Important Question Answers - Packing | English Literature for Grade 9 PDF Download

Q.1. What was Jerome K. Jerome rather proud of?
Ans. He was rather proud of his skill at packing.

Q.2. Name the two friends of Jerome.
Ans. Their names were George and Harris.

Q.3. What irritates Jerome most?
Ans. Seeing other people sitting around when he is working, irritates him the most.

Q.4. What horrible idea struck the author when he had packed the bag?
Ans. A horrible idea occurred to him whether he had packed his toothbrush in.

Q.5. Where was the toothbrush found lastly?
Ans. Lastly, it was found inside a boot.

Q.6. At what time did the author pack up the bag finally?
Ans. He finally packed up the bag at 10.05 p.m.

Q.7. According to Jerome, who was the worst packer?
Ans. According to Jerome, Harris was the worst packer in the world.

Q.8. What did Harris start with packing the hampers?
Ans. He started by breaking a cup.

Q.9. What did George do to butter?
Ans. George trod on butter and it stuck to his slipper.

Q.10. Who was Montmorency?
Ans. Montmorency was the author’s pet dog.

Q.11. What did Montmorency do to the jam?
Ans. Montmorency put his leg into the jam.

Q.12. What did Montmorency pretend the lemons?
Ans. He pretended the lemons were rats.

Q.13. At what time was all the packing finished?
Ans. All the packing was finished at 12.50 a.m.

Q.14. Who offered to pack hampers?
Ans. George and Harris offered to pack hampers.

Q.1. What kind of a man was the person with whom the author once lived?
Ans. The author once lived with a man. He often irritated the author. He would take a rest on the sofa. He would watch the author do work. His eyes followed the author wherever he went. He often called life a noble task, full of duty and stern work. But he would never offer to work.

Q.2. Why did George and Harris have to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon?
Ans. George and Harris packed things in a disorderly way. Harris packed the jar of strawberry jam on top of a tomato. As a result, the tomato was squashed. Then they had to pick it out with a teaspoon.

Q.3. The author says, “I never saw two men do more with one-and-two pence worth of butter in ivy whole life ” What did George and Harris do with butter?
Ans. George trod on the butter and it stuck to his slipper. George got it off his slipper and tried to put it into the kettle. They did not succeed. They put it down on a chair. Harris sat on the butter and it stuck to him. Then they went all over the room searching for it.

Q.4. Do you think the author packed better than George and Harris? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. 

• Yes, the author packed better than his friends, George and Harris. He forgot to put some things in. But he did not create any chaos.
• On the other hand, George and Harris break cups and plates, squash tomatoes and make a mess of butter. They placed the pies at the bottom and piled heavy objects on top of them. Thus, the author packed better than George and Harris.

Q.5. Describe the butter incident.
Ans. 

• George and Harris started packing the bag. George trod on the butter and it stuck to his slipper. When they came to know of it, they got it off the slipper.
• They put the butter on the chair. By mistake, Harris sat on it and it stuck behind him. They searched all over the room for the butter.
• Finally, they found it sticking on Harris’s back. The incident with the butter creates a lot of humour in the story.

Q.6. When were George and Harris finally able to pack the bag? What did they decide about getting up the next morning?
Ans. 

• While packing their bags for the trip, George and Harris created chaos. Finally, they were able to pack the bag at 12.50 in the night.
• Then the question of getting up the next morning came. Harris asked George to wake them at seven the next morning. But the author wanted to get up at six, as he had to write some letters.

Q.7. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them.
Ans. Jerome, George, and Harris are the three human characters in the narrative. Their pet dog, Montmorency too is an important character, along with them. He also participates as enthusiastically in the packing activities as his masters. All four characters are equally funny.

Q.8. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing?
Ans. Jerome, the narrator, prided himself on his packing skills a bit too much. He felt that, under his guidance, even poor packers like Harris and George could accomplish this task with great efficiency. He volunteered to do the packing, expecting that his friends would work under his guidance and directions.

Q.9. Why did the author take pride in his packing skills?
Ans. The author felt that packing was one of those things that he knew more about than anyone else. This made him develop a sense of superiority about his ability as the best packer, and he took pride in his packing skills.

Q.10. How did George and Harris react to Jerome’s offer to do the packing? Did Jerome like their reaction?
Ans. 

• George and Harris agreed readily to Jerome’s offer to do the packing. While Harris put his legs on the table and lit a cigar, George smoked a pipe and "spread himself over the easy chair."
• Jerome did not at all like this reaction because he actually wanted to supervise and instruct them on how to do the packing.

