NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5 – Best Seller
Page No 51:
Question 3(a):
The narrator says that John was “______ of the stuff that heroes are not often lucky enough to be made of.” His tone is sarcastic because __________.
(i) he hated John
(ii) he felt that John was a threat to him
(iii) John was not particularly good-looking
(iv) nobody liked John
Answer:
(iii) John was not particularly good-looking
Question 3(b):
Pescud felt that best-sellers were not realistic as____________.
(i) American farmers had nothing in common with European princesses
(ii) men generally married girls from a similar background
(iii) American men married girls who studied in America
(iv) American men did not know fencing and were beaten by the Swiss guards
Answer:
(ii) men generally married girls from a similar background
Question 3(c):
“Bully”, said Pescud brightening at once. He means to say that ____________.
(i) he is a bully
(ii) his manager was a bully
(iii) he was being bullied by his co-workers
(iv) he was doing very well at his job
Answer:
(iv) he was doing very well at his job
Page No 52:
Question 3(d):
The narrator says that life has no geographical bounds implying that __________.
(i) human beings are essentially the same everywhere
(ii) boundaries exist only on maps
(iii) one should work towards the good of mankind
(iv) he was happy to travel to other countries
Answer:
(i) human beings are essentially the same everywhere
Question 4(h):
Describe John A. Pescud with reference to the following points:
Physical appearance ………………………………………………………………………………..
His philosophy on behaviour …………………………………………………………………….
His profession …………………………………………………………………………………………
His first impression of his wife …………………………………………………………………
His success …………………………………………………………………………………………….
Answer:
Physical appearance: John was not particularly good looking
His philosophy on behaviour: A man should be decent and law abiding in her/his hometown
His profession: A travelling salesman for a plate glass company
His first impression of his wife: A very fine girl, whose job was to make this world prettier just by residing in it
His success: Much successful John had had his salary raised twice in the previous year and his company was to give him a few shares as well.
Question 4(g):
John is a hypocrite. Do you agree with this statement? Substantiate your answer.
Answer:
John said that he did not believe in the romance portrayed in best sellers. He believed the stories too good to be true. However, his own story was fantastical. His wife, the only daughter of the oldest family in Virginia, met him, an ordinary travel salesman of a plate glass company, in a journey where he would have least expected to find his life partner. Their courtship also was too fantastical, and even after all the episode, the fashion in which Pescud criticised love stories of best sellers proves him to be a hypocrite.
Question 4(f):
Why did John get off at Coketown?
Answer:
Nothing more than a ragged hillside, Coketown, is where John deboards. The author was surprised if Pescud was to sell plate glass there. Then John told the author that the other day he took Jessie on a little trip to Philadelphia and how while coming back she thought she saw some petunias in a pot in one of the windows on the way. She used to raise some at her Virginia home. So he thought to drop off at Coketown to dig up some of the blossoms for her.
Question 4(e):
How did John’s first meeting with Jessie’s father go? What did the author tell him?
Answer:
When John first met Colonel Allyn, he was a little confused in the beginning. However, he did tell it all honestly, his motive to come to their residence, how he had followed Jessie from Cincinnati. He told her father all about his salary and prospects. He first felt that the father would throw him out but he still kept the conversation going. They went on discussing things for at least two hours, they even talked about ancestors. John asked for a chance and he promised if he would not be able to sweep Jessie off her feet then he would clear out.
Question 4(d):
What does John say about himself since his last meeting with the author?
Answer:
John, since his last meeting with the author was on the line of general prosperity. He had his salary doubled twice and had bought “a neat slice of real estate.” His company was to sell him some shares of stock the coming year. Much settled in life, he had even taken some time off to experience some romance of which he tells the author next.
Question 4(c):
What was John A. Pescud’s opinion about best sellers? Why?
Answer:
John A. Pescud widely disapproved of the best sellers as he believed them all to be alike. These novels appeared unrealistic to him as he believed that in reality a man when hunts down his girl to settle down, he looks out for her in his station and not like from these novels where an American swell from Chicago who falls in love with a royal princess from Europe. He said, “I don’t see why people go to work and buy hundreds of thousands of books which are best sellers. You don’t see or hear of any such capers in real life.”
Question 4(b):
Who was the passenger of chair No.9? What did he suddenly do?
Answer:
When the author first saw he could only see the head of the person sitting in the chair 9. The passenger hurled a book at the floor. The author noticed the book to be The Rose Lady and Trevelyan, one of the bestselling novels of the present day. Then the author realised the passenger in the chair 9 to be John A. Pescud of Pittsburgh, travelling salesman of a plate glass company, an old acquaintance whom the author had not met in two years.
Question 4(a):
One day last summer the author was travelling to Pittsburg by chair car. What does he say about his co-passengers?
Answer:
The author was travelling in a chair car in previous summer and he talked of the crowd as people of the kind one usually sees on the chair cars. Most of them happened to be ladies draped in brown-silk dresses cut with square yokes with lace insertion and dotted veils, they would refuse to have windows raised. There were many men, one could not predict their business judging them by their looks, and they could be just going about anywhere.
Question 5:
Complete the flow chart in the correct sequence as it happens in the story.
Hint: it begins from the time John Pescud first saw Jessie till the time they marry.
(1)
|
Jessie takes a sleeper to Louisville.
