Of White Hairs and Cricket by Rohinton Mistry
OLDMAN AND THE SEA
Self-check Questions and Answers
1. How many days had Santiago gone without catching fish?
He has gone eighty-four days.
2. What do Manolin’s parents call Santiago? Why?
They call him ‘Salao’ which means ‘the worst form of unlucky’ as Santiago was like this.
3. How do the other fishermen greet him? Why?
They mock him for his fruitless voyages to sea.
4. Which description of Santiago makes the readers question his physical capabilities? The descriptions of his crude hut, almost non-existent eating habits and thin body makes the readers question his capabilities.
5. What does Manolin offer Santiago?
He offers to return to Santiago after making some money with successful fishermen. 6. What plan did he announce to Manolin?
He announces his plan to go far out in the sea the following day.
7. How was Santiago’s shack?
It was furnished with only a bed, a table and chair. There was a place to cook. On the wall were two pictures, one of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the other of the Virgin Cobre, the patroness.School of Distance Education
Reading Fiction Page 20
8. What made Santiago feel lonely? What did he do for that?
The photograph of his wife made him feel lonely. So he threw it down.
9. What was Santiago’s recurring dream about?
It was of lions playing on the white beaches of Africa, a scene he saw from his ship when he was a very young man.
10. How does he consider the sea?
He considers it as a woman whose wild behavior is beyond her control.
11. What objects does he observe while moving away from the shore?
He observes flying fish pursued by dolphins, a diving, circling sea bird,
Sargasso weed, the purple Portugese man of war, the small fish that swim among the jellyfish like creatures filaments.
12. How did Santiago know that a huge fish was pulling on the line?
He saw the projecting stick that marks the top of the hundred fathom line dip sharply.
13. Why cannot Santiago increase the tension on the line?
Self-check Questions and Answers
1. How many days had Santiago gone without catching fish?
He has gone eighty-four days.
2. What do Manolin’s parents call Santiago? Why?
They call him ‘Salao’ which means ‘the worst form of unlucky’ as Santiago was like this.
3. How do the other fishermen greet him? Why?
They mock him for his fruitless voyages to sea.
4. Which description of Santiago makes the readers question his physical capabilities? The descriptions of his crude hut, almost non-existent eating habits and thin body makes the readers question his capabilities.
5. What does Manolin offer Santiago?
He offers to return to Santiago after making some money with successful fishermen. 6. What plan did he announce to Manolin?
He announces his plan to go far out in the sea the following day.
7. How was Santiago’s shack?
It was furnished with only a bed, a table and chair. There was a place to cook. On the wall were two pictures, one of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the other of the Virgin Cobre, the patroness.School of Distance Education
Reading Fiction Page 20
8. What made Santiago feel lonely? What did he do for that?
The photograph of his wife made him feel lonely. So he threw it down.
9. What was Santiago’s recurring dream about?
It was of lions playing on the white beaches of Africa, a scene he saw from his ship when he was a very young man.
10. How does he consider the sea?
He considers it as a woman whose wild behavior is beyond her control.
11. What objects does he observe while moving away from the shore?
He observes flying fish pursued by dolphins, a diving, circling sea bird,
Sargasso weed, the purple Portugese man of war, the small fish that swim among the jellyfish like creatures filaments.
12. How did Santiago know that a huge fish was pulling on the line?
He saw the projecting stick that marks the top of the hundred fathom line dip sharply.
13. Why cannot Santiago increase the tension on the line?