2. What idea of the character of happy Prince do you get from the lesson 'The
Happy Prince'?
in 100 to 120 words
Answers
The Happy Prince is both the protagonist of this story and its namesake. Once a sheltered prince who led a life of pleasure, the Happy Prince was turned into a gilded statue upon his death and placed upon a pedestal overlooking his town. The Prince is described as exceedingly beautiful with golden skin, sapphires for eyes, and a ruby on his sword-hilt. Although his external beauty impresses everyone around him, he sees that beauty as only skin-deep; his true worth lies in his compassion for his townspeople and his willingness to sacrifice for them. The Happy Prince suffers, however, due to his sympathy for all of the misery he can see from his high perch. The “happiness” of this name is thus ironic, as the Prince describes having only experienced a false happiness in his previous life of pleasure, when he was ignorant of the true misery surrounding him. The Prince is ultimately a Christ-like figure, looking over humanity and sacrificing his life to alleviate their pain. Descriptions of the Prince also allude to classical understandings of wisdom and mentorship. The figure of the Prince, with his eloquent rhetoric and affinity for morally upstanding behavior, represents classical Greek and Roman ideals—in particular, the relationship that he develops with the younger Swallow alludes to classical mentor/mentee relationships.
Hope it will help you.
Answer:
As the name suggests, the happy prince is a very kind and caring prince till he was dead. After his death, he was placed on a tall column from where he realised the silver spoon he was being brought up with while the world outside was full of suffering and misery. His heart wept for them and he was moved at the sight of the people. He wanted to help them in all the way he could. When he was alive, the Happy Prince never knew about sorrow and misery of the poor people in the city. Though, he was unable to move from there but he was just determined to do that and he did it with the help of the swallow. He fulfilled his desire of helping the needy by asking the swallow to help him. The happy prince sacrificed his worthless amenities of gold, ruby and other ornaments just for the sake of the needy. He was very kind and self-sacrificing person.