{tocify} $title={Table of Contents}
Time Allowed: 3 Hours
Total Marks: 100
Passing Marks: 40 (As of 2020)
Note: Objective part is compulsory. Attempt any four questions from the subjective part.
2021
Short Questions
- Who is described as a "wise old witch" in Once Upon a Time?
- What kind of people does the narrator observe in The Man of the Crowd?
- What is the profession of Belikov in The Man Who Lived in a Shell?
- Who is the real fanatic in My Son the Fanatic?
- Who is Lily in the story The Dead?
- What is the central theme of the story The Voice?
- Briefly describe the character of Antonio in the story The Woman who had Imagination.
- Why was the night watchman fed up with the manager in The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book?
- What does the hat symbolize in the story everything that Rises must Converge?
- Why does the coast guard dislike his job in Dream Haiti?
Long Questions
- Civil Peace by Chinua Achebe celebrates the virtue of survival after destruction and never- say- die attitude. Discuss.
- Strong Horse Tea by Alice Walker rips apart the shallow slogans of ethnic equality and justice. Comment.
- Using stream of consciousness technique, Sara Suleri in The Property of Woman peeps deep down into the heart and soul of Halima. Justify.
- Critically evaluate the character of Tapster in What the Tapster Saw by Ben Okri and also show how the main theme is interwoven into his character.
- Discuss Naguib Mahfouz as a master of irony with reference to his story The Mummy Awakes.
- Discuss The Judgment by Kafka as a psychological story.
2020
Short Questions
- Why did Cathcart leave the first island? (The Man Who Loved Islands)
- What are he major themes in the stories of Anton Chekhov?
- Why did Jonathan Iwegbu consider himself extraordinarily lucky? (Civil Peace)
- What was Julian's perspective about his mother? (Everything That Rises Must Converge)
- What, according to you, is the central idea in the story The Sunrise on the Veld?
- What was written on the plaque fixed on the gate of the house in the story Once Upon a time?
- Who was Tabasco in the short story What the Tapster Saw?
- What does Ali mean when he said at the end of the story, So who's the fanatic now?' (My Son the Fanatic)
- Who is Rannie Toomer in the short story Strong Horse Tea?
- How is identity crisis presented in the story The Voice from the Wall?
Long Questions
- What are the stylistic qualities of the short stories of E.A. Poe? Explain in the light of his short story The Man of the Crowd.
- What is the significance of the framing technique adopted by Chekhov in the story 7he Man who lived in a Shell?
- Pritchett's obvious moral preoccupation is the human tendency to protect the self through the belittlement of others. How has he handled this theme in his story The Voice?
- Write a critical analysis of the story The Woman who had Inmagination by H.E. Bates.
- Comment on the relationship between Naguib Mehfouz and Egypt and how does it get reflected in his story The Mummy Awakens?
- The modern writers focus on the oddities of human behavior. Elaborate by giving examples from short stories in your syllabus.
2019
Short Questions
- What did the manager expect to be recorded in The Night Watchman 's Occurrence Book?
- Who is Flora in the story The Man who Loved Islands?
- Why does the narrator try to follow the old man in the story The Man ofthe Crowd?
- Comment on the ending of the story The Dead by James Joyce?
- What does the use of 'nada' by old waiter suggest (A Clean Well Lighted Place)?
- What is the theme of the story Once Upon a lime?
- What is the conflict between Parvez and his son in the story My Son the Fanatic?
- How was Jonathan able to save his bicycle during the civil war? (Civil Peace)
- What is the significance ofTime in the story The Sunrise on the Veld?
- Briefly state the character of Morgan. (The Voice)
Long Questions
- What are the essential elements of a short story? Illustrate with examples.
- "The slightest infringement or deviation from the rules plunged him in dejection, even when it could not possibly concern him." Discuss the character of Belikov in the story The Man who lived in a Shell.
- The real power of James Joyce's story is depiction of the strong characters and entering into their souls, Comment in the light of the short story The Dead.
- Nadine Gordimer has adopted a fairy ale mode to describe racial discrimination and prejudices in the story Once Upon a Time. Elaborate.
- Give a critical analysis of the main characters of The Judgement by Kafka.
- Comment on the lceberg theory of Hemingway with examples from the story A Clean Well Lighted Place.
2018
Short Questions
- What details about the passengers Wero noticed by the narrator while sitting near the windOW of the Cofee shop? (1he Man of the Crowd)
- Why does Ali plan to give up his studies? (My Son the Fanatic)
- What gifts were given to the family by the wise old witch in Once Upon a Time?7
- What were the contents of the letter written by George Bendemann to his friend in Russia? (The Judgement)
- Why did Cathcart try to create a world of his own on an island?
- State any two features of the short stories of James Joyce
- Who was Mwana Saada? (The Fort)
- Why did the family imprison itself in Once Upon a Time?
- What were the professions of Ivan Ivanich and Burkin in The Man who Lived in a Shell?
