Question

Using the following points frame a character sketch of the narrator. Support each character trait with instances from the lesson.

1. Diffident and timid
2. Unusual behavior
3. Ignorant about banking
4. Nervous and careless
5. Economical.

Answer 1

1. Diffident and timid: The writer's salary had been raised to fifty dollars a month and the bank was the only safe place for it. So, he got diffident and timid to speak to the staff in that bank.
2. Unusual behavior: When the narrator caught the sight of the Accountant, his voice went sepulchral. He asked for the manager and added solemnly, 'alone.' That was an unusual behavior of the writer.
3. Ignorant about banking: The writer says, the moment he crosses the threshold of a bank, he becomes a hesitating jay and if he becomes to transact business there, he becomes an irresponsible idiot.
4. Nervous and careless: He gets nervous about receiving the check-book to enter the amount to be withdrawn. The writer goes careless when he enters fifty-six dollars in the check instead of just six.
5. Economical: The writer's attitude gets economical when he decides to keep his money in cash in his trousers pocket, and his savings in silver dollars in a sock.