Class 10 English Literature Two Gentlemen of Verona question and answers
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Institution
This is the question and answer of Two Gentlemen of Verona from Class 10 English Communicative Literature.This document is verified.(Got 100 in English in Class 10)
Two Gentlemen of Verona
By A.J. Cronin
About the story:
A.J. Cronin wrote this memoir after visiting Verona. As discussed earlier, the novel’s name is inspired
by a popular Shakespeare’s play. Nevertheless, the main idea of the author is to underline the virtues
that make a man a man. The story captures the sentiment that true humanity is not about letting go,
and it is about courage and determination. The two young gentlemen of Verona face their difficulties
head on without a single complaint. Their love and emotional strength are truly commendable. And
the boys’ maturity and sense of responsibility are also praiseworthy. These boys display exemplary
courage amidst extreme poverty and devastation and the author manages to find real inspiration from
their lives.
Characters:
The Boys: The two ‘gentlemen’ of Verona are the boys in the story, Nicola and Jacopo. Nicola, aged
13, is the elder brother of Jacopo aged 12. Both the siblings are very sincere and self-sacrificing. They
are prepared to do anything to help their sister Lucia to recover from tuberculosis. They live a hard
life and do all sorts of odd jobs. Right from shining shoes, selling fruit, distributing newspapers, to
working as tourist guides and running their errands, they still look contented and maintain their
self-respect. They don’t have the intention of talking about their family problem and want to keep it a
secret. During the war period, they started hating Germans and also joined the resistance movement
for their country’s freedom.
The Narrator: the narrator of the story is a sensitive, kind and helpful person. Even after his driver’s
warning, he lands up buying strawberries from the boys to help them. He notices the honesty and
sincerity of the shabbily dressed and nearly-starved boys. He also drops the boys to the hospital where
their sister is admitted. He also decides to not reveal to the boys that he knows about their family
crisis.
Significance of the Title:
Two Gentlemen of Verona is written by AJ Cronin. The author wants to depict through the title that it
is not the matter of age or money but our good deeds, nature, calmness, courtesy, hard work,
selflessness, and dignity of doing any kind of task with great enthusiasm that reflects who we are as a
person. This kind of nature and good points in a person makes one a gentleman. In the story, two boys
Nicola and Jacopo were also of the same kind, so the narrator calls them the Gentlemen of Verona.
They both reflected the true gentleness and all the good points that today each human should have in
order to contribute something good to mankind.
Q6.
Question 6.
What do you understand by the following statements?
(a) “We do many things, sir,” Nicola answered seriously. He glanced at us hopefully.
Ans. When the narrator let out his misconceived notion about Nicola and Jacopo that selling and
picking of fruits was their only source of income, Nicola tried to correct him. He told him that they
did many things like taking the visitors to the places of interest in Verona like Juliet’s Tomb. A hope
, of getting more business from the writer revived in his heart and his eyes gleamed hopefully. The
narrator noticed this fact fully well.
(b) He smiled uncomfortably. “Just plans, sir,” he answered in a low voice.
Ans. The narrator asked Nicola whether they were saving money for migrating to America to have a
better life. On hearing this, Nicola told him that they had some other plans. When the narrator wanted
to know specifically what plans they had, Nicola tried to evade him simply by saying ‘just plans’
because he did not want to tell the narrator that they saved money for getting their sister cured of
tuberculosis of the spine in the hospital at Poleta.
(c) Yet in both these boyish faces there was a seriousness which was far beyond their years.
Ans. The narrator was deeply impressed by the childish and artless expression of the faces of Nicola
and Jacopo. They appeared to him to be very innocent and simple. But he also noticed a seriousness
on their faces which could never be found on the faces of the children of their age. The narrator means
that in their looks and age, they were innocent children but in their thinking and actions they appeared
to be quite mature. The seriousness which maturity brings on the faces of responsible elderly persons
was present on the faces of these two small boys aged thirteen and twelve.
7. a)Why was the author surprised to see Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys?
Ans. The author encountered the two boys, Nicola and Jacopo, the previous day as fruit sellers. The
very next day he found them to be working as shoeshine boys. Therefore, the author was surprised to
see them changing their profession so quickly.
b) The story is full of surprises. Briefly mention any two such instances.
Ans.
i) The fruit sellers change their profession abruptly within one day time and can be seen doing any
kind of job possibly available in Verona.
ii) The two mere boys can behave like gentlemen with qualities only a gentleman can have. At the
tender age they behave maturely by working hard to earn money to cure their ill sister.
(c) Why were the boys in the deserted square at night? What character traits do they exhibit?
Ans. The boys were present in the deserted square at night because they were waiting for the last bus
from Padua to sell newspapers to the passengers who dismounted the bus. This incident throws light
on their characters. The boys were very hard-working and always willing to find and do work to earn
money.
(d) 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?
Ans. 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.
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