CBSE Class 11 English Woven Stories Chapter 4 Important Questions - The Adventure of the Three Garridebs Free PDF Download
FAQs on Important Questions for CBSE Class 11 English Woven Stories Chapter 4 - The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
1. What are the most important types of questions to prepare from 'The Adventure of the Three Garridebs' for the CBSE Class 11 English exam 2025-26?
For the 2025-26 CBSE Class 11 English exam, focus on these important question types from 'The Adventure of the Three Garridebs':
- Character Analysis: Questions on Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Nathan Garrideb, and the antagonist 'Killer' Evans (disguised as John Garrideb).
- Thematic Questions: Exploring themes like deception vs. reality, loneliness, and the value of trust.
- Plot & Incident Analysis: Questions about key events, such as the concocted inheritance story or Holmes's reaction to Watson's injury.
- HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills): Questions that require you to infer, evaluate, or justify character actions and motivations.
2. How should a student structure a 5-mark long answer on the character of Nathan Garrideb?
To score full marks on a character sketch of Nathan Garrideb, structure your answer as follows:
- Introduction: Briefly introduce him as a reclusive, elderly collector who becomes the target of a complex deception.
- Key Traits: Describe his personality using evidence from the text. Mention his passion for collecting, his isolated and lonely nature, and his gullibility.
- Role in the Plot: Explain how his unique personality and obsessive hobby make him the perfect victim for 'Killer' Evans's scheme.
- Conclusion: Summarise his tragic fate and how he serves as a foil to the shrewdness of Sherlock Holmes.
3. What kind of short answer questions (3-marks) can be expected from this chapter?
For 3-mark questions, expect direct and focused inquiries. Important areas include:
- Incident Explanation: For instance, 'Why did 'Killer' Evans invent the story of the three Garridebs?'
- Character Motivation: For example, 'What motivated Nathan Garrideb to cooperate so readily with a stranger?'
- Significance of Clues: Questions like, 'What was the significance of the Americanisms in John Garrideb's speech that Holmes noted?'
These questions test your understanding of specific plot points and character motivations as per the CBSE curriculum.
4. How can a student effectively answer extract-based questions from 'The Adventure of the Three Garridebs'?
To excel in extract-based questions, focus on three key skills:
- Contextual Understanding: First, identify who is speaking, to whom, and at what point in the story the extract appears.
- Inference and Analysis: Go beyond the literal meaning. For example, an extract describing Nathan's room should be analysed for what it reveals about his character and isolation.
- Literary Devices: Identify and explain any use of irony, foreshadowing, or suspense within the given lines. This demonstrates a deeper analysis expected in the 2025-26 exam pattern.
5. Why is the setting of Nathan Garrideb's room crucial to the plot's development?
The setting of Nathan Garrideb's room is crucial for two main reasons. Firstly, it perfectly reflects his character—cluttered, eccentric, and isolated, showing a man detached from the world. Secondly, it is the direct target of the antagonist. The elaborate deception is designed solely to get Nathan out of this room so that 'Killer' Evans can access the cellar below, where a former tenant had hidden a counterfeiting press. The room is not just a backdrop; it is the epicentre of the entire mystery.
6. Explain the elaborate deception created by 'Killer' Evans. What was his real motive?
'Killer' Evans, posing as the American lawyer John Garrideb, concocted a story about a millionaire, Alexander Hamilton Garrideb, who would leave a large inheritance to be split among three adult males sharing the Garrideb surname. His real motive had nothing to do with an inheritance. It was a clever plan to lure the reclusive Nathan Garrideb out of his house for an extended period. Evans knew that a former occupant of the house, a counterfeiter named Presbury, had hidden his equipment in the cellar, and he wanted to retrieve it without being discovered.
7. Why is Sherlock Holmes's emotional reaction to Dr. Watson being shot considered a pivotal moment for character analysis?
Holmes's reaction is pivotal because it reveals the profound depth of his loyalty and affection for Watson, which is usually hidden beneath his cold, logical, and unemotional exterior. When Watson is shot, Holmes's panic and rage show that his friendship is his most important human connection. For a brief moment, the calculating detective is replaced by a fiercely protective friend. This moment is highly valued in exam questions as it provides a rare insight into the true personality of Sherlock Holmes.
8. Beyond being a detective story, how does 'The Adventure of the Three Garridebs' explore the theme of trust?
The story explores the theme of trust through two contrasting relationships. On one hand, it shows how misplaced trust can be exploited. Nathan Garrideb's deep loneliness makes him quick to trust the fake John Garrideb, leading to his downfall. On the other hand, the story highlights the unwavering and genuine trust between Holmes and Watson. Watson’s trust in Holmes’s methods and Holmes’s deep-seated trust in Watson's companionship form the moral core of the narrative, creating a powerful contrast between authentic and deceptive relationships.
9. What is a common misconception students have about the plot that could lead to lower marks?
A common misconception is believing that the inheritance story was real or that John Garrideb was genuinely looking for other Garridebs. Students who miss the fact that the entire story was a complex ruse fail to understand the antagonist's true motivation. Answering that Evans wanted a share of the inheritance is incorrect. The correct analysis, crucial for high marks, is that the story was invented solely to gain access to the counterfeiter's press in Nathan's cellar.
10. Compare the characters of Nathan Garrideb and 'Killer' Evans (as John Garrideb).
Nathan Garrideb and 'Killer' Evans are presented as complete opposites, a contrast central to the story's conflict:
- Nature: Nathan is genuine, scholarly, and reclusive, completely absorbed in his own small world of collections. In contrast, Evans is deceptive, manipulative, and worldly, a dangerous criminal from a violent background.
- Motivation: Nathan is driven by a simple, almost childlike passion for his hobby and the hope of a fortune. Evans is driven by pure criminal greed.
- Awareness: Nathan is portrayed as naive and utterly oblivious to the danger he is in. Evans is hyper-aware, calculating, and always one step ahead of his victim.
11. How does Arthur Conan Doyle use irony in 'The Adventure of the Three Garridebs'?
Arthur Conan Doyle uses irony powerfully in the story. The central irony is that Nathan Garrideb, a man who dedicates his life to collecting and classifying objects from the past, completely fails to 'classify' the dangerous criminal in front of him. His obsession with the rare and unique (like his name) is the very weakness that Evans exploits to trap him. It is also ironic that in his quest for a fictional fortune, Nathan loses everything and ends up in a nursing home, a victim of his own hopes.











