Summary and Questions Answers of The Selfish Giant : By Oscar Wilde

 

(The Selfish Giant)

Main Characters:

1. The Giant  : (The Central Character of the Story. In the beginning of the story he is presented as a selfish one, but by the end we find him as a kind hearted loving character)
2. The Children : (They were the Local Kids)
3. The Little Boy : (Lord Jesus, in disguise)
4. Spring
5. Summer
6. Autumn
7. Winter Forces (Frost, Northwind, Hail)

[Note : As this story is in the form of Fairy Tale, so Spring, Summer etc. are also taken as characters and they also have dominant roles.]

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        Plot Summary:

This is a story of a selfish giant and a little boy who was a messenger of God.

The story takes place in the giant's garden. In his (giant's) long absence, local kids used to visit the garden and play. But when the giant returned, he became very angry seeing the children playing in his garden. He stopped them form playing there and built a huge wall all over the garden with a noticeboard "trespassers will be prosecuted".  

This was his selfishness. The result was that the garden became extremely cold. Spring refused to visit there.

After long, as his heart changed, he became kind and allowed the children to play there. Now the Spring visited his garden. Everything was pleasant again.

In the beginning, when the giant was cold towards the children, everything around the garden was cold. It had been changed into a wasteland. Later, when he became kind to the children, his heart was full of love. He became happier.

Not only that, in the end, Lord Christ himself came to him in the disguise of a little boy and took him to the garden of paradise.

In this way, this story tells us about spreading love and the pleasures of sharing things with others.

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Short Summary : 

Once there lived a giant. He was very selfish. He had a very beautiful garden. But he didn't live there because he had gone to his friend for a long time. Every afternoon, after returning form school, children used to play there. 

One day, after returning from his friend after seven years, he found the children playing in his garden. He became very angry. He scolded and chased them away from there, saying that they were not allowed to play there. He also put a big wall all over the garden.

But after that, pleasant seasons like spring summer or autumn never came there. There was only winter and winter. He could not understand why his garden had become bleak and barren.

One day he saw that children had entered his garden through a little hole in the wall. Now the garden looked warm and attractive. The giant became very glad. But in one corner (of the garden) it was still winter. 

There was a little boy there unable to climb a tree. Now the giant's heart had changed . He helped the little boy to climb up the tree, and he allowed the children to to play there everyday. 

But the  little child never came there second time. The giant asked about him to the children, but nobody could give any information about him. 

After many years the giant saw the child again from his room. He went near the child. The palms and the feet of the child were wounded with nails. He told the giant that they were the the 'wounds of love'. 

Finally, the child took the giant with him in his garden, that is Paradise. In this way it was Lord Christ himself had come in the disguise of the child to take him to heaven.

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Pointwise Breakdown of the Story: 

 1. Giant's Garden: Children's Playground:

It is a story of a selfish giant. He had a very big beautiful garden with soft grasses, full of flowers and fruit trees. Birds used to sing beautiful songs there.  

Every afternoon, after returning from school, the neighboring children used to come and play there happily.

(The children playing in the beautiful garden of the giant)

2. After Seven Years :

One day after seven years, the giant returned back from his friend's house. As he saw the children playing there, he became very very angry. He scolded and shooed them off from there.

(The giant scolded the children and drove them from there)

 He put a big boundary wall all around the garden and put a notice board saying "Trespassers will be prosecuted".

(Trespassers will be prosecuted)

 Children became very sad because they had no other place to play. They missed the garden very much.

3. Spring Denied to Enter the Garden:

Then came the spring season. There was Spring everywhere. But it didn't visit the giant's garden. Winter lasted there for ever. There were still winter, snow, frost and extremely cold wind there. 

 In the absence of the children birds also didn't sing. They left the garden. Pleasant seasons like spring, summer, autumn never visited the garden. One flower in the garden had raised its head, but as it saw the notice, it slipped in the garden again.

4. The Pleasant Surprise: He Saw a Wonder One Day :

One morning he heard some sweet and lovely music. It was a linnet singing near his window. 

(Singing Linnet)

 As he saw outside, the children had returned back in his garden through a little hole. Flowers had bloomed and birds were singing. Spring had returned there.

(Flowers had bloomed and birds were singing)

Now he understood that the spring hadn't visited there because no children came there.

5. Winter still in one part of the garden :

But there was still winter in one corner of the garden. He saw there was a very little boy standing there, unable to climb up a tree. His heart melted at it. So he helped the boy gently climb up the tree. 

(The giant helped the boy)

But when the children saw the giant, they were afraid and they ran away from there. And the garden became winter again. 

