Question

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each :
(a) How did the villagers help Mrs. Packletide in 'killing' the tiger ? (2)
(b) Why does the woman not like the mirror ? (2)
(c) Draw the contrast between their 'childish' and 'artless' faces and the seriousness beyond their years visible on them ? (2)
(d) All got up and saluting the post-office as though it housed some precious relic, went off-a pitiable figure a century behind his time."
In this extract what do you understand by the phrase 'precious relic' and 'a century behind his
time'.

Answer 1

(a) The villagers were helping Mrs. Packletide because she promised them laurels

(b) The woman did not like the mirror because she was not having any intentions of accepting the fact that she was old now ¬ that young.

Answer 2

(a) Value Points :

Built a machan for her, herded an old tiger towards it, tied a goat under it, shot at the dead tiger when it died of heart attack.                                        

Detailed Answer.

Mrs. Packletide announced a reward of one thousand rupees for the villagers to make arrangements for the tiger hunt. The villagers were very happy and helped her in all possible ways. They built a platform for her on a tree and placed a goat as bait for the old tiger which they had herded towards it. They posted boys at the outskirts so that the tiger could not get away from that place. Their joy knew no bounds when the tiger died. They carried the good news to the village also to announce its death.

(b) Value Points :

The woman does not like the blemishes which the mirror shows her and turns away to those liars, the candles or the moon.
Detailed Answer : The woman does not like the mirror because it shows her the ‘blemishes’ which makes her realize that she’s ageing and that she is not pretty any more. She turns away from the mirror to the candles or the moon which show her the false image and don’t make her realize that she has lost her youth and beauty.

(c) They were both of a tender age. Outwardly, their faces looked ‘boyish’ and ‘artless’. They were far from being clever or cunning. However, their responsibilities had made them mature before their age, so there was a seriousness in them beyond their years and it was visible on their faces.  

(d) The phrase ‘precious relic’ here means, the letter from Ali’s daughter ‘Miriam’, for which he was waiting. ‘Century behind his time’ means that in this fast-paced world Ali hopes for a letter from his daughter, relentlessly coming to the post-office for five long years, braving severe weather conditions. So, he is old-fashioned.