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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