CHAPTER 02 -MRS PACKLETIDE'S TIGER

CHAPTER 02 -MRS PACKLETIDE'S TIGER
PAGE 12
Question 2-(a):
Why did Mrs. Packletide want to kill a tiger?
Answer :
Note: This question is to be answered on the basis of
your own understanding, experience and thoughts. It
is strongly recommended that you prepare the
solution on your own. However, sample solutions have
been provided for your reference.
Mrs. Packletide wished to shoot a tiger and get her
pictures published. This was to show off in front of
Loona Bimberton who had recently obtained a tiger-
skin and couldn’t stop boasting about it.
Question 2-(b):
What does it tell you about her?
Answer :
Note: This question is to be answered on the basis of
your own understanding, experience and thoughts. It
is strongly recommended that you prepare the
solution on your own. However, sample solutions have
been provided for your reference.
Mrs. Packletide is full of vanity. She is a selfish person
who seems to be jealous at other people’s success.
Question 2-(c):
What is the tone of the storywriter?
Answer :
Note: This question is to be answered on the basis of
your own understanding, experience and thoughts. It
is strongly recommended that you prepare the
solution on your own. However, sample solutions have
been provided for your reference.
It seems that the story has humour laced with satire.
Question 2-(d):
Do you think she was successful in her mission?
Answer :
Note: This question is to be answered on the basis of
your own understanding, experience and thoughts. It
is strongly recommended that you prepare the
solution on your own. However, sample solutions have
been provided for your reference.
The story begins on a note that suggests that Mrs.
Packletide’s has made up her mind to shoot a tiger.
With this firm resolve, it seems that she was successful
in her mission.
Question 2-(e):
What do you think the story is all about?
Answer :
Note: This question is to be answered on the basis of
your own understanding, experience and thoughts. It
is strongly recommended that you prepare the
solution on your own. However, sample solutions have
been provided for your reference.
I think the story is all about Mrs. Packletide’s hunting
expedition.
PAGE 16
Question 4-(a):
Why did Mrs. Packletide wish to kill a tiger?
Answer :
Mrs. Packletide wished to kill a tiger so that she could
counter to Loona Bimberton’s claim who had been
carried eleven miles in an Algerian aviator.
Question 4-(b):
What made her decide to give a party in Loona
Bimberton's honour? What did she intend to give
Loona on her birthday?
Answer :
Mrs.Packletide decided that once she shot a tiger, she
would invite Loona Bimberton for a luncheon party. At
the party she would display the newly-acquired tiger
skin. The party would be an appropriate time to show
off the tiger skin and talk about her tiger-shooting
experience to Loona Bimberton. She intended to give a
tiger-claw brooch to Loona Bimberton on her
birthday.
Question 4-(c):
How was the tiger shooting arranged? What kind of a
tiger was chosen for the purpose?
Answer :
Mrs.Packletide offered a thousand rupees to villagers
for arranging an opportunity to shoot a tiger without
much risk or exertion. An old tiger that had given up
hunting and confined himself to eating domestic
animal was chosen for this purpose.
Question 4-(d):
In what way did the villagers help Mrs. Packletide
shoot the tiger?
Answer :
The villagers were very excited at the prospect of
earning a thousand rupees. They posted children at
the outskirt of the jungle to keep a watch on the tiger
in case he wanders off to new hunting grounds. Goats
were scattered to keep him satisfied and to prevent
him from straying. Mothers with babies walked quietly
through the jungle so as to not to disturb its sleep. The
villagers were only worried about the tiger that should
not die of old age before the day of shoot.
Question 4-(e):
Who was Miss Mebbin? Was she really devoted to Mrs.
Packletide? How did she behave during the tiger
shooting?
Answer :
Miss Mebbin was a paid companion. Mrs. Packletide
had acquired her so that she could witness the
shooting of the tiger. She was very materialistic. She
didn’t want to do more than she was paid for. In fact
she also instigated Mrs. Packletide not to pay for the
goat if the tiger did not eat it. She was not at all
devoted to Mrs. Packletide. She was there only for the
money.
Question 4-(f):
Mrs. Packletide was a good shot. Discuss.
Answer :
Mrs.Packletide was definitely a good shot. She did
manage to shoot an animal although it was only the
goat. The tiger merely died of a heart-failure caused by
the sound of the gun shot.
Question 4-(g):
What comment did Miss Mebbin make after Mrs
Packletide had fired the shot?
Why did Miss Mebbin make this comment? How did
Mrs Packletide react to this comment?
Answer :
Miss Mebbin brought to everybody’s notice that
Mrs.Packletide had not killed the tiger but the goat.
The tiger died because of a heart-failure caused by the
sound of the gun shot. Miss Mebbin intended to
blackmail Mrs. Packletide with this piece of
information. She wanted to take more money from
her. Mrs. Packletide was very annoyed at this
disclosure. However, she told herself that Miss Mebbin
was only a paid companion who would keep the secret
to herself if given more money.
Question 4-(h):
How did the villagers react to the tiger's death?
Answer :
The villagers were only bothered for their thousand
rupees. They did not pay any heed to Miss Mebbin’s
revelation that Mrs. Packletide had not killed a tiger
but a goat. They readily believed that Mrs. Packletide
had shot the beast lest they lose their money.
Question 4-(i):
Do you think Mrs. Packletide was able to achieve her
heart's desire? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer :
At the very beginning of the story it is made clear that
Mrs. Packletide had made up her mind to shoot a tiger
and get her pictures published in newspapers to show
off to Loona Bimberton. She managed to shoot an
animal, the goat. The tiger died of heart-failure. She,
however, got her pictures with the dead tiger
published in the newspapers. She also gifted a tiger-
claw brooch to Loona Bimberton. She also hosted a
luncheon party for Loona Bimberton which the latter
declined to attend. Thus Mrs. Packletide achieved what
her heart desired.
Question 4-(j):
How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her week-end
cottage? Why did she plant so many tiger lilies in her
garden?
Answer :
Louisa Mebbin blackmailed Mrs. Packletide into buying
her the weekend cottage or else she would have told
Loona Bimberton that it was not the tiger but a mere
goat that Mrs. Packletide had shot. The tiger lilies
would always remind of how she had procured the
cottage.
Question 4-(k):
"The incidental expenses are so heavy," she confides
to inquiring friends. Who is the speaker? What is she
referring to here?
Answer :
Mrs. Packletide is the speaker. The lines are said in
response to questions regarding why she did not hunt
anymore. Mrs. Packletide is referred to the expenses
that she incurred when she hunted for the first time,
she paid the villagers, she paid Louisa Mebbin and
even had to buy her a cottage.
PAGE 17
Question 5-(a):
Do you think the tiger shooting organized by the
villagers was a serious affair?
Give reasons for your answer.
Answer :
The tiger shooting organised by the villagers was a
serious affair. They were very keen to earn their
thousand rupees. They posted children at the outskirts
of the jungle to keep a watch on the tiger in case he
wanders off to new hunting grounds. Goats were
scattered to keep him satisfied and to prevent him
from straying. Mothers with the babies walked quietly
through the jungle so as to not to disturb its sleep. The
villagers had only one worry that the tiger should not
die of old age before the day of shoot.