Sergius (stiffening indignantly) I'll say so....Petkoff : They'll be far more frightened of you than of me
(a) : What had Sergius been asked to do just before this given quotation ? (2)
Major Paul Petkoff and Sergius had been delighted that Bluntschli had come to the Petkoff home and had persuaded him to help them with deciding on how to send three cavalry regiments to Philippopolis as they could not find a route which would provide the horses with sufficient fodder. Bluntschli had practically done all the work of deciding on the route the regiments would take and in drawing up the required orders to ensure their progress. The orders had been signed by Sergius and when all the paper work had been completed,
Bluntschli had asked Sergius to see that the couriers (whichever soldiers were to deliver the letters containing the orders) take the letters and start off at once. Sergius was to show the couriers the time by which they were to have the respective letters handed in. The couriers were to be warned not to delay.
(b) : Why did Sergius think that they would think that he would be "insulting" them ? (1)
Sergius thought that as he would convey the message, Bluntschli had told him to, to the soldiers in such a threatening manner ("if they're five minutes late, they'll have the skin taken off their backs"), that the couriers (the soldiers who were going to deliver the letters with the orders) may be offended (spit in his face) by the tone in which they were given their instructions and in the threats to them.
(c) : What opinion does Bluntschli seem to have of Sergius, from your reading of this passage ? (1)
From my reading of this passage, and particularly from the part where Bluntschli requests Petkoff to go after Sergius and ensure that Sergius talks to the soldiers "properly", that he does not have much faith in Sergius' ability to convey the seriousness and urgency of the orders to the soldiers. I think Bluntschli was afraid that Sergius would take his words literally and offend the soldiers rather than convey the haste and responsibility of their mission.
(d) : Why does Petkoff speak "officiously" and "go to the door importantly" ? (1)
Petkoff had been sitting, relaxing and having no role to play in getting the orders written and signed for sending the three cavalry regiments to Philippopolis. He had interrupted the work frequently expressing his desire to have something useful to do, to no avail. He is ectreemly pleased and feels useful to have at last something to do in an assignment which was after all, his responsibility. He thus puts on the air of someone who has something very important to do (officiously) and walks in the manner of someone of some status.
(e) : What does Petkoff's hesitation and his calling on Catherine tell you about his personality ? (1.5)
Petkoff might be the highest ranking Bulgarian officer in the Bulgarian army, but he seems to be dominated by Catherine's presence when he is in close proximity with her. Petkoff seems to have a firm faith in Catherine's ability to command and see a difficult situation through and Catherine has got used to taking charge and even speaking on behalf of her husband. Petkoff does seem at all put off by Catherine's dominance, but feels quite content to let her take charge.
(f) : What does Petkoff's calling on Catherine tell you about her ? (1.5)
Petkoff's calling on Catherine to convey to the soldiers the true spirit in which they should carry out their orders on the basis that they would be more scared of her than her husband, tells us that Catherine has a dominating personality. We also saw that when the pursuing soldiers and the clamouring crowd came to the house, they ignored Nicola but fell quiet when Catherine addressed them.
(g) : What comment had Bluntschli to make immediately after this passage in response to the behaviour noted here ? (2)
In response to Petkoff calling on his wife to convey the urgency of their work to the soldiers, Bluntschli exclaimed in critical disbelief at the unfortunate state of the Bulgarian army which makes cannons out of cherry trees (referring to the poor quality of their cannons, which do not last in battle) and the officers "send for their wives to keep discipline" ! - a comment which criticizes the ability of the Bulgarian army officers.
(a) : What had Sergius been asked to do just before this given quotation ? (2)
Major Paul Petkoff and Sergius had been delighted that Bluntschli had come to the Petkoff home and had persuaded him to help them with deciding on how to send three cavalry regiments to Philippopolis as they could not find a route which would provide the horses with sufficient fodder. Bluntschli had practically done all the work of deciding on the route the regiments would take and in drawing up the required orders to ensure their progress. The orders had been signed by Sergius and when all the paper work had been completed,
Bluntschli had asked Sergius to see that the couriers (whichever soldiers were to deliver the letters containing the orders) take the letters and start off at once. Sergius was to show the couriers the time by which they were to have the respective letters handed in. The couriers were to be warned not to delay.
(b) : Why did Sergius think that they would think that he would be "insulting" them ? (1)
Sergius thought that as he would convey the message, Bluntschli had told him to, to the soldiers in such a threatening manner ("if they're five minutes late, they'll have the skin taken off their backs"), that the couriers (the soldiers who were going to deliver the letters with the orders) may be offended (spit in his face) by the tone in which they were given their instructions and in the threats to them.
(c) : What opinion does Bluntschli seem to have of Sergius, from your reading of this passage ? (1)
From my reading of this passage, and particularly from the part where Bluntschli requests Petkoff to go after Sergius and ensure that Sergius talks to the soldiers "properly", that he does not have much faith in Sergius' ability to convey the seriousness and urgency of the orders to the soldiers. I think Bluntschli was afraid that Sergius would take his words literally and offend the soldiers rather than convey the haste and responsibility of their mission.
(d) : Why does Petkoff speak "officiously" and "go to the door importantly" ? (1)
Petkoff had been sitting, relaxing and having no role to play in getting the orders written and signed for sending the three cavalry regiments to Philippopolis. He had interrupted the work frequently expressing his desire to have something useful to do, to no avail. He is ectreemly pleased and feels useful to have at last something to do in an assignment which was after all, his responsibility. He thus puts on the air of someone who has something very important to do (officiously) and walks in the manner of someone of some status.
(e) : What does Petkoff's hesitation and his calling on Catherine tell you about his personality ? (1.5)
Petkoff might be the highest ranking Bulgarian officer in the Bulgarian army, but he seems to be dominated by Catherine's presence when he is in close proximity with her. Petkoff seems to have a firm faith in Catherine's ability to command and see a difficult situation through and Catherine has got used to taking charge and even speaking on behalf of her husband. Petkoff does seem at all put off by Catherine's dominance, but feels quite content to let her take charge.
(f) : What does Petkoff's calling on Catherine tell you about her ? (1.5)
Petkoff's calling on Catherine to convey to the soldiers the true spirit in which they should carry out their orders on the basis that they would be more scared of her than her husband, tells us that Catherine has a dominating personality. We also saw that when the pursuing soldiers and the clamouring crowd came to the house, they ignored Nicola but fell quiet when Catherine addressed them.
(g) : What comment had Bluntschli to make immediately after this passage in response to the behaviour noted here ? (2)
In response to Petkoff calling on his wife to convey the urgency of their work to the soldiers, Bluntschli exclaimed in critical disbelief at the unfortunate state of the Bulgarian army which makes cannons out of cherry trees (referring to the poor quality of their cannons, which do not last in battle) and the officers "send for their wives to keep discipline" ! - a comment which criticizes the ability of the Bulgarian army officers.
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