Packing

Summary

Jerome is the narrator of the story. He is very proud of on his packing so he decides to do
the packing for holiday but his real intention is different. He wants his friends would do the
packing and he supervise their work. He feels irritated when he is working and other people
are relaxing. However, he does the packing but forgets many things outside so he has to
redo packing many times. Harris and George packed the hampers creating a lot of mess and
Montmorency, the dog being a nuisance. He had an ambition in his life to get in the way and
get scolded.
The packing was finally done past midnight and the three friends and agreed upon getting
up at half past six the next morning.

Comprehension Questions

1. What did the narrator pride himself on?
The narrator prided himself on packing. Packing is one of those many things that he
felt that he knew more about than any other person living.

2. How did the narrator intend to do the packing for their trip?
The narrator had intended to be the boss for the job of packing. He wanted Harris and
George to potter about under his directions. His aim was to teach them.

3. What irritated him about the behaviour of Harris and George?
When the narrator told his friends that he would pack, George spread himself over the
easy-chair, and Harris cocked his legs on the table. Their taking his suggestion that
way irritated him. There is nothing that irritated him more than seeing other people
sitting about doing nothing when he was working.

4. Why couldn’t the narrator sit still and see another man slaving and working?
The narrator couldn’t sit still and see another man slaving and working because he
wanted to get up and superintend and walk around with his hands in his pockets and
tell him what to do. According to him it was his energetic nature and he couldn’t help
it.

5. What was the state of the bag that the narrator had packed while he was trying to
find his toothbrush?
The narrator turned everything out of the bag but couldn’t find the tooth brush. He
had rummaged things up so much that he compares it to the chaos that reigned before
the world was created.

6. How and where did he find his toothbrush?
The narrator turned everything out of the bag but couldn’t find the tooth brush The
narrator found Harris and George’s toothbrush eighteen times over but couldn’t find
his own. He put the things back one by one, held everything up and shook them. He
found the toothbrush inside a boot.

7. Why did the narrator feel that things would become exciting when Harris and George
began packing?
Harris and George offered to pack the hampers because Jerome had taken a long time
in packing the bags and hampers had yet to be packed. They also wanted to show their
expertise to Jerome. Jerome looked at the piles of plates and cups, kettles and bottles,
jars and stoves, pies, cakes and tomatoes and felt that things would become exciting.

8. What did the narrator do while Harris and George packed the hampers? How did that
affect them?
The narrator did not say anything while the Harris and George were packing the
hampers. He sat on the edge of the table and watched them. This irritated them, made
them nervous and excited. They stepped on things, put things behind them. As a result
couldn’t find them when they wanted them. They put the light things below the heavy
ones and smashed them.

9. “I never saw two men do more with one-and two pence of butter in my whole life.”
Explain
While they were packing the hampers, George trod on the butter. After George had
got it off his slipper, they tried to put it in the kettle. It wouldn’t go in, and what was in
wouldn’t come out. They did scrape it out at last, and put it down on a chair, and
Harris sat on it, and it stuck to him, and they went looking for it all over the room till
George saw it behind Harris’ back . He got it off from there and packed it in a teapot.

10. How did Montmorency trouble Harris and George while they were packing the
hampers?
Montmorency came and sat down on things, just when they were wanted to be
packed; and he laboured under the fixed belief that, whenever Harris or George
reached out their hand for anything, it was his cold damp nose that they wanted. He
put his leg into the jam, and he worried the teaspoons, and he pretended that the
lemons were rats, and got into the hamper and killed three of them before Harris
could land him with the frying-pan.

11. ‘I said I generally preferred to sleep inside a bed. Harris said it was odd.
Why did Harris find it odd?
Harris must have found it odd because one doesn’t sleep inside a bed , one sleeps on it.

12. What did the narrator and Harris do when they found that George had been asleep
for sometime while they were arguing over the time to wake up?
George was to wake up the other two friends in the morning for their trip. While
Harris and Jerome were arguing over the time, George fell asleep. So, Harris and
Jerome placed the bath where he could tumble into it on getting out in the morning
and went to bed.

Answers to Text book questions

I. Discuss and answer each question in 30-40 words.

1. How many characters are there in the narrative? Name them.
There are four characters in the story - Jerome, George, Harris and the dog.

2. Why did the narrator (Jerome) volunteer to do the packing?
The narrator volunteered to do packing because he was of the opinion that he was
the best at packing. He felt proud of his packing and wanted to show it.

3. How did George and Harris react to this? Did Jerome like their reaction?
George and Harris agreed to Jerome, because they wanted to laze around while
Jerome would do the packing. Jerome was irritated by their reaction. Nothing
irritated him more than seeing other people sitting about doing nothing while he was
working.

