🌟 BASIC INFORMATION 🌟
🔹 Author: Katherine Mansfield (Kathleen Mansfield Murry)
• 🖋️ Modernist short story writer from New Zealand
• 🌍 Born in Wellington, New Zealand
• ✈️ Moved to England in 1903, part of the Bloomsbury literary circle
• 🌸 Known for psychological depth, impressionistic style, and symbolic narratives
• 📚 Famous works: The Garden Party, Bliss, Prelude, The Fly
📅 Birth: October 14, 1888, Wellington, New Zealand
⚰️ Death: January 9, 1923, Fontainebleau, France (age 34, tuberculosis)
🔹 Title: The Fly
📚 Source / Background:
• 📝 First published in The Nation & Athenaeum (March 1922)
• 📘 Later included in The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories (1923, posthumously published)
• 🎭 Written after World War I, reflecting themes of grief and futility
• ⚰️ Inspired by the trauma of wartime loss—Mansfield herself lost her beloved brother in WWI
📖 Published in Collection: The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories (1923)
📘 Related Works: The Garden Party (mortality and class divide), Bliss (emotional irony)
🔹 Type:
• 📘 Modernist short story
• 🎭 Symbolic and psychological fiction
• 🌀 Dark realism infused with allegory
🏙️ Setting (Contextual):
• 🏢 The Boss’s office (comfortable, materialistic environment)
• 📜 Post–World War I England
• ⚰️ Atmosphere of suppressed grief and futility
🎭 Themes:
🌹 Grief, futility, death, resilience
• ⚰️ The Meaninglessness of War and Loss
• 🪶 The Futility of Struggle (fly’s symbolic struggle)
• 🏢 Material Success vs. Emotional Emptiness
• 💭 Repression of Emotions and Memory
• 🌀 Death as the Great Equalizer
👥 Character List:
• 👨 The Boss – Central figure, wealthy, authoritative, lost his only son in WWI, represses grief
• 👤 Mr. Woodifield – Old, retired subordinate, visits the Boss, forgetful but triggers memory of loss
• 🪰 The Fly – Symbolic representation of human struggle against inevitable death
🗣️ Narrative Voice:
• 👁️🗨️ Third-Person Omniscient, shifting into The Boss’s perspective
• 🖋️ Detached, ironic, symbolic style with psychological depth
🎨 Techniques:
• 🔄 Symbolism – The fly represents resilience and futility of human effort
• ⚖️ Irony – The Boss believes he is strong, but he represses emotions cowardly
• 🌀 Stream of Consciousness – Inner thoughts of The Boss
• 🎭 Allegory – Fly’s death as a metaphor for soldiers’ deaths in WWI
• ✍️ Minimalist & Modernist Style – Emphasis on suggestion rather than explicit statement
📌 Important Facts:
• 📘 The Fly is one of Mansfield’s darkest stories, reflecting post-WWI trauma
• 🪰 The fly’s futile struggle against ink parallels soldiers’ struggle in war and human resistance to death
• 💔 The Boss’s inability to weep shows the dangers of emotional repression
• 🌍 Considered a masterpiece of modernist symbolism and existential literature
• 🎭 Teaches that material success cannot shield one from loss, grief, and mortality
✍️MCQ QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS:
1. 📝 Who is the author of The Fly?
(a) O. Henry (b) James Joyce (c) Katherine Mansfield (d) Virginia Woolf
✅ Answer: (c) Katherine Mansfield
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The Fly was written by Katherine Mansfield (Kathleen Mansfield Murry), a modernist writer from New Zealand.
2. 📝 Where was Katherine Mansfield born?
(a) London (b) Wellington, New Zealand (c) Sydney, Australia (d) Dublin, Ireland
✅ Answer: (b) Wellington, New Zealand
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mansfield was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and later moved to England.
3. 📝 In which year was Katherine Mansfield born?
(a) 1880 (b) 1888 (c) 1890 (d) 1895
✅ Answer: (b) 1888
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: She was born on October 14, 1888.
4. 📝 Where did Katherine Mansfield die?
(a) London (b) Paris (c) Fontainebleau, France (d) New York
✅ Answer: (c) Fontainebleau, France
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mansfield died in Fontainebleau, France in 1923 from tuberculosis.
5. 📝 When did Katherine Mansfield die?
(a) 1920 (b) 1921 (c) 1923 (d) 1925
✅ Answer: (c) 1923
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: She died on January 9, 1923.
6. 📝 What was the cause of Katherine Mansfield’s death?
(a) Heart disease (b) Tuberculosis (c) Pneumonia (d) Cancer
✅ Answer: (b) Tuberculosis
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mansfield died at age 34 due to tuberculosis.
7. 📝 To which literary movement did Katherine Mansfield belong?
(a) Romanticism (b) Realism (c) Modernism (d) Naturalism
✅ Answer: (c) Modernism
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: She is a modernist short story writer known for psychological depth and symbolism.
8. 📝 Which famous literary group was Katherine Mansfield associated with?
(a) The Beat Generation (b) The Bloomsbury Circle (c) The Romantic Poets (d) The Lost Generation
✅ Answer: (b) The Bloomsbury Circle
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: After moving to England, she became part of the Bloomsbury literary circle.
9. 📝 Which of the following is NOT a famous work of Katherine Mansfield?
(a) The Garden Party (b) Prelude (c) Bliss (d) The Ransom of Red Chief
✅ Answer: (d) The Ransom of Red Chief
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The Ransom of Red Chief was written by O. Henry, not Mansfield.
10. 📝 In which magazine was The Fly first published?
(a) The Nation & Athenaeum (b) Harper’s Weekly (c) The New Yorker (d) The Atlantic Monthly
✅ Answer: (a) The Nation & Athenaeum
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: It was first published in March 1922 in The Nation & Athenaeum.
11. 📝 In which year was The Fly first published?
(a) 1918 (b) 1920 (c) 1922 (d) 1924
✅ Answer: (c) 1922
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The story appeared in 1922.
12. 📝 In which collection was The Fly later included?
(a) The Garden Party and Other Stories (b) Bliss and Other Stories (c) The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories (d) Prelude and Other Stories
✅ Answer: (c) The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: It was included posthumously in The Dove’s Nest and Other Stories (1923).
13. 📝 What event inspired the themes of The Fly?
(a) The Industrial Revolution (b) The American Civil War (c) World War I (d) The Great Depression
✅ Answer: (c) World War I
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The story reflects grief and futility caused by WWI losses.
14. 📝 Which personal tragedy influenced Mansfield in writing The Fly?
(a) Loss of husband (b) Loss of her brother (c) Divorce (d) Childhood illness
✅ Answer: (b) Loss of her brother
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mansfield’s beloved brother was killed in WWI, which deeply affected her.
