The Bishop’s candlesticks-1 Prepared by:- Pardeep Kaur (English mistress) Topic:-6 Class:-9th Subject:-English G.S.S.S Chakkar Ludhiana

The Bishop’s candlesticks-1

The Bishop’s candlesticks-1 Persome: Marie, isn' t the soup boiling yet ? Marie: Not yet, madam. Persome: Well, it ought to be. You haven't tended the fire properly, child. Marie: But, madam, you yourself made the fire up. Persome: Don't answer me back like that. It is rude. Marie: Yes, madam. Persome: Then don't let me have to rebuke you again. Marie: No, madam. Persome: I wonder where my brother can be. (Looking at the clock.) It is after eleven o'clock and no sign of him. Marie!

Passage 2 Persome : Brother , I have no patience with you. There , sit down and take your soup, it has been waiting ever so long. And if it is spoilt, it serves you right. Bishop : it smells delicious. Persome: I’m sure Marie’s mother is not so ill that you7 need have stayed out on such a night as this. I believe those people pretend to be ill just to have the Bishop call on them. They have no thought of the Bishop.

The Bishop is a very noble person, who is always ready to help anyone in distress. The doors of his house are always open.

But his sister Persome is materialistic But his sister Persome is materialistic. She feels that the simplicity and nobility of the bishop is misused by the people.

He is often cheated and taken undue advantage of He is often cheated and taken undue advantage of. Mere Gringoire, the old women who lives on the top of the hill and does no work made such a fool of the bishop by making him sell his silver salt cellars to pay her rent

One day, past midnight a convict enters the bishop’s house and asks for food at the point of a knife. The convict is rude, hard hearted, rough and suspicious and full of fear. The bishop treats him with kindness and provides him food and shelter.

The convict is tempted to steal the bishops silver candlesticks The convict is tempted to steal the bishops silver candlesticks. But he gets caught and is arrested and brought before the bishop. This candlestick was very dear to the bishop as it was the parting gift presented to him by his mother. But the bishop called the convict his friend. Later he gives the candlesticks to the convict, blesses him and tells him a secret way to Paris. The convict is deeply touched and filled with remorse.

The bishop succeeds in reforming the hardened convict and tells him that the human heart is the abode of God.

Exercise

Question (1): Who are Marie and Persome Question (1): Who are Marie and Persome? Answer: Marie is a young girl who comes to help in the housework. Persome is the Bishop's sister. Question (2): Where had the Bishop gone? Why was he late for supper? Answer: The Bishop had gone to Marie's house to look up her mother as she was unwell.

Question (3): What had happened to the salt cellars Question (3): What had happened to the salt cellars? Answer: Mere Gringoire was an old lady who was unable to pay the house rent. The Bishop asked Marie to sell the salt cellar for him. He used the money to pay off the poor woman's house rent. Question (4): What did the convict first ask for? Answer: He asked for some food.

Question (5): What does the convict tell him about his life before imprisonment? Answer: He had a cottage with vines growing. He had a wife but she was ill. They had a bad year and there was no food to eat. He had to steal some food for her. Question (6): What treatment did the convict receive in prison? Answer: The convict received inhuman treatment. They whipped him, fed him with unhealthy food, made him sleep on cold hard boards.

Question (7): What happened to him after his escape from jail Question (7): What happened to him after his escape from jail? Answer: The wardens were looking for him. He had nowhere to go, no food to eat. He even had to steal the clothes that he was wearing.

Question (8): How does the Bishop and Persome react when they learn that the candlesticks are stolen? Answer: Persome reacts violently. She shouts and is very upset. The Bishop is also upset but he blames himself for exposing the convict to the temptation. Question (9): What does the Bishop tell the sergeant? Answer: The sergeant sees the convict moving stealthily and arrests him. He brings the convict along with the stolen candlesticks to the Bishop's house. But the Bishop tells him that the convict is his friend and the silver candlesticks were a gift from him.

Question (10): What significant role did the Bishop's Candlesticks play? Answer: The candle sticks were a dying gift from the Bishop's mother. They reminded him of her. But when the convict received them as a gift, they become symbols of hope and life. The convict would now believe in the goodness of life and lead a steady life

Short Type Questions Name the play and the writer. What was Persome to the bishop? Who had made the fire up? What was Persome worried about? Why is Persome angry with her brother? How does the Bishop try to please Persome? What is Persome’s grudge against the people? What is Persome’s Suspicion about Marie’s mother?

Answers The name of the play is ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’. The name of the writer is Norman Mckinnel. Persome was the Bishop’s sister. It was Persome who had made the fire up. The Bishop had not returned home so far. It was already 11o’clock in the night. This worried Persome. She is angry with her brother because he is late in coming back home. The Bishop tries to please her by praising the soup. Persome feels that people have no thought of the Bishop’s health. Her suspicion is that Marie’s mother is not so ill.

Long Type Questions Q-1. What did the convict want? Ans- The convict said that he had eaten nothing for three days. He was starving. He asked the Bishop to give him food to eat. Q-2.Why did the convict become a thief ? Ans- The convict was out of job. His wife was ill. She was dying. He had no food to give her. So he had to steal to buy food for his wife.

Q-3. Write a short note on Bishop. Ans- The Bishop is a very kind-hearted person. He goes out in the cold night to attend on the sick mother of his maid. He sells his silver salt-cellars to pay the rent for a poor old woman. The Bishop is also very forgiving. The convict runs away with his candlesticks. Even then the Bishop saves him from the sergeant. Q-4. Who had given the candlesticks to the Bishop? Ans- The Bishop’s mother had given him the candlesticks as a gift.

Q-5. Write a short note on Persome’s behavior. Ans- Persome is the Bishop’s sister. From her conversation with Marie she appears to be a short-tempered, selfish and abusive woman. She loves her brother very deeply. All her wrongs are born out of her love for the Bishop . Nowhere in the play does Persome show that she is selfish for her own sake. .

Q-6 write a short note on the changing of the convict from a wild beast to a man. Ans- The convict threatens to kill the Bishop. But the Bishop gives him food to eat and a comfortable bed to sleep on. The convict slips away with Bishop’s candlesticks. A police sergeant catches him and brings him to the Bishop. But the Bishop says that he himself has given him the candlesticks. This kindness of the Bishop touches the convict’s heart. He is now changed completely

Bibilography www.archive.org/stream/bishopscandlesti00mckiiala/bishopscandlesti00mckiiala_djvu.txt (for more detail visit this link) www.googleimages.com 9th class P.S.E.B reader book.

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