Gujarat Board GSEB Class 8 English Textbook Solutions Honeydew Poem 4 The Last Bargain Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.

Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 8 English Honeydew Poem 4 The Last Bargain

GSEB Class 8 English The Last Bargain Text Book Questions and Answers

Working With The Poem

Answer the following questions:

Question 1.
Who is the speaker in the poem ?
Answer:
In Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘The Last Bargain’, the speaker is the man who has a quest for a job for himself. He is walking on the stone-paved road and asking out to be hired by someone.

Question 2.
“The king, sword in hand” suggests …
(i) wealth
(ii) power
(iii) more power than wealth
Mark the appropriate item in the context of stanza 1.
Answer:
(ii) power

Question 3.
The old man offered the speaker a lot of money. Why did he turn down the offer ?
Answer:
An old man with his bag of gold
wanted to hire the speaker with a lot of money.
But the speaker had denied his proposal
because he knew the transient nature of
money

Question 4.
Find in the poem, lines that match I; the following. Read both one after another,
(i) I have nothing to give you except goodwill & cheer.
Answer:
‘I hire you with nothing.’

(ii) Her happiness was no more than sorrow in disguise.
Answer:
‘Her smile paled and melted into tears.’

(iii) The king’s might was not worth much.
Answer:
‘But his power counted for naught.’

Question 5.
How did the speaker feel after talking to the child on the beach?
Answer:
The child’s inherent innocence made him the epitome of simplicity in this materialistic world of power, money and lust. The speaker has sensed well the child’s inner power of simplicity and that has made him free from the bondage of the harsh worldly materialism.

GSEB Class 8 English The Last Bargain Additional Important Questions and Answers

Select the most appropriate options as answers and complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
The speaker is out in the morning to ……………….
A. have a walk.
B. seek a job.
C. help the needy ones.
D. hire someone.
Answer:
B. seek a job.

Question 2.
The king wanted to hire the speaker with his ……………..
A. money.
B. glory.
C. power.
D. simplicity.
Answer:
C. power.

Question 3.
The houses were all closed ………………
A. because of terrible heat outside.
B. to show respect to the king.
C. due to some unknown fear.
D. None of these three
Answer:
A. because of terrible heat outside.

Question 4.
Here ‘the crooked lane’ means ……………….
A. the lane with dishonest people.
B. the lane with diverging ways.
C. the lane with deformed inhabitants.
D. a mysterious lane.
Answer:
B. the lane with diverging ways.

Question 5.
The speaker did not want to be hired by the rich old man because ………………..
A. he wanted to hire him with power.
B. he wanted to hire him with money.
C. he wanted to hire him by force.
D. he seemed to be a cunning man.
Answer:
B. he wanted to hire him with money.

Question 6.
The garden hedge was ………………
A. full of flowers.
B. full of thorny plants.
C. too narrow to pass through.
D. None of these three
Answer:
A. full of flowers.

Question 7.
The fair maid wanted to hire the speaker……………….
A. by offering him a lot of gold.
B. by talking with him in a charming way.
C. by luring him by lust.
D. All of these three
Answer:
C. by luring him by lust.

Question 8.
After some time the smile of the fair lady ………………..
A. turned enchanting.
B. faded away.
C. turned into anger.
D. turned mysterious.
Answer:
B. faded away.

Question 9.
What was the time when the speaker met the child?
A. Morning
B. Mid-noon
C. Evening
D. Night
Answer:
C. Evening

Question 10.
The child had …………….. to hire the speaker with.
A. shells
B. nothing
C. some coins
D. sweet smile
Answer:
B. nothing

Answer the following questions in one sentence each:

Question 1.
What is the sword in the king’s hand a symbol of?
Ans.
The sword in the king’s hand is a symbol of ‘power’.

Question 2.
What do the words ’But his power counted for naught’ mean?
Answer:
The words ‘But his power counted for naught’ mean ‘his power was worthless’,

Question 3.
Why did the job-seeker turn away watching the old man weighing his coins?
Ans.
The job-seeker turned away watching the old man weighing his coins because for sure he felt that that job with the rich old man as his employer would never make him
happy

Question 4.
What was the ’last bargain’ for the job-seeker ?
Ans.
He would enjoy playing with that innocent child who had nothing to give was the last bargain for the job-seeker.

Question 5.
How would the job-seeker be happy making bargain with the child?
Answer:
The job-seeker would be happy making bargain with the child as it would make him a free man.

Answer the following questions in two to three sentences each:

Question 1.
What is a bargain ? What attempts does the man make to strike a bargain?
Answer:
A bargain is an agreement in which parties promise to do something for each other. The man wants to be hired. The king ‘ tries to hire him with his power. But for the man power counts for nothing. Then comes a rich old man with his gold coins. The third person who wants to hire the man is a pretty girl. But the man does not need power, gold and sweet love. He finally strikes a bargain with a little child for no price. His satisfaction is that he will remain
a free man.

Question 2.
What is the speaker’s last bargain ? Why does he call it the best?
Answer:
The speaker’s final bargain is with a child playing with shells on the sea beach. The child has nothing to pay in return. Still the man strikes the deal. Playing with the child will make him a free man, not a slave or servant.

Question 3.
What message does Tagore’s poem convey? What does he try to highlight?
Answer:
The poem has a profound message. Freedom is more desirable than power, gold or beauty. An employee becomes a slave or servant. He offers his services on payment. So he is duty bound to work for his employer. Playing with a child ensures the man’s freedom.

Question 4.
Why did the speaker deny the king’s proposal ?
Answer:
At the very opening of the poem it has been seen that the speaker is denying the king’s proposal of hiring him. This is because he believes in no power which can bind him in the shackles of bondage. This urgency of freedom in himself led him to deny the king’s proposal.

