If I Were You | Play 2 | Questions, and Answers |
English | Class 9th | Short Stories |Tulip Series | jandkncert | Free NCERT Solutions |
Play 2 – If I Were You |
Tulip Series | Questions, and Answers |
(Douglas James)
SCENE: A
small cottage interior. There is an entrance back right (which may be
curtained). Another door to the left must be a practical, door. The furniture
is simple, consisting of a small table towards the left, a chair or two, and a
divan rather upstage on the right. On the table is a telephone.
(When
the curtain rises Gerrard is standing by the table making a phone call. He is
of medium height and wearing horn-rimmed glasses... He is dressed in a lounge
suit and a great coat. His voice is cultured.)
Thinking About the Text
Answer
these questions.
1.
“At last a sympathetic audience.”
i.
Who says this?
Ans.
Gerrard
says, “At last a sympathetic audience.”
ii.
Why does he say it?
Ans. There was no one except intruder to listen to his story of life so he considered intruder as a sympathetic audience to make him calm down at his place.
iii.
Is he sarcastic or serious?
Ans. He is
sarcastic because forces others to listen to his life history
2.
Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take
on?
Ans.
Gerrard has a close resemblance to the intruder. The intruder is a criminal. He
intends to murder Gerrard and take on his identity so that he could live freely
in his cottage as a Gerrard.
3.
“I said it with bullets.”
i.
Who says this?
Ans.
Gerrard
says this.
ii.
What does it mean?
Ans.
Gerrard means to say that he has killed someone with the gun and ran away. The
game has finished and he would not be killed by one.
iii.
Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?
Ans. No,
this is not the truth. He wants to confirm that the intruder is the real
killer. He wants to befool the intruder and make him clear that he is also a criminal.
4.
What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your
answer.
Ans.
Gerrard is working in a theatre. The quote, “I can’t let you have the props in
time for rehearsal”, “I’ll put it in my next play”, show that he works in a theatre.
5.
“You’ll soon stop being smart.”
i.
Who says this?
Ans.
The
intruder says these words.
ii.
Why does the speaker say it?
Ans.
Gerrard acts like a smart guy to befool the intruder so that he will let him go
but the intruder threatens him and stops him to behave like a smart guy.
iii.
What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
Ans. The intruder has put his gun on Gerrard’s head and says that he will make him crawl
and this will stop his smartness. So the crawl will stop Gerrard from being
smart.
6.
“They can’t hang me twice.”
i.
Who says this?
Ans. The
intruder says these words.
ii.
Why does the speaker say it?
Ans. The speaker says that he is already wanted for the murder so he has no trouble in
killing another one. He says that he is already going to die for one murder and
if he kills him he will not be hanged for the second one.
7.
“A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to
explain?
Ans. The mystery is only to divert his attention and to befool him. The mystery ist o
make him sure that he is also a criminal and expecting to be in trouble and
that is he is leaving from there.
8.
“This is your big surprise.”
i.
Where has this been said in the play?
Ans. These
words had been said by Gerrard when the intruder prepared to shoot him. He
tried to make him sure that he was also a criminal.
ii.
What is the surprise?
Ans. The surprise is that he looks like a criminal. He has made the bag ready to run from
that place. He explains the intruder that he has killed the person and now the
police are after him.
Language Work
I.
Choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.
1.
The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
Ans.
The
site of the accident was ghastly.
2.
Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
Ans.
Our college principal is very strict.
3.
I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
Ans.
I
studied continuously for eight hours.
4.
The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
Ans.
The fog had an adverse, effect on the traffic.
5.
Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
Ans.
Cezanne,
the famous French painter was a brilliant artist.
6.
The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of
science fiction and mystery.
Ans.
The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary college of science fiction
and mystery.
7.
Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
Ans.
Our school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8.
Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before
using the contents.
Ans.
Screw
the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and shake well before using the contents.
Using
a word differently
A word can mean different things in different contexts. Look at these three
sentences:
•
The students are taught to respect different cultures.
•
The school is organizing a cultural show.
•
His voice is cultured.
In
the first sentence, ‘culture’ (noun) means a way of life; in the second,
‘cultural’ (adjective) means connected with art, literature, and music; and in
the third, ‘cultured’ (verb) means sophisticated, well mannered. Usually, the dictionary helps you identify the right meaning by giving you signposts. Look
at the dictionary entry on ‘culture’ from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
(Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, synonyms, etc. are signposts which help you locate
the right meaning and usage, and give information about the part of speech that
the word is.)
