NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Woven Words English Chapter 5 Pappachi’s Moth

Using NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Woven Words English Chapter 5 Pappachi’s Moth while preparing for the exams also helps students frame better answers during the exam. These solutions are important for students because they help to prepare students to do better during immense pressure and at the same time make them fresh and enhances memory.

Pappachi’s Moth Class 11 English NCERT Solutions have been designed by experienced teachers keeping in mind the challenges that students face while trying to understand a concept. These solutions enable students to score good marks in the exams.

Chapter 5 Pappachi’s Moth Class 11 Woven Words English NCERT Solutions

Understanding The Text

1. Comment on the relationship shared by Mammachi and Pappachi.

Solution

Pappachi was 17 years elder than Mammachi. He was a retired ex-government official who felt humiliated by his retirement, which led to his envy of his wife Mammachi. Pappachi was the kind of person who was not pleased when her wife was praised. Pappachi is often envious of her violin lessons in Vienna or pickle making. Pappachi’s relationship with his wife was rude and abusive as an arrogant person who always wants to be at the top, he hits her severely and does not speak to her. Pappachi used to beat him with brass vases, but Mammachi couldn’t let go. She wept fiercely at his burial, not because the man she had loved had died, but because he would no longer be near her. She had become too attached to him, to his slouching about the pickle plant, and, of course, to getting beaten by him.

2. How does Mammachi stand out as an independent and resilient woman in the text?

Solution

Mammachi was a woman who was often disregarded and discouraged by her arrogant husband. He never encouraged her in her job because he was jealous of her skill, and whenever she received praise or attention, he was jealous as well. Probably because of his dissatisfaction at not gaining the proper acclaim for his discovery of the moth he hoped to have named after him. Her pickle recipe, on the other hand, was well-known, and she was asked by the Kottayam Bible Society to prepare some of her famed banana jam and soft mango pickle for an approaching fair. It instantly sold and she had more orders than she could handle. With the recognition, she was determined to continue conducting her pickle company without her husband’s approval in such challenging conditions, proving herself to be a resilient woman.

3. Why does John Ipe consider retirement to be dishonour?

Solution

Benaan John Ipe, Pappachi, got retired from the post of Joint Director, Entomology. He was a reputed man. He was happy to have been a high-ranking government official; nevertheless, now that he was retired, he was struggling to deal with the humiliation of retirement. He had a large age gap with her wife and assumed that she was working and that I was useless. These circumstances made him envious of her wife Mammachi, who was receiving attention from others. His retirement constantly makes him feel like an old guy who is no longer useful. His hubris is tearing him apart, and this is why John Ipe considers retirement to be dishonourable.

4. What was the underlying reason for John Ipe’s disgust with the world?

Solution

John Ipe was dissatisfied with the world because he was not achieving the popularity and recognition that he desired. Pappachi realised that the moth was not named after him, and it fueled the fire that burned inside him. He was already irritated, but despite the fact that he was a retired government official with no fame, his wife, who was seventeen years younger than him and still in her prime, was doing well with her pickle firm. This jealousy drove him to beat his wife Mammachi in order to relieve his stress.

Talking About The Text

Discuss in pairs

1. Chacko’s firmness in dealing with the irrational behaviour of his father.

Solution

Pappachi used to beat Mammachi with brass vases every night out of anger and this was nothing new for him. When Chacko returned home from Oxford for the summer. He’d grown into a a big man. Pappachi was beating Mammachi a week after he came. Chacko walked into the room, grabbed Pappachi’s vase, and twisted Pappachi’s hand around his back. He made it obvious to Pappachi that he did not want the situation to happen again. The father was taken aback. He never touched Mammachi again, and he never spoke to her again till he died. The little son’s strict attitude put an end to the marital violence that used to occur every day in the family. The boy’s action was commendable. Men in our culture beat their spouses for no reason other than to demonstrate their physical supremacy. The child made it obvious to his father that he is not the only one in the family with muscles capable of putting an end to the abuse.

2. The contrast between the outward elegance of a person and his private behaviour.

Solution

Pappachi, John Ipe, was a former high-ranking government official who worked as a Junior Director of Entomology. A well-educated and socially respectable individual who usually wore immaculate three-piece suits and his gold pocket watch. In his personal and professional life, he was a smart, competent, and respected individual. But in his personal life, he was a jealous guy who couldn’t watch others succeeding as he did with her wife. She was skilled, but he never expressed permission in her pickle business or violin lessons since she was being praised in both cases. He used to beat his wife with a metal vase virtually every day. Anyone would be disgusted by the attitude of an individual who seemed respectable on the outside yet engaged in domestic abuse with his wife.

3. Approval from the outside world and approval within the family.

Solution

Pappachi was a respectable guy for people outside. The outside world thought he was an amazing personality who worked as an ex-government high ranking officer, director, and entomologist. His contribution to the outside world may be enough to recognise him, but within the house, nothing could add to his contribution since he constantly provided his jealously and aggression to her wife.

Appreciation

1. How does the author succeed in raising crucial social issues not through open criticism but through subtle suggestion?

Solution

Arundhati Roy pointed out an important problem, shedding attention on male and female prejudice in our society. She immediately hit her subtle ideas on what women truly face in society and how males use them. A man who expects his wife to be submissive to him. The narrative also emphasises how we chase after short-term pleasures. Pappachi cannot imagine Mammachi working and achieving success and acclaim because he believes he is only eligible for it and, like him, many other men believe the same which originates only from our society’s norms.

2. Within a few pages, the author has packed the important events in the lives of John Ipe and his wife. Discuss how conciseness and economy of expression can achieve effective portrayal of entire lives.

Solution

Arundhati Roy created a wonderful narrative in a few pages while conveying a significant message to everybody. She used a flowery pattern to describe everything while conveying a powerful message in a short amount of space. She has detailed the relationship between a husband and a wife in great detail, but she did not dwell on the emotions for long. She described the current state of society. Her spouse is jealous when she receives praise for her pickle company and violin lessons. This shows that males dominate them, and women accept this in our society. Roy concludes by saying that Pappachi did not get that recognition but her wife acquired fame and names for doing such modest things because she had a pure soul.

3. Identify instances of ironical comment in the story.

Solution

It is ironical because Mammachi used to love Pappachi while being brutally abused by him. She cried terribly at his death. This was an irony that demonstrated that love triumphed over violence. Her spouse often made her jealous and angry, yet she still loved him.