Treasure Chest Workbook Answers Poem 5 A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945

Treasure Chest Workbook Answers Poem 5 A Doctor's Journal Entry for August 6, 1945

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.

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A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Summary, Theme, Critical Analysis by Vikram Seth

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Summary, Theme, Critical Analysis by Vikram Seth

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Summary

In the poem “A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945” the poet Vikram Seth begins with a fine morning with a calm and serene note. The doctor who is the narrator of the poem says that it was dawn and he was in his bed, half clothed, and he got up from bed and stretched his arms and legs to remove the sleepiness. He was gazing outside at the shining leaves and the shadow.

Suddenly he saw two flashes of strong light and the old stone lantern in his room lit up by itself. This made the doctor surprised and he wondered whether the flashes were magnesium flares seen during a war but he was mistaken and it was far more sinister. In the very next moment he was perplexed to discover that the roof and the walls of his house have collapsed and the debris were scattered all over. Rubble were strewn all over the place and he was left without clothes. They were all burnt in the flashes.

The doctor was wounded in the cheek, thigh, and he was bleeding. A piece of shrapnel had entered into his body and he somehow extricated the glass piece from his body. He was flummoxed by the sudden turn of events. Amidst this confusion, he wondered where his wife was. Her name was Yeckosan. The doctor called out her name with a full throated cry. His wife looked pale and frightened and had blood stains on her body and she came out holding her elbow. The doctor assured her that they would be fine and suggested to be out of the house quickly.

The blast seemed to have reduced her to a lump of nervous wreck. They rushed out of the house but they tripped and fell flat on the way. The doctor tried to figure out what he had stumbled upon. He recoiled in horror to discover that it was the head of a dead human being who had been crushed to death by the weight of a falling gate. There was no time to grieve. They saw a house that toppled and crashed, fire that sprang up in the dust, spreading fast by the wind. They thought of going to the hospital but he couldn’t walk as his legs felt wasted.

He was thirsty and was panting. Finally regaining strength he walked to the hospital. The tragedy was cataclysmic. He then tells that he was naked but was shameless at that state. A soldier gave him a towel. The doctor was unable to move, so he asked his wife to move ahead alone. She was reluctant but they had no other choice. Though the doctor’s mind was working, his body refused to work or move ahead.

He saw many shadow like figures of people, some resembling ghosts and some resembling scare crows but everybody was silent and numb. The doctors saw the survivors who were walking with their arms dangling loose from their body. With hunched back and bent shoulders, they moved clinging to the last straw of hope to stay alive. It took some time for the doctor to understand what had happened actually.

He was surprised to see people walking naked as if it was a naked parade. He saw a woman and a child both naked. He wondered whether they had come back right from bath. Then he turned his eyes from her. The mighty bomb had disrobed the hapless duo. He realized that something strange had happened that had burnt the people’s clothes.

He saw an old woman seething with pain lying on the ground, with her face distorted. But she was not grumbling. A weird sound had shrouded the survivors. This was the scenario there and it was the common thing to all the men and women present there.

The doctor could hear neither a word nor a cry of pain. Each and everyone was dumb founded and speechless. They were all shocked to silence. They could not even cry out in pain. This symbolizes that the powerful always dominates over the weak and fragile, they suppress the weaker ones and make them keep silence.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 About the Author Vikram Seth

Vikram Seth was born on 20th june 1952, in Calcutta (Kolkata). He has written eight books of poetry which includes ‘The Humble Administrator’s Garden’(1985), All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990), and the Three Chinese Poets(1992). He also wrote many children’s book like, Beastly Ties from Here and There (1992)which contains ten stories made into poetry. He has also written three fictional novels.

His first novel being “The Golden Gate” (1986). The other two are “ASuitaible Boy” (1993), which drove him to limelight and “An Equal Music” (1999). His second non-fiction “Two Lives” (2005), is the memoir of the marriage of his great uncle and his German Jewish Great aunt Some awards that he received are Padma Shri Award in the year 2007, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2008, Order of the British Empire, Officer in 2001. He is among the most celebrated Indian novelists and poets.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Theme

The poem ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6,1945’by Vikram Seth deals with the destruction and ravaging caused by the explosion of the atomic bombs on the two cities of Japan – Hiroshima and Nagasaki.It was a horrific incident of 1945. It is written in the form of a joined entry by a doctor who himself was the victim of this bomb explosion.

