Class 11 English Lesson 1: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde Literature Section
Unit- One
Lesson 1: ‘The Selfish Giant' by Oscar Wilde
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About Story Writer
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish wit, poet, novelist, and playwright. Wilde was born to professional and literary parents.
Characters of the Story
The Giant (the owner of the garden), The Children, The Small boy, The Frost, The Northwind, The Hail, The Snow, The Trees, The Flowers, The Birds •
Theme of the Story
'The Selfish Giant' is a short story for children written by Oscar Wilde. It was first published in the anthology ‘The Happy Prince and Other Tales’ in 1888. This story is about a giant who learned an important lesson about love and sharing and holds different meanings for people of different ages.
Summary of the Story
The children used to play in the Giant's garden, which had beautiful flowers and twelve peach trees. One day, the Giant returned and saw the children playing in the garden. He built a high wall around it, and the children ran away. The Selfish Giant put up a noticeboard warning of punishment for trespassers, but the poor children had nowhere to play. When Spring came, the garden was still Winter, and the birds and trees forgot to blossom. Snow and Frost were pleased, so they lived there all year round. The Giant invited the North Wind and Hail to stay with them, and the Hail came.
The Spring and Summer never came, and it was always Winter there, with the North Wind, Hail, Frost, and Snow dancing through the trees. One morning, the Giant heard some lovely music. The Giant heard a linnet singing outside his window, which he thought was the King's musicians. He then saw a beautiful scene of children sitting in the branches of the trees, covered with blossoms and waving their arms above their heads. The trees were so glad to have the children back that they covered themselves with blossoms and waved their arms above their heads. The Giant was so selfish that he wanted to put a little boy on the top of the tree and then knock down the wall. When the children saw him, they ran away and the garden became Winter again.
The Giant stole up behind the boy and put him up into the tree, and the tree broke into blossom and the birds sang on it. The little boy kissed the Giant and flung his arms around his neck. The Giant and the Spring returned to the Giant's garden, where they played all day. The Giant loved the boy he put into the tree, but he was never seen again. Years passed and the Giant grew old and feeble, so he sat in an armchair and watched the children at their games. He admired his garden, but the children were the most beautiful. The Giant saw a tree covered with white blossoms and a little boy he loved in the farthest corner of the garden.
When he came near, he saw the prints of two nails on the child's hands and feet, which were the wounds of Love. The Giant knelt before the child and said he would come with him to Paradise. When the children ran in, they found the Giant dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. The children used to play in the Giant’s beautiful garden in the afternoon.
b. The snow covered up the grass, and the frost painted all the trees in silver.
c. The Giant heard the lovely music of a little singing bird when he was lying awake in bed.
d. I think the spring season never came to the Giant's garden because he was very rude and selfish in his behavior.
e. The Giant realized his mistake when the spring did not come to his garden. He found snow, frost, north wind in his garden, and he felt his mistake that he had made for the innocent children who used to play in his garden. Moreover, when those children came to his garden, the garden once again bloomed with leaves and flowers, even with birds’ chirping.
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