Samacheer Kalvi 10th English Solutions Supplementary Chapter 7 A Dilemma

February 11, 2022

Tamilnadu Samacheer Kalvi 10th English Solutions Supplementary Chapter 7 A Dilemma

A Dilemma Textual Questions

A. Read the given lines carefully and identify the character / speaker:

Question 1.
I suppose you think me queer. I will explain.
Answer:
Uncle Philip

Question 2.
Don’t come back. It won’t hasten things.
Answer:
Uncle Philip

Question 3.
He thought it simply a cruel jest.
Answer:
Tom’s father

Question 4.
He did not desire to do so.
Answer:
Professor Clinch

Question 5.
He would think it over and come back later.
Answer:
The collector

Additional Questions

Uncle Jim:

He was a bachelor who cooked his own meals.
I suppose you think me queer. I will explain.
He hated my mother but I do not know why.
He was an inventor, an able and ingenious mechanical engineer.
I have been living on an annuity into which I put my fortune.
Now I repent of my wickedness to you all.
You think I am poor and have only my annuity.
You will be profitably surprised.
I have never parted with my precious stones; they will be yours.
You are my sole heir.
No doubt you have always had expectations.
I desire that you should continue to expect.
My jewels are in my safe.
There is nothing else left.
You will have to pay for my funeral.
The rubies are valuable. They are in my safe at the trust company.
Be very careful to read a letter which lies on top of it.
Don’t come back. It won’t hasten things.
He was a skilled workman and very ingenious.
Tom, remembered the old man’s oddity and his malice.

The narrator, Silas Weir Mitchell / Tom:

I was just thirty-seven when my Uncle Philip died.
He never looked forward to any expenditure with more pleasure.
I opened the safe and found in it nothing but an iron box.
I stood appalled, the key in my hand.
Was it true? Was it a lie?
I thought of Susan.
I saw that marriage was out of the question.
I spent all my spare hours at one of the great libraries reading about dynamite.
I found in my uncle’s Bible, a numbered list of the stones.
He had spent all his savings on the funeral.

The Narrator’s Mom:
1. She told Tom that he need expect nothing from his father’s brother.

Professor Clinch:

If your uncle had not lied, there’s nothing that would not ruin the stones.
It was a silly tale and altogether incredible.

Dr. Schaff:

He believed the old man’s letter.
He begged Tom to give up all thought of the matter.

Government officials:
1. They were reasonably desired to collect the succession tax on my uncle’s estate.

The Collector:
1. Tom offered him the key and asked for time to get half a mile away.

B. Based on your understanding of the story, answer the following briefly.

Question 1.
What did the uncle do as soon as he bought a stone?
Answer:
He carried it in his pocket for a month, looked at it now and then and then added to the collection in his safe.

Question 2.
What did the uncle bequeath to the narrator?
Answer:
The Uncle bequeathed an iron safe that contained precious gems and a dynamite that would explode when opened.

Question 3.
What was the condition laid by the uncle to inherit his property?
Answer:
The uncle asked Tom to open the box with relief and trust to increase his expectation and desire. If he doubted and opened the dynamite would explode.

Question 4.
Why do you think Tom happily looked forward to the expenditure for his uncle’s funeral?
Answer:
Tom thought he would become a very rich man after his uncle died when he inherited the box of gems.

Question 5.
Write a few words about the mechanism used in the iron box.
Answer:
The box contained an interesting mechanism. It will act with certainty as one unlocks it, and explode 9 Vi ounces of his improved, super sensitive dynamite. One must open without » doubting to desire a fortune. If they doubt, the person will be blown to atoms.

Question 6.
What was the counsel offered to the narrator?
Answer:
The counsel offered was to quit thinking about the box and its contents.

Question 7.
Why and when was the narrator shocked?
Answer:
The narrator was shocked when he opened the safe and found nothing but an iron box wondering whether it contained gems or it was a lie.

