If I were You
The following words and phrases occur in the play. Do you know their meanings? Match them with the meanings given, to find out.
Answer
Thinking about the Text
I. Answer these questions.
1. “At last, a sympathetic audience.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does he say it?
(iii) Is he sarcastic or serious?
(ii) Why does he say it?
(iii) Is he sarcastic or serious?
(i) Gerrard says the given statement.
(ii) He says it when the intruder asks him to talk about himself.
(iii) He is sarcastic.
2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?
The intruder chooses Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on because Gerrard is a mystery man who phones his orders and sometimes goes away suddenly and comes back just the same.
3. “I said it with bullets.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) What does it mean?
(iii) Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?
(i) Gerrard says the given statement.
(ii) It means that when he was in trouble, he shot someone to escape.
(iii) No, it is not the truth. Gerrard says this to manipulate the intruder so that he does not kill him.
4. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.
Gerrard’s profession is that of a dramatist.
The parts of the play that support that implication are:
“In most melodramas, the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long enough to be frustrated”.
“Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal…”
“I think I’ll put it in my next play.”
“At last, a sympathetic audience!”
5. “You’ll soon stop being smart.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
(iii) What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
(i) The intruder says the given statement.
(ii) The intruder says this to scare Gerrard and know more about him.
(iii) The speaker intends to kill Gerrard. According to the speaker, when Gerrard gets to know that he came to Gerrard to kill him and steal his identity, he would become scared and stop being smart.
6. “They can’t hang me twice.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
(i) The intruder says the given statement.
(ii) The speaker says this because he had already murdered someone. So, it is not a big deal for him to kill another man. He can’t be hanged twice.
7. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?
The mystery that the speaker, Gerrard, proposes to explain is why he himself is a mystery man. He explains to the intruder that he himself is a criminal who is on the run. That is the reason why he does not meet tradespeople. He says that he murdered someone and got away with it. But now he was in a trouble and that’s why his bag was all packed to escape again.
8. “This is your big surprise.”
(i) Where has this been said in the play?
(ii) What is the surprise?
(i) This statement is said twice in the play.
Once when the intruder is trying to scare Gerrard and the second time when Gerrard is explaining to him why he won’t kill him for a good reason.
(ii) The surprise in the first statement is that the intruder expresses his intention to kill Gerrard.
The surprise in the second utterance of the statement is that Gerrard explains to him that he himself is a criminal on the run, which is why it won’t do any good to the intruder to kill him and steal his identity.
Thinking about Language
I. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.
1. The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
The site of the accident was ghastly.
2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
Our college principal is very strict.
3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
I studied continuously for eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
The fog had an adverse effect on the traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant artist.
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery.
The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary collage of science fiction and mystery.
7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
Our school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.
Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and shake well before using the contents.
II. Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, “Oh! that was clever!”, that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever‘ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:
• Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever!
• You have been a great help, I must say!
• You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
• Oh, very funny!/ How funny!
We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.
Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below. Write down three more such expressions along with what they really mean.
Answer
Dictionary Use
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