Packing - Class 9 PDF Download

Discuss in pairs and answer each question below in a short paragraph (30-40 words).

Q.1. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them. (Don’t forget the dog!).
Ans. There are four characters in the narrative. The three characters are of three young men named Jerome K. Jerome, George and Harris. The fourth character is a dog. His name is Montmorency

Q.2. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing
Ans. The narrator considered himself very expert in packing. Packing gave him pleasure. But he did not want to do this job himself, He just wanted to superintend this job. He wanted that George and Harris would pack and he would boss over them

Q.3. How did George and Harris react to this? Did Jerome like their reaction?
Ans. The author offered to pack the things. His friends, George and Harris at once agreed to his suggestion. They sat and relaxed. The author had not intended this. He was unhappy with himself for having offered to pack. He had thought that Harris and George would pack and he would boss over them.

Q.4. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack?
Ans. When Jerome offered to pack, his real intention was not to do the work himself but get it to be done by George and Harris. He just wished to superintend the job of packing

Q.5. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited till then to ask?
Ans. The author was able to complete the packing at 10.05 p.m. When he had shut and strapped the bag. Harris asked him if he was not going to pack his boots in the bag. He had seen it earlier that the author had not packed his boots but he did not tell him because he was enjoying the author’s expertness in packing.

Q.6. What ‘horrible idea’ occurred to Jerome a little later?
Ans. The author packed and strapped the bag. Then an idea came to him whether he had packed his tooth-brush in it or not. He opened his bag and took out everything one by one. He shook everything a number of times, but did not find his toothbrush. He found the toothbrushes of George and Harris, but not his own. At last, he found his toothbrush inside a boot.

Q.7. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush?
Ans. Jerome thought that perhaps he had forgotten to pack his toothbrush. He unpacked the bag. He did not find his toothbrush anywhere. Finally, he found it inside his boot.

Q.8. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?
Ans. The author packed and strapped the bag. But he had forgotten to pack his boots. So he unpacked it and put his boots in. Then he thought that perhaps he had forgotten to pack in his toothbrush. So he unpacked the bag the second time. He took out everything and searched for his toothbrush. After he had packed the bag again, he remembered that he had packed his tobacco pouch in it. So he had to reopen the packed bag.

Q.9. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?
Ans. George and Harris offered to pack the hampers. They made this offer because they were not satisfied with the packing done by the author.

Q.10. While packing the hamper, George and Harris do a number of foolish and funny things. Tick the statements that are true.
(i) They started with breaking a cup.
(ii) They also broke a plate.
(iii) They squashed a tomato.
(iv) They trod on the butter.
(v) They stepped on a banana.
(vi) They put things behind them, and couldn’t find them.
(vii) They stepped on things.
(viii) They packed the pictures at the bottom and put heavy things on top.
(ix) They upset almost everything.
(x) They were very good at packing.
Ans.
(i) They started with breaking a cup.
(iii) They squashed a tomato.
(iv) They trod on the butter.
(vi) They put things behind them, and couldn’t find them.
(vii) They stepped on things.
(ix) They upset almost everything.

Go to the Extra Questions and Notes of “No Men Are Foreign”

II. What does Jerome say was Montmorency’s ambition in life? What do you think of Montmorency and why?
Ans. Montmorency was the author and his friends’ dog. the lie was very naughty. Jerome said that his most MT 0 important ambition was to get in the way of other people and to make them tumble over him. In this narrative piece, he does the same thing in the process of packing and makes everything distributed.

III. Discuss in groups and answer the following in two or three paragraphs (100-150 words.)
Q.1. Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text.
Ans. All the three, Jerome, George and Harris, are the worst packers. Hut out of these three Jerome can be considered a better packer than the rest of two. He packs the bag. He takes a lot of time in completing this job. He has to reopen the bag three times because of his forgetful nature. But he does not make any harm to the things by breaking and smashing them. On the other hand, George and Harris are the worst packers. They start packing the hampers. They perform their job totally in disorder. lie make a lot of harm to the things. They start with breaking a cup. Harris packs strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashes it. They put things and cannot find them when they are needed. George puts his boot on butter. It sticks to the sole of his shoes. They scrape it and put on a chair. Harris sits on that chair and it sticks to his back. In this way, they create a lot of chaos in packing.

Q.2. How did Montmorency ‘contribute’ to the packing?
Ans. Montmorency was the author and his friends’ dog. He was a very naughty dog. According to the author, his most important aim in life was to get in the way of other people and to make them tumble Over. While George and I lard were packing the hampers, they had already made a lot of chaos by breaking smashing up the things. Now Montmorency came and sat on the things to be packed. He put his leg into the \,n. He thoughts lemons were rats. He got into a hamper and spoiled three lemons.

Q.3. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it? (Pick out at least three, think about what happens, as well as how it is described?)
Ans. This is a humorous story. Three friends decide to go on a trip. The night before the start of the journey, they decide to pack the things. The humour lies in the difference between what they say and what they do. Each of them boasts of being an expert in packing. First of all, the author offers to pack the things. He forgets to pack things. He packs and unpacks a number of times. He finishes at 10.30. But George and Harris are not satisfied with his packing. They start packing again. But they create a complete chaos. They break cups and plates. They put strawberry jam on the tomato and squash it. George treads on the butter and it sticks to his slipper. They scrape it off with a knife and put it on the chair. Then Harris sits on it and it sticks to his back. They search all over the room for the butter. Their dog, Montmorency adds to their confusion. He put his leg into the jam. He thinks the lemons are mice and chases them. In this way, the story is very humorous.