If I Were You starts with the playwright, Gerrard, preparing to leave his home to attend a rehearsal. After talking on the phone, he starts to pack his travel bag when he notices an intruder enter from his right side.Gerrard notices that he has a stark resemblance to Gerrard and is holding a revolver in his hands. Thus, he learns that he is a criminal who directs him to put his hands in the air. However, Gerrard is surprisingly cool even at a gunpoint and chats pleasantly with him. Finally, the intruders make Gerrard sit on a chair.After hearing their conversation, we learn that Gerrard is a man who lives alone and owns a car. It is clear that he is kind of mysterious in some ways because he is constantly in and out. We see that Gerrard stays at his home and for some days isn’t there.Moreover, he only talks on the phone without really meeting his tradesmen. After learning all this, we come to know about the intruder too. He is a criminal who is mainly a jewelry robber. After killing a policeman, he is fleeing from the police and due to this resemblance to Gerrard, he plans to kill him and assume his identity to get rid of the police.Gerrard makes out that the intruder is not so smart but only over-confident. Thus, he plans something witty and lies to the intruder. He makes up a story that Gerrard is also a criminal and murderer himself. Much similar to the intruder, the police are also after him and if he ends up killing Gerrard, the intruder will be killed either way.So, the intruder believes his story and Gerrard convinces him to go in the garage from where they both can flee in his car. After opening the garage door, we learn that it was actually a cupboard in which Gerrard locks up the intruder and informs the police of his whereabouts. Thus, we see that how a little alertness and cleverness saved Gerrard’s life.Answer these questions.
Question 1.
“At last a sympathetic audience.”
Who says this?
Why does he say it?
is he sarcastic or serious?
Answer:
Gerrard says this.
He says this because the intruder becomes sympathetic towards him.
He is, no doubt, sarcastic.
Question 2.
Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?
Answer:
The intruder chose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on because he is a kind of a mystery man. He phones his orders and sometimes goes away suddenly and come back just the same.
Question 3.
“I said it with bullets.”
Who says this?
What does it mean?
Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?
Answers:.
Gerrard says this.
It means that he is not an ordinary person. He is very dangerous.
NO, he wants that the intruder should change his idea of killing him.
Question 4.
What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.
Answer:
Gerrard is a dramatist. He says, “Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal…
Question 5.
“You’ll soon stop being smart.”
Who says this?
Why does the speaker say it?
What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
Answers:
The intruder says this.
He says it because Gerrard does not seem afraid of his gun even.
According to the speaker, the bullet will stop Gerrard from being smart.
Question 6.
“They can’t hang me twice.”
Who says this?
Why does the speaker say it?
Answer:
The intruder says this.
The speaker says it because he wants to murder Gerrard. And he has already murdered someone. So the police cannot hang him twice.
Question 7.
“A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?
Answer:.
The speaker wants that the intruder should explain what mystery is associated with him. The mystery is about Gerrard’s placing his orders on telephone. And he goes out suddenly and returns in the same way.
Question 8.
“This is your big surprise.”
Where has this been said in the play?
What is the surprise?
Answer:
Gerrard speaks this line. He tells the intruder that if he is not hanged for his murder, he will certainly be hanged being Vincent Charles Gerrard. At this time he utters these words.
The big surprise is that Gerrard will not be killed by him. He is right in saying this.
Thinking about language
(Page 145)
Question 1.
Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.
The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery.
Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.
Answer:
site, ghastly
principal
continuously
effect
artist
collage
host
shake
Question 2.
Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, “Oh ! that was clever !” that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever’ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:
Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever!
You have been a great help, I must say!
You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
Oh, very funny !/How funny!
We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically. Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below.
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