Q.11. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack?
Ans. Jerome’s real intention was not to pack himself but to make his friends George and Harris work under his direction and supervision. He intended to prove his superiority by bossing over them and throw his weight around while they packed.

Q.12. How did the man, with whom the narrator once stayed, used to drive him mad?
Ans. The man, with whom the narrator once stayed, used to drive him mad by lolling on the sofa and watching him constantly as he went about messing with the tasks at hand. The man said he really enjoyed that sight and felt good.

Q.13. ‘Now, I’m not like that.’ What does the narrator intend to convey by this statement?
Ans. With this statement, the narrator intends to convey his dislike for sitting idle and watching someone else work hard. He preferred to walk around and supervise work in his natural energetic way. However, this actually means that he, too, was not interested in toiling but liked to boss over others.

Q.14. Why did it take the narrator longer than he had expected to pack the bag?
Ans. It took the narrator much longer to pack the bag than he had expected because he was inexperienced in the skills of packing quickly and efficiently. His forgetfulness and clumsiness made packing take far longer than it should have.

Q.15. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited till then to ask? 
Ans. After the bag had been shut and strapped by the narrator, Harris reminded him that he had forgotten to pack the boots. He waited till the completion of packing to say this because he wanted to irritate the narrator and have fun at his expense.

Q.16. What “horrible idea” occurred to Jerome a little later? 
Ans. The horrible idea that occurred to Jerome a little later was whether he had packed his toothbrush or not. It was a horrible idea because he was about to pack the bag for the second time and would have to unpack it all over again to locate the toothbrush.

Q.17. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush?
Ans. Jerome finally found the toothbrush inside a boot that he had packed in the bag. He found it after having taken out all the items and searching thoroughly for the toothbrush, which led to a terrible mess.

Q.18. Why does the narrator say that the packing of his toothbrush drives him to a point of madness?
Ans. The narrator says that the packing of his toothbrush drives him to the point of madness because he either packs it even before he has brushed his teeth or doesn’t pack it at all. In both cases, he has to unpack everything to locate his brush.

Q.19. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?
Ans. 

• Jerome had to reopen the packed bag because he kept forgetting things.
• First, he forgot to pack his boots and then couldn’t remember having packed his toothbrush.
• After having spent a lot of time unpacking and packing all these things, he mistakenly packed his spectacles as well and had to reopen the bag yet again.

Q.20. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?
Ans. George and Harris offered to pack the hamper. They made this offer because Jerome had already consumed a lot of time packing the bag, and they were now left with less than twelve hours to leave.

Q.21. Why did George and Harris have to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon?
Ans. While packing the hamper, Harris packed strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it. So, they had to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon, which was a messy and time-consuming task.

Q.22. What were the foolish things done by George and Harris while packing the hamper?
Ans. While packing the hamper, George and Harris fumbled and flustered many times. They broke a cup at the outset and then squashed tomatoes and stepped on the butter. They jumbled up the items to be packed and crushed softer things like pies under heavy objects.

Q.23. Who was Montmorency and how did he contribute to the packing?
Ans. Montmorency was the pet dog of the narrator and his two friends. He contributed to the packing by forcibly sitting down on things. He put his leg into the jam, fumbled with the teaspoons, and chased the lemons like rats. He gave a tough time to his masters, who had to finally shoo him away with a frying pan.

Q.24. What was the ‘highest aim and object’ of Montmorency, according to the narrator?
Ans. According to the narrator, Montmorency’s highest aim and object were to get in the way of others and make them tumble over him. He aspired to get cursed by everyone and liked things thrown at him for his unbearable interference.

Q.25. How did Harris and George fare at packing the hamper?
Ans. Harris and George fared miserably poorly at packing the hamper. They assembled all the things to be packed in the most disorganised manner. They damaged a lot of items by breaking, crushing, or stepping on them. Salt flew all over while they packed.

Q.26. Why did Harris tell Jerome that he encourages the antics of Montmorency? What was Jerome’s defense?
Ans. 

• Harris blames Jerome for encouraging Montmorency because Jerome did not prove effective in shooing away the dog.
• Jerome’s defence was that an ill-trained dog-like Montmorency did not need any encouragement to misbehave. Indiscipline came naturally to him.

Q.27. When did George go off to sleep and what did the narrator and Harris do to ensure that he would wake up fully in the morning?
Ans. George went off to sleep when the narrator and Harris were still arguing over the time they wanted him to wake them up in the morning. To ensure that he would wake up fully, they placed the bath where he could tumble in and get out in the morning.

Important Questions

Q.1. Who offered to pick the bag for the trip? Was he happy at his own offer?
Ans. 