15. 📝 What type of story is The Fly?
(a) Sentimental short story (b) Modernist symbolic fiction (c) Romantic allegory (d) Detective fiction
✅ Answer: (b) Modernist symbolic fiction
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: It is a modernist short story full of symbolism and allegory.
16. 📝 Where is the story set?
(a) A battlefield (b) The Boss’s office (c) A railway station (d) A hospital
✅ Answer: (b) The Boss’s office
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The main setting is The Boss’s office, symbolizing material success.
17. 📝 Which period forms the backdrop of the story?
(a) Pre–World War I (b) Post–World War I (c) Victorian Era (d) Edwardian Era
✅ Answer: (b) Post–World War I
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The story reflects post-WWI grief and emptiness.
18. 📝 What mood dominates the story?
(a) Joyful and festive (b) Suspenseful and thrilling (c) Suppressed grief and futility (d) Romantic and dreamy
✅ Answer: (c) Suppressed grief and futility
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The atmosphere is one of suppressed emotions and futility.
19. 📝 Who is the central character in The Fly?
(a) Mr. Woodifield (b) The Fly (c) The Boss (d) The Soldier
✅ Answer: (c) The Boss
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The story centers on The Boss, a wealthy man who lost his son in WWI.
20. 📝 Who is Mr. Woodifield?
(a) A soldier (b) The Boss’s son (c) The Boss’s old subordinate (d) A shopkeeper
✅ Answer: (c) The Boss’s old subordinate
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mr. Woodifield is an old, retired subordinate who reminds The Boss of his loss.
21. 📝 What does the fly symbolize?
(a) Death only (b) Human struggle and futility (c) Wealth and power (d) Childhood innocence
✅ Answer: (b) Human struggle and futility
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The fly symbolizes resilience and futility of human efforts against death.
22. 📝 What is The Boss unable to do at the end of the story?
(a) Kill the fly (b) Remember his son (c) Cry for his son (d) Retire peacefully
✅ Answer: (c) Cry for his son
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The Boss cannot weep, showing emotional repression.
23. 📝 What is the narrative voice in The Fly?
(a) First-person (b) Second-person (c) Third-person omniscient (d) Stream of consciousness only
✅ Answer: (c) Third-person omniscient
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The story is told in third-person omniscient, focusing on The Boss.
24. 📝 Which technique is central to the story?
(a) Symbolism (b) Dialogue (c) Flashback (d) Foreshadowing
✅ Answer: (a) Symbolism
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Symbolism is dominant—the fly’s struggle mirrors human struggle.
25. 📝 What literary device is used when The Boss represses his grief but acts strong?
(a) Allegory (b) Irony (c) Metaphor (d) Alliteration
✅ Answer: (b) Irony
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Irony lies in his false strength and inner weakness.
26. 📝 The fly’s struggle is an allegory of what?
(a) The Boss’s wealth (b) Soldiers’ deaths in WWI (c) Industrial progress (d) Love and romance
✅ Answer: (b) Soldiers’ deaths in WWI
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The fly’s repeated struggle mirrors the soldiers’ futile struggle in war.
27. 📝 What style does Mansfield use in The Fly?
(a) Colloquial and humorous (b) Minimalist & modernist (c) Epic poetic style (d) Gothic horror
✅ Answer: (b) Minimalist & modernist
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: She employs a modernist, minimalist style, emphasizing suggestion.
28. 📝 Which related story by Mansfield also deals with themes of mortality?
(a) Bliss (b) The Garden Party (c) Prelude (d) At the Bay
✅ Answer: (b) The Garden Party
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The Garden Party deals with mortality and class divide.
29. 📝 What lesson does The Fly teach?
(a) Wealth is the key to happiness (b) Love conquers all (c) True wisdom lies in selfless giving (d) Material success cannot shield from loss
✅ Answer: (d) Material success cannot shield from loss
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The Boss’s wealth does not save him from grief and futility.
30. 📝 Why is The Fly considered a masterpiece?
(a) It has a romantic love story (b) It uses humor to entertain (c) It symbolizes post-WWI trauma and existential struggle (d) It is the longest story by Mansfield
✅ Answer: (c) It symbolizes post-WWI trauma and existential struggle
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The story is acclaimed for its modernist symbolism and existential depth.
◼️ 31. Who is described as sitting in the “great, green-leather armchair”?
(a) The Boss (b) Mr. Woodifield (c) The Boss’s son (d) A clerk
✅ Answer: (b) Mr. Woodifield
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The passage opens with old Mr. Woodifield seated in the boss’s luxurious green-leather armchair.
◼️ 32. Why was Mr. Woodifield usually confined at home?
(a) Because of old age (b) Because of financial issues (c) Because of a stroke (d) Because of his wife’s order
✅ Answer: (c) Because of a stroke
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text explains that after his stroke, his wife and daughters kept him boxed up in the house except on Tuesdays.
◼️ 33. On which day was Woodifield allowed to go to the City?
(a) Monday (b) Tuesday (c) Friday (d) Sunday
✅ Answer: (b) Tuesday
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The narrative clearly states that every Tuesday he was dressed and brushed and allowed to visit the City.
◼️ 34. How does the narrator describe old Woodifield’s eagerness to remain with the boss?
(a) Politely (b) Greedily (c) Indifferently (d) Irritatedly
✅ Answer: (b) Greedily
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He is described as “staring almost greedily at the boss” while sitting in the office.
◼️ 35. Which newspaper was the boss flipping with a paper-knife?
(a) The Times (b) The Guardian (c) The Financial Times (d) The Nation
✅ Answer: (c) The Financial Times
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss is specifically shown flipping “The Financial Times” with a paper-knife.
◼️ 36. What new addition to the office gave the boss special pride?
(a) New paintings (b) Electric heating (c) A large desk (d) A globe
✅ Answer: (b) Electric heating
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss exultantly points out the five transparent, pearly electric heating tubes.
◼️ 37. How does the narrator describe the boss’s furniture legs?
(a) Like twisted treacle (b) Like golden pillars (c) Like carved vines (d) Like marble sticks
✅ Answer: (a) Like twisted treacle
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The massive furniture is described with “legs like twisted treacle.”
◼️ 38. What object in the office reminded the boss of his son?
(a) A diary (b) A medal (c) A photograph (d) A letter
✅ Answer: (c) A photograph
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text mentions a photograph of his grave-looking son in uniform hanging above the table.
◼️ 39. How many years had the photograph been there?
(a) Two years (b) Four years (c) Six years (d) Ten years
✅ Answer: (c) Six years
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The passage specifies that the photograph had been there “for over six years.”
◼️ 40. Where did the whisky supposedly come from?
