Gregory wishes to write a letter to his younger brother, Ronald Perkins, to encourage him to work harder for his exams. Which of the following is a suitable salutation for this letter?

Q. Mr. Hoggins is writing a letter to his friend, David Miller, informing him that he will be in town the next week to visit. Which of the following is an appropriate salutation for the letter?

Q.

Answer the following questions:

(a) Johan Perkins prophesied to himself with gloomy and downtrodden cynicism the foregone conclusions of the monotonous day’. Make a list of the things that John Perkins expects to find on reaching home. Why has he been described as being ‘gloomy and downtrodden’?

(b) Why has the writer added the adjective ‘blushing’ to describe the strawberry marmalade? What is making it blush? Do you think Perkins enjoyed the dinner? Give reasons for your answer.

(c) What does the nightly gas leak refer to? Who is responsible for this leak?

(d) Quote the sentence from the text that tells us that John’s wife would become very angry. What would make her so angry? What effect did it have on their marriage?

(e) ‘To-night John Perkins encountered a tremendous upheaval of the commonplace when he reached his door’. What upheaval was Perkins faced with? What was responsible for this extraordinary occurrence?

(f) Describe the condition of the flat when Perkins reaches it. What are the feelings generated in him at this sight?

(g) How does Perkins learn about the whereabouts of his wife?

(h) ‘Tears:-- yes, tears -- came into John Perkins’s eyes. When she came back things would be different’. Why is the word ‘tears’ stressed twice? What resolutions does Perkins make while tidying up his room? Does he stick to these resolutions?

(i) Why does Katy return so unexpectedly?

(j) ‘The cog-wheels’ of the ‘the Frogmore flats buzzed its machinery back into the Order of Things’. Who or what do the ‘cog-wheels’ refer to? What was the ‘order of things’?

(k) ‘John Perkins looked at the clock. It was 8.15’ Why is the time significant?

(l) ‘At a quarter past eight he would summon his nerve.’ Who had to summon his nerve? Why did he have to do so?

(m) Do you agree with the title of this story? Why/Why not?

(n) Why has the room been described as one with its essence gone, life and soul departed? What are the other phrases used to describe the empty house?

(o) The relationship between the man and his wife has been described as being ‘like the air he breathed; necessary, but scarcely noticed.’ What is the literary device used here? How does the device drive home the meaning forcefully?