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PLAY NO - 3
The Oyster and The Pearl
Q / 1: Where does the play take place?
Ans: It takes place in Harry’s shop in OK-by-the. Sea, California, population 909.
Q / 2: Why is Harry sitting in a barber’s chair?
Ans: Harry is having his haircut; therefore, he is sitting in the barber’s chair.
Q / 3: According to Harry how one can bring merriments to tired old human hearts?
Ans: Harry thinks that one can bring merriments to tired old hearts by composing a symphony, painting a picture, writing a book or inventing a philosophy.
Q / 4: What is Harry’s philosophy?
Ans: His philosophy is “the take-it-easy way”.
Q / 5: How much did Harry pay for his barber’s shop? How long has Harry been in OK-by-the-Sea?
Ans: He bought the shop for 75 dollars. He has been living in O.K-by-the-Sea for twenty-four years.
Q / 6: How many barbers are there in O.K-by-the-sea?
Ans: Except Harry, there is no other barber in O.K-by-the-sea?
Q / 7: How much does Harry charge for the haircut?
Ans: He charges one dollar for the haircut but he often takes half or a quarter.
Q / 8: Where is Clay going?
Ans: He is going to the beach to find something special.
Q / 9: Why does Clay need money?
Ans: He needs money to bring his father back. He also wants to give a gift to his mother.
Q / 10: What has happened to Clay’s father?
Ans: Clay’s father is a poor man and he cannot fulfil the basic needs of his children. His wife always quarrels with him for this reason. Therefore, he left the house and has gone to Salinas to earn money.
Q / 11: What has Clay put in the local paper?
Ans: In his ad Clay requests, his father to return home. His family is missing him a lot.
Q / 12: Who is Miss McCutcheon? How does she feel about her job?
Ans: She is a new teacher at the school of O.K.-by-the-Sea. She is unhappy about her job because the children do not take her seriously.
Q / 13: What is Miss McCutcheon looking for? How does she feel about the children of the town?
Ans: She is looking for the children to examine their interests and habits. She does not feel good about the children of the town because they are careless and do not take her seriously.
Q / 14: What does Harry advise her to do?
Ans: He advises her to go back to San Francisco. He thinks that she is a young and pretty girl who needs excitement. She could only get excitement in the big city. He also asks her to marry a young man.
Q / 15: What kind of haircut does Miss McCutcheon want?
Ans: She wants a poodle haircut.
Q / 16: Can Harry give a poodle haircut?
Ans: No, he cannot give a poodle haircut.
Q / 17: What does Miss McCutcheon think that a poodle haircut will do for her appearance?
Ans: She wants to change her appearance with a poodle haircut. She thinks that this haircut will make her simple and plain. Then she will easily adjust herself to the surroundings.
Q / 18: Where has Clark Larrabee been? How does he get to O.K.-by-the-sea?
Ans: He is working in Salinas. He comes to O.K.-by-the-sea by truck.
Q / 19: What does Clark give Harry? For what purpose?
Ans: Clark gives Harry thirty dollars to give to Clay so that Clay could give the money to his mother.
Q / 20: How far is it to Hollywood from O.K.-by-the-sea?
Ans: Hollywood is about two hundred miles away from O.K.-by-the-sea.
Q / 21: What work does the man do?
Ans: He is a writer.
Q / 22: What did Clay find near black rock?
Ans: He found one oyster near a black rock.
Q / 23: What does Clay believe in the oyster? How much is it worth?
Ans: Clay believes that there is a pearl in the oyster worth two to three hundred dollars.
Q / 24: Does Miss McCutcheon believe that there is a big pearl in the oyster?
Ans: No, she does not believe that there is a big pearl in the oyster?
Q / 25: Why does Miss McCutcheon have a chair with three legs?
Ans: Like many other people she has brought this chair from the beach. She does not mean to use it.
Q / 26: What kind of judge is Judge Applegarth?
Ans: He is not a judge of any court. Once he judged the dogs at the county fair and gave him the name of judge Applegarth.
Q / 27: What year is it?
Ans: It is 1953.
Q / 26: What does Greely have in a bottle?
Ans: He has seawater in the bottle.
Q / 29: Who suggests that they should open the oyster?
Ans: Miss McCutcheon suggests that they should open the oyster.
Q / 30: Why do they want Wozzeck to come?
Ans: Wozzeck is a watch repairer, therefore, they think that he can open the oyster without damaging its pearl.
Q / 31; How does Gharry describe the inhabitants of O.K.-by-the-sea?
Ans: Harry says that poor families live in the town. Every family has a garden and children. They do not have jobs and earn their living mostly by selling vegetables and eggs. Those who get the job can work for only two months. A few get a pension.
Q / 32: How does Miss McCutcheon view Harry’s thinking about the pearl in the oyster?
Ans: She thinks that Harry is encouraging people to tell a lie. Instead, he should show the people reality that there is no pearl in the oyster. But in the end, Harry tells her that he is doing all this only to help Clay.
Q / 33: Why does the judge think that Miss McCutcheon will not last as a teacher? What kind of teacher does he think he needed?
Ans: He thinks that she is young and beautiful and can’t control the children. He favours an old experienced teacher to teach and control the children.
Q / 34: What is Applegarth's complaint about the sea?
Ans: He complains that the quality of stuff washed up by sea is not good.
Q / 35: What kind of gadget does the writer describe?
Ans: He describes the gadget that is found in New York. He says that it is like a safety razor and with its help, anyone can have his haircut.
Q / 36: Who buys the oyster? How much does he pay?
Ans: The writer buys the oyster for three hundred dollars.
Q / 37: Does the writer open the oyster? Why not?
Ans: He does not open the oyster. He believes that the pearl is growing. But the fact is that he buys the oyster only to help the poor family. He knows that there is no pearl in the oyster but the whole story is itself a pearl.
Q / 38: Why does Clark Larrabee return?
Ans: After reading the ad in the newspaper he realizes the worries of his family and decides to return home.
Q / 39: What does the writer do with the oyster?
Ans: The writer turns it in his fingers and watches it carefully. After that, he puts it into his pocket.