StudyOS
CBSE Study Material, Class 5–12
StudyOS
CBSE Study Material, Class 5–12
Everything you need to ace this chapter, in one place.
Notes · Mind Map · Quiz · Assertion-Reason · Case Studies · Question Bank · Past Papers
Q1. What is the primary purpose of an essay as described in the introduction?
Answer: B — The introduction explicitly defines an essay as a composition that 'undertakes to discuss a matter, express a point of view, or persuade us to accept an idea.'
Q2. Which of the following best describes the tone of Mark Twain's 'My Watch'?
Answer: C — Twain uses exaggeration (watch jumping 13 days ahead, buzzing like a bee) and irony (repairs worsen the watch) to satirize unthinking reliance on so-called experts.
Q3. What does the jeweller mean when he tells the narrator the watch is 'four minutes slow'?
Answer: B — When a watch is 'slow,' it is behind the correct time; the jeweller's diagnosis was that the watch showed time four minutes earlier than actual time.
Q4. According to the text, what is the direct result of the jeweller adjusting the watch's regulator?
Answer: B — The narrator explicitly states: 'My watch began to gain. It gained faster and faster day by day,' directly attributing this malfunction to the jeweller's interference.
Q5. What is the irony of the narrator saying 'I had no idea what the king-bolt was, but I did not choose to appear ignorant to a stranger'?
Answer: C — The narrator's self-conscious pretense of knowledge mirrors the watchmakers' false confidence; both are bluffing, but the watchmakers' bluff causes real damage.
Q6. The essay 'My Watch' can be classified as which type of essay?
Answer: B — Twain's essay is personal (uses 'I' throughout), relaxed in tone, deals with an everyday subject (a watch), and uses humorous anecdote and exaggeration—all markers of informal essays.
Q7. Which statement best explains why the narrator's watch gets progressively worse despite multiple repairs?
Answer: B — The pattern of escalating malfunction (gaining, then slowing, then stopping/starting, then hands locking, then buzzing/spinning) shows each repair introduces a new flaw, satirizing the cycle of harmful intervention.
Q8. What is the significance of the final revelation that the last watchmaker is 'an old acquaintance—a steam-boat engineer of other days and not a good engineer, either'?
Answer: B — By showing that a bad engineer confidently tries to fix a watch using irrelevant steam-boat terminology ('hang the monkey-wrench on the safety-valve'), Twain satirizes how false expertise operates across all fields.
Q9. Which literary device does Twain employ when he writes that the watch 'sickened to a raging fever and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty'?
Answer: B — Personification attributes human characteristics (sickness, fever, pulse) to the inanimate watch, making the narrator's frustration relatable and humorous.
Q10. Based on Uncle William's saying ('a good watch was a good watch until the repairers got a chance at it') and the entire narrative of 'My Watch,' which of the following does Twain's essay ultimately argue? (HOTS)
Answer: C — The essay's entire structure (perfect watch → first 'fix' → escalating chaos → Uncle William's summary) argues that well-intentioned but unthinking intervention by confident experts destroys working systems, a critique applicable beyond watches to all fields.
What is the primary difference between a formal and informal essay?
A formal essay is impersonal, logically organized, and serious in purpose, while an informal essay is personal, relaxed, whimsical, and deals with everyday subjects.
Who first called short literary pieces 'Essaies' and what did the term mean?
French writer Montaigne called his pieces Essaies, meaning 'attempts' at discussing a subject.
What literary device does Mark Twain use when he describes the watch as 'sickening to a raging fever'?
Personification—Twain gives the watch human qualities (sickness, fever) to create humor and sympathy for his plight.
Why does the narrator tell the jeweller 'I tried to stop him' from adjusting the watch?
Because the watch was keeping perfect time, and the jeweller's attempt to 'fix' it actually caused all subsequent problems.
What does the repeated cycle of repairs in My Watch satirize?
The cycle satirizes blind trust in so-called 'experts' and the irony that intervention often makes problems worse instead of better.
How does Twain use exaggeration to develop his argument about repairers?
He exaggerates the watch's malfunctions (13 days ahead, buzzing like a bee, hands spinning like a spider's web) to show how absurd and counterproductive repeated repairs become.
What is the purpose of the final anecdote about Uncle William and the 'good horse'?
It validates the essay's thesis by suggesting that both horses and watches are ruined by people attempting to repair or improve them.
What does 'bodings' mean in the context of the opening paragraph?
Bodings means dark premonitions or gloomy forebodings about future misfortune.
Why is 'human cabbage' a successful insult in describing the jeweller?
