Question Answers- Progress Play

Progress Q. No 01. What is the significance of the title of the play ‘Progress’? Answer: Prof Henry Corrie invents a very powerful bomb, but his sister Mrs Meldon wants him to destroy his formula as her son and husband died in the war. When he does not listen to her then she stabs him with a knife. The title of the play is ironic because the play is not about progress rather destruction. Q. No. 02. What is the central idea of the play ‘Progress’? Answer: It has not only a unity of theme (the abolition of war) the unities of time; place and action are also meticulously maintained. Thematically, “Progress” is written against the background of the First World War in which thousands were butchered and many more became disabled for life. The central idea of this play is to present the dark side of war and express the evils that it brings with it.

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Q. No 03. Describe the climax of the play ‘Progress’ in few lines. Answer: Usually, the climax is very short and brief in one act play. The climax of this play starts when Mrs. Meldon starts requesting his brother Professor Corrie in a threatening tone to supress his invention of dangerous bomb. She insists repeatedly and the story moves towards the climax. Q. No. 04. What is once act play? Illustrate it with examples from the play ‘Progress’. Answer: A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. ‘Progress’ by John Greer Ervine is a one act play because it consists of one act and one scene. The play is brief and short conveying a complete message through a short but neatly fabricated story.

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Q. No. 05. What is plot? Write down the plot of the play ‘Progress’. Answer: In a literary work, film, story or other narrative, the plot is the sequence of events where each affects the next one through the principle of cause-and-effect. The causal events of a plot can be thought of as a series of events linked by the connector. The plot of play progress consists of a series of events that occur between Professor Corrie and his sister. Progress is an anti-war play with a universal appeal. Prof Henry Corrie invents a very powerful bomb, but his sister Mrs Meldon wants him to destroy his formula as her son and husband died in the war. When he does not listen to her then she stabs him with a knife and kills him. Q. No. 06. Write the character sketch of Mrs. Meldon. Answer: Mrs. Meldon was the widow sister of Professor Henry Corrie whose son and husband had died. She was an English woman of early 20th century aged around forty three. She was highly sensitive woman and was liked by the readers due to her kind heartedness.

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Mrs. Meldon was not a pretentious (showy) woman. She was the paragon of simplicity and endurance. She did not believe in the business of pomp and show. In a nutshell, she was a commonplace, ordinary and simple sort of woman enriched with a great power of endurance and quality of patience. Usually she did not fret against unkind behaviour of others. She did not complain or protest the cruel attitude of her brother. She displayed remarkable control over nerves and sentiments. Her brother kept her waiting in chilly weather at the station, but she generously ignored his callous behaviour. Although Mrs. Meldon was a humanitarian and an optimist, she killed her brother for sake of human benefits, yet she committed that act under the influence of her passions, considering Prof. Corrie as a killer of her son. In fact, Mrs. Meldon committed a crime, a desperate murder of his brother but it was too better than that crime which was to be commenced after the explosion of that bomb. I think that this is no crime. To kill guilt or to nip the evil in the bud is no crime.

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Q. No. 07. Draw the character of Prof. Corrie as despiser/hater of humanity. Answer: Professor Corrie was indeed an enemy of humanity that he had invented a powerful bomb, which could cause the bodies of humans rotting if they inhaled the gas, released by his bomb. He also had no love and affection for those, who were associated with him. His approach of life was completely and purely materialistic and scientific, and love and sympathy had no meaning for him. Being successful in even a minor experiment was of greater importance for him than the human beings. His following words prove how inhuman he was: “A single bomb would wipe out the whole population of a city as big as Manchester” Q. No. 08. What type of mother is Mrs. Meldon? Illustrate through her character. Answer: She was a bereaved mother and used to wear black dress as a sing of extreme grief for the irrecoverable loss of her only son, Eddie killed in the First World War. The centre of

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her life was only the love and affection for her only son and husband, although they were no more alive. The war deprived her of her son directly and indirectly took her husband’s life. She said, “I had a husband and a son when the war began. I had neither when it was over”. Q. No. 09. Was Mrs. Meldon justified in killing her brother? Give your considered view. Answer: Although Mrs. Meldon was a humanitarian and an optimist, she killed her brother for sake of human benefits, yet she committed that act under the influence of her passions, considering Prof. Corrie as a killer of her son. In fact, Mrs. Meldon committed a crime, a desperate murder of his brother but it was too better than that crime which was to be commenced after the explosion of that bomb. I think that this is no crime. To kill guilt or to nip the evil in the bud is no crime.