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(2)
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Pescud sees a girl (Jessie) reading a book in the train.
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(3)
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Pescud speaks to the girl (Jessie) for the first time.
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(4)
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Pescud follows her but finds it difficult to keep up.
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(5)
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Pescud goes to the village to find out about the mansion.
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(6)
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Jessie arrives at Virginia.
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(7)
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Pescud meets Jessie’s father.
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(8)
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They get married a year later.
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(9)
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Pescud instantly gets attracted to the girl (Jessie)
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(10)
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Jessie informs Pescud that her father would not approve of them meeting.
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(11)
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They meet alone two days later.
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Answer:
(2)
|
Pescud sees a girl (Jessie) reading a book in the train.
|
(9)
|
Pescud instantly gets attracted to the girl (Jessie)
|
(1)
|
Jessie takes a sleeper to Louisville.
|
(4)
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Pescud follows her but finds it difficult to keep up.
|
(6)
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Jessie arrives at Virginia.
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(5)
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Pescud goes to the village to find out about the mansion
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(3)
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Pescud speaks to the girl (Jessie) for the first time.
|
(10)
|
Jessie informs Pescud that her father would not approve of them meeting.
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(7)
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Pescud meets Jessie’s father.
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(11)
|
They meet alone two days later
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(8)
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They get married a year later.
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Page No 53:
Question 7:
A newspaper reporter hears of the marriage of Pescud and Jessie. He interviews them and writes an article for the paper entitled: A Modern Romance
Working in groups of four, write the article.
Answer:
A sample answer has been provided for students’ reference.
It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.
Not all of us are lucky enough to be blessed with such a blissful marriage that is preceded by a fantastic love story. We looked up for stories that would interest the readers and we finally came across a couple who started their journey from Cincinnati when John A. Pescud first saw Jessie Allyn, his now dear wife. Before he had met her, he was of a view that the best selling romantic novels are all fictitious stuff. He called them groundless and unbelievable, where all was so unrealistic. John was a man devoted to his profession. He was a travelling salesman for a plate-glass company at that time, he was a professional who believed little in romance. However, destiny had another plan for him. He had to be on that train going towards Cincinnati and meet the lovely lady from Virginia who had travelled to Illinois to visit her ailing aunt. On route, John saw Jessie and he describes the his sentiments by praising her that “she read a book and minded her business, which was to make the world prettier and better just by residing in it.” John was sure of what he wanted. He had made up his mind to win Jessie over. Like a passionate young man, he followed her up till her home and decided to talk her out.
He planned it all and lodged in a hotel near by and gathered the information about the Allyns from the landlord. The Allyns lived proudly in the big white house on the hill. Colonel Allyn possessed the reputation of the biggest man and the finest quality in Virginia or anywhere else. Finally, on the third day he found the young lady walking in the front yard of her home. He tried to interact with her in a manner that would disguise his intentions. However, what he gathered, astounded him. That magnificent beauty that bowled him over had known of him chasing her since long. She was elegant and shy. She had anticipated him and it was a pleasant surprise for John. The way Jessie said for her father, it was clear that she was never to go against his wish and was a true lady. However, like a true American hero, John visited Allyns and got to not just meet Colonel but also impress him by being honest about his motives.
In next meetings the Pescud and Allyn got a chance to get to know each other more. Colonel inquired about Pescud’s family and became sure of that the man was right for his daughter. Now Jessie and John A. Pescud are blissfully married and like a perfect husband John even digs out blossoms for Jessie.
Question 6.a):
Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning. Working in pairs, bring out the irony in the following:
The title of the story, “The Best sellerâ€.
Answer:
A sample answer has been provided for students’ reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.
In the beginning of the story, John A Pescud expresses his views against the best-sellers that deal with the love stories of ‘American swell[s]’ and royal princesses from a distant land. Ironically, Pescud’s own love story is very much along the lines of those described in these best-sellers. The title of the story brings out this irony in a very apt manner: while claiming to dislike the hero of the best-seller “The Rose and Trevelyanâ€, Pescud himself ends up becoming yet another Trevelyan.
Question 6.b):
Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning. Working in pairs, bring out the irony in the following:
Pescud’s claim, “When people in real life marry, they generally hunt up somebody in their own station. A fellow usually picks out a girl who went to the same high-school and belonged to the same singing-society that he did.â€
Answer:
A sample answer has been provided for students’ reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.
Although, in these lines, Pescud is saying how in reality a man chooses the woman he wants to marry from her vicinity, rather, he goes on to marry a woman who is from Virginia, far away from his home. He follows her up to her home and then wins her over and convinces her father as well. While he is a middle class working professional, Jessie is the only daughter of the oldest family of her state who lives in a 50 rooms mansion. They are from different worlds and yet their paths met in a fantastic situation. They were unknown to each other and yet Pescud knew that she is the one just by seeing her. When reality befell on him it was way too different from what he had thought.
Question 6.c):
Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning. Working in pairs, bring out the irony in the following:
The name Trevelyan.
Answer:
A sample answer has been provided for students’ reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.
Trevelyan is the name of the hero in the novel that Pescud is reading when he met the author in the train. He goes on scathingly criticising the character of his romantic ways, as he appeared mushy romantic. However, once in love with Jessie, John himself goes on breaking all the rules to woo her and win her over. His own love story is nevertheless from that of Trevelyan.