Question 5.
Why did the fair maid go back alone into the dark?
Answer:
Like the power of the king, the money of the old man, the charm of the fair maid too is very temporary regarding its existence. Her sweet smile is bound to be dried away in tears in the due course. So the fair maid went back alone into the dark.

Question 6.
Explain the phrase ”I hire you with nothing”.
Answer:
At the very end of the poem the speaker encountered an innocent child. Unlike the previous power, money and lust, the child wants to hire the speaker with his due simplicity. This simplicity is not to be faded away in the course of time.

Question 7.
How does the power and money get contrasted with the innocence in the poem ; ‘The Last Bargain’ ?
Answer:
The poem ‘The Last Bargain’ by Rabindranath Tagore explores the clear contrast among power, money and innocence. Apparently power and money are the dominating forces in the world. But this dominance has been defeated by the almighty time. The poet is chalking out this partial existence of power and money in this world. The speaker in the poem is the medium through whom this contrast is being carried to a sublime level.

Initially the powerful sword in the king’s hand, the grandeur of his royal chariot tries to empower the speaker by hiring him, but it only existed for a few moments. Finally it aught to bid farewell instead of possessing so much power in himself. Similarly the old man with his bag of gold tries to hire the speaker to be his slave but he (the speaker) realizes that money’s fleeting glory cannot emancipate him.

Even the charm of the fair maid also used to lure him in her slavery, but that too could be ignored by speaker himself. Rather at the final stage it can be seen that the speaker is bound by the simplicity of an innocent child playing with shells on the sea-shore. The innocence of the child gave him the taste of freedom and not the bondage of slavery. Thus the power and money get contrasted with the innocence in the poem The Last Bargain’.

Read the following stanzas and answer the questions given below them:

Question 1.
“Come and hire me,” I cried, while in the morning
I was walking on the stone-paved road. Sword in hand the King came in his chariot.
He held my hand and said, “I will s hire you with my power,”
But his power counted for naught, and he went away in his chariot.

Questions:
(1) Who is in the first line ?
Answer:
‘I’ in the first line is a man who is in search of an employment.

(2) What honour did the man receive from the king?
Answer:
The king in the chariot held the hand of the man and offered that he was ready to offer him employment with his power.

(3) Why did the man not accept the offer of the king?
Answer:
The man did not accept the offer of the king because he did not want to be dominated by power in his job.

Question 2.
In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with shut doors.
I wandered along the crooked lane.
An old man came out with his bag of gold.
He pondered and said, “I will hire you with my money.”
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.

Questions:
(1) Houses are thought of as persons. How? ’
Answer:
The poet has described houses as if they are standing by themselves closing their
doors as men do.

(2) What was the old man carrying ?
Answer:
The old man was carrying a bag full of gold.

(3) What kind of person, do you think, must be the old man ?
Answer:
The old man must be a person for whom money must be everything in his life than anything else.

Question 3.
It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower.
The fair maid came out and said, “I will hire you with a smile.”
Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went
back alone into the dark.

Questions:
(1) How was the garden hedge ?
Answer:
The garden hedge was all blooming with flowers.

(2) What offer did the fair maid put ? How ?
Answer:
The maid offered to hire the job-seeker with a smile.

(3) What happened afterwards ?
Answer:
Afterwards the smile of the maid faded and turned into tears. Then she disappeared into the dark.

Question 4.
The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke waywardly.
A child sat playing with shells.
He raised his head and seemed to know me and said,
“I hire you with nothing.”
From henceforward that bargain struck in Child’s play
made me a free man.

Questions:
(1) Describe the scene of the seashore.
Answer:
The sun was shining on the sand of the seashore. The waves came inconstantly and lashed the shore.

(2) What did the child do on seeing the man?
Answer:
The child was playing with shells on the seashore. On seeing the man, he raised his head and as if he were well-acquainted with the man, he offered to work for him without taking any reward in return.

(3) What made the man do the last bargain with the child?
Answer:
The man was highly pleased with the innocence of the child and became ready to work with him. The man felt that this bargain would make him a free man.

The Last Bargain Summary in English

The Last Bargain Summary:

‘The Last Bargain’ by Tagore is a Sixteen- line poem composed in blank verse conveying a strong message well-needed for the materialistic world that no power, money or lust can make us happy. Simplicity and innocence reign supreme over everything else.

The poem The Last Bargain’ opens with the speaker walking on the stone paved road and asking out to hire him. The first one who wants to hire him was a king. He came in his chariot and held out his hand to the speaker telling him that he wants to hire him with his power. However, the king’s power counted for nothing and he leaves the place in his chariot.

During the mid-day, there was an old man with a bag of gold. The speaker wandered along a twisted lane comprised of houses with shut doors. The old man tells the speaker that he would hire him with his money. He measured the gold coins which he carried in his bag but the speaker rejects all his money. The speaker turns away all the money because money will soon be spent and money cannot buy us everlasting happiness.

In the evening, the garden fences were full of flowers. A fair maid comes out and tells the speaker that she would hire him with a smiling face. But her smile faded away and she melted into tears and returns into the dark leaving the speaker alone.

Finally, the bargain is struck by a child who hires the speaker with nothing. While the sun was glowing on the sands and the sea waves lashed the shores, a child was seen playing with shells. The child raised his head and smiled as if he already knew the speaker. The bargain of the child makes the speaker a free man. Therefore, power, money or lust could not free the speaker but power of innocence had the ability to break away his bondage. The child had the power to relieve him from every bondage.