What are Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change over time? (Hint: Compare, for example, the thought: “I knew that once I could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve” with these later thoughts: “Whole sentences, I knew, could one day bring me more than a few hundred rupees. It was a simple matter to steal — and sometimes just as simple to be caught. But to be a really big man, a clever and respected man, was something else.”) What makes him return to Anil?
Hari singh’s reactions to the prospects of receiving an education change over time. When he started living with anil he wanted to be literate so that he could become a more cunning cheat. Later he had a change of heart. He wants to earn respect in life. Probably he is influenced by the clam in anil’s life. Although, both of them depend on irregular sources of income, but anil seems to be more satisfied. Hari singh develops a desire to be part of civilized society.
What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Why does not Anil hand the thief over to the police? Do you think most people would have done so? In what ways is Anil different from such employers?
Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?
How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
What does Horace Danby like to collect?
How did the invisible man first become visible?
How did a book become a turning point in Richard Ebright’s life?
What kind of a person is Mme Loisel — why is she always unhappy?
Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place?
Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?
What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Is the narrator as rich as Tricki’s mistress?
How has Max got in?
What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is? Would you say he is tactful as well as full of commonsense?
“Horace Danby was good and respectable — but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorised as a typical thief?
“Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read.” What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)
What more does Bill say about Lutkins and his family?
Why do you think Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer?
Why are books referred to as a man’s best companion? Which is your favourite book and why? Write a paragraph about that book.