6. The Giant's Realization :

Now the giant understood his mistake. He understood that there was long lasting winter and no spring in his garden only because he had not allowed children coming there. He immediately broke the wall. He not only allowed the children to play there, but also started to play with them.

7. The Giant Missed the Boy:

But the little child never returned there after that day. The giant missed him very much. He even asked other children about the boy, but no child could give him any information.

8. After Many Years:

Years and years passed. Now the giant had become older. One day he saw the boy standing in the garden. He went to the boy faster.

9. The Wounded Boy :

He found that the boy was wounded. There were two nail prints on his palms and two nail prints on the feet.

The giant became very angry at seeing this. he asked the boy who had hurt him, he would punish him. But the child said that they were "the wounds of love".  

10. The Boy's Invitation:

The boy smiled. He added that as the giant had allowed him to play in his garden, now it was the turn of the giant to go his (boy's) garden. That was paradise. And after that the giant died.

(Finally the giant left the world)

The conclusion is that it was Lord Christ who came in disguise of the boy and took the giant to the heaven.

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Questions and Answers

Before Reading:

Answer these questions:

a. Look at this picture. Is it a real man or mythical human?

Answer: No, it's not the picture of a real man. Its gigantic size, look and appearance tell that it is a mythical human. No human can create such a fear or awe in our hearts.

b. Is it good to be selfish?

Answer: When the word 'Selfish' (or 'selfishness') comes to mind, we immediately think it to be negative and bad. Being selfish means caring only for oneself, thinking about one's own interest, benefits, regardless of (not thinking about) others.

From our childhood, we are taught to be selfless and not to be selfish. Our parents teach us to avoid thinking only about 'me and my interests'. But we can't see it only in black and white. 

In a world like today's it becomes difficult to achieve our goals and successes without being somewhat selfish. So, in conclusion we can say that it's o.k. to be selfish for achievements but our selfishness should not hurt others.

c. How do selfish people behave ?

Answer : Selfish people are chiefly concerned with their own personal profits and pleasures. They only concentrate on their own advantages, pleasures, well beings without any regards for others. Such people do not believe in reciprocity (give and take). They care only about themselves. 

They are busy in creating happiness for themselves and never thinking how others are affected. In short such people are more self centered.

Understanding the text:

Answer the following questions:

a. Where did the children use to play?

Answer:  After returning from their school, the children used to go and play in the giant's garden.

b. What did the snow and the frost do to the garden ?

Answer : They changed the giant's garden into a very cold place, where plants, trees and flowers could not grow. It became a very gloomy place. They also invited the north wind to stay with them. In short, they made the garden a complete wasteland.

c. What did the giant hear when he was lying awake in bed ?

Answer : One morning the giant was lying awake when he heard some lovely music. In fact, it was a little linnet singing. But as he had not heard a bird singing for long, he took it to be the most beautiful music in the world.

d. Do you think spring season never came to the giant's garden ?

Answer :  Spring season had stopped visiting the giant's garden because of his selfishness. He didn't allow the children to come and play in the garden. 

But later, when the children entered the garden through a hole, spring visited there.

e. How did the giant realize his mistake ?

Answer : When he saw that spring had visited his garden again when the children started playing there, the giant realized his mistake. Now he realized that it was by stopping the children from plying there, he had made the spring angry.

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Reference to the context

A. 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 ?

Answer: 'There' refers to the giant's garden.

2. What does 'they' refer to ?

Answer: 'They' refers to the neighboring children who used to come to play in the garden.

3. Why are they saying saying so ? 

Answer: They are saying so because they had no other place to play.

b. "I have many beautiful flowers," he said; "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."

1. Who is the speaker?

Answer :The giant is the speaker.

2. Who is he speaking to? 

Answer:  The giant is speaking to himself.

3. Who are 'the children' that the speaker is referring to ?

Answer:  The speaker is referring to the neighboring children who came again to to play in his garden.

c. 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 fairy tale.

Answer: When the giant became very old and weak, he couldn't play with the children any more. He used to sit in the armchair, watching them playing. 

One winter morning, the little child came before the giant and offered him to come to his garden (paradise) for a happy peaceful life. 

Like a true fairy tale the story has a happy ending. The coincidence is that after his heart is changed (purified), Christ took him to heaven.

B. 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? 

Answer: Personification makes things human. It gives human qualities to things that are not human. Personification plays a great role in the story. The writer has personified seasons, trees, flowers, and the birds, snow, frost  etc.

Three examples of personification

a. The trees were waving their arms gently above the children's heads.

b. The frost painted all the trees silver, then they invited the north wind.

c. The autumn gave golden fruit to every garden.

The effect of all this personification is to present nature as participating in the writer's moral vision, that is, if you spread love, you'll get love. 

