Telephone Conversation Poem Summary, Questions and Answers
Telephone Conversation Poem Long Answer Questions
Question 1.
Attempt a critical Appreciation of Wole Soyinka’s Telephone Conversation.
Or
Question 2.
Soyinka’s Telephone Conversation is a strong protest against racism. Discuss.
Or
Question 3.
In What way does Soyinka’s Telephone Conversation urge us to think about racial prejudice?
Answer:
Nigerian poet Wole Soyinka presents the absurdity of racism in his poem, Telephone Conversation. The speaker of the poem, a dark West African man searching for a new apartment, tells the story of a telephone call he made to a potential landlady.
Instead of discussing price, location, facilities, and other information significant to the apartment, the landlady is more interested in the speaker’s skin color. This shows that despite being a well-bred woman, the landlady is after all shallowly racist.
Right from the very outset of the poem, the speaker shows how pathetically he is the victim of racism. The landlady asks him straight “HOW DARK” he is, after knowing that he an African. The speaker is shown to be genuinely modest. Instead of informing that he is an African he “warned” her against his skin colour. This however ascertains that the speaker actually feels genuinely sorry for his skin colour. To the modern thinkers, it seems almost ridiculous that anyone should be so submissive when he has committed no crime.
But then despite being unexpectedly modest, the speaker feels much annoyed when he is asked “HOW DARK” he is. His anger is subtly expressed through the repetition of the word “red” before booth, pillar box and double-tired. Yet he has no other option than to endure the humiliation since the whites are destined to take upper hand over blacks.
The landlady does exactly the same and in doing so all her sophisticated appearance seems to contrast terribly with her real-self. In other words, despite her “good-breeding,” and “Lipstick-coated” voice, she is after ail too unsophisticated to ask a gentle-man whether he is “LIGHT / OR VERY DARK?”
On contrary, the gentleman who feels genuinely sorry for his skin colour appears more refined. Citing his pass-port, he says that he his body colour is “West African sepia”. The landlady still demands a quantifiable expres-sion of his darkness. The tenant instead of satisfying her curiosity, chooses to detail the different colours of the different parts of his body. He says that though he is dark facially, the palm of his hand and the soles of his feet are lighter than the colour of his face.
The landlady expecting only yes or no regarding whether he is black or white, finally hangs up on him. The speaker, still playing his ignorance of what the lady actually wants to know from him, asks her if she is willing to meet him in person to judge his skin color for herself: ” ‘Madam/ I pleaded, wouldn’t you rather / See for yourself?” says the helpless man.
Question 4.
How far do you agree with the view that Telephone Conversation is an ironical conversation between the lodger and his landlady.
Ans.
Wole Soyinka’s “Telephone Conversation” is packed with subtleties. The puns, irony, and sarcasm employed in the poem, help him to ridicule an overtly racist woman. The conversation we observe is ironical in the sense that instead of discussing price, location, facilities, and other information significant to the apartment, the land-lady is more interested in the speaker’s skin color. This shows that despite being a well-bred woman, the land-lady is after all shallowly racist.
From the very outset of the poem, the speaker appears as a pathetic victim of racism. The landlady asks him straight, “HOW DARK” he is after knowing that he is an African. This is ironical in the sense that after all the colour of a man’s skin does matter while he is to rent an apartment. From thence onward, the landlady is perculiarly interested in discussing her lodger’s colour of skin. Moreover, it is also ironical that the speaker feels sorry for his skin colour.
He apologetically says that he is an African. The word “warned” which means cautioned shows how the humbly speaker actually attempts to warn his would-be landlady against his skin colour as if to allow him to rent her apartment is a crime, since he is an African. But despite being unexpectedly modest, the speaker feels much annoyed when he is asked unabashedly “HOW DARK” he is.
His anger is subtly expressed through the repetition of the word “red” before booth, pillar box and double-tired. Yet he has no other option than to endure the humiliation since the whites are destined to take upper hand over blacks.
The landlady does exactly the same and in doing so all her sophisticated appearance seems to ironically contrast her terribly real- self. In other words, despite her “good-breeding/? and “Lipstick-coated” voice, she is after all too rude to ask a gentleman whether he is “LIGHT / OR VERY DARK?”
On contrary, the tenant appears more refined. Words like “pipped,” “rancid,” and “spectroscopic” are not words that an unrefined man would have in his vocabulary. The gentleman’s intelligence is further displayed through his use of sarcasm and wit in response to the landlady’s questions. For example, when asked if he is “DARK / OR VERY LIGHT”, the gentleman says, citing his passport that exactly his colour is “West African sepia”.
