Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30 − 40 words).

“I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says, “I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” What is the doctor’s opinion about himself when:


(i) he first smiles, and


(ii) he smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?


(i) When the doctor first smiled, he had inflated opinions about himself. He was admiring his looks and the fact that he was a bachelor and a doctor.

(ii) When the doctor smiled again, he actually smiled at his poverty, foolishness, and stupidity. The thought of having no medicines if the snake strikes him made him feel foolish and stupid from being a proud doctor.


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