(a) The boss’s cellar (b) Scotland (c) Windsor Castle (d) A London club
✅ Answer: (c) Windsor Castle
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss proudly says the whisky came from the cellars at Windsor Castle.
◼️ 41. How did the boss describe the whisky to Woodifield?
(a) Dangerous (b) Medicine (c) Poison (d) Cheap
✅ Answer: (b) Medicine
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss refers to the whisky as “the medicine” that would do Woodifield good.
◼️ 42. How is the whisky bottle described?
(a) Tall and thin (b) Dark and squat (c) Small and round (d) Shining and silver
✅ Answer: (b) Dark and squat
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The bottle from which the boss poured whisky is described as “a dark, squat bottle.”
◼️ 43. How did Woodifield react when he saw the whisky?
(a) He laughed (b) He frowned (c) His mouth fell open (d) He looked away
✅ Answer: (c) His mouth fell open
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The passage states that Woodifield’s mouth fell open as if he had seen a rabbit produced from a hat.
◼️ 44. How is the boss physically described compared to Woodifield?
(a) Frail and weak (b) Stout and rosy (c) Thin and pale (d) Tall and serious
✅ Answer: (b) Stout and rosy
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss is described as stout, rosy, and still going strong, in contrast to frail Woodifield.
◼️ 45. Which figure of speech is used in “as a baby peers out of its pram”?
(a) Metaphor (b) Simile (c) Personification (d) Hyperbole
✅ Answer: (b) Simile
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text compares Woodifield peering from the armchair to a baby peering out of a pram, using “as.”
◼️ 46. Which symbol in the passage represents the boss’s pride in modern comfort?
(a) The cigar (b) The photograph (c) The electric heating (d) The paper-knife
✅ Answer: (c) The electric heating
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss proudly shows the glowing tubes of the electric heating, symbolizing modern comfort and progress.
◼️ 47. Which object in the passage symbolizes loss and grief?
(a) The whisky bottle (b) The cigar (c) The photograph (d) The Financial Times
✅ Answer: (c) The photograph
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The photograph of the son in uniform is a silent reminder of the boss’s personal grief.
◼️ 48. What literary device is used in “we cling to our last pleasures as the tree clings to its last leaves”?
(a) Simile (b) Metaphor (c) Alliteration (d) Irony
✅ Answer: (a) Simile
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The comparison between clinging to pleasures and trees holding onto leaves uses “as.”
◼️ 49. What does the comparison of furniture legs to “twisted treacle” suggest?
(a) Fragility (b) Darkness and heaviness (c) Sweetness and stickiness (d) Lightness
✅ Answer: (b) Darkness and heaviness
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The imagery of “twisted treacle” conveys the ornate heaviness of the furniture.
◼️ 50. What does whisky symbolize in the passage?
(a) Youth (b) Escape and indulgence (c) Work and duty (d) Poverty
✅ Answer: (b) Escape and indulgence
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: Whisky here functions as a symbol of comfort, indulgence, and temporary escape from harsh realities.
◼️ 51. What does the photograph’s unchanged presence for six years suggest?
(a) Stubbornness (b) Forgetfulness (c) Unhealed grief (d) Joyful memory
✅ Answer: (c) Unhealed grief
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The photograph remaining untouched for six years symbolizes the boss’s lingering sorrow.
◼️ 52. Which expression in the passage indicates the boss’s satisfaction with Woodifield’s admiration?
(a) “It did one good to see him.” (b) “It’s snug in here.” (c) “It gave him a feeling of deep, solid satisfaction.” (d) “Beautiful stuff.”
✅ Answer: (c) “It gave him a feeling of deep, solid satisfaction.”
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The line reveals how the boss took pride when his surroundings were admired.
◼️ 53. What is the apparent meaning of the boss calling whisky ‘medicine’?
(a) It is real medicine (b) It is dangerous (c) It is a playful justification (d) It is holy water
✅ Answer: (c) It is a playful justification
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: Calling whisky “medicine” reflects humor and an attempt to justify indulgence.
◼️ 54. What is the inner meaning of Woodifield’s eagerness to stay with the boss?
(a) His loneliness and craving for company (b) His desire for wealth (c) His duty (d) His anger
✅ Answer: (a) His loneliness and craving for company
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: Woodifield clings to moments of social life, reflecting his isolation at home.
◼️ 55. The comparison of Woodifield to a baby suggests what inner reality?
(a) His childlike innocence (b) His helplessness and dependency (c) His vitality (d) His strictness
✅ Answer: (b) His helplessness and dependency
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The simile underlines old age reducing him to childlike weakness and dependence.
◼️ 56. The boss’s pride in the modern office setting hides which inner truth?
(a) His joy of progress (b) His grief and emptiness (c) His business success (d) His superiority over Woodifield
✅ Answer: (b) His grief and emptiness
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: His display of modern luxury contrasts with the concealed grief symbolized by the son’s photo.
◼️ 57. What apparent meaning is conveyed by “It’s snug in here, upon my word”?
(a) The room is comfortable (b) The boss is weak (c) The room is cold (d) The furniture is old
✅ Answer: (a) The room is comfortable
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: On the surface, Woodifield is simply praising the physical comfort of the office.
◼️ 58. What inner meaning can be read into Woodifield’s remark about snugness?
(a) His envy and longing for a life he lost (b) His dislike of the room (c) His memory of childhood (d) His rejection of the boss
✅ Answer: (a) His envy and longing for a life he lost
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: Beneath the words lies admiration and envy of the boss’s continued vitality and success.
◼️ 59. Which expression in the passage highlights human attachment to fading joys?
(a) “Twisted treacle” (b) “Windsor Castle” (c) “We cling to our last pleasures as the tree clings to its last leaves.” (d) “Beautiful stuff.”
✅ Answer: (c) “We cling to our last pleasures as the tree clings to its last leaves.”
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: This simile expresses the human tendency to hold onto small remaining pleasures in old age.
◼️ 60. Overall, what contrast between the boss and Woodifield is emphasized in this passage?
(a) Wealth vs. poverty (b) Strength vs. weakness (c) Youth vs. age (d) Memory vs. forgetfulness
✅ Answer: (b) Strength vs. weakness
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss appears strong, rosy, and active, while Woodifield is frail, dependent, and fading.
◼️ 61. What drink does the Boss offer Woodifield in this passage?
(a) Brandy (b) Whisky (c) Rum (d) Wine
✅ Answer: (b) Whisky
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The Boss lovingly shows Woodifield the label on the bottle, confirming it is whisky.
◼️ 62. How does the Boss describe tampering with whisky by adding water?
(a) A mistake (b) A sacrilege (c) A crime (d) A foolish act
✅ Answer: (b) A sacrilege
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The Boss declares, “It’s sacrilege to tamper with stuff like this.”
