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A Story

Writer: Dylan Thomas

This story is not written chronologically in order. To have a better understanding it can be divided into five episodes.

Episode 1:

The narrator describes his uncle, Mr Thomas and aunt, Mrs Sarah. The couple looked unmatched to the boy, as the former is abnormally huge and noisy in comparison to the latter, who very small, gauzy and quiet.

Episode 2:

In this part, the boy heard about the outing for the first time. Mr Benjamin Franklyn, a friend of the boy’s uncle, came with the news that everything was going right according to the plan. He said he had collected enough money for the charabanc and twenty cases of pale ale. In addition to this, he also declared to give a pound to every member on the first stoppage. But Will Sentry was sceptical of him as Bob the Fiddle, their ex-treasurer, had swindled money on their last outing. After that, it was decided that the new treasurer must show the account clearly.

Episode 3:

On the next Sunday, Mr Franklyn came with the list of the members going on the outing. Everybody got satisfied and the plan was approved. It was decided that they would go on the outing on coming Saturday.

Episode 4:

When Sarah heard that Mr Thomas is going on an outing, she didn’t like it. She gave him the option to choose one between wife and outing. Quite surprisingly uncle chose the latter. But it does not mean that their relationship is broken after that, Mr Thomas raised her onto a chair and got punishment from her, which was always several blows from a china dog. Sarah went to her mother’s house on Saturday leaving the required instructions in a note like every year.

Episode 5:

The final part of the story describes the outing and the peculiar habits of its members from a boy’s perspective. Mr Thomas took his nephew with him on the outing. The other members did not like that but they soon forgot it as they wanted to start at the right time for the Porthcawl. But when they left the village and reached a bit further they found O. Jones missing. They had to return back to the village to take him which Mr Weazley didn’t like. But when they set off again, Mr Weazley remembered that he had forgotten his teeth at home. He requested them to go back to the village but this time on one listened to him.

In the way, they stopped at every pub, assigned the boy to look after the old bus and drank a lot. The whole afternoon passed in drinking and at dusk, they reached a stream. They swam in it and forgot that they had to reach Porthcawl. Actually, they could not reach the place they had aimed for and returned home from the mid-way. While returning home they didn’t find any pub open. Thus, the thirty drunkards decided to assemble into a field and drank more. By this time the boy was so tired that he fell asleep. This humorous story ends by showing how in our day to day life we run after glamour, immediate gains, and amusement. The thirty men never reached the destination they had aimed for as they didn’t realize the value of time. It also makes us realize that how the grown-ups always dictate the children about the right and wrong things but they hardly bother what example they themselves set for them.

Summary:

This humorous story is narrated by a very young who is living with his uncle and aunt. In this story, the boy presents adults world from a child’s point of view. This story is about a day’s outline to Porthcawl by motorcoach. In the first part of the story, the boy describes his uncle and aunt using metaphors and similes. The uncle was big and noisy whereas his wife was small and quiet who used to move on padded paws. The boy compares his uncle with a buffalo and a dismantled ship. He compared his aunt with her cat because of her quick and quiet movement and with a mouse because of her nibbling habit and tiny tone. Every Saturday night after heated arguments, the aunt used to hit the uncle on the head after the uncle lifted her on to a chair. The boy also describes the uncle’s few friends in the story. Mr Benjamin Franklyn collected the money for the outing and bought 20 cases of light wine. Will Sentry kept a strict vigil on Benjamin by following him everywhere in order to guard the money. One Sunday evening Benjamin and Will Sentry came to an uncle with a list of persons who had paid for the outing for his approval. After their departure, the aunt asked the uncle to choose either her or the outing. The uncle, however, chooses the outing at which she became furious at breakfast. The next Sunday the boy found that the aunt has already left the house.

Finally, the boy describes the outing the uncle and his friends made a trip to Port crawl for the outing. When they were out of the village for their outing destination, they found that old O’Jones had been left behind and they had to go back to the village to pick up him. After O’Jones got on, Mr Weazely wanted to go home to take his teeth. However, his friends convinced him that the teeth wouldn’t be necessary for him in the outing. On the way to the Porthcawl, they stopped at every public house (Bar) and drank alcohol heaving the boy outside as children were not allowed into the bars on seems a river on the way they went swimming there. They didn’t actually arrive at Porthcawl on the way home, it was already hate everything. Old O’Jones started cooking his dinner with a kerosene stove and other members started drinking alcohol sitting in a circle in front of the closed bar. The boy began to sleep leaning on his uncle’s waistcoat.

