Treasure Chest Workbook Answers Poem 5 A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Comprehension Questions Answers
Question 1.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
The morning stretched calm, beautiful, and warm
Sprawling half-clad, I gazed out at the form
of shimmering leaves and shadows. Suddenly
A strong flash, then another, startled me.
i. What was the morning like? What was the doctor doing?
ii. What startled him?
ii. How the world around him changed within moment?
iv. What happened to the clothes of the doctor?
Answer:
i. The morning was calm, beautiful and warm. Looking out of his window, the doctor sees the shining leaves and shadows. The doctor however was relaxing. He was partly dressed.
ii. The two consecutive flashes simply terrified the doctor. The brightly lit stone lantern reminded him of magnesium flares, generally seen during war.
iii. The two consecutive flashes simply changed the world. While wondering about the flares, the doctor finds the entire world Crashed and crumbled around him. Dust swirls around him as soon as the roofs and walls of his house begin to tumble down. The doctor is even more terrified.
iv. We come to know that the clothes which the doctor was wearing, his drawers and undershirt, disappeared within moment. In other words, the clothes of the doctor were burnt to his utter dismay.
Question 2.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
My right side bled, my cheeks were torn, and
I Dislodged, detachedly, a piece of glass,
All the time wondering what had come to pass.
Where was my wife? Alarmed, I gave a shout.
i. Why did the right side of the doctor bleed?
ii. Why did the doctor give a shout?
iii. What is the name of the doctor’s wife? How did she appear?
iv. How did the doctor console his wife? What did he do then?
v. What did the doctor and his wife find soon as come out in the street? What was their reaction?
vi. What did they see when they stood afraid in street?
Answer:
i. The doctor was badly injured when a splinter pierced his right thigh. It however protruded from his thigh and blood gushed out from there.
ii. The doctor was highly terrified when he was reminded of his wife. He wondered where she was at that time. Hence, he gave a shout to call her at once.
iii. The name of the doctor’s wife is Yecko-san. She appears holding her elbow, terrified like her doctor husband. She looks pale and was bloodstained because of being injured.
iv. The doctor consoles her saying that they will be fine but; they must go out immediately so as to save themselves from being buried under their collapsing house.
v. Soon as they came out in the street, the doctor and his wife stumbled against the head of a man, crushed to death under a gate. They were so shocked that they failed to move.
vi. While they stood shocked in the street, they saw a house before them which tilted at first. It then swayed and finally crushed down on the ground. Fire was seen blazing up all of a sudden in the dust and spreading all around with the help of wind.
Question 3.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
It dawned on us we must
Get to the hospital: we needed aid —
And I should help my staff too. (Though this made
Sense to me then, I wonder how I could.
My legs gave way. I sat down on the ground.
i. What dawned on them?
ii. Give two reasons why they wanted to go to the hospital.
ii. The doctor says, “I wonder how I could”. What did he wonder? ‘
iv. What were the other problems the doctor faced at that moment?
v. How did he recover? Did he able to go to the hospital?
Answer:
i. Because of being injured when their house collapsed as a result of atomic explosion, both the doctor and his wife were perplexed for some time. They failed to decide what to do immediately. But ultimately, the doctor realised that they must rush to the hospital for medical aid.
ii. The doctor and his wife were badly injured when their house collapsed as a result of atomic explosion. Hence, it was necessary for them to rush to the hospital for medical aid. Next, the doctor also thought that he could also help his staff by rendering service to the people injured in the blast.
iii. Despite his urgent need in the hospital, the doctor wondered how to reach there. His legs were already numbed with pain and he was thus, forced to sit down on the ground, failing to move ahead.
iv. Besides his fatal wound in his legs, the doctor also felt thirsty. But there was no water to drink. Moreover, he was badly exhausted due to profuse blood loss. He was feeling breathless as a result of exhaustion.
v. The doctor sat down on the ground being completely exhausted. He took quick short breath and regained his strength after a while.
Question 4.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
A dreadful loneliness
Came over me when she had gone. My mind
Ran at high speed, my body crept behind.
I saw the shadowy forms of people, some
Were ghosts, some scarecrows, all were wordless and
dumb
i. Who is she referred to in the given excerpt? Where had she gone?
ii. What did the doctor see around him while he was sitting alone?
iii. How did the people walk towards the hospital?
iv. Why did they walk with the arms stretched straight out?
v. Did the doctor understand at a first sight that why they were walking so strangely?
