It almost sounded like English but .. inebriated ears – Do you think it was Sir Mohan Lal well-bred manners

“It almost sounded like English, but they knew better than to trust their inebriated ears.”-Do you think it was Sir Mohan Lal’s ‘well-bred manners’ that prevented him from protesting the English soldiers in his mother tongue? Class 11 | English (Karma) 6 Marks

Ans:

Sir Mohan Lal’s obsession for English culture and language is highlighted right from the beginning of the story. He had imitated everything western, even looked down upon the Indian people. This ‘imitation’ forced him to remain sober and decent before the ill-mannered British soldiers, Jim and Bill. He had always believed that excitement, loud and aggressive manners were the examples of bad breeding. He wanted to retain his sophisticated western mannerisms while justifying himself before those British soldiers. He was undoubtedly better than them in terms of gravity. He maintained his sophisticated composure till the end and his wellbred manners prevented him from protesting the English soldiers in his mother tongue. On the other hand, Jim and Bill showed indecency in everything, quite contrary to the so-called manners of the English people.