Custody of Pumpkin

7/27/2019 Custody of Pumpkin

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CHARACTERS IN THE STORY

A blend of different characters is prominent in this story, both

major and minor and possessing quite striking features.

The main character, Lord Emsworth, the ninth Earl-: A fluffy-

minded member of the high society, with a particularly peculiar and eccentric behaviour. An overly-dependant and easy-going

man, he often finds himself in sticky situations. In my opinion, he

may be diagnosed with a complete lack of common sense.

Hon. Frederick Threepwood( Freddie), Emsworth’s second son-

He is never too low on energy, and is always sprightly and on histoes. Being highly adventurous and dangerously mischievous

are his attributes. He is always bold and frank with whoever he

speaks.



CHARACTERS(continued)

Angus McAllister , head-gardener to Lord Emsworth- An honest,

firm-minded and intelligent Scot, this is a man who means

business. With a sturdy, well-built frame and a sturdy,

uncompromising mind as well, McAllister is talented at the job

he does best: handling pumpkins.

Butler to Lord Emsworth- A very and knowledgeable person. He

is undoubtedly very faithful and humble and assists Emsworth,

however clumsy he may be.

Niagara Donaldson, Freddie’s fiancée- The daughter of a rich

multi-billionaire, Aggie is a talented, bright and exuberant

American.

Mr Donaldson, Aggie’s father- A rich American owner of a dog-

biscuit company. He is a frank man who is quite enthusiastic

about Niagara’s marriage to Freddie.



CHARACTERS(continued)

Constable- A minor character, the constable is dominating and

speaks in a colloquial and informal tone.

Park-keeper - Abides very strictly by rules, is righteous and is

passionate about flowers. Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe - He is an all-time winner of the

Shrewsbury Show Pumpkin contest and is a true sportsman and

gentleman.



SUMMARY OF THE STORY

PGWodehouse’s “The Custody of the Pumpkin”, is a humorous and light-heartedaccount of the feudal lords of earlier times, revolving around the life of one such strange

lord, the ninth Earl of Emsworth- a nonsensical and ridiculously silly man with

no knowledge of the practical world.

Flanked by butlers and gardeners, Lord Emsworth has all the free time in the world.Besides experimenting with new toys, he devotes his life to one extremely important

activity- growing a pumpkin. A big, fat, healthy one that will fetch him the first prize at

the Shrewsbury Show. The fate of his precious pumpkin is entrusted to McAllister, his

head-gardener. Emsworth always dreams of getting rid of Freddie by getting him

married to an aspiring and educated young lady. So, he is shocked when he learns of his plans to wed an American named Niagara, who is McAllister’s cousin. He does his

best to get rid of the girl through confrontations with his gardener, but ends up losing

McAllister instead. Eventually, Emsworth realises that his pumpkins need the gardener.

Attempts to call him back fail.



SUMMARY(continued)

Things take a turn when Emsworth meets Niagara’s father, a multi-billionaire.

Thoughts about money and about Freddie leaving home overwhelm him, and he

agrees to the marriage.

The story concludes on this happy note, with Emsworth winning the first place at

the Shrewsbury Show.



THEMES OF THE STORY

Eccentricities of the feudal lords and their lack of practical life

beyond their limited world- This theme is portrayed quite

distinctly in the story, giving us instances of Lord Emsworth's lack

of common sense and his unusual behaviour. Right from the

start, he is shown as being too dependant on his butler, too fussyand extremely quick-tempered.

In the opening scene, while handling a ‘ telescope’, he forgets to

‘remove the cap’ and complains that he has ‘been swindled and

‘can't see at all’. Emsworth relies on his butler even for putting on

his cap. This depicts how the lords could not manage anything bythemselves. Emsworth is portrayed as a whimsical fellow, having

a ‘ fondness for new toys’ and losing interest quickly in things.

Thus, the lords of earlier times are shown as strange and foolish

creatures.



THEMES(continued)

Much Ado About Nothing of trivialities- This theme is quite

prominent and finds base in Lord Emsworth’s behaviour and feelings.

He is depicted as making mountains out of mole-hills, or fussing over

as frivolous a thing as growing a pumpkin. According to him, his whole

life centred only on that vegetable. Emsworth took the pumpkin matter

to the most ridiculous level- between calling it the ‘Blandings Hope’

and entrusting it to a ‘custodian’ who ‘understood pumpkins’, he

exaggerated it greatly, much more than necessary. There was

nothing he valued and protected more than that pumpkin, guarding it

with his life and keeping it from harm’s way. The absurdity of the

situation provides humour to the reader.

