The day the dam broke
The day the dam broke Q.1 How does the panic appear to have started in Ohio? Ans. James Thurber relates the broken-dam rumour in his essay ‘The Day the Dam Broke’. He does not mention an explicit cause, rather a probable one, as to how the rumour started in Columbus, Ohio. Business activities were in full swing on High Street, which was the main channel of trade. Some people were making proud, some little boasts. Suddenly somebody began to run and, in just ten minutes, two thousand people were abruptly running like hell, shouting “Go east! Go east! Go east!” The fear of the broken dam might have been put into words by an old lady in an electric, or by a traffic cop, or by a small boy, but Thurber says that no one knew who spread the rumour. Q.2 How did Thurber’s mother cope with the situation? Ans. In his essay ‘The Day the Dam Broke’ James Thurber tells that unlike the other people, who ran out leaving fires burning and food cooking and doors wide open, hi