The entry is the record of the panic stricken lives that the people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were surviving. The poet has described the hideous reality of the first nuclear explosion and its power to destroy the human race in totality.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Critical Analysis

In this poem Vikram Seth describes the scene after the atomic explosion of Hiroshima very vividly. It is written in the first person thus it makes the account seem both immediate and authetic. We find that the effects of such bombing is so tremendous that the people of the town could not find any words to say. They were neither screaming in anger nor crying in pain and despair. Since it was the first time in human history the nuclear weapons were used, the people of Hiroshima had no previous experience of it.

They all felt helpless. It seemed that they lost their senses and self dignity. That was why they no longer felt ashamed of being without clothes. They only crowded to the hospital hoping that the doctors or nurses there, would have some answer. This poem shows how only the common people are affected by such bombings, how people suffer when such historical events take place.

It was not the Japanese administration that suffered due to the atomic bombs but it was the common people, who had to face death or who were injured. The whole thing proved fatal to the common people. In the beginning of the poem, one can see the account of the impact of the atomic bombs of the city.

In this poem we see that the victim and narrator is a doctor whose job is to alleviate the suffering of others. But here he himself has become the suffering soul. He says that how on that fatal morning, he was jolted out of his bed by a monstrous blast that ripped off his under garments. The old lantern lighted up on its own, he saw two flashes which he thought to be magnesium flares used in battlefields but he was mistaken. He was baffled when his house (made of timber) came crashing down.

His garden and his house were in shambles. Dust was scattered everywhere. The sight looked frightening. A glass piece had pierced his right thigh which caused him excruciating pain. Blood oozed out from the incision. His cheek was bruised. He somehow removed the piece from his body. Midst the confusion, he wondered where his wife was. He called out by her name.

To add to his horror, the artery in his neck had been bruised. His wife appeared, undoubtedly very shaken. She also had blood stains in her body. They could realize the fury unleashed by the blast. They rushed out of the hoise in the street but fell flat on the way. He recoiled in horror to find that it was the head of a dead fellow human being on what he stumbled upon.

The doctor prodded his wife to pull up herself and go to the nearby hospital. The doctor’s conscience told him that he should do something for these injured but his enfeebled body did not permit him. They saw a house in front, uprooted from its foundation and leaning sideways and crashing onto the street. Thirst and injury had taken a toll of his energy.

He desperately wanted to reach the hospital but he fell on the ground. There was not even a drop of water to quench his thirst. He felt breathless. He mustered power and strength. He was naked but he felt no need to cover his body because his sense of shame had left him. However he asked his wife to proceed to the hospital. His wife reluctantly left him.The parting though insignificant, seemed to be painful. But there was nothing to do.

He had to be pragmatist in this time of distress. The doctor was overwhelmed with angst and doom that seemed to overtook his power of judgement. A pall of gloom seemed to have fallen on the city. The atmosphere was morbid. People with deep bums on their bodies seemed to move around without any aims. The doctor saw a woman with her child in her arms moving towards the hospital.

The mighty bomb had disrobed both of them. There was an old woman who lay on the ground seething with pain but strangely she was quiet. He encountered another naked man until then only he realized that something horrific had happened that had burnt the clothes of the people. The doctor described the atmosphere to be filled with weird silence.

The survivors did not cry, wail, pray or call out for help. They just obeyed the commands. The poet has described the gruesome reality of the first nuclear explosion which wiped out the two cities of Japan. But Japan endured this, rose up and rebuilt their city and their world

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Title of the Story

“A Doctor’s Journal Entry For August 6, 1945,” is a poem about the explosion caused by atomic bombing in the two cities of Japan-Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The aftermath of this explosion had been described from a doctor’s eye. So it is called ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry, August 61945.’ It is written in a journal form in order to give it an objective touch.

The poem has been narrated from the perspective of a doctor, instead of the poet himself. It describes the horrific incident of bombings of Hiroshima on 6th August, 1945. These entries were a record of the panic stricken lives that people in Hiroshima were living. The narrator of the journal entry is a doctor who lives with his wife in Hiroshima.

