JESSICA

My mother did not even bother to inform me they were coming. After that she said she did
not want me to give the impression of nervousness. She need not have worried. I heard
voices outside, when I was chopping vegetables in the kitchen, the kind of voices heard
rarely in our house. I was happy that earlier I had cleaned the front step so hard. My sister’s
voice approached from the front room; they were coming to the kitchen. I set the knife on
the table and wiped my hands on my apron. My mother appeared in the entrance way, her
eyes flashing a warning. Behind her, the woman who was so tall, as tall as the man following
her.
The woman wore a hat from which tiny curls escaped and hung about her forehead like a
group of bees. She tried her hard to watch me, but could not fix her attention on me and
then she said; ‘This is the girl, she said abruptly. ‘Yes this is my daughter, Jessica,’ my mother
replied, icily. Realising she had been corrected by my mother, the woman turned to look at
her husband. A crease of her coat caught the handle of the knife I had been using, hitting it
off the table so that it spun across the floor. The woman cried out, swatting impatiently.
‘Warren,’ the man said calmly. I quickly picked up the knife, placing it back on the table and
setting a piece of carrot back in its place. They both observed me, he looked at the
vegetables, each type in its own section; as I always did, I had laid them out in a circle, like a
pie. ‘Do you set the vegetables like this all the time? ‘He asked. Terrified, I said that I did not.
I did not want him to think I was lazy. From the corner of my eye I saw my sister, who was
looking round the doorpost and had shaken her head at my reaction. I did not often lie. I
looked down.
When they left, my mother came back and was hunching her shoulders as if against a winter
chill, though it was summer and the kitchen was hot. She said. ‘You will live with them as
their maid. You know we have to do this now that your father has lost his trade and don’t
look at me like that.’ I climbed the stairs to see my father but I could not think of anything to
say that would not sound reproachful.
The next morning when I was ready to go before leaving the house I hugged my mother and
my sister, carrying my few things. All of my neighbours nodded to me; they knew what
happened to families when a father lost all he had. I knew they were sympathetic people –
and here was young Jessica working as a maid because her father had made the family
penniless. They are not happy, however. They could easily find themselves in a similar
position.
New words: nervousness, hunching, swatting, nodded.
1- What was Jessica’s mother worried about?

Jessica’s mother was worried that the couple may not approve of Jessica and she
might lose a chance of decent earning.

2- What contrast between Jessica’s family and the couple is implied by the phrase
‘the kind of voices heard rarely in our house’?

The phrase points towards the voices of rich and educated people different from the
usual voices in Jessica’s house.

3- Jessica’s mother’s eyes were ‘flashing a warning’ as she brought the couple into
the kitchen. What do you think this warning was?

The warning was to Jessica about being “good” in front of the couple.

4- How would you describe the feeling of Jessica when she looked down?

It was a feeling of shame because of lying.

5- Jessica’s mother was ‘hunching her shoulders as if against a winter chill’. Explain
fully why she was doing that.

Jessica’s mother was worried about the financial condition of the family and wanted
the couple to hire Jessica.

6- What sort of a relationship do you think Jessica and her father had?

The relationship was not good.

7- Without using the words of the passage, explain the two reasons why the
neighbours ‘were not happy’.

They were not happy to see Jessica going away from home as a maid and support the
family at such a young age. Secondly; they could see that the same could happen to
them as well.
 8- Explain how the main character felt at the beginning, middle or at the end of
story?
At the beginning they were anxious as they needed the couple to hire Jessica. In the
middle they were somewhat relieved as she got the job but at the middle people
were sad as Jessica had to leave.
9- Fill in the given blanks with the help of the passage:

The woman wore a hat from which tiny curls escaped and hung about her forehead like a
group of bees. She tried her hard to watch me, but could not fix her attention on me and
then she said; ‘This is the girl, she said abruptly. ‘Yes this is my daughter, Jessica,’ my mother
replied, icily. Realising she had been corrected by my mother, the woman turned to look at
her husband. A crease of her coat caught the handle of the knife I had been using, hitting it
off the table so that it spun across the floor. The woman cried out, swatting impatiently.

10- Alliteration is a term to describe a literary device in which a series of words begin
with the same consonant sound. Find out and encircle the alliteration in the given
sentences:

a) A crease of her coat caught the handle of the knife.

b) All of my neighbours nodded to me; they knew what happened to families.

11- Match the column to complete the sentence:

I heard voices outside, this all the time?

my mother came back and because her father had made the family penniless
‘Do you set the vegetables like , when I was chopping vegetables in the kitchen
and here was young Jessica working as a was hunching her shoulders
maid

12-Write down the antonyms of the following words:

a) nervousness calmness
b) impression certainty
c) terrified comfortable
d) sympathetic unsympathetic

13-Write the meanings in column B:

 A B
rarely infrequently
chopping slicing
hunching bending
swatting hitting
reproachful accusing
nodded Move the head up and down