Chapter 9 The Great Stone Face - II Important Questions Class 8 Honeydew English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What did the poet himself say about his thoughts and poems?
Answer
The poet confessed that he was not worthy to be compared with the Stone Face. His actions did not match with his thoughts.
Question 2. What did Ernest address to the people of valley?
Answer
Ernest threw a look of familiar kindness around his audience. He spoke all his thoughts and people agreed. That was not preacher voice, these were the words of life. He melted out the heart of people of valley.
Question 3. Did the poet go to meet Ernest? What did they do?
Answer
Yes, the poet went to meet Ernest. They both sat together and Ernest tried to find great stone face in poet.
Question 4. Write the physical appearance of Ernest.
Answer
Ernest had white hairs on his head, wrinkle across his forehead and furrows in his cheeks. He was an old man, but more numerous than white hairs. He had wise thought in mind.
Question 5. What did Ernest think about prophecy?
Answer
Ernest finished his speech and took the poet in his arm and still thinking that some wiser and better man would appear, resembling to the Great Stone Face.
Question 6. According to Ernest, who was the man which resembles Great Stone Face?
Answer
According to Ernest, the poet whose poetry he read, seated on the bench before his cottage door arid he asked to mountain “Is not this man worthy to be your likeness?”
Question 7. What did the poet reply when he listened Ernest’s prophecy story?
Answer
He replied that, “to find in me the likeness of The Great Stone Face, I am not worthy to be its likeness”.
Question 8. Why did the poet want to meet Ernest?
Answer
The poet wanted to meet Ernest whose wisdom walked hand in hand with the noble simplicity of his life.
Question 9. Why were Ernest’s and poet’s eyes wet with tears?
Answer
The Ernest’s and poet’s eyes were in tears because the thought poet put in his book is entirely different from his real life. He had dream, but they have been only. So he burst into tears.
Question 10. Did the prophecy come true at the end of the lesson?
Answer
Yes, the prophecy came true at the end of the lesson. As all the people agree whatever poet had said and actually Ernest resembles the Great Stone Face.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Why did Ernest think the poet was like the Stone Face?
Answer
The poet wrote songs with lofty thoughts. The poetry of the poet found his way to Ernest also. Ernest used to read the poet’s poems and songs after his day’s work and found them worthy. When the poet came to meet Ernest, he looked wise, gently and kind. Even the Great Stone Face appeared bending forward to listen to his talk. For all these reasons, Ernest began to think that the poet was like the Great Stone Face.
Question 2. ‘Do you think a mountain can bring wisdom in a person? Give your opinion.
Answer
Ernest was in habit of observing the mountain since childhood. Once his mother told him that he could bring change in the lives of villagers. After he worked hard he contemplated by observing the mountain. The mountain reflects his mood whether it is happy or pensive. He gazed but all the thoughts were of his own. The mountain could inspire him yet wisdom was attained by himself. He attained popularity for his sage like quality.
Question 3. Who said that Ernest is himself the Great Stone Face and why?
Answer
The poet said that Ernest was himself the Great Stone Face because the thought he had wrote matched with the thought of Ernest. He saw the Great Stone Face covered with the white mist like Ernest’s face coloured with the white hair.
Question 4. What made the poet proclaim Ernest was the Stone Face?
Answer
The poet heard Ernest while he was talking to his audience. Ernest was speaking from the depth of his heart and mind. He felt that Ernest’s own life and characters were a nobler kind of poetry than he had ever written. The poet found great similarities between the misty white clouds around the Great Stone Face and the white hairs around the brow of Ernest. So, the poet declared that Ernest himself was the Stone Face.
Question 5. (i) Who, by common consent, turned out to be like the Great Stone Face?
(ii) Did Ernest believe-that the old prophecy had come true? What did he say about it?
Answer
(i) By common consent, Ernest turned out to he like the Great Stone Face.
(ii) No, Ernest did not believe that the old prophecy had come true. Even though everybody had agreed that he has the likeness of the Great Stone Face, he himself hoped that some wiser and better man than himself would appear, bearing a resemblance to the Great Stone Face.
