COMPREHENSION
CHECK I PAGE
57
1. Why had Framton Nuttel come to the
“rural retreat”?
Answer:
Framton Nuttel was worried about his health as he was suffering from a nervous
breakdown. His doctor had advised him to stay away from city life for some time
and to live in a quiet place like the countryside. Therefore, he had come to
the “rural retreat” to cure his nerve problem by staying in a calm, peaceful
and serene environment.
2. Why had his sister given him letters
of introduction to people living there?
Answer:
Framton’s sister was concerned about him and she knew that Framton knew nobody
in the countryside. She gave him letters of introduction to people living there
as she knew that Framton might himself not speak to anybody. He might feel
lonely and isolated and his mental health might deteriorate from moping. So,
she gave letters of introduction to some people she knew in the neighbourhood
one of whom was Mrs. Sappleton.
3. What had happened in the Sappleton
family as narrated by the niece?
Answer: Vera, Mrs. Sappleton’s niece told Mr. Nuttel
that three years back on that same day, Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and her two
brothers along with their dog went off for their day’s shooting through the
open window. They never returned. They drowned in a swamp and their bodies were
never recovered. It was a dreadful tragedy.
COMPREHENSION
CHECK II PAGE
60
1.What did Mrs. Sappleton say about the
open window?
Answer:
Mrs. Sappleton said that she hoped that Mr. Nuttel does not mind the open
window. She said she keeps it open until it was dark as she is expecting her
husband and her two brothers who would come any moment now. They enter the
house through the open window.
2. The horror on the girl’s face made
Framton swing around in his seat. What did he see?
Answer:
When Framton swung around after seeing the horror on Vera’s face, he saw a
silhouette of three men and a dog in the evening light. Then he heard a hoarse
young voice that called out to the dog. Their description matched exactly what
Vera had described earlier about Mrs. Sappleton’s husband, her two brothers and
their brown spaniel dog.
COMPREHENSION
CHECK III PAGE
61
1. Why did Framton rush out wildly?
Answer:
Vera had told Framton that Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and her two brothers along
with their brown spaniel had died three years ago by drowning in a swamp. Their
bodies were never recovered. When Framton saw a silhouette of three men and a
dog in the evening light, he rushed out wildly like a lightning bolt. He was
immensely terrified as he thought they were ghosts.
2. What was the girl’s explanation for
his lightning exit?
Answer:
As Vera was good at making up stories, she said that Mr. Framton had an immense
fear of dogs. She said that Mr. Nuttel was once hunted into a cemetery
somewhere on the banks of Ganges by a pack of dogs and he had to spend a night
in a newly dug grave with the fierce dogs snarling and grinning above him.
Hence, Mr. Nuttel made a lightning exit as he heard their spaniel dog bark
outside.
EXERCISE PAGE
61
1. Is this a mystery story? Give a reason
for your answer.
Answer:
While explaining the reason behind the big French open window to Mr. Framton
Nuttel, Vera, Mrs. Sappleton’s niece does create an imaginative story with a
mystery behind it. Framton Nuttel became a victim of Vera’s mischief and he
believed in her story. Later when he saw three men along with a dog approaching
towards the window, he thought they were ghosts and ran from the house in fear.
Hence, we can conclude that ‘The Open Window’ by Saki contains various elements
of mystery.
2. You are familiar with the ‘irony’ of
the situation in a story. (Remember the cop and the Anthem in Class 7
Supplementary Reader!) Which situation in ‘The Open Window’ are good examples
of the use of irony?
Answer:
Students are supposed to come up with an answer of their own.
3. Which phrases/sentences in the text do
you find difficult to understand? Select a few and guess the meaning of each.
Rewrite a simple paraphrase of each.
Answer:
Masculine habitation- It implies that some male person used to live in that
room.
Came into the nice division- This means nice people.
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