Gul Mohar English Class 6 Chapter - 1 Meeting Cézzane

Gul Mohar Edition 9 Orient Blackswan

Gul Mohar English Chapter - 1 Meeting Cézzane

Writer of the story - Michael Morpurgo
Question and Answers
Question 1: Who was going to visit the inn? Was he someone important? How do you know?
Answer: Amandine told Yannick that their most important guest was going to visit the inn with some of his friends. Yes, he was a very important customer of the village inn because he was a very famous painter of the 20th century. Amendine told Yannick to make all the arrangements properly as the guest was very famous. By this, we can understand that the person was very important in village inn.

Question 2: Why did Amandine try to remove the burning tablecloth from the fire?
Answer: Amandine knew that their special guest must had drawn something valuable on it as a tip for her father. She didn’t want to upset her father by losing the table cloth that contained the drawing of the most famous painter in the world. So, she tried to remove the burning tablecloth from the fire.

Question 3: Did Amandine think her father would be angry with her for the burnt tablecloth? What tells you this?
Answer: Yes, Amandine thought that her father would be angry with her for the burnt tablecloth. Amandine seemed to be nervous and quickly put the blame on Yannick even before her father had asked. This tells us that she was afraid of her father’s anger for the burnt tablecloth.

Question 4: “I thought she was going to lie.” Who is the speaker talking about? Why did he think she was going to lie?
Answer: The speaker is talking about his cousin Amandine. Yannick thought that she was going to lie as she had already blamed him for throwing the tablecloth into the fire and alongside she was crying being frightened about the huge loss of her father.

Question 5: “I had worked out exactly what to do and how to do it.” What was the speaker going to do and why? What does this say about him?
Answer: The speaker planned to mend his mistake and make Amandine happy again. He was going to visit the famous painter and request him to paint another picture for his uncle. The speaker was not only a careful brother but also a sincere person. Even the greatest painter was amazed at his innocence and earnest attempt to set things right.

Question 6: "Now that I was this close to him I could see he was indeed very old. But his eyes were bright, young and searching".
a) How has this image of the painter been contrasted against Yannick's first impression of him?
b) How does Yannick's initial reaction to the old man's appearance prepare you for the rest of the event in the story?
Answer:
a) In Yannick's first impression the painter has been depicted as an ordinary man. Later Amandine disclosed his true identity of a famous painter. When Yannick observed him very closely, he found him to be a very intelligent cheerful and productive person as that of a true famous artist which impressed Yannick a lot.

b) Throughout the context Yannick's initial reaction to the old man's appearance prepare us dramatically for the rest of the events in the story. It develops our desire to know more about the unique personality of the old man and his beautiful drawings.

Question 7: ...just I'd seen them in Brittany. What did the speaker see in Brittany? What did he compare the sight with? Do you think he was surprised that they were so similar?
Answer: Here the speaker is Yannick. In Brittany he saw four sailing boats racing over the sea out and beyond a light house. He compared the sight with the famous painter's painting. Yes, he was surprised that they were so similar and probably he was eager to know how the famous painter had drawn the same things exactly.

Question 8: ...throughout the text the famous man is described as the greatest painter in the world. And yet, at the end, he wishes his name was Cézanne. Why do you think someone who is already famous, will want to be known by the name of another famous artist? What does this say about how he feels about Cézanne?
Answer: Normally it does not happen that a man who is already famous will want to be known by the name of any other famous artist. It might be possible that the famous man, who was Picasso himself, was influenced by Cézanne and thought that Cézanne was the famous painter of the world and so he wished that people would call him by the name of Cézanne. It tells us that he has a superior feelings about Cézanne, the famous painter and sculptor of the twentieth century. Besides, it also shows his great attraction towards Cézanne's unique personality and worldwide fame.

Question 9: Why do you think this text is told from Yannick's point of view? How did this affect the way you read understood the text?
Answer: This text is told from Yannick's point of view to prepare us with the optimistic attitudes while we are having a difficult time and to learn about how to mend our mistakes with our earnest efforts. It also let us know about a child's curious nature and the purity of the heart that leads to do something extraordinary for others' happiness. This affects us greatly and helps us a lot to understand the text completely. Yannick's curiosity finally describes it clearly that the famous painter who had visited the inn was not Cézanne, rather he was Picasso, who wished to be known as Cézanne, the world famous painter. We have to be hopeful even in the difficult times and make others happy by mending the mistakes with the sincere efforts.

Question 10: Do you think Meeting Cézanne is a suitable title for the text? Why or why not?
Answer: Yes, “Meeting Cézanne” is a suitable title for the text. Cézanne was a world class French painter and sculptor of the twentieth century. The story opens with his gorgeous paintings. Amandine asked Yannick to make all the arrangements properly in their village inn for their best customer who left his drawing regularly on the tablecloth as a tip for her father. Unfortunately, Yannick threw the tablecloth in the fire. Amandine accused him unfairly and started crying constantly being scolded by her father for this. To mend his mistake Yannick finally visited the painter's house, requested him for another such painting and finally discovered that the famous painter was actually Picasso who wished to be known as Cézanne. Since the beginning to the end, Yannick's encounter with the painter plays a significant role in this story. Cézanne has been depicted as the central point of attraction through Yannick's earnest attempt to set things right. So we can say it clearly that the title is justified and suitable to the text.