Question

CHARACTER SKETCH OF JOHN HALLOCK AND LAVINIA.

Answer 1

Character sketch of Mr. John Hallock

Mr. John Hallock is a simple middle-class person who works as a bookkeeper for a lumber company and somehow pays for the grocery bills and his wife’s shopping habits. He also writes some ghost stories to supplement his meager income and has been so far. He belongs to that class of husbands who have grudges against their bullying wives but never retaliate. He is quite honest in his profession. He works hard in keeping the accounts of his company and also tries to produce good, amusing ghost stories. He is also quite confident about his writing skills.

Character Sketch of Lavinia

Lavinia is the wife of a middle class bookkeeper and story writer, Mr. John Hallock. She is a spendthrift and has a craze for shopping and a tendency to buy every new fad has reached an alarming state, although their financial condition is not so strong. Lavinia is a dominating kind of woman who hardly cares about her husband’s instructions and despite his protests, retains the Ouija Board and does not return it. She is also somewhat suspicious about women and doesn’t want even the ghost of Helen of Troy to be called upon the board. Lavinia is a social woman too, and enjoys the company of the women of her Book Club. She doesn’t want Gladolia to leave her house and for her sake, she is even ready to burn the Ouija Board.

Answer 2

Mr. Hallock is a middle class bookkeeper who works for a lumber company. He has a wife named Lavinia who is dominating and a shopaholic. She likes to buy unnecessary stuff which is the reason of her husbands stress. Apart from the regular job which helps him to meet his daily needs including his wife's purchasing expenses, Mr. Hallock is also a writing enthusiast who likes to write ghost stories. There is a magazine owned by Mr. Jenkins who regularly pinches Mr. Hallock for some exciting scary plots. John cannot say a no as this was the only magazine that used to print his work and supported his meager income.

Every other time when John tries to think of a horror story plot, he somehow ends up with a good one out of nowhere. But this time, he was out of any new ghostly thought. It is also evident that he is a hen-pecked husband who always listens and obeys his wife without any debar.