Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
Notifications at Midnight
At midnight, when the house is dark and still,
and Amma’s door is shut across the hall,
my phone begins to buzz on the window sill
and throws a square of blue light on the wall.
“You up?” from Rohan. Someone shares a reel.
The class group argues over Monday’s sum.
A streak of thirty days I must not break,
a sale that ends at two. And on they come.
The phone lies warm and heavy in my hand,
my thumb is sore from sliding up the glass,
the sheet is hot and crumpled at my back,
and still I let another hour pass.
At one I turn the screen face down. And then
the old, plain dark comes back, so soft and deep.
I turn my weary pillow to its cool side,
and hear the fan, and slowly fall asleep.
Which of the following best describes the theme of the poem?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → the endless small pull of the phone at night, and the calm that comes when one lets it go
The poem moves from the phone’s many small calls to the quiet of sleep.
- The alerts are small things: a “reel”, a “streak”, a “sale”. But “on they come”, and the speaker lets “another hour pass”. This is the endless pull of the phone.
- When the screen is turned “face down”, the dark comes back “so soft and deep”, and the speaker can “slowly fall asleep”. This is the calm of letting it go.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: the fun of chatting with friends and sharing reels late into the night — Incorrect. Contradicted: The speaker never replies to anyone. The scrolling leaves a sore thumb and a hot, crumpled sheet, not fun.
Option 2: the danger of strangers and false news on the internet — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The messages come from a friend, a class group and a sale. No stranger or false news appears.
Option 4: a young person’s worry about missing an important message from a friend — Incorrect. Too narrow: Rohan’s “You up?” is only one of many alerts, and the speaker is not shown waiting for it.