◼️ 63. What expression does Woodifield use to describe the taste of whisky?
(a) Spicy (b) Fruity (c) Nutty (d) Bitter
✅ Answer: (c) Nutty
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: After sipping, Woodifield faintly says, “It’s nutty!”
◼️ 64. What effect does the whisky have on Woodifield?
(a) He falls asleep (b) It warms him and refreshes his memory (c) He becomes angry (d) He feels dizzy
✅ Answer: (b) It warms him and refreshes his memory
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The whisky “crept into his chill old brain—he remembered.”
◼️ 65. Who is Reggie, mentioned in the passage?
(a) Woodifield’s grandson (b) Woodifield’s son (c) The Boss’s son (d) The hotel manager
✅ Answer: (b) Woodifield’s son
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The girls went to Belgium to see “poor Reggie’s grave.”
◼️ 66. What news does Woodifield share with the Boss about their sons?
(a) They studied together (b) Their graves are near each other (c) Both were promoted (d) They survived the war
✅ Answer: (b) Their graves are near each other
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Woodifield tells the Boss that the graves “are quite near each other, it seems.”
◼️ 67. How does the Boss react outwardly to the mention of his son’s grave?
(a) He bursts into tears (b) He ignores it completely (c) He shows only a quiver in his eyelids (d) He angrily dismisses it
✅ Answer: (c) He shows only a quiver in his eyelids
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mansfield writes, “Only a quiver in his eyelids showed that he heard.”
◼️ 68. Why had the Boss not visited his son’s grave in Belgium?
(a) Travel restrictions (b) Various reasons left unexplained (c) He disliked traveling (d) He was too busy with business
✅ Answer: (b) Various reasons left unexplained
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The text states simply, “For various reasons the boss had not been across.”
◼️ 69. How does Woodifield describe the war graves?
(a) Wild and neglected (b) Plain and simple (c) Neat, garden-like with flowers (d) Empty fields
✅ Answer: (c) Neat, garden-like with flowers
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: He says, “Flowers growing on all the graves. Nice broad paths.”
◼️ 70. What personal preference of Woodifield is revealed while describing the graves?
(a) He likes quiet places (b) He likes neat gardens (c) He likes broad paths (d) He likes decorated tombs
✅ Answer: (c) He likes broad paths
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mansfield notes, “It was plain from his voice how much he liked a nice broad path.”
◼️ 71. What trivial complaint does Woodifield share about Belgium?
(a) Hotels were too crowded (b) Weather was too cold (c) Overpriced jam at the hotel (d) Language difficulties
✅ Answer: (c) Overpriced jam at the hotel
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: He exclaims the hotel charged “ten francs for a little pot of jam.”
◼️ 72. How much did Gertrude pay for the pot of jam?
(a) 5 francs (b) 8 francs (c) 10 francs (d) 12 francs
✅ Answer: (c) 10 francs
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Woodifield says, “Ten francs! Robbery, I call it.”
◼️ 73. What did Gertrude do with the jam pot after the incident?
(a) Left it behind (b) Ate it all (c) Threw it away (d) Brought it back as a lesson
✅ Answer: (d) Brought it back as a lesson
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Gertrude brought the pot away with her to teach ’em a lesson.”
◼️ 74. How does the Boss respond to Woodifield’s complaint about jam?
(a) He laughs loudly (b) He dismisses it (c) He agrees vaguely without understanding (d) He changes the topic
✅ Answer: (c) He agrees vaguely without understanding
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Quite right, quite right!” cried the boss, though what was quite right he hadn’t the least idea.
◼️ 75. What gesture does the Boss make after Woodifield leaves?
(a) He slams the door (b) He goes back to his chair (c) He follows his footsteps to the door (d) He hides the whisky bottle
✅ Answer: (c) He follows his footsteps to the door
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “He came round by his desk, followed the shuffling footsteps to the door, and saw the old fellow out.”
◼️ 76. What figure of speech is used in describing whisky as “sacrilege to tamper with”?
(a) Personification (b) Metaphor (c) Hyperbole (d) Irony
✅ Answer: (c) Hyperbole
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Calling the act of adding water “sacrilege” exaggerates the whisky’s sacredness.
◼️ 77. The whisky “crept into his chill old brain.” What literary device is used here?
(a) Simile (b) Metaphor (c) Personification (d) Irony
✅ Answer: (c) Personification
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The whisky is personified as if it could “creep” into the brain.
◼️ 78. The broad paths in the cemetery symbolize—
(a) War strategy (b) Comfort and order amidst grief (c) Endless journey (d) Wealth of the dead
✅ Answer: (b) Comfort and order amidst grief
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Woodifield admires “nice broad paths,” reflecting his longing for order and ease.
◼️ 79. The jam incident in Belgium symbolizes—
(a) The exploitation of mourners’ emotions (b) Agricultural richness (c) Children’s innocence (d) Economic prosperity after war
✅ Answer: (a) The exploitation of mourners’ emotions
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The overpriced jam is symbolic of how grief is commercially exploited.
◼️ 80. The photograph of the Boss’s son earlier contrasts with the jam complaint here. What is the figure of speech in this juxtaposition?
(a) Satire (b) Irony (c) Oxymoron (d) Simile
✅ Answer: (b) Irony
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The deep grief of loss is contrasted ironically with trivial complaints like jam prices.
◼️ 81. When the Boss says “Quite right, quite right,” what is the apparent meaning?
(a) Agreement with Woodifield (b) Mockery (c) Refusal (d) Genuine enthusiasm
✅ Answer: (a) Agreement with Woodifield
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Outwardly, the Boss affirms Woodifield’s remarks about jam.
◼️ 82. What is the inner meaning of the Boss’s repeated “Quite right, quite right”?
(a) He deeply agrees (b) He doesn’t understand but wants to end the talk (c) He is mocking Woodifield (d) He shares the same grievance
✅ Answer: (b) He doesn’t understand but wants to end the talk
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Mansfield notes “he hadn’t the least idea” what was right.
◼️ 83. What does the “quiver in his eyelids” reveal about the Boss?
(a) He is sleepy (b) He is pretending strength while suppressing grief (c) He is angry at Woodifield (d) He is tired of conversation
✅ Answer: (b) He is pretending strength while suppressing grief
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The quiver is a subtle sign of repressed sorrow at his son’s death.
◼️ 84. Woodifield’s enthusiasm for broad paths has what inner implication?
(a) His longing for clarity and ease in life’s end (b) His obsession with war graves (c) His dissatisfaction with hotels (d) His ignorance of war’s meaning
✅ Answer: (a) His longing for clarity and ease in life’s end
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The preference reflects his subconscious desire for smoothness in his final years.
◼️ 85. What inner truth is revealed in Woodifield’s trivial story about jam after discussing graves?
