The Corner Shop

 Reading

Answer the following questions.

1. What made the narrator feel so good when he first visited the antique shop?

The corner shop was clean and brightly lit. A crackling fire was burning in the fireplace to keep the shop comfortable. It had many antique items for sale. Though the merchandise was old, the room was not dusty or gloomy. It was cold outside and the narrator felt very good when he first visited the antique shop.

2. What was it about the old man that made the narrator feel so uncomfortable?

The appearance of the old man made the narrator felt uncomfortable. He looked very tired and ravaged. The old man had a pale, frail, small, trembling, and bent frame. His face was withered and full of lines. He was very weak and appeared to crumble down with a breath or touch just like dust or cobwebs.

3. Why did the narrator want to pay the old man half of the money he had earned from the sale of the frog?

The old man had sold the frog to the narrator for only half a crown. The narrator got eighteen hundred pounds by selling it. The narrator thought that the old man might not know the real value of the frog. If the narrator kept all the money, it would be cheating the old man. So, the narrator wanted to pay the old man half of the money he had earned from the sale of the frog.

4. What had made Miss Wilson’s father become mentally disturbed?

Miss Wilson’s father was a skillful antique merchant. His wealth was made on three sinful transactions. He didn’t pay reasonable amounts to three persons who sold him some antiques. He realized his mistake after he became religious. He tried to make amends to the three persons. He found that all three persons were dead. They did not have any children too. The thought that he had committed three sins and he could not compensate or balance them in any way made him mentally disturbed.

5. Can we explain the reason behind the wonderful smile that spread across the old man’s face when the narrator told him about the money what he wanted to give them?

The old man, Miss Wilson’s father wanted to counterbalance the three sins he had committed long back. As he could not find anyone of his victim or their family members, he decided to help three deserving persons by allowing them to make good profits. He thought that the good deeds would compensate for his sins. He could find two such persons while he was alive. He could not find the third one. He found that the narrator was the third deserving person when the narrator wanted to share the profits. His search for the third deserving person finally fulfilled. The old man could now get rid of the guilt of his sins. This is the reason behind the wonderful smile that spread across the old man’s face.

6. Do you like the ending of the story? Why? Why not?

Yes. I like the ending of the story. The mystery of the story is revealed. The old man’s guilt and the way he wanted to counterbalance his sins are made known clearly. The story has a mysterious superhuman character. There is a moral in the story. Our sins will never let us rest peacefully.