Before seeing the flashes of light, the day began with a calm morning. The doctor describes the day as warm and beautiful. The sun was up and the doctor gazed at the shimmering leaves and shades before him. The sudden flares baffled him because he did not know the cause of them. Suddenly the old stone lantern lit up in flames. The poem is set during the time of the Second World War. In this war, magnesium was commonly used in explosives.

Therefore the sudden flashes of light prompted the doctor to think that they were caused by magnesium. As he debated on what to do next, everything around him began to crumble and fall. Everything shattered in front of him. By the time he and his wife Yecko-San stepped out and reached the garden, he could see rubble strewn all around him.

The disappearance of the doctor’s clothes was weirder than the flashes of light and the crumpling of buildings. He called it weird because the doctor could not come up with any logical explanation for such a thing to happen. A splinter stuck out from his mutilated thigh. There was blood on his right side and his cheek was tom.

The doctor’s wife looked pale and scared and was bloodstained. She was holding her elbow which was an indication that she too was injured. All these things happening on that morning were witnessed by a doctor. Then in the poem, we also find how he remembered his duty as a doctor and his first thought was to send his wife to the hospital by instructing her to leave him behind. We don’t know whether he and her wife reunited since the widespread devastation caused by the atomic explosion left almost everyone shattered and lost.

We also find how the doctor tried to fulfill his duties towards the victims but since he himself was one of them, he was unable to do so. Though his mind wanted but his body couldn’t as he was also injured. Then we see how the doctor was shocked to see the mangled head of the dead man. On his way he met a naked woman with a naked child whom he thought were bathing before that. Then he saw another naked man when he realised that the clothes were ripped open from their bodies by the bombing.

The doctor narrates in his journal how everyone was shocked and became dumb. They made no sound inspite of so much pains in their bodies. They lost their sense of shame and judgement. From the beginning of the poem till the end, the doctor gave a description of how people faced this cataclysmic tragedy. So it seems that the poet wanted to deliver his anti-war message indirectly through presenting a horrific picture of the explosion-hit people in a third person narrative.

Moreover the date and the year mentioned in the tiltle of the poem also lucidly indicates what the poem actually deals with. So we can say that ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6,1945 is a good selection by the poet as a title and is a suitable one.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 About The Poem

The poem “A Doctor’s Journal Entry For August 6, 1945” by Vikram Seth is an account of the horrific incident of bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in the year 1945. It is actually written in the form of a journal entry by a doctor.

The poem speaks of the horror and devastation caused by the bomb, as well as the doctor’s feelings of helplessness and despair as he tries to treat the wounded; injured and dying. We find the doctor who also is injured and struggles to find help and understands what has happened.

The poet Vikram Seth describes the wretched conditions of the survivors after the atomic bombing by the United States during the end of the World War II ON 6th August, 1945. It is a remarkable tragic poem, describing the horrors of the aftermath of an atomic bomb explosion.

Therefore we can say this poem to be an anti-war poem also. The readers after going through this poem, are horrified thinking about the devastating effect of war on common innocent people. Therefore it is a poem describing the after-effect of this tragedy from a doctor’s eye.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Main Point Of The Poem

In this poem, Vikram Seth has depicted the gruesome reality of the first-ever nuclear explosion that was dropped on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. The cities turned into a living hell with the survivors running here and there in wretched conditions.

The tragedy was cataclysmic. The poet also depicts physical and mental agony through this poem. The bombing wiped out two cities and millions died. The effects can be seen many days after the bombing. It tells us how the nuclear explosion can destroy the whole human race.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Linewise Summary

1. 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 saw the old stone lantern brightly lit.
Magnesium flares? While I debated it,
The roof, the walls and, as it seemed, the world
Collapsed in timber and debris, dust swirled
Around me-in the garden now-and, weird,
My drawers and undershirt disappeared.

The poet Vikram Seth in his poem “A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945:”portrays the situation after the bombing very poignantly. The cities are completely destroyed and even the people are badly injured or had faced death. lt is a tragic poem and the poet was the victim of this and he had also witnessed this cataclysmic aftermath of the explosion. The doctor describes the morning to be calm, beautiful and warm,a mild weathered morning. He looked around and saw the leaves of the trees shaking and he saw the shadows everywhere.

