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Chapter 2 : Mrs. Packletide's Tiger

Page No: 12

It was Mrs. Packletide's pleasure and intention that she should shoot a
tiger …. The compelling motive ….was the fact that Loona Bimberton
had recently …… personally procured tiger-skin and a heavy harvest of
Press photographs could successfully counter that sort of thing.

(a) Why did Mrs. Packletide want to kill a tiger?

Answer

Mrs. Packletide was jealous of her rival, Loona Bimberton, who had
recently travelled 11 kilometres in an airplane operated by an Algerian
aviator. In order to outclass her, Mrs. Packletide decided to hunt a tiger
and gain media coverage through her pictures.

(b) What does it tell you about her?

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Answer

Mrs. Packletide is full of vanity. She is a selfish person who seems to be

jealous at other people’s success.

(c) What is the tone of the storywriter?

Answer

The tone of the story writer is full of satire and humour.

(d) Do you think she was successful in her mission?

Answer

In a way,yes. She was successful in outshining Loona Bimberton by

killing a tiger and getting fame for doing that. But actually she was a
failure, as she missed her shot and the tiger died due to heart failure.

(e) What do you think the story is all about?

Answer

The story is all about a pursuit of killing a tiger by Mrs. Packletide.

Page No: 16

4. Answer the following questions in your own words:

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(a) Why did Mrs. Packletide wish to kill a tiger?

Answer

Mrs. Packletide wished to kill a tiger so that she could counter to Loona
Bimberton’s claim who had been carried eleven miles in an Algerian
aviator.

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(b) What made her decide to give a party in Loona Bimberton's honour?
What did she intend to give Loona on her birthday?

Answer

Mrs.Packletide decided that once she shot a tiger, she would invite
Loona Bimberton for a luncheon party. At the party she would display
the newly-acquired tiger skin. The party would be an appropriate time to
show off the tiger skin and talk about her tiger-shooting experience to
Loona Bimberton. She intended to give a tiger-claw brooch to Loona
Bimberton on her birthday.

(c) How was the tiger shooting arranged? What kind of a tiger was
chosen for the purpose?

Answer

The tiger shooting was arranged in neigbouring village. The villagers

had seen an old tiger who used to hunt domestic animals on the outskirts
of the local jungle. A platform or Machaan was built in a comfortable
and conviniently placed tree for Mrs. Packletide and her paid compnion
Miss Louisa Mebbin. A noisy goat was tethred at the correct ditance to
attract the tiger.
The tiger chosen for this purpose was weak, diseased tiger who could
not hunt wild animals due to old age.

(d) In what way did the villagers help Mrs. Packletide shoot the tiger?

Answer

The villagers made many arrangements for the hunting game.Children

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were posted night and day on the outskirts so that the tiger would not
leave his domain. Goats were left in the forest in order to satisfy the
animal. Women took care not to make noise while passing by, so that the
tiger would not be disturbed. Last but not the least, the villagers offered
support and assistance at night of hunt. A platform had been constructed
on a comfortable and convenient place on a tree for Mrs. Packletide and
her paid companion. They remained there throughout the night.

(e) Who was Miss Mebbin? Was she really devoted to Mrs. Packletide?
How did she behave during the tiger shooting?

Answer

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Miss Mebbin was a paid companion. Mrs. Packletide had acquired her
so that she could witness the shooting of the tiger. She was very
materialistic. She didn’t want to do more than she was paid for. In fact
she also instigated Mrs. Packletide not to pay for the goat if the tiger did
not eat it. She was not at all devoted to Mrs. Packletide. She was there
only for the money.

(f) Mrs. Packletide was a good shot. Discuss.

Answer

Mrs. Packletide was daring and bold enough to go for hunting a tiger
which was oldand weak. She was not a good shot at all. Inspite of all the
arrangements, she was not able to shoot the old tiger who was walkin
slowly. Instead, she shot the goat as she had missed her aim.

