The Living Photograph Questions

 Exercise 1 Complete the poem. Try not to refer to the text.

The Living Photograph My small grandmother is tall there, straight-back, white broderieanglaise (1)___________________, pleated (2)____________, flat shoes, grey bun, a kind, old (3)_________ round her eyes. Her big hand (4)____________mine, white hand in black hand. Her sharp blue eyes look her own (5) ______________ in the eye. It was (6) __________ after all; that look. My tall grandmother became small. Her back round and (7) _____________. Her (8) _____________ forgot to boil. She went to the (9) ____________ place grandmothers go. Somewhere unknown, (10) ___________. But there she is still, in the photo with me at (11)____________, the crinkled smile is still (12) _____________ , breathing.

Exercise 2

Complete the bridge map with the antonyms to the words given. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Word: Word: Word: Word:

true sharp forgot awful

Antonym: Antonym: Antonym: Antonym:

______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

Exercise 3 Read the following statements and state whether they are “True” or “False”. 1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The persona recollects the memories of her grandmother as she looks at the photograph. (___________) The persona’s grandmother is still living with her. (___________) The grandmother seems to be a friendly and kind woman. (___________) The persona is three years old when her grandmother dies. (___________) The grandmother remains strong and healthy until her death. (___________) In the photograph, the grandmother will always be alive. (___________)

Exercise 4 Answer the following questions based on your understanding of the poem. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

How old was the persona when the photograph was taken? __________________________________________________________________________ Which line in the poem tells us the grandmother has become forgetful? __________________________________________________________________________ The grandmother seems to be a friendly and kind woman. __________________________________________________________________________ The persona is three years old when her grandmother dies. __________________________________________________________________________ The grandmother remains strong and healthy until her death. __________________________________________________________________________ Give one moral value one can learn from the poem. __________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5 Answer all the questions. 1. List down 3 themes of the poem?

___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Give 4 moral values that are found in the poem. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. How do you think of the persona feels towards her grandmother? Support your answer with evidence from the poem. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. “A picture speaks a thousand words” is a common proverb. How would you relate this to the poem “The Living Photograph”? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Exercise 6 Read the questions carefully and answer all the questions. 1. Sometimes an elderly member of the family is sent to a nursing home. Do you agree with this practice? Provide your reason. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. If you were to take care of your grandmother for a day, what would you do to make her experience an unforgettable one? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Answers Exercise 1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Shirt Skirt Smile Holds Death

6. True 7. Hunched 8. Soup 9. Awful 10.Unthinkable

11.Three

12.Living

Exercise 2 1. 2. 3. 4.

false dull remembered Beautiful

Exercise 3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

True False True False False True

Exercise 4 1. She was three years old 2. The line, “her soup forgot to boil” 3. The word “unthinkable” 4. In the first stanza, the grandmother is strong and healthy in the photograph while in the second stanza the grandmother is older and ill. 5. The poem is about how a photograph immortalises a person. This is illustrated in the poem where in real life, the grandmother is dead but with the photograph, she will always be remembered by the persona. 6. 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. Exercise 5 & 6 -Accept all correct and acceptable answers-

 1. List two items ‘grandmother’ wears in the photo. a) _____________________________________________________________ b) _____________________________________________________________ 2. What do you think the writer is referring to in the phrase ‘the awful place grandmothers go? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

3. Why do you think the writer’s ‘small grandmother’ is ‘tall’ in the photo? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. In the first stanza, what does the word there refer to? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Which line tells you that the writer and her grandmother come from different ethnic background? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. How old was the writer when the photo was taken? ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. Why do you think the writer says that her grandmother is tall in the photo but later became ‘small’? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 8. Quote evidence from line 14 to line 16 that the photograph was taken a long time ago. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 9. Explain the meaning of the word ‘crinkled’. ___________________________________________________________________________ 10.How do these lines make you feel about photographs of people you love? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Answers 1. a) pleated skirt b) flat shoes/white broderieanglaise shirt 2.

The writer is referring to death.

3.

I think it is probably because the photo was taken when the writer’s grandmother was younger. Her back was not rounded and hunched then, so she looked tall.

4.

It refers to the photograph.

5.

‘white hand in black hand’

6.

She was three years old.

7.

I think she says that because at the time the photo was taken her grandmother was younger. Her back was straight therefore she seemed taller. It could also be because the writer was very young at the time (only 3 years old). As her grandmother grew older, her back became ‘round and hunched’. So she appeared ‘small’. The writer would also have grown bigger and taller too, therefore her grandmother no longer appears tall to her.

8.

The persona says that the photograph was taken when he/she was three years old.

9.

Wrinkled

10.

(accept all logical answers)