Suddenly two blinding flashes came one after another. The doctor first thought it was usual magnesium flare normally used-in battlefields,but he realized that he was mistaken. There were far more sinister. He was baffled. The doctor describes how the top of his house appeared to be lit by something that was the old stone lantern which lit up on its own.

He thought it was magnesium flare. As soon as he noticed that, the roof and the walls fell down in a heap of wood and there were dust rising up from the pile. His garden and his house were in a shambles. His vest has flown away from his body. The flares and the heat of the explosion had burnt away his clothes. He was left naked. Till now we can say that the poet has started the poem with a beautiful moming. lt is ironic that such a beautiful day should end with such a disaster.

2. A splinter jutted from my mangled thigh.
My right side bled, my cheek was tom, and I
dislodged, detachedly, a piece of glass,
time wondering what had come to pass.
is my wife? Alarmed, I gave a shout,
‘Where are you, Yecko-san?’
My blood gushed out.
The artery in my neck? Scared for my life,
I called out, panic-stricken, to my wife.

Looking upon himself the doctor noticed that a splinter was sticking out from his tom thigh.His full right side was bleeding profusely.Pieces of glass were lodged in his cheek.He removed the piece and started wandering as to what had happened.Then suddenly he was reminded of his wife.He called out to his wife by her name Yeck-San,the force of his effort caused his already damaged artery in his neck to burst and blood oozed out. So in a state of total panic not knowing what had happened.he yelled out for his wife.

3. Pale, blood-stained, frightened, Yecko-sn emerged,
Holding her elbow. ‘We’ll be fine, ‘I urged –
‘Let’s get out quickly, ‘Stumbling to the street
We fell, tripped by something at our feet.

When the doctor yelled out for his wife, she emerged blood stained and frightened.Here the reader realizes that the impact of the bomb was immediate and obviously devastating and disastrous.lt left its victims with no time to think,no time to escape from the spot. The doctor assured her that they would be alright and asked her to leave the house quickly. But soon as they stepped onto the street they

stumbled upon something. The doctor thought that this explosion might be limited to the house alone and thus suggested that they get out quickly. But even then they stumbled outside.

4. I gasped out when I saw it was a head:
‘Excuse me, plese excuse me — ‘He was dead:
A gate had crushed him. There we stood, afraid.
A house standing before us tilted, swayed,
Toppled, and crashed. Fire sprang up in the dust,
Spread by the wind. It downed on us we must
Get to the hospital: we needed aid —
(Though this made, Sense to me then,
I wonder how I could)

The doctor later reveals that it was the head of the dead man upon which he stumbled.A gate had fallen over him and thus he was killed.On the street they stood in horror and watched a building tilt and then crumble down in front of their eyes.The entire city was in the same state that is in destruction.No one had no clue as to what was happening.

Being a doctor he knew that they should be going to the hospital as soon as possible.He even thought j that he might be of help to his staff.The doctor’s conscience told him that he should do something for his beleaguered staff,but his feeble,injured body did not allow him.Since here the doctor whose job is to alleviate the suffering of others is a victim himself,so we find the doctor to be helpless in such a situation.

5. My legs gave way. I sat down on the ground.
Thirst seized me, but no water could be found.
My breath was short, but bit by bit my strength
Seemed to revive, and I got up at length.

Thirst and injury had taken his energy.His legs couldn’t stand any longer and he slumped on the ground although he desperately wanted to reach the hospital.There was water nowhere.He felt breathless,perhaps out of exhaustion and thirst.However,in a show of remarkable tenacity of his mind,he could gather some strength in his limbs to get on his feet again.

6. I was still naked, but I felt no shame.
This thought disturbed me somewhat, till I came
Upon a soldier, standing silently,
Who gave the towel around his neck to me
My legs, stiff with dired blood, rebelled, I said.
To Yeck-San she must go on ahead.

The doctor though was still naked,wasn’t a bit ashamed of himself.He was not like a normal man as he lacked the sense of shame like that of a normal man.lt seemed as if shameness had deserted him.Then a soldier offered him a towel to wipe his wounds ut his legs became stiff with the blood that dried up already.The doctor told his wife to leave him behind and go to the hospital,for the slow movement of the doctor was retarding the speed of them both.

7. She did not wish to but in our distress
What choice had we? A dreadful loneliness
Came over me when she had gone.
My mind Ran at high speed, my body crept behind.

