The Elevator

Extract 1

Martin, A Thin Twelve-Year-Old, Felt Nervous In It From The First Day He And His Father
Moved Into The Apartment. Of Course, He Was Always Uncomfortable In Elevators, Afraid That
They Would Fall, But This One Was Especially Unpleasant. Perhaps It Was Because Of The
Poor, Lightning And Dirty Walls. Perhaps It Was Because Of The Door, Which Never Stayed
Open Long Enough, And Slammed Shut With A Loud Clanging Noise.

(1) Where Does Martin Feel Nervous? Why?

Answer: Martin Feels Nervous In The Elevator Of The Apartment Building. He Is Afraid Of
Elevators In General, Worried They Might Fall. This Specific Elevator Worsens His Anxiety With
Poor Lighting, Dirty Walls, And A Door That Doesn't Stay Open Long, Slamming Shut Loudly.

(II) Why Was The Elevator In His Building Unpleasant To Use?

Answer: The Elevator In His Building Was Unpleasant To Use Because It Had Poor Lighting,
Dirty Walls And A Defective Door That Could Not Remain Open For Long And Used To Slam
Shut With A Loud Noise. Besides, It Was Too Small And Could Carry Only Three People At A
Time.

(III) What Was The Other Option Besides The Elevator? Was It Better Than The Elevator? Give
Reason To Support Your Answer.

Answer: The Other Option For Martin Was To Use The Stairs For Going Up And Down His
Apartment On The 17th Floor.

No, It Was Not Better Than The Elevator Because:-

The Stairs Neither Had Any Windows Nor Any Working Lights. They Were Not Better Than The
Elevator And Were Martin's Equally Bad And Scary. Martin's Footsteps Echoed Behind Him On
The Cement, As Though

There Was Another Person

Following Him. • Martin Had To Use The Stairs To Reach The 17th Floor And Therefore, Felt
Exhausted And Gasping For Breath.

(IV) How Did The Size Of The Elevator Affect The Narrator Later In The Story?

Answer: The Size Of The Elevator In Martin's Building Was Too Small To Carry More Than
Three Persons. By The End Of The Story, Martin Was Trapped in The Lift With A Fat Lady And
Could Not Escape From There Because Of A Lack Of Space.

(V) Explain How Does This Extract Act As A 'Foreshadow' In The Story.
Answer: This Extract Acts As A 'Foreshadow' In The Story By

• Giving An Inkling Of Something Bad Likely To Happen With Martin Later In The Story. Telling
That Martin Was Always Scared Of The Elevators. For He Was Afraid That It Would Fall And
Could Be Fatal For Him. Informing The Readers About The Defective Door Of The Lift That
Never Stayed Open For Long And Closed With A Loud Noise.

Extract 2

He Wanted To Know Why Martin Was Out Of Breath. 'Why Didn't You Take The Elevator?" He
Asked, Frowning At Martin. You're Not Only Skinny And Weak And

Bad At Sports, His Face Seemed To Say, But You Are Also A Coward. After That Martin Always
Took The Elevator. He Would Have To Get Used To It, He Told Himself, Just He Got Used To it,
He Told Himself, Just Like He Got Used To Being Bullied At School.

But He Didn't Get Used To It. He Was

Always Afraid That It Would Stop Suddenly And He Would Be Trapped Inside It For Hours By
Himself.

(1) Who is 'He' Referred To In The Extract? What Did He Ask Martin?

Why?

Answer: 'He' Refers To Martin's Father.

Martin's Father Asked Him Why He Had Not Taken The Elevator And Used The Stairs Instead.
He Asked So When He Saw Martin Gasping For Breath After Taking The Stairs To Reach His
Home On The 17th Floor.

(II) State The Three Adjectives Which He Apparently Used For Martin. Why?

