Playing the English Gentleman by M. K. Gandhi

Playing the English Gentleman by M. K. Gandhi

Short-Answer-Type Qs

Q1. Gandhiji decided to take lessons in various fields to make himself a perfect English gentleman. What were those fields?

Ans. Gandhiji had a strong desire to make himself a perfect English gentleman. So he started taking lessons in dancing, learning French and elocution (pronunciation/diction). He also tried to learn how to play upon violin. He paid money for those lessons. But he gave up all those efforts.

Q2.How did Gandhiji’s faith in vegetarianism grow?

Ans. Gandhiji was a strict vegetarian. He read several books on vegetarianism. He learnt that all philosophers and prophets from Pythagoras and Jesus and even in the present age were vegetarians. Religion also played important role in Gandhiji’s faith in vegetarianism.

Long Answer-type Qs

Q1. Describe relationship that Gandhiji shared with his friend?

Ans. Gandhiji’s Shared a cordial relationship with his friend. He was very much worried about him. He thought that Gandhi’s body would remain weak if he did not eat non-vegetarian food. Gandhiji’s excessive engagement with reading books on vegetarianism also worried his friend. He also wanted Gandhiji to learn the manners of an English gentleman. For that, Gandhiji tried a lot to learn other things. At one time, Gandhiji’s friend showed his anger at him. But that was for the time being. Gandhiji’s relation with his friend was always cordial.

Q2. Discuss some of the habits and attitudes that Gandhiji had cultivated which were at variance with what he encountered in Britain?

Ans. Gandhiji’s habits and attitudes were at variance with those he faced in Britain. First, he was a strict vegetarian. He continued being a vegetarian till last. While remaining in Britain, he had to feel uncomfortable with his friends due to that. His friend also tried to make him eat meat. But Gandhiji’s belief in being a vegetarian became stronger because he read several books on vegetarianism. He also tried to become an English gentleman by taking lessons in dancing, French language and elocution. But he learnt that it was all unnecessary.

Q3. What did the recluse do? What are its implications for Gandhiji’s life?

Ans. To keep away the rats, the recluse had to keep a cat and then a cow to feed the cat with milk. He also had to keep a man to look after the cow. Gandhiji also did the same thing. To become like an English gentleman, he started taking lessons in music, dancing, to learn French and elocution. He had to pay money for those lessons and to buy several books also. But later on he thought that it was all unnecessary.

Q4.What does the title of the essay ‘Playing an English Gentleman’ suggest?

Ans. The title of the lesson suggests that one should not imitate others’ culture blindly. The use of the word ‘playing’ indicates that Gandhiji was also imitating

Q5.Describe Gandhiji’s attempts to inculcate the qualities of an English gentleman. How did these attempts turn out?