The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde | Exercise | Class 11 English Literature

The Selfish Giant

Oscar Wilde

Summary

The story starts with the children playing in the garden of the Giant every afternoon after coming from school. The garden was lovely, large, with soft grass, and fruit trees. The trees bore rich fruits and birds sang sweetly sitting on them.

One day after seven years the giant came back. He was staying with his friend, the Cornish Ogre. The children were scared to see him. He saw the children playing and said that he would not allow anyone to play here as it was his own garden. He built a wall around it and also put a notice board. The notice board displayed a warning on it, ‘Trespassers will be prosecuted'. The children became sad as they had no other place to play. They would wander around the high walls of the garden and remember the beautiful garden inside them.

The spring season came and there were blossoms and little birds all around. But it was winter in the giant’s garden and there were frost and snow. In the absence of children, birds also did not sing. Once a flower bloomed out of the grass but after seeing the notice board, it also went back to sleep. Then came the North Wind and the hailstorm. Due to the giant’s selfishness, autumn’s golden fruits also did not come to his garden.

Then one morning, the giant heard sweet and lovely music. It was a linnet singing outside his window. The hail and the North Wind stopped and he could feel the spring. He saw that the children came into his garden through a little hole. The children were sitting on the branches of trees and the trees were blossoming. He also saw the birds flying and hear them chirping. The flowers had also come up.

But, to his surprise, in one corner there was still winter. He saw that there a young boy was standing and he was not able to reach the branches of trees. The tree lowered its branches but still, he could not climb.

At this scene, his heart melted. He realized that he was really very selfish. He decided to put that boy on the top of the tree, pull down the walls, and allow children to play here forever. But when the children saw him, they ran away and the garden became winter again. However, that little boy did not run as he was weeping. The giant put him on the top of the tree and the tree blossomed at once. He kissed the giant. The other children realizing that the giant is not wicked came back. The spring came back with them. The giant used to play with the children every afternoon but that little boy was nowhere to be seen. As the years went by, he grew very weak. One winter morning, he saw a lovely tree with white blossoms in a corner. The branches of the tree were golden and the little boy stood under it.

The boy was wounded which made the giant very angry. He told the boy that he will slay the man who has harmed him. The boy told him that these were the wounds of love. The boy smiled and asked the giant to come to his garden. Later, the children found the giant dead under the tree covered with white blossoms.

Understanding the text

1. Where did the children use to play?
   

   The children used to play in a beautiful garden of the giant during afternoon time after school.

2. What did the Snow and the Frost do to the garden?
   

   The Snow and the Frost were the two agents who appeared in the giant’s garden after the rude behavior of the giant against the children. The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak and the Frost painted all the trees silver. They even invited the North Wind to stay with them.

3. 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.

4. Why do you think spring season never came to the giant’s garden?
   

   I think the spring season even became sad along with the children. She became so angry and never came to the giant’s garden to find the giant’s rudeness and selfishness against the innocent children.

5. How did the giant realize his mistake?
   

   The giant realized his mistake by experiencing unusual changes in his garden. He found out snow, frost, north wind, fog, etc. in his garden. He felt guilty himself for all those acts which he had done against the children. When the children reappeared in his garden, the garden once again bloomed with leaves and flowers. He even heard the chirping of birds in his garden. Thus, he realized his mistake.

Reference to the context

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

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

1. Where does ‘there’ refer to?
   

   ‘There’ refers to the giant’s garden where children used to play after school.

2. What does ‘they’ refer to?
   

   ‘They’ refers to the children who used to come and play in Giant’s garden after school.

3. 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.”

1. 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.

2. Who is he speaking to?
   

   He is speaking to himself admiring his garden.

3. 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 the giant’s garden.

4. Why is the speaker saying that ‘the children are the most beautiful flowers of all’?
   

   The speaker is saying that ‘the children are the most beautiful flowers of all’ because he has experienced the presence of children in his garden. He has observed their simplicity and innocence. He believes that the children are the gift of beautiful nature and their presence has made the entire garden look so beautiful and bloom with different kinds of leaves and flowers. He makes the comparison here to value the children much because he knows the value of children in his garden than the flowers.

5. 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 afterwards, the happy giant dies. What is the coincidence of this event? Describe it in relation to this tale.

The next time, the little child reappears in one of the garden’s corners. The giant is quite old and feeble at that time. The child appears this time to favor the giant who once had favored him to play in his garden. The giant keeps on searching and waiting for the little child. He is in readability alive only to meet the enchanted little child. Finally, after the little child’s words, he dies in the very afternoon.

2. 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 perfectly used a figure of speech. The three examples of personification are the Snow, the Frost and the north wind. The significance of the seasons personified in the story is that they are related to nature and play a very vital role in transforming the giant’s garden with a unique force against bad deeds.

3. This story can be read as a fairy-tale, 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 in this short story, we find the perfect use of personification. Here, winter, frost, snow, north wind, hail and little child have been wonderfully personified. Among these, winter, frost and snow have been personified as feminine gender with unique force. They have done their tasks against the giant’s acts. The north wind, hail and little child have been personified as masculine gender with powers.

The little child is compared to the Christian God ‘Lord Jesus’ here in this story. This little child has been presented with divine powers who has the power to change each and everything. Due to his presence, the garden has been bloomed with beautiful leaves and flowers. The signs of two nails on the palms and feet of the little child have reminded us of the crucifixion of Lord Jesus.

4. Which figures 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 little child have been wonderfully personified. Among these, winter, frost and snow have been personified as feminine gender with unique force. They have done their tasks against the giant’s acts. The north wind, hail and little child have been personified as masculine gender with powers.

The little child is compared to the Christian God ‘Lord Jesus’ here in this story. This little child has been presented with divine powers who has the power to change each and everything. Due to his presence, the garden has been bloomed with beautiful leaves and flowers. The signs of two nails on the palms and feet of the little child have reminded us of the crucifixion of Lord Jesus.

Reference beyond the text

1. What is the main theme of this story?
   

   There are various themes here in this story as arrogance, consequences of selfishness, love and compassion, the concept of salvation etc. Good deeds are always rewarded whereas bad deeds are always punished. Here, we simply find the arrogance of the giant and his selfishness against the children which have brought bad results for him. But, due to his good deeds, he has got a fine platform to reach outside.

2. Does God punish those who are cruel to children and very selfish?
   

   Yes, God punishes those who are cruel to and very selfish. Children are supposed to be very innocent and babies of God. They are known for their simplicity. Their presence is the sign of good omen. We can get a fine example from this story about God’s punishment to the giant. He feels guilty himself for his bad deeds.