The Captive Question and Answer

The Captive

Harekrishna Deka

Answer these questions in one or two words.

1. Where is the place which is described at the beginning of the story?

Ans: The place which is described at the beginning of the story is the highlands of Assam

2. Who took a dip in the water?

Ans: The youth i.e., the abductor took a dip in the water.

3. What were they travelling by?

Ans: They were travelling by bicycle.

4. In whose house was the captive kept?

Ans: The captive was kept in the house of the village headman.

5.Which bird does the captive think of?    

Ans: The captive thinks of the Kingfisher bird.

Il. Answer these questions in a few words.

l. What is referred to as the 'object' by the captive?

Ans: The gun is referred to as the object by the captive.

2. What is the food offered to the captive in the headman s house?

Ans: Parboiled rice mixed with chicken curry was the food offered to the captive in the headman's house.

3.How did Captain Batra offer his respects to the boy?

Ans: Captain Batra offered his respects to the boy by standing next to the dead body of the boy after being shot who then paid his respects by touching his cap with his hand.

4. What did the boy say he would do if the circumstances changed?

Ans: Initially, the boy said that he would make the unnamed join the organisation but on a later instance said that he would have no choice but to execute the unnamed narrator i.e., his captive in the story.

5.How did the captive know that the boy was highly educated? 

Ans: The captive knew that the boy was highly educated as he had a good pronunciation in English, Assamese and tribal languages; in addition to his wide information on subjects such as literature, writers, nature, agriculture, farming and rural life.

Ill. Answer these questions briefly.

1. What is the nature of the relationship between the captive and the young man?

Ans: Despite being two different personalities, the two men shared a sense of fellow-feeling, companionship and brotherhood. There was a constant sense of trust between the two men. In addition, they also shared a teacher-student equation with each other as they had discussions on several writers, nature, rural life, agriculture and farming.

2. How does the captive come to understand the meaning of 'Freedom Fighters'?

Ans: The captive comes to understand the meaning of Freedom Fighters' as they witness his abductors fearlessly fight the security forces; all of which is done for the larger cause of their organisation that was in opposition to the government whom they considered as the symbol of 'imperialist power'.

3. How did the captive record his movement in captivity?

Ans: The captive carried a notebook with him. For the last three months or so, he had been keeping this journal of his own captivity. Out of his total captivity of seven months, he had kept a record of his daily experiences for the last three months. As far as he had been able, he had written down.

4. How did his abductors treat the captive?

Ans: Although they never inflicted no physical and verbal torture, the captive was made to go through emotional trauma from a constant sense of fear, helpless, agitation, anxiety and emptiness.

5. Why does the captive feel that his abductor is not free?

Ans: The captive was a prisoner. The youth too was a prisoner because the youth could not abandon him and go away. Side by side with his own captivity, the youth was a prisoner until he himself was free, the youth would remain a captive.

6. How does the story begin?

Ans: The story begins with the captive and his abductor travelling on bicycle on an unfamiliar terrain.

7. Comment on the significance of the title of the story. Does it refer only to the abductee?

Ans: The short story "The Captive structured with deep psychological insights presents a complex story of two men cycling through the picturesque surrounding of the highlands in Assam which has been described by Harekrishna Deka as a romantic setting. Amidst this natural beauty, both the men who appear to be two contrast figures of each other, enjoy themselves in their own ways. While the younger unnamed boy sensing no danger of soldiers or security, decided to take a dip in the cool waters of the stream to get relieved from the scorching heat and oppressive humidity of summer; the old unnamed man who is also the narrator of the story waits for the youth, under a tree. While the readers are told that the secret content of the bag is a gun, it seems to have brought a sense of security and reliance in the relationship between the two men. In this regard, both seem to a prisoner of faith. The constant shift of the idea of how is the 'real' captive in the hostage-captive relationship made their invisible bond appear as a safe shelter. In this regard, the youth who was also the abductor seemed to a prisoner at one end. In this sense, the '"lifeless gun mutely controlled their relationship", while also generating a sense of anxiety in both the men as they were approached by soldiers and security forces. This bond between two men is told to us only through the perspective the captive as he reimages the past and present events.

8. Write about the journey undertaken by the captive and the young man.

Ans: The short story "The Captive structured with deep psychological insights presents a complex story of two men cycling through the picturesque surrounding of the highlands in Assam which has been described by Harekrishna Deka as a romantic setting. Amidst this natural beauty, both the men who appear to be two contrast figures of each other, enjoy themselves in their own ways. While the younger unnamed boy sensing no danger of soldiers or security, decided to take a dip in the cool waters of the stream to get relieved from the scorching heat and oppressive humidity of summer; the old unnamed man who is also the narrator of the story waits for the youth, under a tree. Soon after this, they continued their journey to the village headman's hose where they took refuge up until the sudden attack of the security forces which rescued the narrator (Captain Batra), while killing the youth.