Yecko-san was reluctant to go to the hospital alone leaving behind her husband that is the doctor. But at last she agreed to go. Eventually she left him alone and proceeded to the hospital because she knew that they had no other choice. The doctor’s mind was working but his body refused to work and move.He was held back by his bodily injuries. He felt a “dreadful loneliness.” Thus husband and wife were separated which tells us that there might have been thousands of such separations that day.His mind was running at a high speed but his body could not cope up with such fatal injuries.

8. I saw the shadowy forms of people, some
We’re ghosts, some scarecrows, all were wordless dumb —
Arms stretched straight out, shoulder to dangling hand;
It took some time for me to understand
The friction on their bums caused so much pain
They feared to chafe flesh against flesh again.

The doctor saw shadow like appearances of people,some looked like ghosts and some scarecrows but one thing was common to them.They were all silent and numb.Some of the survivors were walking with their arms hanging loose from their bodies.They did this to avoid the exposed flesh of their arms rubbing against the flesh of their sides.The poet creates such images to bring out the people’s sufferings.

9. Those who could shuffled in a blank parade
Towards the hospital. I saw, dismayed,
A woman with a child stand in my path —
Both naked. Had they come back from the bath?

While the doctor sat by the roadside,he saw groups of people injured badly,and in a dazed condition walking towards the hospital.There were few who could make for the hospital.But it looked like a parade as they headed for the hospital.The doctor saw his way a woman with a child,both naked.He wondered whether they had come back right from bath.

10. 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 our clothes.

The doctor turned away from the naked woman,wondering why she didn’t cover herself. Just then he saw another naked man which made him realize the reason for everyone’s nakedness. We realized that something had happened that had burnt down people’s clothes. The face of an old woman on the ground Was marred with suffering, but she made no sound. The silence was common to us all. I heard No cries of anguish, or a single word.

The doctor saw an old woman lying whose face was distorted.She looked distressed but dumb. She was making no sound. Silence prevailed all around. The doctor could hear no words,no cries of pain. They did not cry, wail, call out for help, protest or pray. The hapless citizens endured the suffering with stoic resignation as the pain had numbed their senses of shame and judgement and made them dumb. They could feel the pain but was speechless. The poet in this poem brings alive the lament and the wrenching pain of ordinary civilians.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Linewise Explanation

1. The morning stretched calm, beautiful and warm.
Sprawling half-clad, I gazed out at the from
Of shimmering leaves and shadows. Suddenly
A strong flash, then another, stared me.

In these lines, the doctor describes a calm and mild morning when he woke up. He was partially naked and as he looked out of the window he saw the shining leaves of trees and shadows everywhere. Suddenly there was blinding flash and light, soon followed by another like the first one. He was very much surprised to see this.

2. I saw the old stone lantern brightly lit.
Magnesium flares? While I debated it,
The roof, the walls and, as it seemed, the world
Collapsed in timber and debris, dust swirled
Around me – in the garden now – and, weired,
My drawers and undershirt disappeared.

In these lines, the doctor gives a description of how the old stone lantern in his room lighted up and he thought to be magnesium flares. But then he noticed the roof,and the walls falling down. They fell down in a heap of wood and there was dust rising up from pile. The doctor found himself thrown into the garden, and the drawers and undershirt he had been wearing were all gone.

3. A splinter jutted from my mangled thigh.
My right side bled, my cheek was torn, and I
Dislodged, detachedly, a piece of glasss,
All the time wondering what had come to pass.

In these lines, the doctor says he saw a splinter sticking out of his thigh which had been injured completely. The doctor’s right side was bleeding and so was his cheek, out of which he removed a piece of glass. All the time, he was wondering and was trying to figure out what had actually happened.

4. I gasped out, when I saw it was a head:
Excuse me, please excuse me — ‘He was dead:
A gate had curshed him. There we stood, afraid.
A house standing before us tilted, swayed,
Toppled, and crashed. Fire sprang up in the dust,
Spread by the wind. 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)

In these lines, the doctor says that the thing on which he stumbled upon was a head of a human being who had died for a gate which had fallen and crushed his head. The doctor and his wife watched in fear as a house collapsed before their eyes. It caught fire and the fire spread because it was being blown around by the wind. At this point, they realized that they needed to go to the hospital as the doctor wanted to help the staff as well but did not know how he would do so.

