Uncle Podger Leaves for Work
by Jerome K. Jerome
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Quick answers
1. Answer the following questions in not more then one sentence.
a. What was the distance between Uncle Podger's house and the station?
=From Uncle Podger's house to the railway station was an eight minutes' walk.
b. According to the narrator, what three things did all the men carry to the station?
= According to the narrator, the three things all men carried to the station are - a black bag, a newspaper and an umbrella.
c. How did people know that Uncle Podger had lost something?
= People knew that Uncle Podger had lost something by his expression of astonished indignation.
d. What did Uncle Podger lose most often?
= Uncle Podger most often lost his newspaper.
e. Where would this item mostly be found?
= This item mostly be found under him as he was sitting on it.
Reference to context
2. "It was not a showy spectacle."
a. What spectacle was the narrator referring to?
= The narrator was referring to the spectacle of many stout city gentlemen, living at Ealing, running to that station to catch the train to town.
b. Who were the spectators of this show?
= The spectators of this show were the folks with nothing else to do. They would gather on the common of a fine morning to watch them pass, and cheer the most deserving.
c. How well did the participants perform?
= They did not run well, they did not even run fast; but they were earnest, and they did their best.
3. "One of them, of course was sure to be missing."
a. Who is meant by 'them' here?
= Here all the children of Uncle Podger is meant by them.
b. Where were they assembled and why?
= They were assembled in the hall to say good-bye to their father before he went to office.
c. What happened upon the discovery that 'one of them' was missing?
= The moment the 'missing' was noticed, all the other six would scatter with a whoop to find him without any type of hesitation. Immediately after they were gone, it would turn up by itself from somewhere quite near, always with the most reasonable explanation for its absence.
4. "This would send my uncle rushing impetuously down to the gate, where he would recollect that he had with him neither his bag nor his umbrella."
a. What sent the uncle 'rushing'?
= The tale about all the clocks in the house being five minutes slow sent the uncle 'rushing'.
b. What happened to the bag and the umbrella?
= All the children would charge after him, two of them struggling for the umbrella, the others surging round the bag.
c. What was the consequence of all this rush?
= As a consequence of all this rush, they would forget to give him his newspaper and found it on the hall table.
Read, reflect and write
5. Why do you think that all the gentlemen from Ealing are late for the train every day?
= All the gentlemen living at Ealing were stout. This is reason for them to do their works slowly. Obese men are not fit to do their works. They are lethargic in nature. They take more time doing the same thing in comparison to fit people. As a result of it they all started late and became late for the train every day.
6. Describe Uncle Podger's attitude towards his family members.
= Uncle Podger was obsessed with himself. He considered himself to be the most perfect man of the family. Whenever he lost a thing, it was everybody else's fault in the house but his own. From his tone, anyone would have thought he was living surrounded by conjurers, who spirited away things from him merely to irritate him. Even after the newspaper was found under him sitting on it, he would smile, not genially, but with the weariness that comes to a man who feels that fate has cast his lot among a band of hopeless fools.
7. Do you think it was right for Uncle Podger to blame others for him not finding his paper? What do you do when you misplace things?
= I think it was not right for Uncle Podger to blame others for him not to finding his paper. He should have acknowledged the fact that he was a careless man who loses everything. He never knew where he had put anything. He should have admitted the fact that he was incapable of finding his things. He should have set to work on it and change himself.
When I misplace things, I try stay calm and recall the previous actions done by me. Then I find in the possible places where I might keep the thing. Almost every time I get the thing back myself. If I do not get it back unfortunately, I ask elder members of my family politely to help me find it out.
8. How do you organize yourself before going to school? Is your day similar to Uncle Podger's?
= No, my day is definitely not similar to Uncle Podger's.
First of all I take the books and copies according to the class routine of the respective then. I put them in my school bag along with my tiffin box and an umbrella. Then I take my school uniform out and put my purse and handkerchief in it. Then I go for bath and wear school uniform. Finally, I have some food and go out to catch the school bus taking my bag.
9. Extended writing: Describe Uncle Podger's morning before he caught the train to work.
= From Uncle Podger's house to the railway station was an eight minutes' walk. He used to give his boastful opinions but never abided by them of his own. He always started five minutes before time and run.
Before that he introduces a long humorous story by losing his newspaper. He always lose his newspaper and put the blame on the other members of his family. Then someone brings a newspaper which is always found to be the day before yesterday's.
Then the newspaper would be found for him eventually, as often as not, he was sitting on it. Then Aunt Maria would gather all their children in the hall to say good-bye to him. Then one of the children would be missing. Everyone would go to find him out and it would come back of itself.
In the rush, Uncle Podger would kiss some of his children twice and miss to kiss some of them. The clock would strike nine and the eldest boy would say that all the clocks of the house were five minutes slow. This would make Uncle Podger more impetuous. He would run to the gate without the bag and his umbrella. The children would go and give him the things only to found the newspaper still lying on the hall table.
About the Author:
Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) was an English author, best known for his humorous book Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). The book became an instant hit and has remained in print since. He wrote several other novels, plays and essays after this, but none of these proved to be as popular as the first work. Three Men on the Bummel was a sequel to the Three Men on a Boat.