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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samuel L. Clemens (1835–1910), who used the pseudonym Mark Twain, was an American humorist, short story writer and novelist. Brought up in the small town of Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain had less than 10 years of schooling. He worked as a printer’s apprentice, a steamboat pilot, a prospector and a journalist. All this gave him varied experiences and a wide knowledge of humanity.
Samuel L. Clemens (1835–1910), who used the pseudonym Mark Twain, was an American humorist, short story writer and novelist. Brought up in the small town of Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain had less than 10 years of schooling. He worked as a printer’s apprentice, a steamboat pilot, a prospector and a journalist. All this gave him varied experiences and a wide knowledge of humanity.
In the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, he drew on his own childhood; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was planned merely as a sequel, went on to become a masterpiece, the story being narrated through an uneducated boy.
Synonyms
1. Infallible- reliable.
2. Constitution-structure.
3. Anatomy -composition
4. Bodings- premonitions
5. Anguish- suffering
6. Ruinous- disastrous
7. Implored- requested, beseeched
8. Tinker- to make small changes especially in an attempt to improve or repair it.
9. Vicious – immoral, dangerous.
10. Pried-looked into it inquisitively
1. What was the importance of the watch to the author?
The watch seemed to be of great importance to the author. The author's watch had worked properly and flawlessly for eighteen months before he had let it run down. The watch always showed him the correct time which helped him to be punctual.
2. What were the attempts made by the author to get his watch repaired?
After a possession of 18 months, the author let his watch run down. Devastated, the author went to all possible watch makers starting from the chief jeweller, the very next day. He took it to the watchmaker to be regulated, he said it wanted cleaning and oiling, besides regulating and so it was done. After the watch makers attempt the watch slowed down day by day. Then the author took this instrument to another watchmaker. He said the king-bolt was broken and therefore it was replaced. After replacing the king-bolt the watch stopped intermittently and then started again. Finally he took it to another watch maker. This person said that the crystal had got bent and the mainspring was not straight. After replacing all this the watch worked for a few days and again that a good horse was a good horse until it had run away once, and that a good watch was a good watch until the repairers got a chance at it.it stopped working. Hopeless, the author gave it a last shot and went to a watch maker who turned out to be an erstwhile, not a good, steam-boat engineer. It was now that the author realised that a good horse was a good horse until it had run away once, and that a good watch was a good watch until the repairers got a chance at it.
3. Why did the author finally give up on his watch?
The author got the watch repaired 7 times. The seventh time when the author went to the watch maker the author was careful and this time he was not gullible he recognised the watchmaker to be an old acquaintance—a steam-boat engineer of other days and not a good engineer, either. He examined all the parts carefully, just as the other watchmakers had done, and then delivered his verdict as the other watch makers, with the same confidence of manner. The watch had cost two hundred dollars originally, and he seemed to have paid out two or three thousand for repair. Finally the author recollected what his uncle William used to say that a good horse was a good horse until it had run away once, and that a good watch was a good watch until the repairers got a chance at it. He then gave up on the idea of repairing his watch.
4. What was Uncle Williams’ comment on the ‘tinkerers’ of the world?
Uncle Williams means to say that these tinkerers are people who are not good at anything. They have not mastered any skill. These people are Jack of all and master of none.
5. Explain these lines
1. ‘I seemed to detect in myself a sort of sneaking fellow-feeling for the mummy in the museum, and a desire to swap news with him.’
After working efficiently for eighteen months, the author let his watch run down. The author tried to get his watch repaired seven times by different people. When the author had given the watch to be repaired for the second time, the author got his watch back after one week. Instead of getting adjusted to the right time, the watch slowed down which resulted in the author missing his appointments and the author felt like he was going into yesterday, going even more backwards into time, feeling lonely. The author kept going back into the past and staying there because of the wrong time shown by his watch. Mark Twain tries to relate his situation to that of a mummy from the past years and says that he could relate to and could befriend a mummy lying in a museum, eager to exchange news with him.
2. ‘Within a week it sickened to a raging fever and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty in the shade.’
