class 8 English chapter the selfish giant
please answer these questions
Comprehension Check
1. Why is the Giant called selfish?
2. On one occasion the children said: "How happy we are here!"
Later they said: "How happy we were there!"
What are they referring to in both the cases?
3. (i) When spring came, it was still winter in the garden. What does
winter stand for or indicate here?
(ii) Winter has been presented like a story with its own characters and
their activities. Describe the story in your own words.
4. Was the Giant happy or sad over the state of the garden?
5. What effect did the linnet's song have over Hail and the North Wind?
Answers
Answer:
Q1 :
Why is the Giant called selfish?
Answer :
The Giant is called selfish because he did not let the children play in his garden. He drove them out, built a high wall around his
garden, and put up a board that read 'Trespassers will be prosecuted. '
Q2 :
On one occasion the children said: "How happy we are here!"
Later they said: "How happy we were there!"
What are they referring to in both the cases?
Answer :
In the first case, they are referring to the Giant's garden where they would play while returning from school. They had a great time
whenever they played in the garden.
In the second case, they are again referring to the garden; talking about how happy they were before the Giant stopped them from
playing in his garden.
In both the cases, the children are referring to the Giant's garden.
Q3 :
(i) When spring came, it was still winter in the garden. What does winter stand for or indicate here?
(ii)Winter has been presented like a story with its own characters and their activities. Describe the story in your own words.
Answer :
(i)In the story, winter stands for a negative, desolate and lifeless environment. In this environment, trees and flowers do not blossom.
Here, winter also refers to an atmosphere of depression and laziness. Since birds did not sing, children did not play and spring did
not visit the garden, winter prolonged its stay in the garden.
(ii)When spring came, the birds did not sing as there were no children. The trees too did not blossom. At a particular instance, a
flower put its head out from the grass. However, when it saw the notice board put up by the giant, it felt sad and sorry for the
children, got back inside the grass, and went off to sleep.
On the other hand, snow and frost were very happy. While the snow covered the grass, the frost fell on all the trees. They invited the
North Wind to stay with them, and later even the Hail was asked to visit. The Hail rattled the roof of the castle everyday until some of
it started breaking, and then it ran round the garden again and again as fast as it could.
Q4 :
Was the Giant happy or sad over the state of the garden?
The Giant was sad over the state of his garden. He could not understand why spring was so late in coming.
Q5 :
What effect did the linnet's song have over Hail and the North Wind?
Answer :
When the linnet sang, the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind stopped roaring.