1st PUC ENGLISH NOTES - TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA - 2 MARKS / 3 MARKS / 4 MARKS - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
12 TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
Answer the following
questions 2 Marks Questions
1. Who were Nicola and Jacopo?
Ans:
Nicola and Jacopo were young brothers from Verona who worked hard to support
their sister's medical treatment.
2. What jobs did the boys do?
Ans:
They
sold fruits, newspapers, polished shoes, worked as guides, and did small
errands to earn money.
3. Why did the narrator feel
surprised about the boys?
Ans:
He was surprised by their seriousness, hard work, and mature behavior despite
being very young.
4. Why were the boys saving
money?
Ans:
They saved money to pay for their sister Lucia’s treatment, who was suffering
from tuberculosis of the spine.
5. Where did the boys take the
narrator on Sunday?
Ans:
They
took him to a village where their sister Lucia was admitted in a hospital.
6. What did the nurse tell the
narrator?
Ans:
The
nurse told the narrator that Lucia was the boys’ sister, and they paid for her
treatment.
7. How did the narrator help
the boys?
Ans:
He
drove them in his car to the village to visit their sister.
8. What does the story
highlight about war?
Ans:
War
can destroy homes and families but cannot destroy love, hope, and human spirit.
9. Why did the boys not tell
the narrator about Lucia?
Ans:
They
didn’t want pity or sympathy from anyone, even though they were suffering
silently.
10.
What lesson does the story teach us?
Ans:It teaches us about
selflessness, love, sacrifice, and the true meaning of being a gentleman.
Answer the following
questions 3 Marks Questions
1. How did Nicola and Jacopo
support themselves and their sister?
Ans:
Nicola and Jacopo did several small jobs like selling strawberries, newspapers,
shining shoes, and working as tourist guides. They worked day and night without
rest. Even though they were very young, they showed maturity and
responsibility. Their only goal was to collect money for their sister Lucia’s
treatment. She was suffering from tuberculosis of the spine and was admitted in
a hospital in the village of Poleta. The boys lived simply and didn’t spend on
themselves. They were determined to save her and never asked for help or
sympathy from anyone.
2. Describe the boys’
appearance and behavior.
Ans:
Nicola and Jacopo were shabbily dressed in worn-out clothes. Nicola wore a
jersey and Jacopo wore an army tunic. Despite their poor appearance, they were
well-mannered, respectful, and full of dedication. They showed maturity far
beyond their age. They were honest, hard-working, and never begged for help.
They performed many jobs without complaining. Their kind nature and hard work
won the respect of the narrator. They are perfect examples of how appearances
can be deceptive. Though they looked poor and ordinary, their behavior showed
they were noble at heart.
3. What does the story say
about sacrifice and love?
Ans:
The story clearly shows how true love and sacrifice can exist even in the most
difficult times. Nicola and Jacopo had lost their parents in the war, and their
sister was seriously ill. Still, they did not give up. They chose to work hard
and give up their comforts so that their sister could get well. They lived on
little food, wore old clothes, and spent all their earnings on hospital bills.
Their love for their sister and their sacrifices show the power of family bonds
and true selflessness.
4. How did the narrator find
out the boys’ real purpose?
Ans:
The narrator became curious about why the boys were working so hard and saving
money. One Sunday, he offered to drive them somewhere. They went to a village
and asked him to wait. But he followed them secretly. There, he saw them with a
girl at a hospital. A nurse told him that she was their sister Lucia, and the
boys paid every week for her treatment. This information deeply moved the
narrator, and he realized how noble and brave the boys were.
5. What qualities make Nicola
and Jacopo true gentlemen?
Ans:
Nicola and Jacopo are true gentlemen because of their selfless actions. Though
poor and young, they behaved maturely and respectfully. They did many jobs to
earn money but never asked for charity. They didn’t spend anything on
themselves but gave everything for their sister’s health. They kept their pain
private and never expected sympathy. Their honesty, sacrifice, and quiet
strength made them far more respectable than many rich men. That’s why the
narrator calls them true "gentlemen" — not by wealth, but by
character.
Answer the following
questions 4 Marks Questions
1. How does the story “Two
Gentlemen of Verona” redefine the word ‘gentleman’?
Ans:
The word ‘gentleman’ usually means a person of wealth, good manners, and status.
But in this story, A.J. Cronin redefines it through the characters of Nicola
and Jacopo. These two young boys, despite their poverty and young age, display
qualities that truly define a gentleman — responsibility, sacrifice, kindness,
and self-respect. They do many odd jobs and live a hard life, not for their own
benefit, but to take care of their elder sister who is sick. They spend all
their money on her treatment and never tell anyone about their struggle. They
never beg or ask for sympathy. They maintain their dignity and face life
bravely. Even the narrator, a grown man, is deeply touched by their silent
courage and determination. In the end, we realize that it is not money or
appearance that makes a person a gentleman, but inner strength, selfless love,
and honesty. Nicola and Jacopo show us what it means to be truly noble in
spirit. Thus, the title “Two Gentlemen of Verona” is very fitting, as it honors
the real meaning of being a gentleman.