Answer: Three Adjectives Used By Martin's Father For Him Are:

1. Skinny And Weak 2. Bad At Sports

Martin's Father Used These Adjectives

As He Was Annoyed With Martin For Not Using The Elevator And Getting Used To

3. Coward

It And Instead Wasting His Energy And Time By Using Stairs To Reach His House On The 17th
Floor.

(III) What Does Martin Promise Himself? Does He Succeed? Name The Other Thing Which He
Got Used To?
Answer: Martin Promised Himself That He Would Always Take The Elevator And Get Used To It
And Thereby, Overcame The Fear He Had Of Riding The Elevator. No, Martin Did Not Succeed
In Overcoming His Fear Of The Elevators. He Got Used To Being Bullied At School.

(IV) What Was His Fear About The Elevator? Did That Happen At The End Of The Story? Give
Reason For Your Answer.

Answer: Martin's Fear About The Elevator Was That It Would Stop Suddenly And He Would Be
Trapped Inside It For Hours By Himself. Yes, It Happened At The End Of The Story, Though The
Elevator Did Not Stop Suddenly By Itself. A Fat Lady, As Imagined By Martin, Or Otherwise
Entered The Lift And There Was No Space Left By Martin To Escape From The Lift. So, He Got
Trapped Inside The Lift With That Fat Lady. Since Martin Felt That He Was Being Laughed At
By The Fat Lady, Perhaps Martin Would Have Taken That As An Insult And Overcome His Fear
And With That Would Have Vanished The Scary Fat Old Lady.

(V) Explain Briefly The Characteristic Traits Of Martin Based On This Extract.

Answer: The Characteristic Traits Of Martin Based On This Extract Are:

Timid: Martin Always Feared Using Elevators. So When He Used Stairs Instead Of The Elevator
And Entered Home Gasping For Breath, He Was Rebuked By His Father. Seeing The
Expression On His Father's Face Martin Felt That He Was Chiding Him And Saying He Was
Weak And Skinny, Bad At Sports And A Coward. To Avoid His Father's Annoyance He Promised
Himself That He Would Get Used To Elevator. However, Martin Was Unable To Overcome His
Fear Of The Elevator.

Besides, He Could Not Stand Up Against His Bullies At School. Thus, It Shows Martin Was
Indeed Timid.

Absence Of Familial Bond: It Seems That Martin And His Father Did Not Have A Strong Bond.
That Is Why Martin Could Not Understand His Father's Frowning At Him And Interpreted It In
His Own Way. Besides, He Wanted To Get Over His Fear Of The Elevator Just To Avoid His
Father's Annoyance.

Extract 3

He Thought About Her All Day. Did She Live In The Building? He Had Never Seen Her Before,
And The Building Was Not Very Big. Maybe She Was Visiting Somebody? But 7.30 In The
Morning Was Too Early For Visiting.

Martin Felt Nervous When He Got Back To The Building After The School. But Why Should He
Afraid Of An Old Lady? He Felt Ashamed Of Himself. He Pressed The Button And Stepped Into
The Elevator, Hoping That It Would Not Stop, But It Stopped On The Third Floor.

(I) What Did Martin Think About Here All Day And Why?

Answer : Martin Kept On Thinking About The Old Lady, Whom He Met In The Elevator, Because
It Was His Fear Of Riding The Elevator That Made Him Create On Imaginary Fat Lady, Which
Grew Into A Bigger Fear Than The Elevator. He Could Not Get That Image Out Of His Mind And
Kept On Thinking About It All Day.

(II) Why Was Martin Nervous When He Got Back To His Building After School?

Answer : Martin Was Nervous When He Got Back To His Building After School Because The
Imagined Old Lady, Whom He Seemed To Have Met In The Elevator Could Not Get Off His
Mind. It Further Enhanced His Fear Of Riding An Elevator.

(III) Why Did Martin Feel Ashamed Of Himself? What Does It Reveal About Him?

Answer : Martin Felt Ashamed Of Himself For Being Afraid On An Old Lady. It Reveals That
Martin Wanted To Overcome His Fears But Did Not Have The Courage And Conviction To Do
So.

