9th Std IF I WERE YOU

IF I WERE YOU

EXTRACTS FOR COMPREHENSION

Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow in one or two lines each.

(I)

I’m glad you’re pleased to see me. I don’t think you’ll be pleased for long. Put those paws up!

1. Who is speaking these lines and to whom? Where is the conversation taking place?

 The intruder is speaking to Gerrard. The conversation is taking ill place in Gerrard’s lonely cottage situated in the wilds of Essex.

2. Why is the speaker’ so sure that ‘his listener’ won’t be pleased for long?

The speaker is sure that his listener’s (Gerrard’s) pleasure is going to disappear into thin air the moment he hears about the speaker’s wicked plan to kill and later on impersonate him to dodge the law.

3. What does ‘paws’ mean here?

‘Paws’ here stands for ‘hands’.

4. Why is the speaker asking the listener ‘to put those paws up’?

The intruder asks Gerrard to put his ‘paws up’ to threaten and intimidate him. He wants to ensure that Gerrard is not able to use his hands for self- defence.

(II)

Thanks a lot. You’ll soon stop being smart. I’ll make you crawl. I want to know a few things, see.

1. Who is the speaker? Why is he thanking the listener?

The intruder is the speaker here. He is thanking the listener, Gerrard, as the latter had helped in while he was fumbling for a word and Gerrard had suggested the word ‘nonchalant’.

2. Why does the speaker think that the listener is trying to be smart?

The intruder feels that Gerrard is trying to be smart because instead of displaying any signs of fear, he helps the intruder complete his sentence when the former fails to find the right word -nonchalant’.

3. Why does the speaker expect the listener to soon stop being smart?

The speaker feels that Gerrard will be frightened out of his wits the moment he discloses his intention of killing him and will then forget all the witty retorts that he had been making till then.

4. What does the speaker mean by ‘I’ll make you crawl’?

The speaker means that he would bring the listener down on his knees and make him beg for mercy.

(III)

“At last a sympathetic audience!” (Textual)

1. Who speaks these words?

Gerrard, the protagonist of the play, speaks these words.

2. Why does he say it?

He says it because he wants to pretend that he does not feel threatened by the intruder’s presence. Actually, at a later stage, he intends to fool the intruder into believing that the former too is a criminal like him and is quite suave at such hostage games.

3. Is he sarcastic or serious?

He is certainly sarcastic because he knows that the intruder did not want to know about him out of sympathy. Rather, he wanted to gather information only to misuse it.

(IV)

 I’m sorry. I thought you were telling me, not asking me. A question of inflection; your voice is unfamiliar.

 1. Who is the speaker and who does he speak to?

 The speaker is Gerrard. He is speaking to the intruder.

2. What had the listener asked the speaker?

The listener had asked the speaker if he lived in the cottage all by himself.

3. What do these lines tell us about the speaker?

These lines show that the speaker is a very cool-headed man who can think of many ways to elude a question. His presence of mind and smartness are unparalleled.

4. What does ‘inflection’ mean here? What logic does the speaker give for misinterpreting the inflection of his voice?

‘Inflection’ here means ‘a tone of voice’. Gerrard says that since the intruder’s voice was unfamiliar, he couldn’t know whether he was asking a question or telling something.

(V)

 That’s a lie. You’re not dealing with a fool. I’m as smart as you and smarter, and I know you run a car. Better be careful, wise guy!

1. Who is the speaker? Which ‘He’ is he talking about?

The intruder is the speaker here. He is talking about the ‘lie’ that Gerrard told him about not running a car.

2. Why did the speaker think he was smarter than the listener?

The intruder considered himself smarter because he thought that he had made a very clever plan to kill Gerrard and impersonate him to elude the police. Apart from it, he had gathered all information about Gerrard before coming to his cottage.

3. Why did he warn the listener to be careful?

The intruder wanted to make it clear that Gerrard could not befool him by telling a lie because the intruder had already gathered information about him. So, he told Gerrard to be careful.

4. What does the extract reveal about the intruder?

The extract reveals that the intruder is over-confident about his abilities as a criminal and over-estimates his potential to escape the law.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

(to be answered in about 30 – 40 words each)

1. Describe Gerrard’s appearance.

Ans:- Gerrard is a man of medium height and wears horn-rimmed glasses. When the play opens, he is dressed in a lounge suit and a great coat. He talks in a cultured voice and his demeanour is confident.