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Q. No. 10. What was the cause of quarrel between Mrs. Meldon and Prof. Corrie? Answer: The idea of war, the invention of bomb by Professor Corrie and its expected aftermath caused a quarrel between Mrs. Meldon and Professor Corrie. Q. No. 11. Contrast the characters of Mrs. Meldon and Prof. Corrie, highlighting the dominant traits of their personalities. Answer: Mrs. Meldon’s character is the beam of pleasant sunshine in the gloomy atmosphere of the play, made by Prof. Corrie’s invention. Her name will be written in the letter of gold in the history of those who love humanity passionately and deeply. Her sincerity was reduced to transparency when she killed her brother for the sake of preventing the human beings from the explosion of bomb which was to be burst. Although it was a violent action but sometimes a drastic and violent step becomes indispensable to crush the evil. It is crystal clear that she was every inch noble and out

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and out a sincere woman. Her traits of character leave everlasting impression upon the mind of the readers. One the other hand, Professor Henry Corrie was eminent learned man and the scientist of unique nature lived in a remote region of England. He loved to live in isolation as his research work required undivided concentration and attention. He was a middle-aged bachelor with stern feathers, thick beard, and cold, humourless eyes. Q. No. 12. What is the conflict in the play ‘Progress’? How is it resolved? Answer: The idea of war, the invention of bomb by Professor Corrie and its expected aftermath, the perception regarding the role of statesmen in war and the nature of war caused a conflict between Mrs. Meldon and Professor Corrie. This conflict is resolved with the death of Professor Corrie when Mrs. Meldon stabs him to death with a knife. Q. No. 13. Suggest another ending for the play ‘Progress’. Answer: The story could have been concluded with a positive change in the ideology of Professor Corrie. He could

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have been shown agreeing to his sister by supressing his invention and respecting the feelings of his sister. Q. No. 14. True progress means “The destroying of the means of destruction’. Elaborate this statement in the light of the play ‘Progress’. Answer: Although Mrs. Meldon was a humanitarian and an optimist, she killed her brother for sake of human benefits, yet she committed that act under the influence of her passions, considering Prof. Corrie as a killer of her son. In fact, Mrs. Meldon committed a crime, a desperate murder of his brother but it was too better than that crime which was to be commenced after the explosion of that bomb. I think that this is no crime. To kill guilt or to nip the evil in the bud is no crime. In the end it can be said that Mrs. Meldon’s was reduced to transparency when she killed her brother for the sake of preventing the human beings from the explosion of bomb which was to be burst. Although it was a violent action but sometimes a drastic and violent step becomes indispensable to crush the evil. It is crystal clear that she was every inch noble and out and out a sincere woman who aimed to destroy the means of destruction.

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Q. No. 15. How was Eddie killed? Answer: Eddie was killed by a shell when he was stranded in s trench with his men for over a week. They had been waiting for backup when a shell was thrown upon them by Germens. He was killed in a moment by the men, who had never seen him. Eddie and his men were mutilated and devastated completely as their companions could not even find their dead bodies. Q. No. 16. Describe the physical and mental conditions of Mrs. Meldon after the death of her son Eddie? Answer: Mrs. Meldon had to face such a great tragedy which ruined her life completely. Her only son Eddie who was nineteen, was killed in cold blood in the First World War. Her husband Tom unable to withstand the shock of his son’s death, died soon after. In this way, Mrs. Meldon was left at the mercy of fate. Mrs. Meldon was really a woman in distress, a grieved widow and a bereaved mother, compelled to lead a miserable life. Death of her son and husband had made her lonely – so lonely that she said:

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“I am a most lonely woman ……… cruelly alone!.............” She was left as a shattered woman, shattered in mind and spirit. She was so much depressed and dejected that life had become a burden for her. She was a bereaved mother and used to wear black dress as a sing of extreme grief for the irrecoverable loss of her only son, Eddie killed in the First World War. The centre of her life was only the love and affection for her only son and husband, although they were no more alive. The war deprived her of her son directly and indirectly took her husband’s life. Q. No. 17. Why does Mrs. Meldon hate war? Answer: Mrs. Meldon was grieved by the early departure of her son and she was immensely against war. She felt that war was barbarism on a civilized platform. That is why she compared war with a systematic killing of peoples. She hated war for the interest of humanity. She showed sincere support to the cause of humanity and peace. That is why she considered war as “an organized butchery of boys”. This was the sentiment that led to the dramatic death of Corrie. She killed her brother in greater interest of human race.

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Q. No. 18. What is Mrs. Meldon’s view about war? Answer: Mrs. Meldon was grieved by the early departure of her son and she was immensely against war. She felt that war was barbarism on a civilized platform. That is why she compared war with a systematic killing of peoples. She hatred war for the interest of humanity. She showed sincere support to the cause of humanity and peace. That is why she considered war as “an organized butchery of boys”. This was the sentiment that led to the dramatic death of Corrie. She killed her brother in greater interest of human race. Q. No. 19. What is Prof. Corrie’s view about war? Answer: Corrie believed that human beings are pugnacious by nature and will ever quarrel and so the talk of ending war is useless. In his view, war should be made as horrible and expeditious as possible so that nations may not venture upon war, and if they do, it should end at once due to extremely terrible weapons. He thought that his invention was humanitarian one which would prevent nations from engaging themselves in war. He said to Mrs. Meldon:

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“Really Charlotte, this is the most humanitarian invention. I do not believe that wars will never end. No, we are altogether too pugnacious, we human beings. So the only thing to do, then, is to make war as horrible that no nation will engage in one, unless absolutely driven to it.” Q. No. 20. Bring out the ideological conflicts between Mrs. Meldon and Prof. Corrie? Answer: Mrs. Meldon was immensely against scientists. When she heard about the invention of her brother, she labelled it as a “fool Invention”. Mrs. Meldon had realized the role that statesmen play in wars. They send off others to fight and themselves enjoy life in cities. On the other hand, Prof. Henry Corrie was a man of vicious nature. Although he was a highly qualified man, but he was a perfect embodiment of villainy and vice. He was an egocentric having no regard for human values and no concentration for human feelings. He was cruel and adamant towards every human being including his widow sister, Mrs. Meldon. He was a despiser of humanity, greedy, lustful and romanticizer of war. This is the basic ideological conflict of this play.

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Summary Progress is a powerful anti-war play by Sir John Greer Ervine. It presents Professor Corrie talking about his newly invented bomb to his sister who is lamenting the death of her son during the war. Corrie rejoices over his invention as it can destroy a vast city in a few seconds.  He says that his invention will make war in future over in a few hours.  He is also proud that the success of the war will depend on who strikes first and what kind of weapons he uses.              Mrs. Meldon gently reminds him that his invention will lead to the death of hundreds of young men like her son Eddie.  But he ignores her words and gloats over his invention and the fame and wealth.  He says that he will sell his bomb to the government which grants him the highest amount of money. When Mrs. Meldon is convinced that her brother will not suppress his invention at any cost, she decides to do away with him along with his invention.  She destroys the sheets of paper on which Corrie has written the formulae.  But Corrie is not upset.  He says that the formulae remain embedded in his brain and he can reproduce them easily.

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            Mrs. Meldon cannot tolerate his inhumanity anymore.  When he stoops to pick up the sheets, she stabs him on the back with a knife and kills him.  She feels that this is justifiable revenge against the murderer of her son on his death anniversary.

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