It mocks the jeweller's passive, unintelligent obedience to his belief (watch is slow) without actually thinking—like a vegetable with no brain.
How does the tone of 'My Watch' shift from beginning to end?
It shifts from mild grievance (watch ran down) to escalating desperation (constant malfunctions) to resigned wisdom (Uncle William's truth), creating a narrative arc that builds sympathy for the narrator's exhaustion.
What does Mark Twain mean when he calls the jeweller 'human cabbage'? How does this insult reflect Twain's view of the jeweller's approach to the watch? [2 marks]
Explain that 'human cabbage' mocks passive, unintelligent obedience; the jeweller cannot think independently and blindly follows his incorrect diagnosis that the watch is 'four minutes slow' despite the narrator's protests—no critical judgment, only mechanical repetition.
Analyze how Mark Twain uses the literary device of irony in 'My Watch.' Provide two specific examples from the text to show how each repair by a watchmaker makes the watch worse, not better. What is Twain satirizing through this pattern? [5 marks]
Irony: expectation (repairs fix the watch) contradicts reality (repairs destroy it). Example 1: jeweller's 'fix' causes the watch to gain time catastrophically. Example 2: watchmaker's cleaning and oiling causes the watch to slow down so much the narrator drifts into 'week before last.' Twain satirizes blind trust in expert authority and the arrogance of people who confidently 'improve' functioning systems without understanding them.
In 'My Watch,' the essay is classified as informal. Explain what features of the essay justify this classification, and discuss how Twain uses the informal essay's characteristic elements (personal voice, humor, everyday subject matter) to develop his larger argument about expertise and intervention. Why is the informal essay form particularly effective for Twain's purpose? [6 marks]
Informal features: first-person narrative ('I'), relaxed conversational tone, whimsical anecdotes (Uncle William's saying), everyday subject (a broken watch), exaggeration and humor. Twain uses these to make universal critique (false expertise ruins functioning systems) feel personal and relatable; humor disarms reader resistance, allowing satirical argument to land powerfully; the essay's circular structure (watch runs perfectly → repair disaster → Uncle William validates narrator's experience) uses personal anecdote to argue a truth applicable to all readers' experiences with so-called experts.
Q1. Assertion (A):
Mark Twain uses personification when he describes the watch 'sickening to a raging fever'.
Reason (R):
Personification is the attribution of human qualities to non-human objects, and Twain assigns human ailments to the mechanical watch.
Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both the assertion and reason are true, and the reason correctly explains why the assertion is valid. The watch is described with human characteristics (sickness, fever), which is the definition of personification, making this the most comprehensive explanation.
Q2. Assertion (A):
The introduction states that essays were originally published in literary periodicals and magazines.
Reason (R):
The founding of literary periodicals and magazines gave great impetus to the writing of essays because earlier essays were published in books.
Answer: B — Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A — Both statements are true—the text does say periodicals gave impetus to essays, and earlier essays were in books. However, the reason does not correctly explain the assertion. The real explanation is that periodicals provided new platforms for essay publication, not merely that books were used before. The reason states a fact but doesn't establish causation properly.
Q3. Assertion (A):
Francis Bacon was the first writer to use the term 'essay' in English.
Reason (R):
Montaigne invented the term 'essay' in French before Bacon adopted it in English.
Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — The assertion is true—the text states Bacon 'inaugurated the English use of the term'. The reason is also true and correctly explains why Bacon was first in English: Montaigne had already established the term in French, and Bacon adopted it for English usage. This is the proper chronological and causal explanation.
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Case Study:
Sharma, a busy professional in Delhi, purchased a Swiss-made watch for ₹12,000, believing it would be reliable for years. Within a month, he noticed it was gaining five minutes daily. He took it to a local jeweller who said the regulator needed adjustment. After adjustment, the watch began losing fifteen minutes daily. Frustrated, Sharma visited four different watchmakers over two months, spending ₹8,000 on repairs. Each repair created a new problem. His watch now runs backwards, stops randomly, and makes bizarre clicking sounds. Sharma reflects that his watch was better before any repairs began.
Q1. What pattern does Sharma's experience with his watch repair mirror from Mark Twain's essay?
Answer: B
Q2. If Sharma's watch gained 5 minutes per day initially and now loses approximately 15 minutes daily after repairs, what is the net change in accuracy from its original problem?
Answer: A
Q3. Which aspect of Mark Twain's satirical critique does Sharma's experience best exemplify?
Answer: B
Q4. Based on Mark Twain's essay, what advice would the narrator likely give to Sharma?
Answer: D
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