Read carefully the passage given below and then answer the questions that

follow: [25]

The story ‘Dusk’ tells us of darkness where people walking around aimlessly in the park

have different problems, each one is concerned with himself, hiding his identity under cover

of darkness, people cannot be judged at this time of the evening, looks can be deceiving and

mannerisms forced, one cannot tell the true identity and character of a person at dusk because

his features are hidden in shadows, his eyes cannot be seen as they are shaded because of

scarcity of light, emotions cannot be revealed on the face as everything is faded by dusk on

changing from daylight into night. People’s personalities also change and they become very

unpredictable.

The author says that dusk is the hour of the defeated. Gortsby thinks that he is a good judge

of places and people. He was very upset that evening while he sat on a bench gazing at

everyone. He had an elderly gentleman who shared the bench with him. He soon got up and

left. As he left, a young man took his place, he looked very disgruntled and upset and let off an

expletive while sitting down. Gortsby asked him what his problem was, he promptly replied

saying that he was in a fix as he had forgotten the name of the hotel he had booked into and he

could not even remember the street. He said that he had gone out to buy a cake of soap as he

could not use hotel soap and only taken a shilling with him He knew no one and he had

no option but to spend the night out on the streets. Gortsby asked him where the soap was, he

hurriedly got up and started searching for it saying he had lost it too at which Gortsby gave him

a look full uncertainty saying he did not believe him.

The young man hurriedly walked away. Gortsby thought that he had been very clever in

summing him up. When he got up to leave, he saw a packet on the ground, it was a cake of

soap, he felt terrible for having misjudged the young man and hurried in the direction he had

taken, he found him eventually standing fortunately at the embankment.

Gortsby went up to him and gave him the cake of soap, the man hurriedly took it. He also

gave him a sovereign along with his card and his address. On his way back Gortsby had to pass

the bench, he was sitting on. He saw an elderly gentleman looking for something and asked

him what he was looking for. He recognized him as the elderly gentlemen who had shared the

bench with him earlier in the evening.

The men replied that he was looking for a cake of soap.

Thus from the story we see that looks can be deceiving. We should never be taken in by

outward appearances, as the saying goes ‘All that glitters is not gold’. Thus a person should be

judged by his acts and not by his physical appearance. The cake of soap proved to play an

important part in the story. It deceived Gortsby and made him believe the young stranger; he

even parted with some money. Luck was on the side of the young man, his bluff paid off

eventually. The older gentleman was however unlucky, he had lost his cake of soap. Thus we

can see that the story is humorous too in a funny way where chance and luck play important.
Give the meaning of the following words or phrases as used in the passage: [3]

1. Promptly

2. Option

3. Bluff

b. Answer the questions given below in your own words: [10]

1. Why it is difficult to judge people at the time of dusk?

2. What was the problem of the young man?

3. After the young man had walked away Gortsby felt miserable. Why?

4. Describe the meeting of the elderly man and Gortsby.

5. What does the story teach us?

c. In not more than sixty (60) words briefly describe how did the young man’s bluff

paid off. [10]

d. Give a suitable title to your summary and justify the choice of the title. [2]​