Practice Questions: The Dear Departed | Practice Questions with Solutions for Class 10 PDF Download

Q1: Why does Abel Merryweather say, “It’s a bit late to say it (sorry) now”?
Ans: Abel Merryweather knew the real nature of his two daughters. Neither of them had any love and affection for him. They regarded him as a burden over him. They simply pretended to have love for him. When Mrs Slater came to know that Abel was dead, she started stealing his items. The two sisters started quarrelling over their share in the property of Mr Abel Merryweather.

Q2: Why does Mrs Slater ask Victoria to go upstairs? How does Vicky react?
Ans: Mrs Slater asks Victoria to go upstairs in the room of the grandfather to bring the bunch of keys that is on the dressing table of the grandpa. She has to check the receipt of the paid premium in the bureau. Vicky reacts very fearfully. She has seen grandpa getting up. She is extremely afraid to think that it was the ghost of grandpa.

Q3: What reason does Amelia give for not getting another doctor to examine Mr Merryweather?
Ans: Amelia does not want to go to any doctor as she wants to get rid of Mr Abel so she says that Dr Pringle has been providing treatment to Mr Abel for a long time. She pretends that it would not be a wise step for her to call another doctor to check Mr Abel. Another doctor might give him wrong treatment. She tries to prove that her decision of not calling another doctor is justified.

Q4: What change in the grandfather’s will led to another spat between his two daughters? Why?
Ans: The grandfather, Mr Abel Merryweather announced that he would change his old will. In the new would, there would be a provision that his property would go to the person with whom he would be at the time of his death. This very provision was a bone of contention between the two sisters. Each of them wanted to keep their father in her house as both of them had avarice.

Q5: You are Abel Merryweather. Express your ideas/feelings after you wake up and come to know about your daughters’ feelings/greed and intentions.
Ans: My eyes have been opened by my daughters and their husbands. I was of the view that my daughters have real love and affection for me in their hearts. But the incident of my temporary Tainting has revealed everything. Now I have come to know that they love my property more than me and I am a burden over them. They want me ” to depart from this world as soon as possible. What a drastic change has,taken place in the new generation. Their avarice has killed all their values. Now I will have to think differently. I have come to know about their evil intention. I must remain alert in future. I am going to change my will in such a way that I’Will remain important for them till my death. For enhancing my importance, I will pay the premium of insurance in time. I will also marry an old lady, who will take care of me. Now, all my doubts have been dispelled and I am well aware of the nature of the daughters.

Q6: Mrs. Jordan says that she has a feeling that father has not paid his insurance premium. How do all react to it?
Ans: They all were worried about father’s overdue insurance premium. Mrs. Jordan says that she has a ‘warning’ from the insurance office. She says that father has done it on purpose. After a long search, the receipt is found in the bureau. The two sisters express anger at father’s irresponsibility and ‘swindling’ motive.

Q7: What does the shifting of the bureau tell us about the character of Mrs. Slater?
Ans: Mrs. Slater has always wanted to have the bureau after the grandfather died. She feels she can easily take it before her sister arrives. It shows that she was greedy and selfish. She lacked feelings.

Q8: What message do you get from the play, ‘The Dear Departed’?
Ans: The drama ‘The Dear Departed’ throws light on the deteriorating human values in modern society. People are hankering after materialistic pleasure and losing real human values. Elderly people are regarded as burden on the family. Every member of the family wants to get rid of them. The elderly people are helpless. Everybody throws greedy glance over their property but nobody wants to take care of them.

Q9: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Amelia and Henry. They’ve stolen your clock and bureau. (working herself up.) They sneaked into your room like a thief in the night and stole them after you were dead.
(a) Who is Amelia?
Ans: The real name of Amelia is Mrs. Slater, who is the daughter of Abel Merryweather and sister of Mrs. Jordan.
(b) How did they steal the things?
Ans: They closed the main door of the house and shifted the things from the room of Mr. Abel to their own room.
(c) Why did they have to steal them?
Ans: They stole the things of Mr. Abel so that they would not have to give the share of those items to Mrs. Jordan.

Q10: Why does Elizabeth wish to draw up a list of Grandpa’s things?
Ans: Elizabeth is well aware of the nature of her sister Amelia. She knows that Amelia is a dishonest and cunning lady. She also knows that Amelia will try to keep maximum items of the grandfather. It will not be an easy task for her to get 50 per cent of her share. For getting her full share and for ensuring proper and smooth process of the division of the property, she wants to make a list of the things.

Q11: Abel in “The Dear Departed” is very upset at the behaviour of his family. He expresses his feelings to a close friend in a letter. As Abel, write this letter.
Ans:
12A Church Street
London
29 August 20XX
Dear John
God always comes to help elderly people. I am going to tell you a fact of this funny but cruel world.
Owing to a headache, I lost sense for a few hours. The members of my family thought that I had passed away. My daughter began to wear mourning dress along with her husband and her daughter instead of calling a doctor. With the help of her husband, she began to shift my items from my room to her room. Only my innocent granddaughter was sad over my death.
When my second daughter Jordan came, she didn’t come to check whether I was actually dead or not. She also got busy getting her share. Both the sisters began to quarrel. When they came to know that I had not paid the pr emium of the insurance company, they called me a drunken old beggar. The incident opened my eyes. I will alter my will for my better future. In future, I will remain alert. The new generation has so much avarice that they give no importance to human values.
Convey my blessings to the children of your family.
The rest is OK.
Your affectionately
Abel Merryweather

Q12: Briefly describe the character of Victoria in ‘The Dear Departed.’
Ans: Victoria in the drama ‘The Dear Departed’ is a very precious girl who knows what is good and what is bad. She is an innocent girl who has nothing to do with the evil deeds of her mother and her father. She is actually dejected over the death,of her grandfather as she has real love and affection in her heart of hearts for him.

Q13: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
She’ll come fast enough after her share of what grandfather’s left. You know how hard she can be when she likes. Where she gets it from I can’t tell.
(a) Who speaks these words and about whom?
Ans: Mrs Slater speaks these lines about her sister Mrs Jordan.

(b) The speaker implies that ‘she’ is.
Ans: The speaker implies that ‘She’ is very cunning and she will be hard about getting her share.

(c) The literary device used in the above lines is .
Ans: The literary device used here is repetition.

Q14: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
‘She’s never been here since grandfather bought it. If it was only down here instead of in his room, she’d never guess it wasn’t our own. ’
(a) Who is the speaker?
Ans: Mrs Slater is the speaker.

(b) Why does ‘it’ have to be shifted?
Ans: It has to be shifted because Mrs Slater does not want to give the share of the bureau to her sister Mrs Jordan.

(c) What character trait of the speaker is highlighted through this extract?
Ans: This extract shows that Mrs Slater was dishonest, greedy and shrewd.

Q15: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
I’ll tell you what I’ve got to do. On Monday next I’ve got to do three things.
(a) These words are spoken by __________ to _________.
Ans: These words are spoken by Mr Abel Merryweather to his daughters and their husbands. 

(b) The listeners’ reaction to the speaker’s declaration is that they are ___________.
Ans: The listeners’ reaction to the speaker’s declaration is that they are astonished and terrified.

(c) _________ has made the speaker decide on three things.
Ans: The evil intention of his daughters has made the speaker decide on three things.