Question 1.
See textbook on page 43.
A classroom activity.
Question 2.
See textbook on page 43.
A classroom activity.
Question 3.
Based on your reading of the story, answer the following questions by choosing the correct option.
(a) The narrator says that John was “_____ of the suff 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.
(iii) John was not particularly good-looking.
Question 4.
Answer the following questions briefly.
(a) One day last summer the author was travelling to Pittsburg by chair car. What does he say about his co-passengers?
(b) Who was the passenger of chair No. 9? What did he suddenly do?
(c) What was John A. Pescud’s opinion about best sellers? Why?
(d) What does John say about himself since his last meeting with the author?
(e) How did John’s first meeting with Jessie’s father go? What did the author tell him?
(f) Why did John get off at Coketown?
(g) John is a hypocrite. Do you agree with this statement? Substantiate your answer.
(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
(a) One day last summer, the author was travelling to Pittsburgh by chair car on business. Most of the passengers were ladies. They were in brown-silk dresses cut with square yokes, laces and dotted veils. There were men who looked as if “they might be in almost any business.” However, his attention was drawn by the black, bald- spotted head just visible above the back of seat No. 9.
(b) John A. Pescud was the passenger of chair No. 9. Suddenly he hurled a book on to the floor between his chair and the window. The book was named “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan”. It was one of the best-selling novels
of the present day.
(c) John A. Pescud didn’t hold a very high opinion about best sellers. The fiction writers are not consistent with their scenes and characters. They are far removed from reality. Their account is highly unreal, exaggerated and romantic. Sometimes the American hero falls in love with a royal princess from Europe. He follows her to her father’s kingdom. But in real life people choose life- partners belonging to their own status.
(d) The author asked John how he was getting along with the company. John replied that he was getting on pretty well. He had his salary raised twice since they met last time. He got a commission too. He had bought a “neat slice of real estate”. The firm was going to sell him some shares of stock. He was “in on the line of General Prosperity”. He also broke the news that he got married eighteen months ago.
(e) John met Jessie’s fatter at his ancestral house. At eleven sharp, he rang the bell. An old man about eighty showed up and asked what he wanted. John showed him his business card. He told the old man how he followed his daughter from Cincinnati, his business, salary and prospects. Then the old man related anecdotes and humorous occurrences. The Colonel expressed that he had never been so fortunate as he felt after meeting him.
(f) John got ready to get off at Coketown. The author was surprised as the place didn’t hold much prospect for selling plate-glass. However, John told that while coming back from Philadelphia, his wife Jessie saw some petunias in a pot in one of the windows there. She used to raise such flowers in her old Virginia home. So he thought of getting off there to dig up some of the cuttings or blossoms for her.
(g) John is a hypocrite. What he says, he does the opposite. He expresses his uncharitable views regarding the best-sellers as they are far removed from reality. They are too romantic. But in real life people marry somebody in their own status. But John is another Trevelyan. He is just a commercial traveller but runs after Jessie whose father is a lineal descendant of belted earls. He is searching petunias for his ‘princess’.
(h)
- Physical appearance. A small man with a wide smile and an eye fixed on the end of the nose. A bald-spotted head.
- His philosophy on behaviour. When a man is in his home town, he ought to be decent and law-abiding.
- His profession. Travelling salesman for a plate-glass company.
- His first impression of his wife, ‘…the finest looking girl. Nothing spectacular but just the sort you want for keeps’.
- His success. Salary raised twice in a couple of years. Got a commission. Bought real estate. The firm going to sell some shares of stock. On the line of‘General Prosperity’.
Question 5.
Complete the flow chart in the correct sequence as it happens in the story.
Hint: It begins from the time the author first saw Jessie till the time they marry.
Question 6.
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:
(a) The title of the story, “The Best Seller”.
(b) 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.”
(c) The name Trevelyan.
(a) Ram: The title of the story, “The Best Seller” is ironical.
Sita: That it is. Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite to their literal meaning.
Ram: John A. Pescud doesn’t like ‘best-sellers’ like “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan.”
Sita: He thinks that they present a highly unreal, exaggerated and romantic version of life.
Ram: But he himself is the “Best Seller”.
Sita: After all, he is a travelling salesman. He knows all the tricks and arts of selling.
Ram: And he sells such an incredible story.
Sita: He criticises Trevelyan but imitates his real life.