(g) What comment did Miss Mebbin make after Mrs Packletide had fired
the shot?
Why did Miss Mebbin make this comment? How did Mrs Packletide
react to this comment?

Answer

Miss Mebbin commented that the bullet had shot the goat not the tiger.
The tiger had succumbed to heart failure caused by the sound of firing
accelerated by senile decay.
She made this comment to take advantageof the fact that the tiger was
not killed by Mrs. packletide. In fact, she wanted to exploit the situation.
Mrs. packletide was annoyed at the discovery.

(h) How did the villagers react to the tiger's death?

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Answer

The villagers were anxious for their thousand rupees. They did not pay
any heed to Miss Mebbin’s revelation that Mrs. Packletide had not killed
a tiger but a goat. They readily believed that Mrs. Packletide had shot
the beast lest they lose their money.

(i) Do you think Mrs. Packletide was able to achieve her heart's desire?
Give reasons for your answer.

Answer

Yes, I think Mrs. Packletide was able to achieve her heart's desire of
killing a tiger and to show off that she was the possessor of a dead tiger.
She wanted her photographs to be published in the newspapers. Her
desire was accomplished positively. She was able to outdo Loona
Bimberton and she sent her a gift of a tiger-claw brooch.

(j) How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her week-end cottage? Why did
she plant so many tiger lilies in her garden?

Answer

Louisa Mebbin blackmailed Mrs. Packletide into buying her the

weekend cottage or else she would have told Loona Bimberton that it
was not the tiger but a mere goat that Mrs. Packletide had shot. The tiger
lilies would always remind of how she had procured the cottage.

(k) "The incidental expenses are so heavy," she confides to inquiring

friends. Who is the speaker? What is she referring to here?

Answer

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Mrs. Packletide is the speaker. The lines are said in response to

questions regarding why she did not hunt anymore. Mrs. Packletide is
referred to the expenses that she incurred when she hunted for the first
time, she paid the villagers, she paid Louisa Mebbin and even had to buy
her a cottage.

Page No: 17

5. Discuss the following questions in detail and write the answers in

your notebooks:

(a) Do you think the tiger shooting organized by the villagers was a
serious affair? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer
The tiger shooting organised by the villagers was not a serious affair at
all. They knew it was an old senile tiger. It could not run or escape due
to its weakness. So, it would be easy to kill it insanstaneously. They
posted their children to keep the tiger in the outskirts of the jubgle so
that it might not roam away to fresh hunting grounds. They left cheap
goats to keep him satisfied with the present quarters lest he should die of
old age before the appointed lady. In this way, they provided the
favourable oppurtunity of shooting a tiger without over-much risk.

(b) Do you think the writer is trying to make fun of the main characters
in the story i.e. Mrs. Packletide, Miss Mebbin and Loona Bimberton?
Pick out instances from the story that point to this fact.

Answer

Yes, the writer is trying to make fun of the main characters in the

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story. Mrs. Packletide wanted to kill a tiger because of her jealousy and
a desire to outshine Loona. Loona was a lady of boastful nature. She also
grew jealous when she saw Mrs. Packletide's photo in the newspaper.
She refused to attend the lunch party arranged in her honour by Mrs.
Packletide. Miss Mebbin was very manipulative, shrewd and
materialistic lady. She adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards
money. Moreover, the shooting of an old and weak tiger, who has lost
his strength and ferociousness is also very humourous. Its death due to
heart failure instead of a bullet arouses laughter.

(c) A person who is vain is full of self importance and can only think of
himself/herself and can go to great lengths to prove his/her superiority.
Do you think Mrs Packletide is vain? Give reasons in support of your
answer.

