Class 8 English Notes Chapter 3 (The Selfish Giant) – It so Happend Book

Alright class, let's focus on Chapter 3 of your 'It So Happened' book, "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde. This is a beautiful allegorical tale with important themes, often relevant for comprehension sections in various exams. Pay close attention to the details, character arc, and symbolism.

Chapter 3: The Selfish Giant - Detailed Notes

1. Introduction:

• Author: Oscar Wilde (an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet).
• Genre: Fairy Tale / Allegory (a story with a hidden moral or political meaning).
• Central Idea: The story illustrates the negative consequences of selfishness and the redeeming power of love, compassion, and sharing.

2. Summary of the Plot:

• The Giant's Garden: The story begins with a description of a large, lovely garden owned by a Giant. Every afternoon, after school, children used to play in this garden.
• The Giant's Return: The Giant had been away for seven years, visiting his friend, the Cornish ogre. Upon his return, he finds children playing in his garden.
• Selfishness Manifested: Angered by their presence, the Giant shouts at them in his gruff voice, chases them away, and builds a high wall around his garden. He puts up a notice board: "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED." He declares, "My own garden is my own garden... and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself."
• Perpetual Winter: Spring arrives everywhere else, but not in the Selfish Giant's garden. The birds didn't sing as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Only Snow and Frost are pleased, covering the garden in white. They invite the North Wind (who roared all day) and Hail (who rattled on the roof for hours) to stay. Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden, she gave none, saying, "He is too selfish." So, it was always Winter there.
• The Giant's Longing: The Giant sits at his window, feeling sad and wondering why Spring is so late. He doesn't understand that his selfishness is the cause.
• The Return of Spring (and Children): One morning, the Giant hears lovely music – a linnet singing. He looks out and sees a wonderful sight. The children had crept in through a little hole in the wall. Wherever a child sat, the trees had blossomed, birds were flying about and twittering, and flowers looked up through the green grass. Spring had returned with the children.
• The Corner of Winter: However, in the farthest corner of the garden, it was still Winter. A little boy stood there, crying bitterly because he was too small to reach up to the branches of the tree. The tree was still covered with frost and snow.
• The Giant's Transformation: Seeing this melts the Giant's heart. He realizes how selfish he has been. He says, "Now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever."
• Act of Kindness: The Giant goes out quietly, puts the little boy gently up into the tree. The tree immediately breaks into blossom, and the birds come and sing on it. The little boy stretches out his arms, flings them around the Giant's neck, and kisses him.
• The Wall Comes Down: Seeing the Giant is not wicked anymore, the other children come running back. The Giant takes a great axe and knocks down the wall.
• Years Pass: The Giant plays with the children every afternoon. But the little boy whom the Giant loved is never seen again. The Giant grows old and feeble.
• The Final Vision: One winter morning, the Giant looks out and sees a marvellous sight in the far corner – the tree covered with lovely white blossoms, its branches golden, silver fruit hanging down, and underneath it stands the little boy he loved.
• The Wounds of Love: Overjoyed, the Giant runs to the boy. He notices prints of nails on the little boy's palms and feet (stigmata, symbols associated with Jesus Christ's crucifixion). Angrily, the Giant asks who dared to wound the child.
• Invitation to Paradise: The little boy smiles and replies, "These are the wounds of Love." He explains that since the Giant let him play once in his garden, he has come to take the Giant to his garden, which is Paradise.
• The Giant's Death: That afternoon, when the children run in to play, they find the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.

3. Character Analysis:

• The Giant:
  • Initial State: Selfish, possessive, gruff, isolated. His actions directly impact his surroundings, bringing perpetual winter.
  • Transformation: Triggered by the sight of the suffering little boy and the realization of his own selfishness. His heart "melts."
  • Later State: Kind, loving, generous, finds joy in sharing his garden. He longs for the little boy.
  • Redemption: His change of heart and subsequent kindness lead to his ultimate acceptance into Paradise.
• The Children: Represent innocence, joy, life, and the spirit of Spring. Their presence brings happiness and vitality.
• The Little Boy: A symbolic figure, often interpreted as Christ or an angel. He represents divine love, forgiveness, and sacrifice (indicated by the wounds). He is the catalyst for the Giant's deepest transformation and salvation.

