NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English
The Selfish Giant NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English It So Happened Chapter 3
The Selfish Giant NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers
The Selfish Giant Comprehension check
Question 1.
Why is the Giant called selfish?
Answer:
The Giant is called selfish because he did not want the children to come to his garden. He wanted it all to himself. He built a huge wall around the garden and put up a notice board outside it, which read: “Trespassers will be prosecuted”. He told the children that only he was allowed in his garden. He prohibited them from entering it.
Question 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?
Answer:
The children said: “How happy we are here!” when the giant was away on a visit to his friend. So, the children used to come to the garden and play there. But when the giant returned, he forbade the children from entering the garden and built a huge wall around it. So, they had to play on the roads, which were full of dust and hard stone. That is when they began to miss the garden that was full of flowers, birds and trees. This is when they said: “How happy we were there!”
Question 3.
i. When spring came, it was still winter in the garden. What does winter stand for or indicate here?”
Answer:
The winter here stands for a lack of warmth in the giant’s heart for the children. It indicates bitterness, anger and intolerance.
ii. Winter has been presented like a story with its own characters and their activities. Describe the story in your own words.
Answer:
Winter soon took over the Giant’s garden. Snow and Frost decided to lodge there permanently, and asked their friends North Wind and Hail to stay with them. Snow put a white blanket over the green grass and Frost made all trees grey and stiff. North Wind blew and made everything tremble with cold.
Hail pelted little ice stones everywhere in the castle to call everyone to play with her. Hail would try and destroy everything in the castle and the garden. They all knew that Mother Spring had forgotten to return to the garden. So, they were having a good time there, doing as they pleased.
Question 4.
Was the Giant happy or sad over the state of the garden?
Answer:
The Giant was sad over the state of the garden because the spring would not come to his garden, and he wanted to hear the birds sing and flowers bloom in his garden.
Question 5.
What effect did the linnet s song have over Hail and the North Wind?
Answer:
On hearing the linnet’s song, the Hail stopped dancing over the Giant’s head, and the North Wind ceased to roar.
Question 6.
The Giant lay dead, all covered with white blossoms. What does this sentence indicate about the once selfish Giant?
Answer:
This sentence indicates that the Giant was no longer selfish. And as a reward, Nature itself shares its bounty with him the way he shared his garden with the children. It showers its gifts with him, and allows his soothing lap for his last breath on earth. As his actions were beautiful, so were the Nature’s gifts to him.
The Selfish Giant Exercise Questions and Answers
Question 1.
The little child’s hands and feet had marks of nails. Who does the child remind you of? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer:
The child reminds us of Jesus Christ. He was crucified, that is, he was put to death by being nailed to a cross. The little boy who the Giant meets also has wounds of nails on his hands and feet. When the Giant enquires about who had done so, the boy replies that his wounds were the wounds of love. The child wants to take the Giant into his garden, which he says is paradise. Later, the Giant is found dead, as he had been taken into God’s garden of paradise.
Question 2.
Is there something like this garden near where you live? Would you like one (without the Giant perhaps) and why? What would you do to keep it in good shape?
Answer:
There are a lot of parks in the locality where I live. Every park there is full of trees, plants, flowers and birds. It is quite similar to the Giant’s garden in spring. Yes, I would like a garden like the one the Giant has because it seems like a magical garden where the sweetest birds sings, and where the freshest and the most beautiful flowers bloom.
In order to keep the garden in good shape, I would employ many gardeners just for the sole purpose of taking care of it. I would also get some landscaping artists to add a touch of beauty to the garden. I would plant as many trees as I can, and regularly mow the grass so that it does not grow very long. I will water the plants every day, and remove the weeds and dead plants. I will always keep it clean.