PLOT OF THE PLAY
Mrs. Slater discovers that grandfather is dead.
Mrs. Slater instructs her daughter to put her white frock on a black sash.
Mr. Slater fetches the bureau and the clock from the upstairs.
The Jordans arrive and know in detail about grandfather's demise from the slaters.
The family sits down to have a tea.
They discuss about obituary announcement in the papers and the insurance premium payment.
Victoria is asked to fetch the bunch of keys to the bureau to look for the insurance receipt.
Grandfather comes down and is surprised to see the Jordans.
Grandfather comes to know how his daughters were in hurry to divide his belongings between them.
Grandfather announces his intention to change the will and to marry Mrs.Shorrock.
DIFFICULT WORDS AND THEIR MEANINGS
• PEARSON'S WEEKLY - A British weekly magazine founded by Sir Cyril Pearson (1866-1921) in 1890.
• Precocious - a person whose mental attitude is developed beyond his/ her age.
• Gallivanting - go about seeking pleasure.
• Colours - wearing gay dress
• Drive a hard bargain - to argue in an aggressive manner and force somebody to agree on the best possible arrangement.
• Money-grubbing - seeking greedily to obtain money at every opportunity.
• Ostentatiously – showily
• Piqued - experienced indignation
• As merry as a sandboy - extremely happy and care free.
• Poetic license - freedom to change facts or normal rules of language.
• 'Ring-O-Bells' - the name of a restaurant.
• Tomfoolery - foolish behavior
• Dickens - informal way of saying that you are annoyed or surprised.
MAJOR CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY
MR.ABEL MERRYWEATHER
Victoria's grandfather, an old widower.
Enjoys life,used to drinking.
Knows people have many faces.
Has an affair with Mrs. John Shorrock
Destroys his will and gets married again, leaving nothing for his daughters.
AMELIA SLATER/MRS. SLATER
Abel's daughter.
Looks after her father only for his possessions.
Is more interested in what mourning dress she should wear to out-stage her sister than having genuine feelings for her father.
Detests her sister and doesn't want her to gain anything for their father's will.
Steals her father's belongings so that her sister can't have them after his supposed death.
HENRY SLATER
Henry Slater, the husband of Amelia.
He is a stooping, heavy man with a drooping moustache.
He is not mean like his wife but he has no strength to contradict what his wife says.
When Amelia asks him to put on the slipper of grandfather, he is reluctant to do it.
He is a selfish and cunning, but not to the extent his wife is.
VICTORIA SLATER
Ten-year-old daughter of the Slaters.
Different from her parents and aunt.
Ignorant to the intentions of her mother.
Shows a streak of goodness despite being young.
Is fond of her grandfather
BEN JORDAN
Ben Jordan is the husband of Elizabeth.
He is a jolly little man accustomed to be humorous.
He has bright Chirpy little voice. Chirpily he remarks,We have all got to die sometime or other.
Even on a grave occasion, He humorously remark about the grandfather, If there was one thing he couldn't bear, it was water.
Internally he is very timid.
More money minded than Henry-throughout the play what keeps him worried is to find the receipt of the premium that the grandfather had paid at the insurance office.
ELIZABETH JORDAN
She is Ben's wife, Amelia's sister and Abel's daughter.
Equally insensitive, impolite and money minded like her sister.
She is real hypocrite.
She has a habit to drive a hard bargain over whatever she likes
Has a habit of grabbing all good things in the world-eyed on her father's valuable gold watch.
She does not leave any chance to disgrace her sister to get his father's property.
CBSE Class 10 English The Dear Departed Extrect Based Questions
1. I am amazed at you, Victoria; I really am.How you can gallivanting about in the street when your grandfather is lying dead and cold upstairs, I don't know. Be off now, and change your dress before your Aunt Elizabeth and your uncle Ben come. It would never do for them to find you in colours.
a) Who is the speaker of these lines?
b) Why does the speaker ask Victoria to change her dress?
c) What does the word amazed mean?
Answer. a) The speaker is Mrs.Slater.
b) The speaker asks Victoria to change her dress because Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Ben would be upset to see her in coloured dress as her grandfather is lying dead upstairs.
c) Surprised.
2. Elizabeths that sharp shell see )m after it, and she'll drive a hard bargain over it.Eh,what it is to have a low money grubbing spirit!
a) Who is the speaker of these lines?
b) Who will drive a hard bargain and why?
c) Who has a low money grubbing spirit?
Answer. a) Mrs. Slater is the speaker here.
b) Aunt Elizabeth will bargain hard over things which her sister is trying to get.
c) Elizabeth has low money grubbing spirit
3. No, for myself it's such a relief to get into the black. And now perhaps you' tell us all about it.What did the doctor say?
a) What is a great relief for the speaker?
b) What does the speaker mean by telling us all about it?
