The playwright has used some funny adjectives with which the characters use to blame each other. How do they contribute to the comic elements of the play?

The playwright has used some funny adjectives with which the characters use to blame each other. How do they contribute to the comic elements of the play?

In the farcical play The Proposal', the playwright, Anton Chekhov uses many funny adjectives which serve as laughing gags. These are the essential elements of farce. In the course of their arguments Lomov calls Chubukov various names like "grabber", "intriguer", "malicious", "double-faced intriguer", "old rat" and "Jesuit". Chubukov too insults him and calls him "pettifogger", "dishonest", "mean", "blind hen", "turnip ghost", "milksop", "fool". They even insult each other's parents. Lomov calls Chubukov mother a "hump-backed" woman and Chubukov calls his father a "guzzling gambler". These funny adjectives incite the characters to continue their bitter arguments and thus give rise to amusement and laughter. Finally, it is really hilarious when Chubukov is too eager to get his daughter married to Lomov whom he has abused and insulted by calling so many names.

 

Do you find the play funny? Support your answer with illustrations from the text.

The one-act play, 'The Proposal' written by Anton Chekhov is quite funny. In the beginning, the way Chubukov welcomes Lomov, his next-door neighbour with an unnatural warmth, is really funny. Lomov's formal dress as if he is paying a New Year's visit also provokes mirth. Again Chubukov soliloquy is funny, where he decides he will not lend money if Lomov asks for it. Lomov's nervousness and his decision to marry Natalya without thinking also evoke laughter. Lomov informs Natalya's father about his plan of proposing to Natalya even before she enters the scene. Chubukov description of Natalya as a 'love-sick cat' and her subsequent appearance in an apron and speaking in a matter-of-fact tone like an anti-romantic heroine is very funny. Instead of proposing, Lomov starts arguing with Natalya and Chubukov also joins the fray. Finally, in the midst of a heated argument, they get engaged and are advised by Chubukov to kiss each other. Thus, both the situation and the dialogues have been exaggerated to make the play replete with fun.

Do you think "The Proposal can be defined as a play of contradictions? Support your answer with reasons.

Make a brief sketch of social life as you see in the play.

What is the focus in the play? Is it a character? Is it an action? Is it the unpredictability of the people? Explain your answer.

Write a brief note on Chekhov's depiction of aristocratic society in 'The Proposal'.

Why does Chekhov choose only three characters to deliver his message to us?

What aspects of the human condition and society does the play make fun of?

What is Anton Chekhov trying to say about the manner in which neighbours interact/ behave? Support your answer with evidence from the play.

How would you best describe the personalities of each of the characters in the play?

How does Chekhov alternate the actual proposal and the arguments? Explain your answer.

What are the effect of this alternating the proposal and the arguments? Explain your answer.

Comment on the setting of the play with reference to costume, customs and mannerism. Does it relate to the socio-economic background of that period?

Discuss the reasons why the marriage proposal is important to all the characters.

Discuss the significance of the title 'The Eyes Have It'.

Establish 'The Eyes Have It' as a good short story.

What instructions were given to the girl by her parents before she started her journey? Do you think the narrator started to like the girl from the very beginning? Support your answer with reference to the text.

....my voice startled her."- Who is the speaker here? Who is mentioned as "her"? Why was she "startled" by the voice of the speaker? What did she do afterwards?

"I didn't see you either", I said. "But I heard you come in.' Was it not a hint for the girl to understand that the narrator was blind? What did the narrator think before stating this?

What was the destination of the narrator in the story The Eyes Have It'? What description of his destination did he give? How could he give such a description in spite of being blind?