(a) Human grief often turns to trivialities as relief (b) He values jam more than his son’s grave (c) He is forgetful (d) He dislikes Belgium
✅ Answer: (a) Human grief often turns to trivialities as relief
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: After mentioning graves, he shifts quickly to jam, showing avoidance of deeper pain.
◼️ 86. What is the apparent meaning of Woodifield saying “D’you know, they won’t let me touch it at home”?
(a) He dislikes whisky (b) He is forbidden to drink it by his family (c) He is allergic to it (d) He prefers tea
✅ Answer: (b) He is forbidden to drink it by his family
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Woodifield’s words indicate that his wife and daughters restrict him from whisky at home.
◼️ 87. What inner meaning is suggested by Woodifield appearing about to cry?
(a) He is physically weak (b) He is emotionally moved and lonely (c) He wants attention (d) He is angry at the Boss
✅ Answer: (b) He is emotionally moved and lonely
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The text says he “looked as though he was going to cry,” reflecting suppressed emotion and loneliness.
◼️ 88. How does Mansfield highlight contrast between triviality and grief in this passage?
(a) By comparing whisky to flowers (b) By shifting from graves to jam prices (c) By describing broad paths (d) By mentioning Belgium
✅ Answer: (b) By shifting from graves to jam prices
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The sudden change from discussing graves to overpriced jam emphasizes the contrast between deep grief and trivial concerns.
◼️ 89. Which figure of speech is used in “he swooping across for two tumblers”?
(a) Hyperbole (b) Simile (c) Metaphor (d) Personification
✅ Answer: (d) Personification
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The action of “swooping” personifies the Boss with bird-like, energetic motion.
◼️ 90. What inner truth is revealed by Woodifield’s excitement over the jam incident?
(a) He values small pleasures and fairness even in old age (b) He is obsessed with money (c) He is still childish (d) He is forgetful
✅ Answer: (a) He values small pleasures and fairness even in old age
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Woodifield’s focus on a tiny jam pot shows how minor events can brighten life and provide a sense of justice.
◼️ 91. What was the office messenger doing while watching the boss?
(a) Cleaning the carpet (b) Dodging in and out of his cubby-hole (c) Reading letters (d) Preparing files
✅ Answer: (b) Dodging in and out of his cubby-hole
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The messenger moved in and out like a dog expecting a run, while observing the boss.
◼️ 92. How did the boss instruct Macey after Woodifield left?
(a) To bring him water (b) To prepare letters (c) To admit no one for half an hour (d) To fetch files
✅ Answer: (c) To admit no one for half an hour
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss ordered, “I’ll see nobody for half an hour, Macey. Understand? Nobody at all.”
◼️ 93. Where did the boss sit down after giving orders to Macey?
(a) On a wooden stool (b) On the spring chair (c) On a sofa (d) On the office desk
✅ Answer: (b) On the spring chair
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text states, “the fat body plumped down in the spring chair.”
◼️ 94. What did the boss do immediately after sitting on the spring chair?
(a) Took a drink (b) Covered his face with his hands (c) Called for the messenger (d) Wrote a letter
✅ Answer: (b) Covered his face with his hands
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He leaned forward and “covered his face with his hands.”
◼️ 95. What emotion did the boss intend to express after recalling his son’s grave?
(a) Anger (b) Joy (c) Weeping (d) Pride
✅ Answer: (c) Weeping
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text notes, “He wanted, he intended, he had arranged to weep.”
◼️ 96. How long had it been since the boy’s death when Woodifield mentioned the grave?
(a) Three years (b) Five years (c) Six years (d) Ten years
✅ Answer: (c) Six years
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text says, “Although over six years had passed away...”
◼️ 97. How did the boss always imagine his son after his death?
(a) As a decaying body (b) As unchanged, in uniform, asleep forever (c) As an old man (d) As a child
✅ Answer: (b) As unchanged, in uniform, asleep forever
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boy is remembered “unchanged, unblemished in his uniform, asleep for ever.”
◼️ 98. What words did the boss utter in his grief while covering his face?
(a) “My boy!” (b) “My son!” (c) “Dear child!” (d) “My soldier!”
✅ Answer: (b) “My son!”
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The passage records his cry: “My son!”
◼️ 99. How did the boss’s grief manifest in the years immediately after the boy’s death?
(a) Silence (b) Violence (c) Intense weeping fits (d) Anger at colleagues
✅ Answer: (c) Intense weeping fits
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: Earlier, saying “My son” caused “a violent fit of weeping.”
◼️ 100. What belief had the boss declared to everyone after his son’s death?
(a) Time would heal him (b) Time could make no difference (c) He would forget eventually (d) He would adopt another son
✅ Answer: (b) Time could make no difference
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He told people that “Time... could make no difference.”
◼️ 101. What reason did the boss give for never recovering from the loss?
(a) His son was his only child (b) He had no wife (c) His business was failing (d) His son had died suddenly
✅ Answer: (a) His son was his only child
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He stressed, “His boy was an only son.”
◼️ 102. What was the sole meaning of the boss’s business life?
(a) Money and fame (b) Expanding trade (c) His son inheriting it (d) Personal comfort
✅ Answer: (c) His son inheriting it
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He had “worked at building up this business for him; it had no other meaning if it was not for the boy.”
◼️ 103. How did the boss describe life itself after his son’s death?
(a) A duty (b) Meaningless without his son (c) A joyful memory (d) A business opportunity
✅ Answer: (b) Meaningless without his son
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: “Life itself had come to have no other meaning.”
◼️ 104. What routine had the boss and his son shared before the war?
(a) Visiting the cemetery (b) Starting and returning together to the office daily (c) Hunting trips (d) Travelling abroad
✅ Answer: (b) Starting and returning together to the office daily
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: “Every morning they had started off together; they had come back by the same train.”
◼️ 105. How long had the boy been in the office before the war began?
(a) Six months (b) One year (c) Two years (d) Five years
✅ Answer: (b) One year
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text notes, “The boy had been in the office... for a year before the war.”
◼️ 106. How was the son’s popularity among the staff described?
(a) Moderate (b) Unnoticed (c) Every man admired him (d) Jealousy arose
✅ Answer: (c) Every man admired him
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: “Every man jack of them down to old Macey couldn’t make enough of the boy.”
◼️ 107. How did the boy behave despite being praised?
(a) Arrogant (b) Spoilt (c) Humble and natural (d) Withdrawn
✅ Answer: (c) Humble and natural
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: “And he wasn’t the least spoilt. No, he was just his bright natural self.”
◼️ 108. What special habit of the boy is mentioned in the text?
(a) Playing cricket (b) Always reading books (c) Saying “Simply splendid!” (d) Singing songs in office
✅ Answer: (c) Saying “Simply splendid!”
