Question

"How amused everyone would be if they knew what really happened," said Louisa Mebbin a few days after the ball. 

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Packletide quickly. 

"How you shot the goat and frightened the tiger to death," said Miss Mebbin, with her disagreeably pleasant laugh.    (Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger)

I. What impact did Louisa Mebbin wish to create on Mrs. Packletide, with her statement, "How amused everyone would be if they knew what really happened"?

II. Why did Mrs. Packletide ask Louisa Mebbin what she meant by her comment?

III. What feelings did the speed of Mrs. Packletide’s response reflect?

IV. What does the writer mean by 'disagreeably pleasant laugh?’

Answer 1

I. Louisa Mebbin aimed to unsettle Mrs. Packletide by implying that she knew the truth about the tiger hunt / Was to make her feel uneasy and compelled to comply with Mebbin's wishes to avoid public embarrassment.

II. Because the comment suggested that Mebbin knew something about the real circumstances of the tiger hunt, which put Mrs. Packletide on edge.

III. anxiety and unease / discomfort

IV. Refers to a laugh that seems friendly on the surface but carries an underlying sense of mockery or malice / the kind of laugh that might appear welcoming or harmless, yet it makes others uncomfortable because of its hidden intent.