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NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 1 Two Gentlemen of Verona

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NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 1 Two Gentlemen of Verona

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 1 Two Gentlemen of Verona are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 1 Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Board CBSE
Textbook NCERT
Class Class 10
Subject English Literature
Chapter Chapter 1
Chapter Name Two Gentlemen of Verona
Category NCERT Solutions

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 1 Two Gentlemen of Verona

TEXTUAL EXERCISES
(Page 3,8)

Question 1.
What are the qualities of a “gentleman” ? Work with your partner and complete the following web-chart by listing the qualities of a gentleman.

Answer:

A gentleman does have not only consideration for others but willingness to keep them. For a real gentleman, consideration for others is more important than his own interest.

Question 2.
Based on your discussion above, what do you think the story is about ?

Answer:

Question 3.
Now read the story given below. Your teacher will use a variety of techniques for different parts of the story e.g.

Answer:

Question 4.
Based on your reading of the story answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.

1. The driver did not approve of the narrator buying fruit from the two boys because

(a) the boys were untidy and poorly dressed
(b) the strawberries were not fresh
(c) they were asking for a heavy price
(d) the driver did not approve of small boys who worked

2. The narrator was most impressed by the boys’

(a) desire to earn money
(b) willingness to work
(c) ability to perform many tasks
(d) sense of fun

3. Nicola was not pleased when Jacopo asked the narrator to drive them to Poleta as he

(a) did not want a stranger to become involved with their plans
(b) preferred going to Poleta by train so that he could enjoy the scenery
(c) did not want to ask anyone for favours
(d) did not want to take help from someone he did not know well

4. The narrator did not go inside Lucia’s room as

(a) he did not want to intrude into their privacy
(b) he thought that the boys would object
(c) Lucia would not welcome a stranger
(d) the boys would feel he was spying on them

5. The boys were the first to join the resistance movement against the Germans because

(a) the Germans had hurt their sister
(b) the Germans ruled the city
(c) the Germans had ruined their family
(d) the Germans had destroyed their home

6. The author did not speak to the boys on their return journey because

(a) he thought the boys would prefer to keep their secret
(b) he thought the boys were ashamed of their sister’s condition
(c) he thought they wouldn’t tell him the truth
(d) he thought the boys might ask him for money for their sister

Answer:

  1. → (a) the boys were untidy and poorly dressed
  2. → (c) ability to perform many tasks
  3. → (a) did not want a stranger to become involved with their plans
  4. → (a) he did not want to intrude into their privacy
  5. → (c) the Germans had ruined their family
  6. → (a) he thought the boys would prefer to keep their secret.

Question 5.
What do you understand by the following statements ?
(a) “We do many things, sir,” Nicola answered seriously. He glanced at us hopefully.
(b) He coloured deeply under his sunburn, then grew pale.
(c) He smiled uncomfortably. “Just plans, sir,” he answered in a low voice.
(d) Yet in both these boyish faces there was a seriousness which was far beyond their years.

Answer:

(a) By this statement I understand that Nicola doesn’t have any hesitation in doing anything which may serve his own purpose. Besides this, he means that he is ready to do as many things as are humanly possible.

(b) When the narrator asked Nicola what he did with his money, he didn’t find an instant answer. It was perhaps that he couldn’t gather enough courage to tell the truth. Or he might have wanted not to tell anything about his family secrets to a stranger.

(c) From this statement it is clear that Nicola acts really like a mature person. He doesn’t want that strangers should know their secret plans of life.

(d) This statement clearly reveals that both Nicola and Jacopo had grown very mature and considerate in earning money. It was for getting their sister cured of her disease. Doing things for others at the cost of self makes one considerate and mature. Both Nicola and Jacopo had had this effect in what they did for their sister.

Question 6.
Answer the following questions briefly.
(а) Why didn’t Luigi, the driver, approve of the two boys ?
(b) Why were the narrator and his companion impressed by the two boys ? (V. Imp.)
(c) Why was the author surprised to see Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys ?
(d) How were the boys useful to the author ? (CBSE 2015)
(e) Why were the boys in the deserted square at night ? What character traits do they exhibit ?
(f) The narrator asks the boys, “Must you work so hard? You both look rather tired.” The boys reply, “We are not complaining, sir. ” What do you learn about the boys from their reply ? (V. Imp.)
(g) When the narrator asks the boys about their plans, they are evasive. Why don’t they disclose their problems ? (V. Imp.)

Answer:

(a) Luigi didn’t approve of the two boys for two reasons. First, they were selling wild strawberries. Second, they looked very dirty and shabby. From their appearance they looked like cheats, thieves and what not.