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boy had “that boyish look and his habit of saying, ‘Simply splendid!’”
◼️ 109. How did the boss feel when receiving congratulations as the boy’s father?
(a) Embarrassed (b) Proud (c) Indifferent (d) Ashamed
✅ Answer: (b) Proud
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: “What congratulations he had received as the boy’s father!”
◼️ 110. Why did the boss consider the boy’s promise ‘so near being fulfilled’?
(a) The boy was already a soldier (b) The boy was trained abroad (c) The boy was learning the ropes in the office (d) The boy was married
✅ Answer: (c) The boy was learning the ropes in the office
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boy had begun practical training in his father’s business.
◼️ 111. What does the messenger’s movement “like a dog” symbolize?
(a) Obedience and eagerness (b) Laziness (c) Anger (d) Silence
✅ Answer: (a) Obedience and eagerness
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: His dodging in and out “like a dog” shows loyalty and expectation of orders.
◼️ 112. Which figure of speech is present in “as though the earth had opened”?
(a) Simile (b) Metaphor (c) Hyperbole (d) Personification
✅ Answer: (a) Simile
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The shock is compared to the earth opening, using “as though.”
◼️ 113. What image is created by “unchanged, unblemished in his uniform, asleep for ever”?
(a) Heroism (b) Eternal rest and innocence (c) Soldier’s pride (d) Military honour
✅ Answer: (b) Eternal rest and innocence
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The imagery shows the son as permanently youthful and peacefully asleep.
◼️ 114. Which symbol does the “spring chair” best represent here?
(a) Power and authority (b) False comfort and burden of grief (c) Freedom (d) Prosperity
✅ Answer: (b) False comfort and burden of grief
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The chair “plumped” under his weight, reflecting his heavy grief and false sense of ease.
◼️ 115. Which figure of speech is present in “Life itself had come to have no other meaning”?
(a) Hyperbole (b) Metonymy (c) Irony (d) Oxymoron
✅ Answer: (a) Hyperbole
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: This is an exaggerated expression of despair, stressing the total loss of meaning.
◼️ 116. What does the boss’s attempt to “arrange to weep” suggest?
(a) Real emotional overflow (b) Artificial effort to summon grief (c) Victory over sorrow (d) Forgetfulness
✅ Answer: (b) Artificial effort to summon grief
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He forces himself to cry, showing how time has numbed his emotions.
◼️ 117. What is the inner meaning of “Time could make no difference”?
(a) Boss’s pride in his memory (b) His belief that grief would never fade (c) His determination to ignore others (d) His denial of life’s reality
✅ Answer: (b) His belief that grief would never fade
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He had convinced himself that unlike others, his grief was eternal.
◼️ 118. Why is the son described as “bright natural self” even after death?
(a) To glorify youth and vitality lost (b) To show his weakness (c) To mock his father (d) To portray arrogance
✅ Answer: (a) To glorify youth and vitality lost
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The description idealizes the boy’s unspoiled, natural charm, frozen in memory.
◼️ 119. What inner conflict does the boss face in this scene?
(a) Pride vs. poverty (b) Memory vs. numbness (c) War vs. peace (d) Authority vs. rebellion
✅ Answer: (b) Memory vs. numbness
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He recalls vivid memories but cannot cry, revealing tension between remembrance and emotional emptiness.
◼️ 120. What is the significance of the boy’s habit of saying “Simply splendid”?
(a) It highlights his arrogance (b) It symbolizes youthful optimism and vitality (c) It shows his strict discipline (d) It reflects his military training
✅ Answer: (b) It symbolizes youthful optimism and vitality
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The phrase reflects his boyish spirit and positive outlook, now tragically silenced by death.
◼️ 121. What was the immediate cause of the boss’s grief years ago?
(a) Loss of property (b) Death of his wife (c) Death of his only son (d) Failure in business
✅ Answer: (c) Death of his only son
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The telegram Macey handed over announced the son’s death during the war, which shattered the boss’s life.
◼️ 122. How long ago had the boss received the telegram?
(a) Four years (b) Five years (c) Six years (d) Seven years
✅ Answer: (c) Six years
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The passage mentions, “Six years ago, six years… How quickly time passed!”
◼️ 123. How did the boss describe his state after receiving the telegram?
(a) Broken man (b) Strong survivor (c) Indifferent father (d) Hopeful worker
✅ Answer: (a) Broken man
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text states, “he had left the office a broken man, with his life in ruins.”
◼️ 124. What puzzled the boss when he recalled his son?
(a) He could not remember the voice (b) He could not cry (c) He forgot the boy’s name (d) He recalled only bad memories
✅ Answer: (b) He could not cry
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: He was puzzled because he wasn’t feeling as he wanted to, and tears did not come.
◼️ 125. Which object did the boss decide to look at to feel grief?
(a) His son’s diary (b) The telegram (c) The photograph (d) The grave picture
✅ Answer: (c) The photograph
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss decided to “have a look at the boy’s photograph” though he disliked it.
◼️ 126. Why did the boss dislike the photograph?
(a) It was faded (b) The boy looked stern (c) It reminded him of failure (d) It was broken
✅ Answer: (b) The boy looked stern
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The expression appeared “unnatural… cold, even stern-looking,” unlike the real boy.
◼️ 127. Where did the boss notice the fly first?
(a) On the desk (b) In the inkpot (c) On the photograph (d) On his hand
✅ Answer: (b) In the inkpot
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The passage notes, “the boss noticed that a fly had fallen into his broad inkpot.”
◼️ 128. How was the fly struggling?
(a) Buzzing loudly (b) Clambering up desperately (c) Flying in circles (d) Crawling on the desk
✅ Answer: (b) Clambering up desperately
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The fly was “trying feebly but desperately to clamber out.”
◼️ 129. What instrument did the boss use to rescue the fly?
(a) Handkerchief (b) Ruler (c) Pen (d) Finger
✅ Answer: (c) Pen
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss “took up a pen, picked the fly out of the ink.”
◼️ 130. Where did the boss place the rescued fly?
(a) On the carpet (b) On blotting-paper (c) On his palm (d) On the photo
✅ Answer: (b) On blotting-paper
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The fly was shaken “on to a piece of blotting-paper.”
◼️ 131. Which metaphor is used to describe the fly’s cleaning motion?
(a) As the wheel turns the mill (b) As the stone goes over and under the scythe (c) As the river carves the valley (d) As the clock ticks endlessly
✅ Answer: (b) As the stone goes over and under the scythe
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The movement of legs cleaning wings is compared to a sharpening stone moving over a scythe.
◼️ 132. What did the fly resemble when cleaning its face?
(a) A bird (b) A cat (c) A child (d) A soldier
✅ Answer: (b) A cat
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The text says, “it began, like a minute cat, to clean its face.”
