Question Details

Read the following poem, and answer the question that follow (96-100)
‘This was Mr bleaney’s room he stayed
The whole time he was at the bodies, till
They moved him, ‘flowered curtains, thin and frayed,
Fall to within five inches of the sill.
Whose window shows a strip of building land,
Tussocky littered. ‘Mr bleaney’s took
My bit of garden properly in hand.’
Bed, upright chair, sixty-watt bulb, no book
Behind the door, no room for books or bags—
‘I’ll take it. ‘So it happens that I lie
Where Mr bleaney lay, and stub my fags
On the same saucer-souvenir, and try
Stuffing my ears with cotton, wool, to drown
The jabbering set he egged her on yo buy,
I know his habits——what time he came down’
His preference for sauce to gravy, why
He kept on plugging at the four aways__
Likewise their yearly frame: the Frinton folk
Who put him up for summer holidays
And Christmas at his sister’s house in stoke
But if he stood and watched the frigid wind
Tousling the clouds, lay on the fusty bed
Telling himself that this was home, and grinned,
And shivered, without shaking off the dread
That how we live measures our own nature,
And at his age having no more to show
Than one hired box should make him pretty sure
He warranted no better, I don’t know.
Philip Larkin


According to the speaker Mr. bleany was

Options

A

A humorous person

B

A social and fun-loving person

C

A hard working person

D

A sad and dull person

Correct Answer :

A sad and dull person

Solution :

The correct option is A sad and dull person.

Explanation:
Philip Larkin's poem "Mr. Bleaney" depicts the lives of both the speaker and the former tenant, Mr. Bleaney, as monotonous and uninspired. The poem highlights several aspects of Mr. Bleaney's routine and living space that paint a picture of a sad, dull, and meager existence:
1. Minimal and cheerless surroundings: He lived in a small, rented room with "flowered curtains, thin and frayed," a "sixty-watt bulb," and "no book" or room for personal belongings.
2. Repetitive and trivial habits: His life revolved around simple, mundane preferences and routines, such as his preference for sauce over gravy, "plugging at the four aways" (weekly football pools), and buying a "jabbering" radio set.
3. Lack of fulfillment: He spent his holidays repeating the same yearly frame (visiting Frinton or his sister in Stoke), showing a lack of spontaneity or richness in his social life.
4. Existential dread: The final stanzas suggest a profound sense of sadness and inadequacy, contemplating whether living in a single "hired box" at his age means he "warranted no better."
Thus, the speaker portrays Mr. Bleaney as a sad and dull person leading a highly restricted and uninspired life.

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