How does the writer create humor in this story?
NCERT Class 10th: Literature Reader English Ch 2 Mrs Packletide's Tiger
Answers
Humor in Mrs. Packletide's Tiger
There are many humorous instances in the story. Some of them are as follows:
a) children were posted night and day on the outskirts of the local jungle to head the tiger back in the unlikely event of his attempting to roam away to fresh hunting-grounds. (One can imagine the weakness and decrepitude of tiger that the even the children could scare him!)
b) Mothers carrying their babies home through the jungle after the day's work in the fields hushed their singing lest they might curtail the restful sleep of the venerable tiger.
c) The tiger Mrs.Packletide had fired at, had succumbed to heart-failure, caused by the sudden report of the rifle, accelerated by senile decay. (The tiger was so weak hearted that it died of the sound of the bullet fire!)
Answer:
The writer has created humour through his character portrayal of Mrs. Packletide.
She is portrayed as a superfluous character, full of vanity.
She wanted to create a special impression about her talent and she was extremely jealous about Loon Bimberton, who has a tiger skin bought recently.
In order to outclass her, she wanted to kill a tiger, which is a funny wish but humorous in its root.