1. What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he sincere
when he later says “And I’ve always loved you, my angel, as if you were my
own son”? Find reasons for your answer from the play.
2. Chubukov says of Natalya: “... as if she won’t consent! She’s in love;
egad, she’s like a lovesick cat…” Would you agree? Find reasons for
your answer.
3. (i) Find all the words and expressions in the play that the characters
use to speak about each other, and the accusations and insults
they hurl at each other. (For example, Lomov in the end calls
Chubukov an intriguer; but earlier, Chubukov has himself called
Lomov a “malicious, doublefaced intriguer.” Again, Lomov begins by
describing Natalya as “an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking,
well-educated.”)
(ii) Then think of five adjectives or adjectival expressions of your own to
describe each character in the play.
(iii) Can you now imagine what these characters will quarrel about next?
Answer:
i)At first, Chubukov suspected that Lomov had come to borrow money.
He was not sincere when he told Lomov that he had always loved him and that he was like his own son. He had decided that he would not give Lomov any money if he tried borrowing from him. If he truly meant what he had said, then he would not have thought of not giving him money. He said the above sentence only because he found out that Lomov had come with the proposal to marry his daughter.
ii)Chubukov had been waiting for Lomov's proposal to his daughter since a long time. When Lomov expressed his doubt regarding Natalya’s consent to the proposal, Chubukov immediately told him that she was in love with him. However, this was not true.
Natalya did not seem to be in love with Lomov during the entire play. Instead it appears that she was more attached to her land, meadows and dogs than to Lomov. The manner in which both Natalya and Lomov kept getting into arguments about trivial matters suggests that neither of them was in love with the other.
iii)
1.Several words and expressions have been used by the characters to describe each other. Some of them are as follows: Chubukov: grabber; intriguer; old rat; Jesuit Natalya: a lovesick cat; an excellent housekeeper; not bad-looking, well-educated Lomov: a good neighbour; a friend; impudent; pettifogger; a malicious, double- faced intriguer; rascal; blind hen; turnip-ghost; a villain; a scarecrow; monster; the stuffed sausage; the wizen-faced frump; boy; pup; milksop; fool.
I. 1.Read through the play carefully, and find expressions that you think are not used in contemporary English, and contrast these with idiomatic modern English expressions that also occur in the play.
Answer:
1. Expressions not used in contemporary English
1. “my darling”, “my beauty”, “my precious”, “my angel”, “my beloved” (here, an older man is addressing an adult man)
2. “…and so on…” (here, it is used after a sentence in order to complete it)
3. “…and all that sort of thing.” (not explaining what it is, just leaving it as it is)
4. “…and all that.” (again leaving the sentence as it is)
5. “the scarecrow”, “the stuffed sausage”, “the wizen-faced frump” (In this way, they hurled insults at each other)
6. “And how may you be getting on?” (Here, Lomov is asking Chubukov about his well-being)
Modern English expressions
1. “Madam”, “my heart”, “honoured Natalya Stepanovna” (used by Lomov for Natalya)
2. “Honoured Stepan Stepanovitch” (used by Lomov for Chubukov)
3. “I beg your pardon…”
4. “My dear fellow” (Chubukov addressing Lomov)
5. “malicious, double-faced intriguer”, “fool” (Chubukov insulting Lomov)
3. Look up the following phrases in a dictionary to find out their meaning,
and then use each in a sentence of your own.
(i) You may take it that
(ii) He seems to be coming round
(iii) My foot’s gone to sleep
Answer:
i)The phrase means that one may understand something in a particular manner.
You may take it that I am lying, but in fact it will help you in the long run.
(ii)The phrase is used to refer to a person who is recovering from an illness or any traumatic experience.
He seems to be coming round after the trauma of his father’s death.
iii)The phrase means that the foot has become numb.
After the marathon cycling tournament, my foot’s gone to sleep.
II. Reported Speech You must have noticed that when we report someone’s exact words, we have to make some changes in the sentence structure. In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list the changes that have occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for you.
Answer:
1. To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked.
2. To report a declaration, we use the reporting verb declared .
3. The adverb of place here changes to there .
4. When the verb in direct speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported
speech is in the past tense.
5. If the verb in direct speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb
in reported speech changes to past continuous tense. For example,
changes to was getting.
6. When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect,
we add the adverb respectfully in the reporting clause.
7. The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in
direct speech, change to third person pronouns such as , he/she, him/her , their or his/hers
in reported speech.
III. Here is an excerpt from an article from the Times of India dated
27 August 2006. Rewrite it, changing the sentences in direct speech
into reported speech. Leave the other sentences unchanged.
“Why do you want to know my age? If people know I am so old, I won’t get
work!” laughs 90-year-old A. K. Hangal, one of Hindi cinema’s most famous
character actors. For his age, he is rather energetic. “What’s the secret?”
we ask. “My intake of everything is in small quantities. And I walk a lot,”
he replies. “I joined the industry when people retire. I was in my 40s. So
I don’t miss being called a star. I am still respected and given work,
when actors of my age are living in poverty and without work. I don’t
have any complaints,” he says, adding, “but yes, I have always been
underpaid.” Recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Hangal never hankered
after money or materialistic gains. “No doubt I am content today, but
money is important. I was a fool not to understand the value of money
earlier,” he regrets.
Answer:
90-year-old A.K. Hangal, one of Hindi cinema’s most famous character actors, laughingly asked why we wanted to know his age. If people knew he was that old, he would not get work. For his age, he is rather energetic. We asked him what the secret was. He replied that his intake of everything was in small quantities and he walked a lot. He said that he had joined the industry when people retired. He had been in his 40s. So he did not miss being called a star. He was still respected and given work, when actors of his age were living in poverty and without work. He said he did not have any complaints, adding that he had always been underpaid. Recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Hangal never hankered after money or materialistic gains. He said that no doubt he was content at present, but money was important. He said regretfully that he was a fool not to understand the value of money before.