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Question
Do you think the tiger shooting organized by the villagers was a serious affair?
Give reasons for your answer.
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Solution
The tiger shooting organised by the villagers was a serious affair because Mrs. Packletide had offered a thousand rupees for the opportunity of shooting a tiger without taking much risk. A neighbouring village was chosen for the game killing. The idea of earning a thousand rupees had egged on the villagers. They had posted their children at the borders of the local jungle to head the tiger back to the village so that it may not go to some fresh hunting grounds.
Mrs. Packletide was compelled to do this as the idea of her friend Loona Bimberton boasting of her personally procuring a tiger-skin and popularity of the press photographs could not be digested. Mrs. Packletides movements and motives were largely governed by the dislike of ‘ Loona Bimberton.
Cheaper kind of goats were left about in a great number to keep the tiger satisfied. All precautions were taken so as not to drive the tiger away. A platform was constructed in a conveniently placed tree. Mis. Packletide even paid her companion Miss Mebbin to accompany her to the shoot. For the villagers it seemed to be a serious affair for as soon as the rifle flashed and the beast rolled over dead, a crowd of excited natives came to the place shouting happily and carried the news to the village. They were anxious for their thousand rupees. Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras with a light and a happy heart.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Answer the following question in your own words :
Why did Mrs. Packletide wish to kill a tiger ?
Answer the following question in your own words :
In what way did the villagers help Mrs. Packletide shoot the tiger?
Who was Miss Mebbin? Was she really devoted to Mrs. Packletide? How did she behave during the tiger shooting?
Mrs. Packletide was a good shot. Discuss.
Answer the following question in your own words:
How did the villagers react to the tiger’s death?
How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her week-end cottage? Why did she plant so
many tiger lilies in her garden?
“The incidental expenses are so heavy,” she confides to inquiring friends. Who is the speaker? What is she referring to here?
Do you think the writer is trying to make fun of the main characters in the story i.e. Mrs. Packletide, Miss Mebbin and Loona Bimberton? Pick out instances from the story that point to this fact.
Rewrite the one in ordinary prose so that the meaning is retained.
It was Mrs. Packletide's pleasure and intention that she should shoot a tiger.
....................................................................................
Rewrite the one in ordinary prose so that the meaning is retained.
Louisa Mebbin adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards money in
general, irrespective of nationality or denomination.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Rewrite the one in ordinary prose so that the meaning is retained.
Evidently the wrong animal had been hit, and the beast of prey had succumbed to
heart-failure, caused by the sudden report of the rifle, accelerated by senile decay.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Rewrite the one in ordinary prose so that the meaning is retained.
As for Loona Bimberton, she refused to look at an illustrated paper for weeks, and
her letter of thanks for the gift of a tiger-claw brooch was a model of repressed
emotions.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Years later Mrs. Packletide writes her autobiography. As Mrs. Packletide, write
about the tiger episode with the help of the clues given below.
| jealous of the applause Loona was getting-thought of tiger hunt--all arranged-- Louisa Mebbin accompanied; turned out to be a blackmailer-huge price to pay to outdo a rival |
In groups of four, construct the dialogues and enact the following situations
from the story:
1. Mrs. Packletide and the headman of the village/other villagers discussing the
details of the tiger shooting
2. Miss Mebbin blackmailing Mrs Packletide into gifting her a cottage
3. Loona Bimberton and a lady-friend discussing Mrs Packletide's hunting success
The Maasai tribe in Africa hunt lions because
Solo hunting has been banned because
The tail is given to
