The Story — E.M. Forster (Class 11, Woven Words)
Summary, Explanation, Difficult Words, Textbook Q&A, Extract-Based MCQs, 15 Practice MCQs, Extra Questions, SEO.
Table of Contents
Summary of the Chapter
Forster argues that the basic element of a novel is its story, the part that makes readers ask, “What happens next?” He dramatises three voices that answer the question “What does a novel do?” with varying attitudes, and then admits—reluctantly—that story is the common thread. He likens it to a backbone or even a tape-worm: primitive, old, and kept alive by suspense. The example of Scheherazade shows how suspense can even save a life. Yet life is not only time-sequence; we also live by “values”. Good novels, he says, pay a double allegiance—both to time and to value. However playful writers may be with clocks and chronology (Bronte, Sterne, Proust), a novel still needs the time-bound chain of events that forms a story.
Explanation of the Chapter
1) The three voices: three attitudes to the novel
Forster presents three speakers: the casual reader who vaguely thinks a novel “tells a story”, the blunt reader who wants only story, and Forster himself, regretfully conceding that story is essential. The scene sets up his measured defence of story without worshipping it.
2) Story as backbone (or tape-worm)
Calling story a “backbone” or even a “tape-worm”, he stresses that beginnings and endings are often arbitrary. The image is meant to be plain, even unlovely, so we see story as a simple structure that supports finer features like character, style, and truth-seeking.
3) Primitive roots and the power of suspense
From campfires of “shock-heads” to the legend of Scheherazade, listeners stayed awake because of suspense. She survives by stopping at dawn mid-sentence, keeping the king eager for the next event. Suspense is the one tool even “tyrants and savages” respond to.
4) The only merit and the only fault
As “qua story” (considered purely as story), it has just one merit—making us want to know what comes next—and one fault—failing to do so. This stark standard reminds us that story, by itself, is the lowest yet most common element of the novel.
5) Life in time and life by values
Daily life runs by time, yet our strongest moments are measured by intensity, not minutes. Good novels include both modes: they must move in time, but they also capture value, memory, and meaning beyond the clock.
6) The novelist’s clock (Bronte, Sterne, Proust)
Novelists may hide the clock (Emily Bronte), invert it (Sterne), or keep changing the hands (Proust). These tricks are legitimate, but none abolish time inside the novel; the story-thread must still be there to keep sense.
7) A note on tone: the Clark Lectures
The piece comes from Forster’s 1927 Clark Lectures. He keeps a conversational tone (“I”, “you”, “of course”), believing that the novel—often colloquial itself—may reveal more to a friendly talk than to solemn criticism.
Difficult Words and Meanings
| Word / Phrase | Meaning (Short) |
|---|---|
| atavistic | Relating to ancient or primitive traits |
| shock-heads | Ruffled, shaggy-haired people (primitive listeners) |
| ingenious | Clever and inventive |
| tape-worm (metaphor) | Long, thin chain of events; story as bare time-thread |
| Neolithic / Palaeolithic | Very early prehistoric periods |
| tyrants | Harsh, absolute rulers |
| delineations | Descriptions or portrayals |
| interminable | Seemingly endless |
| allegiance | Loyalty or commitment |
| chronological | Arranged by time order |
| metaphysicians | Philosophers who study the nature of reality |
| auspices | Support or patronage |
| colloquial | Conversational; informal in style |
| vizier | High official or minister (in monarchies) |
| backwaters and shallows (metaphor) | Quiet, less formal places (here, of criticism) |
Textbook Questions & Answers
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Q1. What do you understand of the three voices in response to the question ‘What does a novel do’? Long Answer (60–70 words)
Forster stages three views. The first is mild and vague: a novel “tells a story”. The second is blunt and exclusive: only story matters. The third—Forster’s own—is regretful yet honest: story is fundamental though he wishes it were otherwise. These voices show a range from casual acceptance, through aggressive preference for plot, to a reflective critic who concedes story while looking beyond it.
