Questions , character sketch and summary- Mrs. Packletide's Tiger

MRS. PACKLETIDE’S TIGER

LET US REVISE

Mrs. Packletide’s desire to shoot

- Dislike for Loona Bimberton and desire to outshine her – Loona had recently flown with an Algirian Aviator and had talked of it endlessly with great pride.

- Not due to ache for hunting – but to spite Loona

Plan to outshine Loona Bimberton

-hunt a tiger by herself

-get great publicity and display the tiger skin

-throw a lunch in honour of Loona and gift her a tiger –claw brooch.

THE HUNT

Preparation

- Mrs. Packletide  offered a thousand rupees for shooting a tiger wthout over-much risk or exertion.

- villagers of the neighbouring village offered to help - tempted by the money offered

-An old , weak tiger was spotted.

-children were posted night and day on the outskirts of the local ungle to herd the tiger back incase it strayed  for food elsewhere.

- Cheaper kinds of goats were left about for the tiger

-mothers carrying their babies hushed their singing lest they might distrub the tiger.

- A platform was constructed in a comfortable and conveniently placed tree for Mrs. Packletide and her paid companion, Miss Mebbin

The shoot

-Moonlit and cloudless night – Mrs. Packletide and Miss Mebbin crouched on the platform preapred for the hunt

-A goat with a particularly persistent bleat was tethered at a distance and an accurately sighted rifle was palced.

- Miss Mebbin was not keen to stay on longer -  she did not wish to work beyond the hours she was paid for

- the tiger was spotted  - it began moving towards his victim.

- the rifle flashed out wtih a loud report- the tiger sprang to one side, rolled and died

- crowd of excited natives swarmed on the scene- the shoot was applauded with beating of tom-toms.

An Anxiety

- The tiger might die of Old age before  the date appointed for the shoot.

A  Dicovery

- The gost had been killed by the bullet and not the tiger – discovered by Miss Mebbin

- The old and weak tiger had died due to the shock o the sudden report of the riffle

- Mrs. Packletide was annoyed at the discovery.

The rewards

- Villagers got their thousand rupees – gladly connived at the fiction that the tiger had been shoot.

- Mrs. Packletide recieved great publicity – pictures appeared in various magazines and newspapers – Texas Weekly snapshot to the illustrated Monday supplement of the Novoe Vremya

Loon Bimberton’s Reactions

- Out of sheer jealousy she refused to look at an illustrated paper fo rweeks

 - her letter of thanks for the gift of  a tiger- claw brooch revealed envy

-She declined the luncheon party

The blackmail

- Miss Mebbin informed Mrs. Packletide of the repercussions of people knowing the reality of the tiger’s hunt

- Indirectly offered to keep the secret - cost being the purchase of a cottage near Darking that cost six hundred and eighty pounds

- The pretty week-end cottage was named Les Fauves and tiger lilies were planted as a reminder of the hunt.

Character Sketch

Mrs. Packletide

* Envious – Envies Loona Bimberton’s fame

* Manipulative – Manipulates a hunt

* Spiteful – Wishes to spite Loona Bimberton – invites her for a luncheon which was declined- sent her a tiger-claw brooch to remind her of her tiger’s hunt

* Enjoys fake glory – enjoyed publicity and fame related to the tiger’s hunt even though she knew she had not actually killed the tiger.

Vain – Poses for photographs hiding the truth.

Miss Mebbin

* A paid companion to Mrs. Packletide

* Materialistic- counted every penny spent by Mrs. Packletide – held back any money she felt would be spent wastefully – wished to pay the villagers less for the ailing tiger.

* Unscrupulous – blackmailed Mrs. Packletide and got her to buy her a cottage in return of keeping her secret regarding the hunt-  named the cottage Les Fauves and planted tiger Lillies as a reminder of the hunt.

* Shrewd - should not pay for goat if the tiger doesn’t touch the goat.- black mails  Mrs. Packletide over the hunt.

* Cunning and opportunist – Manipulated situation to fulfil her dream of owning a weekend cottage.

Loona Bimberton

*Vain – enjoyed publicity she got by flying with an Algerian Aviator

* Jealous and spiteful-  could not bear Mrs. Packletide’s  fame and publicity after the tiger’s hunt – refused to come for the luncheon and wrote a letter of thanks that revealed envy.

* Adventurous - flying with an Algerian Aviator

Let me test myself.

 1. What did Mrs. Packletide plan to do to flaunt her achievement?

2. ‘Mrs. Packletide was pardonably annoyed at the discovery’. What was the discovery?

3. What did Miss Mebbin do to keep the memory of the hunt alive?

4. Who was ‘Nimrod’? Why is he mentioned in the lesson?

5.  Why did Mrs. Packletide not go for any further hunt?

Value based questions

1. Louisa Mebbin was extremely materialistic. Elaborate

2. The story ‘Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger’ is a satire on the class of society to which Loona Bimberton and Mrs. Packletide belong. Justify

3. After reading the lesson, you have come to the conclusion that ‘False vanity ends up in loss’.
On the basis of your observation and reading of the lesson, write an article.