Answer:
i. She is Yecko-san, the wife of the doctor. On her husband’s ardent request, Yecko-san went to the hospital, leaving the doctor alone in the street.
ii. The doctor saw some bizarre-looking men, walking down the street. They were so worn out that they looked either like ghosts or scarecrows.
iii. the doctor watched the people walking in a naked pa-rade to the hospital. While they were walking, their arms were either stretched out or their hands dangled loosely from their body.
iv. Since these men were badly burnt in the explosion, their arms were either stretched out or their hands, dangled loosely from their body so as to avoid friction on their wounds.
v. At first the doctor wondered why these men were walking so strangely. But, after a while he realised that they were badly burnt in the explosion. To avoid their flesh being rubbed off against each other, they thus walked with their arms either stretched out or hands, dangling loosely from their body.
Question 5.
Read the following verse paragraph and answer the questions that follow:
I turned my gaze, but was at a loss
That she should stand thus, till I came across
A naked man – and now the thought arose
That some strange thing had stripped us of clothes.
i. Why did the doctor turn his gaze?
ii. What did he think initially when he saw a woman with a child standing naked in his path? How did he clear off his misunderstanding?
iii. What did the doctor see after he came across a naked man?
iv. What does the poet intend to show through the series of devastating pictures.
Answer:
i. The doctor saw a woman with a child, standing naked in his path. Hence, he turned his gaze away from them.
ii. Seeing the naked woman and her naked child, the doctor at first presumed that they have come out straight from bath. But noticing a naked man before him, he finally realised that some dreadful thing had happened because of which people’s clothes were burnt.
iii. After he came across a naked man, the doctor saw an old woman, lying on the ground. Her face was disfigured with deep anguish. Yet she remained silent.
iv. With a series of horrifying pictures, Vikram Seth shows how the entire human civilization is at stake during war. The idea is reinforced by a constant emphasis upon nudity in the poem. The Doctor feels unashamed being naked. So too are other people in the city. It seems as if the entire city is marching away from civilization and moving towards an uncertain future which promises nothing but eternal horror and pain.
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Question 1.
The poem is about
a. Kargil war
b. Gulf War
c. aftermath of nuclear attack in Hiroshima
d. World War
Answer:
c. aftermath of nuclear attack in Hiroshima
Question 2.
Who is the speaker of the poem?
a. Yecko-san, the wife of the doctor
b. the poet
c. a warrior
d. the doctor
Answer:
d. the doctor
Question 3.
What fascinated the doctor when he looked out of the window?
a. the shining leaves and the shadows
b. the beautiful birds all around
c. the beautiful sunset
d. the glorious rainbow
Answer:
a. the shining leaves and the shadows
Question 4.
What terrified the doctor all of a sudden?
a. the cry of his wife, Yecko-san
b. the two consecutive strong flashes
c. the thunderstorm
d. the accident on the road
Answer:
b. the two consecutive strong flashes
Question 5.
What happened to the roof and walls of the doctor’s house?
a. they became damp
b. they remained unaffected
c. they collapsed
d. the walls only cracked
Answer:
c. they collapsed
Question 6.
What happened to the drawers and undershirt of the doctor?
a. nothing happened
b. they were covered with dust
c. they turned black
d. they disappeared
Answer:
d. they disappeared
Question 7.
What was the condition of the doctor after the sudden blast?
a. he was at home so nothing happened to him
b. he was only shocked
c. he was bleeding and was badly injured
d. only his clothes were dirty
Answer:
c. he was bleeding and was badly injured
Question 8.
How did Yecko-san emerge?
a. she emerged with a towel in her hand
b. she emerged holding her elbow
c. she emerged crying loudly
d. she emerged being unaffected
Answer:
b. she emerged holding her elbow
Question 9.
Why did the doctor fall on the street?
a. because the street was slippery
b. because he bumped over a human head
c. because he was stumbling
d. because the street was dark
Answer:
b. because he bumped over a human head
Question 10.
What happened to the house which stood before the speaker?
a. it remained unaffected
b. it titlted, swayed, toppled and crashed
c. it was burnt to ashes
d. it collapsed
Answer:
b. it titlted, swayed, toppled and crashed
Question 11.
Where did the doctor decide to go?
a. hospital
b. bank
c. open space
d. bunker
Answer:
a. hospital
Question 12.