(IV) Why Did Martin Hope That The Elevator Would Not Stop? What Happened When It Did
Stop In The Third Floor?

Answer : Martin Hoped That The Elevator Would Not Stop In The Hope That He Would Not
Meet The Old Lady At Any Floor Who Would Enter The Elevator From Any Floor. When The
Elevator Stopped At The Third Floor, The Same Old Lady Whom He Had Seen In The Morning,
Entered The Elevator.

(V) What According To You, Martin Found Scarier- The Elevator Or The Old Lady? Give Reason
To Support Your Answer.

Answer : Martin Definitely Found The Old Scarier Than The Elevator Because After Seeing The
Old Lady For The First Time, His Only Fear Was Being Trapped Inside The Elevator With Her.
The Old Lady Was So Fat That She Would Occupy The Entire Space In The Elevator Making It
Difficult For Martin To Escape From The Lift.

Extract 4

Martin Knew He Was Probably Making A Mistake, But He Had To Tell Somebody About The
Woman. She Was In The Elevator With Me Twice Today. She Just Kept Staring At Me. She
Never Stopped Looking At Me For A Minute.
What Are You So Worried About Now? His Father Said, Turning Impatiently Away From The
Television. ‘What Am I Going To Do With You, Martin. Honestly, Now You Are Afraid Of Some
Poor Old Lady.”

(I) What Was The Mistake Martin Think He Was Probably Making? Why Did He Think So?

Answer : Martin Felt That He Was Probably Making A Mistake By Telling His Father About The
Old Lady, Whom He Had Seen In The Elevator.

He Thought So Because He Knew That He Would Not Get Any Positive Support From His
Father; His Father Would Rather Chide Him As Being Too Thin And Skinny, Timid And Perhaps
A Coward.

(II) Why Did Martin Feel That He Had To Tell Somebody About The Woman? Whom Did He
Decide To Tell? Why?

Answer : Marin felt that he had to tell somebody about the woman because he thought that was
always staring at him in the elevator as if she was going to kidnap him. Hence, he was afraid of
her. So, he decided to tell his father thinking thathis father would help him to get rid of the fat
lady.

(iii) What was the one thing that Martin found strange about the lady? Why?

Answer : The one thing that Martin found strange about the lady was that she was with him in
the elevator twice and she just kept staring at him without stopping for a minute. Hence, he was
worried about that.

(iv) Martin's father asked him what was he worried about 'now? What was he afraid about
earlier? What did his father say about him then?

Answer : Martin's father asked him what he was worried about now when he told about the old
fat lady who kept on staring at him in the elevator. Earlier he was afraid of using the elevator
and now he is even afraid of the old fat lady. His father said in the helpless manner what could
he do with him. He surprised to see his son getting afraid of some poor old lady.

(v) Give a character-sketch of Martin's father based on the extract.

Answer : Martin's father doesn't share an intimate relationship with his son. He never shows any
concern, care and love for Martin. Whenever, Martin talked to him, he remained indifferent to his
feelings and concerns. He, being a father.chids him for being too thin, weak and skinny and for
not taking any interest in sports. He never listen to his son and failed to understand him. He was
an unresponsive father.

V. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow

Martin started running down the stairs. The stairs were dark and he fell. His father was silent on
the way to hospital, disappointed and angry with him for being a coward and a fool. Martin had
broken his leg and needed to walk on crutches. He could not use the stairs now. Was that why
the fat lady had smiled? Did she know what would happen?

(i) Why did Martin start running down the stairs? How did he fall?

Answer : When Martin saw the fat lady in the elevator, he was scared and so he started running
down the stairs. The stairs are being dark, he fell down and broke his leg.

(ii) What Were Martin’s Father’s Feelings On The Way To The Hospital? How Had He Reached
Earlier When Martin Took The Stairs To Reach His House On The Seventeenth Floor?