Q2. What would you say are ‘the finer growths’ that the story supports in a novel? Short Answer (30–40 words)
They are features such as description, judgement, incident-craft, morality, character portrayal, and style—the richer elements a novel carries on its “backbone”. Story holds these up, even if it is itself plain and unlovely.
Q3. How does Forster trace the human interest in the story to primitive times? Short Answer (30–40 words)
He imagines prehistoric listeners round a campfire, kept awake by suspense. If they guessed “what happens next”, they slept—or killed the storyteller. The Scheherazade episode later shows suspense as a life-saving skill.
Q4. Discuss the importance of time in the narration of a story. Long Answer (60–70 words)
A story is a sequence of events in time—breakfast before dinner, Monday before Tuesday. Its single merit is creating the wish to know the next event. Though life also runs by “values”, the novelist cannot abolish time inside a novel. Even when writers play with clocks, the time-thread must remain, or the narrative becomes unintelligible.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT
Q5. What does a novel do? Very Short Answer (1–2 sentences)
At base, it tells a story—events in time that prompt the question, “What happens next?” A good novel also conveys value and meaning beyond the time-sequence.
Q6. ‘Our daily life reflects a double allegiance to “the life in time” and “the life by values”.’ Short Answer (30–40 words)
We live by clocks and calendars, yet our strongest moments are measured by intensity, not minutes. Forster suggests good novels capture both: temporal order and felt value.
Q7. The description of novels as organisms. Short Answer (30–40 words)
A novel is a complex organism with story as its simplest shared element. Around that core grow character, theme, voice, and design—the “finer growths” that make each novel feel living and whole.
APPRECIATION
Q8. How does Forster use the analogy of Scheherazade to establish his point? Short Answer (30–40 words)
Scheherazade survives by suspense—stopping mid-sentence at dawn. The image shows story’s raw power: keeping listeners eager for “what next” is the one tool that sways even a murderous king.
Q9. Taking off from Forster’s references to Emily Bronte, Sterne and Proust, discuss the treatment of time in some of the novels you have read. Short Answer (30–40 words)
Writers may hide, invert, or distort time, yet a readable thread remains. Even experimental narratives keep enough sequence to be followed; otherwise, meaning breaks down.
LANGUAGE WORK
Q10. ‘Qua story’: what does the word mean? Find other expressions using the word qua. Short Answer (30–40 words)
Qua means “in the capacity of” or “considered as”. Examples: “the judge qua citizen”, “art qua communication”. So “qua story” means “considered purely as story”.
Q11. Study the Note to Aspects of the Novel given at the end. Discuss the features that mark the piece as a talk as distinguished from a critical essay. Short Answer (30–40 words)
First-person address, direct appeals (“you”, “of course”), and conversational rhythm mark it as a talk. The tone is informal and flexible rather than heavily footnoted or strictly methodical.
Q12. Try rewriting the lecture as a formal essay and examine Forster’s statement: ‘…since the novel is itself often colloquial, it may possibly withhold some of its secrets from the graver and grander streams of criticism’. Long Answer (60–70 words)
In formal mode, topic sentences and tighter argument would replace anecdote. Yet Forster’s claim holds: a colloquial subject may disclose best in a colloquial manner. A stiff, “grand” method can miss live features—voice, play, readerly curiosity—that casual talk catches, especially when discussing story, suspense, and time as felt by ordinary readers.
Extract-Based MCQs (5 × 3)
Set 1
“Yes—oh dear yes—the novel tells a story. That is the fundamental aspect without which it could not exist.”
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What tone does the speaker convey here?
Answer: b) Reluctant acceptance
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In context, “fundamental” means:
Answer: c) Basic and necessary
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The line supports which claim?
Answer: c) Story is the shared core of novels
Set 2
“It runs like a backbone—or may I say a tape-worm—for its beginning and end are arbitrary.”
