W . M . BHAT
TEACHER SCHOOL
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Lesson No. 23
A BASKETFUL OF SEA TROUT
(Neil Grant)
THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT
Q.1) The atmosphere is eerie and makes even the judge jumpy. Let us see how the eerie atmosphere is built up.
i. The wind: Does it moan or does it blow gently?
ii. The lodge: Is it in the heart of a village or is it isolated?
iii. Servants: Does servants live in the lodge or not?
iv. Glen: Is it silent or is it full of strange sounds?
v. Time of the day: Does the action take place at twilight or when there is pitch darkness outside?
Ans) i. The wind: The wind moans.
ii. The lodge: It is isolated place.
iii. Servants: Servants do not live in the house/lodge.
iv. Glen (valley): It is full of strange sounds.
v. Time of the day: The action takes place when there is pitch darkness outside.
Q.2) Nellie Salter ‘rejoiced in evil”. Was Mrs Lomond justified in summing up Nancy’s character in these words? If so, why?
Ans) The character by Mrs. Lomond of Nellie Salter was painted as evil character. As for as Mrs. Lomond was concerned she says that Nellie Salter ruins the life of young men and feels happy to give up their lives and killing each other for her sake.
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Q.3) “I have lost my son”. Why did Mrs Lomond make this statement?
Ans) Mrs. Lomond had already committed suicide. And it was for the sake of her son that she first killed Nellie and then killed herself. Thus she was in a right way that she had lost her son. Actually death had separated her from her son.
Q.4) The judge did not believe that Hector was tracking Nellie. Why?
Ans) The judge did not believe that Hactor was tracking Nellie because when the case was taken into the court, no one could tell which way Nellie has taken while coming back down the hill or the way in which she had been murdered.
Q.5) Why do you think Mrs Lomond committed suicide?
Ans) Mrs. Jean Lomond committed suicide for the sake of her son because she did not want that her son should be rearrested if the case of Nellie Salter’s murder was reopened. So, she wrote down a statement, confessing Nellie’s murder and then committed suicide.
Q.6) While leaving the judge’s lodge, the chief constable “it has been a most interesting experience”. Why does he say so?
Ans) He says so because it has been proved that Mrs. Lomond had committed suicide in the afternoon. But it also seems certain that she visited the judge’s lodge that very night and had left a basketful of sea-trout there. So, it was truly an interesting experience for the chief constable, Mr. Allardyce.
Q.7) Why was the play given the title “A basketful of sea trout”?
Ans) The title, “A Basketful of Sea-trout” is the most appropriate title for this play because the whole suspense and mystery of the play centers round the basket of trout’s. Without it, there could be any explanation of Jean’s visit to the judge’s lodge. It could be said that the judge and his friend were telling lies or they were not in their right senses. The title is both the centre and the climax of the play.
B. Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.
1. How did the judge and Brodie deduce that Mrs Lomond had killed Nellie Salter?
Ans) Mrs. Lamond’s own description about Nellie Salter lead the judge and Brodie to deduce that it was she who had murdered Nellie Salter. Mrs. Lomond knows every detail of the way. Nellie had taken while going up the hill and also while coming back down the hill. She also knows that Nellie, while going up the hill, had taken out her make-up material and beautified herself. And then there is the dark paint in which she paints her character. She says that Nellie was a wicked woman. She attracted young men towards herself and then ruins their lives.Mrs. Lomond’s son, Hactor Lomond had also fallen in love with Nellie Salter and Mrs. Lomond feared if her son too would be ruined by Nellie Salter. When the case was tried in the court, no one could tell anything about Nellie’s movement of the day when she was murdered.
It was only Mrs. Jean Lomond who came in judge’s lodge and told him and Brodie about Nellie’s those movements which no one knew.All these details given by Mrs. Jean Lomond helped the judge and Brodie to deduce that Mrs. Lomond had undoubtedly killed Nellie Salter.
Q.2) Why did Mrs Lomond come to the judge’s lodge? Give two reasons?
Ans) Mrs Lomond being a mother had a great concern for the safety and happiness of her son Hector Lomond. She had killed Nellie Salter to save her son from Nellie’s false love-trap. She had committed suicide after killing Nellie. However, this painful story had been haunting Mrs Lomond even after her death. It was her perturbed and anxious ghost that visited the judge during the night. She came to the judge to confess before him that she had murdered Nellie. She, during her conversation with the judge and Brodie, made so clear statements that helped them deduce/conclude unambiguously that she had been after Nellie and murdered her in cold-blood. She did it only to save her own son as well as other credulous lads from the butcherous snares of Nellie.
Secondly, Mrs Lomond had also come to get an assurance from the judge that her son’s case will not be reopened. She was afraid that her son could be rearrested and punished as he was a suspect. However, the judge assured her that her son’s case once finished would not be reopened.
LANGUAGE WORK
What do the following phases in the lesson mean?
i. Wind is dying down = wind is subsiding.
ii. My cup of tea = of my interest
iii. Solitary sort of fellow = one who likes solitude.
iv. Untidy end = tragic end
v. Take one’s word = believe a person’s statement
vi. Go wrong = to commit a mistake
vii. Clean sheet = declare innocent.
viii. Wide awake = completely awake
ix. Get in = come in
x. Break one’s heart = to hurt some one
2. Find other words which can be used instead of the word/words in italics without changing the meaning of the sentences. You word must begin with p.
1. Strange – Peculiar
2. Farmers – Peasants
3. Feeling for or against a criminal – Prejudice
4. Specially – Particularly
5. Organized – Programmed
6. Way – Path
7. Strong – Powerful
8. Nice – Pleasant
GRAMMAR
Verbs/ Tenses used:
(i) The wind is dying down. (Present continuous)
(ii) It seldom does in these parts. (Present simple)
(iii) How did you get in here? (Past simple)
(iv) He left for Canada yesterday. (Past simple)
(v) I will get my car to take you home. (Future
simple)
Adverb:
An Adverb is a word which describes, (modifies) a verb, an adjective, another adverb a determiner, a noun phrase, clause, or sentence. Adverb shows ‘How, when, where, like things in a sentence.Example are:
Sweetly, Hastefully, Scornfully, Beggedly, very, Most, etc.Examples from text are:
The door is silently opened. She turns fiercely to Brodie.
Trying to speak lightly but failing.
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