The land-lady still demands a quantifiable expression of his darkness. The tenant instead of satisfying her curiosity, chooses to detail the different colours of the different parts of his body. He says that though he is dark facially, the palm of his hand and the soles of his feet are lighter than the colour of his face.
The landlady expecting only yes or ho regarding whether he is black or white, finally hangs up on him. We feel extremely amused when the speaker further asks the lady if she is willing to meet him in person to judge his skin color for herself: “‘Madam,’ I pleaded, wouldn’t you rather / See for yourself?”
Telephone Conversation Poem Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
How does the tenant speaker in the poem describe the colour of his skin to the landlady?
Answer:
The tenant speaker of the poem, Telephone; Conversation is of West African origin. He feels deeply ashamed because of his dark skin. The way he talks with the landlady amply suggests his embarrassment particularly when he warns the lady against his skin colour. The word “warned” which means cautioned lends an impression of the speaker being roosted by his own ‘ complex. It seems as if to allow him to rent an apartment
is a crime since he is an African. Such irrational complex goads him to remain calm even when the landlady ’ annoys him asking “HOW DARK” he is. The speaker continues describing that his body colour is “West African sepia”.
Moreover, he goes further into detailing that he is dark facially, the palm of his hand and the soles of his feet are lighter than the colour of his face. Towards the end of the poem he shows his willingness to appear up before the landlady so that the lady can judge his skin colour: “Madam/ I pleaded, wouldn’t you rather / See for yourself?”
Question 2.
Would you consider the landlady as a racist? Give reason for your answers.
Answer:
The landlady is presented as an immodest woman who simply harasses her would be tenant once she learns that the man is of West African origin. Instead of discussing price, location, facilities, and other information significant to the apartment, the landlady is more interested in the speaker’s skin colour. This is evident when she demands to know “HOW DARK” is her tenant.
The speaker’s silence goads her to reshape her question into a bit amiable tone. She politely asks the tenant if he is dark “OR VERY LIGHT?” The answer doesn’t satisfy her and she demands a quantifiable expression of his darkness. Finally, she hangs up failing to get a specific answer from the tenant. After all, she expected only yes or no regarding whether he is black or white. But, the tenant’s riddling answer dissatisfies her. The landlady thus appears to be shallowly racist, despite being a well-bred woman.
Telephone Conversation Poem Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Question 1.
The tenant in the poem hails from …………….
a. India
b. West Indies
c. West Africa
d. Germany
Answer:
c. West Africa
Question 2.
The tenant feels uncomfortable because of his ……..
a. poor financial condition
b. skin colour
c. deformity
d. criminal record
Answer:
b. skin colour
Question 3.
Why does the speaker warn the landlady against the colour of his skin?
a. Because he knows that he the landlady might reject him as her tenant once she finds him black
b. Because neighbours might object staying with a man of black skin colour
c. Because the man doesn’t want to stay with the whites and thus, wants to know if the lady is black
d. Because the man was rejected elsewhere and thus wants to be sure whether the landlady would allow him to rent her apartment
Answer:
a. Because he knows that he the landlady might reject him as her tenant once she finds him black
Question 4.
The colour mentioned in the passport of the speaker is ………
a. while
b. brown
c. West African sepia
d. red
Answer:
c. West African sepia
Question 5.
What do the expressions “Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled / Cigarette-holder piped” tell us about the landlady?
a. that she is a fashion-able woman
b. that she belongs to higher echelons of society
c. that she is a white woman
d. that she has a good breeding
Answer:
d. that she has a good breeding
Question 6.
Which question of the landlady deeply annoys the speaker?
a. How tall he is?
b. How wealthy he is?
c. How dark he is?
d. How educated he is?
Answer:
c. How dark he is?
Question 7.
What colour does the speaker see around when the landlady annoys him?
a. white
b. red
c. blue
d. orange
Answer:
b. red
Question 8.
What does the landlady do finally with the speaker?
a. she invites him to her apartment
b. she agrees renting the apartment to the speaker
c. she hangs on the telephone
d. she asks the speaker not to meet her
Answer:
c. she hangs on the telephone
Question 9.
What was the final proposal of the speaker?
a. that he will not rent the apartment
b. that he is willing to come and meet her
c. that he would send her his photograph
d. that he will not come and meet her
Answer:
b. that he is willing to come and meet her
Question 10.
The speaker asks the landlady to visit him to…………………
a. discuss the rent
b. show the apartment
c. see how dark he is
d. to hand over the key of the apartment.
