NCERT Revision Notes for Chapter 4 Telephone Conversation Class 11 English Woven Words

Answer

Telephone conversation shows the larger societal issue of racial discrimination by portraying a phone conversation between two individuals. The title itself suggests that this conversation takes place over the phone and it becomes clear that the black man on the receiving end is facing racial discrimination. Through this portrayal, the poet aims to shed light on the deep-seated prejudice and injustice prevalent in society.

Answer

Wole Soyinka is a famous Nigerian poet and playwright. He was educated at the Government College in Ibadan, Nigeria and, later, at Leeds University, England, where he took a degree in English. He returned to Nigeria when he was about twenty-five. He is the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for literature (1986). His writings are known for their humour and satire.

Answer

The narrator of the poem is searching for a place to rent and finds a rental with a price and location that appear suitable. He is having a conversation with a potential landlady. At first, it looked like the landlady was ready to rent to the speaker. She even “swore” that she lived elsewhere. The narrator self-confessed to the landlady who he was because he remembered the time he was treated unfairly because of his race. During the conversation, he tells the landlady right away that he is black because he doesn’t want to waste time or energy on something that might make her say no.

When landlady found out what race the person was, there was total silence for a while. The narrator thought that the lack of noise was due to a strong desire to be nice. The poet uses the picture of “Lipstick coated, long gold rolled Cigarette-holder pipped” on purpose to show that the woman is from higher social class.

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The landlady then asks, “Are you dark or light?” This is such a silly question that it makes the narrator quickly wonder if he heard something wrong. The landlady is tapping into the stupid belief that black people with lighter skin, skin that looks more like white skin, are better than black people with darker skin.

The narrator thinks he is being asked to decide. He’s thinking about whether to press “Button A” or “Button B” on the phone, like how he would pick a language over an automatic call. The use of the phrase “stench of rancid breath” suggests that the talk was unpleasant or insulting. In public, white people hide the racism they show, but they act on it behind closed doors. The black man is angry about the unfair treatment. His eyes are red. He sees red in the phone box, the piers, and the bus that is going by. The black man thinks that this kind of racism is cruel. He says it sounds like a double-decker bus suppressing the black tar on the road. The silence and the discriminatory questions cause shame, and the narrator feeling dumbfounded is compelled to seek a simpler explanation or resolution to the uncomfortable situation.

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The landlady responds to the speaker’s description of being black by making a comparison to the shades of chocolate. The landlady’s acknowledgment is described as clinical and crushing in its light impersonality suggesting that she is reducing the speaker to a mere category rather than recognizing the individuality of the person on the other end of the line. After some time, the man told her that his skin colour is “West African Sepia,” which is what it says on his passport. The woman is still confused because she didn’t want to say she didn’t know the answer and was confused because she couldn’t understand it. She asks for clarification. The speaker simplifies it by comparing it to “brunette,” a term more familiar to the landlady. The landlady’s response again reveals her preconceived notions, assuming that “brunette” is dark, to which the speaker corrects her, stating that it’s not altogether dark.

Answer

In a satirical tone, he mocks the lady by saying that he isn’t all black, the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands are peroxide blonde. The narrator explains that the unusual color of his bottom (buttocks) being “raven black” is due to friction caused by sitting down. The narrator knows that the landlady will never be influenced because he is black and he feels like she could throw down the phone at any time. At this moment, he tries desperately to get her to come see for herself, but the phone rings and stops him.