2. What did Gerrard tell the intruder about himself? Was he telling the truth? Why/Why not?

Ans:- Gerrard told the intruder that as a child, he was stolen by the gypsies and now in his thirties, he was all alone in life. He was not telling the truth; he was just being funny as he wished to make it clear that he was not afraid of a gun-toting criminal. In fact,  Gerrard had already started concocting stories about himself.

3. What sort of information does the intruder want from Gerrard?

Ans:- The intruder wants personal details from Gerrard like whether in the lives alone, what his Christian name is, whether he has a car and whether people visit him. All this information is necessary for the execution of his plan to dodge the police by disguising it himself as Gerrard.

4. What made Gerrard ask the intruder, Are you an American”?

Ans:- Gerrard asked the intruder if he were an American as he had called him a ‘wise guy’. The guy is colloquial American expression for a man. Hence, the usage of this word by the intruder made Gerrard ask him this question.

5. What sort of a person is the intruder? Give examples to illustrate.

Ans:- The intruder is a dangerous person as he is carrying a pistol and claims to have killed a cop. He is mean, heartless and crafty, for he plans to kill Gerrard and assume his identity in order to escape the police. He is over-confident because he claims that Gerrard is no match to him. He is also boastful, uncouth and uncultured so as is evident from a remark he makes, ‘Put up your paws’.

6. The intruder announced, “I’m going to kill you”. Was Gerrard nervous? How would you describe Gerrard’s reactions?

Ans:- Confident of his presence of mind, Gerrard remained unruffled of on being threatened by the intruder. He remained so calm and too nonchalant that the intruder was irritated. His sense of humour for also enraged the intruder. Thus, Gerrard reacted in a calm and composed way.

7. Why does the intruder intend to kill Gerrard?

Ans:- The intruder is a criminal who is being chased by the police for having murdered a cop. As per his plan, the intruder intends to kill Gerrard in order to take on his identity and avoid being caught by the police. In this way, he can lead a peaceful life without being haunted by the fear of arrest and punishment.

8. Who was the intruder in Gerrard’s house? Why did he break into his house?

Ans:- The intruder, who broke into Gerrard’s house, was a criminal. He had murdered a cop and was being chased by the police. He intruded into Gerrard’s house with the intention to murder him and impersonate his identity to evade the police.

9. How did Gerrard behave on seeing a gun-toting stranger in his cottage?

Ans:- Gerrard kept his cool and remained absolutely unruffled when he saw the gun-totting stranger in his cottage. There was neither any panic nor any ring of tension in his voice. He remained his normal self and talked to him casually.

10. Why does the intruder not kill Gerrard immediately?

Ans:- The intruder does not kill Gerrard immediately because he first wants to get all the necessary information from him. Without this information, his plan to disguise and act as Gerrard will not succeed.

11. Where did Gerrard live? Why was it a suitable place for the intruder’s plan?

Ans:- Gerrard lived in a lonely cottage in a secluded place in the wilds of Essex. With hardly any population around, it was easy for one to commit a crime without getting detected. In addition, the place was visited by only a few people. Therefore, it was suitable for the intruder to carry out his plan successfully over here.

12. Why does the intruder call himself ‘a poor hunted rat’?

Ans:- The intruder describes himself as ‘a poor hunted rat’ because he is being chased by the police and he has to keep dodging them. He has killed a cop and is trying to escape punishment by hiding like a rat being chased by a cat.

13. Why did the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wanted to take on?

Ans:- The intruder picked Gerrard because both of them were of the same physical structure. Moreover, as Gerrard lived alone, did not meet any people, and had irregular hours and habits, he thought it would be easy to kill him and assume his identity, and this way lead a life of peace. He will be away from the reach of the law.

14. Why has the criminal been called an intruder all through the play?

Ans:- An intruder is a person who forces his way uninvited and unwelcomed like a criminal. He is called an intruder throughout the play as after forcing his way into Gerrard’s cottage, he is trying to grab Gerrard’s identity as well. Moreover, he refuses to tell Gerrard anything about himself, even his name.

 15. Bring out the contrast between Gerrard and the intruder.

 Ans:- Coarse, crude, boastful and an irritable egoist, the intruder is overconfident and thinks that he is the smartest one around. Gerrard, on the other hand, is pleasant, cool-headed, refined, lively and very intelligent, but a modest and humble person. Although Gerrard does not brag, he proves to be much smarter and more intelligent than the intruder.

