With the Photographer: Questions and Answers

Essay Question:

1. Based on your understanding of the story, answer the following questions in two or three sentences each

a.       Why did the author go to the photo studio?

The author went to the photo studio to have his photograph taken.

b.      Describe the photographer.

The photographer was a drooping man— his body was bent. His eyes were dim like the eyes of a natural scientist. He was wearing a gray suit.

c.         Bring out the significance of what Leacock was reading at the photographer’s.

Leacock was reading the ladies companion, the girl’s magazine and the infants Journal. This means that he was not reading anything serious, but reading for fun!

d.        Why did Leacock assume that the photographer was praying?

The photographer crawled into the machine and drew a black cloth over himself. He was quiet for sometime. So Leacock assumed that the photographer was praying.

e.       How did the inner room get light?

The inner room got light by a beam of sunlight filtered through a sheet of factory cotton hung against a frosted skylight.

f.        Why did the photographer take a long time to photograph Leacock?

It took a long time to take the photo of Leacock. The photographer crawled into a machine and adjusted the camera for sometime. Then he came out and twisted Leacock’s face, adjusted his sitting position and then went back into the machine. Then he asked Leacock to open his mouth, droop his ears and roll his eyes. Thus the photographer took a long time.

g.        What angered the author?

The photographer made unpleasant comments, about Leacock’s face. He said “I don’t like the head”, “the ears are bad” and “I don’t like the face” So, Leacock became angry.

h.      Why did the photographer feel happy after taking the photograph?

Leacock rose from his seat angrily. Snick!-just at that moment. The photographer felt happy- “I caught the features just in a moment of animation”.

i.        Why did Leacock visit the studio on Saturday?

The photographer asked Leacock to visit the studio on Saturday to see a proof his photograph. So Leacock visited the studio on Saturday.

j.        How did the author react on seeing his photograph?

The photographer had retouched and adjusted Leacock’s eyes, eyebrows, hair, mouth and ears. Photo was complete different from the real face of Leacock. So, Leacock got angry and did not accept the photo.

k.      What changes had the photographer effected on Leacock’s face in the picture?

The photographer retouched the eyes, and removed the eyebrows, He had adjusted the mouth, because it was too low. He also wanted to remove the ears entirely and put new ones.

l.        What was the human side to the photographer?

The photographer told Leacock “Your face would be better three quarters full. This was the human side of the photographer.

m.   Why was the photographer proud to receive Leacock on Saturday?

The photographer had many changes to the face of the author and made the face look more handsome that it really was. Therefore he thought Leacock would like it. So, he felt proud of his photo.

n.      What was the only similarity between Leacock’s face and his photograph?

The photographer had made many changes, but Leacock found that the ears were the same—“they are just like mine”. The ears were the only similarity between Leacock’s face and the photograph.

2. Based on your understanding of the lesson, complete the sentences given below to make a summary of the story ‘With the Photographer’ in a paragraph.

a.      The narrator went to the photographer to take his photograph.

b.      The photographer made the author wait for an hour.

c.       While waiting in the studio the narrator kept reading the Ladies’ companion for 1912, the Girls magazine for 1902 and the Infants Journal for 1888 at the photographer’s studio.

d.      The photographer told him to come in and sit down.

e.       The  narrator  got  angry  because photographer commented on the features of the author’s face.

f.        The  photographer  was  pleased  after he clicked a photo of the author in moments of animation.

g.      He was called on Saturday to look at the proof of his photo.

h.      On seeing the photograph the narrator was shocked in silence.

i.        The photographer had made changes removing the eyebrows and making adjustments in the mouth.

j.        The  photograph  did  not  look  like the author.

k.        The narrator was frustrated as the photo did not look like him which he had planned to give his friend to keep after his death.

l.         He left the studio saying the photograph was a worthless bauble.

3. Answer the following questions in a paragraph of 100 -150 words each:

a. Stephen Leacock’s visit to the photo studio turns out to be an annoying experience for him. Discuss citing relevant instances from the story.

Stephen Leacock went to a photo studio to have a photo of himself taken. The photographer said “Your face is wrong” and made unpleasant comments. He took a longtime and then he took a photo of Leacock, when Leacock angrily rose from his seat.

Leacock went to the studio to get his photo. The photographer showed him the proof. Leacock was shocked, because the photographer had changed and adjusted Leacock’s mouth, eyes, and eyebrows. The ears were the same, but the photographer said that he would completely remove them and supply new ears!

Leacock wanted his own, real face as given by Heaven, so that his friends would remember after his death.

But the face in the photo was not his face and so he did not accept the photo. So, Leacock’s visit to the photo studio was an annoying disappointing experience.

b. “To me it is but a worthless bauble.” Why did the photographer’s touch of technical expertise appear a worthless bauble to Leacock?

All the photographers have technical expertise, with the help of chemical processes, they make changes in the photo in order to make the person appear more beautiful than he/she really is. This is a common practice among all photographers.

But when Leacock saw his photo, he was disappointed the photographer had made changes to the eyes, eyebrows, mouth and also planned to remove the ears completely and supply new ears.

Leacock wanted to have his face photographed as it was, so that his friends could remember him after his death. But the face in the photo was not his real face. So, he angrily rejected the photo calling it “a worthless bauble”