Holiday Homework

Class XI
English Core

Name:
Class: Section:

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:

What is a photograph? Apparently the definition of the word is changing with the evolving
culture and you may be surprised as to HOW we define the word “photograph”. So… WHAT is
a photograph and WHY can it be so many different things?

Is a selfie a photograph? Is a camera phone photo a photograph? Is Instagram a compilation of

photographs? More than likely the answer to these questions can be both yes and no.

The emerging culture of new adults has seen the world through the jaded glasses of the internet
and social media throughout most of their life. They grew up texting and owning a cell phone
and posting their every move, decisions and meal to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and more.

If you asked your parents or grandparents, “What is a photograph?” They will very likely pull out
a printed photo or canvas as they tell you a story of that photo. These photographs, they had
meaning, they were investments, they offered a story and truly froze a moment in time. They
were memories that you held in your hands. Potentially they will even show you treasured
memories of previous generations in the form of tattered black and white images that they hold
dear. They were treasured pieces of lost loved ones.

In recent years we have begun to see a flood of “pics” across all areas of life, social media, the
internet etc. The cost of cameras decreases as every smartphone now contains a digital
camera with more megapixels than a professional digital. With this flood has also come a
watered down sense of what a photograph truly is.

Adapted from https://shootq.com/2022/05/17/photograph-changing-definition/

Q1. How has the definition of a photograph changed for the new adults?

Q2. Suggest a word that could replace ‘jaded’ in the given passage.

Q3. What does a photograph mean to the older generations?

Q4. ‘With this flood has also come a watered down sense of what a photograph truly is.’ What
does ‘this flood’ refer to? Do you agree with the author?
What does a photograph mean to you?
Happy moments are short lived but provide a lifetime memory. They act as a cushion to bear
the difficulties which the future has in store for you. Comment in the light of the poem ‘A
Photograph’ by Shirley Toulson.