16. Why did very few people come to Gerrard’s house? Who were the few people who visited him?

Ans:- Gerrard lived all alone in a secluded place and his theatrical performances made his schedule irregular. He was hardly at home, so very few people came to his house. He was visited only by his regular suppliers like the baker, the greengrocer and the milkman.

17.”They cannot hang me twice.” Who says this and why?

Ans:- The intruder says this because he is already wanted for having murdered a cop. If he manages to kill Gerrard, as per his plan, the punishment for this murder too, like the first one, will be a death sentence. Hence, he cannot be hanged twice by the police.

18.”A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?

Ans:- Gerrard, the speaker, proposes to explain the mystery about his queer life in which he has an irregular routine, refuses to see tradesmen, goes away and comes back to the house hurriedly. Gerrard has already concocted a story attributing his strange behaviour to his being a criminal wanted in many cases of crime.

19.”This is your big surprise”. Who says these words in the play? When and where? What is the surprise?

Ans:- This has been said by Gerrard when the intruder asks him to clarify how he could still be killed after assuming Vincent Charles Gerrard’s identity. This is a surprise for the intruder who never suspected Gerrard to be a criminal. According to his information, Gerrard seemed to be the perfect person who could be easily eliminated and then impersonated.

20. Why and how did Gerrard persuade the intruder to get into the cupboard?

Ans:- Gerrard concocted a story about his own criminal background. He gave the intruder the impression that the police were looking for him and he expected a telephone call from a friend informing the police’s arrival. So when the telephone rang, he hurried the intruder into the cupboard and told him that it was connected to the garage which was an escape route.

21. How does Gerrard propose to use the intruder’s episode?

Ans:- Being a man of the theatre, Gerrard is amused at being able to turn the tables on the intruder. He finds the episode of outwitting a criminal by a clever but an innocent man so interesting that he proposes to use it as a plot for his next play.

22. Gerrard describes this encounter with the intruder as an amusing spot of bother’? What light does this attitude reflect on Gerrard?

Ans:- Any other person in Gerrard’s place would have been paralysed with fear under such circumstances. But Gerrard finds it an amusing spot of bother’ as his nonchalant (calm and casual) approach makes him handle the situation comfortably and outwit the intruder with ease.

 23. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play to support your answer.

Ans:- Gerrard is associated with theatre as a writer, producer and director. He also supplies props and makeup materials to other theatre agencies. The following facts reveal his profession clearly.

He tells the intruder that his actions are ‘melodramatic’ but not ‘very original’.
He welcomes the intruder as a ‘sympathetic audience’.
He comments on the intruder’s ‘inflection of voice’.
He tells someone over the phone that he cannot deliver the props in time.
He also tells that person that he had ‘an amusing spot of bother’ which he might put into his next play.

24. Why was Gerrard’s schedule so irregular?

Ans:- Having a theatrical background, Gerrard devoted time to writing, producing and directing the plays. He also supplied other theatrical companies with props and make-up items. Therefore, his schedule was irregular as it had to suit the requirements at the theatres.

25. Gerrard said, ‘You have been so modest’. Was Gerrard being ironical or truthful?

Ans:- Gerrard’s remark ‘you have been so modest’ was ironical. The intruder had been boasting of his intelligence and smartness. Hence, Gerrard taunted him about his modesty and asked him to say something about himself.

26. Why did the intruder enter Gerrard’s cottage?

Ans. The intruder resembled Gerrard. He had committed a murder. He made a plan to save himself from the police. He decided that after killing Gerrard he would take on his identity and live without any fear. So he entered Gerrard’s cottage,

27. Why did the intruder want Gerrard to speak to him?

Ans. The intruder wanted to take on Gerrard’s identity after killing him. But before killing him he wanted to know how Gerrard talked and how he dealt with people. He could know this only when Gerrard spoke with him. So he wanted him to speak with him.

28. What crime had the intruder committed?

Ans. ‘the intruder was a jewel thief. When he was being chased by the police, he killed a policeman. So he was wanted for murder also

29. Why did he send for the sergeant?

 Ans. A jewel thief and murderer entered Gerrard’s cottage. He wanted to kill Gerrard also. Gerrard shut the murderer in a cupboard. Then he phoned the police. Ile sent for the sergeant to get the intruder arrested.

30. How does Gerrard imprison the intruder and save his life?

Ans. Gerrard asks the intruder to run away from there with him because the police may come any time. He opens a door. He says that this door leads to the garage. The intruder steps in. It was the cupboard door. Gerrard pushes the intruder in and shuts the door. Thus he imprisons the intruder and saves his life.