Kakatiya University Warangal
I year Sem 2- Unit-1
Stephen Leacock
Watch a short film by Pavan Raj Kumar.
Q. 1.Describe Leacock's initial visit to the photographer as envisaged in 'With the Photographer.
Q. 2.How does Leacock comment on the profession of photography in his essay 'With the photographer'?
About the author.
Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) was a Canadian writer, teacher, political scientist, and humourist. "With the Photographer" is an extract from Behind the Beyond. The story is told in first person about the narrator’s bitter experience with a photographer in a photo studio. The incident happens when the narrator goes to take a photograph of him. The narrator describes the physical features of the photographer and further says that he appears as a natural scientist. After waiting for an hour, the narrator is asked to come into the studio. The photographer rolls a machine into the middle of the room and crawls into it from behind, throwing a black cloth over himself. The photographer comes out with a serious face, shakes his head, and says that the narrator's face is wrong. He comes to the narrator and twists his head sideways. The narrator closes his eyes, assuming he is trying to kiss him. Then he asks him to open his mouth slightly and comment on his ears, asking him to drop them slightly more. He continues his humiliation by ordering him to open his chest, bend his neck, and contract his face. The narrator is annoyed by the peculiar behaviour of the photographer. The narrator says with emotion, “This face is my face." It is not yours, it is mine." The narrator tries to rise from the seat, countering his embarrassing comments, and says that he has been living with this face for forty years and loves it. After much humiliation, the photographer at last takes the photograph and asks him to come on Saturday to see a proof. The narrator visits the studio on Saturday. The photographer seems quiet and full of pride. The narrator is shocked upon seeing the photograph. He doesn’t find any resemblance between the man in the photograph and him. The photographer retouches the eyes, removes the eyebrows, adjusts the mouth a little, and plans to remove the ears as well. The narrator wants to take a photograph that will be kept by his friends after his death. Irritated by the photographer’s brutal work, he shouts at him to make whatever changes he can and keep the negative with him. At last, the dissatisfied narrator leaves the studio in tears.
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