THE DEVOTED FRIEND
BY: OSCAR WILDE
1. “The Devoted Friend” is written by:
● James Thurber ● Oscar Wilde ● Liaquat Ali Khan ● Frank Arthur
2. Oscar Wilde was born in the year:
● 1854 ● 1853 ● 1867 ● 1851
3. Oscar Wilde died in the year:
● 1954 ● 1800 ● 1900 ● 1905
4. Oscar Wilde was born in:
● Edinburg ● Yorkshire ● Dublin ● Ireland
5. “The Devoted Friend” is more than an exquisitely told little fairy:
● fiction ● novel ● poem ● tale
6. “The Devoted Friend” shows comically _______ friendship.
● many sided ● three sided ● one sided ● two sided
7. The story of Hans and Miller is narrated by _______ to:
● duck, the linnet ● linnet, water-rat ● Hans, The Miller ● water-rat, duck
8. Everybody went to the little Hans’ funeral, as he was so popular and the chief mourner was.
● Blacksmith ● the miller ● the Miller’s son ● water-rat
9. Oscar Wilde was a strong supporter of the doctrine of: art of art’s sake
10. “You are certainly very thoughtful about others, very thoughtful indeed.” This sentence is spoken by: The Miller’s wife
11. “How well you talk. Really I feel quite drowsy. It is just like being in Church”. The speaker is: The Miller’s Wife
12. “The Devoted Friend” is a story of: one-sided friendship
13. The Miller refused to give Hans his: Wheel-barrow
14. According to the Miller, real friends should have everything in: common
15. Every good story teller nowadays starts with the end, and goes on to the beginning and concluded with the: middle
MCQS OF BOARD PAPERS:
Oscar Wilde was a strong supporter of the doctrine of: art of art’s
“You are certainly very thoughtful about others, very thoughtful indeed.” This sentence is spoken by: The Miller’s
“How well you talk. Really, I feel quite drowsy. It is just like being in Church”. The speaker is: The Miller’s Wife
“The Devoted Friend” is based upon comically one-sided:
“The Devoted Friend” is a story of: one-sided
One-sided friendship is the theme of: The Devoted Friend
The Miller refused to give Hans his: Wheelbarrow.
According to the Miller, real friends should have everything in:
Every good storyteller nowadays starts with the end, and goes on to the beginning and concluded with the:
The story of the devoted friend was told by: Green Linnet
SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS:
Q: 01. Briefly explain why the story of Hans and the Miller was applicable to the Water-rat.
Ans: The story of Hans and the Miller was applicable to the Water-rat because water rat was extremely selfish like the Miller. The Miller expected devotion from Hans but never paid him in the same coin. Water Rat told the Linnet that he expected his friend to be devoted to him alone. It means that just as the Miller used little Hans to his own advantage, the water rat wanted to use his friend for himself alone. Thus the story of the Miller and Hans was applicable to the water rat.
Q: 02. When do we first suspect that the Miller was not really a very good friend to Hans?
Ans: When we read that the neighbours think that the rich Miller never gave little Hans anything while he took as much of flowers from Hans’s garden. We first suspect that the Miller was not really a very good friend to Hans.
Q: 03. How did the Miller justify his not asking Hans to share some of his good things during the winter? (Sc-2017) OR
Q: What justification did the Miller give for not visiting Hans in winter? (2016-Com)
Ans: The Miller justified his not asking Hans to share some of his good things during the winter because then others would have thought him to be very foolish to let others use his things. Moreover, in his opinion, the plenty and warmth of his house in cold weather could made Little Hans envious of his life style and he never wanted little Hans to suffer by any inferiority-complex or not to motivate him to be envied.
Q: 04. How did the Miller’s wife reveal that she too was ready to exploit the generosity of Hans?
Ans: The Miller’s wife revealed that she too was ready to exploit the generosity of little Hans when she handed over a quite big basket to Miller and asked him to get it filled with the flowers from Hans’s garden.
Q: 05. How did the Miller persuade Hans to carry the large sack of flour to market?
Ans: The Miller persuaded Hans to carry the large sack of flour to market by saying that he was going to give his broken Wheelbarrow to Hans. So, he must do what Miller has asked and refusing it will be quite unfriendly oh his account.
Q: 06. How did the Miller justify his rebuke to Hans for staying in bed a little later than usual after his tiring expedition to the market?
Ans: The Miller justified his rebuke to Hans for staying in bed a little later than usual after his tiring expedition to the market by saying that idleness is a great sin and he did not like any of his friends to be idle or sluggish. He told the Little Hans to not to mind his plainly speaking because he was a good friend and supposed to say unpleasant things rather flattering by speaking pleasant words.
