NCERT SOLUTIONS FOR CLASS 10 - ENGLISH NOTES - TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA - A.J. CRONIN - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - CBSE

 

TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA

A.J. CRONIN

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

(a) The boys were untidy and poorly dressed.

 

2. The narrator was most impressed by boys’:

(b) Willingness to work

 

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.

 

4. The narrator did not go inside Lucia’:

(a) He did not want to intrude into their privacy

 

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

(b) the Germans had ruined their family

 

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.

 

What do you understand by the following statements?

a) “We do many things, sir”, Nicola answered seriously. He glanced at us hopefully.

(A) Both boys were working very enthusiastically by doing many odd jobs but they were hoping that the narrator would give them a chance for conducting tourists and help him.

 

b) He coloured deeply under his sunburn, and then grew pale.

(A) As the narrator inquired about money which they earn & where they spend it, Nicola was uncomfortable to explain about it and he did not want to reveal his secret.

c) He smiled uncomfortably.” Just plans, sir”, he answered in a low voice.

(A) Both boys didn’t want to disclose anything to narrator about they were saving money for getting their sister cured off tuberculosis of spine.

 

d) Yet in both these boyish faces there was a seriousness which was far beyond their years.

(A) The narrator found them childish and quite innocent but as they were working under the hot sun, they shined shoes, sold fruit, and ran errands these all appear as they had many difficulties and problems which they didn’t want to disclose it.

 

Answer the following questions briefly.

a) Why didn’t Luigi, the driver, approve of the two boys?

The driver did not approve of the narrator buying fruit form the two boys because they had shabby appearance.

 

b) Why were the narrator and his companion impressed by the two boys?

The narrator and his companion impressed by their appearance strangely attracted as they approached the car and their innocent and courteous behaviour.

 

c) Why was the author surprised to see Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys?

The author surprised to see Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys because at first author saw both boys were selling wild strawberries.

 

d) How were the boys useful to the author?

They proved extremely useful to them. If they wanted a pack of American cigarettes, or seats for the opera or the name of good restaurant they satisfied their needs.

 

e) Why were the boys in the deserted square at night? What character traits do they exhibit?

Both boys were waiting for the last bus from Padua to sell all unsold newspapers when it comes in. The character traits boys had exhibited were sincerity, devotion and the maturity.

 

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?

The reply of the boys shows their spirit of self-resignation and willingness to work hard. It shows that they were not working under compulsion but of their sweet will. It appears as if they had set an aim before them and the achievement of that goal was their sole concern.

 

g) When the narrator asks the boys about their plans, they are evasive (avoid meeting). Why don’t disclose their problems?

It is because they do not want to share their secret plans with strangers. Both Nicola and Jacopo have self-pride, self-respect and family values do not allow them to disclose about their problems to the narrator.

 

Discuss the following questions and write the answers in your notebook.

1. Appearances are deceptive. Discuss with reference to the two boys.

Both Nicola and Jacopo, 13 and 12 respectively, were brothers. They wore shabby clothes; the narrator felt a kind of strange attraction and seriousness in them. They sold fruits, hawked newspapers, shined shoes and conducted tourists round the towns. They proved extremely useful to narrator. If they wanted a pack of American cigarettes, or seats for the opera or the name of good restaurant they satisfied their needs and never let the narrator to know the secret of their life that they were saving money for getting their sister cured off tuberculosis of spine.

 

2. Do you think the boys looked after Lucia willingly? Give reasons for you answer.

Yes, Nicola and Jacopo looked after Lucia willingly. Nicola and Jacopo acted really like parents in nursing their sister Lucia back to health. They took up the responsibility of getting their sister cured at a hospital. Money was a big problem for them. The narrator says that both the brothers did many jobs like shining shoes, hawking newspapers, conducting tourists etc. So they did various odd jobs to earn money for their sister’s treatment.

 

3. How does the ‘Two Gentleman of Verona’ promise hope for society?

The purpose and capacity to work hard of Nicola and Jacopo greatly impressed the narrator. They had all the great qualities of gentleman like love, devotion, capacity to work, honesty, fairness etc in them. The story recounts the hard life chosen by two young boys so that they could pay for the treatment of their sister afflicted with tuberculosis the boys’ sacrifice, their sincerity and devotion to the cause and the maturity they display in their actions. That’s why the narrator saw in them new nobility and hope for human society.