If I Were You By Douglas James CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT

SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT

CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS (BEEHIVE)

CHAPTER  -  IF  I  WERE  YOU

  

If   I    Were    You

By Douglas James

CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS

SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT

Page No: 144

Thinking about the Text

I. Answer these questions.

1.        “At last a sympathetic audience.”

(i)       Who says this?

Ans: The speaker of the given line is Gerrard.

(ii)       Why does he say it?

Ans: He says it as he is asked by the intruder to speak about himself.

(iii)       Is he sarcastic or serious?

Ans: He speaks the given dialogue sarcastically.

2.        Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?

Ans: Gerrard looks much like the intruder. The intruder is a murderer. The police is after him. He hopes he can easily impersonate Gerrard  escape being caught.

3.        “I said it with bullets.”

(i)       Who says this?

Ans: Gerrard says this.

(ii)       What does it mean?

Ans: It means that when things went wrong, he had used his gun to shoot someone for his escape.

(iii)       Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?

Ans: No, it is not the truth. The speaker says this to save himself from getting shot by the intruder.

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

Ans: Gerrard is a playwright by profession. Several parts of the play that reflect this. Some of these are:

I.        “This is all very melodramatic, not very original, perhaps, but…”

II.      “At last a sympathetic audience!”

III.    “In most melodramas the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long enough to be frustrated”.

IV.   “I said, you were luckier than most melodramatic villains.”

V.     “That’s a disguise outfit; false moustaches and what not”.

VI.   “Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal, I’ve had a spot of bother – quite amusing. I think I’ll put it in my next play.”

5.        “You’ll soon stop being smart.”

(i)       Who says this?

Ans: The intruder says the line.

(ii)       Why does the speaker say it?

Ans: The speaker says it to frighten Gerrard.

(iii)       What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?

(i)           Ans: According to the intruder, Gerrard would stop being smart once he knew  what  was  going  to happen to him. The intruder’s plan  was to kill Gerard and take over his identity. He felt that when Gerrard would know this, he would stop being smart and start getting scared.

Page No: 145

6.        “They can’t hang me twice.”

(i)       Who says this?

Ans: The intruder says the line.

(ii)       Why does the speaker say it?

Ans: The intruder had been telling Gerrard that he had murdered one man, and that he would not shy away from murdering him too. This is because the police could not hang him twice for two murders.

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

Ans: The mystery that Gerrard proposed to explain was the story he made up to dodge the intruder and save his own life.The story was that Gerrard himself was a criminal like the intruder. He asked the intruder why else would he not meet any trades people and be a bit of a mystery man here today and gone tomorrow. The game was up as things had suddenly gone wrong for him. He had committed a murder and got away. Unfortunately, one of his men had been arrested and certain things were found which his men should have burnt. He said that he was expecting some trouble that night and therefore, his bag was packed and he was ready to escape.

8.        “This is your big surprise.”

(i)       Where has this been said in the play?

Ans: This has been said twice in the play. On the first occasion, it is spoken by the intruder while revealing his plan to kill Gerrard. Secondly, it is spoken by Gerrard before he reveals his fictitious identity to the intruder.

(ii)       What is the surprise?

Ans: The intruder's surprise is his plan to kill Gerrard and take on his identity to lead a secure and hassle-free life. Whereas, Gerrard's surprise is his fictitious identity, his way of refraining the intruder from killing him.

Thinking about the 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).

Ans: The site of the accident was ghastly.

2.        Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.

Ans: Our college principal is very strict.

3.        I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.

Ans: I studied continuously for eight hours.

4.        The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.

Ans: The fog had an adverse effect on the traffic.

5.        Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).

Ans: 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.

Ans: 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.

Ans: 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.

Ans: 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: Ø Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever! Ø You have been a great help, I must say! Ø You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you? Ø 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 such expressions along with what they really mean.

What the author says	What he means
Why, this is a surprise, Mr – er –	He pretends that the intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming. In this way he hides his fear.
At last a sympathetic audience!	He pretends that the intruder wants to listen to him, whereas actually the intruder wants to find out information for his own use.

Ans:

What the author says	What he means
You won’t kill me for a very good reason.	Gerrard is just pretending to have a ‘very good reason’ even Though  there is no such reason.
Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal, I’ve had a spot of bother – quite amusing.	The ‘spot of bother’ that Gerrard calls ‘quite amusing’ is actually a life-threatening situation, where a criminal actually threatens to kill him.
You  have been so  modest.	Here, Gerrard means that it is immodest on the part of the intruder to know so much about him without disclosing his own identity.

********************