Q: 07. Why was Hans unable to look after his garden? (2016-Sc, 2016-Com) OR
Q: Why was Hans unable to look after his garden? What promise was the Miller constantly holding out before him?
Ans: Little Hans was simple and innocent and The Miller was a clever and selfish person. The friendship of Miller was certainly much costly to poor Hans. Clever Miller had disturbed his daily routine badly and he was unable to look after his garden properly. Every now and then Miller was coming around and sending him off on long errands or assigning him some private jobs. The Miller was constantly holding out the promise of giving his useless wheelbarrow before poor Hans.
Q: 08. What was the supreme manifestation of the Miller’s selfishness which caused Hans to lose his life? OR
Q: Which act of selfishness of the miller caused Hans to lose his life? (2012-Com-Reg, 2011-Com-pvt, 2010-Com-Pvt)
Ans: The Miller’s greatest indication of selfishness was to not to give his lantern to Hans when it was too dark, stormy, raining cats and dogs and way dangerous to go out to fetch a doctor. Miller’s son had fallen off a ladder and had hurt himself and he wanted Hans to go to the doctor. He refused to lend his lantern by saying that it was his new lantern and he couldn’t afford anything happening to it and causing his friendship ruined for little thing. Hans on his way back, fell into a ditch, drowned and lost his life as the result of Miller’s selfishness.
Q: 09. Comment briefly on the Miller’s claim to have been Hans’s best friend.
Ans: In fact the Miller was Hans’s most selfish friend or a fair-weather friend as he kept getting service from Hans all the time but didn’t do anything for Hans. The Miller and Hans were friends but it was a one-sided friendship. He exploited the innocence and devotedness of poor Hans in a nut shell, one can conclude that Miller’s claim to have been Hans’s best friend was a lie and false.
Q: 10. Compare the characters of the Miller and Little Hans. OR
Q: Make a comparison between the characters of the Miller and Hans. (2014-Com-pvt)
Ans: The Miller was extremely selfish person who believed in getting help from friends without helping them at all. He had a good theory of friendship but he never acted upon what he said. He often used to say that a friend should serve his friend and by saying this, he got a lot of work from Hans without ever working for him. He made false promises of giving his wheelbarrow to Hans which he never gave. On Little Hans’s death he wept outwardly shedding crocodile tears.
Little Hans on the other hand was not selfish at all and he served his friends without any interest. He didn’t talk about friendship and served his friends silently. Little Hans always spoke the truth and kept his promises. He even gave his life while brining the doctor to the Miller for his son. In fact, Hans was much too simple and honest as compared to the Miller.
Q: 11. The Devoted Friend is a story of one-sided friendship. Discuss. OR
Q: The Miller was a fair-weather friend. Discuss OR
Q: Who is the fair weather friend Hans or Miller? State with reasons. (2013-Com-Reg) OR
Q: Why do we say that Hugh the Miller is a selfish friend to little Hans? (2013-Com-pvt) OR
Q: Do you agree that the Miller was a fair-weather friend? (2010-Com)
Ans: This story has been told by a song bird (Linnet) to water rat and a duck. The water rat was very selfish and friendship wasn’t a matter of give and take for him but only to take and to keep taking. So the Miller was just like the water rat. This story tells us about one-sided friendship in which Hans was the real devoted friend and Miller though claimed to be best friend, was a selfish and fair-weather friend. He believed that a friend should get all the help without giving any help to others.
Q: 12. How does Hugh, the Miller, deceive little Hans in the lesson “Devoted Friend”? (2015-Sc) OR
Q: How does the Miller deceive Little Hans? (2014-Sc)
Ans: The Miller was a fair-weather friend as he always turned up in good times (Spring) to collect a basket-full flowers from the garden of Hans, sometimes to keep him busy in his own work and to take away his things for his own purposes. He used to claim that he is the best friend of Hans and it is the duty of Hans to share everything with him. On the other hand he never visited Hans in bad times when Hans had no money or flowers that he could sale and buy his bread and butter.
Q: Give a sketch of Hans, the gardener? (2011-Com-pvt)
Ans: Little Hans was a selfless and devoted friend who served his friends without any interest. He didn’t talk about friendship and served others silently. Little Hans always spoke the truth and kept his promises. He even gave his life while bringing the doctor to the miller’s son. In fact, Hans was much too simple and honest as compared to the Miller.