---
title: "Description of the city under attack"
subject: "Communication English"
chapter: 2
key: "semester_5/communication_english:description-city-under-attack"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/communication_english/description-city-under-attack
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Description of the city under attack

Communication English · Chapter 2: Extensive Reading

- Asked in: 2068 Baishakh (old course), 4 marks
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/communication_english/description-city-under-attack
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_5/communication_english/chapter-2

## Question

Write the description of the city under attack. (The mother of a Traitor)

## Short answer

The besieged city is ringed by enemy campfires like red eyes, plunged in darkness and silence. Suffering from hunger and grief, the people’s anger falls on the traitor’s mother, who walks calmly among them.

## Answer

In Gorky's "The Mother of a Traitor", the city is shown as a place of fear and gloom because it is besieged by an enemy army led by one of its own sons.

#### The scene
- **A tight siege.** For many weeks the enemy has surrounded the city like a ring of steel. At night the enemy's campfires burn around the walls and seem to stare at the city through the darkness like countless red eyes.
- **Darkness and silence.** Inside, the city is dark and quiet. The people are tense and anxious, and they talk in low voices about the danger.
- **Defence.** Tired and hungry men guard the walls and gates, waiting for the next attack.
- **Suffering.** The siege brings hunger, sickness and death. The wounded groan, the dead are mourned, and families live in grief and dread.
- **Anger against the traitor.** The people are bitter because the enemy's leader is a native of their own city. Their rage falls on his mother, and they whisper about her as she passes.
- **Contrast.** Against this background of fear, Monna Marianna walks calmly through the streets with a firm purpose.

The description of the city makes the reader feel the danger of treason and prepares for the mother's decision to save her city.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. What is the main mood in the city under attack?
   A. Celebration
   B. Fear and confusion
   C. Calm indifference
   D. Boredom
   Answer: B. People live in terror as the enemy approaches. (Key point: Mood)

2. Why are the people bitter?
   A. The enemy's leader is a native of their own city
   B. The city has no defences
   C. The mother has insulted them
   D. Food prices have risen
   Answer: A. Their rage falls on the traitor's mother. (Key point: Anger)

3. How does Monna Marianna contrast with the city?
   A. She panics most of all
   B. She shouts at the crowd
   C. She hides indoors
   D. She walks calmly with a firm purpose amid the fear
   Answer: D. Her calm contrasts with the noisy fear. (Key point: Contrast)

## Related in Communication English

- [The Mother of a Traitor: Monna Marinna](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Amonna-marinna-ideal-citizen-mother) — Communication English, chapter 2, asked 2×
- [The Mother of a Traitor: mother's dilemma](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Amother-of-a-traitor-dilemma) — Communication English, chapter 2, asked 2×
- [The Mother of a Traitor: "Is it she?"](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Ais-it-she-mother-of-traitor) — Communication English, chapter 2
- [Lessons from The Mother of a Traitor](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Alessons-from-mother-of-a-traitor) — Communication English, chapter 2
- [Summary of The Mother of a Traitor](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Asummary-mother-of-a-traitor) — Communication English, chapter 2
- [Why the mother killed her son](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Awhy-mother-kill-her-son) — Communication English, chapter 2, asked 2×

## Related in other subjects

- [Service reservoir capacity, 10,000 m3/day city](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fwater_supply_engineering%3Ares-s73) — Water Supply Engineering, chapter 7