THE SNAKE AND THE MIRROR

1. Prepare a short paragraph on the use of contrasts in the story to
   bring out the humour.
   Vaikom Mummaed Basheer was a renowned Malayalam writer
   with a God- gifted ability of using the language in the utmost
   simplicity and funny way. His story, The Snake and the Mirror
   tells us the pathetic story of a homoeopathic doctor in a humorous
   way. The literary device of Contrast is very aptly used throughout
   the story to create comic situations. The protagonist homoeopathic
   doctor appears to be a poor person, only having recently started
   his medical practice. But he does not seem to have any idea of
   flourishing in life by working hard. Instead, he wants to be rich in
   life using a short-cut way. He plans to marry a rich woman doctor
   having good medical practice. Besides being rich, his would-be
   wife should be a fat lady. He humorously anticipates that his
   future wife should not be able to chase and catch him, in case of a
   possible conflict between them. But ironically, he marries a reedy
   thin woman with the gift of a sprinter. He also appears to be very
   proud of his being a handsome young bachelor doctor. Even in the
   night he enjoys spending time looking into a mirror and planning
   to take earthshaking decisions of increasing his beauty. He plans
   to shave daily, keep a thin moustache and fix always an attractive
   smile on his face in order to make himself more handsome. But
   his day-dreaming gets only a momentary life. Unexpectedly a
   Cobra falls on him and coils on his left arm. He becomes
   frightened and curses himself for not having kept any medicine in
   his room for use in case of a possible emergency situation like
   this. He now earnestly thinks of God in his helpless condition and
   writes the words ‘O God’ on his heart wall. Then the snake leaves
   him and moves towards the mirror and forgets everything in its
   mesmeric beauty. Thus, the tragic story of a poor doctor ends very
   humorously as a comedy!

2 Do you think the story is a dream or a reality or both? Give
reasons to support your answer.
The story ‘The Snake and the Mirror’ can be interpreted as set up
in a mixture of realistic and dream-like situations. The young
doctor and his financial poverty as a newbie in the medical
practice, his beauty consciousness as a young man, his
expectations about his would-be wife etc. are elements of reality
in the story. The presence of rats and a snake also part and
possibilities of real life. The responses and thoughts of the doctor
when the snake landed on him are also nothing unnatural or
dream-like. The only thing that our realistic sense may find
unacceptable is the cobra’s sense of beauty or forgetfulness of its
surroundings in the mesmerism of its own beauty; -it is something dream-like!

3 After having shifted to a new house, the doctor started writing in
a diary about the horrible experience he had in the previous night
in the old house. Prepared a likely diary entry.

Friday, 01 September 2017.
10:00PM
Thank God! I’m safe and happy now in this new house – neat and
comfortable and have here good neighbors too. I should be
thankful to my friends for arranging this house for me. Yesterday I
met death face-to-face! I can’t ever forget those moments in my
life. When I heard the sound of something fall down, I never
thought it could be a cobra. When I felt something cold on my arm
and shoulder, who thought it was a death messenger? I hadn’t any
medicine to use in case of any emergency. What would have I
done, if it had bitten me? Luckily, the snake was beauty-
conscious. Seeing its own beauty in the mirror on my table, it left
me. Was I so ugly, or was the snake more beautiful than it
expected? Anyhow, the mirror saved my life and I should keep one
here too.