the two gentlemen of verona shifali.ppt

8/14/2019 The Two Gentlemen of Verona SHIFALI.ppt

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The TwoGentlemen ofVerona

By A.J CRONINSUBMITTED BY

SHIFALI CLASS 10FROST


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About The Writer:

He was a doctor by training. He practicedmedicine in Wales and in London. It waswhile recovering from a breakdown in

health that he wrote his first novel Hatter s

Castle. It was a huge success. Hence, heleft practicing medicine n chose writing as

a career..


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About The Writer:About The Writer Archibald JosephCronin (19 July 1896 6 January 1981) wasa Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The StarsLook Down, The Citadel, The Keys of theKingdom and The Green Years, all of whichwere adapted to film. He also created the Dr.

Finlay character, the hero of a series ofstories that served as the basis for thepopular BBC television and radio seriesentitled Dr. Finlay's Casebook.


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The Story. Two Gentlemen Of Veronais set in a town Verona located in thefoothills of Alps in the north of Italy. Verona

a place of immense beauty and thebirthplace of Shakespeare s play Romeoand Juliet is famous for it s medievalarchitecture and Juliet s tomb. The storyrecounts the hard life chosen by two youngboys so that they could pay for thetreatment of their sister afflicted withtuberculosis.


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The story begins in an ironical manner, as the narrator drivesthrough the foothills of the Alps; his interest is provoked bythe appearance of two little boys in front of their car on theoutskirts of a florid, pretty and eye-catching city Verona.Those two boys were selling wild strawberries. Thenarrators driver Luigi cautiously warned the narratornot to buy them, as they would get better fruit inside thetown. Even He shrugged his shoulders to convey hisdisapproval of their shabby and untidy demeanour andhe ostracized them. Still, their appearance seemedinevitable to the narrator.:The narrator s driver Luigi cautiously warned the narrator

not to buy them, as they would get better fruit inside thetown. Even He shrugged his shoulders to convey hisdisapproval of their shabby and untidy demeanour and heostracized them. Still, their appearance seemed inevitable tothe narrator.


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One boy had on a worn anddisgraceful jersey and cut-offkhaki pants; the other acondense, sleeve-less armytunic gathered in loose foldsabout his skinny-lean frame.The narrator gazed at thosetwo little figures. They hadbrown skins (tanned due toexposure to the sun), tangledhair and dark earnest eyes.The narrator and his friendsfelt themselves strangelyattracted towards them.Maybe, it was their strangeappearance or the willingnessto work in their eyes whichattracted them.


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One of the narrator s companions spoke to thoseboys, and he discovered that they were brothers.Nicola, the elder, was 13; Jacopo, who barelycame up to the handle of the door of the car, was

nearly 12. The boys politeness and franknessinsisted the narrator to buy their biggest basket,and alas! They continued their errand towardsVerona. Next morning, coming out of a hotel, thenarrator and his companions saw the boys bent

over shoeshine boxes, beside the fountain in thepublic square. They were doing a brisk and hard job; so early in the morning.


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The narrator and his friends noticed the boys for awhile then as their interest slackened, they wentover to meet them. Jacopo and Nicola greetedthem with friendly and admiring faces, maybe

because the narrator bought their biggest basket.The narrator pleased with their smile, asked themthat he thought they sold fruits for a living.Determinately, in a serious tone Nicola said Wedo many things , sir. He glanced at the narrator in

hope of getting another brisk job; We often showvisitors through the town.to Juliet s tomb..andother places of interest .


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The narrator smiled with grace and said All right.. You takeus along with you. While the boys were showcasing theswash-buckling and beautiful places around the town, thenarrator s interest was again provoked by the shine in theeyes of the boys as well as their remarkable appearance.Both the boys were quite childish, but still an immenseseriousness far beyond their aged; was reflected on theirguileless and innocent faces. Jacopo was as lively as asquirrel, he was a happy-go-lucky child and always spokemuch in excitement. Nicola s smile was steady andengaging, he had a proper sense of his responsibilities asbeing the senior and he seemed the perfect brother,supporting and pampering his younger brother to no extent.


