Answer the questions

A. Read the given lines carefully and identify the character / speaker:

1.           I suppose you think me queer. I will explain.  - Uncle Philip to Tom

2.           Don't come back. It won't hasten things. - Uncle Philip

3.           He thought it simply a cruel jest. - Tom’s father confessor

4.           He did not desire to do so. - Professor Clinch

5.           He would think it over and come back later. - The Collector

B. Based on your understanding of the story, answer the following briefly.

1.           What did the uncle do as soon as he bought a stone?

When the uncle bought a new stone, he carried it in his pocket for a month. He took it out now and then and looked at it. Then, he kept it safe at the trust company.

2.           What did the uncle bequeath to the narrator?

Uncle Philip bequeathed all his precious stones to the narrator.

3.           What was the condition laid by the uncle to inherit his property?

The condition laid by the uncle to inherit his property was that Tom would have to pay for his funeral.

4.           Why do you think Tom happily looked forward to the expenditure for his uncle’s funeral?

Tom’s uncle declared Tom as his only heir. He gave an iron box containing valuable stones. So, Tom looked forward to the expenditure for his uncle’s funeral.

5.           Write a few words about the mechanism used in the iron box.

If Tom opened the box with fear, the box would explode. If he opened the box without fear, it would not explode and he could lead a rich life. This was the mechanism used in the iron box.

6.           What was the counsel offered to the narrator?

As a considerate man, Tom’s uncle counselled him to open the box without fear.

7.           Why and when was the narrator shocked?

The narrator was shocked when he read the letter that the box contained sensitive dynamite.

8.           What was the doctor’s warning to Tom?

The doctor warned Tom that he was in danger of losing his mind with too much thought about precious stones.

9.           Why didn’t Tom dare to assign the task of unlocking the box to someone?

Tom deeply thought of the risk of unlocking the box. He did not want someone else to risk his life. So, Tom didn’t dare to assign the task of unlocking the box to someone.

C. Answer the questions given below in a paragraph of 150 words.

1.           Describe briefly the contents of the letter written by Tom’s uncle.

Lesson : A DILEMMA

Author : Silas Weir Mitchell

Theme : Life is a dilemma - “To be or not to be”

Characters : Tom, Philip, Susan, Dr.Schaff, Professor Clinch

Outlook : Uncle Philip - interested - collecting gems - declared Tom - heir - Leaving iron box - contained gems - take extreme - handling - interesting mechanism - onen - explode - wished him

Uncle Philip was a bachelor, cunning and malicious, living alone. He was much interested in collecting valuable gems and pearls. On his death bed, he called Tom and declared Tom as his only heir. Leaving an iron box for Tom, his uncle instructed him to carefully read a letter which lay on top of it. He told that the box contained a large number of pigeon-blood rubies, a lot of diamonds, hundreds of pearls. Tom’s uncle counselled Tom that he should take extreme care in handling the box. He mentioned that the box contained an interesting mechanism. So Tom should open the box with confidence to obtain the precious stones. If Tom opened the box with fear, the box would explode. If he opened without fear, the box would not explode. Hence, Uncle Philip asked Tom to believe him and then unlock the iron box. Uncle Philip wished him to be rich and asked him to remember his uncle.

ESSAY

• Introduction

• Uncle Philip’s Last wish

• Mechanism used in the iron box

• Details in the letter

• Conclusion

Introduction :

“A Dilemma” is a very interesting and mysterious story written by Silas Weir Mitchell. Tom was the protagonist of this story. Tom narrated how he was in a dilemma to open a box given by his uncle.  ,

Uncle Philip’s Last wish:

Uncle Philip was a bachelor, cunning and malicious, living alone. He was much interested in collecting valuable gems and pearls. On his death bed, he called Tom and declared Tom as his only heir.

Mechanism used in the iron box

Leaving an iron box for Tom, his uncle instructed him to carefully read a letter which lay on top of it. He told that the box contained a large number of pigeon-blood rubies, a lot of diamonds, hundreds of pearls.  '  •

Details in the letter

Tom’s uncle counselled Tom that he should take extreme care in handling the box. He mentioned that the box contained an interesting mechanism. So Tom should open the box with confidence to obtain the precious stones. If Tom opened the box with fear, the box would explode. If he opened without fear, the box would not explode. Hence, Uncle Philip asked Tom to believe him and then unlock the iron box.

Conclusion

Though Uncle Philip wished Tom to be rich and asked him to remember his uncle, he made Tom mad and remember him in his whole life.

