Hi Everyone!! This article will share I Want Something in a Cage Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions & answers of Golu Grows A Nose, The Cop and The Anthem and The Desert so, you can check these posts as well.
I Want Something in a Cage Questions & Answers
Question 1: Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of following statements.
i. Mr Purcell sold birds, cats, dogs and monkeys – True
ii. He was very concerned about the well-being of the birds and animals in his shop – False
iii. He was impressed by the customer who bought the two doves – False
iv. He was a successful shop owner, though insensitive and cold as a person – True
Question 2: Why is Mr Purcell compared to an owl?
Answer: Large glasses of Mr Purcell magnified his eyes to give him the appearance of a wise and genial owl, due to which he was compared to an owl.
Question 3: From the third paragraph pick out
i. words associated with cries of birds.
Answer: Whispered twitters, squeals, cheeps, and sudden squeaks.
ii. words associated with noise.
Answer: Stir, rustling, scampered
iii. words suggestive of confusion and fear.
Answer: Frightened, bewildered, blindly seeking
Question 4: “…Mr Purcell heard it no more than he would have heard the monotonous ticking of a familiar clock.” (Read para beginning with “It was a rough day…”)
i. What does ‘it’ refer to?
Answer: ‘It’ refers to chirping, squeaking and mewing which are the sounds of the pets around him in his pet shop.
ii. Why does Mr Purcell not hear ‘it’ clearly?
Answer: Mr Purcell was quite used of hearing those sounds around him that they hardly mattered and was quite normal to him.
Question 5: Do you think the atmosphere of Mr Purcell’s shop was cheerful or depressing? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: The atmosphere of Mr Purcell’s shop was dull and depressing. There were all kinds of noises of birds and pets around in that shop. Mr Purcell being the owner was used to those noises and it hardly mattered him and was very normal for him, however, for customers these sounds or noises were like going crazy and they wondered, how the owner can hold up to such disturbing noises.
Question 6: Describe the stranger who came to the pet shop. What did he want?
Answer: The stranger who came to Mr Purcell’s shop was wearing a cheap, ill-fitted, however, a new suit with shiny shoes. He close cropped hair and was constantly looking to and fro around the shop. Later during the conversation, we came to know that he was in jail for ten years. He came to Mr Purcell’s shop as he wanted to have something with wings and something in cage. He wasn’t sure, what he was looking for.
Question 7: The man insisted on buying the doves because he was fond of birds. Do you agree?
Answer: The man insisted on buying the doves, not because he was fond of birds. He was just looking for something with feathers and something in cage.
Question 8: How had he earned the five dollars he had?
Answer: The man was in prison for ten years. He worked hard in the prison and was fifty cents a year for his hard labour.
Question 9: Was the customer interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought? If not, why not?
Answer: No, the customer was not at all interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought. He did not even listen to what Mr Purcell was saying about feeding and caring of the doves. He bought the doves and set them free in open air by opening the cage after he stepped out of the shop.
Question 10: Why, in your opinion, did the man set the doves free?
Answer: We knew that the man had spent ten years in prison and feel that during these ten years, he must have well understood the harshness of being caged and the value of freedom. He must have related the caged doves to himself. As soon as he got released, he spent his ten years hard earned money in buying the doves and setting them free so that they too can taste the comfort of being free in open sky.
Question 11: Why did it make Mr Purcell feel “vaguely insulted”?
Answer: Mr Purcell reduced the price of the doves by fifty cents and still made tidy profit. However, the person who bought the doves spent his life’s hard-earned money just to free those doves. This entire episode made Mr Purcell feel ‘vaguely insulted’.
So, these were I Want Something in a Cage Questions & Answers.