PPt on chapter 1 of cbse class 10th.

4. In the story “Two Gentlemen of Verona”, the two orphan
boys Jacopo and Nicola, work immensely and exhaustively,
they shine shoes, sell newspapers and run errands for the
sake of the treatment of their sister. They showcase an
unusual devotion towards their work and family, they give
an outrageous example of love, care, emotion and
nobility. Cronin shows us that one may polish boots or sell
newspapers, but it is the magnanimity of heart and the
nobleness of purpose that actually determines whether
one is a true "gentleman". Hence, sarcastically the title is
quite justified.

5. The Story….

10. The narrator and his friends noticed
the boys for a while then as their
interest slackened, they went over to
meet them. Jacopo and Nicola greeted
them with friendly and admiring
faces, may be because the narrator
bought their biggest basket. The
narrator pleased with their smile,
asked them that he thought they sold
fruits for a living. Determinately, in a
serious tone Nicola said “ We do
many things , sir”. He glanced at the
narrator in hope of getting another
brisk job; “We often show visitors
through the town….to Juliet’s
tomb”…..and other places of
interest”.

14. One night, the narrator and his friends came upon the two
boys in the windy, miserable and deserted square.
Jacopo and Nicola were resting on the stone pavement
beneath the light. Nicola was sitting upright, exhausted
and tired. Jacopo's head laid upon his brother's shoulder, he
was asleep. It was very dark almost midnight.
A bundle of unsold newspapers lay at Nicola's feet. On asking
Nicola, the narrator figured out that the were waiting for the
last bus from Padua, as they wanted to sell their unsold
newspapers when it came. Amazed and pretty flabbergasted;
the narrator asked them "Must you work so hard? You both
look quite exhausted”. In a feeble, soft voice, Nicola defending
himself said "We aren't complaining sir".

15. The next morning, the narrator went
over the fountain to get his shoes
shined, he asked the boys with a sense
of curiousness "Nicola, the way you
and Jacopo work, you must earn quite
a bit;(taking a glance over their
clothes) he said, you don't spend
anything on your apparels and you eat
little enough--usually black bread and
figs...then tell me what do you do with
your money?"
Nicola embarrassingly coloured under
his sunburn, then grew pale. Trying to
be secretive, he started looking at the
ground. In a comical manner the
narrator asked "You must be saving
the money to emigrate to
America?".Nicola finally spoke up with
efforts, that he would like to go to
America, but at present he and Jacopo,
had other plans. Determinately, the
narrator asked "what plans?"

16. In a low voice, smiling
miserably, Nicola said "Just
plans sir". The narrator, not
wanting to intrude in their
personal lives , decided to
leave that topic and told the
boys that he and his friends
were leaving on the
forthcoming Monday, and
asked whether he could do
anything for them before
going. Nicola meaningfully
shook his head, but suddenly,
lost in his excitement, Jacopo
popped out. "Sir, every
Sunday we make a visit to our
country (our village) Poleta,
30 kilometres from Verona.
Usually we hire bicycles. But
tomorrow since you are so
kind, you mind send us in
your car.”

17. But as directed by Jacopo, they drew up at a large red-roofed villa, surrounded
by a high stone wall, The narrator quite flabbergasted, scarcely believed his
eyes. While he recover his breath, he noticed that the two boys had already
eloped from the car.

19. The two boys were seated at the bedside of a lean, young girl of about twenty
who , propped up on pillows, wearing a pretty lace jacket, was listening to their
chatter, her eyes soft and tender. One could see and recognize at a glance that she
was the elder sister of Jacopo and Nicola . A vase of adorable wild flowers stood
on her table, beside a dish of fruit and several books . The boys seemed so happy
n blissful spending time with their sister. Later, the nurse told that their sister’s
name was Lucia, Lucia was the noble cause of the boy’s eminent hard work. The
nurse asked the narrator to pay a visit to Lucia, but the narrator neither wanted to
intrude upon this happy family; nor he wanted to let the boys know that their
secret was now known to him so he shook his head and went back downstairs .
The nurse led the narrator
through a cold, tiled and
long vestibule into a
hospital, as the villa was
now turned to a hospital.
At the door of a little
cubicle, she gestured to the
narrator by putting her
finger on her lips, asking
him to stay quiet and told
the narrator to peek inside
through the window.

22. For months the children kept
themselves alive in a short of
shelter that they had built with
their own hands amidst the
rubbles. After winning the war, the
Germans ruled the city for three
years. The boys started hating the
Germans as they were the ones
responsible for their ruined lives.
When the resistant movement
started, they were among the first
persons to join. When the war
ended, and their was peace at last,
they came back to their beloved
sister and found that starvation
and extremely cold weather
conditions led her to suffer from
tuberculosis of the spine.

23. The nursed paused for some seconds and took a deep breath, then she
resumed with some efforts, “Did they gave up?”..no, I guess I don’t need to
answer this question. She told that Jacopo and Nicola brought their sister
here, and persuaded the nurse to admit her into the hospital. Lucia had been
in this hospital since a year, and she made good progress as a patient. The
nurse believed that if her recovering goes well, she may stand and sing again.
That day would be the happiest and best day in Jacopo and Nicola's lives.
Happiness seemed so little and shattered in their lives, they lost their parents,
home and their present family’s head was ailing with tuberculosis.

24. The nurse exclaimed, “Food is so expensive and
scarce these days”, Hence, she could not let
Lucia’s treatment go on without charging a fee.
But, Jacopo and Nicola were able to pay the fee
every week. 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 they did,
they did with keen interest and did it well.
The narrator having seen them work hard,
agreed with her and said that they couldn’t do it
any better.

25. The narrator waited outside until the
boys came back and rejoined him, they
then went back to Verona. The boys sat
silently behind him, with a cheer that
they succeeded in securing the secret.
Whereas, the narrator didn’t say a word
because he didn’t want the children’s
smile to fade away. Still, the boys’
devotion and love for their sister
touched the narrator deeply. The war
which broke their home, still couldn’t
break their spirits. They never looked
back at what they lost, they looked
forward to save what they still had with
them. Their selfless action brought a
new nobility to human life, it gave a
promise of a greater hope for a better
and worth-living human society.
Happy Ending

26. Submitted
by:-
Shreesh Dutta
Vajpai
X-A