The Garden Party Question Answer (6 Mark)। Katherine Mansfield। Class 11 2nd Semester । WBCHSE
The Garden Party Question Answer (6 Mark)
The Garden Party – Katherine Mansfield
6 Mark Question Answer
1 . “I’m determined to leave everything to you children this year.”- Who is the speaker ? What does the speaker detemine ? Why does the speaker determine like that ? Does the speaker actually leave everything ? ( 1+2+1+2 )
(‘আমি এই বছর তোমাদের বাচ্চাদের উপর সবকিছু ছেড়ে দিতে দৃঢ়প্রতিজ্ঞ।”-বক্তা কে ? বস্তা কি স্থির করেছেন ? কেন বক্তা এমন স্থির করেছেন ? বক্তা কি সত্যিই সবকিছু ছাড়তে চেয়েছেন ?)
Answer –
✍ Mrs. Sheridan, the matriarch of the Sheridan family, is the speaker.
✍ Workmen have come to put up the marquee for the garden party. One of the children asks their mother where in the garden she would like it suits. Her response shows that she had entrusted her children with the responsibility of planning and managing the party. This year Mrs. Sheridan determines that she will leave all the responsibilities to her children.
✍ Mrs. Sheridan insists that she is leaving the planning and running of the garden party to her children so that she can enjoy it herself for once.
✍Mrs. Sheridan’s actions do not match her words. She orders the flowers, plans of menu and even chooses the hats to be worn by her daughter and her daughter’s friend. Actually Mrs. Sheridan plays the role of a cheerful, benevolent dictator in her household.
2 . Why did Laura want to stop the garden party when she heard about the accident ? 6
(দুর্ঘটনার কথা শোনার পর ল্যরা কেন উদ্যান সমাবেশটি বাতিল করতে উদ্যত হয় ?)
[Or]
What arguments did Laura use to convince her mother, Mrs. Sheridan to stop the garden party in the story “The Garden Party” ? 6
অথবা, ‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’ অ্যাখানে ল্যরা তার মা শ্রীমতি শেরিডানকে সমাবেশ বাতিল করার ব্যাপারে বোঝাতে গিয়ে কী কী যুক্তি উপস্থাপিত করে ছিল ?)
Answer –
✍ Everyone took the news in stride; they knew the man, Mr. Scott, and he and his impoverished wife and children lived very close by. They lived only a street apart from one another but were from two different worlds. Although Laura did not know the Scott family well, if at all, she was deeply upset by the news. She told Jose they had to call the party off. Jose told her that she was being stupid and that no one would expect them to cancel the garden party just because Mr. Scott died. Laura tried to appeal to her mother but Mrs. Sheridan was of the same mind as Jose. To distract her daughter, Mrs. Sheridan put a new black velvet hat with a yellow daisy trim on Laura’s head but it was no use. Laura stomped off into her own room and shut the door.
3 . How did Laura react to Mr. Scott’s death in “The Garden Party” ? 6
(‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’ আখ্যানে মিঃ স্কটের মৃত্যুর খবর শুনে ল্যরার প্রতিক্রিয়া কী ছিল ?)
Answer –
✍ The first reaction of Laura after hearing the death of Mr. Scott was to cancel the garden party. She asked her sister Jose and mother Mrs. Sheridan that how they could arrange and celebrate the garden party when a youngman was dead. She just could not accept the fact of celebration while a young widow would mourn for her husband’s death and her children would suffer to cope with problems. She was so innocent and naïve that she used to feel others’ problems and sufferings. To her thoughts her sister and mother clearly opposed. Her sister said that she could not cancel all plans of party when an accident happened. It would make life difficult. She said she was sorry just like her but she could not find any way to stop the party. She further said that Laura’s sentimental actions and grievance would not bring the dead workman back. So, it would be meaningless to cancel the party. Here, we can get clear view of how others were indifferent to Laura’s reaction.
4 . “…you’re the artistic one.”- Who said this ? Who was ‘the artistic one’ ? Why did the speaker call the person ‘the artistic one’ ? Did the person really feel that he/she was ‘the artistic one’ ? 1+1+3+1
(“…ইউ’র দ্য আর্টিস্টিক ওয়ান।“- কে বলেছিল এটা ? কে ছিল ‘দি আর্টিস্টিক ওয়ান’ ? কেন বক্তা তাকে ‘দি আর্টিস্টিক ওয়ান’ বলেছিলেন ? সত্যিই কি বক্তা মনে করেছিলেন যে সে ছিল ‘দ্য আর্টিস্টিক ওয়ান’ ?)
Answer –
✍ Mrs. Sheridan, the matriarch of the Sheridan family, said this.
✍ Laura Sheridan, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan, was ‘the artistic one’.
✍ The Sheridan family fixed a date for their garden party. The weather of the day was ideal and the sky was without a cloud. On the day when the workmen came to put up the marquee, one of Mrs. Sheridan’s children asked her where the marquee would be put up but her mother wanted to be free from the responsibility of planning and mananging the party. She tells them that she wants to stay like a guest. Then she thought to send Meg to the workmen but she disagreed because she had washed her hair before breakfast. Then her mother wanted to send Jose but she was not so active to her duty and liked to stay like the butterfly. At last, Mrs. Sheridan decided to send Laura to the workmen to supervise them. This is why Laura is called ‘the artistic one.’
✍ Laura loved having to arrange things and she always felt she could do it so much better than anybody else.
5 . “It’s some mistake…”. -Who is the speaker ? why does the speaker think it’s a mistake ? Is it really a mistake ? 1+2+3
(‘এটা একটি ভুল’-বক্তা কে ? বক্তার এটাকে ভুল বলে কেন মনে হয়েছে ? এটি কী সত্যিই ভুল ?)
Answer –
✍ Laura Sheridan, the protagonist of the story “The Garden Party” is the speaker.
✍ When the canna lilies are delivered to the house, Laura thinks that the florist has made a mistake because she thinks the delivery of so many lilies is excessive.
✍ No, it is not really a mistake because Mrs. Sheridan, mother of Laura Sheridan acknowledges that she orders an excessive number of flowers on a whim. Actually, Mrs. Sheridan purchases a great many pots of canna lilies to display in front of the house for the garden party. Only people with money to spare will purchase such an extravagance and Mrs. Sheridan goes so overboard in her selection that Laura finds it almost ostentatious.
6 . “And the children knew by her face that she hadn’t got them.”- Whose ‘face’ is referred to here ? What does ‘them’ refer to ? What do the children know about her ? Does she admit this ? Where are they found at last ? 1+1+1+2+1
(“এবং শিশুরা তার মুখ দেখেই বুঝতে পারে যে, তিনি সেটা পাননি”- কার ‘মুখ’-এর কথা এখানে উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে ? ‘সেগুলি’ কীসের উল্লেখ করে ? শিশুরা তার সম্পর্কে কী জানে ? তিনি কী এটা স্বীকার করেন ? শেষ পর্যন্ত এটি কোথায় পাওয়া যায় ?)
Answer –
✍ Mrs. Sheridan’s ‘face’ is referred to here.
✍ Here ‘them’ refers to the flags for the sandwiches.
✍ The children know that their mother, Mrs. Sheridan, loses the flags for the sandwiches before the garden party.
✍ No, Mrs. Sheridan does not admit that she loses the flags for the sandwiches. Instead, she accuses her children of hiding the envelope with the names for the sandwiches because she cannot face the possibility that she was the one who lost it. The envelope with the names for the flag sandwiches are found at last behind the dining-room clock though how it has got there Mrs. Sheridan cannot imagine.
7 . “A man killed.”-Who was the man ? How was he killed ? Where did he live ? What was Laura Sheridan’s immediate reaction ? 1+2+1+2
(‘একজন মারা গিয়েছে’-মানুষটি কে ছিল ? কীভাবে সে মারা গেছে ? সে কোথায় থাকত ? এই বিষয়ে ল্যরা শেরিডানের তাৎক্ষণিক প্রতিক্রিয়া কী ছিল ?)
Answer –
✍ The man was Mr. Scott.
✍ Mr. Scott was a cart driver. He drove a cart attached to a horse to deliver things. His horse shied at a traction-engine, corner of Hawke Street on the garden party morning and he was thrown out on the back of his head and killed.
✍ He lived down the hill from the Sheridan home in the poorer section of their neighbourhood.
✍ Laura had trouble relating to her mother and her sister because they were not as bothered by the death of a man down the lane as she was. When Laura got the news, she felt that the party should be cancelled on behalf of their grieving neighbors.
8 . How do Jose and Mrs. Sheridan feel about the Scott family ? Why does Laura differ from her family in “The Garden Party” ? 4+2
(জোস এবং শ্রীমতি শেরিডান মিঃ স্কটের পরিবারের প্রতি কেমন মনোভাব পোষণ করতেন ? “দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি”-তে ল্যরা কেন তার পরিবারের সদস্যদের থেকে মানসিকভাবে পৃথক ছিল ?)
Answer –
✍ In the midst of planning for the party, unexpected news arrives: Mr. Scott, their neighbuor has been killed in a horse riding accident. He left behind a poverty-stricken wife and several children. Laura is deeply saddened by the news and wants to call off the garden party but her sister and mother refuse to do so. Her mother explains that no one would expect a family like the Sheridans to stop their party for the likes of Mr. Scott. Disturbed by her family’s elitism, Laura is torn between wanting to help the Scotts and help her family for the party.
✍ Laura feels empathy for people like the Scott family. She wants to help them and do the right thing by cancelling the garden party. The rest of the family is more self-absorbed and does not like to sacrifice for others.
9 . “But, my child, use your common sense. It’s only by an accident we’ve heard of it. If some-one had died there normally- and I can’t understand how they keep alive in those poky little holes we should still be having our party, shouldn’t we?” -State the immediate situation. What features of the character of Mrs. Sheridan are exposed by the statement in the short story “The Garden Party”? Bring out the irony suggested here. 3+1+2
(‘কিন্তু, আমার প্রিয় সন্তান, তুমি/তোমরা সাধারণ জ্ঞানের ব্যবহার করো। আমরা যে এটি জানতে পেরেছি সেটাই একটা দুর্ঘটনা তাও যদি কেউ সাধারণভাবে মারা যেত-এবং আমি কিছুতেই বুঝে উঠতে পারি না যে তারা কিভাবে এই ছোট্ট গর্তের মতো ঘরগুলোতে বেঁচে থাকে- আমাদের এখনোও পার্টি করা উচিত, তাই নয় কি ?’-প্রসঙ্গটি ব্যাখ্যা করো। ‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’ অ্যাখ্যানে এই বক্তব্যের দ্বারা শ্রীমতি শেরিডানের চরিত্রের কোন্ দিকটি ফুটে ওঠে ? এখানে যে বিদ্রুপটি উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে তা লেখ।)
Answer –
✍ After finding no sympathy with Jose about cancelling the party, Laura goes to her mother. She expects that her mother will side with her. She is surprised to find that her mother agrees with Jose. To make things worse, she seems to find Laura’s idea to be humorous. Mrs. Sheridan has a warped idea of what ‘common sense’ is. In her mind, the accident is only a problem because they know about it. If they had not known about the accident, they would not think of cancelling the party.
✍ Mrs. Sheridan believes that ignorance is bliss. Her common sense reflects a very self-centered view of the world. And by calling it common sense, she suggests that most people would agree with her.
✍ Mrs. Sheridan shows her unwillingness or inability to understand the working poor. She does not know how they live in their small homes, as if the poor live as they do by their choice and not due to economic necessity .
10 . “…and didn’t tell him after all.”-Who does not tell him ? What does she not tell him ? Why does she not tell him ? 1+4+1
(“এবং তাকে বললই না।“-কে তাকে বলল না ? সে তাকে কী বলল না ? কেন সে তাকে সেটি বলল না ?)
Answer –
✍ Laura does not tell her brother Laurie.
✍ After Laura has had her mother and Jose call her idea of cancelling the party ‘absurd’, she decides to ask Laurie’s opinion. Laura feels closest to Laurie emotionally. She values his opinion as if it were her own. She decides that if he sides with their mother and sister, then theirs is the right decision. However, before she can explain the situation and ask his opinion, Laurie compliments Laura on how she looks in her new hat. He reinforces the superficial attention to Laura’s appearance that Mrs. Sheridan used earlier to distract Laura from the accident. His words also encourage her pride.
✍ Laura does not need to ask Laurie’s opinion. She knows that Laurie will side with her mother and sister. From this point until after the party, Laura gives no further thought to the accident.
11 . Explain Laura’s attitude toward the dead man when she saw him. 6
(মৃত ব্যক্তিকে দেখার পর ল্যরার মনোভাব ব্যাখ্যা করো।)
Answer –
✍ When Mrs. Scott’s sister asks Laura if she would like to look at Mr. Scott’s corpse; the way in which she asks seems to assume that Laura will want to do this. She tells Laura not to be afraid as she draws back the sheet that covers the dead man. Laura sees him and thinks that he looks peaceful, like he is sleeping. She considers that garden parties and dresses mean nothing to him and she thinks that he is wonderful and beautiful. Laura thinks about how while the band played and they continued their party, this man had been brought here. He has a content look on his face that seems to say that all is well.
