Who was uncle podger ? How did his name find a mention in the story?
Answers
Uncle Podger was Jim, the narrator’s uncle. He was a very funny character. He does not appear in the novel in person; narrator mentions him to compare Harris’s habit of putting his work on the back of others. The narrator narrates a complete incident humorously depicting this habit of his uncle.
The entire incident of Uncle Podger’s hanging of picture is given below:
Uncle Podger decided to hang a picture. He sent the girl out to bring nails and sent Tom after her to tell her the size of the nails. He told someone to give him the hammer and the other to give him the rule. He asked his wife to hold up the light. Then he lifted the picture and dropped it. Its glass was broken and cut his finger. He wanted to tie his handkerchief on his finger. But it was in the coat and the coat was not found. In the end, it was revealed that he was sitting on the coat.
After tying the handkerchief on his finger, he tried again. Now the nail was dropped. The whole family bent down on their knees to search for it. When the nail was found, the hammer was lost. When the hammer was found then the mark on the wall was lost. Uncle Podger had to make another mark. Now he made another try. He hit the nail with the hammer but smashed his thumb. He tried again. But now he hit with such a force that the whole nail went into the wall. A new hole was made. By about midnight, he succeeded in hanging the picture. Everybody was completely tired. The picture was hanging crooked and insecure. But Uncle Podger looked at the job with pride and satisfaction.
Podger was the funny as well as the hilarious character in the story. He was the Jerome's uncle and the Jerome have the point of view that Podger habits was the same just like Harris.
Podger always thinks that he is the man who can do any kind of work with his own but ended up by creating more problems and then later on blame it to the others.