UNIT ONE: TWENTY MINUTES WITH MRS. OAKENTUBB
BY FRANK ARTHUR
MCQs:
1. “Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb” is written by:
● Oscar Wilde ● John Galsworthy ● Frank Arthur ● Liaquat Ali Khan
2. “Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb” is the story of:
● suspense ● horror ● comedy ● lessoned
3. _______ has played a humorous role in “Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb”.
● porter ● Mrs. Oakentubb ● her husband ● the man
4. The scene of the play has been laid down at a/an:
● park ● airport ● railway station ● waiting room of railway station
5. Mrs. Oakentubb lives at:
● Stainthorpe ● airport ● railway station ● waiting room of railway station
6. Mrs. Oakentubb is a _______ woman.
● selfish ● humble ● sensitive ● greedy
7. The first character entered in the scene was:
● the porter ● Mrs. Oakentubb ● railway guard ● the man
8. The lady was carrying a/an:
● purse ● suit case ● bag ● stick
9. The colour of her hair is:
● red ● grey ● brown ● mouse-brown
10. Husband of Mrs. Oakentubb was a very successful:
● salesman ● businessman ● teacher ● doctor
11. Mrs. Judy Oakentubb’s weighs a little under:
● seven stone ● nine stone ● ten stone ● six stone
12. The stranger was in Korea in:
● June 1951 ● June 1953 ● June 1954 ● June 1935
13. The chance meeting with Korean girl gave him the emotion of:
● forgiveness ● business ● revenge ● love
14. “He” has decided to _______ when “He” would meet with Mrs. Judy Oakentubb.
● forgive ● thank ● kill ● love
15. For killing a woman and daughter in an accident, Mrs. Judy Oakentubb was charged with:
● accident ● manslaughter ● mistake ● reckless driving
16. One of the friends of Mrs. Oakentubb made a bet with her for:
● five pounds ● ten pounds ● six pounds ● four pounds
17. While driving Mrs. Oakentubb was:
● drunk ● active ● sleepy ● conscious
18. The bet was to:
● drive from Stanthorpe cross to the coast ● cross the mall road under the influence of vine.
● fall down from the height of the building. ● play and win the flash cards.
19. The man wanted to take ______ of his wife and daughters untimely death:
● revenge ● picture ● notice ● advantage
20.In order to save her own life, she crushed the two innocent pedestrians a/an:
● woman and her daughter ● man and his daughter ● woman and her son ● man and his son
21. For the accident, Mrs. Oakentubb was arrested and sentenced for:
● eighteen months ● twelve months ● thirteen months ● fifteen months
22. Husband of the innocent woman took the death of his beloved as the:
● deliberate murder ● accident ● consent of God ● plan of Mrs. Oakentubb
23. “He” met Mrs. Oakentubb in the stormy night at:
● railway waiting room ● ticket counter ● deck of the ship ● justice court
24. At last “He” killed her by a/an:
● pistol ● knife ● dagger ● sword
25. The Gentleman talks about this number of chance meetings that altered his life:
● two ● five ● one ● current
MCQs from Board Papers
Frank Arthur was a: novelist and
The Korean Girl was about: fourteen
Mrs. Oakentubb got the punishment she: deserved
Mrs. Oakentubb’s husband was a successful: businessman
The thing that gave the man courage to live was Korean girl’s: smile
The smile of the Korean girl gave the man a purpose in life which was: revenge
Mrs. Oakentubb wagered to drive recklessly to win: £ 5
The amount of bet that Mrs. Oakentubb made with her friends was: £ 5
Mrs. Judy Oakentubb was driving criminally fast because she was: drunk
“Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb” is a story of: revenge
In his little melodrama Frank Arthur makes the character of porter: humorous
The Play “Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb” is a: Melodrama
“Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb” is a little piece of: Melodrama
SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS:
Q: 01. Write a brief character sketch of Mrs. Oakentubb.
