Very Short Questions

Question 1 : How many peach trees stood in the garden of the Giant?

Answer : There were twelve peach trees in the Giant’s garden.

Question 2 : Where had the Giant gone?

Answer : The Giant had gone to his friend’s place for seven years.

Question 3 : Which effect did the songs of the birds have on the children?

Answer : The children used to get spellbound by the songs that the birds sang. They would stop playing to listen to the birds singing.

Question 4 : Where did the children paly after the Giant pushed them out of his garden?

Answer : On being pushed out of the garden, the children tried to play on the road. It was, however, difficult to play on the road because the road was dusty and had hard stones.

Question 5 : Choose the odd one out : 
Snow, Hail, Winter, Summer, Frost.

Answer : Summer

Question 6 : How many seasons passed before the spring came in the Giant’s garden?

Answer : After winter, the summer and the autumn also went by before spring came to the Giant’s garden.

Question 7 : What did the children say when the Giant questioned them about the little boy?

Answer : On being questioned about the little boy , the children told the Giant  that they didn’t know where the little boy lived, nor had they seen him before.

Question 8 : Why did the Giant get red with anger on seeing the little boy?

Answer : Years later when the Giant saw the little boy, he rushed to meet to him. His joy, however, turned to anger when he saw the little boy wounded.

Question 9 : Who did the Giant credit to the source of the sweet music?

Answer : After a very long time, when sweet music reached the Giant’s ears, he thought that the king’s musicians must have been passing by.

Question 10 : Where did the music come from?

Answer : The music was not produced by the king’s musicians but it was a linnet singing. The spring had finally come to the Giant’s garden and with it sweet music.

Short Questions

Question 1 : Why did the Giant knock down the wall that he himself had built?

Answer : The Giant knocked down the wall when he realised that he was being selfish. He realised that the change in seasons rendered no change in his garden because of his attitude.

He understood that he was deprived of the joy of spring because the real source of joy was to be found in the children.

Question 2 : Why did the Giant not allow the children to his garden?

Answer : The Giant was a selfish Giant. He believed that his garden belonged only to him and should be used only by him. For this reason, he banned the entry of children from his garden and put up a notice board stating, “Trespassers will be prosecuted.”

Question 3 : What were the differences between the Giant’s garden and the other gardens during the spring season?

Answer : During spring, the trees in all other gardens were filled with golden fruits except for the Gaint’s garden.

All other gardens had little blossoms and little birds. The Giant’s garden had none. The Giant’s garden was white and could during this time. Winter and snow became the permanent residents in his garden.

Question 4 : Why was the Giant sad , despite spring having had come to his garden?

Answer : The Giant was sad because he missed his dear little friend, the little boy whom he had climb the tree.

He asked the other children to tell the little boy to come and play in his garden. The children, however, informed him that they didn’t know the boy nor they know where he lived.

Question 5 : Describe the Giant during his old age.

Answer : Many years had passed and the Giant grew old. He had become very weak and feeble. He could no longer play with the children who came to play in his garden.

He could merely see them playing while sitting on a huge arm chair and admire the beauty of the children and his garden.

Question 6 : Why was the Giant filled with a ‘strange awe’ on meeting the little boy?

Answer : When the Giant meets the little boy for the second time, he was filled with a strange sense of awe because the little boy revealed himself be the Christ.

On seeing Christ stand before him and having come to take him to Paradise, the Giant was overwhelmed with strange emotions.

Long Questions

Question 1 : The line, “My own garden is my own garden” gets transformed in the course of the story. Explain why?

Answer : The line, “My own garden is my own garden” gets transformed into “It is your garden now, dear children.” The Giant kept waiting for the spring to come. The spring, however, comes only when the children come back.

The Giant is quick to realise that the real flowers to be found in the trees are the children.

Therefore, through these lines the Giant welcomes back the children into his garden.

Question 2 : What were the reasons behind the changes that were seen in the Giant?

Answer : The Giant was able to see that the spring had reached every other garden except his . He however, failed to understand why spring was getting so late in reaching his garden.

In other gardens, the winter was replaced by spring, then summer and also autumn. In his garden winter had permanently resided.

Soon he saw that as soon as the children entered his garden, the spring came following too. He realised that the real beauty was to be found in children who played in his garden.

Question 3 : Discuss the theme of change in heart as illustrated through the story?

Answer : The story puts a lot of emphasis on the theme of change in heart as illustrated through the central protagonist, the Giant.

The Giant, though hefty and strong, had almost been rendered incapable of receiving any joy because he was a selfish Giant.

The moment he changes his attitude and becomes more sensitive, he experiences the utmost bliss of nature.

His change in heart facilitates him to receive many rewards: a beautiful garden, the joy that the children spread and the mercy of Christ himself.

Question 4 : Explain the line, “but these are the wounds of love.”

Answer : The little boy utters these line, “but these are the wounds of love”, when the Giant sees him wounded with the prints of nails on his hand and feet. Through these lines the little boy reveals himself to be the Christ Himself. He calls these wounds the “wounds of love”, because He choose to die and sacrifice his life for the sake of His love for man and mankind. These wounds were Christ’s love and ultimate sacrifice for humanity.

Value Based Questions

Question 1 : What does the arrival of the little boy for the second time indicate?

Answer : The little boy informs the Giant that he had come to take the Giant to his garden, which is Paradise. The little boy is emblematic of Christ and His love and mercy.

The Christ comes to deliver the Giant from life and take him into the lap of Love. The Giant had cast away his selfishness; therefore, the Christ himself comes for the Giant’s  deliverance. The coming of the Christ in the form of the little boy also emphasises the importance of forgiveness.

Question 2 : Which value does the chapter strongly condemn?

Answer : The chapter strongly condemns the idea of being ‘selfish’. Till the point the Giant was selfish, he fails to enjoy the gifts of nature and God. Despite having a big garden, the garden remained barren. The moment he realised his mistakes the Giant’s garden began to bloom. The chapter critiques a man considering himself as the supreme ruler of the benefits of nature.