The Luncheon Flashcards
What was the narrator reminded of?
He was reminded of a lunch he had many years ago with a rather snobbish woman.
What reminded him?
He is reminded of this lunch, because he meets the woman at a play and she jogs his memory.
Why has the narrator never eaten at Foyot’s?
The restaurant is very expensive and he is a poor writer.
Having said that she never eats anything for lunch, what exactly does the woman eat?
Although the woman insists that she never eats anything for lunch, she eats salmon, caviar, asparagus, ice-cream and a huge peach. She also drinks champagne and coffee.
What does the woman say to the narrator about what he is eating?
The woman scolds the narrator for eating meat at lunch time. She tells him that it is bad for him because it is too heavy and will overload his stomach.
What is the irony here? (Above question)
The irony here is that the poor narrator eats one small little chop while his guest eats plenty of expensive things. She is overloading HER stomach!
Why does the young man order what the woman want even though he is worried that he may not have enough money? Try to give at least TWO reasons.
He starts off ordering what the lady wants because she has said some complimentary things about his writing and he is flattered. She is his guest and he feels that he should be hospitable.
What does the young man decide to do if the bill comes to more money than he has?
There is also the question of pride. The narrator is too proud to admit that he is poor and unable to afford the luxuries that she is ordering.
When the narrator says to the woman after the lunch, “I’ll do better than that, I’ll eat nothing for dinner tonight”, we as the readers are aware of the double meaning. What is it?
When the young man says that he won’t eat dinner, the woman thinks that he is following her advice and not overloading her stomach. But what we as the readers know, is that he won’t be eating dinner because he has no more money - he can’t have any dinner because he can’t buy anything to eat.
This story is said to have a “punchline”. The means that the point of the story is held back until the very last line. What do we learn in the very last line of this story?
We learn that the woman, during the twenty years that have passed since the lunch, has become very fat.
What is the effect of keeping back this information until the end?
The punchline, in any story is usually used to surprise the reader and it usually also contains the moral, or message of the story. In this story, the punchline has both these effects - it surprises us and has a very clear message.
Why is it important that there is a twenty year gap between the luncheon and the next time the narrator and the woman meet?
The twenty year gap between the meetings is important because time has to pass for the results of the woman’s greedy behaviour to be evident. It takes time to put on a lot of weight.
