"But ... still you will admit now that Guess is worse than Squeezer."-Who is the speaker? Whom is the speaker addressing? Describe the incident involving Guess and Squeezer.
"But ... still you will admit now that Guess is worse than Squeezer."-Who is the speaker? Whom is the speaker addressing? Describe the incident involving Guess and Squeezer.
The speaker is Natalya Stepanovna.
The speaker is addressing Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov.
After finishing the argument regarding the ownership of Oxen Meadows, Lomov and Natalya start arguing over which of their dogs is better and this seemingly innocuous topic turns into another heated argument. Guess is the pet dog of Lomov and Squeezer is the pet dog of Chubukov. Lomov's Guess, unfortunately, becomes lame, and Lomov expresses his sorrow as he was a first-rate dog. Natalya disagrees, saying that Squeezer is better than Guess and Lomov is a fool to give 125 roubles for him. This disagreement ignites a caustic debate and Lomov becomes ill again.
"... that's a way to start your family bliss!"-Who is the speaker? What way has been referred to here? Give your view on what the speaker says.
Here, the speaker is Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov.
Though Lomov and Natalya got engaged with the help of Chubukov, they could not stop arguing over their dogs. Chubukov wanted to put a temporary end to that argument. Therefore to divert their attention, he offered champagne in order to celebrate their engagement Natalya was a girl of twenty-five and Lomov
was a man of thirty-five. Natalya and Lomov both were desperate to marry each other for their own reasons. But there was no harmony between them and they always got involved in nasty arguments. When they suddenly got engaged they acted to be happy but their happiness could not beat their argument. According to Chubukov, this type of arguments would take place regularly in their married life. Therefore Chubukov, though worried, tried to lighten the mood by offering champagne.
Discuss 'The Proposal as a farcical satire.
Comment on the theme of marriage in this play. How do Lomov and Natalya contribute to this theme?
How did Chubukov welcome Lomov when he paid them a visit?
How does Chubukov react to Lomov proposal?
On what issues did Lomov and Natalya quarrel at first? How did their argument come to an end?
Why did Lomov think about taking a decision about getting married? Whom did he want to marry? Why?
What are Oxen Meadows? What is the measure of the land? What is the controversy?
Why did Natalya and Lomov quarrel over dogs?
When does Natalya come to know of the proposal? How does she react? Why does she react in this way?
How did the second argument come to an end?
Narrate in brief what happened at Marusinsky hunt.
Describe the reaction of Natalya and her father thinking that Lomov is dead.
Is Lomov really ill or is he hypochondriac? Give reasons for your answer.
Do you think Chubukov and Lomov are good neighbours? Give reasons with reference from the play.
What is ironic about Natalya's request to bring Lomov back?
What are Lomov and Natalya's actual feelings and opinions about each other?