5. My legs gave way. I sat down on the ground.
Thirst seized me, but no water could be found.
My breath was short, but bit by bit my strength
Seemed to revive, and I got up at length.

In these lines, the doctor says that he couldn’t stand any longer, and sat on the ground. He was thirsty, but there was no water. He was panting and eventually he gained strength and he was able to stand up.

6. I was still naked, but I felt no shame,
This thought disturbed me somewhat,
till I came Upon a soldier, standing silently,
Who gave the towel round his neck to me
My legs, stiff with dried blood, rebelled.
I said To Yecko-san she must go on ahead.

The doctor says that even though he was still naked, he wasn’t ashamed of himself and this thought disturbed him somewhat when he came across a soldier who gave him a towel. His legs couldn’t bear to be touched as the blood on them dried up already. The doctor told his wife to go to the hospital leaving him behind for he was slowing down the speed of both of them.

7. She did not wish to, but in our distress
What choice had we? A dreadful loneliness
Came over me when she had gone.
My mind Ran at high speed, my body crept behind.

The doctor says that his wife was reluctant to leave him, but ultimately she agreed to do it as there was no option. The doctor felt lonely after she left. Though his mind was moving fast, but his body could not.

8. I saw the shadowy forms of people, some
Were ghosts, some scarecrows, all were wordless dumb-
Arms stretched straight out, shoulder to dangling hand;
It took some time for me to understand
The friction on their bums caused so much pain
They feared chafe flesh against flesh again.

Here the doctor is describing how people seemed to have been reduced to pale ghosts or unruly scare crows and how everyone was silent and dumb. They were all walking with their arms dangling in front of them. The doctor couldn’t understand the reason for their walking in such a way but soon he realized that their bums were so severe that they could not bear to even touch them against anyone else’s flesh.

9. Those who could, shuffled in a blank parade
Towards the hospital. I saw, dismayed,
A woman with a child stand in my path- Both naked.
Had they come back from the bath?

The doctor here describes, that the people who had the strength to stand where all trooping towards the hospital. He also saw a woman and her child naked and wondered whether they had gone to take a bath.

10. 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 of our clothes.

In these lines, the doctor describes how he turned away from the naked woman, wandering why she wasn’t trying to cover herself up. Then he realized that everyone was disrobed and something had happened that had left them undressed.

11. The face of an old woman on the ground
Was marred with suffering, but she made no sound.
Silence was common to us all. I heard
No cries of anguish, or a single word.

In the stanza, the doctor describes how an old woman was lying on the ground and she looked very distressed but she neither cried in pain nor speak anything. In fact no one cried or said anything.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Annotations and Vocabulary

Sprawling — set, lie or fall with one’s arms and legs.
Shimmering — shining with a soft wavering light.
Half — clad-partially dressed.
Startled — alarmed;flabbergasted.
Magnesium flares — a brilliant white flare containing magnesium wire.
Collapsed — having fallen down or given away.
Splinter — a small, thin sharp piece of wood, glass or similar material broken off from larger piece.
Jutted — projected.
mangled — disfigured or multilated.
dislodged — removed; get rid of.
detachedly — disconnected or separated.
panic — stricken – horror-stricken; frantic.
strumbling — trip or momentarily lose one’s balance.
tripped — toppled;fell.
toppled — fell or tumbled.
crashed — bump into or battered.
seized — snatched;grabbed.
rebelled — revolted.
distress — suffering.
dreadful — terrible;frightening.
crept — crawled or move slowly and carefully in order to avoid being heard or noticed.
shadowy — full of shadows.
dangling — hanging or swinging loosely.
chafe — make or become sore by rubbing against something.
shuffled — walk by dragging one’s feet along or without lifting them fully from the ground.
dismayed — cause to feel concerned and distress.
stripped — remove all coverings from.
marred — spoiled or ruined.
anguish — severe mental or physical pain or suffering.

