THE SELFISH GIANT CLASS-11 NOTES

SUMMARY THE SELFISH GIANT 

Once upon a time, there was a pretty garden of the giant in his castle. throughout the time of his absence, the varsity children wont to play there. once seven years, when the giant came back from his friend cornish Ogre, he became furious to seek out children taking part in his garden. He pursued them out of his garden and place a high wall around his garden alongside a bulletin board with warning lines "TRESPASSERS are PROSECUTED".

the kids became quite upset as a result of they didn't find a correct place to play. thanks to the stingy nature of the giant, the spring season stopped showing in his garden. different seasons because the frost, the north wind, the hail, and also the snow started appearing there. the giant became unhappy to seek out the spring season outside however not in his garden.

One morning, he saw an exquisite sight. He saw the kids stepping into his garden through a little hole on the wall and taking part in his garden. He found spring season another time in his garden. He saw a small boy in one in every of the farthest corners who were unable to climb up the tree and crying. The sight created the giant to notice his mistake. He went there and helped the boy. The boy kissed the giant being happy. the giant skint the wall of his garden and allowed all the kids to play in his garden. He started twiddling with them. Time passed by, the giant became previous and feeble. He tried his best to seek out his desirable boy most of the time however couldn't find him. One day, whereas he was sitting on his chair, he saw a constant boy another time in one in every one of the corners of the garden. He hurried towards there but became angry to find signs of nails on the boy's palms and feet. once he asked the boy concerning him, the boy relating to him about his facilitate and offered him his garden that was the garden of paradise. that individual afternoon, the giant was found dead beneath a giant tree. His body was lined with flowers.

UNDERSTANDING TEXT

a.      Where did the children use to play?
👉The children used to play in a beautiful garden of giant during afternoon time after their school.

 

b.      What did Snow and the Frost do to the garden?
👉Snow and Frost were the two agents that appeared in the giant's garden after the giant's rude behavior towards children. The snow-covered the grass with its great white cloak, and Frost painted all the trees silver. the north wind to be with them.

c.      What did the giant hear when he was lying awake in bed?
👉The giant heard some lovely music of a little singing bird linnet when he was lying awake in bed. He heard the music after a long time.

d.      Why do you think spring season never came to the giant's garden?
👉I think the spring season has also become sad with the children. She got so angry and never came to the giant's garden to discover the giant's rudeness and selfishness towards innocent children.

e.      How did the giant realize his mistake?
👉The giant realized his mistake when he experienced unusual changes in his garden. He discovers snow, frost, northerly winds, fog, etc. in his garden. He felt guilty for all these acts he had committed against children. When the children reappeared in his garden, the garden bloomed again with leaves and flowers. He even heard birds chirping in his garden. So he realized his mistake.

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

A.    Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

a.     “How happy we were there!” they said to each other.

i.                Where does ‘there’ refer to?
👉' There' refers to the giant's garden where children used to play after school.

ii.               What does ‘they’ refer to?
👉They refer to the children who used to come and play in Giant's garden after school.

iii.             Why are they saying so?
👉They are saying so because they aren't allowed to play in the giant's garden anymore. The giant has chased them out of his garden being furious.

b.     “I have many beautiful flowers,” he said; “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.”

i.                Who is the speaker?
👉The speaker is an old and feeble giant who keeps on watching the children at their play sitting on his armchair.

ii.               Who is he speaking to?
👉He is speaking to himself admiring his garden.

iii.             Who are ‘the children that the speaker is referring to?
👉'The Children' that the speaker is referring to are the small and innocent school children who enjoy a lot in giant's garden.

iv.             Why is the speaker saying that ‘the children are the most beautiful flowers of all’?
👉The speaker said that "children are the most beautiful flowers of all" because he experienced the presence of children in his garden. He observed their simplicity and innocence. She thinks that children are the gift of beautiful nature and their presence made the whole garden so beautiful and blooming with different kinds of leaves and flowers. He makes the comparison here to value the children because he knows the value of the children in his garden compared to the flowers.

c.      When the little child smiled at the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise," shortly afterward, the happy giant dies. What is the coincidence of this event? Describe it in relation to this fairy tale.
👉The next time, the child reappears in one of the corners of the garden. The giant is quite old and weak at this time. This time the child seems to favor the giant who had once favored him to play in his garden. The giant continues on his way. search and expectation of the child. In reality, he is only alive to meet the enchanted child. Finally, after the child's words, he died the same afternoon.

B.     The story makes use of personification as one of the main figures of speech. Cite three examples of personification from the story. What is the significance of the seasons personified in the story?
👉Here the writer has made perfect use of a figure of speech. The three examples of personification are snow, frost, and north wind. The significance of the seasons personified in history is that they are linked to nature and play a very important role in transforming the giant's garden with a unique force against evil deeds.

C.     This story can be read as a fairytale, where the children, the seasons, the tree, the corner of the garden, the snow, the wind, and the frost are all used as symbolism. Interpret those symbols.
👉Here, the spring season symbolizes happiness while the winter season symbolizes suffering. The tree symbolizes the identity of the child as Christ. The corner of the garden symbolizes the sacred place of God from which redemption is possible. Snow, wind, and frost symbolize a unique force against evil deeds.

D.     Which figure of speech is used for ‘winter, frost, snow, north wind, hail and little child’? Who is the little child compared to?
👉Here in this short story, we find the perfect use of personification. Here winter, frost, snow, north wind, hail, and the child were wonderfully personified. Between these winters, frost and snow were personified as a feminine gender with a unique strength. They did their homework against the giant's actions. The north wind, hail, and the child were personified as muscular sex endowed with powers.

The little child is compared to the Lord Jesus Almighty here in this story. This child has received divine powers which have the power to change everything. Thanks to his presence, the garden bloomed with beautiful leaves and flowers. The marks of two nails on the palms and feet of the child reminded us of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.

REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT
a.      What is the main theme of this story?
👉There are various themes here in this story such as arrogance, the consequences of selfishness, love, and compassion, the concept of salvation, etc. Good deeds are always rewarded while bad deeds are always punished. We simply find here the arrogance of the giant and his selfishness towards his children who brought him bad results. But, because of his good deeds, he has a nice platform to reach for the sky.

b.      Does God punish those who are cruel to children and very selfish? 
👉Yes, God punishes those who are cruel to children and very selfish. Children should be very innocent and children of God. They are known for their simplicity. Their presence is a good omen. We can take a beautiful example from this story of God's punishment of the giant. He feels guilty for his bad actions.