2. Describe the background and
struggle of Nicola and Jacopo during and after the war.
Ans:
Nicola and Jacopo once lived a happy life in Verona with their sister and
father, who was a singer. However, the war changed everything. Their father was
killed early in the war, and soon after, their house was destroyed in a
bombing. The three children became homeless and lived in a shelter they built
themselves. They had no food or warmth and struggled to survive the cold
winters. After the war, they found that their sister Lucia was suffering from
tuberculosis of the spine. Without anyone else to help them, Nicola and Jacopo
took the responsibility of caring for her. They admitted her to a hospital in
Poleta and paid for her treatment every week. To earn money, they worked long
hours doing multiple jobs — selling fruits, newspapers, shining shoes, and
acting as guides. They never spent money on themselves and lived a hard life
quietly. Despite all the hardship, they never lost hope. Their determination,
sacrifice, and deep love for their sister show how brave and noble the human
spirit can be. Their story is truly inspiring and touching.
3. What role does the narrator
play in the story? How does his perspective change?
Ans:
The narrator in the story is a traveler and tourist who meets Nicola and Jacopo
in Verona. At first, he sees them as ordinary boys trying to make money. He is
impressed by their hard work and manners. He notices how they are always ready
to help and are very mature. However, he becomes curious when he sees them
saving money and asking for a ride to a village on Sunday. Out of interest, he
secretly follows them and discovers the truth about their sister. This moment
changes his entire view of the boys. He learns that they are not just helpful
or hard-working, but deeply loving and responsible. He is touched by their
silence, dignity, and courage. Through this experience, the narrator grows in
understanding and respect. He learns that true nobility comes from within and
is not always visible on the surface. In the end, the narrator’s role helps us
see the message of the story clearly — that kindness, sacrifice, and love are
the real signs of greatness.
4.
What did the narrator learn about Lucia from the nurse in
‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’?
Ans: On Sunday afternoon, the narrator
brought the two boys ¡n his car to a large red-roofed villa in a tiny village
set upon the hillside. After the boys had disappeared beyond the corner of a
stone wall, the narrator followed them closely and reached a grilled
side-entrance. When he rang the bell, the door was opened by a trained nurse.
When she learnt that the narrator had brought the two boys there, she let him
in and took him to a ward upstairs, and showed him the two boys seated at the
bedside of a girl, aged about twenty. Later, when the narrator begged her to
tell him all she knew about the two boys, she told him that the girl was Lucia,
and the boys had no one else in the world except for that sister. The boys had
lost their father in the war. Shortly afterwards, a bomb had destroyed their
home and thrown the three children into the sheets. For months, they had barely
kept themselves alive in a sort of shelter they had built with their own hands
amidst the rubble. During this time they suffered horribly from near-starvation
and exposure to the cold Veronese winter.
5. “The
story of Nicola and Jacopo in ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ redefines the qualities
of a gentleman”. Substantiate.
OR
‘True gentlemen are made of character, not by their
appearance’. Explain with reference to ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’.
Ans: This short story by A.J. Cronin presents
before us the story of two Veronese adolescents Nicola, aged about thirteen,
and Jacopo, aged about twelve. The title ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ has been
used by the author only to redefine the meaning of the word ‘gentlemen’ and to express
his admiration for two Veronese young men who are waging a relentless and epic
battle to save their elder sister Lucia, aged about twenty years. She is their
only relative left in their world.
Lucia is suffering from tuberculosis of the
spine. She has no one el to take care of her except her two younger brothers —
Nicola and Jacopo. She would have undoubtedly succumbed to her fatal disease if
her two young brothers had not admitted her in a hospital and given her timely
medical attention and care. Since the treatment she got in the hospital was
quite expensive, and they had to make payments every week, the two young men
had to work day and night to earn enough money to meet the expenses. The brothers shined shoes, sold fruits,
hawked newspapers, conducted tourists round the town, ran errands, and worked
hard day and night relentlessly to earn enough money for making weekly payments
to the hospital. Though the two boys, this way earned quite a lot of money,
they lived a selfless and Spartan life so as to save enough for their sister’s
treatment. They did not spend anything for themselves either on their food or
on clothes.
Thus, they saved a great deal, made regular
payments to the hospital without complaining and helped their sister recuperate
from her illness. The word ‘gentlemen’, during Shakespeare’s time, meant ‘a man
of wealth and social position, especially one who does not work for a living’.
But in the context of this lesson ‘gentleman’ means a man who is polite and
shows consideration for the feelings of other people. It is true that “True
gentlemen are made of character, not by their appearance”. It is in this sense
that the author calls Nicola and Jacopo ‘gentlemen’ of Verona. Hence, we can
say that the story of Nicola and Jacopo in ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’, redefines
the qualities of a gentleman.
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