Bestseller (by O.

Henry) Textual Questions

Q1. One day last summer the author was travelling to Pittsburg with chair car. What does he say about his co-passengers? Ans. Most of his co-passengers were ladies wearing round silk dresses. These dresses were tight on shoulders and hips. They had lace insertions and dotted veils. The man seemed to be going to some destination for some business. Q2. Who was the passenger of chair number 9? What did he suddenly do? Ans. Mr. John A. Pescud of Pittsburg was the passenger on chair number 9. He suddenly threw a book to the floor between his chair and the windows. Q3. What was John A. Pescuds opinion about bestsellers? Why? Ans. John A. Pescud felt that the bestsellers were not realistic because they generally depict a rich American hero falling in love with royal princess from Europe. The hero then starts following her to her estate but in real life men generally marry girls from the similar background. Q4. What does John say about himself since his last meeting with the author? Ans. John says that since his last meeting with the author, his salary has risen twice; he got a commission and bought a nice real estate. Next year he was to get some shares of his firms stock as well. He was doing very well and had found his soul mate, Jessie Allyn and had married her. Q5. How was Johns meeting with Jessies father? Ans. For the first nine seconds, John felt confused and nervous. He developed cold feet. He was going to talk about the plate-glass. Then he gathered courage and told him his real reason for coming, his salary and prospects in life and his little code of living. Q6. Why did John get down at Coketown? Ans. John got down at Coketown to collect some cuttings or blossoms of Petunia for Jessie because she had told him that she had raised them in her Virginia home. The author told him that he would not sell many plate-glasses there as it was far away place. Q7. John is a hypocrite. Do you agree with this statement? Substantiate your answer. Ans. Yes, we agree with the statement that John is a hypocrite. He does just the opposite of what he says. He criticized the bestseller for being unrealistic in the affairs of love and marriage. He believed that men generally married girls from the same background but he himself fell in love and married a girl

Jessie, who is from a very different background than his. He believed that one is married to ones schoolmate only but married a girl who lives in a faraway place.

Reference to Context:
I. In two minutes..ill fated. Q1. What is the specialty of the topics mentioned in the lines? Ans. They are the topics which are usually discussed among strangers. Q2. Why does the narrator consider himself lucky? Ans. The narrator considers himself lucky because Pescud told him his love story. Q3. The narrator says that John was .heroes are..to be made of.His tone is sarcastic because__________________________________________ Ans. Because John was not good looking. II. Johnfence too Q1. How is the difference in their stations pointed out? Ans. The difference in their stations is pointed out by mentioning that the heroine is a princess travelling under a false name. Q2. Why does John feel that the bestsellers are not realistic? Ans. He believed that men generally marry girls from similar background. Q3. Who is he in these lines? Ans. He is the hero of the bestsellers. III. I glanced..your princess Q1. Why does narrator pick up the bestsellers? Ans. The narrator does it to save it from getting wet in the rain. Q2. What does he mean by Life has no geographical bounds? Ans. He means that human beings are same everywhere. Q3. Who wanted to get Petunias and for whom? Ans. John A. Pescud wanted to get Petunias for his wife Jessie.

Creative Writing
Q1. Write a character sketch of John A. Pescud. Ans. John A. Pescud was a travelling salesman for his plate-glass company Cambria Steel Works. He was a small man with a wide smile, and an eye that seemed to be fixed upon a little red spot on the end of his nose. He had a small and bald spotted head. In short, John was not particularly good looking. He was an old acquaintance of the narrator. He had a precise philosophy on behaviour. According to him, when a man is in his hometown, he ought to be decent and law abiding. He was doing well in his profession. He had his salary raised twice in the last two years. He also got a commission. He had bought a neat slice of real estate. He hoped to get some shares of the stock of the firm by the next year. He had met his wife about eighteen months ago. His first impression was that she was the finest looking girl he had laid his eyes on. He qualified his statement by saying she was not spectacular but of the sort that one would like to keep forever. He is generally a successful man as he is doing well both professionally and as well as personally. Q2. Bring out the elements of irony in the story, Bestseller Ans. Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite to their literal meaning. The title itself is ironic. Bestseller refers to a book which is bought by a large number of people but John threw the novel after reading only few pages. The narrator admits that he had not read a novel for a long time and his ideas about them are same as that of Johns. John claims that in real life people marry their own types but he himself gets married to a girl who belongs to a different class and lives at a far off place. He makes fun of plots wherein the hero travels far to win his ladys love but in real life he himself follows his love to her house and settles down in that far off place for her sake. He is still travelling to a distant place just to collect some Petunias for his beloved or wife. The name Trevelyan in the novel is also ironic. It suggests an eternal traveler John. The salesman is also a traveller but he travels for his professional reasons and monetary gains. He met his love during one such trip and is now travelling to collect some petunias for her.