Question 6. Why did the villagers have firm faith in prophesy?
Answer
The villagers had firm faith in the prophesy. They welcomed Gather Gold for his similarity. They lost faith in him, because he didn’t bring any change in the lives of the people. Then they cheered for general. Finally, they settled for Ernest. He was given faith by his mother that he could be the shape. It made the villagers optimistic and gave hope for the upliftment. Thus, we can’t accept it in a literary sense. But the hope it bestowed on village was beyond measures. Thus there is no harm in having such prophesy. It reflects the simplicity of the believers.
Question 7. How was Ernest different from others in the valley?
Answer
Ernest was well known among the people, as a good and simple hearted man. He was humble, hardworking and thoughtful man. He used to deliver thoughtful words from the depth of his heart. As he grew old, he had become a renowned personality beyond the valley.
Extract Based Questions
Extract 1
The years hurried on, and brought white hairs upon the head of Ernest, and made wrinkles across his forehead and furrows in his cheeks. He was an old man. But not in vain had he grown old; more numerous than the white hairs on his head were the wise thoughts in his mind. And Ernest had ceased to be obscure. Unsought for, undesired, had come the fame which so many seek. He had become famous beyond the limits of the valley.
College professors, and even the active men of cities, came from far to see and converse with Ernest, and he received them with gentle sincerity, and spoke freely with them of whatever came uppermost, or lay deepest in his heart or their own. While they talked together, his face would brighten, unawares, and shine upon them, as with a mild evening light.
While Ernest had been growing old, God had granted a new poet to this earth. He, too, was a native of the valley, but had spent the greater part of his life in distant cities, pouring out his sweet music everywhere. Neither was the Great Stone Face forgotten, for the poet had celebrated it in a poem. The songs of this poet found their way to Ernest. He read them after his customary toil, seated on the bench before his cottage door. As he read he lifted his eyes to the mountain.
Questions
(i) Why did the writer say ‘not in vain Grow old’?
(ii) Who visited him often and why?
(iii) What is a mild evening light?
(iv) Why wasn’t the Great Face forgotten?
(v) What was his ‘customary toil’?
Answer
(i) Ernest had turned into an old man with wise thoughts and thus he became famous.
(ii) He was visited by college professors, active men of society to seek his advice.
(iii) Ernest was gaining adulation from the visitors who came to seek his advice. Then his face would brighten and shine upon them giving comfortable glare.
(iv) The Great Stone Face was made immortal by Ernest’s poem.
(v) The customary toil was the work, he usually did to earn his living.
Extract 2
At the hour of sunset, as had long been his custom, Ernest was to speak to a group of neighbours in the open air. Together he and the poet went to the meeting place, arm in arm. From there could be seen the Great Stone Face. Ernest threw a look of familiar kindness around upon his audience. He began to speak to the people what was in his heart and mind.
His words had power, because they agreed with his thoughts; and his thoughts had reality and depth, because they harmonised with the life which he had always lived. It was not mere breath that the preacher uttered; they were the words of life. A life of good deeds and selfless love was melted into them.
The poet, as he listened, felt that the life and character of Ernest were a nobler strain of poetry than he had ever written. His eyes filled with tears and he said to himself that never was there so worthy a sage as that mild, sweet, thoughtful face, with the glory of white hair diffused about it.
Questions
(i) When did Ernest interact with neighbours?
(ii) Why did people take interest in listening to Ernest?
(iii) What did the poet feel about Ernest?
(iv) How did the poet find Ernest face similar to ‘The Great Stone Face’?
(v) Was the similarity appeasement or appreciation?
Answer
(i) Ernest interacted with a group of neighbour at the sunset in the open air.
(ii) People loved Ernest as his words had power and his thought had reality and depth.
(iii) The poet listened to him and felt that he was a life of good deeds and selfless love. He also realized that Ernest had a nobler strain of poetry.
(iv) The poet was impressed with the sage like quality of Ernest. When Golden light of setting sun full on the mountain, then he realized its similarity with the face of Ernest.
(v) The poet was impressed with the words of wisdom of Ernest. He had developed a great respect for him.