◼️ 133. How did the fly’s legs rub together after cleaning?
(a) Heavily (b) Lightly and joyfully (c) Fiercely (d) Slowly and tiredly
✅ Answer: (b) Lightly and joyfully
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The legs rubbed “lightly, joyfully” after escaping danger.
◼️ 134. What idea suddenly struck the boss?
(a) To destroy the fly (b) To keep the fly (c) To free the fly outside (d) To kill all insects
✅ Answer: (a) To destroy the fly
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss plunged his pen back into the ink and blotted the fly intentionally.
◼️ 135. How did the fly react to the first blot of ink?
(a) It died instantly (b) It tried again slowly (c) It flew away (d) It made a buzzing sound
✅ Answer: (b) It tried again slowly
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: Though stunned, the fly dragged itself forward and began the task again “more slowly this time.”
◼️ 136. The boss leaned his ______ while blotting the fly.
(a) Elbow (b) Chin (c) Thick wrist (d) Shoulder
✅ Answer: (c) Thick wrist
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The passage says, “leaned his thick wrist on the blotting-paper.”
◼️ 137. What does the boss’s treatment of the fly symbolize?
(a) Power over nature (b) Cruelty of fate (c) Human compassion (d) Survival instinct
✅ Answer: (b) Cruelty of fate
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The repeated blotting of the struggling fly mirrors the cruelty of life and fate.
◼️ 138. What is the apparent meaning of the fly’s struggle?
(a) An insect’s survival (b) A metaphor for hope (c) A child’s play (d) A workplace distraction
✅ Answer: (a) An insect’s survival
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: On the surface, it is simply a fly trying to save itself from ink.
◼️ 139. What is the inner meaning of the fly episode?
(a) The futility of human effort against fate (b) Joy of freedom (c) Innocence of creatures (d) Father-son relationship
✅ Answer: (a) The futility of human effort against fate
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The fly’s repeated struggle and eventual defeat parallel human helplessness in life.
◼️ 140. What expression does the passage use to describe the fly’s joyful survival?
(a) “Ready for life again” (b) “Back from death” (c) “A cat’s delight” (d) “Victory’s end”
✅ Answer: (a) Ready for life again
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The narrator notes the fly “had escaped; it was ready for life again.”
◼️ 141. Which figure of speech is used in “Help! help! said those struggling legs”?
(a) Personification (b) Simile (c) Metaphor (d) Hyperbole
✅ Answer: (a) Personification
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The legs are given human voice, personifying the insect’s struggle.
◼️ 142. What is the symbolic parallel between the boss and the fly?
(a) Both are innocent (b) Both are victims of fate (c) Both are survivors (d) Both are cruel
✅ Answer: (b) Both are victims of fate
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: Just as fate destroyed the boss’s son, the boss destroys the helpless fly.
◼️ 143. The blot of ink falling on the fly is symbolic of—
(a) Sudden opportunities (b) Unexpected tragedies (c) Signs of rebirth (d) Human achievement
✅ Answer: (b) Unexpected tragedies
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The inkblot represents random, crushing blows of fate that halt progress.
◼️ 144. What psychological state of the boss is revealed through this act?
(a) Fatherly affection (b) Sadistic control (c) Compassionate relief (d) Indifferent calmness
✅ Answer: (b) Sadistic control
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss’s repeated testing of the fly reflects suppressed cruelty and desire for control.
◼️ 145. Which image dominates this passage symbolically?
(a) Inkpot (b) Pen (c) Fly (d) Photograph
✅ Answer: (c) Fly
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The fly is central as both literal insect and symbolic figure of human struggle.
◼️ 146. Which expression best highlights the futility of the fly’s effort?
(a) “The horrible danger was over” (b) “It dragged itself forward” (c) “Ready for life again” (d) “Lightly, joyfully”
✅ Answer: (b) It dragged itself forward
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The phrase underscores the exhausted yet futile effort of the fly.
◼️ 147. What inner conflict of the boss does the fly episode mirror?
(a) His anger against business rivals (b) His grief and inability to cry (c) His loneliness at old age (d) His loss of wealth
✅ Answer: (b) His grief and inability to cry
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The boss, unable to express grief, projects his inner turmoil by tormenting the fly.
◼️ 148. Which symbol stands for “life’s repetitive struggles”?
(a) Photograph (b) Inkpot (c) Fly’s cleaning act (d) The telegram
✅ Answer: (c) Fly’s cleaning act
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The repeated cleaning despite setbacks mirrors human persistence.
◼️ 149. Which literary device is found in “sat like a minute cat”?
(a) Personification (b) Metaphor (c) Simile (d) Irony
✅ Answer: (c) Simile
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The fly’s cleaning act is compared to a cat by using “like.”
◼️ 150. The broader theme reflected in this passage is—
(a) Business rivalry (b) Hopelessness of human existence (c) Importance of nature (d) Joy of family life
✅ Answer: (b) Hopelessness of human existence
🔷 📘 Supporting Statement: The fly episode symbolically conveys futility of human struggle and inevitability of fate.
◼️151. What thought crossed the boss’s mind when he admired the fly?
(a) That life was meaningless (b) That the fly deserved rest (b) That it showed the right spirit (d) That it reminded him of his son
✅ Answer: (c) That it showed the right spirit
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss admired the fly’s courage and thought, “That was the way to tackle things; that was the right spirit.”
◼️152. What phrase captures the boss’s admiration for resilience?
(a) “Never surrender” (b) “Live and let live” (c) “Never say die” (d) “Survival of the fittest”
✅ Answer: (c) “Never say die”
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The narration notes that the boss believed the right spirit was to “Never say die; it was only a question of…”
◼️153. How many times did the boss deliberately drop ink on the fly?
(a) Once (b) Twice (c) Thrice (d) Four times
✅ Answer: (c) Thrice
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss dropped ink on the fly three times until it finally died.
◼️154. What did the boss feel when the fly waved its legs again after the second blot?
(a) Fear (b) Relief (c) Anger (d) Indifference
✅ Answer: (b) Relief
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The passage says “the boss felt a rush of relief” when the fly began moving again.
◼️155. What unusual gesture did the boss make to help the fly?
(a) Stirred it with a knife (b) Blew gently on it (c) Dipped it in water (d) Placed it in sunlight
✅ Answer: (b) Blew gently on it
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss had the “brilliant notion of breathing on it to help the drying process.”
◼️156. What was the condition of the fly after the final blot?
(a) Its wings were torn (b) It drowned in ink (c) It lay motionless and dead (d) It flew away weakly
✅ Answer: (c) It lay motionless and dead
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “The fly was dead.”
◼️157. How did the boss attempt to confirm whether the fly was alive?
