doctor was so engrossed in his day dreaming that he did not realize that a snake had wriggled
over the back of the chair and landed on his shoulders and could round his left arm with its hood spread out. The doctor sat there without moving an inch, he was afraid lest the snake might strike.
He thought of various medicines he had and if any one of them was good enough to save him if the * snake struck him. He realized the presence of God and felt that it was a punishment for being proud and arrogant.

Overview: The Snake and the Mirror

A young homeopathic doctor, living alone in a small room, sits before a mirror one night admiring his appearance and making plans about his future wife. A cobra falls from the ceiling and coils around his arm. Terrified and frozen, he cannot move. The snake eventually slides off and moves towards the mirror, apparently admiring its own reflection. The doctor escapes. When he returns, his room has been robbed — everything taken except a dirty vest. The story uses self-deprecating humour to explore vanity and fear.

Key Points

  • Narrator is a young, vain homeopathic doctor living alone
  • Sits before a mirror admiring himself; plans to find a wife
  • A full-blooded cobra falls from the ceiling onto his shoulder
  • The snake coils around his arm — he freezes in terror
  • He reflects on the irony: he was thinking about beauty while facing death
  • The snake slides off and moves towards the mirror
  • The snake appears to admire its own reflection — comic irony
  • The doctor escapes; returns to find room robbed
  • Only a dirty vest was left — thieves took everything else
  • Themes: vanity, fear, humour in adversity, self-awareness

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the narrator doing when the snake appeared?
The narrator was sitting before a mirror, admiring his appearance. He was thinking about how to make himself more handsome and was planning what kind of wife he would marry — one who would be fat so she could not run after him if he made mistakes.
What is the significance of the mirror?
The mirror symbolises vanity. The narrator admires himself in it, and later the snake appears to do the same. The story gently mocks human (and perhaps even animal) vanity.

Common Mistakes

  • Not reading the text carefully before attempting questions.
  • Giving vague answers without specific textual references.
  • Confusing characters, events, or themes from different chapters.
  • Writing too much for short-answer questions (should be 30-40 words).

Scoring Tips

  • For extract-based MCQs: read the passage carefully; eliminate wrong options systematically.
  • For short answers: be concise (30-40 words), use key vocabulary from the text.
  • For long answers: structure with introduction, body, conclusion. Quote from the text.
  • Always identify the chapter/poem name and author when answering.