Answer

The story begins with Mrs. Packletide’s obsession to procure a tiger skin
so that she can show it off to Loona Bimberton. To obtain the tiger skin
Mrs.Packletide goes to extreme lengths; she offers a thousand rupees to
the villagers to shoot a tiger without much risk or exertion. She acquires
a paid companion, Louisa Mebbin, a witness to her extraordinary feat.
She makes sure her pictures appear in international newspapers. Finally,
she buys a weekend cottage for Louisa Mebbin to prevent her from
telling anybody that it was not the tiger but a goat she had shot because
the tiger merely died of a heart attack. All this proves that Mrs.
Packletide was a vain woman.

(d) Sometimes writers highlight certain negative aspects in society or

human beings by making fun of it. This is called satire. In your groups
discuss whether you would classify this story as a satire. Give reasons to
support your answer

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Answer

The story is excellent example of satire. The writer, Saki, has satrized
the jealousy and vanity of the fair sex. They want to to show off their
self importance and think of themselves only. To prove their supriority,
they can go to any length. The author not only makes fun of the situation
but also of the characters. Mrs. Packeltide’s actions were largely
directed by dislike of Loona Bimberton. The motive behind tiger hunt
was to show off to her. Loona Bimberton did not look at Mrs.
Packletide’s pictures in the newspapers. Her letter of thanks for the
tiger-claw brooch was a model of repressed emotions. She declined to
attend the luncheon party because she wouldn’t be able to see people
praising Mrs. Packletide. Both Louisa Mebbin and the villagers are only
concerned about their remuneration. Louisa Mebbin even blackmailed
Mrs. Packletide into buying her a cottage. The villagers happily believed
that Mrs. Packletide had shot the tiger and not the goat lest they lose
their fee. The whole situation of the tiger hunt is also laced with satire.
An old tiger who had given up hunting was chosen for the purpose. The
tiger dies of a heart-failure than a gun shot. The author paints a picture
of a society that is essentially governed by wealth and mutual dislike for
each other.

(e) How does the writer create humor in this story?

Answer

The author makes fun of each character and situation. The characters of
Loona Bimberton, Mrs. Packletide, Louisa Mebbin and the villagers are
all ridiculed for their peculiar character traits.The tiger hunt is mocked a;
an old, infirm tiger is chosen for the hunt making it the least dangerous
expedition. The power of money is so strong that the villagers agree that

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it was not a goat but a tiger that was shot. Louisa Mebbin agrees to keep
this a secret in return of money. Thus the author creates humour in the
story by highlighting the negative aspects in society or human beings.

6. Choose extracts from the story that illustrate the character of the
people listed in the table given below. There are some words given to
help you. You may add words of your own. One has been done as an
example:

vai jealou competiti shrew manipulati sting materialist spitef

n s ve d ve y ic ul

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Character Extract from the story What this tells us

about the
character

Mrs. (i) The compelling motive for her Competitive

Packletide sudden deviation towards the
footsteps of Nimrod was the fact
that Loona Bimberton had
recently been carried eleven miles
in an aeroplane by an Algerian
aviator, and talked of nothing
else; only a personally procured
tiger-skin and a heavy harvest of
Press photographs could
successfully counter that sort of
thing

(ii) Mrs. Packletide had offered a _____________

thousand rupees for the
opportunity of shooting a tiger
without over-much risk or
exertion,

(iii) Mrs. Packletide faced the _____________

cameras with a light heart, and her
pictured fame reached from the
pages of the Texas Weekly
Snapshot to the illustrated
Monday upplement of the Novoe
Vremya.

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Louisa (i) "If it's an old tiger I think you _____________

Mebbin ought to get it cheaper. A
thousand rupees is a lot of
money."

(ii) Louisa Mebbin adopted a _____________

protective elder-sister attitude
towards money in general,
irrespective of nationality or
denomination

(iii) "How amused everyone _____________

would be if they knew what really
happened," said Louisa Mebbin a
few days after the ball.