“Thinking without awareness is the main dilemma of human existence”.

2.           Explain the efforts taken by Tom to open the iron box? Did he succeed? Why?

Lesson : A DILEMMA

Author : Silas Weir Mitchell

Theme : Life is a dilemma - “To be or not to be”

Characters : Tom, Philip, Susan, Dr.Schaff, Professor Clinch

Outlook : Uncle Philip - leaving iron box - contained gems - mechanism- explode - tried - First - planned to explode - Secondly - Professor Clinch - Then Dr. Schaff - referred books - father confessor collector - None understand

Uncle Philip was a bachelor, living alone. On his death bed he called Tom. Leaving an iron box, he instructed Tom that the box contained precious gems but the box contained an interesting mechanism. If he opened it with fear, it would explode. Tom was curious and tried all possible ways to open the box. First of all, He planned to explode the box at a safe distance but dropped the plan in fear of losing the rubies. Secondly he consulted Professor Clinch. But he was turned down by the Professor stating the dubious nature of his uncle. Then he met Dr. Schaff whereas who was indifferent to Tom’s request. Tom referred to books on dynamite at libraries. After that, he sought the help of father confessor. The father replied that it was a cruel jest of his uncle. Finally Tom took the matter to the collector. But he avoided Tom. Definitely, he made a lot of efforts to open the box but he could not succeed. None of them could understand the absurdity of his uncle’s condition.

ESSAY

• Introduction

• Tom - sole heir of uncle Philip 

• Mechanism used in the iron box 

• Efforts taken by Tom 

• Conclusion

Introduction :

“A Dilemma” is a very interesting and mysterious story written by Silas Weir Mitchell. Tom was the protagonist of this story. Tom narrated how he was in a dilemma to open a box given by his uncle.

Tom - Sole heir of uncle Philip :

Uncle Philip was a bachelor, cunning and malicious, living alone. On his death bed he called Tom and declared Tom as his only heir. Leaving an iron box for Tom, his uncle instructed him to carefully read a letter which lay on top of it. He told Tom that the box contained a large number of pigeon-blood rubies, diamonds, and pearls.

Mechanism used in the iron box:

Tom’s uncle counselled Tom that he should take extreme care in handling the box. He mentioned that the box contained an interesting mechanism. If he opened it with fear, it would explode. Tom read the letter which stated that the box contained sensitive dynamite. Tom was curious to see the contents in the iron box and tried all possible ways to open the box.

Efforts taken by Tom:

First of all, he planned to explode the box at a safe distance but dropped the plan in fear of losing the rubies. Secondly he consulted Professor Clinch. But he was turned down by the Professor stating the dubious nature of his uncle. Then he met Dr.Schaff, but he was indifferent to Tom’s request. He referred to books on dynamite at libraries. After that he sought the help of father confessor. He replied that it was a cruel jest of his uncle. Finally he took the matter to the collector. But he avoided Tom. 

Conclusion:

None of them could understand the absurdity of his uncle’s condition. At last, Tom bequeathed the box to the Society. The protagonist Tom is a true representation of human curiosity and how the iron box can drive him to anxiety and mental instability.

“Life is a dilemma that must be solved by the person living in it”.

D. Fill in the blanks with the right option and write down the summary of the story 'A dilemma'.

1. The narrator was sent for, by his uncle when he was on his deathbed (on his deathbed / on his travels / in his workplace)

2. The  uncle  had  collected  precious stones. (jewels / stones / articles)

3. His uncle announced Tom as his heir and wanted him to pay for his  funeral (rented house / marriage / funeral)

4. Leaving  an  iron  box  for  Tom, his uncle instructed  him  not  to shake the box. (throw / carry / shake)

5. The  letter  read  that  the  box contained  a sensitive dynamite. (a sensitive dynamite / jewels / money)

6. He started thinking of all possible ways to open the box without being killed   (wounded / killed / maimed)

7. He planned to explode the box at a safe distance but dropped the plan in fear of losing the rubies. (home / a safe distance / a waste land)

8. His consultation with Professor Clinch did not yield him any fruitful solution. (Uncle Philip / Professor Clinch / Susan)

9. He failed in his attempts to open the box. His efforts to read about explosives led to confusions (hopes / confusions / suspicions) and he had to change his name and occupation (name and occupation / lodgings / appearance)

10. At  last,  he  bequeathed  the  box to  the Society (his offspring / his friends / the Society)