Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Great Stone Face – I Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of A Short Monsoon Diary, When I Set Out For Lyonnesse and A Visit To Cambridge so, you can check these posts as well.
The Great Stone Face – I Questions & Answers
Question 1: Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following statements.
i. The Great Stone Face stood near where Ernest and his mother lived – False
ii. One would clearly distinguish the features of the Stone Face only from a distance – True
iii. Ernest loved his mother and helped her in her work – True
iv. Though not very rich, Gathergold was a skillful merchant – False
v. Gathergold died in poverty and neglect – True
vi. The Great Stone Face seemed to suggest that Ernest should not fear the general – False
Question 2: What was the Great Stone Face?
Answer: The Great Stone Face was a work of nature, formed on the perpendicular side of a mountain by some immense rocks, which had been thrown together so that, when viewed at a proper distance, they resembled the features of a human face. If the spectator approached too near, he lost the outline of the enormous face and could see only a heap of gigantic rocks, piled one upon another. But seen from a distance, the clouds clustering about it, the Great Stone Face seemed positively to be alive. It was the belief of many people that the valley owed much of its fertility to the benign face that was continually beaming over it.
Question 3: What did young Ernest wish when he gazed at it?
Answer: When young Ernst gazed at the Great Stone Face, and the Great Face smiled at him, he wished that it could speak, as it looked very kind to him and he thought that its voice must indeed be very pleasant. He felt that if he ever sees a man with such a face, he would love him very much.
Question 4: What was the story attributed to the Stone Face?
Answer: The story that was attributed to the Stone Face was that, at some day in future, a child would be born near there, who would be destined to become the greatest and noblest person of his time and whose face, in manhood, would bear an exact resemblance to the Great Stone Face.
Question 5: What gave the people of the valley the idea that the prophecy was about to come true for the first time?
Answer: There was a rumour going around in the valley that he great man, who was to bear a resemblance to the Great Stone Face, had appeared at last. It seemed that, many years before, a young man had left the valley and settled at a distant seaport. He was known by the name of Gathergold, and was a shopkeeper. Being sharp in business matters, he had become so rich that it would have taken him a hundred years to count his wealth. During this time, he thought of his native valley, and decided to come back here, and end his days where he had been born. It was believed that he had a close resemblance to the Great Stone Face and the prophecy was about to come true for the first time.
Question 6: Did Ernest see in Gathergold the likeness of the Stone Face?
Answer: No, Ernest did not see the likeness of the Stone Face in Gathergold.
Question 7: Who did he confide in and how was he proved right?
Answer: He confided in the Great Stone Face. When everybody else believed that Gathergold resembled the Stone Face, he turned away from the wrinkled shrewdness of that unpleasant face and gazed up the valley, where the Stone Face seemed to say “He will come! Fear not, Ernest; the man will come!” He was proved right when later Gathergold died and was buried. By the time he died, his wealth and money had disappeared and he died in poverty and neglect.
Question 8: What made people believe General Blood-and-Thunder was their man?
Answer: General Blood-and-Thunder was another son of the valley who had become a soldier many years ago. After a great deal of hard fighting, he was now a famous commander. He was known on the battlefield by the name of Blood-and-Thunder. Old and tired now, he had lately expressed a desire to return to his native valley. The inhabitants, his old neighbours and their grown-up children, prepared to welcome the renowned commander. It was being said that at last the likeness of the Great Stone Face had actually appeared. So, when they saw him, they could see the resemblance and were sure that General Blood-and-Thunder was their man who would fulfil the prophecy.
Question 9: Ernest compared the man’s face with the Stone Face. What did he conclude?
Answer: When Ernest compared the man’s face with the Stone Face, he could not find any resemblance in both. His heart assured him that the General Blood-and-Thunder was not the person for whom they were eagerly awaiting. From this, Ernest concluded that the greatest and noblest man of his time who would bear the resemblance of the Great Stone Face was yet to come.
So, these were The Great Stone Face – I Questions & Answers.