Class 6 :: English Literature :: Dusk by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)
Dusk
by Saki
(Hector Hugh Munro)
Making Connections
Quick Answers
1. Here are some elements of the play you have just read. With close reference to the play, answer the questions that follow.
The plot is the chain of events or the basic structure of a play.
a. Outline the plot of this play.
Gortsby suspects that a young man is attempting to trick him then eventually he finds out a clue which turns his intuition about the man and he gets back to him to apologise and help him with a gold coin. Then while returning he discovers that the clue belongs to someone else.
The cast is the list of characters.
b. Circle the name that does not belong to the cast of this play.
Gortsby Crispin (Saki) young man old man
The setting tells us where and when the action happens.
c. Choose the right answer. This play is set -
- on the stage. [ ]
- in a park. [✓]
- on the street. [ ]
Reference to context
2. "Looks like extreme carelessness to me."
a. Who said this and to whom?
= Crispin said this to the young man.
b. What was the speaker referring to as 'extreme carelessness'?
= The young man lost his hotel and a cake of soap in the same afternoon. The speaker was referring to it as 'extreme carelessness'.
c. Did the speaker really consider the person careless? Give reasons for your answer.
= The speaker did not really consider the person careless as he was laughing while delivering this dialogue. He has said this in a mode of light joke.
3. "It's a lesson to us not to be too clever in judging people by circumstances."
a. Who said this? Who had learnt the lesson the speaker was referring to?
= Gortsby said this.
The speaker was referring to himself and his friend Crispin to learn the lesson.
b. Which circumstances was the speaker referring to?
= The speaker was referring to the time while he disbelieved the young man after hearing his story of loosing the hotel as he could not show the cake of soap he was out to buy.
c. Was the speaker really wrong in his judgement?
= The speaker was not really wrong in his judgement as we see that the young man was really a con man in the long run and the soap belonged to the old man who was previously sitting beside Gortsby and Crispin.
Read, reflect and write
4. According to the young man, what was the problem he faced?
= The young man got to London just that afternoon with plans to stay at the Patagonian Hotel in Berkshire Square. But unfortunately he found that the hotel had been pulled down some weeks ago and a cinema theatre was coming up on the site. Then his taxi driver recommended him another hotel and he lodged there.
Then he went out to buy a cake of soap as he hated using hotel soaps. Then he found that he had forgotten the name and address of the hotel. He had left the hotel with only a shilling and he had lest with only two pence in his pocket and nowhere to go for the night.
5. Why did the young man approach Gortsby and Crispin?
= According to the young man, he was in an adverse situation as he had forgotten the name and address of the hotel he had been staying and he is without sufficient money to spent the night in anywhere else. So he needed some help i. e. some monitory help from someone. So he approached Gortsby and Crispin if they could help him anyway.
6. Why did Gortsby ask the young man to show him the cake of soap?
= Gortsby asked the young man to show him the cake of soap as this was the proof to believe his story. The young man told Gortsby that he was glad as he had not thought the he was telling him an impossible story. Then Gortsby replied him that the weak point of his story was that the young man could not produce the cake of soap.
7. What convinced Gortsby and Crispin about the authenticity of the young man's story?
= Gortsby and Crispin was about to leave the place after the young man left. Then they found a cake of soap on the ground near the bench they were sitting on. That cake of soap convinced them about the authenticity of the young man's story.
8. Do you think Gortsby and Crispin were kind? Give a reason for your answer.
= Yes, I think Gortsby and Crispin were kind. At the beginning of the story Gortsby attended to the young man's actions and asked him about the cause of his bad temper. Then in the long run we see that as soon as they found the cake of soap, they rushed to the young man and apologised for their suspect. Then they helped him with a sovereign.
9. The play takes several unexpected turns. Which turn would you consider the true twist in the tale?
= I would consider the Scene 3 the true twist in the tale. It is the time when Gortsby and Crispin met the old man again and found out that he was looking for some cake of soap there at the bench.
10. Have you ever observed the colours of the sky at dusk? Find out what causes the colours of the sky.
= Yes, I have observed the colours of the sky at dusk. It is crimson. After the sun sets completely, the lights still come because of the scattering of the light. Molecules and small particles in the atmosphere change the direction of light rays, causing them to scatter.
About the playwright :
Saki (1870-1916) was the pen name of Hector Hugh Munro. He is known for writing short stories with surprising or unexpected endings. Most of his stories were written about the England of his times, though the situations depicted were generally unusual.
Setting of the play :
The time is about 6:30 in the evening. It is gradually getting darker. Sound of horse hooves in the distance, slowly getting fainter. A bench (centre).
Norman Gortsby, his friend Harry Crispin, and an old man, sitting on the bench. While Gortsby is well-dressed, the old man has a beaten look about him. He is wearing an old, well-worn suit. As Gortsby looks at him, the man gets up from the bench and walking slowly, exits left.