4. What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack?
When Jerome offered to pack, his real intention was to supervise the work and that
Harris and George should potter about under his directions. He wanted to show his
ability through the supervision.

5. What did Harris say after the bag was shut and strapped? Why do you think he waited
till then to ask?
After the bag was shut and strapped, Harris mentioned that Jerome had not packed
the boots. He had waited till then to ask because he wanted to make Jerome realise
his mistake and ridicule his packing skills.


6. What ‘horrible idea’ occurred to Jerome a little later?
The ‘horrible idea’ that occurred to Jerome a little later was whether he had packed
his toothbrush or not. In the past also whenever Jerome travelled he could never
remember if he had packed his toothbrush. This thought haunted him and made his
life a misery.

7. Where did Jerome finally find the toothbrush?
Jerome finally found the tooth brush inside a boot when he was putting the things
back one by one after turning them out of the bag.

8. Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?
Jerome had to reopen the packed bag twice owing to his forgetfulness. Once he had
to reopen the bag as he had forgotten to pack the boots. The next time, he unpacked
when he realised he had packed his spectacles in.

9. What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?
George and Harris offered to pack the hampers because it was getting late and they
thought that Jerome had taken too much time. They also wanted to show their
packing skills to Jerome.

10. While packing the hamper, George and Harris do a number of foolish and funny things.
Tick the statements that are true.
 ✔ (i) They started with breaking a cup.
x (ii) They also broke a plate.
 ✔ (iii) They squashed a tomato.
 ✔ (iv) They trod on the butter
x (v) They stepped on a banana.
 ✔ (vi) They put things behind them, and couldn’t find them.
 ✔ (vii) They stepped on things.
x (viii) They packed the pictures at the bottom and put heavy things on top.
 ✔(ix) They upset almost everything.
x (x) They were very good at packing.

II. What does Jerome say was Montmorency’s ambition in life? What do you think of
Montmorency and why?
Montmorency’s ambition in life was to disturb people, to get somebody to stumble
over him and be sworn at in the bargain. This the narrator calls as the dog’s conceit.
Harry believed that Jerome encouraged him to behave in that manner but the
narrator says that a dog like him doesn’t need encouragement. It’s the natural
original sin that is born in him that makes him do things like that.
Montmorency was a mischievous little dog who loved creating troubles for others.
It always made a mess of everything the way most of the pet dogs do while in a
playful mood.
Montmorency behaved in the manner that he possibly because whenever he found
people busy with their work, he might have felt bored and wanted to get involved.
He meant no trouble intentionally.

Answer the following questions in two or three paragraphs (100 –150 words)

1.Of the three, Jerome, George and Harris, who do you think is the best or worst packer?
Support your answer with details from the text.
In spite of forgetting to pack certain things or getting confused about some things,
Jerome seems to be the best packer. He packs things the way they should be. He
knows what to keep first and what to keep last. He doesn’t create a mess all around.
It is difficult to select the worst packer from Harris and George. Harris smashes
tomato while packing the bottle of jam over it. George treads on butter and creates a
mess all around. Then he tries to put it in the kettle. After this Harris sits on the
butter kept on the chair. After the butter sticks to Harris’ back, both of them start
searching for it.
They put lighter things at the bottom and heavier things at the top. They even kept
things behind them and then kept searching for it. They made everything such a mess
Both George and Harris are equally horrendous in packing. Although Jerome took
time he packed without creating a mess.

2. How did Montmorency ‘contribute to the packing?
The packing escapade was already a messy job and Montmorency's contribution
made it even more tiresome. He did his level best to be a ‘perfect nuisance’. He came
and sat down on things, just when they were wanted to be packed. He put his leg into
the jam and worried the teaspoons. He also pretended that the lemons were rats. So
he got into the hamper and killed three of them before Harris could land him with
the frying-pan.

3. Do you find this story funny? What are the humorous elements in it?
This is a really funny story but at the same time it can be from many people’s real life.
To start with the language itself is humorous while depicting as mundane an activity
as packing. Discovery of toothbrush inside a boot is funny. George stepping on butter
is funny incident. The list can go on and on, like Harris sitting on butter, packing of
jam over tomato, packing of heavier thing over lighter things which the three friends
pack for their trip quite mirthful, but the way the author narrates all the incidents is
also entertaining. The first humorous element is that he offered to pack, George and
Harris leaves the whole matter to him. Consequently, he has to do packing though his
real intention was to boss the job. The second humorous element is that George
placed the butter on the chair and Harris sat on it and it stuck at his back. When they
searched it for packing it was missing. They walk and walk round the room. At last,
George saw it at Harris’s back. The third humorous element is the dog, Montmorency
whose behaviour brings its own amount of fun in the story. Even in the end their
argument about exact wakeup time is also full of humour.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1 Read the following extracts and answer the following questions.

