The Verger by William Somerset Maugham - Important questions and answers

The Verger by William Somerset Maugham

Important Solved Questions and Answers - 

A. Answer the following question in one or two words -

1. Where was St. Peter's Church located?
Ans: Neville Square.

2. What was the name of the verger of St. Peter's Church?
Ans: Albert Edward Foreman.

3. Who were in the vestry besides the verger and the vicar?
Ans: The two Churchwardens

4. At what age did the verger begin working?
Ans: Twelve.

5. What did the verger want to buy while walking in the street?
Ans: A packet of Gold Flake cigarettes.

B. Answer the following question in few words -

1. What was the discovery that astonished the vicar?

Ans: The discovery that astonished the vicar was that Albert Edward Foreman who served as a verger in his church could neither read nor write.

2. What occupation did the verger take up after resigning from the church?

Ans: After resigning from the church, the verger took up the profession of the tobacconist and newsagent.

3. What impression did the verger have about the new vicar?

Ans: The verger did not have a good impression about the new vicar. He considered the man fussy and wanting to have his finger in every pie.

4. How did the verger treat his grown?

Ans: The verger treated his gowns with much care, pride, and dignity. He wore his gowns with complacence as it was the dignified symbol of his office. He took pains with it, pressed it, and ironed it himself. He even preserved the old worn-out gowns, wrapped neatly up in brown paper, and kept them in the bottom drawers of the wardrobe in his bedroom.

5. What was the verger told by the vicar in the vestry?

Ans: In the vestry, the vicar told the verger that had accomplished the duties of the office to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. However, he was astonished to find the verger to be an illiterate person. In that case, the verger could not be allowed to continue his job. Hence, the verger must learn to read and write within three months or leave his office.

C. Answer the following question briefly in your own words -

1. What thoughts came to the verger's mind as he sat in the vestry with the vicar and the churchwardens? How did the verger react to the vicar's announcement?

Ans: As the verger sat in the vestry with the vicar and the churchwardens, he was wondering with slight uneasiness what could be the matter. He noted that the two churchwardens were sitting at the table and he also recalled that the table had been bought by the earlier vicar from Italy. He realized that something was bothering the vicar and the two churchwardens. The troubled look of the two churchwardens led the verger to think that the vicar had been nagging them and might have jockeyed them into doing something they did not like.

The vicar announced that an illiterate verger like Albert Edward Foreman could not be allowed to continue his job in a prestigious church like St. Peter's. Hence the verger must learn to read and write within three months or leave his office. At this, the verger was not at all embarrassed, rather he reacted with confidence. He bluntly expressed his inability to learn reading and writing at this age as he was too old a dog to learn new tricks. He further said that he would hand in his resignation as soon as they find someone to replace him.

2. In your opinion, what kind of person was the verger?

Ans: In my opinion, Albert Edward Foreman, the verger was a very confident man. He was quite sure of himself. Even when the vicar told him that he had to leave the job of verger if he would be unable to learn to read and write within three months, he did not feel shattered. Rather he told the vicar that he would not be able to learn to read and write at this old age and that he would happily offer his resignation as soon as they found someone to replace him. The verger was also a man of great business knowledge and intelligence. He decided to open a cigarette shop in a street without one and this decision made him a successful businessman.

3. "The manager stared at him as though he were a prehistoric monster".
i. Who is the 'he' referred to in the question?

Ans: The 'he' referred to here is Albert Edward Foreman who was once the verger of the prestigious St. Peter's church and now a successful businessman.

ii. Explain what made the manager staring at that person.

Ans: After being sacked from the job of the verger, Albert Edward Foreman set up his business as a tobacconist and newsagent and in ten years he became rich and successful owning ten shops. Every Monday he deposited the week's earnings in the bank. One day the manager of the bank advised Foreman to invest the money which was a little over thirty thousand pounds. He even assured that the bank would help Foreman to choose the securities, he would only have to sign the transfer. But when Foreman asked the manager as to how would he know what he was signing, the manager replied that of course, he could read the papers. Foreman disclosed that he was an illiterate man, neither he could write nor read. Hearing this, the manager was taken aback. He was shocked to know that a man who had a mass fortune of thirty thousand pounds was illiterate. That is why the manager stared at Foreman as though he were a prehistoric monster.

D. Give suitable answers to the following -

1. Attempt a character sketch of the verger.

Ans: We are introduced to the verger, Albert Edward Foreman as an illiterate person who served as the verger of St. Peter's Neville Square for 16 years. He began his life as a page boy at the age of twelve in the house of a merchant-prince. He then rose from fourth to the first footman and later he had been single-handed butler to a widowed peeress. And before being appointed at St. Peter's, Foreman was a butler with two men under him in a retired ambassador's house. He was a man of confidence and self-respecting nature. When the vicar discovers that the verger could neither read nor write and orders him to learn reading and writing within three months or leave the job of the verger, he did not feel shattered. Rather he told him that he would be unable to learn to read and write at this old age and then he happily offered his resignation. He was a realistic and proud man with great business acumen and common sense. Within ten years after quitting his job as a verger, he transformed into a rich and successful gentleman. Apart from these, we also notice that he has a clear heart and does not hold any kind of anger towards the vicar. Hence, we can consider him as a man of self-assurance, tact, and firmness.

2. Narrate the circumstances under which the verger had to lose his job in St. Peter's church.

Ans: Albert Edward Foreman served at the St. Peter's church as a verger for sixteen years. He accomplished the duties of the office to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. Everything was going on smoothly until the new vicar came. The new vicar was an educated man. When he came to know that the verger was an illiterate man he was shocked. So, one afternoon the vicar called the verger to the vestry. In the vestry, the verger was wondered with slight uneasiness what could be the matter as he found the two churchwardens already sitting there with the vicar. The troubled look of the two churchwardens led the verger to think that the vicar had been nagging them and might have jockeyed them into doing something against their will. While he was wondering about the situation, the vicar admitted that the verger had accomplished the duties of the office to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. But he was astonished to find the verger to be an illiterate person. In such a case, the verger could not be allowed to continue his jobs in a prestigious church like St. Peter's. Hence, he orders the verger to learn to read and write within three months or leave his office. But the verger refused to take the offer and preferred to resign believing that it was too late now to learn. Hence, it was under these circumstances the verger had to lose his job in St. Peter's church.

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