Why did the doctor sit on the ground?
a. because the road was blocked
b. because his legs gave way
c. because his wife didn’t want him to move ahead
d. because he had no where to go
Answer:
b. because his legs gave way
Question 13.
Why a soldier gave a towel to the doctor?
a. to clean his blood stained face
b. because he was sweating profusely
c. because he was naked
d. because the doctor needed it to dress his wound
Answer:
c. because he was naked
Question 14.
How did the doctor feel when his wife advanced towards hospital leaving him on the street?
a. he felt relaxed
b. a dreadful loneliness came over him
c. he was annoyed
d. he was shocked
Answer:
b. a dreadful loneliness came over him
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Annotations with Comments
Lines 1 to 10:
stretched: spread
sprawling: stretching (gleaming) shining with soft light
Shimmering: spread;
startled: shocked
flares: bright flame
timber: wood used in Construction
debris: wreckage, garbage
swirled: whirled (moved in a circular motion)
weird: strange, odd, bizarre
disappeared: burnt (in this context)
Comment:
The poem begins with a picture of a beautiful morning with shimmering leaves”. But the sudden strong flashes disrupts everything. The serene nature is ravished along with the city, where people are seen wounded and running naked in the street. The picture is deeply pathetic and reminds us of the picture of Hiroshima on 6th August, 1945, the blackest day in human history, on which the poem is based on. In other words, the poem describes the aftermath of nuclear attack in Hiroshima, by the United States during the final stages of World War II.
Lines 11 to 18:
splinter: fragment of wood or glass
jutted: protruded
mangled: mutildted
dislodged: removed
detachedly: removed
alarmed: terribly frigttened
gushed out: flowed out
panic stricken: terrified
Lines 19 to 29:
bloodstained: marked with blood
stumbling: staggering
tripped: stumbled
tilted: slanted
toppled: collapsed
dawned on us: suddenly came to our mind
aid: help
Lines 30 to 45:
how I could: since he is badly injured, it is impossible to help his staff
legs gave way: legs could not go ahead
gave way: felt weak and numb
revive: renew
stiff: hard
rebelled: opposed
distress: suffering
dreadful: awful
mind: thoughts
crept behind: left back.
Comment:
I was still naked…no shame: War destroys everything. The entire human civilization is at stake during war. The poet draws such a picture of war by constantly emphasizing upon nudity in the poem. The Doctor feels unashamed being naked. So too are other people in the city. It seems as if the entire city s marching away from civilization and moving towards an uncertain future which promises nothing but eternal horror and pain
Lines 46 to 63:
Scarecrows: actually it means human figures made of sticks and placed in green field to scare away crows. But here the word means messy human figures arms stretched
straight out: their hands were stretched out since their skin was so burnt
dangling: hanging
friction: rubbing
chafe: rub
shuffled: moved
shuffled in blank parade: walked slowly in trance dismayech saddened
marred: ruined.
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Paraphrase
Lines 1 to 6:
The beautiful morning wakes up the doctor. Looking out of the window, he sees the shining leaves and shadows. Suddenly, the two consecutive strong flashes terrify him in a major way. The old stone lantern blazes up and the doctor wonders whether the two flashes are magnesium flares, generally seen during war.
Lines 6 to 17:
While wondering about the flares, the doctor is even more shocked seeing the roof and wall of the building collapsed and the debris, scattered all over. Moreover, dust swirls around him and the drawers and under shirt of the doctor is burnt within moment. A splinter protrudes from his thigh and the doctor is severely injured. Blood sprouts out from his right side.
His cheek is torn. He removes a piece of glass struck in his body, wondering what has happened to him. Suddenly he is reminded of his wife. The doctor is at once terrified. He hollers with all his might to call his wife, Yecko-san. Blood continues streaming out from his body and he wonders whether a big artery in his neck is fatally injured.
Lines 17 to 35:
Yecko-san finally shows up, holding her elbow, when the doctor calls her again. Like her husband, Yecko-san is also terrified. The doctor assures her that they will be fine but; they must go out immediately. While they walk on the street, they stumble against the head of a man, crushed to death under a gate. They are so shocked that they fail to move.
A house before them at first tilts, then sways and finally crushes down on the ground. Fire is seen blazing up all of a sudden in the dust and it spreads all around with the help of wind. The doctor, shocked to see the horrible spectacle all around him, finally decides to go to hospital. They badly need medical aid as they are severely injured.
