Lit.Answers

THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH- by Jackie Kay

(01) It refers to the photograph.
(02) 'White hand in black hand'
(03) Age has made her round and hunched.
(04) Evidence 1: She looks upon death  as an awful, unthinkable place.
        Evidence 2: She keeps her alive in her memory by looking at the photograph.

(05) (a) She appears firm/ confident/ strong.
        (b) She was a protector / She inspired confidence.

(06) She became older and weaker./ She became absent-minded/ forgetful and hunched
(07) Reason 1: The memory of her grandmother lives on through this photograph.
        Reason 2 : The poet's favourite memories of her grandmother are preserved in this photograph/ 
        The grandmother is an unforgettable person who is cherished by the persona.

(08) "Her sharp blue eyes look her own death in the eye"
(09) "Somewhere unknown, unthinkable"
(10) It refers to the photograph.
(11) (1) She was of different race/ ethnicity, yet was loved and accepted by her grandmother.
        (2) She was kind.
(12) ' white hand in black hand'
(13) 'hunched'
(14) She was old and forgetful/ absent-minded.

(15) (Accept any  suitable answer)
       Quality                           Evidence
       Kind                               " a kind old smile"
       Protective/caring            " her big hands holds mine"
       fearless/ courageous       " look her own death in the eye"
       friendly                           " the crinkled smile is still living"

(16) kind old smile, sharp blue eyes
(17) It had become round and hunched
(18) She was three years old.
(19) She accepts the fact that people of different races can live harmoniously.
        Reason: She accepts and loves her white grandmother.

(20) The word 'unthinkable'.
(21) In the 1st stanza, the grandmother is strong and healthy in the photograph while in the 2nd
       stanza, the grandmother is older and ill.
(22) The poem teaches us that we must spend time with our loved ones because when they pass away,
       all that will be left are the memories of the time spent together.
(23) (a) Broderie anglaise
(24) The skirt was pleated and the shoes were flat.
(25)  I think she was getting old and forgetful.
(26) Where: By the grandmother's side
        Reason: The persona mentions 'her big hands hold mine'

(27) They tell us that she was a white woman.
(28) Her grandmother had passed away and gone to the awful place.
(29) Yes, because she was said to have looked 'her own death in the eye'.
(30) How: She became shorter and small with round hunched back.
        Reason: She had become old.

(31) The word is 'crinkled'
(32) She can be so described when she was young before her sixties.
(33) The line is 'white hand in black hand'.
(34) Age gap: 1 think it must be big.
       Reason: The persona describes her grandmother's smile as crinkled meaning she had wrinkles                             and the persona was only three.
(35) The word is 'hunched'.
(36) Three years old
(37) The soup was not boiled and I think it was on the stove that was not lit.
(38) Understanding: No, I don't think she understand then.
       Reason: She mentions the place as awful, unknown and unthinkable when normally heaven is               described as beautiful.

(39) The face is wrinkled.
(40) Love and ties between a grandmother and granddaughter.
(41) The phrase is ' white hand in black hand'
(42) Feeling : She feels happy and loved.
        Reason : She mentions that the grandmother's crinkled smile is still living and breathing as
        though her grandmother is still standing beside her.


1 comment: