A Story
Writer: Dylan Thomas
Summary:
This humorous story is narrated by a very young who is living with his uncle and aunt. In this story, the boy presents adults world from a child’s point of view. This story is about a day’s outline to Porthcawl by motorcoach. In the first part of the story, the boy describes his uncle and aunt using metaphors and similes. The uncle was big and noisy whereas his wife was small and quiet who used to move on padded paws. The boy compares his uncle with a buffalo and a dismantled ship. He compared his aunt with her cat because of her quick and quiet movement and with a mouse because of her nibbling habit and tiny tone. Every Saturday night after heated arguments, the aunt used to hit the uncle on the head after the uncle lifted her on to a chair. The boy also describes the uncle’s few friends in the story. Mr Benjamin Franklyn collected the money for the outing and bought 20 cases of light wine. Will Sentry kept a strict vigil on Benjamin by following him everywhere in order to guard the money. One Sunday evening Benjamin and Will Sentry came to an uncle with a list of persons who had paid for the outing for his approval. After their departure, the aunt asked the uncle to choose either her or the outing. The uncle, however, chooses the outing at which she became furious at breakfast. The next Sunday the boy found that the aunt has already left the house.
Finally, the boy describes the outing the uncle and his friends made a trip to Port crawl for the outing. When they were out of the village for their outing destination, they found that old O’Jones had been left behind and they had to go back to the village to pick up him. After O’Jones got on, Mr Weazely wanted to go home to take his teeth. However, his friends convinced him that the teeth wouldn’t be necessary for him in the outing. On the way to the Porthcawl, they stopped at every public house (Bar) and drank alcohol heaving the boy outside as children were not allowed into the bars on seems a river on the way they went swimming there. They didn’t actually arrive at Porthcawl on the way home, it was already hate everything. Old O’Jones started cooking his dinner with a kerosene stove and other members started drinking alcohol sitting in a circle in front of the closed bar. The boy began to sleep leaning on his uncle’s waistcoat.
The writer in the story is also able to create humour by describing the uncle, aunt, uncle’s friends and their behaviour. However, the writer points out towards the bitter aspect connected with human behaviour and habit of drinking alcohol. An alcoholic drink may change people’s behaviour making them selfish, cruel and indifferent towards others suffering. Alcohol brings a nice atmosphere of the uncle’s family on the verge of breakfast. Uncle and his friends also exhibited cruelty towards the small boy after drinking alcohol as they were totally careless about him during the entire trip.
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Questions and Answers:
Q.1 Describe the narrator’s uncle and his Aunt.
Ans: The description of Uncle Thomas and Aunt Sarah is quite humorous. The narrator, who is a small boy, has used child imagery to describe them. He has used different similes and metaphors and hints that the couple is unmatched. The Uncle is so huge that the whole room becomes smaller when he comes inside it. He looks like a buffalo squeezed into an airy cupboard. He is very noisy and his voice is compared with the trumpet of an elephant. He doesn’t seem well mannered and when he eats, litters his waistcoat which is as big as a meadow for the boy.
But quite opposite to the husband Mrs Sarah, the boy’s aunt, is quite small. She hardly makes her presence felt wherever she goes. Unlike her husband, she is soft-spoken, which the boy tells is like the squeaking of a mouse. She is also a perfectionist and most of her time goes in arranging and dusting the things in her house. Above all, she is a caring wife too. We see when she leaves for her mother’s house in anger she doesn’t forget to remind Mr Thomas about food.
The description of Mr Thomas and Mrs Sarah might appear unmatched from a small boy’s perspective, but the caring attitude of the wife towards the husband and willingness of the husband to get the punishment from the wife also suggest that there is a good understanding between them.
Q.2 Describe the relationship between the boy’s uncle and his wife.
OR
How does the boy, the narrator look at his uncle and his aunt?
OR
Write, in brief, the difference between the boy’s uncle and his wife.
OR
Describe the relationship between the narrator’s uncle and aunt.
Ans: A story is written by famous story writer Dylan Thomas. The narrator of this story is a small child. He has been living with his uncle and aunt from his childhood. The writer describes the relation between his uncle and aunt as a quarrelling couple. But indirectly he shows their love for each other. The couple has a kind of mutual understanding. His uncle is a tall, big and red-hairy man. His voice is hoarse. Unlike him, the writer’s aunt does not make noise while walking or working. His uncle is described as a cool person whereas his wife is described as a hot-tempered person. When she becomes angry, she hits her husband with a china cup. Despite having the opposite nature, they are portrayed as a loving couple.
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Q.3 Give a short description of the boy’s uncle.
OR
Describe how the boy, the narrator, sketches the character of Mr Thomas, his uncle.
OR
Describe the boy’s uncle. Does he look like a disciplined, honest and careful uncle?
Ans: The boy’s uncle is a careless person with a giant body. He likes drinking and playing cards. He also likes going outing with his friends against his wife’s desire. The writer’s uncle is tall, big and red-hairy. He is just like a buffalo squeezed into a cupboard. He has a hoarse voice. He drops food and drinks on his waistcoat. He leaves the table and kitchen dirty. He shows some childish behaviour as well. He does not care about his wife’s feelings. However, he loves his wife.
Q.4 Describe the landlord of the mountain sheep. How did he welcome the members of the outing?
OR
How did the landlord of the ‘Mountain sheep’ welcome the members of the outing?
Ans: The mountain sheep is a pub where all the adults went to drink. The landlord of the pub was kind and cunning as well. The charabanc stopped outside the mountain sheep and they were welcomed by the landlord. His uncle and his friends were drunk and they were breaking the glass. He could hardly recognize the members of the outing. They were all red due to alcohol and were arguing. Some were shouting too. The boy had nothing to do to keep an eye on the charabanc.
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Q.5 Describe the boy’s aunt. Was there a good match between the boy’s uncle and his aunt.
Ans: “A story” is written by a famous story writer Dylan Thomas. The narrator of the story is a small child who has been living with his uncle and aunt from his childhood. The boy’s aunt is small and quiet. She doesn’t make noise while walking or working. When she is angry, she hits her husband with a china cup. She doesn’t allow her husband to play checkers on Sunday. She doesn’t like annual outing because her husband would come home heavily drunk. On such occasions, she would go to her mother’s house.
I think there was a good match between the boy’s uncle and his aunt. Although they looked like quarrelling couple, they showed indirect love for each other. The couple has a kind of mutual understanding.
Q.6 What message does the boy’s aunt leave in the kitchen before she goes to her mother’s home?
Ans: ‘A Story” is a story written by Dylan Thomas. A boy is the narrator of the story. It is about a day’s outing by a charabanc (an early type of bus used in the past for trip). The narrator (boy) was staying with his uncle and aunt. Boy’s uncle was making the plan of going outing. His aunt came in and threatened his uncle that she would go to her mother’s house if he (his uncle) went to an outing. When she asked his uncle if he liked her or outing, he chose to out. Then she hit on his uncle’s head.
On next Saturday morning, the uncle’s wife left the house and went to her mother’s home. She had written a note to her husband. She had written a note to her husband. She had written that there are eggs in the pantry (a small room near the kitchen). She had also asked him to put off boots before going to bed.
