NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Woven Words English Chapter 8 The Luncheon

The concepts covered in NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Woven Words English Chapter 8 The Luncheon are interesting and provide a lot of information that can be useful in understanding concepts in depth. Also, you will be able to identify your mistakes and correct them quickly. This will help you save a lot of time in the long run.

The Luncheon Class 11 English NCERT Solutions will definitely help you to score high marks in your upcoming exams. These NCERT Solutions will be very helpful in understanding the syllabus and getting good grades in examinations. Students can use these solutions as a reference while doing their homework or preparing for their exams.

Chapter 8 The Luncheon Class 11 Woven Words English NCERT Solutions

Understanding The Text

1. Although the author was not a vindictive man he was very happy to see the twenty-one-stone lady who had impoverished him twenty years ago and says he had finally had his revenge. What makes him say this?

Solution

“The Luncheon,” written by William Somerset Maugham, the narrator and the lady describe an event that happened twenty years after they first met at a restaurant. The author’s story of how the lady told him to meet at an expensive restaurant called Foyot in a very cunning way. The story is enriched with classic humour and sarcasm. He was in a fragile financial situation, yet he couldn’t refuse a lady’s plea. The lady began putting order after order for pricey menu items like salmon, caviar, champagne, asparagus, etc. under the name of a little luncheon without giving any thought to the cost. The author continued making justifications for why he wasn’t placing orders for himself, unable to reveal his true position. In the end, he had to give away whatever money he had with him in paying the bill. He was left without even a penny and the whole month was before him.

The author, who was not a vindictive person, preferred to endure rather than speaking to her. Because she has gained twenty-one stone over the years, the narrator claims that he has finally exacted revenge upon her. Because of the injustice done to him, even though he did not physically exact revenge on the lady, she finally gained twenty-one stone.

2. There are quite a few places where the author uses the expressions ‘my heart sank’, ‘panic seized’ etc. What was the reason for this?

Solution

When the lady asked for the caviare, the author used the phrase “My heart sank.” The author’s inability to purchase caviar is expressed by the usage of this term. The circumstance is made fun of by the usage of this term. The narrator used the phrase “panic seized” to describe his excitement as he considered the cost of the meal and whether it would go over his set spending limit. The two phrases provide the scenario humor, pathos, an embarrassment.

3. Locate instances of irony in the story.

Solution

When the author first enters Foyot at the beginning of the story with the belief that he would be able to get by on his little budget, he finds the unexpected thing. He learns that the costs shown on the bill of fare are quite expensive. He hasn’t planned for this. He is shocked by the whole situation. At first, the lady friend tells the author that she never eats anything for luncheon However, she immediately declares that she would love eating salmon, a costly item on the menu. This is ironical. She then places orders for caviar, champagne, and finally asparagus. All of these instances are ironic.

Talking About The Text

Discuss in pairs or in small groups

1. People with foibles are often not conscious of them.

Solution

Every individual has flaws and foolishness, as well as goodness to make up for them. Humans by their very nature have flaws they are unaware of. Foibles exist inside every human. These foibles make us who we are as humans. In the quest for perfection, people often aren’t ready to acknowledge their flaws or are unaware of them.

2. The author’s attempts at keeping up his pretence of friendliness while he was mentally preoccupied with the expense of the luncheon.

Solution

The author proved that he was a real gentleman by refusing to oppose even once to the lady’s frequent and pricey orders. He made a conscious effort to uphold his goodness by adhering to the lady’s food habits. To keep the woman from learning about his humiliating financial problem, he even ignored his hunger.

Appreciation

1. The author is a humorist
(a) How does the story reflect his sense of humour?
(b) What makes his lady friend remark—‘you are quite a humorist’?
(c) Give instances of the author’s ability to laugh at himself.

Solution

(a) The beginning of the story features a humorous circumstance when the author was politely asked by a lady friend to serve her a little luncheon at the expensive restaurant Foyot. Visiting Foyot were out of the author’s price range given his financial situation at the time. He eventually decided to go there after doing some calculations, only to find that his ability to pay for the food at Foyot was out of the range. As a result, the humour in the story comes from his continual attempts to figure out how much money he has available while also trying to entertain the woman.

(b) In the story The Luncheon, the author’s lady friend describes how she skilfully got approval from the author to enjoy lunch at the expensive restaurant Foyot. Given his monthly spending cap, the narrator felt confident in his decision to order a limited amount of meals. Irony, however, immediately becomes evident after we notice that the lady continued buying expensive dishes like salmon, asparagus, caviar, and other exotic items under the guise of a “little luncheon” while paying little attention to the narrator’s financial situation. When the lady tells the narrator to serve himself a “little luncheon” towards the conclusion, the author sarcastically and hilariously says that he would like to do better by forgoing supper that day. The woman said, “You are quite a humorist,” in response to that.

(c) Author’s ability to laugh at himself is quite remarkable as that is seen from the starting itself. The author acknowledges at beginning that he he was flattered when the woman asked him to visit Foyot. The author acknowledges that when he was younger, he was unable to decline the lady’s offer. He could sense the irony as the lady began ordering expensive things one after another at the restaurant. He made fun of himself for having accepted the suggestion to have lunch in Foyot.

2. How does the first person narrative help in heightening the literary effects of the story?

Solution

The use of first-person narration enhances literary effects since the author has direct control with the humour and irony aspects, which work most effectively when applied to oneself. It enables us get a look into his mind, which generates sarcasm and anger against the lady friend.