“The Story” — E. M. Forster (Class 11, Woven Words)
Summary, Explanation, Difficult Words, Textbook Q&A, Extract-based MCQs, 15 Practice MCQs, and Extra Questions
Summary of the Chapter
Forster argues that story is the basic yet unavoidable part of a novel. He stages three voices—casual, forceful, and regretful—to show differing attitudes, then likens story to a backbone (or tape-worm) that threads events through time. From fireside tales to Scheherazade, suspense keeps listeners asking “what happens next?”. Life may be felt through time and through values, but a novel must keep to sequence or it loses sense.
Explanation of the Chapter
1) The Three Voices
The first is easy-going, the second insists story is everything, and the third—Forster’s—agrees with a sigh. He accepts story as necessary but hopes for richer features beyond plot.
2) What a Story Is
A story is a chain of events in time. Its single strength is to make readers turn the page; its single failure is when they no longer wish to do so.
3) Primitive Roots
Forster imagines early audiences round a fire, kept awake by suspense. Once the ending is guessed, interest drops—and the teller risks more than yawns.
4) Scheherazade
In One Thousand and One Nights, she stops at dawn to spark curiosity and delay death. This shows how timing and gaps can power a narrative.
5) Time and Values
Daily life runs on the clock and on meaning. Novels may catch both, yet they still need time’s thread for order and clarity.
Difficult Words and Meanings
| Word | Meaning (Plain English) |
|---|---|
| Fundamental | Basic; essential |
| Placidly | Calmly; without fuss |
| Atavistic | Linked to ancient, primitive habits |
| Ingenious | Very clever and inventive |
| Droned | Spoke in a dull, even tone |
| Tyrant | Harsh, oppressive ruler |
| Allegiance | Loyalty or duty |
| Metaphysician | Philosopher of being and reality |
| Colloquial | Informal, conversational style |
| Interminable | Seemingly without end |
| Pinnacles | High points; peaks |
| Chronological | Arranged by time order |
| Narrative | Account of connected events |
| Contravene | Go against; break |
| Sequence | Order in which things follow |
Textbook Questions & Answers Categorised
Q1. What do you understand of the three voices in response to “What does a novel do”?
Type: Short Answer (30–40 words)
They show three attitudes—casual acceptance, blunt approval of plot, and a regretful nod. Forster is the third: he accepts that story is needed, yet wishes novels were valued for more.
Q2. What are “the finer growths” that the story supports?
Type: Short Answer (30–40 words)
Character, theme, mood, and style—features that rise above bare events. They rely on story for movement but give the novel depth and flavour.
Q3. How does Forster trace our interest in story to primitive times?
Type: Long Answer (60–70 words)
He pictures early folk round a fire, worn out from the hunt, kept awake by suspense. The teller’s safety depends on surprise; if the end is guessed, the crowd loses patience. Scheherazade later uses the same hook—stopping at dawn—to keep the king curious. From caves to courts, the hunger for “what next?” remains.
Q4. Discuss the importance of time in telling a story.
Type: Long Answer (60–70 words)
Time is the story’s spine; events must follow in order so readers can track cause and effect. Life may also be weighed by intensity—“life by values”—yet the novelist still needs sequence. If the clock is denied entirely, the narrative slips into confusion and loses clarity.
Extract-Based MCQs (5 sets, 3 items each)
Extract Set 1
“We shall all agree that the fundamental aspect of the novel is its story-telling aspect…”
-
The “fundamental aspect” is
Answer: story -
The tone is largely
Answer: reflective -
By “story-telling aspect” Forster points to
Answer: plot drive
Extract Set 2
“Scheherazade avoided her fate because she knew how to wield the weapon of suspense…”
-
Her “weapon” was
Answer: suspense -
She told stories to
Answer: save her life -
She appears in
Answer: Arabian Nights
Extract Set 3
“It runs like a backbone—or may I say a tape-worm…”
-
“Backbone” here means
Answer: story -
“Tape-worm” suggests
Answer: endlessness -
The tone is
Answer: playful
Extract Set 4
“Daily life is also full of the time sense…”
-
“Time sense” is awareness of
Answer: sequence -
The two currents Forster sets up are
Answer: time and values -
“Life by values” measures
Answer: intensity
Extract Set 5
“The author may dislike the clock… but none of them contravene our thesis…”
-
Time-players Forster names are
Answer: Brontë, Sterne, Proust -
Their play still
Answer: keeps sequence -
The “thesis” is that a story
Answer: depends on time order
Practice MCQs (15 Challenging Questions)
-
“The Story” is drawn from
Answer: Aspects of the Novel -
Forster calls story the “lowest” because it is
Answer: primitive and simple -
The one merit of a story is that it
Answer: creates suspense to read on -
The image “tape-worm” mainly hints at
Answer: endless length -
The second voice’s stance is best described as
Answer: aggressively pro-story -
“Life by values” measures experience by
Answer: intensity and meaning -
The clock in a novel can be
Answer: hidden, tilted, or stretched -
Which writer “turned the clock upside down”?
Answer: Laurence Sterne -
In Forster’s comic picture, a bored primitive audience might
Answer: fall asleep or kill the teller -
Scheherazade’s key tactic at dawn was to
Answer: pause mid-sentence -
Forster says a story, qua story, can have only one fault:
Answer: making us not want the next part -
The “backbone” metaphor stresses the story’s
Answer: supporting role -
Which pairing best fits Forster’s two allegiances?
Answer: time vs values -
Proust’s move of “altering the hands” means
Answer: shifting moments to overlap -
Forster’s overall stance toward story is
Answer: reluctant acceptance
Extra Questions (Q&A)
1) Why is story called the backbone?
It holds the novel together, giving shape and movement so other elements can work. Without that frame, scenes hang loose and the reader loses track.
2) What lesson does Scheherazade teach writers?
Time your pauses. A well-timed break creates appetite for the next part, turning curiosity into steady attention night after night.
3) How do “time” and “values” meet in a good novel?
Sequence keeps events clear; intensity gives moments weight. Together they let readers follow action and feel its meaning.
4) Why can’t a novelist discard time?
Without order, cause and effect blur. Experiments may bend time, but a thin thread must remain so readers can still make sense.
5) What danger does Forster see in bare story?
Stripped of character and theme, it becomes mechanical. Story is needed, but the richer parts make reading memorable.
