Extra Questions Answers - Mrs. Packletide's Tiger | Literature Reader Class 10 PDF Download

Q1. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
"Not that the lust to kill had suddenly descended on her, or that she felt that she would leave India safer and more wholesome than she had found it, with one fraction less of wild beast per million inhabitants". 
(a) Identify 'she' in the extract given above. 
(b) Why did she want to shoot a tiger? 
(c) What is the tone of the narrator?
Ans: (a) She refers to Mrs. Packletide.

(b) She wanted to prove that she was more adventurous than her arch rival Loona Bimberton.
(c) The tone of the narrator is 'satirical'.

Q2. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
"The prospect of earning the thousand rupees had stimulated the sporting and commercial instinct of the villagers." 

(a) What was the offer to the villagers given by Mrs. Packletide? 
(b) Why was the money offered? 
(c) What was the reaction of the villagers to the offer?
Ans: (a) She offered the villagers a thousand rupees.
(b)The money was offered for arranging a tiger for her to shoot without any risk or exertion.
(c) This was a big amount for the villagers, so they were tempted by the offer and decided to help her.

Q3. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow
"Louisa Mebbin adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards money in general, irrespective of nationality and denomination." 

(a) Who was Louisa Mebbin? 
(b) What was Lucia Mebbin's attitude towards money?
(c) How did she show her real colours?

Ans: (a)Louisa Mebbin was Mrs. Packletide's paid companion, who was supposed to assist her during the tiger shoot.
(b) She had a great love for money.
(c) She blackmails Mrs. Packletide after the shoot by saying that she would reveal how the tiger died. 

Q4. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
"I believe it's ill," said Louisa Mebbin, loudly in Hindustani, for the benefit of the village headman, who was in an ambush in a neighboring tree. 

(a) Who seems to be ill? 
(b) When was the remark made? 
(c) Louisa Mebbin was assisting whom?

Ans: (a) The tiger seems to be ill.
(b) The remark was made, when the tiger lay flat on the earth.
(c) She was assisting Mrs. Packletide.

Q5. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
"Six hundred and eighty, freehold. Quite a bargain, only I don't happen to have the money," 

(a) Who is the speaker in the extract given above? 
(b) Whom does she speak to? 
(c) What does Miss Mebbin want to purchase?  

Ans: (a) Miss Louisa Mebbin is the speaker here.
(b) She speaks to Mrs. Packletide.
(c) She want to purchase a weekend cottage.

Q6. What was the real reason behind Mrs. Packletide's decision to shoot a tiger?
OR
Why did Mrs. Packletide wish to kill a tiger?

Ans: The real reason was that recently her arch-rival Mrs. Loona Bimberton had gained popularity because she was flown eleven miles in an airplane by a pilot from Algeria. Mrs. Packletide felt jealous of her. She wanted to prove that she was more brave and adventurous. Hence, she wanted to kill a tiger.

Q7. What made her decide to give a party in Loona Bimberton's honour? What did she intend to give Loona on her birthday?

Ans: The feeling to overshadow Loona Bimberton by hunting a tiger made her decide to give a party. She intended to offer Loona Bimberton a tiger claw brooch on her birthday.

Q8. How was the tiger shooting arranged? What kind of a tiger was chosen for the purpose?
Ans: The tiger shooting was arranged with the help of the villagers and Louisa Mebbin, a cunning and sharp woman. The villagers were paid a thousand rupees to arrange for an old tiger for the hunt. A very old tiger that could not even kill his prey for food was chosen for the hunt.

Q9. Mention three clues from the story which definitely show that Mrs. Packletide's adventure took place in India?

Ans: The story is certainly related to India. There are some clues given in the chapter regarding it. Some words like 'India', 'Hindustani' and ' a thousand rupees' have been used in the story. Hence, we can say that the adventure of Mrs. Packletide took place in India.

Q10. What traits of Mrs. Packletide's character does the idea of hosting the lunch bring out?

Ans: Mrs. Packletide is a showy woman. She wants to show the people how rich and brave she is. The idea of hosting the lunch brings out that she is jealous and wishes to show her superiority over others.

Q11. In what way did the villagers help Mrs. Packletide shoot the tiger?

Ans: It was only due to the villagers help that Mrs. Packletide could shoot the tiger. They posted children to see that the tiger did not move away to other grounds. Women were prohibited to sing so that no noise would disturb the tiger. A goat was also tied at the scene to attract the tiger to a particular place.

Q12. Who was Miss Mebbin? Was she really devoted to Mrs. Packletide? How did she behave during the tiger shooting?
Ans: Miss Mebbin was Mrs. Packletide's paid companion, who would assist her during the tiger hunt. Miss Mebbin was not at all devoted to Mrs. Packletide. She behaved like a professional companion who was just concerned about her payment and intended to save as much as possible. On the whole her behavior was quite arrogant.

Q13. what does the author mean by, 'the world swayed by hunger and love? 

Ans: The author means that the world takes action according to its needs related to hunger and feelings for love. On the other hand, Mrs. Packletide's actions were controlled by disgust and disapproval against Loona Bimberton.

