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Question
How does the writer create humour in this story?
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Solution
The story is full of humour. Mrs. Packletide arranges for the shooting. The funniest part is that a weak tiger is arranged and cheaper goats are left to lure him. Mrs Packletide is not a good shooter, but a platform is constructed in a tree, and she sits there with a rifle, a thumb-nail pack of patience cards. The funniest part is as soon as the tiger caught sight of the goat it lay flat on the earth, seemingly less from a desire to take advantage of and attack its prey.
The rifle is shot with a loud bang and the great beast springs to one side and then rolls over dead. Miss Mebbin makes fun of Mrs. Packletide by bringing out the fact that the wrong animal had been killed. The bullet had hit the goat, but the tiger had a heart failure because of the loud noise of the rifle. The villagers shouted happily, for they were only anxious for their thousand rupees and gladly connived at the fiction that she had shot the tiger. Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras happily and her pictured fame reached the pages of Texas Weekly Snapshot.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Read these lines and guess the answers to the questions given below.
It was Mrs. Packletide's pleasure and intention that she should shoot a tiger …. The
compelling motive ….was the fact that Loona Bimberton had recently …… personally
procured tiger-skin and a heavy harvest of Press photographs could successfully
counter that sort of thing.
a) Why did Mrs. Packletide want to kill a tiger?
b) What does it tell you about her?
c) What is the tone of the storywriter?
d) Do you think she was successful in her mission?
e) What do you think the story is all about?
Answer the following question in your own words :
What made her decide to give a party in Loona Bimberton's honour? What did she
intend to give Loona on her birthday?
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?
Did Mrs. Packletide achieve her heart’s desire? Give reasons for your answer.
How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her week-end cottage? Why did she plant so
many tiger lilies in her garden?
Do you think the tiger shooting organized by the villagers was a serious affair?
Give reasons for your answer.
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.
Sometimes writers highlight certain negative aspects in society or human beings by making fun of them. This is called a Satire. In your groups, discuss whether you would classify this story as a satire. Give reasons to support your answer
Rewrite the one in ordinary prose so that the meaning is retained.
Mrs. Packletide had already arranged in her mind the lunch she would give at her
house on Curzon Street, ostensibly in Loona Bimberton's honour, with a tiger-skin
rug occupying most of the foreground and all of the conversation.
……………………………………………………
Rewrite the one in ordinary prose so that the meaning is retained.
Mothers carrying their babies home through the jungle after the day's work in the
fields hushed their singing lest they might curtail the restful sleep of the venerable
herd-robber.
………………………………………………………………………
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.
………………………………………………………………………………………
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
Solo hunting has been banned because
The hunting of lionesses is discouraged because
The Maasai warriors chase a lion with rattle bells to
The Maasai use three parts of the lion. They are
The tail is given to