Treasure Chest A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Questions and Answers & MCQs

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Questions and Answers

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem Questions and Answers & MCQs

Read the given extracts given below and the following questions:

Question 1.
Sprawlinghalf clad, I gazed
Of shinimering ………………….
A strong flash, then another, startled me.
a. Name the poem and the poet.
b. Who was startled and why?
c. What did he debate? What did he see next?
d. State the theme of the poem.
Answers:
a. The name of the poem is ‘A Doctor’s Jornal Entry for August 6, 1945’. The poem is written by Vikram Seth.

b. The doctor was startled because he saw a sudden strong flash, followed by another.

c. He debated whether these flashes which he had seen, were magnesium flares as they appeared extremely bright. He saw the old stone lantern, to be lit up on its own. Then he saw that the roof, the walls of his house collapsed. His house was mostly made of timber that came crashing down and debris were strewn all over the place and he found himself to be thrown into the garden without his clothes.

d. It is an anti-war poem vividly describing the scene of fire, destruction, blood, death through the doctor’s horrific experience of undergoing the ordeal. It describes the reality of the first nuclear explosion and its power to destroy the human race.

Question 2.
‘All the time wandering what had come to pass’
a. Who was wandering and what was the morning like, when the speaker woke up?
b. What was the speaker doing after he woke up?
c. What had happened to him before this?
d. Just after this what was the speaker reminded of? What did he do?
Answers:
a. The speaker of the above line is the doctor. When he woke up, the morning was calm, beautiful and warm.

b. When the doctor woke up on that beautiful, calm and warm morning, with partially dressed, he looked out and saw the leaves of the trees shaking, and shadows everywhere.

c. He was thrown into the garden and his clothes were separated from him and he was left naked. A splinter stuck out of his thigh which had been ravaged completely. The doctor’s right side bled and his cheek was badly bruised and he somehow pulled out a piece of glass.

d. Just after this,the doctor remembered of his wife Yecko-San. He was confused and thought where his wife was. So he called his wife by her name frantically. Moreover, the artery in his neck had torn and it started to bleed profusely and he was sure that he would soon die.

Question 3.
‘I called out, panic-stricken to my wife’
a. What was the doctor’s wife name? Why was he panic-stricken?
b. What did he notice when she appeared?
c. How did the doctor reassure his wife and what did he suggest to do? Did his wife listen to him?
d. Describe the encounter as they stepped out? How did the doctor react?
Answers:
a. The doctor’s wife’s name was Yecko-San. When she called out his wife, blood started oozing out profusely as the artery in his neck had torn. Being a doctor he knew that he would die soon, so he was panic-stricken and called out his wife.

b. When his wife emerged, the doctor that she was holding her injured elbow and her body was blood stained and she was looking pale and frightened.

c. The doctor assured his wife that they would be alright and he also suggested that they should leave the house immediately. Yes, his wife agreed to him and both of them stepped onto the street.

d. No sooner did they step onto the street than they tripped over something. The doctor gasped out as he saw that it was a head of a dead man who was crushed to death by a gate which had fallen upon him. The doctor apologized to the dead man for stepping on him.

4. My legs gave way. I sat …….. ground
Thirst seizel hie ………. found.
a. What further destruction,frightened the doctor and his wife, immediately just before this extract?
b. What did they decide to do and why?
c. ‘The doctor felt no shame’. Why do you think so and who gave him the towel?
Answers:
a. Just before this extract, the doctor and his wife saw a house in front of them, swayed, tripped and crashed and fire sprang up in the dust, spread by the wind.

b. At that point, the doctor realized that they needed to go to the hospital for help. The doctor wanted to help his employees as well but did not know how to do so.

c. The doctor couldn’t stand any longer so he sat on the ground. He was thirsty but there was no water to quench his thirst. He was panting eventually, but gradually he was able to stand up as be revived slowly.

d. The doctor was still without any attires but still he didn’t feel any shame.He was so disturbed and puzzled at the moment that he had lost his sense of shame. On the way a soldier gave him a towel to cover him and to wipe the blood.