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The comparison to a “tape-worm” suggests story is:
Answer: b) Endless and plain
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“Arbitrary” in this sentence most nearly means:
Answer: b) Random rather than necessary
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The effect of the double image (backbone/tape-worm) is to:
Answer: c) Show both support and drabness
Set 3
“Scheherazade avoided her fate because she knew how to wield the weapon of suspense.”
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Which device is emphasised here?
Answer: b) Suspense
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Calling suspense a “weapon” implies it is:
Answer: c) Powerful and practical
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The anecdote shows that story can:
Answer: c) Compel attention for survival
Set 4
“Daily life is also full of the time sense … yet there seems something else in life besides time, something which may conveniently be called ‘value’.”
-
Here “value” refers to:
Answer: b) Intensity and meaning
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The contrast set up is between:
Answer: c) Time order and felt worth
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The phrase “double allegiance” summarises:
Answer: b) Two loyalties a good novel balances
Set 5
“All these devices are legitimate but none of them contravene our thesis: the basis of a novel is a story and a story is a narrative of events in time sequence.”
-
“Devices” refers to the way authors:
Answer: b) Play with time
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The thesis being defended is that:
Answer: c) Story is time-ordered events
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Which author is not named in this context?
Answer: d) Virginia Woolf
Practice MCQs (15 Challenging Questions)
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Forster calls story “the lowest and simplest of literary organisms” because it:
Answer: b) Has only one basic merit
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Which best paraphrases “qua story”?
Answer: b) Considered purely as story
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The “primitive audience” example mainly serves to:
Answer: c) Underline the age and force of suspense
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Which pairing matches author and time-play?
Answer: b) Sterne—turns the clock upside down
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The line “I detest and fear the second” reveals Forster’s view of:
Answer: b) Those who want only story
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According to Forster, a story’s single fault is:
Answer: b) Not making us want the next event
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The metaphor “naked worm of time” suggests that story, when isolated, is:
Answer: c) Plain and slightly unpleasant
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“Double allegiance” in a good novel means loyalty to:
Answer: c) Time order and value/intensity
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The function of the Clark Lectures note is to explain:
Answer: b) Why the tone remains conversational
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In Forster’s view, what keeps a novel intelligible?
Answer: b) The continuous time-thread
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The example “I only saw her for five minutes, but it was worth it” illustrates:
Answer: b) Value outweighing duration
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Forster’s attitude to pure plot-hunger is best described as:
Answer: b) Fearful and disapproving
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Which statement best matches Forster’s thesis?
Answer: c) Story is essential but not sufficient.
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The “shock-heads” image mainly contributes to:
Answer: a) Humour and historic sweep
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Which best describes the relationship between story and the “finer growths”?
Answer: b) Support structure and adornments
Extra Questions (Q&A)
- How do the three voices frame the debate on story?
They set a spectrum—from vague acceptance to aggressive plot-hunger to reluctant concession—so readers weigh story’s place without ignoring other elements. - Why does Forster choose unflattering metaphors for story?
To keep us realistic about plot: it is necessary, sturdy, and plain; the beauty lies in what grows upon it. - What is the lesson of Scheherazade for modern writers?
Suspense sustains attention. However refined your craft, you must keep readers wanting the next event. - How does Forster relate lived time to novel time?
Life has clock-time and value-time; a good novel honours both while moving intelligibly through sequence. - Do time-games threaten coherence?
They can, but the narrative must still offer a followable order; play without thread leads to confusion. - What role does tone play in this chapter?
The talky, friendly tone mirrors the form of the novel as lived experience rather than dry doctrine. - Why call story a “lowest” organism yet “highest factor”?
It is simple in nature but common to all novels, hence the shared “highest factor”. - How might readers test if a plot is working?
Ask: Do I care what comes next? If not, the story fails at its single essential task. - What balance should exam answers strike on this chapter?
State the core thesis clearly, cite key images (tape-worm, Scheherazade), and show how time/value operate together. - How does the “Note” justify informality?
It argues that a colloquial approach may reveal a novel’s secrets better than stiff, grand criticism.