Ram: He is another Trevelyan hunting for petunias for his princess Jessie Allyn.
(b) Ram: Don’t you feel John A. Pescud is a hypocrite.
Sita: Without any doubt, he is.
Ram: Pescud claims “When people in real life marry, they generally hunt up somebody in their own station.”
Sita: He thinks that “A fellow usually picks out a girl who went to the same high school and belonged to the same singing society that he did.”
Ram: What John A. Pescud claims, he does just the opposite.
Sita: This is what irony is. He criticises best¬sellers.’ They present a highly unreal, exaggerated and romantic version of life.
Ram: But John doesn’t marry a sales girl. He falls in love with the “finest looking girl, a descendant of belted earls. She was the owner of a grand mansion as big as the Capitol at Washington
(c) Ram: In the end, the narrator wishes good luck to John, calling him Trevelyan.
Sita: The address is ironical.
Ram: Trevelyan falls in love with a royal Princess from Europe. He follows her to her father’s kingdom or principality.
Sita: And John A. Pescud does exactly the same.
Ram: John criticises the hero of “The Rose and Trevelyan” but imitates him.
Sita: He doesn’t run after a sales girl but after the finest girl, a descendant of belted earls.
Ram: And this modem Trevelyan hunts petunias for her princess Jessie Allyn in Coketown.
A newspaper reporter hears of the marriage of Pescud and Jessie. He interviews them and writes an article for the paper entitled: A Modem Romance.
Working in groups of four, write the article.
A Modern Romance
It happens. It may defy logic or reason but it happens. This is what they call a “modem romance”. It happens not only in the best sellers like “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan” but even elsewhere. Our hero is John A. Pescud. He is a travelling salesman of a plate-glass company. He is doing rather fine in his professional life. He had had a raise in salary twice in two years and bought some real estate. Our hero strongly believes in traditional middle class values. He hates running after princesses and thinks that a person should choose a girl of his background and status. He hates Trevelyan, the American hero from Chicago falling in love with a royal European princess and following her to her father’s kingdom.
So far so good. But our hero, John A. Pescud is clean-bowled when he sees “the finest looking girl” in the train while going to Cincinnati. He falls in love at the first sight. He follows her right up to Elmcroft, a place deep in Virginia. He finds that she is the daughter of Colonel Allyn who is a lineal descendant of betted earls. The Allyns live in a huge mansion as big as the Capitol at Washington. The girl pretends to be a princess who doesn’t want to talk to a commoner. She even threatens him not to meet her father who can feed him to his fox hounds if he does so. Pescud meets the Colonel. He hides nothing and tells him that he wants to win the love of his daughter. The Colonel makes him comfortable and relates anecdotes and humorous occurrences. John and Jessie meet again. And lo! They are married after a year. Do you know what is our hero doing now? Our Trevelyan is hunting for petunias in Coketown for his princess. Good luck, Trevelyan! I mean, John A. Pescud.
Question 7.
“Say,” said Pescud, stirring his discarded book with the hand, “did you ever read one of these best-sellers? I mean the kind where the hero is an American swell-sometimes even from Chicago—who falls in love with a royal princess from Europe who is travelling under an alias and follows her to her father’s kingdom or principality? I guess you have. They’re all alike. (Page 44)
(a) Name the discarded book.
(b) What do you mean by the term ‘alias’?
(c) What does ‘They’ refer to here?
(a) The Rose Lady and Trevelyan.
(b) A false or different name.
(c) Best-sellers.
Question 8.
“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.” (Page 44)
(a) Who is the speaker here?
(b) What does the phrase ‘their own station’ mean here?
(c) What do you know about the social status of the speaker’s wife?
(a) John A. Pescud is the speaker.
(b) Of the same (family) background.
(c) The speaker’s wife was far above his background and status.
Question 9.
“Bully,” said Pescud, brightening at once. “I’ve had my salary raised twice since I saw you, and I get a commission, too. I’ve bought a neat slice of real estate. Next year the firm is going to sell me some shares of stock. Oh, I’m in on the line of General Prosperity. (Page 45)
(a) Who does ‘you’ refer to here?
(b) Why is Pescud happy with the company?
(c) What does the word ‘Bully’ here mean?
(a) The narrator is referred to here.
(b) Pescud is happy with the company because they raised his salary twice in two years.
