The Artist – Summary
‘The Artist‘ is a very inspiring and instructive story written by the famous Japanese writer, Shiga Naoya. The story tells us how the creative talent and passion for the art of a boy is crushed and killed by an apathetic and prejudiced attitude of his father and teacher to art and artists.
Seibei is a boy twelve years old. He develops a passion for gourds and gourd-polishing. For this, he even neglects his study. His father is worried about his future. He asks his son to shed this feminine habit and pay attention to his study. Seibei turns a deaf ear to his father’s advice and continues with this hobby.
Once he buys a beautiful gourd from an old lady. He takes it to his school and starts polishing it in his classroom under his desk but the teacher catches in doing so. The teacher complains to his mother who informs of it to his father. His father gives him a sound beating. He gathers all his gourds and beaks them all.
Seibei is thus, forced to abandon his hobby but his passion for art gets another outlet. He takes painting without showing any remorse or frustration. In this way, he keeps his love for art alive.
Objectives
1. The Artist is written by ………
- Germaine Greer
- Anton P Chekhov
- Shiga Naoya
- H.E. Bates
Answer:- Shiga Naoya
2. Seibei was a twelve years ……… boy.[2018]
- Indian
- Chinese
- Korean
- Japanese
Answer:- Japanese
3. Shiga Naoya is a ………… writer.
- Japanese
- Chinese
- Indian
- Bhutanese
Answer:- Japanese
4. The curio-dealer sold the gourd to a wealthy collector for ………. yen.
Answer:- 600
5. The Artist is ………..
- a short story
- an essay
- a poetry
- a drama
Answer:- a short story
6. What did Seibei apply to get rid of the unpleasant gourd smell?
- banana-leaves
- tea-leaves
- neem-leaves
- tulsi-leaves
Answer:- tea-leaves
7. A gourd is a ………..
- fruit
- vegetable
- grain
- sweets
Answer:- fruit
8. Who used to polish the gourd under his desk in-class time?
- Meibei
- Reibei
- Seibei
- Heibei
Answer:- Seibei
9. Who smashed Seibei’s gourds to pieces.
- Seibei’s Father
- Seibei’s Mother
- His Sister
- His Brother
Answer:- Seibei’s father
10. Who was scolded for painting pictures?
- Reibei
- Seibei
- Seibei’s sister
- Seibei’s brother
Answer:- Seibei
11. The old woman asked ………… son for the gourd.
Answer:- ten
12. The curio dealer paid ………….. for the confiscated gourd.
- twenty yen
- thirty yen
- forty yen
- fifty yen
Answer:- fifty yen
13. Seibei’s hobby was collecting of …………
- lady’s finger
- pointed gourds
- pumpkin
- gourds
Answer:- gourds
14. The price of the five inches gourd is ………..
- eight yen
- nine yen
- ten yen
- eleven yen
Answer:- ten yen
15. Seibei reads at …………. school.
- primary
- high
- middle
- +2 school
Answer:- primary
16. The porter sold the gourd of Seibei for ………. yen.
Answer:- 50
17. Who is the main character of ‘The Artist’?
- Shiga Naoya
- Sebi
- Seibei
- An old man
Answer:- Seibei
18. ‘What a splendid gourd !’ thought Seibei, but actually it was ………..
- Watermelon
- Football
- old man’s bald head
- Coconut
Answer:- old man’s bald head
19. At the agricultural show, last spring, which type of gourd was displayed?
- Gnarled
- Symmetrical
- Bakin
- Round
Answer:- Bakin
20. The old woman possessed a stall of ………..
- Frocks
- Caps
- Fruits
- Vegetables
Answer:- Fruits
21. When was Shiga Naoya born?
Answer:- 1883
22. When did Shiga Naoya die?
Answer:- 1971
23. Seibei lived in ………..
- Village
- Religious town
- Harbour town
- Business town
Answer:- Harbour town
24. ‘The Artist’ is …………
- a short story
- an article
- a periodical
- None of these
Answer:- a short story
25. He used to bore a neat hole in the …………
- side of the gourd
- top of the gourd
- both the side
- None of these
Answer:- top of the gourd
26. He made the hole to extract ………..
- water
- flash
- seeds
- None of these
Answer:- seeds
27. One day Seibei was caught red-handed by his …………… teacher.
Answer:- Ethics
28. One must admire the inherent qualities in the ………..
Answer:- children
29. Seibei’s father worked at …………… shop.
- carpenter’s
- barber’s
- goldsmith’s
- None of these
Answer:- carpenter’s
30. …………… was selling dried persimmons and oranges.
- An old man
- An old woman
- A girl
- A boy
Answer:- An old woman
Subjective
1. Why did Seibei wander about the town?
Ans:- Seibei has a passion for collecting gourds. So, he kept wandering about the town just to know the places that sold gourds and even to recognize the quality, size, and shape of the gourd available in the market.
2. What did Seibei do after he was forced to give up collecting gourds?
Ans:- When Seibei was punished by his teacher and scolded by his father for his passion for gourds, he turned pale but said nothing. His gourd was sold off to an old porter by his teacher. Being a quiet child, Seibei did not react but diverted his attention towards painting pictures.
3. Did Seibei’s father like his hobby?
Ans:- No, Seibei’s father did not like his hobby of collecting gourds at all.
4. What kind of gourd did Seibei like?
Ans:- Seibei liked even and symmetrical gourds.
5. Why did Seibei’s father shout at him and what did he say?
Ans:- When Seibei called Bakin’s gourd worthless, his father opened his eyes wide in surprise and anger. He ordered him to be shut up. He did know what he was talking about.
6. How much had the curio-dealer pay to the porter and what amount he himself got from the wealthy collector for Seibei’s gourd?
Ans:- The curio-dealer had to pay fifty yen to the porter but he himself got six hundred yen for the same from the wealthy collector.
7. What did Seibei think of Bakin’s gourd?
Ans:- Seibei did not like it. He did not think as much of it as his father thought. To him, it was just a clumsy big thing.
Explanation
1. “There is absolutely no future for a boy like you long hours of work”.
>>> This statement has been stated by the father of Seibei, a twelve-year-old boy fond of gourd-polishing by his father in the story, The Artist by Shiga Naoya. Seibei was addicted to gourd-collecting and polishing.
He neglected his study. He did so even in the classroom. The teacher complained to his parents. The father told him that he had no future if he continued doing so.
2. “This sort of thing is the responsibility of the family. It is the duty of you parents to see that such a thing doesn’t happen”.
>>> These lines have been taken from The Artist which is written by Shiga Naoya. Seibei was very found of keeping gourds. Whenever he saw gourds, he tried to buy it.
One day his teacher caught him polishing a gourd in the classroom. The teacher went to his house to complain about it to his parents. He says that parents must pay attention to their children and they must see that such things don’t happen. His mother apologizes for it.
3. “Trembling inside, he waited for the worst, but at length, the man exhausted his rhetoric and stomped angrily out of the house”.
>>>These lines have been taken from The Artist, written by Shiga Naoya. When the teacher caught Seibei polishing a gourd in the classroom, he not only chide him but also came to his house to tell this to his parents. There are many gourds in his house.
So, Seibei was trembling but the teacher did not see that. When the teacher went out of his house he heaved a sigh of relief.
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