Long Answers - Chapter - 4, Three Men in a Boat | English Class 9 PDF Download

Answer the following questions in detail:

Q1. What excuse did the narrator give in order to avoid keeping cheese with him?

Ans. The writer went to his friend’s wife to deliver the cheese to her. The cheese had got rotten and so it gave away very bad and unbearable smell. His friend’s wife was not ready to keep it with her and she requested the writer to keep it with him till her husband returns. The writer was also troubled by the hateful smell of the cheese, so he pretended that his landlady who was a widow and an orphan would object keeping it in her house. So he avoided to keep it with him.

Q2. Do you think Jim was successful at packing? Why/why not?

Ans. Jim generally boasted of his packing skills but he was really an unskilled packer. When he finally strapped the bag, he was told that he had forgotten to put the boots in. He unstrapped the bag and packed the boots in, but he was not sure if he had packed his tooth brush or not. He had to turn everything out of the bag to look for it which was eventually found in a boot. Once again he had to open the bag for his tobacco pouch. Jim, who so proudly declared his fine packing skill, is exposed as an unskilled and clumsy packer. He does not know where and how should pack the things in a travel bag. He has just stuffed everything roughly in the bag and strapped it.

Q3. Were George and Harris better than Jim at packing? Give reasons to support your answer.

Ans. Jim was quite bad at packing while George and Harris proved worse than him. They made a mess of it. They began by breaking a cup. Harris smashed the tomatoes by packing the bottle of jam on top of them. George trod on the butter. They smashed the pies by putting heavy things on them. They upset salt over everything and tried to put the butter in a kettle. They, like Jim, proved awful at packing. They seem to be untidy, unplanned and inexperienced at packing.

Q4. Would you like to own a dog like Montmorency? Why/ Why not?

Ans. Montmorency, though a dog, has a personality of his own. We cannot expect him to be docile and dumb fellow who barks, eats or sleeps as per his master’s wishes. It would be great fun having Montmorency as a pet. His noble looks belie his real character. His skills as a gang leader, his hunting excuses for fights and his habit to irritate those who know nothing but pretend they can do everything, are really amazing. His independent opinion on the idea of boat-riding and consent for sleeping arrangements during the boat-riding, make the readers impressed.

Analysing the Characters:

Q1. “I want to get up and superintend and walk around with my hands in my pockets, and tell him what to do. It is my energetic nature. I can’t help it.” Who said this? Explain the significance of the words.What traits of speaker’s character are reflected in these lines?

Ans. The writer is reminded of a man with whom he used to stay. His habit was to roll on the sofa and watch him doing things which irritated the writer. The writer claims that he (writer) is different. He does not like to sit idle when others are working hard. He wants his hands to put in his pockets and move around to inspect the work being done. He also wants to give his valuable suggestions to those who are actually doing the work. The writer is proud of this trait. He claims that monitoring others is also on important work and he is able to do this because he belongs to the class which believes in instructing others rather than sitting and doing the work. It is Jim, the writer, who said it.

Q2. What conclusion have you drawn regarding three men’s attitude towards work by the time you reach at the end of the chapter?

Ans. After reading the chapter we conclude that all the three friends are clumsy and unorganised, but each of them thinks that he can do a job in a better way than others. The writer’s patience to bear the scorn and pain for a cheese-loving friend and his overconfidence in packing skill, disappears when he actually sits down to pack the things. He is upset when he sees his friends sitting idly and teasing and troubling him. George and Harris laugh at him when he forgets to put the boots in the bag. But when they themselves sit down to pack, they prove to be worse than the writer. They smash several items and break a cup. They are irritated at the way the writer sits and looks at them. They blame him of exciting Montmorency to trouble them. Thus all the three pretend to be experts but neither have they known nor do anything satisfactory.