Question 8.
What was the doctor’s warning to Tom?
Answer:
The doctor warned him that he would lose his mind thinking a lot about the rubies.

Question 9.
Why didn’t Tom dare to assign the task of unlocking the box to someone?
Answer:
Tom felt a stranger had no right to be subjected to the trial that he dared not face. So he did not want a stranger to open the box.

Additional:

Question 1.
What was told by Uncle Jim to Tom about his property?
Answer:
Uncle Jim told him that the rubies were valuable and they were kept in the safe at the Trust company. He told Tom that he should read the letter which lies on top of the box before unlocking the box and be sure not to shake the box.

Question 2.
What did Tom find inside the safe?
Answer:
Tom found inside the safe an iron box which was heavy and strong, about ten inches long, eight inches wide and ten inches high, evidently made by Uncle Jim.

Question 3.
What did Tom know about his father’s brother?
Answer:
Tom knew that his uncle was an inventor, an able and ingenious mechanical engineer. He knew that he was a bachelor who lived alone and cooked his own meals and collected precious stones, especially rubies and pearls.

Question 4.
When did the craze for collecting precious stones start for Uncle Jim?
Answer:
From the time Uncle Jim made his first money he had this mania to collect precious stones. As he grew richer, the desire to possess rare and costly gems became stronger.

Question 5.
What did Uncle Jim tell Tom when Tom thanked him seated by his death bed?
Answer:
Jim told him that the rubies were valuable. They were in his safe at the trust company. He asked him to be very careful with the box and read a letter which was kept on top of the box and be sure not to shake the box.

C. Answer the questions given below in a paragraph of 150 words.

Question 1.
Describe briefly the contents of the letter written by Tom’s uncle.
Answer:
Tom’s uncle wrote that the box contained a large number of fine pigeon blood rubies and a lot of diamonds, one blue diamond, hundred of pearls, a famous green pearl and a necklace of blue pearls. Thinking of Susan, he insisted Tom to continue to have expectations and remember his dear uncle.

Instead of leaving the stones to a charity he gave it to Tom. The letter instructed Tom about the mechanism of unlocking it. It would explode 9U ounces of improved, super sensitive dynamite. If he opened it doubtfully it would turn him to atoms. With faith if he opened it carefully, he would nourish hopes and expectations. He asks Tom to be very careful.

Question 2.
Explain the efforts taken by Tom to open the iron box. Did he succeed? Why?
Answer:
Tom went on thinking about it, finding people to advise, ransacked libraries, imagined wild plans like throwing it from a far off place to open it, after the explosion he could get the gems, but was sure he wouldn’t succeed. He thinks very hard in vain for weeks and months. His father dismisses it that it is a dirty joke by his deceptive uncle.

His doctor advises him to stop thinking about the iron box with precious gems, as it would make him mad, he tries to put it in the bank, but withdraws because he is afraid of the burglary. He consults Professor Clinch about his dilemma who dismissed it as an altogether incredible tale. Thus Tom had to leave the box to the Society for the Preservation of Human Vivisection.

Additional:

Question 1.
According to the list kept in the Bible, what can you infer of Uncle Jim’s collection of stones?
Answer:
One fine day when Tom was already groping in fear that the iron box may explode with careless handling by someone, found between the leaves of his uncle’s Bible, a numbered list of the stones with their cost. It was dated two years before his uncle’s death. Many of the stones were well known, and their enormous value was also mentioned. Several of the rubies were described with care and curious histories of them were given in detail.

One was said to be the famous “Sunset ruby,” which had belonged to the Empress-Queen Maria Theresa. One was called the “Blood ruby,” not because of the colour but on account of the murders it had occasioned. The pearls were described with care as an unequaled collection. Concerning two of them, they seemed to have done much evil and some good. One, a black pearl, was mentioned in an old bill of sale which seemed queer.
‘Genius like precious stones is chiefly prized because of its rarity. ’

Question 2.
What did Uncle Jim tell his nephew a week before his death?
Answer:
Tom was just thirty-seven when his Uncle Philip died. A week before that event Jim sent for him and it was the first day Tom had ever seen his uncle. At that time Tom was a poor clerk. When Tom sat down by his bedside, he began, with a malicious grin and told him that he must be thinking about this strange meet. He told him that he would explain why it was strange too. He told him that he had been living on an annuity into which he put his fortune.