Class distinction and breaking away from it- Mingled into the story

is the common theme of class differences, but characters are also

seen as breaking free of them. Emsworth, an idealistic person, cares

only about status and wealth to show off with, and feels it essential



THEMES(continued)to conform with the aristocracy. Living in an artificial world of ‘

manner, morals and appearance’, he expects his son to marry an

‘eligible’ girl and ‘ make a name for himself’. But, Emsworth and

Freddie are as different as chalk and cheese. Freddie, an easy-going

boy, endeavours to break away from class distinction by marrying a

from a so-called lower class. Thus, though not very conspicuous, this

theme is woven into the story.

Nature: PG Wodehouse has used descriptions of nature and the

surroundings very liberally, with some invoking calmness and others

inspiring awe in the reader. In fact, the story opens with a description

of the ‘morning sunlight’ that is compared to an ‘amber shower-bath’,

and with illustrations of the majestic layout and environment of thecastle. Scenes and settings have been spectacularly laid-out and

brought to life with his words; be it the description of the hustle-bustle

in London or the serene surroundings of the castle, all are



THEMES(continued)

equally admirable. The theme of nature is established very

exquisitely by the author.

Victimisation of time- A humorous way of saying ‘wasting time’,

victimisation of time is shown to be a serious issue with Lord

Emsworth. Possessing butlers and assistants to tend to his chores,

he comes face-to-face with a lot of spare time, which he could very

well use for something important. Instead, he squanders it all on his

unusual whims like playing with ‘new toys’ and on watching his son

mope around. Not to mention growing a pumpkin. Thus, time is

portrayed as being victimised or not being used effectively.



SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

Blandings Castle (turret on left wing): A beautiful and picturesqueplace with ‘green lawns’ , ‘wide terraces’, meadows, turrets,‘outhouses’ and flower-beds. The ‘sunshine’ falling on the castlegives a wonderful imagery. The atmosphere is calm and serene, andinspires awe in the readers.

Castle’s terrace: It is tense as Emsworth follows Freddiesuspiciously, ready to pounce on him. But, at the same time, it is light-hearted because of Freddie’s ‘sunniness’.

Yew Alley: Emsworth’s angry meeting with McAllister contributes tothe anxiety-filled atmosphere.

London: According to Dr Johnson, London is an enjoyable andentertaining city. But, Emsworth loathes it. Thus, there is an air of disgust and a lot of hustle-bustle.

Senior Conservative Club: Emsworth is in a ‘black and souredmood’. The building is massive and creates a formidable feeling.



SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

Hotel Magnificent: The place where Emsworth meets Freddie. The

atmosphere is apprehensive, with Freddie meaning to tell his father

about his marriage and Emsworth asking him about his pumpkins.

Kensington Gardens: At first, everything is cool and composed in the

garden but as the scene proceeds, it turns chaotic. But it has a hint of

humour, due to the throng that gathers around Emsworth. The

meeting with Donaldson in the same scene provides comic relief.

Shrewsbury Contest: The last scene in the story. All becomes well

again as Emsworth wins the prize. Atmosphere is calm and jovial.



LANGUAGE AND TONE

The story’s tone is humorous , and highlights the themes in the story

as well as the irony and sarcasm in it.

The language employed by the author varies, and is sometimes

informal and at most other times, normal. Characters who speak in an

informal style include the police constable, Angus McAllister andLord Emsworth himself.

‘ This dashed thing doesn’t work.’- The word ‘dashed’ is informal and

depicts annoyance.

‘rummy’- This word is also informal and means strange or odd.

McAllister talks in a typical Scottish accent which is illustrated in the

story: ‘Gurrul?’, ‘A didna say a wud’.

The constable talks colloquially too: ‘I saw ‘im’ , ‘I was standin’’.



NARRATIVE STYLE AND STRUCTURE

The author writes in the third person omniscient viewpoint, mostly

describing Emsworth’s feelings and emotions but occasionally getting

inside the minds of other characters too, revealing their thoughts too.

For example, Wodehouse informs readers of the things running inside

Freddie’s mind: When Emsworth finds out about Freddie and Niagara’s relationship, the author writes that Freddie ‘perceived’ that the

‘information’ could ‘ no longer be withheld’. This portrays that

Wodehouse is writing knowing Freddie’s innermost feelings. He also

writes from the park-keeper’s perspective, saying that he ‘loved’ ‘flower -

beds’ and saw in Emsworth a ‘ kindred soul’ . Also, he says that thepark-keeper got ‘wounded’ when he saw that other people had no time

for flowers. Thus, Wodehouse explores the minds of other

characters as well and puts down their feelings on paper.