• The author and his friends decided to go on holiday. The author thought he was an expert in packing. He told his friends George and Harris that he would do the packing. They at once agreed to his suggestion.
• George put on a pipe and sat in an easy chair. Harris put his legs on a table and lit a cigar. 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.
• When he worked and the people around him relaxed, he was greatly irritated. At the same time, he could not sit still and watch others working. He enjoyed getting up and supervising their work.

Q.2. Describe how the author packed the bag for going on a trip?
Ans. 

• The narrator started packing. It seemed a longer job than he had thought it was going to be. At last, he finished packing.
• But Harris told him that he had not packed the boots. He opened the bag and packed the boots in. Then, when he was going to close it, an idea came to him. He was not sure whether he had packed his toothbrush. 
• So he unpacked the bag and took everything out but could not find the toothbrush. Then he shook everything one by one. At last, he found his toothbrush in a boot. He repacked once more. 
• Now George asked him if he had packed the soap. He decided not to do the packing again. But he found he had packed his tobacco pouch in it. So he reopened the bag and repacked it. He was able to co e packing at 10.05 p.m.

Q.3. Of the three, Jerome, George, and Harris, who do you think is the best or the worst packer? Support your answer with details from the text
Ans. 

• Jerome, George, and Harris are equally clumsy and disorganised packers. Jerome takes a lot of time to pack the bag, and George and Harris damage a lot of things while packing the hamper.
• But Jerome works all by himself, and his friends work together, but the end results are the same in both cases – a terrible mess. Jerome first forgets to pack his boots and then forgets to pack his toothbrush.
• After unpacking twice, he again packs in his spectacles absentmindedly. George and Harris take upon themselves the task of packing the hamper with quite an elan, but break a cup at the very outset.
• They falter many times while packing the huge pile of assorted things like cups, bottles, kettles, pies, tomatoes, etc. They‘misplace’ the butter and spread salt over everything. However, all three of them eventually finish packing, leaving the readers in stitches with laughter at their clumsiness.

Q.4. How did the butter episode in the story cause nuisance?
Ans. 

• The butter episode in the story caused a lot of nuisance as it was being handled by the clumsiest of people.
• First of all, George stepped over the butter, and then he and Harris struggled to put it in the kettle, but got stuck. The butter would neither go in nor be taken out.
• Then Harris somehow managed to scrape it and put it on the chair. A little while later, an absent-minded Harris sat on the chair, and the butter got stuck to his back.
• Then the two boys started looking for the butter all over the place, without knowing that it was stuck behind Harris’s back.
• After having toppled everything in their search for the butter, George finally noticed it behind Harris’s back from where it was removed. Hence, the butter episode created a lot of nuisance and became the funniest episode in the story.

Q.5. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it?
Ans. 

• The story is very funny, with loud and boisterous humour. The chaos and confusion created by all the characters amuses the reader. The gap between their self-assessment and their actual capabilities made us laugh out loud. The dog’s contribution to humour is no less significant.
• Jerome’s sense of pride in his packing skills and the manner in which he is left alone to pack the bag is very funny. While Jerome expected to use the opportunity to boss over his friends, they made him toil instead. The frequent forgetfulness of Jerome and the subsequent unpacking of the bag many times over dilute his hard work and amuse the reader.
• Harris and George’s faltering and fumbling while packing the hamper is very amusing and rib-tickling. The manner in which they pile up an assortment of things and then fail to pack them properly amuses the reader. The butter episode, in particular, generates side-splitting laughter.
• Montmorency, the dog, also adds to the humour with his habit of getting in the way of things. His indiscipline and animal curiosity earn him curses and hits from his masters, but he still manages to put his leg in the jam and chase lemons like rats.

Hence, all these instances lend humour to the story.

Q.6. When did the “horrible idea” occur to Jerome? Why was it a “horrible idea”?
Or
What fuss does Jerome’s toothbrush often create for him?
Ans. 

• The ”horrible idea” that occurred to Jerome as soon as he had finished packing in his boots was whether he had packed in his toothbrush or not. He was always in the habit of forgetting to pack his toothbrush.
  
• The idea was horrible in the sense that it made him panic and grow restless. It would haunt him so much that at night he would dream that he had not packed the toothbrush. He would wake up in cold perspiration, get out of bed and hunt for it.
  
• Again he would pack it without using it in the morning, which meant that he would have to unpack it again. And whenever he was fishing for it, it would be the last thing to come out of the bag.
• After using it he would again forget to pack it and at the last moment would have to rush upstairs to fetch it. As a result, he would carry it to the railway station, wrapped up in his pocket handkerchief.
  

Thus, the toothbrush was a constant source of bother and horror for Jerome.