In other words, he, has been, as to money, concentric half of his life to enable him to be as eccentric as he pleased the rest of it. He added that now he repented of his wickedness to all of them and desire to live in the memory of at least one of his family. Jim also told Tom that he might think he was poor and had only his annuity but said that he would be surprised to know how profitable he was. He said that he had never parted with his precious stones and that they would be Tom’s after his death since he has accepted him to be his sole heir.

He said that he should carry with him to the other world the satisfaction of making one man happy. Uncle Jim also told Tom that there wasn’t any doubt about his expectations and that he should continue to expect. He told Tom about his jewels in the safe and that he should pay for his funeral.
‘Man is an idea, and a precious small idea once he turns his back.’

Question 3.
What information do you have of Uncle Jim?
Answer:
Uncle Jim was the narrator’s father’s only brother. He hated the narrator’s mother. Tom’s mother too had told him long before Uncle Jim’s last illness that he need not expect anything from his father’s brother. Uncle Jim was an inventor, an able and ingenious mechanical engineer, and had much money by his improvement in turbine-wheels. He was a bachelor; lived alone, cooked his own meals, and collected precious stones, especially rubies and pearls.

From the time he made his first money he had this mania. As he grew richer, the desire to possess rare and costly gems became stronger. He was malicious. He was an odd man who couldn’t be understood. He was extremely clever in mechanic arts. He had a patent for the explosive which helped him to become rich.
‘No one is perfect – absolutely no one.’

D. Fill in the blanks with the right option and write down the summary of the story ‘A dilemma’.

Question 1.
The narrator was sent for, by his uncle when he was ______ . (on his deathbed / on his travels/ in his workplace)
Answer:
on his deathbed

Question 2.
The uncle had collected precious _______. (jewels / stones /articles)
Answer:
stones

Question 3.
His uncle announced Tom as his heir and wanted* him to pay for his _______. (rented house / marriage / funeral)
Answer:
funeral

Question 4.
Leaving an iron box for Tom, his uncle instructed him not to the box. (throw / carry / shake)
Answer:
shake

Question 5.
The letter read that the box contained _______ . (a sensitive dynamite / jewels / money)
Answer:
a sensitive dynamite

Question 6.
He started thinking of all possible ways to open the box without being ______ . (wounded / killed / maimed)
Answer:
killed

Question 7.
He planned to explode the box at ________ but dropped the plan ______in fear of losing the rubies. (home / a safe distance / a waste land)
Answer:
a safe distance

Question 8.
His consultation with did ______ not yield him any fruitful solution. (Uncle Philip / Professor Clinch / Susan)
Answer:
Professor Clinch

Question 9.
He failed in his attempts to open the box. His efforts to read about explosives led to_____(hopes / confusions / suspicions) and he had to change his ______ . (name and occupation /lodgings / appearance)
Answer:
confusions, name and occupation

Question 10.
At last, he bequeathed the box to______ . (his offspring / his friends / the Society)
Answer:
the Society.

Additional:

1. The author was just ………………. when Uncle Philip died.
(a) thirty-one
(b) forty-seven
(c) thirty-seven
Answer:
(c) thirty-seven

2. Uncle Philip hated the author’s …………………. .
(a) mother
(b) father
(c) sister
Answer:
(a) mother

3. ……………… before Uncle Philip’s death, the author got to see him.
(a) two weeks
(b) a week
(c) a month
Answer:
(b) a week

4. Uncle Jim was an inventor, an able and ingenious ……………… engineer.
(a) civil
(b) electrical
(c) mechanical
Answer:
(c) mechanical

5. Uncle Jim had much money by his improvement in …………… .
(a) turbine-wheels
(b) cargo-wheels
(c) construction sites
Answer:
(a) turbine-wheels

6. Jim collected precious stones, especially ………………….. .
(a) pearls and emeralds
(b) rubies and pearls
(c) jades
Answer:
(b) rubies and pearls

7. From the time Jim made his first money he had this ………………….. .
(a) desire
(b) sickness
(c) mania
Answer:
(c) mania

8. When Jim bought a new stone, he carried it in his ……………… for a month.
(a) pocket
(b) wallet
(c) suitcase
Answer:
(a) pocket

9. After a month, Jim added it to the collection in his safe at …………………. .
(a) state treasury
(b) the trust company
(c) the Bank of Lorraine
Answer:
(b) the trust company

10. When the author met Uncle Jim, he was a ………………… .
(a) Banker
(b) Physician
(c) Clerk
Answer:
(c) Clerk

11. When I sat down by his bedside, the author noticed his ……………….. grin.
(a) malicious
(b) benevolent
(c) deathly
Answer:
(a) malicious

12. Did Tom think that his Uncle was poor and had only his for his …………………. living?
(a) pearls and gems
(b) annuity
(c) iron-box
Answer:
(b) annuity

13. As the author rose to leave, Jim said: “The …………………….. are valuable”.
(a) Rubies
(b) Pearls
(c) Emeralds
Answer:
(a) Rubies

14. The box was heavy and strong, about ten inches long; ………………. inches wide and ten inches high.
(a) ten
(b) nine
(c) eight
Answer:
(c) eight

15. The author carried the iron box away, set it down with care in a ………………… .
(a) cupboard
(b) wooden case
(c) closet
Answer:
(c) closet

16. According to the letter, the box contains very fine ……………… .
(a) pigeon-blood rubies and a fair lot of diamonds
(b) blue pearls and rubies
(c) pigeon-blood rubies and a green jade and emerald
Answer:
(a) pigeon-blood rubies and a fair lot of diamonds

17. Any woman would sell her soul-or her affections for ……………….. .
(a) the famous green pearl and a necklace of blue pearls
(b) the famous antique turquoise shell comb with pearls embedded
(c) the blue coloured large diamond
Answer:
(a) the famous green pearl and a necklace of blue pearls

18. Worst of all, his …………….. was reduced, and marriage cancelled.
(a) fame
(b) peace
(c) salary
Answer:
(c) salary

19. In despair, the author consulted ………………. .
(a) Professor Clinch
(b) Professor Gems
(c) Physician Schaff
Answer:
(a) Professor Clinch

20. ………………… was the author’s uncle’s doctor.
(a) Dr. Clinch
(b) Dr. Schaff
(c) Dr. Gems
Answer:
(b) Dr. Schaff

21. He spent all his spare hours at one of the greatest libraries reading about …………………. .
(a) rubies
(b) diamonds
(c) dynamite
Answer:
(c) dynamite

22. The library attendants, mistook him to be a dynamite fiend, alerted the ……………… .
(a) crime department
(b) library manager
(c) police
Answer:
(c) police

23. Between the leaves of Jim’s Bible, a numbered list of the stones was kept.
(a) Bible
(b) Quran
(c) Encyclopedia of Dynamites
Answer:
(a) Bible

24. The list in the Bible was dated ……………… before my uncle’s death.
(a) two weeks
(b) two months
(c) two years
Answer:
(c) two years

25. The “…………………..,” belonged to the Empress-Queen Maria Theresa.
(a) Sunset Ruby
(b) Blood Sapphire
(c) Precious Jades
Answer:
(a) Sunset Ruby

Additional:

A. Rearrange the following sentences in coherent order.

1. a. As he grew richer, the desire to possess rare and costly gems became stronger,
b. From the time he made his first money he had this mania.
c. He had much money by his improvement in turbine-wheels. .
d. He was a bachelor; lived alone, and collected precious stones.
e. Uncle Philip was an inventor, an able and ingenious mechanical engineer.
Answers:
e, c, d, b, a
e. Uncle Philip was an inventor, an able and ingenious mechanical engineer.
c. He had much money by his improvement in turbine-wheels.
d. He was a bachelor; lived alone, and collected precious stones,
b. From the time he made his first money he had this mania.
a. As he grew richer, the desire to possess rare and costly gems became stronger.

2. a. Finally, when I thanked him he grinned and wanted me to pay for his funeral.
b. Later, it was added to the collection in his safe at the trust company.
c. Now and then, he took it out and looked at it.
d. When Uncle Philip bought a new stone, he carried it in his pocket for a month.
e. When Uncle Philip sent for Tom, he was a clerk, and poor enough.
Answers:
d, c, b, e, a
d. When Uncle Philip bought a new stone, he carried it in his pocket for a month,
c. Now and then, he took it out and looked at it.
b. Later, it was added to the collection in his safe at the trust company.
e. When Uncle Philip sent for Tom, he was a clerk, and poor enough.
a. Finally, when I thanked him he grinned and wanted me to pay for his funeral.

B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate phrases given below to form a complete meaningful paragraph.

1. (heavy and strong/ ten inches high/was found/ but an iron box/ was handsomely buried)

Uncle Philip died that day next week, and (i) …………………. The day after, his will (ii) ……………….., leaving me his heir. I opened his safe and found in it nothing (iii) ………………., evidently of his own making, for he was a skilled workman and very ingenious. The box was (iv) ………………………. about ten inches long, eight inches wide and (v) ……………………. .
Answers:
(i) was handsomely buried
(ii) was found
(iii) but an iron box
(iv) heavy and strong
(v) ten inches high

2. (in the house with that box / to withdraw it/ In my despair / in a safe / by the dozen)

(i) …………….. I advertised in the Journal of Science, and have had absurd schemes sent me (ii) ……………………. At last, as I talked too much about it, the thing became so well known that when I put the horror (iii) ……………………, in a bank, I was promptly desired (iv) …………………. I was in constant fear of burglars, and my landlady gave me notice to leave, because no one would stay (v) ……………… .
Answers:
(i) In my despair
(ii) by the dozen
(iii) in a safe
(iv) to withdraw it
(v) in the house with that box

C. Match the following appropriately:

Answers:
(i)(c), (ii)(d), (iii)(e), (iv)(a), (v)(b).

2.
Answers:
(i)(c), (ii)(d), (iii)(b), (iv)(e), (v)(a).

D. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. I was just thirty-seven when my Uncle Philip died. A week before that event he sent for me; and here let me say that I had never set eyes on him. He hated my mother, but I do not know why. She told me long before his last illness that I need expect nothing from my father’s brother. He was an inventor, an able and ingenious mechanical engineer, and had much money by his improvement in turbine-wheels. He was a bachelor; lived alone, cooked his own meals, and collected precious stones, especially rubies and pearls.

From the time he made his first money he had this mania. As he grewricher, the desire to possess rare and costly gems became stronger. When he bought a new stone, he carried it in his pocket for a month and now and then took it out and looked at it. Then it was added to the collection in his safe at the trust company.

(a) How old was Uncle Philip’s nephew when he died?
Answer:
Uncle Philip’s nephew was thirty-seven years old when Philip died.

(b) How was the narrator related to Philip?
Answer:
The narrator was Philip’s nephew as Philip was his father’s brother.

(c) What was Philip doing and how did his earnings improve?
Answer:
Philip was an inventor and an ingenious mechanical engineer. His earnings improved in turbine-wheels.

(d) What did Philip do when he bought a new stone?
Answer:
For a month, Philip carried his new stone that he had purchased in his pocket and looked at it now and then. Later he would add it to his collections in his safe at the trust company.

(e) What was Philip’s mania?
Answer:
Philip’s mania was to collect precious stones, especially rubies and pearls.

2. At the time he sent for me I was a clerk, and poor enough. Remembering my mother’s words, his message gave me, his sole relative, no new hopes; but I thought it best to go. When I sat down by his bedside, he began, with a malicious grin: “I suppose you think me queer. I will explain.” What he said was certainly queer enough. “I have been living on an annuity into which I put my fortune. In other words, I have been, as to money, concentric half of my life to enable me to be as eccentric as I pleased the rest of it.

Now I repent of my wickedness to you all, and desire to live in the memory of at least one of my family. You think I am poor and have only my annuity. You will be profitably surprised. I have never parted with my precious stones; they will be yours. You are my sole heir. I shall carry with me to the other world the satisfaction of making one man happy. “No doubt you have always had expectations, and I . desire that you should continue to expect. My jewels are in my safe. There is nothing else left”. When I thanked him he grinned all over his lean face, and said: “You will have to pay for my funeral.”

(a) What did Tom recall when Uncle Philip had sent for him?
Answer:
When Uncle Philip had sent for Tom, he recalled his mother’s words that he should not expect anything from his uncle, though he was the sole relative.

(b) What was Tom working as when Uncle Philip called for him?
Answer:
Tom was a poor clerk when Uncle Philip called for him.

(c) What was the repentance that Uncle Philip said he had in his heart?
Answer:
Uncle Philip said that he repented for his wickedness to his family members.

(d) How was Uncle Philip‘s desire?
Answer:
Uncle Philip’s desire was to live in the memory of at least one of his family members.

(e) flow did Uncle Philip want to compensate for his wickedness?
Answer:
Uncle Philip wanted to compensate his wickedness by making one man happy as he wanted to give all his precious stones to him, who was his sole heir.

A Dilemma by Silas Weir Mitchell About the Author:

Silas Weir Mitchell was born on February 15, 1829, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Kearsley Mitchell and Sarah Henry Mitchell. A prominent Philadelphia physician and graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Silas Weir Mitchell, M.D., developed the rest cure for neurasthenia in the 1870’s. In 1866, he published a short story in the Atlantic Monthly resting upon both somatic and psychological insights entitled “The Case of George Dedlow”. He wrote juvenile stories and prose fiction of varying merit which earned him a leading place among American authors at the close of the 19th century. He died on January 4, 1914 in Philadelphia and is interred at The Woodlands Cemetery.

A Dilemma Summary:

Introduction:
A Dilemma written by Silas Weir Mitchell is an interesting short story of mystery. In this story the character receives from his uncle a box that contains a large number of valuables. However this box will explode to pieces when unlocked. So saying he dies.

Tom is confused:
The narrator is informed of this by a letter which was left by his uncle on his bedside, shortly before his passing. He also informs all this to his only heir Tom on condition that he will agree to do a decent funeral for him.

Confusion Intensifies:
The conflict of the story is entirely internal and results in a huge dilemma of anxiety and self-doubt as the protagonist Tom who is the sole heir to Uncle Philip decides and contemplates whether to attempt to open the box or not. In addition, he fears that someone else may try to open the box with the key and be blown to shreds. He confronts a doctor about his dilemma and eventually moves away to a new place, changes his name, and hides the box.

Tom’s dilemma:
It’s incredibly fascinating to see how a small box and curiosity can drive a human being to so much trouble of anxiety and reluctance. We too are challenged with this thought as he tries to open the box. When,Tom sat down, as yet hopeful, and began to exert his ingenuity upon ways of opening the box without being killed, he is in a dilemma and is anxious of the pros and cons wanting to know the way to open the box unhurt.
He again gains anxiety and hence the doctor warns him that he was in danger of losing his mind is a pure representation of human curiosity and how it can drive us to anxiety and mental instability.

Conclusion:
We conclude from this story that a man craves for riches and keeps running after it. He bothers least to face any difficulties and pain to live a rich and luxurious life. So one must understand that one will certainly attain the prize for which he undergoes hardships and does hard work.