NCERT Solution For Class 10 Fiction Chapter 1 Two Gentleman of Verona

(a) This statement is true to a large extent in the case of the boys. The boys appeared to be quite dirty and clumsy in their shabby and ill-fitted clothes. But their poor appearances hid personalities which were very rich in human values and gentlemanly qualities. As the story proceeds further, their qualities are revealed to us one by one. Their shabby appearances also deceived Luigi, the driver of the narrator, at first. All the incidents and events which are described by the writer quite clearly remove the layers of deception. We come to know about their hard-working nature. Day and night they liked to work for earning money not because they were greedy and mercenaries but because they needed enough money for the medical treatment of their sister, Lucia who was suffering from tuberculosis of the spine. Clean and tidy hospital, the small cubicle of Lucia with a vase of flowers, dish of fruits and a pile of books, reveal the loving care with which they looked after their sister. They spent only a meagre sum of money on black bread and figs which they ate only to keep themselves alive. The major portion of their earning was spent on the medical treatment of their sister. They may be shabby and dirty in appearance but their actions and intentions were not dirty. Rather they appeared to be shining gems of humanity.

They symbolise human love, spirit of sacrifice, complete dedication to ones cause, mutual trust and a great sense of honesty and sincerity, very rare to be found at a time when the war had dried up all fountains of human values and completely destroyed moralistic oudook.

(b) Undoubtedly the boys, Nicola and Jacopo, looked after Lucia willingly. We see them working very hard day and night. They were always willing to work. Whatever job came their way, they picked it up without hesitation. They sold strawberries, they shined shoes, they hawked newspapers, they acted as guides and they earned sufficient money. But we never see them spending that money on their personal pleasures. They spent only a meagre sum on black bread and figs. Even the writer made a guess that they must be saving money for migrating to America to have a better life. But no, later on, we come to know that they spent a major portion of their money on medical treatment of their sister, Lucia who was suffering from tuberculosis of the spine. The entire picture of the hospital and the information given by the nurse reveal the truth that they looked after their sister willingly. They paid hospital dues regularly without being a defaulter. They visited their sister at Poleta every Sunday. They covered the distance of 30 kilometres from Verona to Poleta on hired bicycles. They did not do all this under any compulsion or obligation. They loved their sister and cared for her. This emotional bond of love and mutual trust furnished them with a spirit of sacrifice and dedication to their noble cause. Thus, they looked after Lucia willingly.

(c) The story Two Gentlemen of Verona has been written in the background of post-war time. Second world war was over. The Germans destroyed towns and cities along with a general massacre. The furies of war dried up all springs of human love, kindness and faith. But in . this story, we find that flame of human love and sacrifice is kept burning by two boys whose lives were darkened by the blackout of war. They lost their father, their house and their happiness. But it is evident that war tortured them not only physically but their interior, ’ their heart and spirit ^lso did not remain untouched by evils of war.

Furies of war make men selfish, cruel, inconsiderate and inhuman. But here we see the two boys working hard to earn money, not for themselves but for their sick sister. They sacrificed their personal comforts. They wore old clothes and ate black bread and figs just to keep them alive and fit for more hard work. Their sole concern was to earn as much money as they could. They willingly and readily picked up every job which came their way. They did it, not out of greed but to save their only sister, Lucia from the jaws of fatal tuberculosis. They spent a major portion of their money to pay off hospital dues and to keep their sister well fed and well clad.

Undoubtedly, the character of Nicola and Jacopo set an example of noble humanity before the materialistic world of today. The story promises hope for the modern society.