(a) He blew on it again (b) He stirred it with his pen (c) He placed it near the window (d) He dipped it back in ink
✅ Answer: (b) He stirred it with his pen
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “And he stirred it with his pen—in vain.”
◼️158. Where did the boss finally dispose of the dead fly?
(a) In the inkpot (b) On the blotting-paper (c) In the waste-paper basket (d) Out of the window
✅ Answer: (c) In the waste-paper basket
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “The boss lifted the corpse on the end of the paper-knife and flung it into the waste-paper basket.”
◼️159. What immediate emotion overtook the boss after the fly’s death?
(a) Calmness (b) Gratitude (c) Wretchedness (d) Indifference
✅ Answer: (c) Wretchedness
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Such a grinding feeling of wretchedness seized him that he felt positively frightened.”
◼️160. What did the boss order Macey to bring after the incident?
(a) More ink (b) Fresh blotting-paper (c) A new pen (d) Water to clean the desk
✅ Answer: (b) Fresh blotting-paper
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss said sternly, “Bring me some fresh blotting-paper.”
◼️161. How did the boss speak to Macey when he gave instructions?
(a) Calmly (b) Sternly (c) Kindly (d) Indifferently
✅ Answer: (b) Sternly
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The passage says, “Bring me some fresh blotting-paper,’ he said sternly.”
◼️162. What feeling accompanied the boss after he disposed of the fly?
(a) He felt relieved (b) He felt frightened (c) He felt confused (d) He felt proud
✅ Answer: (b) He felt frightened
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: He “felt positively frightened.”
◼️163. What object did the boss use to lift the fly’s corpse?
(a) His pen (b) His handkerchief (c) The paper-knife (d) His fingers
✅ Answer: (c) The paper-knife
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “The boss lifted the corpse on the end of the paper-knife.”
◼️164. What did the boss forget after the fly’s death?
(a) To send a letter (b) His son’s memory (c) What he had been thinking before (d) To call Macey earlier
✅ Answer: (c) What he had been thinking before
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “He fell to wondering what it was he had been thinking about before.”
◼️165. How did the boss physically react when he could not remember his earlier thoughts?
(a) He tapped his desk (b) He sighed deeply (c) He loosened his collar with a handkerchief (d) He walked around the office
✅ Answer: (c) He loosened his collar with a handkerchief
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “He took out his handkerchief and passed it inside his collar.”
◼️166. How is the fly described before its death?
(a) “Plucky little devil” (b) “Useless insect” (c) “Weak and timid creature” (d) “Hopeless struggler”
✅ Answer: (a) “Plucky little devil”
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss thought to himself, “He’s a plucky little devil.”
◼️167. What was the boss’s tone when urging the dead fly to move?
(a) Gentle (b) Stern (c) Encouraging (d) Angry
✅ Answer: (c) Encouraging
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss said, “Come on. Look sharp!”—in an encouraging tone.
◼️168. What symbolically does the dead fly represent in this context?
(a) Futility of struggle against fate (b) Hope of renewal (c) Survival of the strongest (d) Victory of persistence
✅ Answer: (a) Futility of struggle against fate
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Despite courage, the fly’s death symbolizes helplessness before inevitable fate.
◼️169. Which figure of speech is used in “He’s a plucky little devil”?
(a) Simile (b) Metaphor (c) Hyperbole (d) Irony
✅ Answer: (b) Metaphor
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The fly is metaphorically compared to a “plucky little devil” to show courage.
◼️170. What theme is highlighted through the boss’s treatment of the fly?
(a) Compassion and mercy (b) Power, control, and cruelty (c) Memory and nostalgia (d) Patience and kindness
✅ Answer: (b) Power, control, and cruelty
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss exerts dominance over the fly, mirroring human cruelty and control.
◼️171. What imagery is dominant in the description of the fly’s struggle?
(a) Visual imagery (b) Auditory imagery (c) Gustatory imagery (d) Olfactory imagery
✅ Answer: (a) Visual imagery
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The narration focuses on the sight of the fly’s repeated struggle with ink and wings.
◼️172. The act of the boss blotting the fly repeatedly symbolizes:
(a) Persistence of life (b) Destruction of hope (c) Renewal through suffering (d) The power of compassion
✅ Answer: (b) Destruction of hope
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Each blot destroys the fly’s renewed effort, symbolizing crushed hope.
◼️173. The phrase “grinding feeling of wretchedness” is an example of:
(a) Personification (b) Hyperbole (c) Oxymoron (d) Metaphor
✅ Answer: (d) Metaphor
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Grinding” intensifies wretchedness by comparing it metaphorically to physical pressure.
◼️174. The boss’s encouragement “Look sharp!” to the dead fly illustrates:
(a) Satire (b) Irony (c) Euphemism (d) Paradox
✅ Answer: (b) Irony
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The irony lies in urging movement from something already lifeless.
◼️175. The fly’s futile struggle best illustrates which universal theme?
(a) Triumph of will (b) Illusion of control (c) Inevitability of death (d) Redemption through effort
✅ Answer: (c) Inevitability of death
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Despite repeated effort, death ultimately overpowers the fly, symbolizing life’s fragility.
◼️176. What inner meaning is hidden in the boss’s admiration of the fly’s courage?
(a) He sees himself in the fly (b) He mocks the insect’s weakness (c) He recalls his own son’s bravery (d) He considers it meaningless
✅ Answer: (a) He sees himself in the fly
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The boss projects human struggle and resilience onto the fly.
◼️177. What does the boss’s act of killing the fly unconsciously mirror?
(a) His cruelty towards Macey (b) His suppressed grief for his son (c) His wish to escape work (d) His love of power
✅ Answer: (b) His suppressed grief for his son
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The fly episode parallels his unresolved grief and loss of purpose.
◼️178. What does the boss’s inability to recall his earlier thoughts at the end suggest?
(a) Weak memory due to age (b) Trauma-induced repression (c) Simple absentmindedness (d) Office distractions
✅ Answer: (b) Trauma-induced repression
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Forgetting symbolizes repression of painful grief for his son.
◼️179. The boss’s order for “fresh blotting-paper” symbolizes:
(a) A new beginning after grief (b) His obsession with neatness (c) A cover-up for his emotional weakness (d) Practicality in office work
✅ Answer: (c) A cover-up for his emotional weakness
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Ordering blotting-paper conceals his shaken state and redirects focus to routine.
◼️180. Overall, the fly episode serves as:
(a) A moral lesson on kindness (b) A parable of perseverance rewarded (c) An allegory of human futility against fate (d) A satire on human selfishness
✅ Answer: (c) An allegory of human futility against fate
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The fly’s repeated struggle ending in death mirrors mankind’s futile struggle against inevitable fate.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<🌹The End🌹>>>>>>>>>>>