12 . What features of the character of Laura Sheri-dan are exposed in the short story “The Garden Party ? 6
(“দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি” ছোট গল্পে ল্যরা শেরিডানের চরিত্রের কোন্ দিকগুলো তুলে ধরা হয়েছে ?)
[Or]
How sympathetic is Laura’s character in “The Garden Party” ? 6
(অথবা, “দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি”-গল্পে লারার চরিত্র কতটা সহানুভূতিশীল ?)
[Or]
How is Laura Sheridan’s character revealed in “The Garden Party” ? 6
(অথবা, “দ্য গার্ডেন পাটি” গল্পে ল্যরা শেরিডানের চরিত্রটি কীভাবে তুলে ধরা হয়েছে ?)
[Or]
Why is Laura considered a difficult character In “The Garden Party” ? 6
(অথবা, “দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি”তে ল্যরা চরিত্রটি কেন জটিল বিলে গণ্য করা হয়েছে ?)
Answer –
✍ As Laura Sheridan is the protagonist of the story, growing up in an affluent family in an upper class neighborhood. She appears to be a dynamic character in the course of the story. She is a very creative, agile person who loves organizing things. She is self-conscious and aware of her skills, at least in her habitual surroundings. Laura seems to be different from all the other members of her family except her brother Laurie. She has contempt for conventions which shows in her fascination about the workmen and the working class lifestyle as such. Moreover, her character is very emotional. Her mood varies from high excitement to indignant depression within seconds. Getting lost in thoughts and dreams once in a while she also has a naively romantic side. Throughout the plot of the story, she experiences an inner conflict between her upbringing in the upper class world and the snobbish views of her mother on the one hand and her own originating attitude and experiences on the other hand. Although her attempts to escape from her mother’s perspective fail due to her habitual compliancy, Laura reinforces the development of her own opinion perceivably.
13 . What features of the character of Mrs. Sheridan are exposed in the short story “The Garden Party” ? 6
(‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’ ছোট গল্পে শ্রীমতি শেরিডানের চরিত্রের কোন্ দিকগুলি তুলে ধরা হয়েছে ?)
Answer –
✍ Mrs. Sheridan lives with her husband and her children in a homestead in a wealthy neighbourhood. Her personality can be described as superficial which shows in her manner to care for clothes and exterior features only. Instead of being warm-hearted and concerned about others, she is only worried about herself and her own property and prestige. Mrs. Sheridan appreciates luxury greatly and enjoys abundance. Thus she cannot imagine living in a state of need and even demonstrates this dull attitude in a snobby and superiority-showing manner. As a result of her preconceived opinion about the workers, she does not allow her children to have contact with them. Another characteristic is her way of refusing to admit her faults and of always placing blame on others. This is in line with her endeavour to evade discussions by changing the subject or simply taking advantage of her authority. Additionally, her capriciousness and hypocrisy shows in overacted affection for her children on the one hand and arbitrarily ordering them around on the other hand.
14 . “Isn’t life-“-What does Laura imply about life in this quote from “The Garden Party” ? 6
(‘জীবনটা বোধ হয়’-ল্যরা এই উক্তির মাধ্যমে কী বোঝতে চায় ‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’ গল্পে ? )
[Or]
What has Laura learned by the end of the story ? 6
(অথবা, ল্যরা গল্পের পরিসমাপ্তিতে কী শিক্ষালাভ করে ?)
[Or]
What is the vague ending in “The Garden Party” ? 6
(অথবা, ‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’-এর অস্পষ্ট পরিসমাপ্তিটি ঠিক কী রকম ?)
[Or]
What is Laura trying to say about life in Katherine Mansfield’s short story “The Garden Party” ? 6
(ক্যাথরিন ম্যানফিল্ডের ছোট গল্প ‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’তে ল্যরা জীবন সম্পর্কে কী বলতে চেয়েছিল ?)
[Or]
Why cannot Laura finish her sentence in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” ? 6
(অথবা, ক্যাথারিন ম্যানফিল্ডের ‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’-তে ল্যরা কেন বাক্য শেষ করতে পারেনি ?)