(b) The narrator and his companion were impressed by the two boys because of their mutual love and capacity to work hard. They cared much more for their sister than their own selves. Such human beings are rare.

(c) The author was surprised to see Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys. It was because the previous day he had seen them selling wild strawberries. This change naturally created a doubt about them in the author’s mind.

(d) The boys were useful to the author because they brought the things that he wanted. They helped him in getting American cigarettes, seats for the opera or knowing the name of a good restaurant. They could be depended upon.

(e) The boys were in the deserted square at night waiting for the bus to sell newspapers. They exhibit their readiness for hard work, determination and devotion as character traits.

(f) I learn about the boys from their reply that both of them have seen much harder days. So they aren’t afraid of anything, even the worst. Secondly, they understand it well that hard work shall end their miseries.

(g) Both the boys are evasive and don’t disclose their plans because they find the author as a stranger. Since they have seen much dark days in their lives, they have lost faith in the people. That’s why, they don’t want to create more troubles in sharing their personal matters with outsiders. They may also think that there may be a lion in a sheep’s clothing.

Question 7.
Discuss the following questions and write the answers in your notebook.
(a) Appearances are deceptive. Discuss with reference to the two boys. (V. Imp.)
(b) Do you think the boys looked after Lucia willingly ? Give reasons for your answer.
(c) How does the story ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’promise hope for society ? (V. Imp.)

Answer:

(a) It is a fact that appearances are deceptive and all that glitters is not gold. Nicola and Jacopo look street urchins, thieves and what not. No one can guess from their appearances that they could have great qualities of gentlemanliness and humanism. In that they had to forget their own interests. What they do for their sister is just superb and unparalleled.

(b) Yes, I think both Nicola and Jacopo looked after Lucia willingly due to their upbringing. Their family had once been comfortable and cultured. Their father was a well-known singer and they led a good life. In such an atmosphere the children couldn’t think of negative values like selfishness and ingratitude. So due to inborn qualities of familial relationships, both the boys looked after Lucia willingly and selflessly. Secondly, she was their only sister and a member of their family.

(c) The ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ promises hope for the society especially in the modern times of broken family relationships. Today, brothers are fighting with brothers ; sons are beating their parents. Old parents are being shunted out by their children. To lead life in such a hell it is desirable that children like Nicola and Jacopo should be born. Such boys can repair the breaking relationships due to selfishness, materialism and greed.

Question 8.
Look at the italic words in the following examples.

(a) We bought their biggest basket, then set off toward town.
(b) One night we came upon them in the windy and deserted square.
(c) He bit his lip, then in a rather put out tone he said, ‘Very well.’
(d) I shook my head and turned away.

Here are a few more. Match the phrases to their meanings.

Phrases Meanings
set up to start on a journey
break down to tolerate a situation or a person
set off to lose control of your feelings and start crying
put up with to enter
put off to be faced with or opposed by
put on to start/establish a company
come in to refuse/reject
come across to postpone
come up against to try to get help/advice/sympathy from someone
turn down to wear
turn in to meet or find by chance
turn to to inform on or deliver up

Answer:

set up to start/establish a company
break down to lose control of your feelings and start crying
set off to start on a journey
put up with to tolerate a situation or a person
put off to postpone
put on to wear
come in to enter
come across to meet or find by chance
come up against to be faced with or opposed by
turn down to refuse/reject
turn in to try to get help/advice sympathy from someone
turn to to inform on or deliver up

Now use the phrases given above to complete the following sentences.

  1. The landlord was suspicious of the two men staying in his flat so he called the police and …………. them ………….
  2. Early in the morning we packed our bags and …………. for a hike over the mountain.
  3. Janvi …………. some photographs of her grandfather in the old trunk.
  4. My father …………. his own business 10 years ago.
  5. The Bank …………. Paul’s request for a loan.
  6. The Corporation’s decision to reduce the leave of the employees …………. a lot of opposition.

Answer:

  1. turned …………. to
  2. set off
  3. came across
  4. set up
  5. turned down
  6. set off

Question 9.
Two Gentlemen of Verona is written in the first person. ……………………
Rewrite any part of the story you like in the third person.
Answer:

Question 10.
The narrator realises why Nicola and Jacopo work so hard. Yet he does not go r in to meet their sister nor does he speak to them about what he learns from the nurse. Working in groups, discuss the following aspects of the story and share your views with the class.
(a) The love and devotion, and the family values Nicola and Jacopo display. (Imp)
(b) Their pride in themselves and their family. (Imp)
(c) The trust they place in the narrator.
(d) The reason the narrator does not disclose to them that he knows their secret.