Look
up the dictionary entries for the word’s sympathy, familiarity, comfort, care,
and surprise. Use the information given in the dictionary and complete the
table.
|
Noun |
Adjective |
Adverb |
Verb |
Meaning |
|
Sympathy |
Sympathetic |
Sympathetically |
Sympathize |
Compassion |
|
Familiarity |
Familiar |
Familiarly |
Familiarize |
Being
familiar, known |
|
Comfort |
Comfortable |
Comfortably |
Comfort |
Well-being |
|
Care |
Careful |
Carefully |
Care |
Look
after |
|
Surprise |
Surprising |
Surprisingly |
Surprise |
Astonishment |
|
Love |
Loving |
Lovely |
Love |
Deep
affection |
|
Beauty |
Beautiful |
Beautifully |
Beautify |
Prettiness |
|
Thought |
Thoughtful |
Thoughtfully |
Thought |
Idea,
Thinking |
|
Hope |
Hopeful |
Hopefully |
Hope |
Expect |
|
Fear |
Fearful |
Fearfully |
Fear |
Afraid,
anxiety |
Writing Work
I.
Which of the words below describe Gerrard and which describe the Intruder?
Smart,
humorous, clever, beautiful, cool, confident, flashy, witty, nonchalant
Ans.
Gerrard:
Smart, humorous, clever, beautiful
Intruder:
Cool, confident, flashy, witty, nonchalant
Write
a paragraph each about Gerrard and the Intruder to show what qualities they
have.
Ans.
Gerrard:
Gerrard
is the main character in the play. He is an intelligent, humorous, smart,
clever, and witty person. He works in a theatre. He plays a trick in the play
with the intruder and poses himself as a criminal. He does not feel panic in
confronting the vicious intruder in his house. Rather he daringly begins a
witty conversation with him in a humorous way. He stretches his argument to
such an extent that the intruder comes to believe that police are always
running after Gerrard to trap him. He makes the intruder believe that he will
be surely hanged at last, if not as intruder then perhaps as Gerrard. At last,
he very smartly snatches his revolver from the intruder and locks him into the
cupboard. In this way, he saved his own life.
Intruder: The intruder in the play acts as a murderer. He has killed a policeman and is now running
from the police. He is flashy and confident to kill Gerrard, as he thinks he is
already going to be hanged for one murder and no matter if he does the other.
He tries to kill Gerrard and live at his place as he physically resembles like
Gerrard. He has cunning thinking. But he fails to kill Gerrad and is got
arrested at the end of the play.
II.
Convert the play into a story (150–200 words). Your story should be as exciting
and as witty as the play. Provide a suitable title for it.
Ans.
The story begins with a playwright,
Gerrard. Gerrard was alone in his cottage busy packing his bags for a relaxing
holiday in the countryside. But to his amazement, an intruder silently entered
his cottage armed with a revolver. Although his purpose to enter Gerrard’s
cottage was unclear; Gerrard still managed to stay calm and cool in his
presence as he was busy taking a call. Gerrard wanted to make this terrible
scene as humorous but the intruder threatened him to kill if he showed any
smartness. On seeing the intruder, Gerrard was asked to sit still in one place.
Then as their conversation progressed, the intruder revealed that he was a
jewel thief. He further told him that he had killed a policeman and therefore
the police were after him. In addition to this, he told him that due to his
criminal record, he further wanted to kill Gerrard and take on his identity by
which he could get away with the police and lead a normal life. However,
Gerrard very cleverly concocted a story and told him that he too was a criminal
and already had planned of running away. He also told the intruder that by
killing him, he would be accused of double murder and as a proof, showed his
traveling bag.
Further weaving the story,
Gerrard told the intruder that his friend was standing on the nearby road,
waiting for him and as soon as the police arrived, he would inform him. Now, in
order, to fully convince him, Gerrard took the intruder to the door to show the
man. But as soon as they reached near the cupboard, Gerrard pushed him inside
and immediately locked it from outside. Screaming and shouting, the
intruder pleaded him to take him out of the cupboard but Gerrard very smartly
took advantage of the situation and called the police and finally got the
strange intruder arrested for his deeds.
Title: As you so, so shall you reap
Discussion
1.
Imagine you are Gerrard. Tell your friend what happened when the Intruder broke
into your house.
[Clues:
Describe (i) the intruder—his appearance, the way he spoke, his plan, his movements,
etc., (ii) how you outwitted him.]
Ans.
Friends, I was alone in my cottage packing my bags for enjoying the holiday in
the countryside but suddenly there was a sound of the door opening. An intruder broke
into my room and put his gun on my head. The intruder’s physical appearance,
his way of speaking, his plan, and his movement, everything resembles me. I was
astonished to see if he was me. I tried to avoid my threat humorously but he
threatened me to kill it did so. So, I sat silently on the chair and listened
to him. When I asked him the cause of coming, he told me that he has escaped
from the police after killing a policeman. Now that I was like him, he would
kill me to live in his place. I convinced him that I am also a criminal and am
preparing to escape from the police too. At last, I snatched the gun from him,
called the police and made him arrested.
2.
Enact the play in the class. Pay special attention to words given in italics
before dialogue.
These
words will tell you whether the dialogue has to be said in a happy, sarcastic,
or ironic tone and how the characters move and what they do as they speak. Read
these carefully before you enact the play.
Ans.
Assignment
for students. Do it yourself.
Suggested Reading
The
Bet by Miles Malleson
The
Miracle Merchant by Saki
It is collage not college
ReplyDelete