A Triumph of Surgery by James Herriot

Read and Find Out ( Page 1)

Q1. Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?

Ans: Tricki appeared to be listless and seemed to have left with no energy. Mrs. Pumphrey thought that he must be suffering from malnutrition. He would eat nothing and even refuse his favourite dishes. Moreover, he had occasional bouts of vomiting. So she was extremely worried about Tricki.

Q2. What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?

Ans: She immediately consulted Mr. Herriot, the vet, and informed him about the symptoms of abonormality that she notices in Tricki. Mr. Herriot suggested her to hospitalize Tricki for about a fortnight and keep him under observation.

Yes, she was wise in her decision to inform the matter to Mr. Harriet.

Q3. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?

Ans: In this story ‘I’ refers to Mr. Harriet, who is both a narrator and a veterinary surgeon.

Read and Find Out ( Page 3)

Q4. Is the narrator as rich as Tricki’s mistress?

Ans: There are indications in the story to suggest that narrator is not as rich as Tricki’s mistress. The following instances would certainly justify the above statement:

1. On Mr. Harriet’s arrival to Mrs Pumphrey’s house to collect the dog, she deputed numerous staff under her supervision to transfer all of Tricki’s belongings to the doctor’s car.

2. When Mr. Pumphrey heard about Tricki’s gradual recovery, she sends along two dozen eggs at a time, along with bottles of wine and brandy with an objective of helping Tricki’s speedy recovery.

3. On her arrival to Mr. Harriot’s hospital to collect the dog after his recovery, she comes in a chauffer-driven “thirty feet of gleaming black metal”, which is an indication to a limousine.

Q5. How does he treat the dog?

Ans: Mr. Harriot kept watch over Tricki for the first two days. He was given no food except plenty of water to drink. At the end of the second day, he started showing interest in his surroundings and began to whimper on hearing the dogs in the yard. Tricki had no medicinal treatment of any kind. Dr. Harriot ensured that the dog ran about with other dogs by joining in their friendly scrimmages. A separate bowl was kept for Tricki and the doctor was pleased to note that Tricki had run to eat his food with enthusiasm. From that day onwards, its progress was rapid.

Q6. Why is he tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest?

Ans: On hearing that Tricki was recovering, Mrs. Pumphrey brought two dozen fresh eggs for Tricki’s strength. She also sent bottles of wine and brandy as additional supplements for Tricki’s health. The narrator and his partners started having the eggs, wine and brandy meant for Tricki. On certain days, their days started with eggs in the morning, wine at midday and brandy round the fire at night. Therefore, the narrator is tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest.

Q7. Why does Mrs Pumphrey think the dog’s recovery is “a triumph of surgery”?

Ans: In two weeks’ time under the pastoral care of Mr. Herriot, Tricki had recovered completely and had been transformed into a flexible and hard-muscled animal. When Tricki saw her, it leaped into her lap and licked her face. She was so excited that tears flooded her eyes. She termed Tricki’s recovery as a triumph of surgery to express her extreme joy and gratitude for the doctor.

EXTRA QUESTIONS

Q1.‘You must harden your heart and help him on a strict diet.’ Why does Mr Herriot suggest this to Mrs Pumphrey?

ANS: Mrs Pumphrey is very loving and caring mistress for Tricki. Her love and care do more harm than good to Tricki. She pampered him by giving him a luxurious life. She overfed him. The result was that Tricki became fat and lethargic. Overpampering and overfeeding were leading into disaster by spoiling his health. Cutting down his meals was much required to improve his health. Therefore, Mr Herriot suggests Mrs Pumphrey so.

Q2.Why was Mr Herriot shocked at Tricki’s appearance?

ANS: Mr Herriot was shocked at Tricki’s appearance as he had become very obese. His eyes were red and watery and his tongue was lolling. All these symptoms made Mr Herriot feel that he was not feeling well.

Q3.How do you know that Tricki had an affluent life?