4. Themes:

• Selfishness vs. Generosity: The core theme. Selfishness leads to isolation, coldness, and barrenness (literal winter). Generosity leads to warmth, life, joy (Spring), and ultimately, salvation.
• Love and Compassion: The Giant's change is driven by compassion. The little boy embodies pure love. Love has the power to melt the hardest hearts and bring about redemption.
• Redemption and Forgiveness: The Giant atones for his past selfishness through his kindness. He is forgiven and granted entry into Paradise.
• Nature and Human Emotion: The state of the garden directly mirrors the Giant's inner state. Nature (Spring, Winter, trees, birds) is personified and reacts to human actions and feelings.
• Innocence: The children, especially the little boy, represent purity and innocence, which have a powerful, transformative effect on the Giant.

5. Symbolism:

• The Garden: Represents the Giant's heart/soul. Also, a potential paradise on Earth.
• The Wall: Symbolizes selfishness, exclusion, isolation, and barriers between people.
• Winter: Represents coldness, death, barrenness, the consequence of selfishness.
• Spring: Represents life, joy, renewal, warmth, the result of love and sharing.
• The Little Boy: Represents Christ, divine love, innocence, forgiveness.
• The Wounds (Stigmata): Symbolize sacrifice, suffering endured for love, and divine identity.
• The Tree: Represents life, growth. The specific tree in the corner becomes a connection point between the Giant and the divine, ultimately resembling the Tree of Life or the cross.

6. Key Vocabulary:

• Ogre: A man-eating giant (in folklore).
• Trespassers: People who enter someone's land or property without permission.
• Prosecuted: To face legal action.
• Gruff: Rough and low in pitch (voice); stern.
• Cloaked: Covered.
• Ceased: Stopped.
• Linnet: A small songbird.
• Crept: Moved slowly and carefully, usually to avoid being noticed.
• Feeble: Lacking physical strength, weak.
• Marvellous: Causing wonder; extraordinary.
• Slain: Killed violently.
• Paradise: Heaven; a place of perfect happiness.

This story teaches a profound lesson about the importance of opening our hearts and sharing what we have. Remember the connection between the Giant's actions and the state of his garden – it's central to understanding the allegory.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs):

Here are 10 questions to test your understanding of 'The Selfish Giant'.

1. For how many years was the Giant away visiting the Cornish ogre?
   a) Five years
   b) Seven years
   c) Ten years
   d) One year

2. What sign did the Giant put up after building the wall?
   a) KEEP OUT
   b) PRIVATE PROPERTY
   c) BEWARE OF GIANT
   d) TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED

3. Which season refused to visit the Giant's garden because he was selfish?
   a) Winter
   b) Spring
   c) Summer
   d) Autumn

4. Who were the only ones pleased to be in the Giant's garden during the long winter?
   a) The children and the birds
   b) The Snow and the Frost
   c) The Giant and the Ogre
   d) The flowers and the trees

5. What sound made the Giant realize Spring might have come at last?
   a) Children laughing
   b) The North Wind stopping
   c) A linnet singing
   d) Hail stopping

6. Why couldn't the little boy climb the tree in the corner?
   a) The tree didn't want him to.
   b) He was afraid of the Giant.
   c) He was too small to reach the branches.
   d) The other children stopped him.

7. What was the first kind act the Giant performed after his change of heart?
   a) He knocked down the wall.
   b) He invited the children back.
   c) He put the little boy up into the tree.
   d) He apologized to the children.

8. What did the Giant see on the little boy's palms and feet when he met him the final time?
   a) Mud stains
   b) Scars from climbing
   c) Prints of nails
   d) Flower petals

9. The little boy told the Giant that the marks on his hands and feet were:
   a) Wounds of hate
   b) Wounds of play
   c) Wounds of falling
   d) Wounds of Love

10. Where did the little boy invite the Giant to come?
    a) To his house
    b) To another garden
    c) To his garden, Paradise
    d) To visit the Cornish Ogre

Answer Key:

1. b) Seven years
2. d) TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
3. b) Spring (also Summer and Autumn didn't visit)
4. b) The Snow and the Frost (along with North Wind and Hail)
5. c) A linnet singing
6. c) He was too small to reach the branches.
7. c) He put the little boy up into the tree.
8. c) Prints of nails
9. d) Wounds of Love
10. c) To his garden, Paradise

Study these notes carefully. Understanding the symbolism and the Giant's transformation is crucial. Good luck with your preparation!