If I Were You Important Questions Class 9 Beehive English
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What crime had the intruder committed?
Answer
The intruder was a jewel thief. When he was being chased by the police, he killed a policeman. So he was wanted for murder also.
Question 2. What did Gerrard tell the intruder about his childhood?
Answer
Gerrard told the intruder that in childhood he was stolen by the gypsies.
Question 3. Where did Gerrard imprison the intruder?
Answer
Gerrard imprisoned the intruder in the cupboard.
Question 4. Briefly describe Gerrard’s appearance.
Answer
Gerrard is a man of medium height and wears horn-rimmed glasses. When the play opens, he is dressed in a lounge suit and a great coat. He talks in a cultured voice and his demeanour is confident.
Question 5. Why did the intruder want to hurt but not to kill Gerrard?
Answer
He wanted to hurt him and get an answer to his questions before killing him.
Question 6. Why does the Intruder not kill Gerrard immediately?
Answer
The Intruder does not kill Gerrard immediately because he first wants to get all the necessary information from him. Without this information, his plan to take on Gerrard’s identity will not succeed.
Question 7. How did Gerrard react to find the intruder in his room?
Answer
He was cool and calm to see the intruder.
Question 8. How did the Intruder threaten Gerrard?
Answer
The Intruder threatened Gerrard by saying that he would soon stop being smart. He would make Gerrard crawl.
Question 9. What did the intruder want to know of Gerrard?
Answer
He wanted to know of Gerrard, how he talked and how he met people.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What sort of information does the intruder want from Gerrard?
Answer
The intruder wants personal details from Gerrard like whether in the lives alone, what his Christian name is, whether he has a car and whether people visit him. All this information is necessary for the execution of his plan to dodge the police by disguising it himself as Gerrard.
Question 2. Who was the Intruder in Gerrard’s house? Why did he break into his house?
Answer
The Intruder, who broke into Gerrard’s house, was a criminal. He had murdered a cop and was being chased by the police. He broke into Gerrard’s house with the intention of murdering him and taking on his identity to evade the police.
Question 3. Why does the Intruder intend to kill Gerrard?
Answer
The Intruder is a criminal who is being chased by the police for having murdered a cop. As per his plan, the Intruder intends to kill Gerrard in order to take on his identity and escape capture by the police. In this way, he can lead a peaceful life without living in constant fear of arrest and punishment.
Question 4. What sort of a person is the intruder? Give examples to illustrate.
Answer
The intruder is a dangerous person as he is carrying a pistol and claims to have killed a cop. He is mean, heartless and crafty, for he plans to kill Gerrard and assume his identity in order to escape the police. He is over-confident because he claims that Gerrard is no match for him. He is also boastful, uncouth and uncultured so as is evident from a remark he makes, ‘Put up your paws’.
Question 5. “You’ll soon stop being smart.” Why did Intruder think that Gerrard was being smart?
Answer
The Intruder thought that Gerrard was being ‘smart’ or clever and facetious because he did not show any fear at the sight of an armed man enter his house and threaten him. To the contrary, he was giving the Intruder smart answers to his questions.
Question 6. Why does the intruder call himself ‘a poor hunted rat’?
Answer
The intruder describes himself as ‘a poor hunted rat’ because he is being chased by the police and he has to keep dodging them. He has killed a cop and is trying to escape punishment by hiding like a rat being chased by a cat.
Question 7. I want to know a few things, see.” What sort of information did the Intruder want from Gerrard?
Answer
The Intruder wanted personal details from Gerrard like whether he lived alone, what his Christian name was, whether he had a car and whether people visited him. All this information was necessary for the execution of his plan to dodge the police by killing Gerrard and taking on his identity.
Question 8. How did Gerrard convince the Intruder that he was also wanted by the police?
Answer
When Gerrard came to know about the Intruder’s plan, he kept his cool. He cooked a story to outwit him. He said he is also a murderer who was in hiding and that is why he was a mystery man who never met anyone including the tradespeople. So, if the Intruder took on his identify, he would not gain anything. He would anyway be accused of murder.
Question 9. Why did the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wanted to take on?
Answer
The intruder picked Gerrard because both of them were of the same physical structure. Moreover, as Gerrard lived alone, did not meet any people, and had irregular hours and habits, he thought it would be easy to kill him and assume his identity, and this way lead a life of peace. He will be away from the reach of the law.
