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Q1 I. Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30– 40 words). 1. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them. (Don’t forget the dog!). 2. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing? 3. How did George and Harris react to this? Did Jerome like their reaction? 4. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack? 5. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited till then to ask? 6. What “horrible idea” occurred to Jerome a little later? 7. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush? 8. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag? 9. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why? 10. While packing the hamper, George and Harris do a number of foolish and funny things. Tick the statements that are true. (i) They started with breaking a cup. (ii) They also broke a plate. (iii) They squashed a tomato. (iv) They trod on the butter. (v) They stepped on a banana. (vi) They put things behind them, and couldn’t find them. (vii) They stepped on things. (viii) They packed the pictures at the bottom and put heavy things on top. (ix) They upset almost everything. (x) They were very good at packing. Ans: (I): 1. There are mainly four characters in this narrative. They are Jerome, George, Harris and Montmorency.
2. The narrator volunteered to do packing because as he thought that he was the best packer. He was very proud of his packing and wanted to show it to everyone.
3. George and Harris fully accepted jerome’s suggestion by their will. George smoked a pipe and ‘’spread himself over the easy- chair’’ , while Harris put his legs onto the table and lit a cigar. No, Jerome wasn’t very happy and felt irritated by both of their reactions.
4. The real intension of Jerome was that when he offered to pack was to show his capability through his supervision skills.
5. After the bag was closed and strapped, Harris found that Jerome had not packed the boots. He waited till then to ask about the boots because he wanted Jerome to make realize his mistake and ridicule his packing skills for which he was very proud.
6. The worst idea that happened to Jerome a little later was that whether or not he packed his toothbrush. Whenever he travelled he always forgot whether he had packed his toothbrush or not. This thought haunted him to the core and made his life a mess.
7. While things were turning upside down out of the bag and putting the things back one by one Jerome finally found the tooth brush inside a boot.
8. Jerome had to open again the packed bag because of his habit of forgetting things. As he reopens the bag, he had forgotten to pack the boots. He again unpacked the bag when he realized he had packed his tobacco- pouch in.
9. George and Harris both offered to pack the hampers because Jerome was talking too much at that time and was also getting late. Both of them also wanted to show their packing skill to jerome.
10. (i) true
(ii) false
(iii) true
(iv) true
(v)false
(vi) true
(vii) true
(viii) false
(ix) true
(x) falseQ2 What does Jerome say was Montmorency’s ambition in life? What do you think of Montmorency and why? Ans: Jerome says that montmorency’s ambition in life only was to get in the way and he took a vow on it. Montmorency was a mischievous little dog who love to trouble the others. I think that Montmorency was a perfect trouble maker who wanted to get involved and play whenever he found other people busy with their work or whenever he felt bored. He did not make any trouble intentionally. But when people reacted worst or shouted at him or threw things at his head, he got discouraged and would go away to sit silently or alone in a corner, which the narrator calls as the fulfillment of his conceit.
Q3 Discuss in groups and answer the following questions in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words) 1. Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text. 2. How did Montmorency ‘contribute’ to the packing? 3. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it? (Pick out at least three, think about what happens, as well as how it is described.) Ans: 1. Of all the three of them, Jerome is the best packer. Both of them, harris and George usually messed up things. George stepped on the butter and Harris packed the strawberry jam or top of a tomato and smashed it. They were consistantly getting annoyed by Montmorency. Jerome took his time to pack the things but he was good at it. Harris and George would sometimes even kept things behind the time and then keep searching for it. They made everything like chaos.
2. The packing adventure was already a messed up job and Montmorency‘s contribution made it even more difficult and tiresome. He did his level best to be a perfect nuisance. He came and sat down on the things just when the things were about to be packed. He used to put his leg into the jam. He also did show off that the lemons were rats. So he got into the hamper and killed three of them before Harris could land him with the frying- pan.
3. Yes, this story is certainly funny. Not only this way in which the three friends pack for the trip quite amusingly, but also the way like the author narrates all the incidents is very entertaining and interesting.
- The first humorous element is when the author offers to pack George and Harris leave the whole task on them. Consequently, he has to do the packing although his true intention was to supervise the job.
- The second humorous element is when George placed the butter on the chair and Harris unknowingly sat on it and it got struck at his back. When they searched it for packing it was missing. They walk all round the room and at last George finds it on the Harris’s back.
- The third humorous element is that Montmorency squirms in where he didn't want. He wants somebody who stumble over him and curse him steadily for an hour. He also pretends that lemons were rats.