(c) Doing very well at the job.
Question 10.
“And then I told her why I.had come, as respectful and earnest as I coujd. And I told her everything about myself, and what I was making, and how that all I asked was just to get acquainted with her and try to get her to like me. (Page 47)
(a) Who is the speaker and who is he talking to?
(b) Who does ‘her’ refer to here?
(c) When did the speaker see ‘her’?
(a) The speaker is John A. Pescud and he is talking to the narrator.
(b) Jessie Allyn.
(c) The speaker saw ‘her’ when he was going to Cincinnati in a chair-car.
Question 11.
“We talked two hours. I told him everything I knew; and then he began to ask questions and I told him the rest. All I asked of was to give me a chance. If I couldn’t make a hit, with the little lady, I’d clear out, and not bother any more.
(a) Who does ‘we’ here refer to?
(b) Who was the ‘little lady’?
(c) What does the expression ‘If I couldn’t make a hit with the little lady’ mean? ’
(a) John A. Pescud and Colonel Allyn are referred to here.
(b) Jessie Allyn was the ‘little lady’.
(c) If I don’t win her heart.
Question 12.
‘He’s coming,’ says she. ‘He’s going to tell you, this time, the story about the old African and the green watermelons. It always comes after the one about the Yankees and the game rooster. There was another time she goes on, ‘that you nearly got left-it was at Pulaski City. (Page 50)
(a) Who does ‘He’ here refer to?
(b) Who does ‘you’ here refer to?
(c) What is the word ‘Yankees’ used for?
(a) ‘He’ refers to Colonel Allyn here.
(b) John A. Pescud is referred to here.
(c) North Americans.
Question 13.
“I married a year ago” said John, “I told you I built a house in the East End. The belted-I mean the Colonel-is there, too. I find him waiting at the gate whenever I get back from a trip to hear any new story, I might have picked up on the road,” (Page 50)
(a) Who did John marry?
(b) Who was so fond of stories?
(c) What does the word ‘belted’ here mean?
(a) John married Jessie Allyn.
(b) Colonel Allyn was fond of stories.
(c) A man given a sword and a belt by the king.
Question 14.
“Good-luck to you, Trevelyan,” I said. “And may you get the petunias for your princess !” Questions
(a) Who speaks these words?
(b) Who was Trevelyan? 1
(c) Who is the ‘princess’ mentioned here?
(а) The narrator speaks these words.
(b) Trevelyan was the hero of the novel ‘The Rose Lady and Trevelyan’.
(c) Jessie Allyn.
Question 15
I learned back idly in chair no. 7, and looked with trepidest curiosity at the small, black, bald-spotted head just visible above the back of no. 9.
(a) Who is T here ? Where is he ?
(b) What kind of person do you think he is ?
(c) Give the meaning of the word “trepidest”.
(a) T is here the narrator of the story. He is sitting in a chair-car in a train.
(b) He is a keen observer.
(c) ‘the highest degree of fear/worry’.
Question 16:
A tall old man, with a smooth face and white hair looking as proud as Julius Caesar was there to meet her. His clothes were frazzled but I didn’t notice that till later.
(a) Who was the tall old man whom Pescud saw ?
(b) Who is ‘her’ here ?
(c) Why did not the speaker notice that the old man’s clothes were ‘frazzled’.
(а) He was Colonel Allyn, the father of Jessie whom Pescud married.
(b) ‘Her’ is here Miss Allyn.
(c) He did not notice the old man’s clothes as he was busy watching his daughter.
Question 17
We talked for two hours. I told him everything I knew; and then he began to ask questions and I told him the rest. All I asked of was to give me a chance.
(a) Who are ‘we’ ?
(b) What did the speaker tell him ?
(c) What kind of chance was he expecting ?
(a) ‘We’ are John A. Pescud and Colonel Allyn.
(b) The speaker told him all about himself.
(c) He was expecting the chance of marrying his daughter.
Question 18:
And then I told her why I had come, as respectful and earnest as I could.
(а) Who is the speaker ? Who is ‘her’ ?
(b) What did the speaker tell him ?
(c) Give the meaning of the word ‘earnest’.
(a) The speaker is John A. Pescud. ‘Her’ is Miss Jessie, whom Pescud married later.
(b) The speaker told her that his purpose in coming there was to marry her.