Question 10. What did Gerrard tell the Intruder about his childhood and his present life? Was he telling the truth? Why/Why not?
Answer
Gerrard told the Intruder that as a child, he was stolen by the gypsies and now in his thirties he was all alone in life. He was not telling the truth; he was just being funny as he wished to make it clear that he was not afraid of a gun-totting criminal. In fact, Gerrard had already started concocting stories about himself.
Question 11. What made Gerrard ask the Intruder, “Are you an American”?
Answer
Gerrard asked the Intruder if he were an American as he had told him to ‘Put those paws up! ’ and had called him a ‘wise guy’. ‘Paws’ for hands and ‘guy’ for a man are colloquial American expressions. Hence, the usage of these words by the Intruder made Gerrard ask him this question.
Question 12. Gerrard describes this encounter with the intruder as an amusing spot of bother’? What light does this attitude reflect on Gerrard?
Answer
Any other person in Gerrard’s place would have been paralyzed with fear under such circumstances. But Gerrard finds it an amusing spot of bother’ as his nonchalant (calm and casual) approach makes him handle the situation comfortably and outwit the intruder with ease.
Question 13. Where did Gerrard live? Why was it a suitable place for the Intruder’s plan?
Answer
Gerrard lived in a lonely cottage in a secluded place in the wilds of Essex. With hardly any population around, it was easy for one to commit a crime without getting detected. In addition, the place was visited by only a few people. Therefore, it was suitable for the Intruder to carry out his plan successfully over here.
Question 14. Why has the criminal been called an Intruder all through the play?
Answer
An Intruder is a who enters a place without permission in order to commit a crime. The Intruder is called an Intruder throughout the play as he has forced his way into Gerrard’s cottage, with criminal intent. He has come to murder Gerrard and to steal his identity.
Question 15. Why was Gerrard’s schedule so irregular?
Answer
Having a theatrical background, Gerrard devoted time to writing, producing and directing the plays. He also supplied other theatrical companies with props and make-up items. Therefore, his schedule was irregular as it had to suit the requirements at the theatres.
Question 16. “This is your big surprise”. Who says these words in the play? What and where? What is the surprise?
Answer
Gerrard says these words when the Intruder asks him to clarify how he could still be hanged after assuming Vincent Charles Gerrard’s identity. This is a surprise for the Intruder who never suspected Gerrard of being a criminal. According to his information, Gerrard seemed to be the perfect person who could be easily eliminated and then impersonated. However, Gerrard has just turned the tables on him by claiming to be a criminal on the run.
Question 17. Why and how did Gerrard persuade the Intruder to get into the cupboard?
Answer
Gerrard concocted a story about his own criminal background. He gave the Intruder the impression that the police were looking for him and he expected a telephone call from a friend, posted as a lookout, informing him of the police’s arrival. So when the telephone rang, he hurried the Intruder into the cupboard and told him that it was connected to the garage which was an escape route.
Question 18. Gerrard describes this encounter with the Intruder as ‘an amusing spot of bother’? What light does this attitude reflect on Gerrard?
Answer
Any other person in Gerrard’s place would have been paralysed with fear when faced with a gun-totting stranger who has entered one’s house to kill him and steal his identity. But Gerrard finds it ‘a amusing spot of bother’ as his cool and unflappable approach makes him handle the situation comfortably and outwit the Intruder with ease.
Question 19. What precautions did Gerrard take while calling the police?
Answer
Gerrard was smarter than the Intruder. Having locked the Intruder inside the cupboard, he knocked the revolver out of his hand. To make sure that the Intruder would not break out of the cupboard, Gerrard went to the phone, where he stood with the gun pointed at the cupboard door.
Question 20. Bring out the contrast between Gerrard and the intruder.
Answer
Coarse, crude, boastful and an irritable egoist, the intruder is overconfident and thinks that he is the smartest one around. Gerrard, on the other hand, is pleasant, cool-headed, refined, lively and very intelligent, but a modest and humble person. Although Gerrard does not brag, he proves to be much smarter and more intelligent than the intruder.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Why was Gerrard packing a bag at the beginning of the play? How did it help him to outwit and trap the intruder?
