Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Answer in your own word.
Although the author was not a vindictive man, he was very happy to see her weigh twenty-one stone and had finally had his revenge. What makes him say this? Explain.
Advertisements
Solution
Twenty years earlier, the writer was earning barely enough money to make both ends meet. The lady wanted him to give her luncheon at Foyot's, an expensive restaurant. The writer thought that he could stand her a modest luncheon. The lady reassured him by saying that she never ate anything for luncheon'. However, she ended by eating about six things, some of which were very expensive; yet she insisted till the end that she never ate more than one thing for luncheon and advised him against 'filling his stomach with a lot of meat' when all he had eaten was one small mutton chop. The writer was finally left with a whole month before him and no money in his pocket. He could not forget this incident, and when he met her twenty years later, she had become very fat and weighed 21 stone. This made the writer feel that though he was not a vindictive man, he had got his revenge.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
B. Read the following passage and do the given activities:
B1. Choose the correct options from the bracket and fill in the blanks:
(younger, eighty, twenty, interval)
i. I went over during the _______ and sat down beside her.
ii. None of us are getting any _______.
iii. It was _______ years ago.
iv. I had _______ francs to last me the rest of the month.
I caught sight of her at the play and in answer to her call. I went over during the interval and sat down beside her. It was long since I had last seen her and, if someone had not mentioned her name, I hardly think I would have recognized her. She addressed me brightly.
“Well, it’s many years since we first met. How time does fly! We’re none of us getting any younger. Do you remember the first time I saw you? You asked me to luncheon.”
Did I remember?
It was twenty years ago and I was living in Paris. I had a tiny apartment and I was earning barely enough money. She had read a book of mine and had written to me about it. I answered, thanking her, and presently, I received from her another letter saying she was passing through Paris and would like to have a chat with me. But her time was limited and the only free moment she had was on the following Thursday and would I give her a little luncheon at Foyot’s afterward? Foyot’s is a restaurant and it was so far beyond my means that I had never even thought of going there. I had eighty francs (gold francs) to last me the rest of the month and a modest luncheon should not cost more than fifteen. If I cut out coffee for the next two weeks, I could manage well enough.
B2. Where and when did they decide to have luncheon?
B3. Find out the ‘Synonyms’ from the passage for the following words:
i. A set of rooms
ii. Acknowledged
iii. Handle
iv. Directed.
B4. Do as directed:
i. I hardly think about it.
(Begin the sentence with ‘How_______!)
ii. She had read a book of mine.
(Begin the sentence with ‘Hadn’t _______?)
B5. Personal Response:
If you were in the place of the narrator, how would you have reacted in the given situation?
Discuss in pairs:
People with foibles are often not conscious of them. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
As you know, every country has its own currency. Find out the currency of at least 6 countries along with their current exchange rate in India, with the help of the internet. One is done for you.
For example, Switzerland: franc; 1 franc = 66.73 INR
Choose the correct option from the bracket and fill in the blank given below.
(addressed, luncheon, generously, unwise, insist)
The chief guest____________ the students.
Choose the correct option from the bracket and fill in the blank given below.
(addressed, luncheon, generously, unwise, insist)
The crow was____________ to sing.
Choose the correct option from the bracket and fill in the blanks given below.
(addressed, luncheon, generously, unwise, insist)
I invited my relatives to ____________
Choose the correct option from the bracket and fill in the blanks given below.
(addressed, luncheon, generously, unwise, insist)
Parents always____________ on children to be allrounders.
Who said these words/sentences? Under what circumstances?
| Words/Sentences | Who said? | Under what circumstances? |
| I never eat anything for luncheon. | ||
| It’s many years since we first met. | ||
| Are you still hungry? | ||
| I don’t believe in overloading my stomach. | ||
| I’ll eat nothing for dinner tonight |
Answer in your own word.
Describe the use of irony and humour in “The Luncheon”.
Irony is the expression of meaning through the use of language signifying the opposite. Describe the use of irony in ‘The Luncheon’. Pick the sentences from the story that are examples of irony. Fill in the table ‘A’ the general direct meaning while in table ‘B’ its hidden meaning or the opposite meaning intended by the speaker. One is done for you.
| Sentence | Direct meaning | Hidden meaning |
| If I cut out coffee for the next two days, | to stop drinking coffee | to stop spending money in order to save money for some purpose. |
