Summary
Story “With the
Photographer” presents an amusing account of the narrator’s encounter with a
photographer.
The narrator goes
to a photographer to get himself photographed. He waits for an hour
and he is called into the inner room. The photographer is a grave
man. The photographer is not satisfied with the narrator’s
face. He says that he looks ugly.
The photographer hides behind the
camera and after some time he comes out of it. He comes close to the
narrator. The narrator thinks that the photographer is going to kiss
him but he turns his face that would be good for a pose. The
photographer gives a series of instructions like close mouth, drooping ears, roll
eyes, turn face, expand lungs, etc., to the narrator. The narrator is
confused and frightened. He becomes impatient, he scolds the
photographer, and the photographer clicks a shot. The narrator is
shocked.
The photographer
asks him to check the proof on Saturday and the photograph would be delivered
by Sunday. On Saturday the narrator is further shocked by seeing the
proof. The photographer says that he has edited the eyebrows and the
mouth. He also plans to edit his ears. He shouts at the
photographer asking for a photograph that would resemble him. He
says that he loves his original face than the altered one. The narrator becomes
furious. He wants a photograph very much like himself, which his friends can
preserve after his death. But the photograph does not reflect his
face at all. So, he throws the photograph at the face of the photographer and
leaves the studio with tears in his eyes.
Very
Short Questions
Why
did the author go to the photo studio?
The author went to
the photo studio to have his photograph taken.
Describe
the photographer.
The photographer
was a drooping man— his body was bent. His eyes were dim like the eyes of a
natural scientist. He was wearing a grey suit.
Why did the narrator assume that
the photographer was praying?
The photographer
crawled into the machine and drew a black cloth over himself. He was quiet for some
time. So the narrator assumed that the photographer was praying.
How did the inner room get light?
The inner room got
light by a beam of sunlight filtered through a sheet of factory cotton hung
against a frosted skylight.
Why did the photographer take a long time to
photograph the narrator?
It took a long time
to take the photo of the narrator. The photographer crawled into a machine and
adjusted the camera for some time. Then he came out and twisted the narrator’s
face, adjusted his sitting position, and then went back into the machine. Then
he asked the narrator to open his mouth, droop his ears and roll his eyes. Thus
the photographer took a long time.
What
angered the author?
The photographer
made unpleasant comments, about the narrator’s face. He said “I don’t like the
head”, “the ears are bad” and “I don’t like the face” So, the narrator became
angry.
Why
did the photographer feel happy after taking the photograph?
The narrator rose
from his seat angrily. Snick!-just at that moment. The photographer felt happy-
“I caught the features just in a moment of animation”.
Why
did the narrator visit the studio on Saturday?
The photographer
asked the narrator to visit the studio on Saturday to see proof of his photograph.
So the narrator visited the studio on Saturday.
How
did the author react to seeing his photograph?
The photographer
had retouched and adjusted the narrator’s eyes, eyebrows, hair, mouth, and ears. The photo was completely different from the real face of the narrator. So, the
narrator got angry and did not accept
the photo.
What changes
had the photographer affected the narrator’s face in the picture?
The photographer
retouched the eyes, and removed the eyebrows; He had adjusted the mouth because it was too low. He also wanted to remove the ears entirely and put new
ones.
What
was the human side of the photographer?
The photographer
told the narrator “Your face would be better three-quarters full. This was the
human side of the photographer.
Why was the photographer proud to receive the narrator on Saturday?
The photographer
had many changes to the face of the author and made the face look more handsome
than it really was. Therefore he thought the narrator would like it. So, he
felt proud of his photo.
What
was the only similarity between the narrator’s face and his photograph?
The photographer
had made many changes, but the narrator found that the ears were the same—“they
are just like mine”. The ears were the only similarity between the narrator’s
face and the photograph.
Long Answer Type Question
Stephen
Leacock’s visit to the photo studio turns out to be an annoying experience for
him. Discuss citing relevant instances from the story.