Answer. a) To get into the black dress for mourning is a great relief for the speaker.
b) It means that they want to know how grandfather died.
c) Mrs. Jordan is the speaker of these lines.
4. Well he must have gone round to the Ring-O-Bells afterwards ,for he came in as merry as a sand-boy.I says, We are only waiting for Henry to start dinner. Dinner, he says I don't want no dinner. Am going to bed!
a) Who must have gone to the Ring-O-Bells?
b) What is the Ring-O-Bells?
c) What does the word Sand-boy mean?
Answer. a) Abel Merryweather must have gone to the Ring-O-Bells.
b) It is a restaurant owned by Mrs.Shorrock.
c) Happy and jolly.
5. Amelia and Henry.They have stolen your clock and bureau. (Working herself up.)They sneaked into your room like a thief in night and stole them after you were dead.
a) Who is Amelia?
b) How did they steal the clock and the bureau?
c) Give the meaning of the word sneak?
Answer. a) She is Mrs. Slater.
b) They entered like thieves into grandfather's room after he was dead and stole the clock and the bureau.
c) Without being seen or heard.
Question. Why does Mrs. Slater decide to shift the bureau from grandfather's room before the arrival of the Jordans? How does Henry react to the suggestion?
Answer. Mrs. Slater decides to shift the bureau from grandfather's room because she knows that Elizabeth is a hard bargainer. She must have the bureau before Elizabeth arrives.Moreover, she 'always wanted to have it after he died. (enry asks her that she must arrange with Elizabeth when they are dividing the articles of grandfather.
Question. Why does grandfather think of destroying the old will and making another will? What does he intend to do?
Answer. When Henry asks grandpa if he made a will Abel replies that it was locked up in the bureau. He is thinking of destroying it and making another. He doesn't want to be hard on any one. He will leave all his belongings to whomever he is living with when he dies. He will not live alternatively with one of his daughters as he has been doing since his wife died.
Question. What three things grandfather is going to do on next Monday?
Answer. Abel Merryweather declares what he is going to do on next Monday. First of all he will go to his lawyer and alter his will. Then he will go to insurance office and pay his premium .In the end he will go to St.Phillip's Church to get married. He is going to marry Mrs. John Shamrocks who keeps the Ring-O-Bells.
Question. Insensitivity, vulgarity, greed and hierocracy are common characteristics shared by the two sisters. Compare and contrast Amelia and Elizabeth. Support your answer with evidence from the play?
Value points: Sisters Amelia and Elizabeth have things in common.
Sensitive in human, vulgar, greedy, hypocrite.
Not to leave opportunity to insult others.
Take away important belongings in his presence, supposed to be dead.
CBSE Class 10 English The Dear Departed Long Answer Question
1. Give a character sketch of Mrs. Slater comparing her with her sister Elizabeth.
VALUE POINTS:
1. Both the sisters-many traits common-insensitive, inhuman-greedy and money minded. Amelia is vigorous, plump red-faced and self-centered woman--Elizabeth is a stout -- complacent woman--. Both understand each other very well-- Amelia grabs grandpa's new pair of slippers-- bureau and clock before Elizabeth arrives -- she knows Elizabeth is very sharp -- will drive a hard bargain. Elizabeth – insensitive-- prefers to have tea first than going upstairs to see her father-- accuses grandfather of not paying the insurance premium. -- considers him a burden-- leaves no chance of humiliating Slaters-- exposes Amelia and Henry-- a real hypocrite.
2. Write the theme of the play The Dear Departed.
VALUE POINTS
Social drama-depicts the social message-advocates of giving due respect and love to old/elderly people - suffer loneliness and emptiness in their lives. The playwright aptly satirizes -the degradation of moral values in families - people give more importance to money and materialism –destroying the old culture of family ties-- running after money-- insensitivity defeating family bonds-disregarding decency and modesty to compete in this world—inhuman attitude--leaving their duties and responsibilities towards old people-humiliating humanity for the sake of money.
3 .Elderly/old people need to be treated with great care and love. How can we take care of elderly people?
VALUE POINTS:
1. Elderly people –must be treated with great care and love-materialistic people-no thought for modesty, decency and filial obligations-desire to move with time makes insensitive-forgetting our responsibility towards old people-think them burden—old people feel neglected and dull without a smile on their faces-suffer from loneliness- we need to take proper care—understand their needs—we should try to be a good caretaker—provide them better food and medicine –give emotional support and love.