[Or]
What is the interpretation of the phrase “Isn’t life” in the short story “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield ? 6
(অথবা, ক্যাথরিন ম্যানফিল্ডের ছোট গল্প ‘দ্য গার্ডেন পার্টি’-তে ‘জীবন তাই নয় কি’ শব্দবন্ধটির ব্যাখ্যা দাও।)
Answer –
✍ As Laura was born and brought up in a wealthy and royal family, she did not know what poverty was and what want was. Before visiting the Scott family she had never seen death In her life. It was in the first time of her life that she had encountered death. Through her visit to the poor family and from her encounter with death, she had learnt that death is a part of life and everybody must take the taste of death. She realized that life at all walks and levels of the society was same. She observed the young man who lay on the bed was sleeping so soundly, so deeply that he was far, far away from them both. This was Laura’s sudden realization about life. After watching the dead body of the young man, she learnt that life and death are inseparable and that life is beautiful. When she was returning she met her brother and he asked her about her experience in the sordid area. She replied that life is simply marvellous. Though she could not properly explain because of her emotion, Laurie understood what she wanted to mean. She learnt that death, an indivisible sequence of life, is not ugly rather beautiful.
✍ A Noted for her ambiguous endings, Mansfield intentionally closes “The Garden Party” with dissatisfying conclusion to allow room for the reader’s interpretation of events to come.
15 . Discuss the various themes as exhibited in “The Garden Party”. (WBCHSE Textbook Q.4 ) 6
(“The Garden Party” গল্পে বিভিন্ন বিষয়বস্তু যেভাবে প্রদর্শিত হয়েছে তা আলোচনা করো।)
Answer –
✍ “The Garden Party” by Mansfield masterfully weaves together a plenty of themes. In a domestic backdrop a number of social and psychological issues are raised. The story exposes the absurdity of class distinctions between the upper class Sheridans and the lower class Scott and the like. The synthesis of this division is Laura, a Sheridan daughter. She is the voice of new wholesome consciousness. The narrative shows us the bad need of empathy, the only answer to class division. The next theme is the search for space of an individual. Laura finds that space after a war with herself and others. The another vital theme is mortality. The party of life and joy is jolted by harsh realities of suffering and death. However, all these themes combine to create a rich texture of the story.
16 .Explore the symbolism of the Sheridans family’s garden in the story. (WBCHSE Textbook Q.3) 6
(গল্পে শেরিডন পরিবারের উদ্যান-এর সাংকেতিকতা উন্মোচিত কর।)
Answer –
✍ Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” is a symbolic representation of her approach to the contemporary society based on class division. The story employed multiple symbols to express two contrasting sides of society-abject poverty and infinite affluence. The Sheridans’ house, garden, party, guests etc. are the symbols of their luxuriant life style. On the other hand, the dark lane, the filthy children, the debris, Scott and his cottage are symbols of misery. In between stands Laura, a symbol of empathy and compassion for the suffering humanity.
The flowers in the garden, the excess lilies, the hat Laura wears, the marquee built are a show of wealth, power, joy and beauty. The uneaten food sent for Scott’s family is the reflection of hateful attitude of the upper class to the poor.
The symbols in the story express the disparities between the rich and the poor. They also suggest the lack of empathy. In short, Mansfield masterfully employs various symbols to intensify the message of a new consciousness for a better society.
17 . How does the Sheridan family in the story ‘The Garden Party ‘express hatred and cruelty towards the poor ? Who of the family are not included here ? 4+2
Answer –
✍ The Sheridans are an upper class family. The senior Sheridans are fully aware of their class. They are rich and influential people. They lead a luxurious life. They arrange for a garden party, invite guests to show their wealth and power, influence and culture.
They have no connection with the lower class people. They hire labourers for their use. They hate their poor neighbours and the death of a poor man like Scott doesn’t matter to them. They continue with their garden party amidst the cries and wails of their neighbours. They think that the poor should not live near them.
✍ However, the only person among the Sheridans who really think for the poor is Laura. She is the younger daughter of the family. Alongside, there is Laurie, Laura’s elder brother who also understands his sister’s empathy with the poor.
18 . What is the theme of the story of”The Garden Party” ? How does the form of a short story help to convey the theme ?
Answer –
✍ The Garden Party explores multiple themes. The moving story deals with the need of empathy in our community life. The class consciousness leading to absurd class distinction is anti- life force. Men and women are to find their own spaces. The so called aristocrats should come down to the grassroots to realize that life is not a feast of joy, but a dedication to the cause of good. Mansfield brilliantly captures multiple themes of “The Garden Party” in the concise art of the short story. The unity of impression i.e. Laura’s journey from self- complacency to self- awareness through empathy and fellow feelings is overall maintained. Besides, the setting, structured plot, the images and symbols and especially, the suggestive resolution of the crisis are the hallmarks of this tale. Added to it, is the economy of language that creates all niceties in the narrative.
আরও পড়ুন :
The Garden Party Question Answer (2 Mark)
YouTube – Samim Sir