Stephen
Leacock went to a photo studio to have a photo of him taken. The photographer
said “Your face is wrong” and made unpleasant comments. He took a long-time and
then he took a photo of Leacock when Leacock angrily rose from his seat.
Leacock went
to the studio to get his photo. The photographer showed him proof. Leacock
was shocked because the photographer had changed and adjusted Leacock’s mouth,
eyes, and eyebrows. The ears were the same, but the photographer said that he
would completely remove them and supply new ears!
Leacock
wanted his own, real face as given by Heaven, so that his friends would
remember after his death.
But
the face in the photo was not his face and so he did not accept the photo. So,
Leacock’s visit to the photo studio was an annoying disappointing experience.
Explain the following passages with
reference to the context
1. The photographer rolled a machine into the
middle of the room and crawled into it from behind. He was in only a
second—just time enough for one look at me,—and then he was out again, tearing
at the cotton sheet and the window-panes with a hooked stick, apparently
frantic for light and air. Then he crawled back into the machine again and drew
a little black cloth over himself. This time he was very quiet in there. I knew
that he was praying and I kept still.
Reference to the Context: These lines have been taken from the short
story named “With the Photographer” written by Stephen Leacock. It narrates a
hilarious account of how the unwilling photographer pretended to be busy in his
job. The end result however was very disappointing.
Explanation: The narrator talks humorously about the
actions of the photographer. His movements were jerky and strange. He
disappeared inside a cloth that covered the lens of the camera and seemed to
be in a trance. It took him very little time but the narrator felt as if he was
saying his prayers inside the cloth. So he turned quiet. The passage has a
touch of humour and irony. The narrator talks humorously about the gestures of
the photographer.
2. 2. ‘Listen!’ I interrupted, drawing myself up and
animating my features to their full extent and speaking with a bitterness that
should have blasted the man on the spot. ‘I came here for a photograph, a
picture, something which --- bad though it seems --- would have looked like me.
I wanted something that would depict my face as Heaven gave it to me, humble
though the gift may have been. I wanted something that my friends might keep after
my death, to reconcile them to my loss. It seems that I was mistaken.
Reference to the Context: These lines have been taken from the short
story named “With the Photographer” written by Stephen Leacock. It narrates a
true account of how the inconsiderate photographer changed the entire visage of
the narrator which made him angry.
Explanation: The narrator used harsh words as if to pay him back
in the same coin. He told the photographer that he was happy with the way he looked
and was not keen on any change. He had merely asked for a photograph so that
his friends could remember him later. He did not appreciate the action of the
photographer. There is an underlying irony and sarcasm in these lines as the
narrator pokes fun at the disinterested professional.
Read the passage and answer the
following questions
"I want my photograph taken," I
said. The photographer looked at me without enthusiasm. He was a drooping man in
a gray suit, with the dim eye of a natural scientist. But there is no need to
describe him. Everybody knows what a photographer is like.
"Sit there," he said, "and
wait."
I waited an hour. I read the Ladies Companion
for 1912, the Girls Magazine for 1902, and the Infants Journal for 1888. I began
to see that I had done an unwarrantable thing in breaking in on the privacy of
this man's scientific pursuits with a face like mine. After an hour the
photographer opened the inner door.
"Come in," he said severely.
I went into the studio.
"Sit down," said the photographer.
I sat down in a beam of sunlight filtered
through a sheet of factory cotton hung against a frosted skylight. The
photographer rolled a machine into the middle of the room and crawled into it
from behind.
Questions
1
What did the photographer look like?
Ans.:
The photographer was an old man who seemed indifferent to others and was lost
in his surroundings.
2
How long did the narrator wait?
Ans.:
He had to wait for nearly an hour.
3
Why did the narrator feel unwelcome?
Ans.:
The photographer appeared disinterested in his job so the narrator felt
unwelcome.
4
What is the tone of the passage?
Ans.:
The tone is of indifference and aloofness on the part of the photographer.
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