The Artist Subjective Question

1. Where did Seibei live?

Ans. Seibei lived in a harbour town.

2. Which type of gourd did Seibei like?

Ans. Seibei liked round and symmetrical gourd.

3. Why did the conversation of his father and his friend make Seibei laugh inwardly?

Ans. The conversation of his father with his friend made Seibei laugh inwardly because his father commented about the Bakin Gourd that they had seen in the agricultural show during the previous spring. The Bakin gourd had made quite a stir at that time but when he had gone to see it, he had found it rather a stupid looking object and so he walked out of the show.

4. Why did Seibei’s father shout at him?

Ans. Seibei’s father shouted at him because he had said that he did not think much about the Bakin-Gourd at the agricultural show. He said that it was just like a clumsy big thing and that annoyed his father.

5. Why did Seibei wander about the town?

Ans. Seibei wandered about the town in search of new variety of gourds. In a short period of time, he had become familiar with every place and shop that sold gourds. He wanted to purchase as much quantity of new variety of gourds within his means.

6. What made Seibei’s heart beat faster?

Ans. When Seibei was roaming about in the market examining different varieties of gourds he suddenly caught sight of the one gourd which was about five inches long and uncommon. There was something special in it which made Seibei’s heart beat faster.

7. Which is called effeminate pastime in the story?

Ans. The Moral Science teacher had come from another part of Japan and was rather surprised to see that the children play with gourds. He considered that hobby as an effeminate pastime.

8. How did Seibei’s father react to the teacher’s complaint?

Ans. Seibei’s father got angry when he came to know about the complaint made by the teacher. He immediately grabbed his son by the collar and beat him.

9. How much did the curio-dealer pay for the confiscated gourd?

Ans. Curio-dealer paid five yen for the confiscated gourd.

10. What did Seibei do after he was forced to give up collecting gourds?

Ans. Seibei was dejected after his father had smashed all the gourds with a hammer. However he recovered quickly and engrossed himself in the hobby of painting.

11. Who was Seibei? What was his hobby?

Ans. Seibei was a young talented twelve year old boy. He studied in a primary school and lived in a harbour town. His hobby was to collect gourds of different varieties and sizes. Whenever he went to market he used to visit all the shops and curios which sold gourds. He used to spend his pocket money to purchase gourds. At home, he would sit in the corner of the living room and intently polish the latest acquired gourds. After finishing, he poured a little ‘sake’, covered it with a self designed cork and put it in a tin especially designed for the purpose of baking.

12. Pick out instances from the story to show that Seibei was passionate towards gourd collection.

Ans. Various instances the story showed that Seibei was passionate towards gourd collection: Seibei was a student in a primary school and after the class would go to the market place straight away and would visit all the shops that sold gourds. Soon he became familiar with all the shops dealing in gourds and distinctly remembered the kind of gourds available at different places. In the evening, he would sit in the corner of his living room and work on his newly acquired fruit. After he finished treating it, he would pour a little sake on it, insert a cork and keep the whole thing in the charcoal footwarmer after wrapping it in a towel. All that proved that Seibei was passionate towards gourds.

13. Explain the views of Seibei’s father about him and his hobby.

Ans. Seibei’s father wanted his son to take interest in his studies and become capable to make decent earning. He did not like his son’s hobby and was disgusted whenever he saw him working on gourds. He was upset when the teacher visited their house and complained about Seibei’s behaviour in the class-room. He wanted his son to give up his hobby of collecting gourds. Seibei then started taking interest in painting and even that was resented by his father.

14. Why did Seibei’s teacher become angry with him? Was his anger justified?

Ans. Seibei had a great liking for the gourd and he always carried it wherever he went. He even took it to school and polished it under the desk during the class. When the teacher found Seibei quietly polishing the gourd it under the desk, he got annoyed, his voice trembled due to anger. Yes, the teacher’s anger was justified because Seibei was not taking any interest in his studies and engaged himself in other work during the class period.

15. Seibei’s teacher held his parents responsible for Seibei’s mistake. Do you agree with the teacher? Explain.

Ans. Seibei’s teacher held his parents responsible for his mistakes and that was partly justified. Seibei’s father worked in a carpenter’s shop and his mother looked after the household. For that reason, they were not able to give desired attention to their son. Seibei always wandered in the streets, went to the market place looking for gourds and paid little attention to his studies. No, we do not agree with the teacher. Parents are always concerned for the bright future of their children but at times they may not be in a position to give desired attention to their children or their handling of the children may be a bit too harsh. Parents must always endeavour to have a close rapport with their children to understand their feelings, sentiments and desires.

16. Describe in your own words the attitude and reaction of the teacher to Seibei’s passion.

Ans. Seibei had a passion for collecting gourds but the attitude of his teacher towards his passion was very rude. It was unacceptable for him to see Seibei polishing gourd under his desk in the moral science class. According to the teacher, Seibei was spoiling his future prospects by not taking interest in the studies. The teacher went to Seiber’s home with complaint but Seibei’s father was on his duty, so the teacher told his mother that it was the responsibility of the parents to look after the activities of their children. Then, he departed from there immediately.

17. Why and how did Seibei change his hobby? Describe in your own words.

Ans. When Seibei’s teacher came to his house and apprised his mother she felt dejected and chided him. When Seibei’s father returned from his duty and came to know all that had happened he became furious and scolded him. He gave a good degree of beating to Seibei and smashed all gourds hanging on the wall with his hammer. He also warned him of the worst consequences if he did not leave his hobby of collecting gourds. It brought a change in him. He gave up collecting gourds forever and engrossed himself in painting.

18. Do you have similar experiences? Describe in your own words.

Ans. We can easily find out such type of instances from our society. My neighbour Mr. Sharma is a gentle person and his a son name Navin. Navin suddenly started neglecting his studies. He became a couch-potato and spent his whole time before the television. He did not complete his home-work on time and even started to bunk his school on excuse of illness. His class teacher scolded him several times but in vain. One day his class teacher visited his home and held his parents responsible for his regligent acts. Mr. Sharma looked into the matter. seriously and it brought a great change in Navin. He stopped watching the television and proper attention to his studies.

19. Sketch the character of Seibei as an artist.

Ans. Seibei was a twelve years old boy. He was very intelligent and firm determined. He had a hobby of collecting gourds of different sizes and shapes. He devoted much of his time in wandering about the town in search of gourds. He bought beautiful gourds and polished them artistically and then arranged those gourds systematically on the wall in an artistic way. When his teacher and parents insisted him for giving up his hobby, he left it like a obedient boy without any anguish for his teacher and parents. He shifted his interest towards paintings and was happy with that.