Summary
Short-Questions
1. Why did the old man kill his own son?
2. What is the theme of 'purgatory'?
3. What do the boy and the old man quarrel for?
4. What is purgatory?
5. What is the Old Man’s motive in murdering the boy?
Long-Questions
1. Sketch the character of An Old Man.
2. "We are always punished for our sins". Elaborate this
statement.
Purgatory
W. B. Yeats
Character
An old man : Father, became a peddler in 16 years, stabbed and burnt his father
Grandfather : drunkard and squander
Son : killed at last by his father
Grandmother : aristocratic (upper class)'s daughter
Mother : a beautiful girl
Place : Old house - where story began and end
Theme : Drugs and squander bring family disaster.
Summary
'Purgatory'
is one act play. The scene of the play is a ruined house and a bare tree in the
background. The play opens with the conversation between an old man and a boy.
The boy is the old man’s son. They are standing in front of the ruined house.
The old man tells the boy the history of the ruined house and the tragedy of a
reputed family. The house belonged to the old man’s mother, a lady from
aristocratic family. She fell in love with a groom (the old man’s father). She
had died at giving birth of a child (the old man in the drama). After her
death, the old man’s father began to waste money drinking wine, playing card
and on women. He neither educated the old man nor left property to him. One day
he burnt down the house being mad drinking wine. The house had a long and
glorious history in which the reputed and great people of the nation were born.
So the old man stabbed him to death and ran away from the village and worked as
a peddler. After several years he came back to his house with his son (the
boy).
As
he was telling the story of his parents, the old man hears the hoof-beats of
his father’s horse and sees his mother’s figure at the window of the ruined
house, he asks his son to hear the sound and see the figure. The old man
believes his mother’s soul is suffering in Purgatory. He believes she
constantly repeats the wedding night. However, the boy neither hears sound nor
sees any figure. He thinks his father to be mad. Therefore, he tries to run
away stealing money from the old man. The old man sees it and grabs it. The boy
asks for his right share and insists that it’s his right to get the money and
spend it as he wishes. His behavior resembled his grandfather’s habits. The old
man realizes that his mother’s soul can never get purged till her criminal
generation survives. So to release his mother’s soul from the purgatory the old
man stabs the boy to death. He says that if he is left alone, he will be more
dangerous than his father. If the boy had been left, he would have married and
passed the pollution on. He again hears the sound of hoof-beats and he wishes
his mother’s spirit for emancipation and prays with God.
Short-Questions
1. Why did the old man kill his own son?
In the "purgatory", the old man killed his own son to stop the chain of crime. The old man thought that the son would repeat the same act of his polluted father's career, which had begun when the son was 16 years old. The murdering tradition might go on from generation to generation. Therefore, to stop the tradition, the old man killed his own son.
2. What is the theme of 'purgatory'?
The theme of the purgatory is drugs and squander brings family disaster. The play 'purgatory' is tragedy of the single family. It deals with the suffering of the soul of a dead person. They are wandering in purgatory waiting to be forgiven. The living persons are also suffering from their separation and their crimes. There is close relation between the dead and living persons.
3. What do the boy and the old man quarrel for?
The old man has a bag of money. The old man does not want to give right share to the boy. Both of them struggle for the bag of money. Some time the old man takes the bag and sometime the son takes the bag. In their struggle the money in the bag scatters. They have greed to the money in the bag.
4. What is purgatory?
In the religion, a place where souls of people who can not go straight to heaven because their sins have not been forgiven. Souls in Purgatory are punished and then the soul can allowed going to the heaven. It is believed that heaven is a place where the gods live.
5. What is the Old Man’s motive in murdering the boy?
The Old Man’s motive in murdering the boy, his own son is to stop the tradition of bloodshed. The old man thought that the son would repeat the same act and the murdering tradition might go on from generation to generation. Therefore, to stop the tradition, the old man killed his own son.
6. Discuss the kind of relationship between father and son in the paly
“Purgatory”.
Long-Questions
1. Sketch the character of An Old Man.
The old man is the main character of the play 'purgatory'. He was the son of a rich lady. His mother died after giving birth to him. He was away from love and education, when he was 16 years old. He stabbed his father because his father was drunkard, squander and set fire own house. Then, he ran away from there. He became a peddler. He trapped a beautiful girl and made pregnant before marriage. When his son was young, he tried to snatch his father's money. And then, they fought heavily. At last, he stabbed his son too. He fell very happy, because he could able to stop the tradition of bloodshed. Then, he prayed to God to release his mother's soul from purgatory.
He was the victim of polluted blood. Anyway, his involvement on negative activities like murder, fraud and deceive. It didn't make him antagonist. Rather, he wanted to stop evil things by doing negative activities. He is a religious man too.
2. "We are always punished for our sins". Elaborate this
statement.
According to the play 'purgatory' by W. B. Yeats "We are always punished for our sins". Whatever sin we do is recorded. And we will be ultimately punished for our sins. We are punished either in the earth or in the purgatory.
The old man's father was punished by his own son, because he didn't co-operate his wife and his son's future. The old man's son was the victim of polluted blood. His behavior was bad. So, he also met a miserable death. The old man will be punished because no one took care of him. His mother did mistake neglecting her parents' suggestion. So, she suffered from her husband.
In the play 'purgatory' everyone took punishment by different way. God is not blind to punish everybody randomly. He punished only those who commit sin. No sinner is excused in his/her life. The play inspires people to remain mistake less.
3. Interpret the play ‘Purgatory’ from any perspective you like.
4. Why did the old man kill his own son and his father? Explain how
this drama is connected with religious belief.
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