Question 5.
She did not wish ……………………… distress
What choice ………………………. Ioneliness.
a. Who is ‘she’ referred to in the above line? What did she not wish?
b. Did ‘she’ listen and how did the doctor feel then?
c. What did the doctor say the victims of the bomb blast looked like?
d. How did the doctor describe the people going to the hospital?
Answers:
a. ‘She’ in the above line refers to Yeckosan, the doctors’s wife. The doctor told his wife to go to the hospital, leaving him behind, because he couldn’t walk and so he was slowing down her speed.

b. Though the doctor’s wife was reluctant to go to the hospital leaving her husband (the doctor. alone but since there was no choice left for them, she agreed to go. After she left, the doctor felt lonely. Though his mind was moving fast, but his body could not.

c. The people or the victims seemed to have been reduced to pale ghosts or unruly scarecrows. They were all walking with their arms in front of them. The poet for a moment could not understand why they were doing so, but soon he realized that their burns were so severe that they could not even touch themselves against anyone else’s flesh.

d. The victims who were all terribly injured and wounded wanted to hold the last rope to survive. So the people who had strength to stand were all trooping towards the hospital for their lives. It looked like a parade of undressed people.

Question 6.
I turned my gaze but was at a loss.
a. Why did the narrator turn his gaze?
b. What did the narrator think of It?
c. What did the narrator see after this that made him realize Of the reality?
d. What did the doctor see at last when he said silence to be common for everyone? Why did he say so?
Answers:
a. Just before this the narrator that is the doctor saw a woman and her child naked and so he turned away from the naked woman.

b. When the doctor saw the woman and the baby both in an undressed condition, he wondered whether they had gone to bath. Then he thought why the woman wasn’t trying to cover herself up.

c. Just after this the doctor saw again another naked man. It was then that he realized that everyone’s clothes had been ripped open by something or something had happened that unclothed everyone there.

d. The doctor then saw an old woman who was lying on the ground and her face was distorted. Though she looked distressed with seething pain, she still did not say anything. In fact, no one said anything, and no one even cried. Silence was around and in the faces of all men and women. Each and everyone was dumbfounded and speechless.

A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 Poem MCQs

Question 1.
What is the main theme of the poem?
a. War
b. Love
c. Nature
d. Loss
Answer:
a. War

Question 2.
How does the doctor feels as he stumbles through the aftermath of the bombing?
a. excitement
b. fear
c. confusion
d. calmness
Answer:
c. confusion

Question 3.
What is the doctor’s primary concern as he searches for his wife?
a. her safety
b. his own injuries
c. The state of the world around him
d. all of the above
Answer:
a. her safety

Question 4.
How does the doctor feel about his nudity in the aftermath of the bombing?
a. ashamed
b. confused
c. indifferent
d. embarrassed
Answer:
b. confused

Question 5.
How was the morning described by the doctor?
a. calm, beautiful and cold
b. beautiful, cold and peaceful
c. calm, beautiful and warm
d. beautiful and warm
Answer:
c. calm, beautiful and warm

Question 6.
How many strong flash startled ………. the doctor?
a. one
b. two
c. three
d. four
Answer:
b. two

Question 7.
Yecko-San came out holding her …………
a. elbow
b. arm
c. wrist
d. finger
Answer:
a. elbow

Question 8.
The victims were described by the doctor as …………
a. ghost and scarecrows
b. scarecrows and wordless dumb
c. ghost and wordless dumb
d. all of the above
Answer:
d. all of the above

Question 9.
A splinter jutted from the doctor’s mangled ………………
a. hand
b. ankle
c. arm
d. thigh
Answer:
d. thigh

Question 10.
The doctor removed a piece of glass from his …………..
a. knee
b. cheek
c. nose
d. shoulder
Answer:
b. cheek

Question 11.
Blood gushed out from the artery of the doctor’s
a. hands
b. thigh
c. neck
d. cheek
Answer:
c. neck

Question 12.
A gave a towel to the doctor.
a. his wife
b. A woman
c. his staff
d. A soldier
Answer:
d. A soldier

Question 13.
The doctor saw the lantern brightly lit up.
a. old metal
b. new stone
c. new metal
d. old stone
Answer:
d. old stone

Question 14.
The doctor found himself thrown into the ………….
a. garden
b. verendah
c. street
d. none of the above
Answer:
a. garden

Question 15.
A woman with a child stood in the way of the doctor who were …………
a. half-clad
b. fully dressed
c. fully undressed
d. in towels
Answer:
c. fully undressed

Question 16.
The doctor’s ……….. and ………… disappeared.
a. drawers and shirt
b. drawers and undershirt
c. drawers and shawl
d. shirt and undershirt
Answer:
b. drawers and undershirt

Treasure Chest A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers