Available Answers

1. 1.

   Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the text.

   1. On the bench by his side sat an _______ gentleman with a _______ air of defiance that was probably the remaining vestige of _______ in an individual who had _______ to defy successfully anybody or anything.
   2. Lying in the ground by the side of the bench was a small _______ packet, wrapped and _______ with the _______ of a chemist's counter.
   3. As Gortsby _______ his steps past the seat where the little _______ had taken place, he saw an elderly gentleman poking and _______ beneath it and on all sides of it and recognised his earlier fellow _______.
2. 2.

   State whether the following sentences are true or false.

   1. The scene in the park pleased Gortsby and harmonised with his present mood.
   2. The young man came in the morning to stay at the Pantagomas Hotel.
   3. The weak point of the story of the young man was that he could not produce the wrapper of the soap.
   4. Gortsby scudded along the dusk-shrouded path in anxious quest for a youthful figure in a light overcoat.
   5. The young man fled headlong in the direction of Night-bridge after pocketing the coin.
   6. Gortsby found the cake of soap at the end of the story.
3. 3.

   Who are the people Gortsby associates with 'Dusk' and shadowy benches in dark parks?

4. 4.

   Do you think that 'Dusk is the hour of the defeated'? Why?

5. 5.

   What sort of a person is Gortsby? Why do you think the author has chosen Dusk as the time and setting for his story?

6. 6.

   Why do defeated and 'lost' people find it comfortable to walk about at dusk?