3. The Oyster And The Pearl
Questions & Answers
Q.No.1: Where does the play take place?
Answer: The play takes place at the barber’s shop which is situated in OK-by the-Sea in California. It’s an old-fashioned shop. It has strange stuff which is generally not observed in barber’s shop.
Q.No.2: Why is Harry sitting in the barber’s chair?
Answer: Harry is sitting in the barber’s old-fashioned chair to get his hair cut. Clark Larrabee, a boy of nine or ten, is giving him haircut.
Q.No.3: According to Harry, how does one bring merriment to the tired old human heart?
Answer:Harry offers many ways to bring merriment to the tired old human heart. According to him, one can do so by painting some beautiful picture, writing some book and inventing a philosophy.
Q.No.4: What is Harry’s philosophy?
Answer: His philosophy is “Take-it- easy way.” He thinks ‘Eat, drink and be merry’ is the life. He himself follows this philosophy and leads a happy life.
Q.No.5: How much did Harry pay for his barber’s shop? How long has he been in Ok-by-the-Sea?
Answer: He paid 75 dollars for his shop including the hair cut free for the seller. He has been in Ok-by-the-Sea for 24 years.
Q.No.6: How many barber’s are there in Ok-by-the-Sea?
Answer:Harry Van Dusan is the only barber in Ok-by-the-Sea. The presence of only a single barber shows that the people of this place cannot afford expensive hair-cuts.
Q.No.7: How much does Harry charge for the haircuts?
Answer: He charges one dollar for haircut. Sometimes, he gets half or a quarter dollar because most of the people of the town are poor.
Q.No.8: Where is Clay going?
Answer: Clay is going to the beach to collect some stuff like sea shells, sea plants and fish to sell them so that he may collect some money to buy a gift for his mother.
Q.No.9: Why does Clay need money?
Answer: He needs money for two reasons.
1. He wants to bring his father back.
2. He needs a gift for his mother.
Q.No.10: What has happened to Clay’s father?
Answer:Clay’s father was unable to support the expenses of his family. He quarrelled with his wife and left his home without any information.
Q.No.11: What does Clay want to put in the local newspaper?
Answer:Clay wants to bring his father back through an ad in the newspaper because his family is much worried about him.
Q.No.12: Who is Miss McCutcheon? How does she feel about her job?
Answer: She is a school teacher. She is not satisfied with her job and considers it boring. That’s why, she is in search of intelligent students and wants to teach them. However, the children of the town are dull and naughty. They are not interested in their studies.
Q.No.13: What is Miss McCutcheon looking for? How does she feel about the children of the town?
Answer: She is a school teacher. She is not satisfied with her job and considers it boring. That’s why, she is in search of intelligent students and wants to teach them. However, the children of the town are dull and naughty. They are not interested in their studies.
Q.No.14: What does Harry advise her to do?
Answer:Harry advises her to go back because it is good for her. He also advises her to teach the children dancing, singing and cooking.
Q.No.15: What kind of haircut does Miss McCutcheon want?
Answer:Miss McCutcheon wants a poodle haircut because she thinks that she is unsuited to this environment. New hair-cut will make her beautiful and suitable for the environment in which she is living.
Q.No.16: Can Harry give a poodle haircut?
Answer: No, Harry cannot give a poodle haircut to Miss McCutcheon because he is not a professional barber. He becomes a barber by chance.
Q.No.17: What does Miss McCutcheon think that a poodle haircut will do for her appearances? Answer:Miss McCutcheon wants a poodle haircut because she thinks that she is unsuited to this environment. New hair-cut will make her beautiful and suitable for the environment in which she is living.
Q.No.18: Where has Clark Larrabee been? How did he get to Ok-by the-sea?
Answer:Clark Larrabee left his home and came to Salinas. He had been working in Salinas. He boarded a truck and reached the barber’s shop.
Q.No.19: What does Clark give Harry and for what purpose?
Answer:Clark gives Harry 30 dollars to give them to Clay who will take this money to his mother because he himself is far away from his family.
Q.No.20: How for is it the Hollywood from Ok-by-the-Sea?
Answer:Hollywood is about 200 miles from Ok-by-the-Sea, situated at a prominent place. The people who go to Hollywood stay at Ok-by-the-Sea to take rest.
Q.No.21: What work does the man do?
Answer: The man is a writer. He writes a little but on every topic. He is kind-hearted. He buys the oyster even he knows that there is no pearl in it.
Q.No.22, 23: What did Clay find near Black Rock? OR What does Clay believe is in the Oyster? How much is it worth?
Answer: Clay found an oyster near Black Rock. He felt delighted to find it because he believed that there was an oyster in the pearl. He thought that its price was 300 dollars. He would sell it to be rich.
Q.No.24: Does Miss McCutcheon think that there is a pearl in the oyster?
Answer: No, Miss McCutcheon is a practical, realist and wise lady. She thinks there is no pearl in it. She is right because there is no pearl in it.
Q.No.25: Why does Miss McCutcheon have a chair with three legs?
Answer:Miss McCutcheon uses a broken chair with three legs to bring the things from the sea. Perhaps, she wants to attract the attention of the people by using such a chair.
Q.No.26: What kind of judge is Judge Applegarth?
Answer:Judge Applegarth is not a professional judge. He is called judge because once he judged animals in a country fair.
Q.No.27: What year it is?
Answer: It is 1953.
Q.No.28: What does Greeley have in a bottle?
Answer:Greeley has come from the sea carrying a bottle in his hand. He claims that there are little sea things in the water. He tells Miss McCutcheon that she can see them later.
Q.No.29: Who suggests that they should open oyster?
Answer:Miss McCutcheon believes that there is no pearl in the oyster. That’s why, she suggests that the oyster should be opened to disclose the reality.
Q.No.30: Why do they want Wozzeck to come?
Answer:They want Wozzeck to come and open the oyster because Harry is afraid that he might damage the pearl.
Q.No.31: How does Harry describe the inhabitants of the Ok-by-the-Sea?
Answer: He describes that most of the people are poor. They are living a miserable life. They sell eggs and vegetables and earn some money. They live from hand to mouth.
Q.No.32: How does Miss McCutcheon view Harry’s thinking about the pearl in the oyster?Answer:Miss McCutcheon thinks that there is no pearl in oyster. She knows that Harry wants to help Clay by giving him 300 dollars. She does not support falsehood.
Q.No.33: Why does the judge think that Miss McCutcheon will not last as a teacher? What kind of teacher does he think is needed?
Answer: The judge thinks that Miss McCutcheon will waste her time in maintaining her beauty. He thinks that their school needs an old and experienced teacher.
Q.No.34: What is Applegarth complaint about the sea?
Answer:Applegarth complains that the quality of the sea stuff is not good. He is right because the sea is polluted due to negligence of the people towards water pollution.
Q.No.35: What kind of gadget does the writer describe?
Answer: The writer describes a gadget that is like a safety razor with which anybody can give anybody a haircut. However, it may affect someone’s hair cutting business.
Q.No.36, 37: Who buys the oyster? How much does he pay? OR Does the writer open the oyster? Why not?
Answer: The writer wants to help the poor family. He buys the oyster from Clay. He pays 300 dollars for the oyster. He does not try to open it to see if there is a pearl in it because he knows that there is no pearl in it.
Q.No.38: Why does Clark Larrabee return?
Answer:When he reads an ad in the newspaper and comes to know that his family is worried about him, he comes back to join his family.
Q.No.39: What does the writer do with the oyster?
Answer: The writer does not open it because he knows that there is no pearl in it. He turns it in his fingers. Then, he puts it in his pocket and says good-bye to everybody.