(a) They fell into the suggestion with a readiness that had something uncanny about it.

i. What suggestion was given and by whom?

The narrator suggested to his two friends that they better leave the entire matter

of packing to him. Because he felt that he knew more about packing than any

other person living.

ii. Who is referred to as ‘they’ and what did they do on hearing the suggestion?

The narrator’s two friends, George and Harris are referred to as ’they’. When

they heard the suggestion, George spread himself over the easy chair and Harris

cocked his legs on the table.

iii. What was the narrator’s real intention?

The narrator’s real intention was to be a boss and give directions while George

and Harris did the work.

iv. Give the synonym of the word –‘uncanny’

strange/ weird

(b) I dream that I haven’t packed it, and wake up in a cold perspiration, and get out of

bed and hunt for it.

i. What is referred to as ‘it’?

‘It’ refers to the narrator’s toothbrush.

ii. How does ‘it’ trouble the narrator whenever he is travelling?

The narrator’s toothbrush haunts him whenever he is travelling and makes his

life a misery. He often has to repeatedly pack and unpack it.

iii. How has the narrator carried ‘it’ at the last moment?

At the last moment, the narrator has carried his toothbrush wrapped up in his

pocket handkerchief.

iv. Give the meaning of the phrase-‘in cold perspiration’

Experiencing sweating as a result of some anxiety or fear.

(c) Harris said that we should want to start in less than twelve hours’ time and thought

that he and George had better do the rest; and I agreed and sat down and they had a

go.

i. Who is referred to as ‘we’? What were they to do in less than twelve hours’ time?

The three friends- the narrator, Jerome, Harris and George are referred to as

‘we’. They were to go on a trip the next morning.

ii. What was the ‘rest’ that Harris and George had to do?

The hampers were left to be packed which Harris and George decided to do.

iii. Why did Harris and George agree to do the ‘rest’?

The narrator had finally finished packing at 10.05 p.m. and the hampers

remained to be done. They thought that Jerome had taken too much time. They

also wanted to show their packing skills to Jerome.

iv. Give the meaning of the phrase- ‘had a go’

make an attempt to do something

(d) Harris and I had a bit of a row over it, but at last split the difference and said half-

past six.

i. What was the row about?

Harris and the narrator had a row over the time George should wake them up

the next morning.

ii. What time did Harris want to be woken up and what time did the narrator want to be

woken up?

Harris wanted to be woken up at seven in the morning whereas the narrator

wanted to be woken up at six.

iii. What was George doing while they were having ‘a bit of a row’?

George had already fallen asleep while they were having a row about when he

should wake them up.

iv Explain- ‘split the difference’

This means that they agreed on 6:30 because it was halfway between six and

seven.

Q2 Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words.

(a) Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?

Jerome had to reopen the packed bag twice owing to his forgetfulness. Once he had to reopen the bag as he had forgotten to pack the boots. The next time, he unpacked when he realised he had packed his spectacles in.

(b) How and Where did the narrator find his toothbrush?

The narrator turned everything out of the bag but couldn’t find the tooth brush

The narrator found Harris and George’s toothbrush eighteen times over but

couldn’t find his own. He put the things back one by one, held everything up and

shook them. He found the toothbrush inside a boot.

Q3 Answer each of the following questions in 100-150 words.

(a) How did Montmorency trouble Harris and George while they were packing the

hampers?

Montmorency’s ambition in life was to disturb people, to get somebody to

stumble over him and be sworn at in the bargain

While Harris and George were packing, Montmorency came and sat down on

things, just when they were wanted to be packed; and he laboured under the

fixed belief that, whenever Harris or George reached out their hand for anything,

it was his cold damp nose that they wanted. He put his leg into the jam, and he

worried the teaspoons, and he pretended that the lemons were rats, and got into

the hamper and killed three of them before Harris could land him with the

frying-pan.

(b) Why did the narrator feel that things would become exciting when Harris and George

began packing? What did the narrator do while they were doing so and how did that

affect them?

Harris and George offered to pack the hampers because Jerome had taken a long

time in packing the bags and hampers had yet to be packed. They also wanted to

show their expertise to Jerome. Jerome looked at the piles of plates and cups,

kettles and bottles, jars and stoves, pies, cakes and tomatoes and felt that things

would become exciting. The narrator did not say anything while the Harris and

George were packing the hampers. He sat on the edge of the table and watched

them. This irritated them, made them nervous and excited. They stepped on

things, put things behind them. As a result couldn’t find them when they wanted

them. They put the light things below the heavy ones and smashed them.