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प्रश्न
Answer the following question briefly.
Why does John want the ghost to disappear before his wife appears on the scene? What impression of his wife's character do you form from his words?
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उत्तर
He asks the ghost to leave before his wife comes there, because he doesn’t want her to know his secret, moreover she would be afraid. These words show that his wife is suspicious and jealous.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Why did John’s wife get angry with him? What did she decide to do?
Read the extract given below and answer briefly the questions that follow:
"I hadn't the shade of an idea, but at the time that didn't worry me in the least. You see, I had often been like that before...."
(i) Who is 'I' ? What did he not have an idea about?
(ii) Why was he not worried?
(iii) What had actually happened earlier to make things right for him?
Given below is a list of words related to ghosts and ghost stories with their jumbled up meanings against them. Match the words/expressions with their correct meanings:
| Apparition | a feeling of anticipation or anxiety over a future event |
| Poltergeist | a reanimated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping people |
| Clairvoyance | a conjurer who expels evil spirits by conjuration |
| Crystal Ball | a spelling board device intended to communicate with and through the spirit world, obtaining answers to questions |
| Eerie | beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation |
| Medium | any of a set of 22 playing cards bearing allegorical representations, used for fortune telling |
| Transmigration | a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, a ghost, spectre or phantom |
| Psychic | so mysterious, strange or unexpected as to send a chill up the spine |
| Ouija Board | the supposed power to see objects or events that cannot be perceived by the senses |
| Exorcist | a person through whom the spirits of the dead are alleged to be able to contact the living |
| Premonition | a globe of quartz crystal in which images, believed to portend the future, are supposedly visible to fortune tellers |
| Paranormal | to pass into another body after death: going from one state of existence or place to another |
| Tarot Card | capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy |
| Vampire | German word, meaning "noisy ghost"-a troublesome spirit that announces its presence with unexplainable sounds and the creation of disorder |
The title of the story is A Shady Plot. The dictionary defines the words as:
shady adjective
- Full of shade; shaded.
- Casting shade: a shady grove.
- Quiet, dark, or concealed; hidden.
- Of dubious character or of questionable honesty.
plot noun
- i) a small piece of ground, generally used for a specific purpose: a garden plot.
ii) a measured area of land - a ground plan, as for a building; a diagram.
- storyline- the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story
- a secret plan to accomplish a hostile or illegal purpose; a scheme.
Based on the definitions above, can you predict what the story is about? Make a brief note of your prediction in your notebook.
Based on your reading of the story answer the following question by ticking the correct option.
The sight of the ghost materialising in his room filled the narrator with ………
Based on your reading of the story answer the following question by ticking the correct option.
When the narrator says his wife is never so pretty as when she's doing something she
knows he disapproves of, his tone is …………………….
Answer the following question briefly.
Which genre of stories does Jenkins want the narrator to write? Why?
Answer the following question briefly.
What makes Helen, the ghost and her other co-ghosts organize The Writer's Inspiration Bureau? .
Answer the following question briefly.
Why had Helen, the ghost, been helping the narrator write ghost stories? Why was she going on strike? What condition did she place for providing continued help?
Answer the following question briefly.
Why does the narrator hesitate to be a partner to Laura Hinkle during the Ouija Board Party?
Answer the following question briefly.
What message does the ghost convey to the group assembled in the narrator's house? What is their reaction to the message?
Answer the following question briefly.
Do you agree with the narrator calling the assembly of women "manipulators?" Give reasons.
Answer the following question briefly.
Why does John wish himself to be dead?
Answer the following question briefly.
When confronted by Lavinia about his flirtations over the Ouija Board, John insists that 'the affair was quite above-board, I assure you, my love'. Bring out the pun in John's statement.
Answer the following question in detail:
John Hallock reflects upon his experience with Helen's ghost and in retrospect he finds it quite amusing. All the same he is relieved that he is no longer plagued by it. Ironically, the same ghost inspires his creativity and he writes a diary entry reflecting upon the comical aspect of his experience. Write his diary entry
Gladolia, the narrator's cook, is an African. The language she speaks is different from that of the others. This is known as Dialect. A dialect consists of words or phrases that reflect the regional variety of a language. An author often uses a dialect to make the dialogue more authentic. Initially, a dialogue may seem a little difficult to understand. However, as you continue reading, the language becomes more comprehensible.
Working in groups, write what Gladolia's words mean as shown.
| Column A | Column B |
| • Misto Hallock | • Mister Hallock |
| • de Missus | |
| • sho t'inks you's lost! | |
| • she done 'phone you dis mawnin' | |
| • fo' de lawd's sake | |
| • not to stop to argify now | |
| • I's gwine t' quit. | |
| • I don't like no hoodoos. | |
| • I'se done lef' dis place | |
| • I is |
While conventional Ghost stories are scary and gruesome, several modern versions are humorous. The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde, is one of the best ghost stories written in the vein of comic satire. The story that you just read is another example in case. Humour arises out of the narrator's ability to laugh at himself, clever use of language as well as comic situations. Discuss within your groups what makes the story, A Shady Plot humorous. Share your views during a class discussion.
Answer the following question:
The Ghost was particularly angry with Washington and wished to frighten him
because…. ...................................................................(Complete the statement)
Answer the following question.
The Ghost did not wish to frighten Virginia because ….(Complete the statement)
