Class 10 English Literature Mrs Packletide's Tiger question and answers
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Institution
This is the question and answer of Mrs Packletide's Tiger from Class 10 English Communicative Literature.This document is verified.(Got 100 in English in Class 10)
In his short story “Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger,” Saki explores Edwardian upper-class vanity through the
titular British socialite’s desire to hunt a tiger in India. Mrs. Packletide is a frivolous woman who is
obsessed with her social aspirations. In particular, she must outdo the exotic adventures of fellow
London socialite Loona Bimberton. Saki ridicules both women, but particularly Mrs. Packletide, to
scorn the attitudes of upper-class Edwardian settlers and travellers at the turn of the twentieth century.
In 1911, when Saki wrote the story, the British Raj had formally ruled the Indian subcontinent for
more than fifty years. In this context, British colonial exploitation provides an important backdrop to
“Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger,” in which the sparsity of Indian local life starkly contrasts the Edwardian
socialites’ frivolous behaviours. This contrast further calls readers’ attention to Saki’s critique of the
vanity and shallowness of Edwardian upper-class pretension.
Para 1 .. Mrs. Packletide’s nature was far from being self-effacing. She wanted to shoot a tiger, not so
much for the thrill or a desire to rid India of a menace, but to settle scores with one Mrs. Loona
Bimberton, who had won accolades for her trophies in feline hunting. It was an affront to Mrs.
Packletide’s vanity. It is not known if anyone else thought so, but for the vainglorious Mrs. Packletide,
Mrs. Bimberton’s rise to fame was jarring.
She was bent upon shooting a tiger. The desire was born out of jealousy. She was desperate to outdo
her rival Mrs. Bimberton who had recently been flown around for eleven miles by an Algerian pilot
for recognition of her hunting acumen. Mrs. Packletide chose to hunt down Nirmod, the tiger whose
skin she could flaunt under the glare of a bevy of press photographers’ cameras. The celebration could
be followed by a lunch to be hosted by her in her Curzon Street residence ostensibly to felicitate her
rival Mrs. Bimberton.
To rub salt on Mrs. Bimberton’s wounds, she could present a tiger-claw brooch. No doubt, it was a
deft one-upmanship move of Mrs. Packletide. It was clear that she was consumed by her dislike of
Mrs. Bimberton. She could go to any length to settle the score with her rival.
Para 2 .. Mrs. Packletide was no ace hunter. She was in awe of the jungle cat as miserably as ordinary
mortals. This is the reason why she wanted to kill a less ferocious tiger. To spot an ageing tiger, she
offered a good sum of One thousand rupees to the villagers where one such cat happened to roam
around. Enfeebled by age, the tiger no longer hunted the jungle preys. In order to survive, it would
target the tethered and docile domestic animals.
The villagers were clearly excited by the one thousand rupees on offer. Children were asked to
maintain vigil in the nearby jungle to ensure the cat did not stray off. They could shoe-horn the tiger
towards the village. Some weak domestic goats were deliberately left loose to entice the old tiger. The
worry was the dotage of the infirm tiger. People prayed for it to stay alive till Mrs. Packletide fired her
fatal shot. Mothers heading home with their babies through the forest toned down their singing to let
the tiger have its blissful sleep.
, Para 3 .. The night arrived, with clear skies and moon shining radiantly. At a certain height in a tree, a
secured platform was erected so that the shooters could perch atop it comfortably. Miss. Mebbin came
with Mrs. Packletide as the shooting companion. She was hired by the latter. A tender nervous goat
was tethered at a convenient spot to offer the tiger and its shooter a convenient view. The shooter
waited with bated breath for the tiger to approach. She had her fingers ready on the trigger.
Para 4 .. Apparently to justify her hiring, Miss. Mebbin sensed some impending danger.
Para 5 .. Miss. Mebbin had a penchant to overdo things, particularly when it came to serve her
masters.
Para 6 .. Mrs. Packletide dismissed the suggestion of any risk. The tiger they had paid Rs.1000 for
was too weighed down by age to spring as high as their platform, affirmed Mrs. Packletide.
Para 7 .. Miss. Mebbin was at it again. She came with another unsolicited advice. She commented that
the old tiger had been over-paid for.
Para 8 .. Louisa Mebbin instinctively tried to project herself as a protector of money of whoever hired
her. In some occasion, she had successfully dissuaded her patrons from greedy waiters in a Moscow
sojourn. She could stanch the outflow of cash of the people she accompanied. Just when she was
about to pronounce her views on pricing of the remains of tigers, the much-awaited animal appeared
on the scene. With little difficulty, it sighted the tethered prey. Surprisingly, instead of the beastly
charge characteristic of an animal of prey, the tiger relapsed to a supine pose. The usual aggression
was starkly missing. Perhaps, it wanted to catch a wink before springing its charge.
Para 9 .. The headman lay in wait behind a nearby bush. Miss. Mebbin proclaimed loudly that the
animal was perhaps ill.
Para 10 .. Mrs. Packletide silenced her. Just then, the tiger began to crawl forward towards its prey.
Para 11 .. Miss. Mebbin urged her patron to shoot. A cost-saving idea flashed through her mind. If the
tiger could be killed before harming the goat, Mrs. Packletide could avoid paying for the bait.
Para 12 .. ‘Boom’ the hunter’s rifle roared. The tiger leaped up and flipped to one side. Apparently,
the beast had breathed its last. For Mrs. Packletide, it was ‘Mission accomplished’. In the wink of an
eye, enthusiastic onlookers converged on the dead beast. A sense of triumph and glee seemed to grip
everyone around. The success of Mrs. Packletide had the village richer by a thousand rupees. It added
to their jubilant spirits. Mrs. Packletide conjured up the grand lunch in Curzon Street. As the ace
shooter, she would confront her bête noire Mrs. Bimberton.
Para 13 .. Miss. Mebbin played the spoiler when she mentioned that the bullet had killed the goat
leaving the tiger unscathed. The debilitated tiger had suffered a fatal heart attack on hearing the rifle’s
burst. Her discovery was a dampener that upset Mrs. Packletide. But, she was in no mood to concede
the setback. Quite brazenly, she posed for the camera standing beside the trophy. Her pictures were
published in Texas Weekly Snapshot and Novoe Vremya. Mrs. Bimberton, understandably, didn’t turn
up for the lunch.
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