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As the week went on, the narrator metthem frequently, and nevertheless theboys proved very useful to him. Thenarrator relied on them whenever heneeded any article or suggestion; be ita pack of American cigarettes, seats

for the opera or the name of any goodrestaurant.. Jacopo and Nicolafulfilled their every need.


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The narrator was drum struck by theirwillingness to work. During thosesummer days, under the hot sun, theyshined shoes, sold fruit, hawkednewspapers, conducted tourists roundthe town, and ran errands.


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One night, the narrator and his friends came uponthe two boys in the windy, miserable and desertedsquare. Jacopo and Nicola were resting on thestone pavement beneath the light. Nicola wassitting upright, exhausted and tired. Jacopo's headlaid upon his brother's shoulder, he was asleep. Itwas very dark almost midnight. A bundle of unsoldnewspapers lay at Nicola's feet. On asking Nicola,the narrator figured out that the were waiting forthe last bus from Padua, as they wanted to sell

their unsold newspapers when it came. Amazedand pretty flabbergasted; the narrator asked them"Must you work so hard? You both look quiteexhausted. In a feeble, soft voice, Nicoladefending himself said "We aren't complaining sir".


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The next morning, the narrator went over the fountain to gethis shoes shined, he asked the boys with a sense ofcuriousness "Nicola, the way you and Jacopo work, youmust earn quite a bit;(taking a glance over their clothes) hesaid, you don't spend anything on your apparels and you eatlittle enough--usually black bread and figs...then tell me whatdo you do with your money?" Nicola embarrassinglycoloured under his sunburn, then grew pale. Trying to besecretive, he started looking at the ground. In a comicalmanner the narrator asked "You must be saving the moneyto emigrate to America?".Nicola finally spoke up with efforts,that he would like to go to America, but at present he andJacopo, had other plans. Determinately, the narrator asked"what plans?"


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In a low voice, smiling miserably, Nicola said "Justplans sir". The narrator, not wanting to intrude intheir personal lives , decided to leave that topicand told the boys that he and his friends were

leaving on the forthcoming Monday, and askedwhether he could do anything for them beforegoing. Nicola meaningfully shook his head, butsuddenly, lost in his excitement, Jacopo poppedout. "Sir, every Sunday we make a visit to our

country (our village) Poleta, 30 kilometres fromVerona. Usually we hire bicycles. But tomorrowsince you are so kind, you mind send us in yourcar


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The narrator said "I have already givenLuige a day off, so I'll drive you out myselfNicola glared at his brother in vexation andanger, then shamefacedly said "Sir, we

couldn't think of troubling you". Thenarrator said, "It wont be any trouble".Nicola bit his lip, in a put-out tone heinsisted. The following afternoon theydrove to the tiny village set high upon thescenic hillside. The narrator had expectedtheir destinations to be some humble andtiny dwellings .


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" We shall not be long, sir. Perhaps only an hour.May be you'd like to go to the cafe in the village fora drink? said the two boys and they went insidethe villa. After a few minutes, the narratordesperately followed them. He found a grilled side-entrance and, determinedly, rang the bell.Seconds after, A pleasant-looking woman withsteel-rimmed spectacles, wearing a white dressappeared. The narrator blinked his eyes as hediscovered that she was a trained nurse. He asked

her I brought two little boys here. Ah! Yes..herface lift up and she pleasantly opened the door toadmit the narrator and told him that Jacopo andNicola were upstairs.


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The two boys were seated at the bedside of a lean, young girl ofabout twenty who , propped up on pillows, wearing a pretty lace

jacket, was listening to their chatter, her eyes soft and tender. Onecould see and recognize at a glance that she was the elder sister ofJacopo and Nicola . A vase of adorable wild flowers stood on hertable, beside a dish of fruit and several books . The boys seemedso happy n blissful spending time with their sister. Later, the nursetold that their sister s name was Lucia, Lucia was the noble causeof the boy s eminent hard work. The nurse asked the narrator topay a visit to Lucia, but the narrator neither wanted to intrude uponthis happy family; nor he wanted to let the boys know that theirsecret was now known to him so he shook his head and went backdownstairs . The nurse led the narrator through a cold, tiled andlong vestibule into a hospital, as the villa was now turned to a

hospital. At the door of a little cubicle, she gestured to the narratorby putting her finger on her lips, asking him to stay quiet and toldthe narrator to peek inside through the window.