The head of the establishment ignored the author when he told him to leave his watch alone. After that incident, the watch became faster than it should be and the author used symbolism when he says that the watch 'sickened to raging fever and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty in the shade'.
3. ‘She makes too much steam—you want to hang the monkey wrench on the safety valve!’
The author had brought a watch and it had worked flawlessly for eighteen months, before he let the watch run down. He got the watch repaired seven times from seven different people in hopes of restoring the watch to its original condition. The last person to whom the watch was taken, had been a steam-engineer in the past. He was an old acquaintance of the author's and he wasn't a very good engineer in his days. When he saw how hopeless it was to repair the watch, he told the author 'she makes too much steam' and that he wants to 'hang the monkey wrench on the safety valve'.
4. How is humour employed to comment on the pains that the author took to get his watch set right?
Synonyms
1. Infallible- reliable.
2. Constitution-structure.
3. Anatomy -composition
4. Bodings- premonitions
5. Anguish- suffering
6. Ruinous- disastrous
7. Implored- requested, beseeched
8. Tinker- to make small changes especially in an attempt to improve or repair it.
9. Vicious – immoral, dangerous.
10. Pried-looked into it inquisitively
1. What was the importance of the watch to the author?
The watch seemed to be of great importance to the author. The author's watch had worked properly and flawlessly for eighteen months before he had let it run down. The watch always showed him the correct time which helped him to be punctual.
2. What were the attempts made by the author to get his watch repaired?
After a possession of 18 months, the author let his watch run down. Devastated, the author went to all possible watch makers starting from the chief jeweller, the very next day. He took it to the watchmaker to be regulated, he said it wanted cleaning and oiling, besides regulating and so it was done. After the watch makers attempt the watch slowed down day by day. Then the author took this instrument to another watchmaker. He said the king-bolt was broken and therefore it was replaced. After replacing the king-bolt the watch stopped intermittently and then started again. Finally he took it to another watch maker. This person said that the crystal had got bent and the mainspring was not straight. After replacing all this the watch worked for a few days and again that a good horse was a good horse until it had run away once, and that a good watch was a good watch until the repairers got a chance at it.it stopped working. Hopeless, the author gave it a last shot and went to a watch maker who turned out to be an erstwhile, not a good, steam-boat engineer. It was now that the author realised that a good horse was a good horse until it had run away once, and that a good watch was a good watch until the repairers got a chance at it.
3. Why did the author finally give up on his watch?
The author got the watch repaired 7 times. The seventh time when the author went to the watch maker the author was careful and this time he was not gullible he recognised the watchmaker to be an old acquaintance—a steam-boat engineer of other days and not a good engineer, either. He examined all the parts carefully, just as the other watchmakers had done, and then delivered his verdict as the other watch makers, with the same confidence of manner. The watch had cost two hundred dollars originally, and he seemed to have paid out two or three thousand for repair. Finally the author recollected what his uncle William used to say that a good horse was a good horse until it had run away once, and that a good watch was a good watch until the repairers got a chance at it. He then gave up on the idea of repairing his watch.
4. What was Uncle Williams’ comment on the ‘tinkerers’ of the world?
Uncle Williams means to say that these tinkerers are people who are not good at anything. They have not mastered any skill. These people are Jack of all and master of none.
5. Explain these lines
1. ‘I seemed to detect in myself a sort of sneaking fellow-feeling for the mummy in the museum, and a desire to swap news with him.’
After working efficiently for eighteen months, the author let his watch run down. The author tried to get his watch repaired seven times by different people. When the author had given the watch to be repaired for the second time, the author got his watch back after one week. Instead of getting adjusted to the right time, the watch slowed down which resulted in the author missing his appointments and the author felt like he was going into yesterday, going even more backwards into time, feeling lonely. The author kept going back into the past and staying there because of the wrong time shown by his watch. Mark Twain tries to relate his situation to that of a mummy from the past years and says that he could relate to and could befriend a mummy lying in a museum, eager to exchange news with him.
