THE DEAR DEPARTED
WORKSHEET
Reference to the context:
1. “It would never do for them to find you in colours.”
(i) Identify the speaker and the listener.
Ans : The speaker is Mrs. Slater and the listener is her daughter Victoria.
(ii) Who is referred to as ‘them’ in the above statement?
Ans : ‘Them’ refers to Mrs. and Mr. Jordan.
(iii) Explain – ‘in colours’.
Ans : Victoria is wearing colourful clothes, whereas she should be wearing a mourning dress.
(iv) What is the context of the above remark?
Ans : Victoria’s grandfather is supposed to be dead.
2. “Elizabeth’s that sharp she’ll see I’m after it and she’ll drive a hard bargain over it. Eli, what it is to have a low money grubbing spirit?”
(i) What is Elizabeth’s relation with thespeaker?
Ans : Elizabeth is the speaker Mrs. Slater’s sister.
(ii) What bargain is being discussed here?
Ans : The plan of shifting the grandpa’s bureau before Elizabeth arrives.
(iii) Explain – low money grubbing spirit.
Ans : It refers to money-mindedness, or greed topossess things.
(iv) What do the above remarks reflect about the speaker’s attitude and nature?
Ans : The speaker herself is very mean,manipulative and clever.
3. “No, my child, Grandpa gave it to your mother before he died.”
(i) Identify the speaker and the listener.
Ans : The speaker is Henry Slater and he is addressing his daughter.
(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?
Ans : ‘It’ refers to the ‘bureau’
(iii) What impression do you form of the speakers from the above statement?
Ans : Both the Slaters are greedy and great hypocrites.
(iv) What do you think will be the impact of the above statement on the listener?
Ans : Victoria will end up losing respect for her parents.
4. “He is too honourable to have gone withoutpaying his premium.”
(i) Who is the speaker and who is the listener?
Ans : Mrs. Jordan is the speaker and her sister is the listener.
(ii) Who is “He” in the above statement?
Ans : ‘He’ is Abel Merryweather, Mrs. Slater and Mrs. Jordan’s father.
(iii) What is the speaker’s relation with the person mentioned.
Ans : She is Abel’s daughter.
(iv) What is the speaker’s conception of ‘honour’?
Ans : ‘Honour’ refers here to ‘paying one’s insurance premium.’
5. “I like ‘Never Forgotten’. It’s refined.”
(i) Who is the speaker?
Ans :Mrs. Jordan is the speaker.
(ii) What is the context of the above remark?
Ans : The discussion is regarding the obituary to be put in the newspaper.
(iii) For whom is ‘Never forgotten’ used?
Ans : For Abel Merryweather.
(iv) Point out the irony inherent in the above remark.
Ans : It was only in words that he was not forgotten in its reality both the daughters had forgotten him already.
6. “He’s done it on purpose, just to annoy us.”
(i) Identify ‘He’ and ‘us’.
Ans : ‘He’ is Abel Merryweather and ‘us’ means the Jordans and Slaters.
(ii) Mention the context of the above remark.
Ans : The discussion is whether Abel has paid his insurance premium or not.
(iii) What mistake has the person mentioned made?
Ans : Abel appears to have deliberately messed out paying the premium.
(iv) Do you think the speakers and the others like him deserve that kind of treatment?
Ans : Yes, they do because they are all very greedy
7. “Drat me if that isn’t my clock too. What thedevil’s been going on in the house?”
(i) What is the confusion regarding the clock?
Ans : Abel Merryweather’s clock has been pinched by his daughter.
(ii) What exactly has been going on in the house?
Ans : Mrs. Slater, the daughter, thought that her father was dead and she was taking away his things.
(iii) Who is the speaker and whom is he addressing?
Ans : The speaker is Abel and he is addressing his daughters.
(iv) What do the above remarks reflect about the listeners?
Ans : The listeners are very greedy and not attached to their father.
8. Mrs Jordan, “You know father, it’s quite time
you come to live with us again we’d make you
very comfortable.”
(i) What has brought about the above change in the speaker’s attitude?
Ans : The father’s new terms for the will has brought about this change.
(ii) What about the above turn of events?
Ans : Abel has announced that his money will go to the daughter with whom he would be staying at the time of his death.
(iii) Who is instrumental in this change and why?
Ans : The greedy nature of his daughters has brought this change.
(iv) What does it reflect about Mrs. Jordan’s character?
Ans : Mrs. Jordan is very mercenary, greedy and opportunistic.
9. I felt I was bit of a burden to you, so I found someone who’d think it a pleasure to look after me.
(i) For whom is the speaker supposed to be a burden?
Ans : Abel is supposed to be a burden for his daughters.
(ii) Who is the speaker and who are the listeners?
Ans : Abel is the speaker and both the daughters and their husbands are the listeners.
(iii) Who has the speaker found to look after him?
Ans : Abel has found a widow, Mrs. Shorrocks, to look after him.
(iv) How does the speaker’s decision affect the listeners?
Ans : The daughters are denied all the rights to the property and money of their father.
10. I’ll tell you what I’ve got to do. On Monday next
I’ve got to do three things.
(i) Who is the speaker?
Ans : Abel Merryweather, the father.
(ii) What has he decided to do?
Ans : He has decided to marry Mrs. Shorock, a widow, who runs a school in the neighbourhood.
(iii) Why did he take such a decision?
Ans : He took such a decision so that Mrs. Shorrocks would take care of him. His own daughters were very greedy and were not attached to him
Please click on below link to download CBSE Class 10 English The Dear Departed Worksheet