Q14. Mrs. Packletide was a good shot. Discuss.

Ans: Mrs. Packletide did not shoot well. Her aim went wrong because she killed the goat instead of the tiger.

Q15. 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?

Ans: Miss Mebbin revealed that Mrs. Packletide had killed the goat instead of the tiger. The tiger had simply died due to heart failure. She made this comment to make Mrs. Packletide realise that she was unsuccessful in her mission. Mrs. Packletide was very annoyed after knowing the fact.

Q16. How did the villagers react to the tiger's death?

Ans: The villagers were very happy after the tiger hunt. All of them gathered on the scene and the message was carried to the rest of the villagers. They started beating drums, which made Mrs. Packletide feel very happy and excited.

Q17. Do you think Mrs. Packletide was able to achieve her heart's desire? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans: Mrs. Packletide was only partly able to achieve her heart's desire. Although her photographs were published in the magazines, Loona Bimberton declined her offer for the luncheon party, which was her main motive. Neither could she offer her the tiger claw brooch which she had planned to gift her.

Q18. What kind of a tiger was chosen by the villagers?

Ans: Situations were favorable, so the villagers found an old and weak tiger, who could no longer hunt for big game in the forest and began hunting for easy prey in a nearby village. The tiger had become so old that it had lost all its strength and ferociousness.

Q19. How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her weekend cottage? Why did she plant so many tiger lilies in her garden?
Ans: Miss Mebbin came to know that Mrs. Packletide had arranged the tiger hunt just to prove herself better than Loona Bimberton. Therefore, Miss Mebbin blackmailed Mrs. Packletide to get the weekend cottage to keep her mouth shut about knowing the fact that the tiger had not been killed by her actually and had died due to heart failure. She planted tiger lilies in the garden because they were symbolic of how she had managed to get the cottage, that is due to a tiger.

Q20. "The incidental expenses are so heavy," she confides to inquiring friends. Who is the speaker? What is she referring to here?

Ans: The stated lines have been spoken by Mrs. Packletide. She is referring to the heavy expenses she had to bear for the tiger hunt. She had willingly paid the villagers to arrange for the hunt but what she had to pay to Miss Mebbin at the end (the weekend cottage) was absolutely unexpected and put a heavy burden on her pocket.

Q21. 'Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras with a light heart.' What made her feel so relaxed?

Ans: Mrs. Packletide was quite confident while facing the cameras as now, she had no fear of her secret being revealed.

Q22. What do you understand by the expression 'a ready echo in the heart of Mrs. Packletide'? 

Ans:  Mrs. Packletide was overconfident about her ability to shoot a tiger. Hence, here the phrase "a ready echo in the heart of Mrs. Packletide' means that she already had confidence that her bullet had killed the tiger and that she was happy that her plan of hunting a tiger was successful.

Q23. "Quite a bargain, only I don't happen to have the money." Explain this statement in your own words.

Ans: These words have been spoken by Miss Louisa Mebbin. Here, she is blackmailing Mrs. Packletide and demanding a big amount to buy a weekend cottage.

Q24. "The incidental expenses are so heavy," She confides to inquiring friends. Later on, Mrs. Packletide understands that trying to make a false brave image is not a game of a child. She accepts that the related cost incurred is very high. Now, write an article keeping the sense of the words given above.

Ans: Mrs. Packletide wished to shoot a tiger to outshine her rival Loona Bimberton. Actually, Loona Bimberton had enjoyed a pleasure trip in an airplane in the company of an Algerian pilot. She always kept boasting of it. Mrs. Packletide thought that shooting a tiger would be a great feat as she would get press coverage and publicity kit to the event. But she could not get complete success. Though initially she proved the world that she was an expert and brave hunter, the end was not in her favor. She could get herself press coverage and even sent a tiger claw brooch to Loona Bimberton. A report and her picture was published in a newspaper. However, the end of the story was not according to what Mrs. Packletide desired, as she was blackmailed by Mrs. Louisa Mebbin. She had to gift Mrs. Mebbin an expensive weekend cottage to keep her secret Later on, Mrs. Packletide told her friends that the big-game shooting involved immense additional expenses.

Q25. "In a world that is supposed to be chiefly swayed by hunger and by love Mrs. Packletide was an exception; her movements and motives were largely governed by dislike of Loona Bimberton." It's Mrs. Packletide's vanity that had made her enact the tiger hunting drama. Write an Email to your friend telling him the shallowness and hollowness of a lady who belongs to so-called high society that believes in only showing-off.

Ans: To premkumar2106@gmail.com 

From santoshjadhav213@ymail.com 

Subject: High society ladies are show-offs. 

Dear Prem, 

I am writing this to show you something about the reality of people belonging to rich families. They want to earn fame without making enough efforts for it. This brings out the shallowness and hollowness of their character. I came to know of a rich arid vain lady who wanted to show down her rival. She arranged a tiger hunt with an old tiger to demonstrate that she was brave, gut the tiger died due to another reason, while the lady took the credit for shooting it. She showed-off her bravery and shooting capability, but actually she did nothing to kill the tiger. We should avoid such high society people who are only show-offs. 