Stream of consciousness: This, in Emsworth’s case, is a continuous

process of his realisation about himself and the world around him,

along with him finding that the beliefs that he has are actually on the

contrary.

When Emsworth fires McAllister, always having it in his mind that hecan do very well without him and that McAllister needs him more than

vice versa, the next day, the Lord realises that he is the one who

craves a good gardener, and that he can’t live without McAllister.

He finds that books should not be judged by their covers- What he

originally thinks of Niagara and her background is not true- he gets toknow that she is in fact very well-off and educated.

He realises for once that he is not all there is in the world, and that

many people don’t have the smallest idea of who he is.




It comes to his notice that there are better people in the world than

him, kinder and more good-natured than him, McAllister for one. Even

though he is fired by Emsworth, he comes to his help when he really

needs it.

He realises that there’s another side to every person- Gregory Parsloe-

Parsloe was a ‘sportsman’ and ‘gentleman’, not the haughty man he

had imagined him to be.

Thus, this stream of consciousness inculcates awareness in Emsworth

and opens his eyes.



PHASES OF THE STORY

Phase 1The story opens in a castle on a sunny morning, where people are seen

going about their normal daytime activities. The characters are

introduced very briefly, but Emsworth’s general behaviour and nature

becomes evident as the scene progresses. His strange habits are

portrayed, along with his feelings towards Freddie. Emsworth is seenstalking Freddie using a microscope, and Freddie’s plans to wed a girl

called Niagara are revealed. We get to know a bit about her background

as well. This phase ends with McAllister, the gardener, being dismissed

by Emsworth, and the Lord’s regrets for it.

Phase 2

This stage opens with Emsworth’s search for a new head-gardener, and

later the search for McAllister again. Readers are taken to the bustling

city of London, where Emsworth chances upon Freddie.



PHASES OF THE STORY

After talks about the pumpkin and cats, Freddie rushes off, leaving a

note in his father’s hands, saying that he and Niagara are married. This

phase ends here, with Emsworth shocked.

Phase 3

Emsworth travels on to ‘Kensington Gardens’, to look for McAllister.

But, he gets caught by a constable for picking flowers, and a huge

throng gathers. As he has forgotten his identity card, and no-one

recognises him, he is stuck in a tricky situation. Luckily, McAllister

comes to his rescue by identifying him. Later, Emsworth meets Mr

Donaldson, Niagara’s father, and talks with him quite a bit. The result is

that Emsworth adapts to the idea of Freddie marrying Niagara. At the

end of the story, McAllister comes back to Emsworth and he wins th

prize for pumpkins at the Shrewsbury Show.



CLIMAX

Arising from the conflict of Emsworth disapproving of Freddie’s

marriage to Niagara, and of his precious pumpkin not having anyone to

take care of it, is the climax of the story.

The tension heightens when Emsworth is held captive by the constable

for the crime of picking flowers, a huge throng arrives and he realises

that he has forgotten his identity card. This is the climax, arousing

feelings of deep anxiety and tension. But, a turning-point is createdwhen McAllister arrives at the scene and identifies Emsworth to be his

previous employer. The tension lessens and everything goes uphill as

the scene goes on, from his meeting with Donaldson, till things settle

down and become normal again.



WORDS AND PHRASES OF INTEREST

‘An elderly leopard waiting for feeding-time’- This portrays Emsworth as aleopard, and shows him to be highly suspicious of his son , watching himfrom afar, waiting to pounce on him and catch him in his mistakes.

‘bellowed’- This word is in a metaphorical use, and suggests thatEmsworth made a sound like that of an ox or a bull, from the depths of his

stomach.

‘sorer than a gumboil’- This comparison is really effective, as it providesan imagery to the reader. It is as if we can truly feel Emsworth’s sorenessand hurt, as we can feel the gumboil.

‘ swayed like a sapling in the breeze’- An example of imagery as well, thisinstigates us to really feel and see the movement of the weak sapling,blowing in the wind.

Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe - A humorous made-up name, it gives us theimpression of a man who is actually slow and lethargic!



WORDS AND PHRASES OF INTEREST

‘custodian of the Blandings Hope’- A ridiculous way of saying ‘ the man

who looked after the pumpkin’. The author is attempting to portray how

Emsworth gave unnecessary importance to trivial things.

‘gambolled’- This well-chosen word gives us a jovial and carefreefeeling. It depicts that Freddie is strolling along in a casual way.

‘Lord Emsworth’s eyes bulged’- This gives us the visual imagery of his

eyes really protruding forward. The sound of the word ‘bulged’ alsosuggests this.

Custody of Pumpkin

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