ANS: Tricki was a pampered pet of an affluent mistress. He had a wardrobe of tweed coats with separate coats for the cold and rainy weather. He had separate beds for day and night with lovely cushions, toys, rubber rings, breakfast bowl, supper bowl and lunch bowl. All these luxury items show that he had an affluent living.

Q4.Why did Mrs Pumphrey make a frantic call to Mr Herriot? What immediate step did he take to save Tricki?

ANS: Mrs Pumphrey made a frantic call to Mr Herriot because her loving pet dog had stopped eating anything. He even refused to eat his favourite dishes and sweets. He became inactive and lay motionless all the time. He began panting and had bouts of vomiting. He took no interest in anything. Mr Herriot hospitalised Tricki for a fortnight and kept him on strict diet. By giving him a lot of water he was able to make Tricki active and energetic once again. Thus, he was able to save him from any kind of surgery or medicinal treatment.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. Dr Herriot was an intelligent doctor. He had sympathy and compassion for both the patient and his owner. He had practical approach in his treatment. Do you think doctors should be compassionate and practical like Dr Herriot?

Mr Harriot was an intelligent doctor. He had the values of sympathy and compassion. He had practical approach in his treatment. He knew how to balance the professional life and social life. He knew the human psychology. He satisfied Mrs Pumphrey who was very possessive and obsessive about Tricky. He respected her love for her dog but treated Tricky tactfully. Yes, I feel that a doctor must be sympathetic and full of compassion for his patients. Dr Herriot is an example for all the doctors to follow. He understood the cause of and the remedy for all the diseases. He makes Mrs Pumphrey understand how she should treat Tricky. He is very modest when he says ‘you must harden your heart and help him on a strict diet’.

Q2. Animals also understand the language of love. They have loving attitude towards their masters. Elaborate with reference to the story ‘A Triumph of Surgery’.

ANS: Tricki was a very lucky dog to be looked after by a very sensitive lady Mrs Pumphrey, who looked after him like a pampered child. Tricki was fed on such delicacies and delicious food as might be a matter of jealousy for other dogs. Tricki also loved the heart that cared for him. After he had stayed with Mr Herriot for about a fortnight, he was eager to meet his mistress. The moment he saw her come to pick him up, he rushed to her with a tremendous leap. He expressed his love for her by licking her face and barking. He was excited when he met her after sometime. He wanted to thank Mrs Pumphrey for giving him a lot of love. He was so loving and excited on meeting her that she could not hold back her tears. This behaviour of Tricki makes us realise that the animals are also grateful to their loving masters.

3. Obesity is a common problem nowadays. People live to eat and don’t eat to live. What should be our approach to our diet? Does being rich mean to eat and feed too much like Tricky and Mrs Pumphrey?

ANS: The lethargic life led by Tricki at home makes us feel that probably he lived to eat. Tricki had become very greedy. He would never refuse to eat whatever and whenever it was given to him. His mistress overfed him to increase his intake of nutrients in order to give him vigour. But that affected adversely and made him obese and dull dog.

He suffered from the sickness called obesity. Obesity is a common problem nowadays. People live to eat and don’t eat to live. Junk food and fast food have become a status symbol. Even students in schools bring food from branded food chains to show off. Being rich does not mean to eat too much. We should eat balanced and natural food. We should eat to earn stamina and good health and not to gain overweight. We should eat to improve our health and not to spoil it.

4. Over pampering is not only bad for humans but also for animals. Do you think overpampering by parents is in favour of the children? What are the bad values that a child imbibes from overprotection and over pampering. Elaborate with reference to the story ‘A Triumph of Surgery’.

ANS: Mrs Pumphrey pampered Tricky and made him sick. Her love for her dog was in excess. She overfed him. He became so fat that he was unable to move. Her love and care made him dull. It is an example of overpampering. Overpampering is not only bad for humans but also for animals. There are many parents who pamper their children in the name of love and care. It is not in the interest of the children. They get spoiled. They never learn the value of self-dependence, self-confidence. They become greedy, laggy and dull in future. They are unable to face the challenges of life. Sometimes they indulge in antisocial and illegal acts knowing that their parents would save them. Hence, overpampering by parents does not help a child in the long run.

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