If I Were You

(i) The given line, “At last a sympathetic audience” was said by Gerrard.

(ii) He says the line, “At last a sympathetic audience” as a reaction to the question of the intruder who asks him to speak about himself.

(iii) He says the line, “At last a sympathetic audience in sarcastic tone.

The intruder was a murderer who was constantly being chased down by the police. To escape from the situation, he chose Gerrard as the man whose identity he could easily impersonate. In addition, he found Gerrard to be quite similar to him and thought that if he would kill him and then behave and look similar to him, there would be hardly any chances of him being caught.

(i) The given line, “I said it with bullets” was said by Gerrard.

(ii) The given line, “I said it with bullets” means that Gerrard had previously used a gun to shoot someone for his escape.

(iii) No, it is not the truth. The speaker says this to manipulate the intruder who is armed with a gun. He does this to save himself from being shot.

Gerrard is a playwright by profession. We can say so as many sentences mentioned in the play reveal his way of writing and working and at the same time throw light on his profession. The parts of the play that support the argument are as follows:

(i) This is all very melodramatic, not very original, perhaps, but...

(ii) At last a sympathetic audience!

(iii) In most melodramas, the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long enough to be frustrated.

(iv) A mystery which I propose to explain.

(v) That’s a disguise outfit; false moustaches and what not.

(vi) Sorry, I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal; I’ve had a spot of bother – quite amusing. I think I’ll put it in my next play.

(i) The line, “You'll soon stop being smart” was said by the intruder.

(ii) The speaker said this in reaction to the no signs of anxiousness on Gerrard’s face. As things did not go as he planned, he wanted to scare Gerrard by saying these words.

(iii) The speaker i.e. the intruder had the plan of killing Gerrard and then taking on his identity in order to escape from the cops at the back of his mind. However, on a very carefree reaction from Gerrard he spoke these lines and also felt that on knowing his real plans, Gerrard would gradually start feeling scared of him.

(i) The given line, "They can't hang me twice" has been spoken by the intruder.

(ii) The speaker i.e. the intruder had been telling Gerrard his story of previously murdering one man along with the fact that he won’t shy away from adding one more to his crime list because irrespective of murdering one or more than that, he would be hanged only once for the same offence.

The speaker i.e. Gerrard proposed to explain the mystery of manipulation that he thought of in order to counter the intruder smartly.

The story was that Gerrard himself was a criminal just like the intruder. He very cleverly planned to raise the question of not meeting any trades people. In continuation to the story, he also planned to claim of committing a murder and escaping from it. However, due to the arrest of one of his men and the presence of evidence against him, he was forced to plan his escape that night and thus his bag was packed as he was ready to leave.

(i) This line has been spoken twice in the play. On the very first occasion, it was spoken by the intruder as he planned to reveal his idea of killing Gerrard and then taking over his identity to escape the cops. However, on the second occasion, it was spoken by Gerrard himself as he thought of revealing his cooked up criminal story for saving himself from being shot by the intruder.

(ii) The surprise on the first occasion was the plan of the intruder of killing Gerrard and then taking over his identity to escape from the sight of the cops. In the second instance, Gerrard’s surprise was his cooked up criminal story and false identity which he thought of for saving himself from the situation.

(1) The site of the accident was ghastly.

site- a defined area, ghastly- something that causes a sense of fear or horror

(2) Our college principal is very strict.

principal- the senior most person of an organization

(3) I studied continuously for eight hours.

continuously- doing something without stopping or without interruption

(4) The fog had an adverse effect on the traffic.

effect- the result of a particular act

(5) Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant artist.

artist- a person who has mastered the art of drawing and painting

(6) The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary collage of science fiction and mystery.

collage- a collection of certain things put altogether

(7) Our school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.

host- the act of receiving and entertaining individuals at one’s place

(8) Screw the lid tightly on to the top of the bottle and shake well before using the contents.

shake- to move something in a forceful and jerky manner

The following words describe both Gerrard and the Intruder:

GERRARD

Gerrard was a very confident and a witty person having all the qualities of catching the other person’s attention. He was as cool as a cucumber which could be clearly exhibited from his reaction when he found out about the intruder. He was smart and clever enough to balance himself and conquer the situation by convincing the intruder regarding his false identity of a wanted criminal. Lastly, he also possessed the courage to make the intruder fall in his trap as he locked him up in the cupboard and then handed him over to the police.

INTRUDER

The intruder was a clever and smart one who time and again managed to flee from the eyes of the police. He wore flashy clothes and somewhat resembled with Gerrard in terms of his appearance. He was a nonchalant person with a very casual attitude which could especially been seen when he revealed his plan of killing Gerrard and telling about his previous criminal record. However, his casual attitude ultimately threw him in Gerrard’s trap because of which he was ultimately handed over to the police.

NOTE- The above paragraphs are only brief examples to write your answer. Students are required to supplement these with more adjectives along with linking them with the scenes of the play.

‘A strange fellow with a strange plan’

Once upon a time, Gerrard, the playwright was alone in his cottage busy packing his bags for a relaxing holiday at the countryside. But to his amazement, an intruder silently entered his cottage armed with a revolver. Although his purpose to enter Gerrard’s cottage was unclear; Gerrard still managed to stay calm and cool in his presence as he was busy taking a call. On seeing the intruder, Gerrard was asked to sit still at one place. Then as their conversation progressed, the intruder revealed that he was a jewel thief. He further told him that he had killed a policeman and therefore the police was after him. In addition to this, he told him that due to his criminal record, he further wanted to kill Gerrard and take on his identity by which he could get away with the police and lead a normal life. However, Gerrard very cleverly concocted a story and told him that he too was a criminal and already had planned of running away. He also told the intruder that by killing him, he would be accused of double murder and as a proof, showed his traveling bag.

Further weaving the story, Gerrard told the intruder that his friend was standing on the nearby road, waiting for him and as soon as the police arrived, he would inform him. Now, in order to fully convince him, Gerrard took the intruder to the door to show the man. But as soon as they reached near the cupboard, Gerrard pushed him inside and immediately locked it from outside. Screaming and shouting, the intruder pleaded him to take him out of the cupboard but Gerrard very smartly took advantage of the situation and called the police and finally got the strange intruder arrested for his deeds.

One day I was packing my bag to go for a nice relaxing holiday but all of a sudden, I saw that a strange thing happens. A person, I supposed a thief had entered my cottage. He was an intruder with medium height and some resemblance with me, wore jet black spectacles and some extremely flashy clothes. In addition, he had put on a long over coat and a soft hat. Everything was okay only until the moment I had not seen a revolver. And before I could even react, he pointed it gun at me.

At gun-point, he asked me to tell everything about myself. I was perturbed and shocked but kept myself in balance. He wanted to impersonate me by killing me. But I made up a false story at the same time and revealed that I too was a criminal like him and had my set of distinguished clothes in the cupboard. Gradually, in order to convince him, I took the intruder to the cupboard and as soon as he peeped in, I got a chance to push him inside. In that very moment, taking advantage of the situation, I made the attempt and was successful in locking him there. Followed by this, I immediately called up the police to hand him over. In this way I was able to outwit this intruder.

Note: It is a class-room activity to be organized under the guidance of the teacher.