The writer in the story is also able to create humour by describing the uncle, aunt, uncle’s friends and their behaviour. However, the writer points out towards the bitter aspect connected with human behaviour and habit of drinking alcohol. An alcoholic drink may change people’s behaviour making them selfish, cruel and indifferent towards others suffering. Alcohol brings a nice atmosphere of the uncle’s family on the verge of breakfast. Uncle and his friends also exhibited cruelty towards the small boy after drinking alcohol as they were totally careless about him during the entire trip.

Questions and Answers:

Q.1 Describe the narrator’s uncle and his Aunt.
Ans: The description of Uncle Thomas and Aunt Sarah is quite humorous. The narrator, who is a small boy, has used child imagery to describe them. He has used different similes and metaphors and hints that the couple is unmatched. The Uncle is so huge that the whole room becomes smaller when he comes inside it. He looks like a buffalo squeezed into an airy cupboard. He is very noisy and his voice is compared with the trumpet of an elephant. He doesn’t seem well mannered and when he eats, litters his waistcoat which is as big as a meadow for the boy.
But quite opposite to the husband Mrs Sarah, the boy’s aunt, is quite small. She hardly makes her presence felt wherever she goes. Unlike her husband, she is soft-spoken, which the boy tells is like the squeaking of a mouse. She is also a perfectionist and most of her time goes in arranging and dusting the things in her house. Above all, she is a caring wife too. We see when she leaves for her mother’s house in anger she doesn’t forget to remind Mr Thomas about food.
The description of Mr Thomas and Mrs Sarah might appear unmatched from a small boy’s perspective, but the caring attitude of the wife towards the husband and willingness of the husband to get the punishment from the wife also suggest that there is a good understanding between them.

Q.2 Describe the relationship between the boy’s uncle and his wife. [2060, 2062, 2063, 2067, 2069, 2070, 2071 Partial]
OR
How does the boy, the narrator look at his uncle and his aunt? [2059]
OR
Write, in brief, the difference between the boy’s uncle and his wife. [2069 partial]
OR
Describe the relationship between the narrator’s uncle and aunt. [2075 Partial]
Ans: A story is written by famous story writer Dylan Thomas. The narrator of this story is a small child. He has been living with his uncle and aunt from his childhood. The writer describes the relation between his uncle and aunt as a quarrelling couple. But indirectly he shows their love for each other. The couple has a kind of mutual understanding. His uncle is a tall, big and red-hairy man. His voice is hoarse. Unlike him, the writer’s aunt does not make noise while walking or working. His uncle is described as a cool person whereas his wife is described as a hot-tempered person. When she becomes angry, she hits her husband with a china cup. Despite having the opposite nature, they are portrayed as a loving couple.

Q.3 Give a short description of the boy’s uncle. [2068]
OR
Describe how the boy, the narrator, sketches the character of Mr Thomas, his uncle. [2070 Sup]
OR
Describe the boy’s uncle. Does he look like a disciplined, honest and careful uncle? [2074]
Ans: The boy’s uncle is a careless person with a giant body. He likes drinking and playing cards. He also likes going outing with his friends against his wife’s desire. The writer’s uncle is tall, big and red-hairy. He is just like a buffalo squeezed into a cupboard. He has a hoarse voice. He drops food and drinks on his waistcoat. He leaves the table and kitchen dirty. He shows some childish behaviour as well. He does not care about his wife’s feelings. However, he loves his wife.

Q.4 Describe the landlord of the mountain sheep. How did he welcome the members of the outing?
OR
How did the landlord of the ‘Mountain sheep’ welcome the members of the outing?
Ans: The mountain sheep is a pub where all the adults went to drink. The landlord of the pub was kind and cunning as well. The charabanc stopped outside the mountain sheep and they were welcomed by the landlord. His uncle and his friends were drunk and they were breaking the glass. He could hardly recognize the members of the outing. They were all red due to alcohol and were arguing. Some were shouting too. The boy had nothing to do to keep an eye on the charabanc.