- Briefly state the traits of the character of Mrs. Lethwes in A Day by William Trevor.
Long Questions
- "Now and then, alas, the conscience of man takes up a burden so heavy in horror that it can be thrown down only into the grave." Critically evaluate the given line from The Man of the Crowd.
- 3 Critically evaluate the narrative style of V.S. Naipaul with reference to The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book
- Discuss in detail the development of the character of Gabriel in The Dead by James Joyce.
- What are the contrasting traits of Belikov and Varenka narrated in The Man Who Lived in a Shell by Anton Chekhov?
- In What the Tapster Saw, Ben Okri employs magic realism to present real life problems in Nigeria. Elaborate.
- Compare and contrast the characters of Morgan and Lewis in The Voice by V.S.
- Pritchett. What does their relation signify on.a broader level?
2017
Short Questions
- Ivan Ivanich bore a strange hyphenated name in The Man Who Lived in a Shell. What was it?
- What is Burkin’s view about Mavra in The Man Who Lived in a Shell?
- What did the song The Lass of Aughrim remind Gretta in the Dead by James Joyce?
- What difference did the narrator observe in the tribe of clerks (The Man of the Crowd)?
- Why did George Bendemann’s old fried decamp to Russia (The Judgment by Franz Kafka)?
- How did Morgan, the unfrocked priest, enter the church in The Voice?
- Why is the older waiter reluctant to close the café every night? (A Clean, Well-Lighted Place)
- Briefly sketch the character of Henry’s father in the story The Woman Who Had Imagination.
- What is the dominant theme in the stories by Naguib Mahfouz?
- What do you know about the setting of The Property of Woman by Sara Suleri?
Long Questions
- Ben Okri’s What the Tapster Saw is a symbolic story. Do you agree? Illustrate your answer with reference to the text.
- Jonathan Iwegbu is the most inspiring character in Civil Peace by Chinua Achebe. Elaborate the given statement highlighting the optimistic attitude as strength of his character.
- Discuss the Mummy Awakens by Naguib Mahfooz as a model of allegorical historical fiction.
- “Imagination! It needed a bit of imagination to marry that old cock”. Discuss the statement from the Woman who Had Imagination.
- State Hemingway’s philosophy of life as you find in A Clean Well Lighted Place.
- Comment on the title of the story The Judgment. How is the title related to the relation between the father and the son depicted in the story?
2016
Short Questions
- Write the names of any two short stories in your syllabus with the theme of racism.
- Why does the old man want to commit suicide in “A Clean Well Lighted Place”?
- Who is the writer of the short story “What the Tapster Saw”?
- What is Ali’s Point of view in “My Son the Fanatic”?
- Who is Miss Furlong in “The Dead”?
- Write the name of two main Characters in “The Voice”.
- What is Lawrance thesis about nature in “The Man who Loved Island”?
- What was given as a Christmas gift to the couple in “Once Upon a Time”?
- In which country was Amy Tan born?
- In which year did Mahfooz receive Nobel Prize for Literature?
Long Questions
- What are the essential elements of a short story? How does it differ from novel?
- Justify the title of the short story “Civil Peace” by Chinua Achebe.
- How does Sara Sulehri Depict the city of Lahore in her short story “The Property of Woman”?
- What makes “The Dead” by Joyce one of the finest examples of the modern short story?
- How does Alice Walker Satirise racial and colour discrimination in her story “Strong Horse Tea”?
- What are the main themes in the short story “Once Upon A Time” by Nadine Gordimer.
2015
Short Questions
- Define short Story?
- What two techniques James Joyce has used in “The Dead”?
- In ‘The Diviner’ What was the reason of Tom’s death?
- In The Voice why Rev. Frank Lewis considered Rev. Morgan as a devil?
- What is the dominant theme in “Once Upon a Time” by Nadine Gordimer?
- What is the importance of the friend in “The Judgement”?
- What is the significance of ‘nothing puzzles God’ in Civil Peace?
- What does the title “The Property of Woman’s suggest. Describe briefly?
- What is the major theme in Kamua Braithwaiter’s Dream Haiti?
- What symbolic significance the ‘hat’ has in Everything that Rises Must Converge?
Long Questions
- The Tale is a manifestation of a culture’s desire to name its place and the sketch depicts some phenomenon of one culture. Discuss short story as a fusion of sketch and tale?
- How has H.E. Bates rendered suspense and interest to his story ‘The Woman Who had Imagination?
- In ‘The Voice from the Wall” Amy Tan reveals her insight into the alienation experienced by those who are displaced from their own surroundings. Discuss.
- Give an elaborate account of the story ‘My Son the Fanastic’ by Hanif Kureshi.
- James Joyce’s The Dead “defies the conventional form of the short story regarding its characteristics and stylistic techniques. Discuss.
- Critically analyze the story ‘The Judgment’ by Kafka.
Tags:
Short Stories
