Hornbill (Prose): The Portrait of a Lady

Topics in this chapter

• Grandmother’s Character and Values
• Routine, Faith, and Inner Strength
• Relationship, Separation, and Loss
• Tradition, Modernity, and Generational Change
• Symbols and Literary Imagery
• Narrative Perspective and Techniques

Cheat sheet

Practice questions

1. Question 1Q-B76FD7

   Which description best conveys the grandmother's personality in The Portrait of a Lady?

   1. A.She was cheerful, fashionable and fond of social gatherings.
   2. B.She was deeply religious, disciplined, affectionate and dignified.
   3. C.She was ambitious, argumentative and eager to control others.
   4. D.She was careless, adventurous and uninterested in family life.
   See the answer and solution
2. Question 2Q-84487F

   Why did the grandmother feel increasingly separated from the narrator after they moved to the city?

   1. A.The narrator became busy with modern education and stopped sharing his earlier routine with her.
   2. B.The grandmother disliked living with the narrator and wanted to return to the village immediately.
   3. C.The narrator refused to speak to her because she was always praying.
   4. D.The grandmother was jealous of the narrator's friendship with the sparrows.
   See the answer and solution
3. Question 3Q-15E0F0

   What is the most meaningful interpretation of the sparrows' behaviour after the grandmother's death?

   1. A.The sparrows were frightened by the people gathered in the house.
   2. B.The sparrows had come only because they expected a larger supply of food.
   3. C.Their silence and refusal to eat suggest a bond of affection and a natural expression of mourning.
   4. D.The sparrows were unable to find the crumbs because the courtyard was crowded.
   See the answer and solution
4. Question 4Q-1E9CF3

   How do changes in the narrator's education and lifestyle affect his relationship with his grandmother?

   See the answer and solution
5. Question 5Q-475FEC

   In the village, why did the grandmother accompany the narrator to school, and what did she do there?

   1. A.She taught the narrator English and supervised the other children.
   2. B.The school was attached to a temple, where she read scriptures while the narrator studied.
   3. C.She worked in the school kitchen and waited for the narrator.
   4. D.She attended the school to learn music with the narrator.
   See the answer and solution