Ans: Mrs. Oakentubb represents a woman in a difficult situation and as a whole she isn’t a lovable character. Mrs. Oakentubb is the central character of the play. She is a beautiful lady who is fond of dresses. She wears a hat, a scarf, gloves and fur coat. Readers don’t know her age but she appears to be young. Her hair is brown and nicely done. She wears a marriage ring and by her dress and speech she appears to be wife of a businessman.
Mrs. Oakentubb is very intelligent and clever. When the man in waiting room tells her that he has come to kill Mrs. Judy Oakentubb, she gets frightened at heart but pretends to be fearless in front of him. She convinces the man that she is miserable and thus man spares her life but when he had gone out of the room, she stands up and makes faces behind his back. Suddenly he returns and kills her.
Q: 02. Write a brief character sketch of the porter.
Ans: The Porter is quite humorous character who is wise, balanced and a fine worker that makes others quite happy when he talks and acts. He is portrayed as a frank talker and active worker as he uses the words that are quite expressive and impressive. He asks Mrs. Judy Oakentubb to warm her tootsies calls her love in all his illiterate frankness and uses comfy for comfortable naturally in his own way. He gives proper advice to passengers like Mrs. Oakentubb as he asks her not to go out in the rain.
Q: 03. Give a detailed character sketch of the man. OR
Q: Give a description of the man in the lesson “Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb”.
Ans: The gentleman is the most important character of the melodrama “Twenty minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb.” His dress and speech defines him as slightly lower in the social scale as a clerk or a supervisor artisan. He is clean shaven who enters in the waiting room of a small country railways station to wait for the train to Stain Thorpe. The train is due to arrive in twenty minutes where he meets Mrs. Oakentubb who had killed his wife and daughter in a motor accident.
He tells Mrs. Oakentubb that he is going to Stain Thorpe to kill Mrs. Oakentubb who had killed his wife and daughter in the road accident. When she comes to know of his intentions, she begs him to kill her or let her live in miserable condition as she was. He drops the idea of killing and walks out of the waiting room. On his departure, she springs to her feet and makes faces at his back. He suddenly opens the door, comes in, fires from his revolver and kills her.
Q: 04.What is the significance of the label on the suitcase of Mrs. Oakentubb? Why does she hide it? OR
Explain the importance of the label on the suitcase of Mrs. Oakentubb. Why does she hide it?
Ans: The label on her suitcase has her name on it and it let her killer learn that she is Mrs. Judy Oakentubb whom he is intended to kill as she had knocked down his wife and daughter with her car while she was driving recklessly. She hides it under the flap to keep her identity from the man in the room and to stay alive.
Q: 05. At what point in the play do we become certain that the man knows that the woman in the waiting room is Mrs. Oakentubb? When, in fact do you think he discovered her identify.
Ans: The Man sits with Mrs. Judy Oakentubb in waiting room for five minutes and then he tells her that he has fifteen minutes more with her. When she comes to know that he has the intentions to kill Mrs. Oakentubb, she goes and hides the label on her suitcase which he notices but pretends to ignore it. At that point of play we become certain that the man knows that the woman in the waiting room is Mrs. Judy Oakentubb.
Q: 06.What motive has the man for murdering her? OR
Q: Why did the gentleman kill Mrs. Oakentubb? OR
Q: Why did the man kill Mrs. Oakentubb? Was he right or wrong in doing so? OR
Q: Mrs. Oakentubb got the punishment she deserved.
Ans: Mrs. Oakentubb had killed his wife and daughter in a road accident when she had a bet of a small amount to drive from Stain Thorpe Cross to the Coast recklessly. She was drunk drove recklessly for a bet of small amount. Revenge is the motive of the man for murdering her as the pedestrians she had killed where his wife and daughter. She was sentenced for eighteen months imprisonment only which was not a fair justice in the man’s opinion. He wanted to take revenge and execute justice by killing her. He was right in doing so as according to him it was a plain and deliberate murder. He felt that she was not duly punished for her deliberate and criminal act but fooled court of law and everyone with her wit. He wants to execute justice by killing her. When we see her behaviour while he leaves the room and she makes fun of him in the end, we think that he was right in doing so.