In the beginning of the story the giant was very selfish. Due to this reason the winter and its forces got a chance to stay permanently in the garden. Later he realized this, which caused him change his heart.

Now he didn't become angry when children returned back to the garden. As a result spring revisited his garden with all its goodness. This supports the writer's moral vision.

C. 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. 

Answer : This story has been written typically as a fairy tale in which different characters like the children, frost etc. are all used as symbolism. 

1. The children: They are the most important characters of the story. They love to play in the giant's garden, without even knowing any details of it. They are the symbol of innocence.

2. Seasons:

A: Spring :  Spring is the symbol of reward and bountifulness of nature. It gave flowers to the garden. It is also the symbol of happiness.

B : Winter: Winter is the symbol is suffering and punishment. The perpetual (never ending) winter in the giant's garden was the symbol of punishment for his being selfish.

3. The Tree: The tree (in the corner) is the symbol of redemption (being saved from sin) Lord Christ offers to all the sinner's. While reading Bible, we find 'cross' often translated as tree.

4. The corner of the garden: This symbolizes the past selfish deeds of the giant due to which there was a permanent winter there in the garden. Later, when the giant saw even the trees helping children, he realized his mistake. He corrected himself. As a result, he helped the little boy climb the tree.

5. The snow, the the wind and the frost: These all are the symbols of trouble, unhappiness and lifelessness. Symbolically, as the giant drove the children out of the garden, such forces of winter started to live there permanently. This made the garden lifeless.

We can also that they are also symbols of giant's solitude.

D. Which figure of speech is used for 'winter, frost, snow, north wind, hail and little child'? Who is the little child compared to ?

Answer : The figure of speech used for 'winter, frost, snow, north wind, and hail is personification. 

The little child is Jesus in disguise. He takes this form only to offer the giant a chance at redemption.

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Reference beyond the text:

a. What is the main theme of this story ?

Answer: The story has more than one theme. But I think the main theme is 'redemption' (being saved from sin). 

The sin of the giant is selfishness. As the story goes, he identifies his sin and allows children to play there.  Finally, the redemption of the giant's soul takes place when the child Christ welcomes him into the heaven.

Another important theme of this story is 'selfishness'.

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

Answer : The whole world is divided into two groups on this matter. Atheists (those who do not believe in God) think that  there is no God. So, there is no question of punishment.

Those who believe in God think that there is a provision of punishment. We all love our children. But we punish them also for their wrong doings. We are children of God. So he can punish us for our wrong doings.

So, if you believe that God is loving, you also have to believe that He will punish those who are selfish and cruel to children.

If He doesn't punish, he doesn't love us at all.

Question :What is the conclusion of the story The Selfish Giant?

Answer: In the beginning of the story the giant is very selfish. He is not ready to let children play in his garden. He is not ready to share his garden with them. He frightened them off his garden.

Later when he allowed them in his garden, things changed, and Spring returned.

So, the main conclusion of this story is that we should be selfish and know and learn the value of sharing with each other.

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A Short Analysis of the Story

1. Genre: Short Story, Fairy Tale, Allegory
2. Publication: It was first published in 1888, in the anthology : Happy Prince and Other Tales
3. Point of View: Third Person Narration. The narrator mostly provides the giant's perspective.
4. Structure: The story has a typical Fairy Tale structure.
5. Setting: The setting of the story is the giant's garden.
6. Theme: a. Selfishness, b. Redemption, c. Forgiveness, d. Negative results of selfishness, e. If you spread love, you'll get love.
7. Tone: Cheerful tone
8. Figurative Language Used in the Story: 

•  Anaphora: The repetition of a phrase or word  for a specific purpose, as : when the giant says" My own garden is my own garden." 
• Synecdoche : "Children are the most beautiful flowers of them all."
•  Alliteration : "a large lovely garden"
•  Similes : "His breath was like ice."
•  Personification : "The trees forgot to bloom."
•  Symbols :Beautiful symbols are used in this story. For example, spring is the symbol of reward, and bountifulness, winter is the symbol of suffering,  cold heart of the giant.

  9. Main conflict in the story: 'Man vs himself'

 10.It also teaches that one gets what he gives -- if you give happiness, you will get back happiness. And if you give sadness to others, the same will return back to you.

  11. Conclusion of The Story: The main conclusion of the story is that "We should not be selfish. We should b openminded and should spread love and make everyone around us happy.

  12.One Quotation from the Bible: Matthew 19:14

       Jesus said, " Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them; for as it is to such as there that the kingdom of heaven belong."  

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Image credits: Google images/ kid's.com/ ESLprintables.com

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