With laggards, 

Santosh

Q26. What does the author mean by "circumstances proved propitious?" 

Ans: Mrs. Packletide wished to hunt a tiger as she wanted to prove her superiority over her rival Mrs. Loona Bimberton. Her rival had been boasting of having been carried for the tigers hunt eleven miles in an airplane by an Algerian aviator. Situations were favorable. It so happened that an old, weak tiger, who could no longer hunt for big game in the forest, began hunting for easy prey in a nearby village. Mrs. Packletide took advantage of the situation and made a plan so that she may get an easy chance to kill a tiger safely without too much effort. She offered the villagers one thousand rupees and in turn they created conditions so that the tiger would not stray away from the region. All in all, the situation was really in favor of Mrs. Packletide.

Q27. Do you think the writer is trying to make fun of the main characters in the story i.e., Mrs. Packletide, Miss Mebbin and Loona Bimberton? Pick out instances from the story that point to this fact.

Ans: Yes, the writer is making fun of the main characters. Some instances are given in quotes against the names of the characters                          

1. Mrs. Packletide                                  
2. "Not that the lust to kill .... per million inhabitants." 
3. "was an exception; her ....... dislike of Loona    Bimberton."
4.  "already    that    luncheon-party    ...... immeasurably nearer" 
5. Miss Mebbin  
6. "she had a morbid dread ............ she had been paid for." 
7.  "adopted a protective elder-sister attitude ...... headlong from less sympathetic hands." 

• Loona Bimberton
  "Had recently been carried eleven miles ....... talked of nothing else;"
• "she refused to look at an illustrated paper ......... was a model of repressed emotions."
  
  Q28. Do you think the tiger shooting organised by the villagers was a serious affair? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans: Although the tiger hunt organised by the villagers has been presented in a humorous manner, tiger hunting is quite a serious affair. Mrs. Packletide would procure a tiger-skin of her own shoot and would throw a luncheon party ostensibly in Loona's honor. She wanted to avoid every risk, so she offered a thousand rupees to the villagers for ensuring that the tiger was available. The villagers took their job seriously and provided Mrs. Packletide the opportunity of fulfilling her desire. Mrs. Packletide fired a shot which hit the goat instead of the tiger. But the tiger died as a result of heart failure caused by the sudden report of the rifle. Because the shot was not accurate, what should have been seriously turned out to be ridiculous.

Q29. A person who is vain is full of self-importance and can only think of himself/herself and can go to great lengths to prove his/her superiority. Do you think Mrsv Packletide is vain? Give reasons in support of your answer.

Ans: Mrs. Packletide is essentially vain and jealous in nature. She actually went to great lengths just to prove herself superior to Loona Bimberton. She was jealous of Loona Bimberton's fame and could do anything to get the same or more attention. To arrange for the tiger hunt and then to keep Miss Mebbin's mouth 'shut, she paid heavily. She threw a luncheon party to actually honor herself, which indicates how much importance she attached to herself. There evidence that proves that she is vain. She poses before the cameras with pride and arranges that the news and photographs of her adventure are published in newspapers and magazines.

Q30. How does the writer create humor in this story? 

Ans: The author creates humor in the story through various situations and mainly with the use of language which brings out the humorous situations more clearly. The tone is satirical, which makes the whole story very entertaining. The whole scene of the hunting ground and the exchange of dialogues between Miss Mebbin and Mrs. Packletide are the most humorous and bring out the situations very well. We are amused by how the villagers manipulate the situation to their advantage. Then the killing of the goat by the bullet and the death of the tiger by heart-failure caused by the noise of rifle-bullet are quite amusing incidents. Miss Mebbin's protective 'elder-sister attitude' towards money, her 'morbid dread of performing, even a bit more than she was paid for' add pleasant pungency to the humor. In the end, we are also left with a message to understand which has also been done in a humorous way.

Q31. Years later Mrs. Packletide writes her autobiography. As Mrs. Packletide. write about the tiger episode with the help of the clues given below. jealous of the applause Loona was getting - thought of tiger hunt all arranged? Louisa Mebbin accompanied; - turned out to be a blackmailer - huge price to pay to outdo a rival.
Ans: What an episode it was! Today, when I think about it I realise how stupid I had been for the sake of fame. But at that time I was simply jealous of the applause Loona was getting. I thought of a tiger hunt which could be the only way to get fame like her. I didn't waste much time and arranged for the tiger hunt with the help of the villagers, who were paid for their efforts. Louisa Mebbin accompanied me for the hunt. She was my paid companion and a very shrewd lady. I concentrated on my hunt and when the tiger arrived on the scene I became very excited and alert. To get an old tiger was also a part of our plan, so that I didn't have to put in much effort to shoot him. Then finally, I made my shot and saw that both the tiger and the goat were killed. Later on, Louisa Mebbin revealed the fact to me that I had actually killed the goat with the bullet and the tiger had simply died out of heart failure because of the sound from the rifle. Later, Louisa Mebbin blackmailed me knowing the fact and said that she would reveal this fact to Loona Bimberton if I would not fulfill her greed to keep her mouth shut and the reality undercover. Thus, I had to pay a huge price to outdo a rival.