Answer:
c. see how dark he is
Telephone Conversation Poem Summary
Telephone Conversation Poem Introduction
Nigerian poet Wole Soyinka presents the absurdity of racism his poem, Telephone Conversation. The speaker of the poem, a dark West African man searching for a new apartment, tells the story of a telephone call he made to a potential landlady. Instead of discussing price, occation, facilities, and other information significant to the apartment, the landlady is more interested in the speaker’s skin color. This shows that despite being a well-bred woman, the land lady is after all shallowly racist.
Telephone Conversation Poem Summary
The telephonic conversation between the tenant and the landlady begins with the tenant knowing little about the apartment he proposes to rent. Only he gets to know that the rental charge of the apartment is affordable and is without the landlady’s interference since she stays away from the appartment. After this minimal information, the tenant begins his “self-confession”
that he is an African and his skin colour is black. The landlady is shocked and sighs over phone. After she recovers from her initial shock her sophisticated voice once again resounds in the speaker of the public telephone, booth. Curious to know how dark is her would be lodger, the landlady shamelessly asks him straight.
The tenant is deeply annoyed. He sees red everywhere “Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered Omnibus.” This however indicates his anger which made him almost tongue tied. The landlady perhaps uncomfortable with the sudden silence decides to rephrase her question. She politely asks the tenant if he is dark “OR VERY LIGHT?” The anger of the tenants continues growing from more to more. Even at this time, he fails to reply her back At last the tenant replies the shallowly racist land-lady.
Citing his passport, he says that he his body colour is “West African sepia”. The landlady still demands a quantifiable expression of his darkness. The tenant instead of satisfying her curiosity, choose to detail the different colours of the different parts of his body. He says that though he is dark facially, the palm of his hand and the soles of his feet are lighter than the colour of his face.
The landlady expecting only yes or no regarding whether he is black or white, finally hangs up on him. The speaker, still playing his ignorance of what the lady actually wants to know from him, asks her if she is willing to meet him in person to judge his skin color for herself: ” ‘Madam/ I pleaded, wouldn’t you rather / See for yourself?” says the helpless man.
Telephone Conversation Poem Paraphrase
Lines 1 to 9 :
The telephone conversation begins with the tenant knowing little about the apartment he is about to rent. Only he gets to know that the rental charge of the apartment is affordable and is without the landlady’s interference. After this minimal information, the tenant begins his self-confession that he is an African and his skin colour is black. Within moment, the landlady is bowled over. When she recovers from her initial shock her sophisticated voice once again reverberates in the speaker of the public telephone booth.
Lines 10 to 14:
The landlady unabashedly asks the tenant how dark he is. The tenant however is confirmed about hearing her question, asking him straight how dark he is. Instantly, the man is red with anger. This is subtly expressed through the repetition of the word “red” before booth, pillar box and double-tired. Moreover, the speaker’s consciousness of the world around him is also evident from speculation of the red booth, red pillar box and his awareness about the foul smell hovering inside the booth.
Lines 15 to 21 :
The landlady however is considerate in rephrasing her question at last. Finding her tenant taking time to reply how dark he is, she asks him politely if he is dark and if so how does he looks like. The speaker says that the negotiation of the landlady is too judgmental, no matter how seemingly she appears to be pleasant.
Lines 22 to 35 :
Finally the tenant replies her, overcoming his anger. Citing his passport, he says that he his body colour is “West African sepia”; i.e. reddish-brown. Yet the landlady is unsatisfied. She wants a quantifiable expression of his darkness. But the man instead of satisfying her curiosity, choose to detail the different colours of the various parts of his body. He says that though facially he is dark, the palm of his hand and the soles of his feet are lighter than the colour of his face.
The landlady expecting only yes or no regarding whether he is black or white, finally hangs up his face. The landlady expecting only yes or no regarding whether he is black or white, finally hangs up on him. The speaker, still playing his ignorance of what the lady actually wants to know from him, asks her if she is willing to meet him in person to judge his skin colour for herself.
Telephone Conversation Poem Annotations with Comments
Lines 1 to 9 :
price : refers to the rental charge
location : location of the apartment
indifferent : it hardly matters
swore : promised she lived
premises : without her interference
Nothing remained : nothing more to know
self-confession : revealing about own self
silence : the woman was dumb founded hearing that her would be tenant is an African
transmission : the word is significant since the poem is about telephonic conversation
pressurized : hassled
voice : refers to the voice of the land lady
Comments:
Nothing remained / But self-confession: Having known a bit about the apartment, the speaker begins his “self-confession” about his skin colour. It is ironic that this is called a self-confession since the speaker has nothing that he should have to confess because of doing no wrong. He warns the landlady that he is African, instead of just informing her.
I warned: Note the words “warned”. By making the speaker actually seem sorry for his skin colour, Soyinka shows how ridiculous it really is for someone to apologize for his race. To the modern thinkers, it seems almost ridiculous.