Class 10 English: A TRIUMPH OF SURGERY (THEME, SYNOPSIS and CHARACTER SKETCH) #class10English #eduvictors #cbse2021

Class 10 English: A TRIUMPH OF SURGERY (THEME, SYNOPSIS and CHARACTER SKETCH)

Q1: Who is the author of the story "A Triumph of Surgery"? What is the theme of the story?

Answer: James Alfred Wight pen named James Herriot wrote this story. The story "A Triumph of Surgery" is about a dog named Tricki. The theme of the story is about the blind love for the one whom we love the most. Mrs Pumphrey had no idea that her blind and extreme love for her dog Tricki took him to trouble. Excessive love made Tricki sick and became a reason for his illness. It can be concluded after reading the story that excessive love can take the form of extreme consequences.

Q2: What is the moral of the story "A Triumph of Surgery"?

Answer: The moral of the chapter is that anything in excess is not good for us. Even food, if given more than it is required will harm the body, but if in time you come into a proper routine that problem can be resolved without any surgery.

Q3: Write the synopsis of the story.

Answer: This story is about Tricki, a dog who is the pet of a rich lady named Mrs Pumphrey. She loves her dog very much and is unable to refuse him anything he wants. Tricki is fond of eating cream cakes and chocolates. So one day when Mrs Pumphrey is out with Tricki for a walk the narrator sees them and stops to talk. While talking to Mrs Pumphrey he realises that she has been overfeeding Tricki and also had been giving him things that he shouldn’t eat due to which Tricki had started looking like a bloated sausage. Soon Tricki got unwell and Mrs Pumphrey has to call Mr Herriot (narrator) for help. She does not want to send him away but the only way suggested by Mr Herriot is to get him hospitalised for 15 days. Then the story unfolds into how he gets well.

Q4: Write a character sketch about Mrs Pumphrey.

Answer: Mrs Pumphrey is a wealthy but foolishly indulgent woman who pampers her dog Tricki by overfeeding him. She wrongly relates Tricki’s listlessness to malnutrition and serves him cream cakes, chocolates and cod liver oil. She also doesn’t follow the doctor’s advice of cutting down on his food and making him exercise as she can’t be strict with him. Thus she becomes the cause of Tricki’s misery. Mrs Pumphrey is excessively fond of her little dog and pampers him a lot. Tricki has a whole wardrobe of tweed coats for the cold weather and a raincoat for the wet days. He also has a separate day bed, a night bed, his favourite cushions, toys, a breakfast bowl, a lunch bowl and a supper bowl. Mrs Pumphrey gets distraught and almost swoons when Mr Herriot tells her that Tricki needs to be hospitalised. She keeps wailing when Tricki is taken to the surgery and makes several phone calls throughout the day to keep herself informed about Tricki’s health. On learning about Tricki’s ‘convalescing’ news, she starts bringing dozens of eggs to build up his strength. She also brings wine and brandy for Tricki to enrich his blood and build his constitution. Albeit caring, she is silly as she is ignorant about the consequences of her actions. Thus the saying “excess of everything is bad” holds true in her case.

Q5: Write a sketch about Mr Herriot.

Answer: Mr Herriot is a veterinary doctor who is very tactful and caring while dealing with pets. He has a lot of common sense. He could understand that Tricki’s problem is his greed as he can never refuse food. He also understands the psyche of Mrs Pumphrey who overfeeds her pet and can’t follow his advice. He makes plans in advance to get Tricki out of the house for a fortnight and advises Mrs Pumphrey that Tricki needs to be hospitalised. He ignores Mrs Pumphrey’s wailing and bemoaning and takes a firm stand regarding Tricki’s health. He gives the best treatment to Tricki without administering any medicine to him and by keeping a close watch on his diet. He also makes Tricki do enough exercise by letting him play with other dogs and lets him discover the joys of being bowled over, tramped on and squashed every few minutes which helps Tricki get back into shape. Although it is a temptation to keep Tricki as a permanent guest, considering the good amount of eggs, wine and brandy brought by Mrs Pumphrey to build Tricki’s constitution, he is kind and compassionate enough to understand her suffering and informs her about Tricki’s recovery. Mr Herriot well deserves the gratitude expressed by Mrs Pumphrey for the wonderful treatment of Tricki.

Q6: Depict a sketch about the dog "Tricki", not more than 200 words.

Answer: Tricki is a small dog who is pampered by his rich mistress, Mrs Pumphrey and enjoys all the comforts and luxuries in her house. He has a whole wardrobe of tweed coats for the cold weather and a raincoat for the wet days. He also has a day bed, a night bed, a good variety of cushions, toys, a breakfast bowl, a lunch bowl and a supper bowl. Tricki is overfed by his rich mistress and is overtly fond of cream cakes and chocolates. He is not given enough exercises. His only problem is his greed for food. He has never been known to refuse food and can tackle a meal at any hour of the day or night. As a result of overindulgence, he becomes hugely fat, like a bloated sausage with a leg at each corner. His eyes, bloodshot and rheumy, stare straight ahead and his tongue lolls from his jaws. He is listless and struggles to walk. Due to overfeeding, Tricki suddenly stops eating, refuses even his favourite dishes and has bouts of vomiting. He loses interest in everything and spends all his days lying on the rug, panting. Tricki recuperates at Mr Herriot’s surgery under the doctor’s supervision as he is kept there on a strict diet and is given plenty of exercises. He joins the other dogs in their friendly scrimmages and discovers the joys of being bowled over, tramped on and squashed every few minutes and becomes an accepted member of their gang. Thus, from a lazy dog, Tricki gets transformed into a flexible, hard-muscled one, due to the efforts of his kind and compassionate vet, Mr Herriot.

👉See Also:

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A letter to God (Questions and Answers)

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Two Stories About Flying (MCQs)
Two Stories About Flying (Q & A Part-2)
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The Hundred Dresses-1 (Chapter Summary)
The Sermon At Benaras (Q & A)


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A Triumph of Surgery (Extract Based Questions)