Q: 07. In this little melodrama, the author keeps on building up the tension then relaxing it, until the final moment of tension when the murder is done. Briefly describe the chief moments of tension and what follows after each one.
Ans: There are many moments since the beginning till the end when the tension reaches to its peak. The first moment of tension is when he describes the death of his wife and daughter in an accident and reveals his intentions of taking revenge by killing the killer. The second moment is when he takes out the revolver and aims to shoot her and the last but most tensed moment is when he comes back and finds her making faces towards him; takes out the pistol and shoots her dead.
Q: 08. Why, in your opinion, does the author make the porter a humorous character?
Ans: The author has made the porter a humorous character to provide some relief and relaxation from the tension of the main tragedy and sadness of the drama.
Q: 09. Suspense is an important element in a thriller. Briefly show how the author keeps the audience in suspense for the answers to two questions will he finds out who she is? Will he kill her?
Ans: Obviously suspense is an important element in a thriller and Frank Arthur has manipulated suspense quite beautifully in his melodrama and kept the audience in suspense about the answers of two questions.
He had noticed the label on her suitcase but completely ignored rather revealed his intentions of taking revenge as he had recognized her and is about to kill her but listening to her pretensions he leaves her and goes out. In this way the author keeps the audience in suspense for the answers to two questions will he find out who she is? Will he kill her?
Q: 10. When the audience likely to suspect that she might be Mrs. Oakentubb?
Ans: The audience is likely to begin suspecting that she might be Mrs. Oakentubb when the man says that he is looking for Mrs. Oakentubb as he has intentions to kill her and he will kill her tonight. She becomes frightened and hides the label on her suitcase which bores her name on it.
Q: 11. Is the man cleverer than Mrs. Oakentubb? Discuss. OR
Q: Discuss the end of the play “Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb.”
Ans: The man is not cleverer rather a person who can be played easily. When Mrs. Oakentubb sees that she has failed to manipulate the man and he will kill her she starts her emotional drama and acts cleverly. She assures the man that her situation is miserable as she sees the scene of accident every minute in front of her eyes and she can hear the screams of both women in her dreams. The picture of accident haunts her and has made her life a hell. She is getting worst punishment and killing her will be setting her free. When “he” hears that, he changes his mind and leaves the room. As soon as he is gone, she jumps with joy and makes faces towards him thinking that she has befooled him. Mrs. Oakentubb rises to her feet, turns to the door and puts her fingers to her nose at him. This act of villainy proves that she is cleverer than the man. However, while she is standing thus, the man opens the door suddenly, sees her, raise revolver and fires. Mrs. Oakentubb falls dead. He pockets the revolver again, picks up his suitcase and hurries out.
Q: 12. Why did the meeting with the Korean Girl give the man a purpose to live in Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb?
Ans: The gentleman is the most important character of the melodrama “Twenty minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb.” He believed that the casual meetings of moments with people can change life, In June 1953, in Korea, when as a soldier he was wounded badly and fainted due to loss of blood. When he came back to his senses, he found a small Korean girl of about 14 years came, bowed upon him, smiled and went away. While looking at her smile, he recollected what his daughter had been like her, if she was alive. The smile gave him the purpose to live and take revenge of his daughter from her murderer Mrs. Oakentubb who had killed his family in a reckless car accident.
Q: 13. Describe the scene of the railway waiting room in “Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb.”
Ans: The scene of Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb is set in a small country railway junction’s waiting room. The scene exhibits a stormy winter evening. When the curtain draws, a gas fire is at a side wall; a gas light above; a chair beside the fire; a bench against the back wall and a tale. The room is empty and, as the gas light is turned low, almost in darkness. Rain and wind are audible outside. When the play commences, door opens and a lady comes in, carrying a suit-case, which has a tie-on-label. A porter follows and turns the gas full on.
Q: 14. Why was Mrs. Oakentubb sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment?
Ans: Mrs. Oakentubb had killed stranger’s wife and daughter in a road accident when she had made a bet of a small amount of five ponds to drive recklessly while she was drunk. She was sentenced for eighteen months imprisonment only as she was accused of driving drunk and was sent to rehabilitation center for that time period.