The Secret Pleasure of Reginald
by Sir P.G. Wodehouse
Comprehension:
Read and answer:
1. Complete the following timeline of events that didn't take place for Reggie.
Didn't arrive at the station
↓
Wasn't received by Bodfish and didn't have
his back slapped
↓
Was not whirling along the country roads, trying to balance the car with his legs and an elbow.
↓
Was not shaking hands with Mrs. Bodfish.
↓
Didn't have dinner.
↓
Didn't play bridge with Bodfish, Mrs. Bodfish, and a neighbour.
2. Which of the following statements is supported by information in the text?
a. Mr. and Mrs. Bodfish were a very popular couple. [ ]
b. Mr. and Mrs. Bodfish rarely invited people over for a weekend. [ ]
c. Few people liked to visit Mr. and Mrs. Bodfish.[✓]
Reference to context:
3. "I have so many engagement of this kind that I lose track of them."
a. What kind of engagement is the speaker talking about?
= The speaker is talking about visiting places of different families in country side.
b. How are the engagements unusual?
= There were no fixed routine of visiting the places on weekends. The speaker talked every statement in negative sense. So, those engagements were mere illusions of the speaker.
c. Why does the speaker lose track of these engagements?
= The speaker loses track of these engagements as he has so many engagements of this kind. So, it is invincible to forget all details of all the engagements.
4. "You have hit on the greatest idea of the age."
a. Who is the speaker addressing?
= The speaker is addressing to Reggie.
b. What causes the speaker to make this exclamation?
= As the speaker came to know about the fact that Reggie used to lose track of the engagements as they are so many in numbers, then the speaker made this exclamation.
c. Explain the 'idea'.
= The 'idea' was to spend weekends at the places of various families separately in weekends.
d. Why do you think the speaker thought the 'idea' was the 'greatest of the age'?
= Actually Reggie used him imagination to help himself relax. He was reclining in a long chair, motionless, his eyes fixed glassing on the ceiling and was imaging the all these to get relaxed. Perhaps this seemed to the speaker, the easiest way to get relaxed. So, hew thought the 'idea' was the 'greatest of the age'.
5. "The reason I selected Bodfish this week, thought I was practically engaged to a man named Stevenson who lives out in Connecticut, was that I felt run down and needed a real rest."
a. Why is Bodfish being chosen over Stevenson?
= Bodfish is being chosen over Stevenson as Reggie felt run down and needed a real rest.
b. Why does the speaker use the words 'real rest' here?
= The speaker uses the words 'real rest' here because wanted to get some real relaxation by imagining about the Bodfish.
c. What benefit does this activity have on the speaker?
= This activity had relaxed the speaker mentally and emotionally. He uses his imagination to help himself relax.
d. How does the listener react upon hearing these lines?
= The listener also chose to adopt the same way to get relaxed. Then he sank into the chair beside Reggie.
6. "You're not going to the country?" he asked regretfully.
a. What seems to be the relationship between the speaker and the listener?
= It seems that the speaker and the listener are good friends as they met at the club.
b. Discuss the circumstances and setting in which this line is spoken.
= The speaker met Reggie in the club and found him reclining in a long chair, motionless, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He wanted to know what Reggie was actually doing. Then the speaker eventually came to know that Reggie was actually helping himself relax by mere imagination. That idea seemed to be good fruitful to the speaker. He also wanted to get relaxation by accepting the same idea. At that very moment Reggie asked him the quoted lines.
c. Why does the speaker ask the question regretfully?
= The speaker also wanted to get relaxed and be all right on Monday like Reggie. Then Reggie was in doubt about the fact that whether the speaker wanted to imagine about the country. As that did not help Reggie, so he asked speaker the question regretfully.
Reflect and answer:
7. Explain the statement: "It's not what I'm doing, it's what I am not doing that matters."
= The writer found Reggie in the club one Saturday afternoon. He was reclining in a long chair, motionless, his eyes fixed glassily on the ceiling. Then the writer said him that he did not seem to be doing anything. In reply to this, Reggie said this line. Reggie was actually relaxing by using his imagination to help him relax. So, he was not doing anything. To do anything would not help him relax but not to do anything would help him to get relaxed by using mere imaginations.
8. Do you think Reggie wanted to hold a conversation with the narrator? Justify your opinion with evidence from the text.
= I think Reggie wanted to hold a conversation with the narrator. At the starting of the text, we see that the narrator initiated the conversation with Reggie. At that moment, Reggie was somehow not willing to talk to him more. As time passed, Reggie started talking and explaining his experiences with the Bodfish elaborately. He was talking about strolling down to Bodfish's garage, listening to his prattle about his new car.
He was also talking about Mrs. Bodfish on the subject of young Willie Bodfish's premature intelligence. He mentioned about playing bridge with Bodfish, Mrs. Bodfish, and a neighbour. He also suggested the narrator about how to get relaxation. All these are the evidences those show that Reggie wanted to hold a conversation with the narrator.
9. Based on what he has spent all morning and afternoon doing, how would you describe Reggie? Identify a mix of at least four positive and negative traits and state why you chose them.
= At the beginning of the story, we see that Reggie was reclining in a long chair, without disturbing others. He was trying to relax himself by mere imagination. Here the good trait of his character is that he is making himself feel good without disturbing others. And on the other hand, the negative traits of his character is he is totally inactive and in a vacant and pensive mood.
Then as we move on we can see that he is talking to the narrator and it was a lengthy conversation with him. Here the good trait is trying to solve the narrator's mental issues. And the negative trait is that he is insisting the narrator to be motionless and idle and inactive like him.
In the whole conversation, we see that Reggie was talking about some Bodfish's. The good trait is he went to them and he has so many things about them in his mind. On the other hand the bad trait is that he is narrating all these in a negative way.
In the conversation Reggie was referring about some Stevenson and comparing him with the Bodfish. Here we can say he has that intelligence though he was in a sleepy mood. It may be a positive trait of his character. But to some extent, he is somehow judgemental in spite of being so idle and motionless at that moment.
10. "I closed my eyes, and relaxed, and a great peace settled upon me." What insight does this line give you into its speaker?
= The narrator of the text here indulges himself in peace by mere imagination. It is evident that he was also in great mental stress that he wanted to get himself relaxed by mere imagination like Reggie. He found him in the club reclining in a long chair and relaxing himself by imagination. Then the narrator had a long conversation with Reggie and he also liked his way of relaxing himself. Then at the end of the text, the narrator gets good suggestion from Reggie to join with him at Bodfish's. And he was already feeling a lot better.