Q.5 Describe the boy’s aunt. Was there a good match between the boy’s uncle and his aunt. [2072 Sup]
Ans: “A story” is written by a famous story writer Dylan Thomas. The narrator of the story is a small child who has been living with his uncle and aunt from his childhood. The boy’s aunt is small and quiet. She doesn’t make noise while walking or working. When she is angry, she hits her husband with a china cup. She doesn’t allow her husband to play checkers on Sunday. She doesn’t like annual outing because her husband would come home heavily drunk. On such occasions, she would go to her mother’s house.
I think there was a good match between the boy’s uncle and his aunt. Although they looked like quarrelling couple, they showed indirect love for each other. The couple has a kind of mutual understanding.

Q.6 What message does the boy’s aunt leave in the kitchen before she goes to her mother’s home? [2076]
Ans: ‘A Story” is a story written by Dylan Thomas. A boy is the narrator of the story. It is about a day’s outing by a charabanc (an early type of bus used in the past for trip). The narrator (boy) was staying with his uncle and aunt. Boy’s uncle was making the plan of going outing. His aunt came in and threatened his uncle that she would go to her mother’s house if he (his uncle) went to an outing. When she asked his uncle if he liked her or outing, he chose to out. Then she hit on his uncle’s head.
On next Saturday morning, the uncle’s wife left the house and went to her mother’s home. She had written a note to her husband. She had written a note to her husband. She had written that there are eggs in the pantry (a small room near the kitchen). She had also asked him to put off boots before going to bed.

ONLY ANSWERS ARE HERE! CONSULT BOOK FOR QUESTIONS !!

1. The boy, the narrator, feels that he is very happy and boring. He smells tobacco, cheese, sweet biscuits and snuff. His friends too are of the same type. They are all carefree, good for nothing fellows.
2. The relation between Thomas and his wife seems good. She lets him drink a little and on Sunday she doesn’t let him play checkers. When she gets angry, Thomas lifts her up on the chair or on his arm and she hits him with a China dog on his head. He doesn’t react to this beating. She doesn’t like his outings so she goes to her mother’s house, although, she prepares some eggs for him. She orders him to take the shoes off before going to bead. So, instead of some dissatisfaction, the relation seems good.
3. My wife gave me a choice either to sit with her or to go outing but I chose to go outing and she went to her mother’s house. On Sunday, I went to Porthcawl with my friends. I took my nephew with me to the trip but my friends opposed and soon they forgot it. On the way, Mr. Weazley made me laugh because he wanted to bring his teeth from the house as he forget thinking of eating anything but I suggested to him that there’s no need. We reached a pub and had a lot of alcohol with friends. We discussed a lot about different subjects for a long time. We finished all the things up and went to another pub. The pub was closed but we used to go in through the back door. I sang songs. On the moonlight, we got off the bus and went to a stream. We were wet. There was no house on the way so we climbed down the bus and went to the field with some rest cases of beer. We drank all the beer and came to our house at midnight.
4. Really the plan was to go to Porthcawl for the outings but they never reached there. When they were going there, they found a pub house on the way. They stopped and went to the house for drinking. After 45 minutes they finished all the drinks, so they went to another pub house by bus. They used the back door to drink and the time was up so they returned home. On the way, they sat on the field and finished off the rest of the beers. They reached home at midnight the field and finished off the rest of the beers. They reached home at midnight but they didn’t reach Porthcawl. They sang and talked about Porthcawl. Because of drinking, they didn’t reach the planned place Porthcawl.
5. The narrator has used a lot of simile and metaphor and he uses different metaphors and smile for the description of his uncle and aunt, for example, to explain his uncle’s appearance. “like an old buffalo”, “like hawsers”, “loud check meadow” etc. and for his aunt he uses ‘padded paws’, ‘a quick as a flash’ etc. Metaphor and simile are used to make the expression impressive. Simile is with “like” and “as” but the metaphor is without them. It is very useful in literature.

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