(iv) Louisa Mebbin's pretty week- _____________

end cottage, christened by her
"Les Fauves," and gay in
summer-time with its garden
borders of tiger-lilies, is the
wonder and admiration of her
friends

Loona (i) As for Loona Bimberton, she _____________

Bimberton refused to look at an illustrated
paper for weeks, and her letter of
thanks for the gift of a tiger-claw
brooch was a model of repressed
emotions

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(ii) there are limits beyond which _______________

repressed emotions become
dangerous.

Answer

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Character Extract from the story What this tells

us about the
character

Mrs. (i) The compelling motive for her

Packletide sudden deviation towards the
footsteps of Nimrod was the fact that
Loona Bimberton had recently been
carried eleven miles in an aeroplane
Competitive
by an Algerian aviator, and talked of
nothing else; only a personally
procured tiger-skin and a heavy
harvest of Press photographs could
successfully counter that sort of thing

(ii) Mrs. Packletide had offered a

thousand rupees for the opportunity of
Manipulative
shooting a tiger without over-much
risk or exertion,

(iii) Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras

with a light heart, and her pictured
fame reached from the pages of the
Vain
Texas Weekly Snapshot to the
illustrated Monday upplement of the
Novoe Vremya.

Louisa (i) “If it’s an old tiger I think you

Mebbin ought to get it cheaper. A thousand Stingy
rupees is a lot of money.”

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(ii) Louisa Mebbin adopted a

protective elder-sister attitude towards
Materialistic
money in general, irrespective of
nationality or denomination

(iii) "How amused everyone would be

if they knew what really happened,"
Shrewd
said Louisa Mebbin a few days after
the ball.

(iv) Louisa Mebbin's pretty week-end

cottage, christened by her "Les
Fauves," and gay in summer-time with
its garden Spiteful

borders of tiger-lilies, is the wonder

and admiration of her friends

Loona (i) As for Loona Bimberton, she

Bimberton refused to look at an illustrated paper
for weeks, and her letter of thanks for Jealous
the gift of a tiger-claw brooch was a
model of repressed emotions

(ii) there are limits beyond which

repressed emotions become Spiteful
dangerous.

Page No: 19

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7. There are many amusing lines in the story. Here are a few of
them. Rewrite each one in ordinary prose so that the meaning is
retained. One has been done for you as an example:

(b) Mrs. Packletide had already arranged in her mind the lunch she
would give at her house in Curzon Street, ostensibly in Loona
Bimberton's honour, with a tiger-skin rug occupying most of the
foreground and all of the conversation.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Answer

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Mrs. Packletide had already imagined the lunch party she would have,
supposedly in honour of Loona Bimberton, where she would display the
tiger-skin rug and talk about the tiger hunt.
(c) Mothers carrying their babies home through the jungle after the day's
work in the fields hushed their singing lest they might curtail the restful
sleep of the venerable herd-robber.
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Answer

Mothers, with thier babies, after the day's work, walked past the jungle
in complete silence so as not to disturb the sleep of the esteemed lion.

(d) Louisa Mebbin adopted a protective elder-sister attitude towards

money in general, irrespective of nationality or denomination
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Answer

Louisa Mebbin was very particular about money, irrespective of

nationality or denomination.

(e) Evidently the wrong animal had been hit, and the beast of prey had
succumbed to heart-failure, caused by the sudden report of the rifle,
accelerated by senile decay
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Answer

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It was clear that the wrong animal had been shot. The lion had died of
heart-failure caused by the gun shot and hastened by old age.

(f) As for Loona Bimberton, she refused to look at an illustrated paper

for weeks, and her letter of thanks for the gift of a tiger-claw brooch was
a model of repressed emotions
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Answer

Loona Bimberton did not read the illustrated newspaper for weeks and
her letter of thanks for the gift of a tiger-claw brooch was written in the
form which could hide her true feelings.

8. The story Mrs. Packletide's Tiger has a number of oxymorons. Can

you identify them and write them down in your notebooks?

Answer

List of oxymorons used in the story:

Over-much risk
Elaborate carelessness
Immeasurably nearer
Gladly connived
Pardonably annoyed

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