Even he can help his staffs there. But he wonders how to reach the hospital with his legs, already numbed with pain. The doctor sits down on the ground, failing to move ahead. He is thirsty. But there is no water to drink. Sitting on the ground he takes a quick short breath and regains his strength after a while.
Lines 35 to 45:
The doctor rises up, soon as he regains strength. He is still naked. Yet he is not ashamed. This thought disturbs him until he meets a soldier, standing by the side. The soldier offers him a towel, taken out from around his neck. The doctor fails to move ahead. His legs are stiffened with dried blood. He asks his wife to go alone to the hospital. Yecko-san feels reluctant to leave her husband. But ultimately she leaves him behind, finding no better option. After her departure, the doctor feels terribly lonely.
Lines 46 to 51:
Some bizarre looking men are seen walking down the street. They are so worn out that they look either like ghosts or scarecrows. They are all waking silently with their arms, either stretched out or hands dangling loosely from their body. The doctor wonders why they are walking so strangely. The next moment he realises that they are avoiding their flesh to be rubbed off against each other. After all thqy are burnt and the friction on their wounds will definitely plague them a lot.
Lines 47 to 63:
People are also seen walking in a naked parade to the hospital. The doctor discovers a woman with a child, both of whom are naked. The doctor wonders whether they have come out straight after bath. He then sees another naked man.
He realises that some dreadful thing has happened because of which people’s clothes are burnt. An old woman is also seen lying on the ground. Her face is disfigured with deep anguish. Yet she remained silent. In fact silence seems to be the common feature of everyone in the street.
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Summary by Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth’s A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 describes the aftermath of nuclear attack in Hiroshima, by the United States during the final stages of World War II. The poem is in the form of an entry made in a journal by a doctor, who is himself badly wounded because of the explosion of atom bomb. What he sees around him is the spectacle of horror which simply terrifies the doctor. The poem is indeed a deeply moving picture of nuclear holocaust.
The poem begins on a calm note. The Doctor wakes up and sees a beautiful morning from outside his window. Suddenly, the two consecutive strong flashes terrify him in a major way. The roof and the wall of the building collapse all of a sudden and dust swirls around him. A splinter protrudes from his thigh and blood sprouts up from his right side.
His cheek is torn: He removes a piece of glass struck in his body, wondering what has happened to him. Suddenly he is reminded of his wife. The doctor is at once terrified. He hollers with all his might to calls his wife, Yecko-san.
Yecko-san finally appears holding her elbow. Like her husband, she is also terrified. The doctor assures her that they will be fine but; they must go out immediately. While they walk on the street, they stumble against the head of a man, crushed to death under a gate. They are so shocked that they fail to move. A house before them at first tilts then sways and finally crushes down on the ground. Fire is seen blazing up all of a sudden in the dust and it spreads all around with the help of wind.
The doctor shocked to see the horrible spectacle all around him, finally decides to go to hospital. But he fails to walk ahead since his legs are numbed with pain. The doctor sits down on the ground, takes quick short, breath and regains his strength after a while. He then endeavours to walk, but fails again since his legs are stiffened with dried blood. He asks his wife to go alone to the hospital. And after she leaves, the doctor feels terribly lonely.
Some bizarre looking men are seen walking down the street. They are so worn out that they look either like ghosts or scarecrows. They are all walking silently with their arms, either stretched out or hands dangling loosely from their body. The doctor wonders why they are walking so strangely. The next moment he realises that they are avoiding their flesh to be rubbed off against each other. After all they are burnt and the friction on their wounds will definitely plague them a lot.
People are also seen walking in a naked parade to the hospital. The doctor spots out a woman with a child, both of whom are naked. The doctor wonders whether they have come out straight after bath. He then sees another naked man. He realises that some dreadful thing has happened because of which people’s clothes are burnt.
With all these pathetic picture, the poet shows how the entire human civilization is at stake during war. The idea is reinforced by a constant emphasis upon nudity in the poem. The Doctor feels unashamed being naked. So too are other people in the city. It seems as if the entire city is marching away from civilization and moving towards an uncertain future which promises nothing but eternal horror and pain.
A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Introduction
Vikram Seth’s A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 describes the aftermath of nuclear attack in Hiroshima, by the United States during the final stages of World War II. The poem is in the form of an entry made in a journal by a doctor, who is himself badly wounded because of the explosion of atom bomb. What he sees around him is the spectacle of horror which simply terrifies the doctor. The poem is indeed a deeply moving picture of nuclear holocaust.