(c) ‘serious’.
Question 19
I must not talk to you’, she says, because we have not been introduced. It is not exactly proper. So I say good-bye, Mr.
(a) What was not proper ?
(b) Who is ‘Mr.’ ?
(c) What is the speaker trying to explain ?
(a) ‘I’ is the narrator of the story.
(b) Pescud disliked writers mixing scenes and characters from different backgrounds.
(c) ‘not changing/in harmony’.
Question 20:
“Good luck to you, Trevelyan”, I said, “And may you get the petunias for your princess!”
(a) Why is Pescud called Trevelyan by the narrator here ?
(b) Who is the ‘princess’ ?
(c) Give the meaning of‘petunias’.
(a) Pescud was called Trevelyan by the name of the hero of the novel ‘The Rose Lady and Trevelyan’ because he was just like the romantic Trevelyan.
(b) The ‘princess’ is Pescud’s wife whom he loves dearly.
(c) ‘White, pink, purple or red flowers of the plant called petunias’.
Question 21:
“Excuse me,” says I, ‘can you tell me where Mr Hinkle lives. She looks me as cool as if I was the man come to see about the weeding of the garden, but I thought I saw just a twinkle of fun in her eyes..
(a) Why did the speaker ask about ‘Mr Hinkle’ ?
(b) How did the girl look at him the way she does ?
(c) Give the meaning of the word ‘weeding’.
(a) There was nobody called Mr Hinkle. The speaker invented him as an excuse to start conversation with the lady.
(b) The girl looked at him with pretended aloofness and disinterestedness.
(c) ‘taking out weeds (wild plants) from the ground.’
Question 22:
“I was on the south-hound, going to Cincinnati, about eighteen months ago, when I saw, across the aisle, the finest looking girl I’d ever laid eyes on.
(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) Which mode of transport did he take while going to Cincinnati ?
(c) What do you mean by ‘aisle’ ?
(a) The speaker is John Pescud.
(b) He took a train while going to Cincinnati.
(c) ‘a passage between rows of seats.’
Question 23:
Suddenly no. 9 hurled a book to the floor between his chair and the window, and looking, I saw that it was ‘The Rose Lady and Trevelyan’-one of the best novels of the present day.
(a) Who is 1’ in these lines ?
(b) Which book attracted his attention ?
(c) Give the meaning of the word ‘hurled’.
(a ) T is the narrator of the story.
(b) The book which attracted his attention was a novel entitled ‘The Rose Lady and Trevelyan.’
(c) ‘thrown’.
Question 24:
By way of facts he told me that business had picked up since the party conventions and that he was going to get off at Coketown.
(a) Who is ‘he’ mentioned here ?
(b) Why did he want to get off at Coketown ?
(c) Give the meaning of‘to get off.
(a) ‘He’ is John A. Pescud of Pittsburgh, the travelling salesman for a plate- glass company.
(b) He wished to buy petunias for his wife.
(c) ‘to board down’.
Question 25:
“Listen to this”, said he. “Trevelyan is sitting with the Princess Alwyna at the back end of the tulip-garden.
(a) Who are Trevelyan and Princess Alwyna referred to ?
(b) Who is ‘he’ in this extract ?
(c) What is‘tulip’?
(a) They are the hero and the heroine of the best seller “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan”.
(b) ‘He’ is John A. Pescud, the travelling salesman for a plate-glass company.
(c) ‘a large brightly coloured spring flower’.
Question 26:
“Men are very clumsy,” said she. “I know you were on every train. I thought you were going to speak to me, and I’m glad you didn’t”.
(а) Who is she talking to and when ?
(b) How had John A. Pescud chased her ?
(c) Give the meaning of‘clumsy’. .
(a) She is talking to John A. Pescud when the latter approaches her at her home.
(b) John A. Pescud had chased her, changing cars and taxis until he reached her home.
(c) ‘awkward’.
Question 27:
“So I told it to him. Laugh! I was wishing to myself that he was a customer. What a hill of glass I’d sell him!
(а) Who is ‘I’ and who is being talked to ?
(b) What does a ‘bill of glass’ stand for ?
(c) What assessment do you make of the speaker ?
(a) ‘I’ is John A. Pescud talking to the Colonel, father of Jessie.
(b) It stands for his transaction in love; if successful, it could make him very rich.