Answer
Gerrard was packing a bag at the beginning of the play as he had to deliver some props to some theatrical company for rehearsal. When the intruder broke into his cottage and threatened to kill him, Gerrard did not lose his cool. He spontaneously concocted a story that he himself was a criminal and was trying to dodge the police. This story was supported by the bag, the gun, the disguise outfit, false moustaches etc. All this misled the intruder into believing that Gerrard was telling the truth. He was so convinced that he got ready to escape along with Gerrard. He did not doubt him any longer and unsuspectingly did what he was told to, eventually getting trapped. Hence, the bag played an important role in convincing the intruder that Gerrard too was a criminal like him and was preparing to flee when he broke into his cottage.
Question 2. The intruder’s plan was clever but not feasible. Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer
On the face of it, the intruder’s plan to kill Gerrard and assume his identity appeared to be a very clever one. However, its execution was not a feasible one. In the first place, had Gerrard been killed, the disposal of his body would have created problems for the intruder and there are chances that his crime would have been detected and he would have been caught. If by chance, he could have managed to deal with this part of the drama, suspicions would have risen in the minds of his theatrical clients on being unable to contact Gerrard. They would have certainly sought help from the police in this regard and eventually, the intruder would have been arrested. Hence, the plan of the intruder, however perfect according to him, was not a feasible one. Theoretically, it appeared simple and fool-proof but it was far too complicated in reality to be carried out flawlessly.
Question 3. Gerrard talks pleasantly with the intruder. Was he really pleased to see the criminal?
Answer
Gerrard is living alone in his house. One day an intruder enters his room. There is a gun in his hand and he threatens to kill Gerrard. But Gerrard does not panic. He is a clever man. He has understood that the criminal has evil intentions. He knows that if he fights with the intruder, he will be killed. So his best chance is to talk with the intruder in a friendly manner. Even the intruder notes it and says that Gerrard is trying to be calm and careless. By talking pleasantly, Gerrard makes the intruder delay his plan of killing him. So Gerrard tells him that he is pleased to see him. We know that this is a lie. He was not really pleased to see the criminal. By engaging the intruder in talks, Gerrard comes to know that he is not an intelligent man and it is not difficult to befool him. Gerrard’s behaviour shows that he is a sensible person. He knows how to behave in a crisis. In the end, he is able to lock the intruder in a cupboard and calls the police.
Question 4. Bring out Gerrard’s intelligence, presence of mind and sense of humour. How did these traits help him outwit the Intruder?
Answer
An intelligent and level-headed person, Gerrard did not show even the slightest of nervousness at the sight of the gun-totting criminal enter his house and threaten to kill him. He knew that his wit and presence of mind would not only help him to manage the crisis but would also contribute towards unnerving the Intruder, and getting the better of him. Keeping the atmosphere light and lively with his sense of humour and funny remarks, Gerrard surprised the Intruder, who had expected him to be afraid.
Once he found out the Intruder was wanted for murder and had been on the run, and thus living in fear, he instantly cooked up a story about his own criminal background. Convincing the Intruder that police would arrive any minute to nab him, he impressed upon the Intruder that they would have to escape immediately. Cleverly, he made him peep into the cupboard saying that it was an escape route.
The moment the Intruder leaned forward to inspect it, Gerrard pushed him into the cupboard and knocked the revolver out of his hand. He closed and locked the door. Thus, his intelligence, sense of humour, and presence of mind turned the tables on the Intruder.
Question 5. Gerrard says, “In most melodramas, the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long enough to be frustrated. Does this statement holds good for the play ‘If I Were You’?
Answer
In most melodramas, the playwright wants to make the hero successful. The villain in the play wants to kill the hero. But he presented as someone who is foolish. He goes on delaying the killing for one reason or the other. In the end, his plans are frustrated and the hero is able to get the better of him. The same thing holds good of this play. In this play, the villain is the intruder. He resembles Gerrard. So he wants to kill Gerard and live under his name. He has gathered a lot of information about Gerard. But he does not know that Gerrard is a stage actor. He can act well. Gerrard poses to be pleased on seeing the intruder. He talks to him in a tactful way. He makes the intruder talk about himself Thus he goes on delaying the killing. This gives Gerrard enough time to plan to get rid of him. In the end, the intruder’s plan of killing Gerrard is frustrated and he is shut up in a cupboard.