Mrs Packletise's Tiger

Question 4.
Discuss the following questions in detail and write the answers in your notebooks :

(a) Do you think the tiger shooting organized by the villagers was a serious affair ?
Give f reasons for your answer.
Answer:
The tiger shooting organised by the villagers was a serious affair because Mrs.
Packletide had offered a thousand rupees for the opportunity of shooting a tiger
without taking much risk. A neighbouring village was chosen for the game killing.
The idea of earning a thousand rupees had egged on the villagers. They had posted
their children at the borders of the local jungle to head the tiger back to the village so
that it may not go to some fresh hunting grounds.

Mrs. Packletide was compelled to do this as the idea of her friend Loona Bimberton
boasting of her personally procuring a tiger-skin and popularity of the press
photographs could not be digested. Mrs. Packletides movements and motives were
largely governed by the dislike of ‘ Loona Bimberton.

Cheaper kind of goats were left about in a great number to keep the tiger satisfied.
All precautions were taken so as not to drive the tiger away. A platform was
constructed in a conveniently placed tree. Mis. Packletide even paid her companion
Miss Mebbin to accompany her to the shoot. For the villagers it seemed to be a
serious affair for as soon as the rifle flashed and the beast rolled over dead, a crowd
of excited natives came to the place shouting happily and carried the news to the
village. They were anxious for their thousand rupees. Mrs. Packletide faced the
cameras with a light and a happy heart.

(b) Do you think the writer is trying to make fun of the main characters in the story
i.e. Mrs. Packletide, Miss Mebbin and Loona Bimberton ? Pick out instances from the
story that point to this fact.
Answer:
This story is full of humour. The writer has tried to make fun of the society through
the characters of the three women in the story. The competitive and jealous nature
of Mrs. Packletide motivated her to game killing because her friend Loona Bimberton
had procured a tiger-skin and procured press photographs. Mrs. Packletide had even
offered a thousand rupees for this game without taking any risk and faced the
cameras happily showing that she had killed that beast but the fact was the tiger had
died of heart failure due to the loud sound of the rifle. ‘

Miss Mebbin was hired by Mrs. Packletide to accompany her to the game, she had a
protective attitude towards money and was greedy. She even made fun of Mrs.
Packletide by saying “If it is an old tiger you ought to get it cheaper”. Louisa Mebbin
had blackmailed Mrs. Packletide into buying her a pretty cottage for not letting out
the secret that the wrong animal had been killed. The writer makes fun of Mebbin
that she had named her cottage as “Les Fauves”.

Loona Bimberton has been presented as a shrewd person with a spiteful nature. She
had boasted about the tiger-skin but had refused to look at the illustrated paper for
weeks for it contained the pictures of Mrs. Packletide with her hunted tiger. Her
emotions seemed to be repressed as she wrote the letter of thanks for the gift of a
tiger claw-brooch. The writer has tried to make fun of three women who tried in their
own way to get popularity.

(c) A person who is vain is full of self importance and can only think of himself /
herself and can go to great lengths to prove his / her superiority. Do you think Mrs.
Packletide is vain ? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer:
Mrs. Packletide is a vain. It was not because of her pleasure that she should shoot a
tiger nor the lust came upon her. But her friend Loona Bimberton boasted about
getting a tiger skin and facing the cameras had made Mrs. Packletide envious of her
friend. The urge to face the camera herself forced her to offer a thousand rupees for
the chance of shooting a tiger without much effort. She was competitive in nature
which made her arrange for the shoot. She had already arranged a lunch in honour of
Loona Bimberton and even planned to give her a tiger claw-brooch. She wanted to
show her superiority by herself shooting a tiger so that she should also face the
camera. She tried to go to any lengths to prove this. She arranged for a paid
companion to accompany her for the shooting. All possible efforts were made to
make it a success. Even though the wrong animal was killed she faced the camera
boldly with the dead tiger to prove her courage.

(d) Sometimes writers highlight certain negative aspects in society or human beings
by making fun of it. This is called satire. In your groups discuss whether you would
classify this story as a satire. Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer:
The writer has used satire in the story. He has made fun of the characters in the
story to bring out the satire. Mrs. Packletide is a shrewd and competitive person, she
becomes jealous of her friend when she comes to know that Loona Bimberton has
got a tiger-skin and faced the press and procured photographs. She too out of her
pride arranges to shoot a tiger. She goes to the length of offering money to the
villagers. An old tiger is lured by cheaper goats.

The writer uses satire to make fun of the society that would do anything in order to
become famous as portrayed by Mrs. Packletide. The other side of the greedy
society is reflected by Miss Mebbin. She is a greedy lady who blackmails Mrs.
Packletide to buy her a cottage so that she would not give away the secret of the
wrong animal being killed. The villagers represent another group of the society who
are also greedy for money. For them money mattered more than the animal that was
shot, whether it was the goat or a tiger.
(e) How does the writer create humour in this story ?
Answer:
The story is full of humour. Mrs. Packletide arranges for the shooting. The funniest
part is that a weak tiger is arranged and cheaper goats are left to lure him. Mrs.
Packletide is not a good shooter but a platform is constructed in a tree and she sits
there with a rifle a thumb- nail pack of patience cards. The funniest part is as soon
as the tiger caught sight of the goat it lay flat on the earth, seemingly less from a
desire to take advantage of and attack its prey.

The rifle is shot with a loud bang and the great beast springs to one side and then
rolls over dead. Miss Mebbin makes fun of Mrs. Packletide by bringing out the fact
that the wrong animal had been killed. The bullet had hit the goat but the tiger had a
heart failure because of the loud noise of the rifle. The villagers shouted happily for
they were only anxious for their thousand rupees and gladly connived at the fiction
that she had shot the tiger. Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras happily and her
pictured feme reached the pages of Texas Weekly Snapshot.