1.) Summary of the Story

2.) How does the narrator describe the weather and its effects in the exposition of the story?

3.) Describe the strange old man as Pelayo and his wife first encounter within their courtyard.

4.) Why did Pelayo and Elisenda imprison the old man in the chicken coop?

5.) Why was Father Gonzaga not sure about the old man being a celestial messenger?

6.) Many people gathered at Pelayo’s house to see the strange old man. Why do you think the crowd assembled to see him?

7.) Some miracles happened while the crowd gathers to see the strange man. What are these miracles?

8.) State the irritating things that the people did with the strange old man.

9.) How and why was the woman changed into a spider?

10.) Describe how Elisenda saw the strange man flying over the houses.

11.) The arrival of a strange old man at Palayo’s courtyard arouses many suspicions and explanations. Explain how the neighbour woman, Father Gonzaga and the doctor speak of the strange man. Why do you think these three people give three different kinds of int

12.) This story belongs to the genre of ‘magical realism, a genre perfected by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his novels and short stories. Magical realism is a narrative technique in which the storyteller narrates the commonplace things with magical colour and the

13.) The author introduces the episode of a woman who became a spider for having disobeyed her parents. This episode at once shifts people’s concentration from the strange old man to the spider woman. What do you think is the purpose of the author to bring thi

14.) The story deals with the common people’s gullibility (भ्रामकता). How do Palayo and his wife take advantage of common people’s whim?