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प्रश्न
The author is a humorist
a. How does the story reflect his sense of humour?
b. What makes his lady friend remark - 'You are quite a humorist'?
c. Give instances of the author's ability to laugh at himself.
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उत्तर
a. The author is a humorist. Humour is a device which is employed to evoke laughter. The author has very deftly employed this device in the story The Luncheon from the beginning to the end. At the beginning of the story, the author brings out a humorous situation when he was tactfully suggested by a lady to offer her a little luncheon at a highly expensive restaurant Foyot. Given the economic condition of the author at that time, visiting Foyot was beyond his budget line. Driven by flattery, the author made all possible calculations and decided to go along with the lady to Foyot only to experience some embarrassing moments. These embarrassing moments are very humorous to the readers.
The author was taken aback at the very beginning after visiting the restaurant when the lady in the name of little luncheon ordered salmon, then caviare and champagne and asparagus. These situations are humorous and testify to the sense of humour of the author. The way he avoided placing orders for himself in order not to reveal his budget line is also very humorous. The way he describes the lady in the beginning as a woman of forty who was imposing rather than attractive is humorous.
In the end, when the lady recommended the author to follow her example of having a so-called little luncheon, the author humorously replied that he would do better than that by eating nothing for the night that day.
Thus, the story unfolds the author's sense of humour from the beginning to the end. Every situation depicted in the story amply expresses his sense of humour.
b. The story The Luncheon narrates how the author's lady friend tactfully managed to have lunch in a highly expensive restaurant Foyot from the author. The author with all his monetary constraints decided to visit the restaurant where senators usually go only to come across some embarrassing situations. The author carefully chalked out a plan to order for some items in the highly expensive restaurant which would not affect his monthly budget. However, the irony unfolded when he found his lady friend placing the order one after another without bothering about the budget of the author. In the end, when the author's lady friend recommended him to follow her path to have the so-called little luncheon, the author humorously replied that he would do better than that by not taking dinner that night. In this context, the lady friend made the quoted remark.
c. The story The Luncheon is full of instances to show the author's ability to laugh at himself.
At the beginning of the story, the author admits that he was flattered to visit Foyot by the lady. The author admits that as he was young he could not say no to the invitation of the lady. In the restaurant when the lady started ordering costly items one after another he could see the irony. He laughed at himself as to why he agreed to the proposal of having lunch in Foyot. In fact, from the beginning to the end the author shows his ability to laugh at himself.
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| (1) | “Can I see the Manager?” I said, and added solemnly, “Alone.” I don't know why I said “Alone.” “Certainly,” said the accountant and fetched him. | |
| (2) | The Manager was a grave, calm man. I held my fifty-six dollars clutched in a crumpled ball in my pocket. “Are you the Manager?” I asked. God knows I did not doubt it. “Yes,” he said. “Can I see you …. alone?” I asked. |
5 |
| (3) | The Manager looked at me in some alarm. He felt that I had an awful secret to reveal. “Come in here,” he said, and led the way to a private room. He turned the key in the lock. “We are safe from interruption here,” he said; “Sit down.” We both sat down and looked at each other. I found no voice to speak. “You are one of Pinkerton’s men, I presume,” he said. |
10 |
| (4) |
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15
20
|
| (5) | The Manager got up and opened the door. He called to the accountant. “Mr. Montgomery,” he said unkindly loud, “this gentleman is opening an account, he will deposit fifty-six dollars. Good morning.” I rose. A big iron door stood open at the side of the room. “Good morning,” I said, and stepped into the safe. “Come out,” said the Manager coldly and showed me the other way. |
30 |
| (6) | I went up to the accountant’s wicket and poked the ball of money at him with a quick convulsive movement as if I were doing a conjuring trick. My face was ghastly pale. “Here,” I said, “deposit it.” The tone of the words seemed to mean, “Let us do this painful thing while the fit is on us.” He took the money and gave it to another clerk. |
35 |
| (7) | He made me write the sum on a slip and sign my name in a book. I no longer knew what I was doing. The bank swam before my eyes. “Is it deposited?” I asked in a hollow, vibrating voice. “It is,” said the accountant. “Then I want to draw a cheque.” My idea was to draw out six dollars of it for present use. Someone gave me a chequebook through a wicket and someone else began telling me how to write it out. The people in the bank had the impression that I was an invalid millionaire. I wrote something on the cheque and thrust it in at the clerk. He looked at it. |
40
45 |
| (8) | “What! Are you drawing it all out again?” he asked in surprise. Then I realised that I had written fifty-six instead of six. I was too far gone to reason now. I had a feeling that it was impossible to explain the thing. I had burned my boats. All the clerks had stopped writing to look at me. Reckless with misery, I made a plunge. “Yes, the whole thing.” “You withdraw all your money from the bank?” “Every cent of it.” “Are you not going to deposit anymore?” said the clerk, astonished. “Never.” |
50
55 |
| (9) | An idiot hope struck me that they might think something had insulted me while I was writing the cheque and that I had changed my mind. I made a wretched attempt to look like a man with a fearfully quick temper. | |
| (10) | The clerk prepared to pay the money. “How will you have it?” he said. This question came as a bolt from the blue. “What?” “How will you have it?” “Oh!”— I caught his meaning and answered without even trying to think— “in fifties.” He gave me a fifty-dollar bill. “And the six?” he asked dryly. “In sixes,” I said. He gave it to me and I rushed out. As the big door swung behind me. I caught the echo of a roar of laughter that went up to the ceiling of the bank. Since then, I bank no more. I keep my money in cash in my trousers pocket and my savings in silver dollars in a sock. |
60
65
70 |
| Adapted from: My Financial Career By Stephen Leacock |
||
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- Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. [3]
- The kind stranger went and got back the ball from where it had rolled into the bush.
- I took offence at the expression on his face that was clearly meant to insinuate I was a liar.
- The firm experienced a financial loss when the contract went to a contender who had just entered the business.
- For each of the words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the same word unchanged in spelling, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage. [3]
- alarm (line 8)
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- The pallor of his skin alarmed those standing around.
- I set my alarm for six o’clock but slept through it.
- The sound of the approaching jets caused some alarm in the war room.
- wicket (line 44)
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- The man at the window handed us our tickets through the wicket.
- The quick loss of wickets demoralised the team.
- reason (line 48)
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- They reasoned they could get better seats if they arrived early.
- Recipients of funds were selected without rhyme or reason.
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- alarm (line 8)
- Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. [3]
- Answer the following questions as briefly as possible in your own words.
- With reference to the passage, explain the meaning of the expression of the ‘I had burned my boats?’ [2]
- Cite any two instances of the behaviour of the bank employees that indicate the insignificance of a deposit of fifty-six dollars. [2]
- Why do you think the people in the bank thought of the narrator as an “invalid millionaire?” [2]
- Summarise why the narrator decided ‘to bank no more’ (paragraphs 6 to 10). You are required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised. [8]