2. ‘Within a week it sickened to a raging fever and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty in the shade.’
The head of the establishment ignored the author when he told him to leave his watch alone. After that incident, the watch became faster than it should be and the author used symbolism when he says that the watch 'sickened to raging fever and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty in the shade'.
3. ‘She makes too much steam—you want to hang the monkey wrench on the safety valve!’
The author had brought a watch and it had worked flawlessly for eighteen months, before he let the watch run down. He got the watch repaired seven times from seven different people in hopes of restoring the watch to its original condition. The last person to whom the watch was taken, had been a steam-engineer in the past. He was an old acquaintance of the author's and he wasn't a very good engineer in his days. When he saw how hopeless it was to repair the watch, he told the author 'she makes too much steam' and that he wants to 'hang the monkey wrench on the safety valve'.
4. How is humour employed to comment on the pains that the author took to get his watch set right?
It is funny how the author and his dear watch had to go through all the pain that was delivered by seven watch makers. In the end it was all futile and no good was done to the watch. The seven episodes with the watch makers are humorous as while all the watch makers tried their hand on the watch toying it all up and operating and exploring and dissembling and then assembling every inch of it it all gave sheer pain to the author to whom the watch was so dear. Every time with all the hope and strength he took it to a new watch maker; however not a single of all the tinkers could put it all back to place to make it function all properly. How strange it is that none of the seven watch makers could mend the watch while they all experimented and did all sorts of research and development on it.
5. ‘The author’s treatment of the subject matter makes the readers identify themselves with the experience.’ Comment on this statement.
The author of this story, 'Mark Twain', which is a pseudonym for 'Samuel Clemens', had not received schooling and education for more than ten years; he had worked as a steamboat pilot, a prospector and also as a printer's apprentice. The stories written by Mark Twain were such that they had a twist of humour to them, while the plot of the stories was natural; something that could easily see to be happening with any other human being. The way in which he writes his stories, makes the readers attached to it and get connected to it in a certain manner because they might've experienced the happenings of the story at some point in time, must've seen someone else experiencing those happenings or they could easily imagine the happenings in the story due to the easy understanding of the plot as it would be related to day to day incidents occurring in people's lives. Thus, 'the author's treatment of the subject matter makes the readers identify themselves with the experience'. The story remains relevant even today.
6. Identify some of the improbable images the author has used to effect greater humour.
There are instances when the author goes on exaggerating the actual situation to add humour to the story. For example when the watch is repaired for the second time it slowed down. The description is a hyperbole of the actual happening. No matter how slow a watch is it will show the time according to 12 hours it cannot literally travel in the past. However the way the author describes its watch enjoying snowfall before the season arrives is humorous. Also the citation of the mummy is funny plus it describes the mental state of the poor author.
5. ‘The author’s treatment of the subject matter makes the readers identify themselves with the experience.’ Comment on this statement.
The author of this story, 'Mark Twain', which is a pseudonym for 'Samuel Clemens', had not received schooling and education for more than ten years; he had worked as a steamboat pilot, a prospector and also as a printer's apprentice. The stories written by Mark Twain were such that they had a twist of humour to them, while the plot of the stories was natural; something that could easily see to be happening with any other human being. The way in which he writes his stories, makes the readers attached to it and get connected to it in a certain manner because they might've experienced the happenings of the story at some point in time, must've seen someone else experiencing those happenings or they could easily imagine the happenings in the story due to the easy understanding of the plot as it would be related to day to day incidents occurring in people's lives. Thus, 'the author's treatment of the subject matter makes the readers identify themselves with the experience'. The story remains relevant even today.
6. Identify some of the improbable images the author has used to effect greater humour.
There are instances when the author goes on exaggerating the actual situation to add humour to the story. For example when the watch is repaired for the second time it slowed down. The description is a hyperbole of the actual happening. No matter how slow a watch is it will show the time according to 12 hours it cannot literally travel in the past. However the way the author describes its watch enjoying snowfall before the season arrives is humorous. Also the citation of the mummy is funny plus it describes the mental state of the poor author.
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