Short Stories - 4. The Adventure Of The Three Garridebs
Class 11th English Woven Words CBSE Solution
- What clues did Sherlock Holmes work upon to get at the fact that the story of the three…
- What was John Garrideb’s objective in inventing the story of Alexander Hamilton Garrideb…
- Why didn’t John Garrideb like the idea of including Holmes in the hunt for the third…
- Who was Roger Presbury and how was John Garrideb connected with him?…
- How did Holmes guess that John Garrideb would go to 136, Little Ryder Street? Did he…
- ‘It was worth a wound—it was worth many wounds—to know the depth of loyalty and love that…
- The cleverest of criminals leave behind clues to their crime. Discuss the following in…
- How did Holmes’ digressions sometimes prove in the end to have a bearing on the matter on…
Understanding The Text
Question 1.What clues did Sherlock Holmes work upon to get at the fact that the story of the three Garridebs was a ruse?
Answer:
When Killer Evans came to meet him as an American lawyer, Sherlock Holmes noticed that his coat and trousers were English as well as worn from at least a year’s use. Although an American, his accent was lighter due to his stay in London. The Mayor mentioned by Holmes was a made up one yet Evans didn’t catch that. All this showed that they story was largely a ruse.
Question 2.
What was John Garrideb’s objective in inventing the story of Alexander Hamilton Garrideb and his legacy?
Answer:
John Garrideb was actually Killer Evans who wanted to get into the apartment where Nathan Garrideb stayed. Evans wanted the counterfeit press of British currency made by a criminal which was hidden in Nathan’s apartment without his knowledge. But since Nathan hardly left the place, he made up this bizarre story to send him afar so that he gets time to steal the press.
Question 3.
Why didn’t John Garrideb like the idea of including Holmes in the hunt for the third Garrideb?
Answer:
John Garrideb was actually Killer Evans who wanted to steal a counterfeit press hidden in Nathan’s apartment. He disliked including Holmes because his story was completely false and it would have been a trouble if his identity came to be known.
Question 4.
Who was Roger Presbury and how was John Garrideb connected with him?
Answer:
Roger Presbury was a forger and coiner who was shot dead by Killer Evans who was impersonating as John Garrideb. Presbury had hidden a counterfeit press of British currency at the apartment where Nathan was staying and Evans had made up the story to steal it.
Question 5.
How did Holmes guess that John Garrideb would go to 136, Little Ryder Street? Did he expect to find what he ultimately did before he went there?
Answer:
Holmes had known that the whole Garrideb story was false after the first meeting with John Garrideb itself. After visiting Nathan and encountering him there too, he realized that his aim was to get Nathan out of his apartment. He then visited the Scotland Yard where he found out that he was Killer Evans and the link to the apartment was that it was where a criminal, Presbury whom Evans shot, had stayed. So yes, Holmes did expect to find what he did.
Talking About The Text
Question 1.Discuss the following in pairs or in small groups
‘It was worth a wound—it was worth many wounds—to know the depth of loyalty and love that lay behind that cold mask’— how does this comment throw light on the kind of relationship between Holmes and Watson?
Answer:
Holmes and Watson shared a really close friendship. They both had utmost trust in each other. When they encountered Evans in the apartment, he shot Watson. Although Holmes shot Evans, he immediately came to Watson anxiously. His calm demeanor was replaced by shaking lips and worried eyes. Holmes’s concern warmed Watson’s heart who comments that the wound was worth taking otherwise he couldn’t have witnessed what he did.
Question 2.
Discuss the following in pairs or in small groups
The cleverest of criminals leave behind clues to their crime.
Answer:
Killer Evans had made an elaborate plan to send Nathan afar so that he gets time to steal the counterfeit press. But Holmes saw through the deception easily through his English dress, inability to recognize the non-existent Mayor, American style advertisement, eagerness to send Nathan outside etc. His ingenious plan still left many gaps that caught him red-handed.
Question 3.
Discuss the following in pairs or in small groups
How did Holmes’ digressions sometimes prove in the end to have a bearing on the matter on hand? Discuss this with reference to all the apparently irrelevant points he was trying to gather information from.
Answer:
Holmes digressions proved to be very significant by the time the criminal was caught. His recognition of the well-worn English dress and making up of a Mayor proved that Evans wasn’t the lawyer from America. His questioning of the house agent led him to discover that Presbury was the previous tenant. All the small references were a major part of the puzzle.
Appreciation
Question 1.Examine the structure of the short story ‘Adventure of the Three Garridebs’ with the help of this framework
♦ The narrator of the story
♦ Introduction of the topic of the story
♦ Introduction of the main characters in the plot
♦ Development of the plot
♦ Climax
♦ Resolution of the mystery.
Answer:
(READING ACTIVITY)
Question 2.
Examine the subtle humour in the narration of the story that lightens the gravity of the subject matter.
Answer:
The very beginning of the story is an unclear paragraph that looks at a serious matter through comic eyes. Hence, Watson’s narration is itself amusing. Sherlock Holmes interaction with Watson also is characterized by light humour especially when Watson fails to understand what Holmes has already understood like the reference to Scotland Yard. Holmes interaction with other characters is also characterized by a light-heartedness which sometimes even misleads the characters like how Evans was fooled.
Language Work
Question 1.a. Identify the words in the advertisement that gave away the fact that it was placed by John Garrideb.
b. Make a list of words which are spelt differently in American and British English.
Answer:
a. The words that gave away the advertisement was ‘plows’ and ‘buck-boards’ as well as ‘Artesian Wells’ that were American, not British.
b.
Question 2.
Look at the highlighted expressions in the following sentences from the text and explain their figurative meaning
♦ ‘I went through it, sir, with a fine-toothed comb and never a Garrideb could I catch.’
♦ ‘They are my favourite covert for putting up a bird, and I would never have overlooked a cock pheasant as that.’
♦ ‘There is no bolt-hole for you in this country.’
♦ ‘When his castle in the air fell down, it buried him beneath the ruins.’
Answer:
‘with a fine-toothed comb’: means that he searched assiduously through all the records, line by line.
‘putting up a bird’: something unusual but useful
‘a cock pheasant’: something that is grossly out of place among other things
‘bolt-hole’: where someone can escape
‘his castle in the air’: big, hopeful and almost unrealistic dreams