CBSE Class 10 - English (C) - Mrs. Packletide's Tiger (#eduvictors)(#cbse)

Mrs Packletide's Tiger

Mrs Packletide's Tiger
credits:clker.com

Q & A

Q2(a): Why did Mrs Packletide want to kill a tiger?

Answer: Mrs. Packletide wanted to shoot a tiger in order to get her pictures published. She wanted to outshine Loona Bimberton, who was a boastful lady. Loona had a joy-ride in an aeroplane and she kept on boasting of her adventurous trip. This was the cause of jealous for Mrs. Packletide and she wanted to do something more exciting and adventurous than her. Ultimately, she planned to kill a tiger to get name and fame.

Q2(b): What does it tell you about her?
Answer: It tells us that Mrs Packletide was full of jealousy. She was ready to do anything in order to outshine Loona.


Q2(c): What is the tone of story writer?

Answer: The tone of the story writer is full of satire and humour.


Q2(d) Do you think she was successful in her mission?

Answer: In a way, yes. She was successful in outshining Loona Bimberton by killing a tiger and getting fame for doing that. But actually, she was a failure, as she missed her shot and the tiger died due to heart failure.



Q2(e): What do you think the story is all about?
Answer: The story is all about the vanity, boasting, pretention, jealousy and a pretence of having a virtuous character, that one actually does not possess.


Q4(a): Why did Mrs Packletide wish to kill a tiger?
Answer: Mrs Packletide wished to shoot a tiger in order to get her pictures published. She wanted to outshine Loona Bimberton, who was a boastful lady. Loona had a joy-ride in an aeroplane and she kept on boasting of her adventurous trip. This was the cause of jealous for Mrs Packletide and she wanted to do something more exciting and adventurous than her. Ultimately, she planned to kill a tiger to get name and fame.


Q4(b): What made her decide to give a party in Loona Bimberton's honour? What did she intend to give Loona on her birthday?
Answer: Mrs Packletide manipulated a party in Loona Bimberton's honour for having killed a tiger. Very shrudely she had planned that she would herself kill a tiger before that and reveal this fact at the lunch party.
For Loona's birthday, she intended to present her a tiger claw brooch. All her intentions were directed towards outshining her rival Loona Bimberton.
 

Q4(c): How was the tiger shooting arranged? What kind of a tiger was chosen for the purpose?
Answer: The villagers who were eager to get the reward of a thousand rupees from Mrs Packletide made all the arrangements for the tiger hunt. A platform had been constructed on a comfortable and convenient place on a tree for Mrs Packletide and her paid companion. A goat, with a particularly persistent bleat, was tethered at the correct distance. An old and weak tiger, who had given up hunting and confined himself to eating domestic animals, was chosen for the purpose.

Q4(d): In what way did the villagers help Mrs Packletide shoot the tiger?
Answer: The villagers were delighted at the prospect of earning a thousand rupees, so they arranged for the tiger hunt. Children were posted night and day on the outskirts so that the tiger would not leave his domain. Goats were left in the forest in order to satisfy the animal. Women took care not to make noise while passing by so that the tiger would not be disturbed. Last but not the least, the villagers offered support and assistance at night of the hunt. A platform had been constructed on a comfortable and convenient place on a tree for Mrs Packletide and her paid companion. They remained there throughout the night.                       

Q4(e): Who was Miss Mebbin? Was she really devoted to Mrs Packletide? How did she behave during the tiger shooting?
Answer: Miss Mebbin was a paid companion of Mrs Packletide. She had been hired to assist Mrs Packletide in tiger shooting. No, she was not at all devoted to Mrs Packletide. She was so professional and money-minded that she had a morbid dread of performing an atom more service than she had been paid for. She was very possessive about money and always adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards money, irrespective of nationality or denomination. During the tiger shoot, she kept on complaining that the tiger chosen by the villagers was very old and was not worth a thousand rupees and that Mrs Packletide should bargain over his price. Her devotion to Mrs.Packletide was fake and pretentious because she later tried to encash the situation by blackmailing Mrs. Packletide threatening her that she would reveal the story of the hunt.

Q4(f): Mrs Packletide was a good shot. Discuss.
Answer: The tiger hunt organised by Mrs Packletide involved a lot of assistance, support and paraphernalia. On the night of the hunt, Mrs. Packletide together with the villagers, Miss Mebbin and the goat(which was the bait) sat on the platform with a pack of cards. When she saw a tiger coming in the direction of the goat, she took a shot with a result that the tiger sprang to one side and collapsed. In fact, on closer examination, it was found that the goat had received to a mortal bullet wound. The tiger had died of heart failure. It is therefore not justified to say that Mrs. Packletide was a good shot. Even with much ado, she could not be successful.