(c) He is. very shrewd, persistent in his pursuits.
Question 28:
“You won’t sell much plate-glass here, John”, said I. “Why do you get off at this end-o’-the world ?”
(а) Why does the narrator point out that John won’t sell much plate-glass there ?
(b) Where was John getting off and why ?
(c) Explain ‘end-o’-the world’ ?
(a) The narrator points this fact to John as the place where he was alighting was almost a deserted place.
(b) He was getting off at Cocktown to get some petunias for his wife.
(c) ‘a place beyond which there is nothing.’
Question 29:
Nothing spectacular, you know, but just the sort you want for keeps.
(a) Who does the speaker talk about ?
(b) What is his opinion about the person talked of?
(c) Give the meaning of‘spectacular’ ?
(a) The speaker talks about the girl (now his wife) whom he chased for long.
(b) He has very nice opinion about the person he talks about.
(c) ‘impressive/extraordinary.’
Question 30:
“No, no,” said John, “No romance-nothing like that! But I’ll tell you about it.”
(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) What does he deny ?
(c) Give the meaning of‘romance’.
(a) John Pesud is the speaker.
(b) He denies having engaged in a romantic affair.
(c) ‘exciting love affair.’
Question 31:
“He’ll feed you to his fox-hounds”, says she, laughing.
(а) Who is he ? who is she ?
(b) Does she mean what she says ? Why does she say it ?
(c) What do you mean by ‘fox-hounds’ ?
(a) He is Colonel Allyn and she is his daughter, Jessie.
(b) She does not mean what she says. She says it just to frighten him.
(c) ‘hunting dogs’.
Question 32:
At first, I thought he was going to throw me out of the window, but I kept on talking.
(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) Who he was talking to, and about what ?
(c) Find the word in the line which means ‘fling’.
(a) John Pescud is the speaker.
(b) He was talking to Colonel Allyn about the purpose of his visit.
(c) ‘throw’
Question 33:
“‘And you came mighty near missing the train at Powhatan Junction, too’, says she, with a laugh that sounded as good as a mileage-book to me.
(a) Who is the speaker ?
(b) What do you think of her ?
(c) What does ‘mighty’ mean here ?
(a) Jessie, the girl whom John Pescud chased for long and then married, is the speaker here.
(b) She is a clever and intelligent girl with a sense of keen observation.
(c) ‘very’.
Question 34:
Where was the narrator going ? What did he observe in his chair car ?
The narrator was going to Pittsburgh by train. He observed that most of the passengers were ladies who refused to have the windows raised. Then there were men-passengers who looked totally carefree. The narrator also noticed a bald-spotted head in chair no.9.
Question 35:
How did the narrator meet John A. Pescud, his casual acquaintance ?
The man sitting in chair no.9 in the train threw a best seller entitled ‘The Rose Lady and Trevelyan’ between his chair and the window. When he veered his chair toward the window, the narrator saw his face. He recognized him at once as John A. Pescud from Pittsburgh.
Question 36:
What is the usual sight in chair cars as described by O. Henry in the lesson ‘Best Seller’ ?
Most of the passengers in chair cars remain silent. They travel without bothering about fellow passengers. Some of them indulge themselves in reading books or magazines. No one tries to talk or socialize.
Question 37
Even though Pescud fell in love with the girl at first sight, he narrates everything casually. Why did he behave like this ?
There is no doubt that Pescud fell in love with the girl at first sight. He followed her like a romantic lover in a best seller. But he did not want to project himself as a romantic person. So he narrated everything casually.
Question 38:
Where and how did John A. Pescud meet his ‘affinity’ for the first time ?
John A. Pescud met his ‘affinity’ in a train for the first time. The girl was travelling in the same train in which Pescud was travelling. She was so attractive that Pescud fell in love with her at first sight. He began to chase her.
Question 39:
The girl changed trains to reach her destination. Why did Pescud follow her ?
The girl changed trains to reach her destination. She had come to know that she was being chased. However, she failed to evade the man, who was John A. Pescud. Pescud continued to follow her to know where she lived.
Question 40
Pescud used his salesmanship to befriend her father. Explain.
Pescud tried to befriend the father of the girl whom he had been following doggedly. He was at first confused. So he tried to sell him some plate-glass. When he got over his nervousness he told him everything. He did not even hide the fact that he wanted to marry his daughter.