The Hallucination of Mr Butt by Stephen Butler Leacock
Introduction
The story ‘The Hallucination of Mr Butt’ is written by an outstanding Canadian author Stephen Butler Leacock. He was born on December 30th, 1869, and passed away on the 28th of March, 1994. He was a well-known economist and a well-known Canadian writer. When he was six years old, he and his family moved to Canada from England, where he was born. Working as a teacher allowed him to finish his degree. The Varsity, a student newspaper at the university, was the first place he published his work. To supplement his regular income, Leacock turned to writing. His writing style is lighthearted. During his academic career, he received the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada.
The present story is about the character of Mr Butt. He always wanted to be of use and help to other people, and he always did it. Because he didn’t care if people wanted his help or not, he didn’t have to think about it. It made people angry at times. Mr Butt lived in a world of his own making. One of these things is told in the storey. The storey is told in the first person. All the things that happened with Mr Butt are told by the narrator from his point of view, and from Mr Butt’s point of view, too.
Summary of the Story
The story called “The Hallucination of Mr Butt” tells about the activities of Mr Butt. Mr Butt thinks that his life is meant to help other people. He was always willing to help other people. For him, it didn’t matter if they used it or didn’t. To his surprise, they did not want to help him. The writer refers to it as his dream. His friends might be in trouble and need help or advice. It was enough for him to know that he could help them. In no time, Mr Butt would be at his service.
During the course of the day, Mr Butt found out that Everleigh Joneses were moving into their new home at Seldom Avenue. There was a place in the suburbs, but it was far from the tracks of the cars. Storms were going on at ten past the night. But nothing could stop Mr Butt from going. They reminded him that it was late at night and not good to visit at that time of night. He told the narrator that it is a newlywed couple and they are moving into their new house, so he should go to help them move into their new home. He didn’t know where they lived.
Late at night, he got there. Street lights were not there. Twenty doors were knocked on by Mr Butt to find out where the Jones family lived. The lights were turned off. He asked Joneses to come to the meeting. From the window, Mr Jones said that they were already asleep. His boss, Mr Butt, asked him to pass the key and he’d wait until they were dressed. After a while, Joneses came to the end of the road. They sat down on the furniture cases and began to talk about their lives and their jobs. Mrs Jones tried to make coffee, but Mr Butt said he wanted to make it on his own, so Mrs Jones tried to help him. For coffee, Mr Butt opened at least twenty cans. At last, he was able to get it. He also gave them a cup of coffee. They didn’t want to do it, but he kept at it, and they had to do it. At midnight, Mr Butt started to talk to other people. In the watch, Mr Jones looked at it over and over again to make sure that it was the right time of night again. Mr Butt took it as a sign that the Joneses were having a good time and coming through at night. In the morning, he will come back and visit. Joneses didn’t want him to come, but he said he would. On the same day that Mr Butt went to Jones’ new house, he helped them set up the furniture and other things. All afternoon, he worked there. There were some things he didn’t like about Joneses’ furniture, but he didn’t tell him about them. She should sell some of the furniture and buy a new one. As for their new house, he didn’t like it either. He soon started looking for a new place to live in the apartment, because he liked the apartment more than the house. At last, he changed all the Joneses in the town. Again, he helped them get settled in the new house, even though the Joneses didn’t want to help them do that again.
Just Joneses were done and thought that Mr Butt would help them. But there was a new problem for them to deal with as well. Mr Everleigh Jones got sick. This is how it worked: He had a fever, but they didn’t tell Mr Butt about it. When Mr Butt found out about it, he rushed to their aid even though they were afraid. A fit of a fever: Mr Joes was tired of him and cursed him. When Mrs Jones found out that her husband didn’t like Mr Butt’s talk and company, she told Mr Butt to go for a walk or to the open air. They didn’t want to be around Mr Butt at all. To get some rest, Mrs Jones told him to take a long road trip. She wanted to get away from Mr Butt, but she didn’t want to get in trouble with him. She looked at the train maps to come up with ideas for where he could go. She suggested the north side, Canada, Labrador, and so on, as well as other places. That’s not how Mr Butt saw it. He thought that because they were so careful about him, they’d ask for a break or change. They want him to go on the trip because they care about him.
In order to make sure that Mr Butt was not in the club, Mr Jones went to the club. He made sure that Mr Butt wasn’t there. The man at the counter said, “Is Mr Butt in the club?” Mr Butt thought that Mr Butt was so important to him that he first asked about Mr Butt because he thought that Mr Butt was important. The truth is that Mr Jones would not have gone into the club if he knew that Mr Butt was there. Butt had a dream that everyone he knows needs his help at some point and that his life is meant to be used for that. The storey ends with a funny twist.