Q4(g): 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?
Answer: The comment which Miss Mebbin made after Mrs Packletide had fired the shot was "How amused everyone would be if they knew what really happened?"
  Miss Mebbin made this comment because she wanted to take advantage of the fact that Mrs. Packletide had actually killed a goat instead of the tiger. She wanted to blackmail Mrs. Packletide and make more money. Mrs. Packletide was very annoyed to hear the comment because she didnot want to accept this reality. Yet she was convinced that since both the villagers and Miss Mebbin had been paid, they would keep mum.


Q4(h): How did the villagers react to the tiger's death?
Answer: The villagers were very happy to hear the news of the tiger's death. They gathered at the place where the tiger lay dead and a celebration of triumph was made with the thumping of tom-toms. They were overjoyed to think that they would get their promised reward of 1000 rupees. So, they didn't pay any attention to Miss Mebbin's disclosure.

Q4(i): Do you think Mrs Packletide was able to achieve her heart's desire? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Mrs Packletide's desire was to get popularity and fame by shooting a tiger so as to outshine Loona Bimberton. Although Mrs. Packletide had not shot the tiger, she managed to get all the publicity which she had desired. Her picture appeared in 'Texas Weekly Snapshot' and the Monday supplement of 'Novoe Vremya'. She was also able to accomplish her heart's desire of making Loona jealous. But her happiness was partial because Loona declined the invitation to lunch party and refused to look at an illustrated paper for weeks. Mrs Packletide's desire remained partially unfulfilled as the end was not as planned by her.

Q4(j): How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her week-end cottage? Why did she plant so many tiger lilies in her garden?
Answer: Miss Mebbin managed to get her week-end cottage by blackmailing Mrs. Packletide. She had threatened Mrs. Packletide that if the latter would not buy her a cottage, she would reveal the truth to everybody including Loona. She planted so many tiger lilies in her garden in order to pay a tribute to the dead tiger because of which she was able to possess the cottage. These tiger lilies would constantly remind her of her hunting expedition with Mrs. Packletide.

Q4(k): "The incidental expenses are so heavy," she confides to inquiring friends. Who is the speaker? What is she referring to here?
Answer: Mrs. Packletide is the speaker. She is referring to the heavy price which she had to pay to Miss Mebbin to keep the incident of shooting the goat instead of the tiger a secret. She was forced to give Miss Mebbin an expensive weekend cottage in order to outshine Loona Bimberton. She had learned a lesson from her bad experience and did not indulge in big-game shooting anymore.

Q5(a): Do you think the tiger shooting organized by the villagers a serious affair? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: The villagers were really serious about the prospect of earning a thousand rupees because it was a big amount. They were enthusiastic about it. They posted children on the boundaries so that the tiger would not leave his domain. Goats were left in the forest in order to satisfy the animal. Women took care not to make noise while passing by, so that the tiger would not be disturbed. A platform had been constructed on a comfortable and convenient place on a tree for Mrs. Packletide and her paid companion. Last but not the least, the villagers offered support and assistance at the night of the hunt.

Q5(b): 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.
Answer: The story 'Mrs. Packletide's tiger' is a humorous and full of satire. The author 'Saki' makes fun of almost all the characters. Mrs. Packletide wanted to kill a tiger because of her jealousy and a desire to outshine Loona. Loona was a lady of boastful nature. She also grew jealous when she saw Mrs. Packletide's photo in the newspaper. She refused to attend the lunch party arranged in her honour by Mrs. Packletide. Miss Mebbin was a very manipulative, shrewd and materialistic lady. She adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards money. Moreover, the shooting of an old and weak tiger, who has lost his strength and ferociousness is also very humourous. Its death due to heart failure instead of a bullet arouses laughter.

Q5(c): 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 Mrs. Packletide is vain? Give reasons.
Answer: Mrs. Packletide is guided by one emotion only. She nurses jealousy in her heart and wishes to outshine Loona Bimberton at any cost. Her obsession is so strong that it has become a mission in her life. She plans a tiger hunt irrespective of the fact that it will cause harm to the fauna and will also cost her a lot of money. She is predominated by affectation. Her intoxication is to such an extent that the caution and advice are given by Miss Mebbin also go unheard. In a nutshell, it would be apt to describe Mrs. Packletide as a vain and pretentious lady.