Nelson Mandela, Dust of Snow

I. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions by picking the most appropriate option-

(A) The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

(i) Of the many symbols the hemlock tree represents, choose the one that Frost
drew upon in all likelihood, for this poem.
Symbol of
a) longevity.
b) togetherness.
c) healing.
d) protection.

(ii) Choose the option that lists the possible feelings of the poet prior to the
experience shared in the poem.
1) reassured
2) disappointed
3) curious
4) demotivated
5) thankful
6) disheartened
7) impulsive
a) 1, 3 &7
b) 2, 4 & 6
c) 5 & 7
d) 1 & 3

(iii) Identify the option that DOES NOT use the word ?rue? correctly.
a) The film was a disaster and he rued his decision to act in it.
b) I am sure she rued the day she listened to a fortune-teller.
c) It wasn?t long before I rued my disobedience and my deceit.
d) Others finally rue the one who is dishonest and heartless.

(iv) Pick an example of synecdoche from the poem.
a) Has given my heart / A change of mood
b) The way a crow/ Shook down on me
c) The dust of snow / From a hemlock tree
d) And saved some part / Of a day I had rued

(v) Choose the option showing the reason NOT corresponding with ?? a crow /
Shook down on me / The dust of snow?.
a) The crow?s landing on the branch of the tree.
b) The shivering of the crow, due to the cold.
c) The readjustment of position of the crow on the branch.
d) The cawing of the crow hidden in the foliage.

(B) ?It was only when I began to learn that my boyhood freedom was an illusion, when I discovered as a young man that my freedom had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it. At first as a student I wanted freedom only for myself, the transitory freedoms of being able to stay out at night, read what I pleased and go where I chose. Later, as a young man in Johannesburg, I yearned for the basic and honourable freedoms...?

(i) The title that best suits this extract is
a) Freedom for everything
b) Knowledge about Freedom
c) Significance of Freedom
d) Realisation of Freedom

(ii) Why do you think the speaker mentions some freedoms as ?transitory??
a) The freedoms are momentary and keep changing with time.
b) The definition of freedom is constant but perspectives differ.
c) Freedom means different things to different people.
d) Freedom is not that important after a certain age.

(iii) Choose the option that best fits the usage of the word ?illusion? as used in
the extract.
a) He was never able to get past the illusion.
b) The illusion I experienced was quite intriguing.
c) A large mirror in the room creates an illusion.
d) I was living under the illusion that this is possible.

(iv) The speaker says, ?at first as a student I wanted freedom only for myself.?
Why do you think he only thought about himself?
a) He didn?t want to think about the freedom denied to others.
b) He was being selfish and was only bothered about himself.
c) He didn?t think that freedom denied to him was important for others.
d) He was too young to realise that freedom was denied to others as well.

(v) A part of the extract has been paraphrased. Choose the option that includes the most appropriate solution to the blanks in the given paraphrase of the extract.
The speaker?s belief about freedom, since childhood proved false. It was not until the speaker grew up to be a young man when it (i)__________________ on him that he was ii) ________________ of freedom. Then he began (iii) __________________ it.

a) i) desired ii) dawned iii) depriving
b) i) dawned ii) deprived iii) desiring
c) i) dawned ii) arrived iii) desiring
d) i) arrived ii) deprived iii) dawned

II. Answer these questions in 40-50 words each:

a) After achieving political emancipation what does Mandela want to do in South Africa?
b) The poem ?Dust of Snow? evokes a sense of black and white. Justify.