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For months the children kept themselves alive in ashort of shelter that they had built with their ownhands amidst the rubbles. After winning the war,the Germans ruled the city for three years. The

boys started hating the Germans as they were theones responsible for their ruined lives. When theresistant movement started, they were among thefirst persons to join. When the war ended, andtheir was peace at last, they came back to their

beloved sister and found that starvation andextremely cold weather conditions led her to sufferfrom tuberculosis of the spine.


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The nursed paused for some seconds and took adeep breath, then she resumed with some efforts,Did they gave up?..no, I guess I don t need toanswer this question. She told that Jacopo andNicola brought their sister here, and persuadedthe nurse to admit her into the hospital. Lucia hadbeen in this hospital since a year, and she madegood progress as a patient. The nurse believedthat if her recovering goes well, she may standand sing again. That day would be the happiest

and best day in Jacopo and Nicola's lives.Happiness seemed so little and shattered in theirlives, they lost their parents, home and theirpresent family s head was ailing with tuberculosis.


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The nurse exclaimed, Food is soexpensive and scarce these days, Hence,she could not let Lucia s treatment go onwithout charging a fee. But, Jacopo and

Nicola were able to pay the fee everyweek. She didn t know what work they did,as it was hard to get some work in Verona,but she was sure that whatever work theydid, they did with keen interest and did itwell. The narrator having seen them workhard, agreed with her and said that theycouldn t do it any better.


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The narrator waited outside until the boys cameback and rejoined him, they then went back toVerona. The boys sat silently behind him, with acheer that they succeeded in securing the secret.Whereas, the narrator didn t say a word becausehe didn t want the children s smile to fade away.Still, the boys devotion and love for their sistertouched the narrator deeply. The war which broketheir home, still couldn t break their spirits. Theynever looked back at what they lost, they looked

forward to save what they still had with them. Theirselfless action brought a new nobility to human life,it gave a promise of a greater hope for a betterand worth-living human society. Happy Ending


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Justification of the title In the story TwoGentlemen of Verona, the two orphan boysJacopo and Nicola, work immensely andexhaustively , they shine shoes, sell newspapers

and run errands for the sake of the treatment oftheir sister. They showcase an unusual devotiontowards their work and family, they give anoutrageous example of love, care, emotion andnobility. Cronin shows us that one may polish

boots or sell newspapers, but it is the magnanimityof heart and the nobleness of purpose that actuallydetermines whether one is a true "gentleman".Hence, sarcastically the title is quite justified.


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THEME

This story tells us about d 2 brothers (NICOLA and JACOPO) whoexhibit signs of maturity coz for them life was a struggle or achallenge. one day when they were selling wild strawberries thenthey met d narrator in 1 or d other way...... they taught him dlesson of life . both d brothers were working so hard for therethere life and they were also working hard for there sister who wassuffering from tuberculosis (TB). both of them work for whole

weak and then finally on Sunday they go to d hospital 2 meet theresister. when they met there sis then there sis felt very good andafter d time when both of them went off then there sisterremembered something about her past that past she tries 2 put insome words.There past was :-they were not poor from d birth they were also living a healthy,happy and a prosperous life but after d war with German they lostthere parents, family and royalty......after this she told that they brothers work so hard, they do everypossible odd job for there sister so that they could earn moneyand get there sister rid of tuberculosis there jobs are selling ofnewspapers , wild strawberries , etc.......she also told that she isnot sad or upset from her life she thinks that she is the best sistercoz she has got so good or brilliant hard working brothers ir godin form of Nicola and Jacopo..


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MESSAGE

The story gives the message that in thisworld of theives & war, humanity is stillalive.The two boys Nicola & Jacopo, had so uch

self esteem and respect that they did notuse any wrong means to earn money orasked for anyones sympathy.they worked day in & out in order to collectmoney for their sister who suffered fromtuberculosis.the story has further to say about the pastof boys and their family.


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the two gentlemen of verona shifali.ppt

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