Answer : Martin's father's feelings on the way to the hospital was silent and apathetic. He was
disappointed and angry with him for being a coward and a fool when earlier Martin took the
stairs to reach his house on the 17th floors.

(iii) Why Would Martin Not Be Able To Use The Stairs? How Do You Think Martin Would Have
Been Affected By This Condition?

Answer : Martin wouldn't be able to use the stairs because he had broken his Teg and he
needed to walk on crutches. Martin is affected by this condition as he has broken his leg and not
able to walk. So, he can't use the stairs.

(IV) Why Did Martin Think That Fat Lady Had Smiled And Knew What Was Going To Happen To
Him?

Answer : Martin was afraid and scared of the old fat lady. Hence, he thought that her smile
caused him to fall and broke his leg. Since he was afraid of her, he knew that something wrong
was going to happen. so, out of fear he ran and fell and broke his leg.

(V) Explain Briefly What Could Have Given Rise To Martin’s Thoughts About The Fat Lady.

Answer : By seeing the fat lady twice in the elevator, Martin was afraid. He ☐ thought that the
fat lady could harm him as she was staring at him all the time. So, Martin suspected her when
he found her all alone in the elevator with him. Therefore, he wanted to escape from her, used
the stairs, fell and broke his leg. He didn't rise above his
fears and grow up to a strong man as his father wanted him to be.

Extract 6

But The Door Was Already Closing. ‘Afraid To Be In The Elevator Alone?” Said His Father.
‘Grow Up, Martin. ‘The Door Slammed Shut.

Martin Hobbled To The Buttons And Pressed Nine, But It Didn’t Do Any Good. The Elevator
Stopped At Ten, Where That Fat Lady Was Waiting For Him. She Moved In Quickly, And He
Was Too Slow To Get Past Here In Time To Get Out. The Door Closed And The Elevator Began
To Move.

‘Hello, Martin, ‘She Said, And Laughed, And Pushed The Stop Button.

(I) How Did Martin Remain Alone In The Elevator? What Did His Father Tell Him?

Answer : Martin Remained Alone In The Elevator When His Father Got Down From The
Elevator On The Ninth Floor To Meet Mrs. Ullman. Martin’s Father Asked Him If He Was Feeling
Scared To Be In The Elevator Alone And Then Told Him To Grow Up, I.E., To Give Up His Fear
Of The Elevator.

(II) Why Did Martin Want To Press Button Nine On The Elevator? What Had Happened Instead?

Answer : Martin wanted to to press the button 9th on the elevator because to accompany his
father but the elevator didn't stop at. It stopped at the 10th floor, where the fat lady was waiting
and she got into elevator.

(III) Why Could Martin Not Move Out Of The Elevator? What Happened Thereafter?

Answer : Martin couldn't move out of the elevator because he was in crutches and too slow to
get past that fat lady in time to get out from the elevator. The door shut and the elevator began
to move and the fat lady got into the elevator and greeted him by his name.

(IV) Why Do You Think That The Lady Laughed And Then Pushed The ‘Stop Button? Give A
Reason To Support Your Answer.

Answer : I think that the lady laughed and then pushed the stop button because the fat lady
knew that Martin was scared of her. That was The Autho the inner fear Martin had. So, the fat
lady laughed at him seeing Martin again in the elevator.

(V) The Story Ends In A Cliffhanger. What Is A Cliffhanger? Explain What According To You
Would Have Happened At The End. Give Reasons To Justify Your Views.

Answer : The story ends in a cliffhanger. Cliffhanger is a story or a situation often dangerous or
of a great importance where two opposite results are possible and one doesn't know what the
result will be until the last moment. So, the author has left the story here at a cliffhanger for the
readers to decide what happened to Martin. According to me, at the end, Martin would have felt
very angry with the fat lady. But gradually, he might have face his fears and got rid of his fears of
both the old fat lady and of the elevator forever.