Answer:

(a) The love, devotion and the family values that Nicola and Jacopo display are just unique and rare. These two children should have been in schools studying. But see their childhood ! They are spending it not enjoying anything but for their sister Lucia. Their sole aim is to see their ailing sister stand on her own legs. For that they are doing even the worst job. Secondly, they don’t care for anything, sleep, food, clothes, shelter, etc. But they care for what is good and abiding. For them their family values, love for sister and devotion are more important than anything. And they put these into practicality even if they have to lose their childhood. Due to this the narrator calls them ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’.

(b) Both Nicola and Jacopo have self-pride and self-respect to the maximum. They are precocious. They have learnt many things in a little period of their life. The narrator wants to help them but they refuse excepting going in his car to Poleta. The narrator wants to know about their plans behind earning money. But they tell nothing to him. It may be because they trust no one. Or it may be due to pride and their family values.

(c) But both Nicola and Jacopo start putting some faith in the narrator as they get ready to go to Poleta in his car. But to some extent, leaving this aside, they keep themselves reserved. However, they answer to the narrator’s questions honestly and truthfully. Due to reposing their faith in him they open out to him. They then tell many things relating to their lives.

(d) The reason for this is that he doesn’t want to hurt their self-respect. If he tells them they may feel hurt because they have in their blood things of good family and a respectable life. It is a fact that such persons like Nicola and Jacopo have much sense of self-pride and self-respect.

Question 11.
As the narrator, write an article on the lesson of love, faith and trust that you have learnt from the two young boys of Verona. (V. Imp.)
Answer:
Two little boys’ love, faith and trust
Truly love, affection, faith and trust are invaluable values of human life. One can say that these can be inborn and may be acquired. But it would be convincing that these values are more inborn than acquired. God has, perhaps, bestowed certain people with these traits like Mother Teresa and Florence Nightingale. They sacrificed their selves for the sufferers. They nursed them with these invaluable assets. This fact is also applicable to two boys of Verona.

Nicola, the elder was 13 and Jacopo, his brother was 12. Both the brothers had had a cultured and comfortable life before the war. The war killed their father and just ruined their family. A bomb explosion brought them and their sister Lucia in the streets. But the courage and survival instinct of the boys couldn’t be killed. Lucia contracted TB and this broke the spirit of the boys but not for long. They did various odd jobs. These were selling wild strawberries, hawking newspapers, selling fruits and running errands. They slept on roadsides. They wore dirty clothes and never cared for themselves. They earned money honestly to pay for Lucia’s medical expenses.

It was the power of sheer love, faith and trust that they showed in whatever they did and were successful. Truly, both the brothers were the finest examples of these values.

Question 12.
After her brothers’ visit, Lucia writes a page in her diary about her past life and her present situation. As Lucia write the diary entry in about 150 words.
Answer:
Sunday, 15th September, 20 – 9:30 pm

How glad I was to see my loving brothers Nicola and Jacopo! This time they came with a stranger who brought them in his car. I can’t repay my brothers’ doing things for me. In fact, they have sacrificed their childhood for me. How they spend their time, going hungry and without sleep just for me shakes me much! But I hope such a time shall vanish soon. I have been progressing well due to their care and hope to start dancing for a career. Then we shall live together and earn a lot.

I have not forgotten our comfortable and cultured life. Our father was a well-known singer and we had been leading a pretty comfortable life. I had been training as a singer. But due to war and a bomb explosion everything finished. But all this didn’t discourage my brothers. I don’t know what and how they earn for meeting my expenses. But one thing is there. They won’t do any dubious kind of activity to earn money. We all have had good and virtuous traits of our character. We may suffer much but we won’t compromise with our family values. Nor will Nicola and Jacopo. Our bad days shall soon be over. I pray to God to make me disease-free soon so that I may take a good care of my responsibilities towards my angelic brothers.
Lucia

Question 13.
Listen to an excerpt from the diary of a 13 year old girl Zlata Fillipovic who writes of the horrors of war in Sarajevo in her book Zlata’s Diary.
Based on your listening of the passage, complete the following statements.

  1. The first sign of approaching war was ………….
  2. The family went into the cellar when ………….
  3. The ‘awful cellar’ was the only place that could save their lives because ………….
  4. Zlata’s friend, Nina died when ………….
  5. Zlata and her father were worried about her mother’s safety because ………….

Answer:

  1. on 14 April
  2. the shooting started around noon on 2 May.
  3. it was underground and pounding shells of guns etc, couldn’t reach it.
  4. a shrapnel got lodged in her brain.
  5. one shell exploded in the market when she was nearby it and she hadn’t come home.

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