Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Devoted Friend Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Teachers and The Wild Swans At Coole so, you can check these posts as well.
The Devoted Friend Questions & Answers
Question 1: Read the lines and answer the questions:
You are certainly very Thoughtful about others’, agreed his wife, sitting in her comfortable armchair.
(a) Who said these words and to whom?
Answer: The miller’s wife said these words to the miller.
(b) What instance of being ‘thoughtful’ had the person spoken to shown? Was he really thoughtful?
Answer: The miller’s idea of being a thoughtful friend was to leave people alone when they were in trouble. He did not go to see Hans in winter when the latter was suffering from cold and hunger. He said he would visit Hans in spring and ask him for a large basket of primroses, which would make the latter happy.
No, the miller wasn’t thoughtful. It was extremely selfish of the rich miller to act in this manner. He did not want to visit Hans in hard times, when the latter had nothing to give but intended to visit him only when things were better and take advantage of the poor man yet again.
(c) What reason did he give for not wanting to invite Hans over?
Answer: The miller stated these reasons: If Hans came to their house and saw their warm fire and good supper, he might get envious. According to him, envy was a terrible thing which led people to temptation. He would not allow Hans good nature to be spoiled. Also, Hans might ask for some flour on credit which he could not give.
Question 2: Read the lines and answer the questions:
I was afraid you had forgotten me’.
‘Friendship never forgets; said the Miller’.
(a) Who said this words and to whom? Why did the speaker think that he had been forgotten?
Answer: Hans said these words to the miller. The miller, who claimed to be Hans’ best friend, did not visit the latter even once when he was almost starving in winter. That’s why Hans thought that the miller had forgotten him.
(b) What did the person spoken to offer the speaker? Was it a genuine offer of help?
Answer: The miller offered to give Hans his old wheelbarrow when the latter mentioned that he had sold his in winter for food.
No, this wasn’t a genuine offer as the miller wanted many things in return, which we learn of in the rest of the story. Also, the wheelbarrow he offered to donate was quite unusable with one side empty and having wheels with uneven spokes.
(c) What did he ask for in return? How did he affect the speaker?
Answer: In return, he asked for the plank of wood meant to repair Hans’ wheelbarrow and for his basket to be filled with primroses, which Hans had grown. Giving the miller a full basket of primroses meant that Hans did not have any flowers left to sell and buy back his silver buttons, silver chain and his own wheelbarrow, which was in a workable condition compared to the one the miller wished to give him.
(d) The statement “friendship never forgets” is ironical. Can you explain why?
Answer: The statement is ironical because it is uttered here by the miller, who stayed away from his friend Hans when the latter was in suffering and, so, he proved to be a bad friend to Hans.
The Devoted Friend Questions & Answers
Question 3: Read the lines and answer the questions:
The next morning, the Miller came to get his money, but Hans was still in bed.
(a) What money did the Miller come for? Why was Hans Still in bed?
Answer: The miller had asked Hans to carry a sack of flour to the market and sell it for him. He had come for the money that Hans would have received after selling the flour. It had been a tiring day for Hans, who had to carry the heavy sack, on foot, to market on a hot day along a dusty road for more than five miles. This exhausted him so much that he was still in bed when the miller came.
(b) What work did the Miller want Hans to do next?
Answer: The miller next wanted Hans to mend the barn roof or him.
(c) Why was Hans worried when he heard about the work?
Answer: Hans was worried about the work because his flowers had not been watered for two days as he had been running various chores for the miller.
(d) How did the Miller keep exploiting Hans? What happened to his flower as a result?
Answer: The miller wanted Hans to drive his sheep to the mountain the next day. He kept sending him on long errands every day, or got him to help at the mill. Because he was busy with all these tasks, Hans did not have time to look after the flowers in his garden, which suffered due to neglect.
Question 4: Read the lines and answer the questions:
He ordered his horse his big boots and lantern and rode off in the direction of the Miller’s house, Hans trudging behind him.
(a) Who is ‘he’? Why had Hans come to fetch ‘him’?
Answer: ‘He’ is the doctor. The miller’s son had hurt himself and Hans had to fetch the doctor in return for the promised wheelbarrow.
(b) What difficulties did Hans face as he trudged behind him?
Answer: It was a dark, stormy night and Hans had to walk to the doctor’s house for three hours. He could not withstand the strong wind and had no light to guide him in the darkness.
(c) What happened to Hans them? How could this mishap have been avoided?
Answer: Hans could not see in the dark on the way to the doctor’s because he did not have a lantern with him and the miller had also refused to let him borrow his. As the storm grew worse, Hans lost his way and wandered off on the moor, and was drowned there in one of deep holes. Hans could have been saved had the miller not been selfish and had shared his lantern. The miller did not want to share the lantern just because it was new, but he had selfishly sent his friend to fetch the doctor for his own son’s injury without regard for his friend’s health or safety.
(d) What effect did it have on the Miller? Do you think he was repentant for his deeds?
Answer: Hans’ death had no effect on the miller although the latter walked at the head of his friend’s funeral procession and was the chief mourner as well. It was all a pretence. No, he was not repentant for causing Hans’ death. Instead, he complained about the broken wheelbarrow, which he had almost given away to Hans. He was worried that it could not even be sold, being in such bad shape. This suggests that he was more concerned about the wheelbarrow rather than his departed friend.
So, these were The Devoted Friend Questions & Answers.