Bishop’s Candlestick: NBSE Class 9 English questions, answers

Get notes, questions, answers, solutions, pdf, and extras for the chapter Bishop’s Candlestick, which is a part of the syllabus of Class 9 for students studying under the Nagaland Board of School Education. However, these notes should be used only for references and additions/modifications should be made as per the requirements.

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Multiple Choice Questions

1. Marie is the Bishop’s ____ and Persome is the Bishop’s ____.

Answer: cook, younger sister

2. Which of the following can be used to best describe the theme of the play?

Answer: Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.

3. ‘I was a man once I’m a beast now and they made me what I am.’ Who is speaking?

Answer: Jean Valjean

4. The Bishop attached a ____ value to the candlesticks.

Answer: sentimental

5. The crime committed by the man that made him a convict was that ____.

Answer: he stole to feed his wife

Read and Write

1. Why was Persome rude to Marie?

Answer: Persome was rude to Marie because she thought that Marie and all the other people were taking advantage of her brother’s kindness.

2. Although it was quite late at night, why had the Bishop not returned?

Answer: The Bishop did not return early because he had gone to visit Marie’s mother and pray for her as she was sick.

3.. Why does Persome feel that people pretend to be sick?

Answer: Persome felt that the people pretended to be sick as they wanted the Bishop to visit them and also pray for them.

4. Why had the Bishop gone to visit Mere Gringoire?

Answer: The bishop had gone to visit Mere Gringoire because she was bedridden, and so she was unable to work and parent. And because of this, she was threatened with being kicked out of her rented residence.

5. What did the Bishop give Marie as she was going out? why? what trait of the Bishop’s character does it highlight?

Answer: The bishop gave Marie his comforter as she was going out due to the extreme cold weather.

It shows his compassionate character, love and concern for the less fortunate.

6. Why were the doors in the Bishop’s house never bolted?

Answer: The doors in The Bishop’s house were never bolted because he wanted anyone who was in need of shelter or food to come and stay in his house anytime.

7. Why was Persome angry with the Bishop?

Answer: Persome was angry with the bishop because she felt that her brother, the bishop, was too kind and soft with everyone and for that, everyone took full advantage of his kindness.

8. Why did the Bishop give the salt cellars to Mere Gringoire?

Answer: Give the salt cellars to Mere Gringoire because he wanted her to sell them and pay her pending rent otherwise, the bailiff would turn her out of the house.

9. Why did the convict become a thief? What happened to his wife?

Answer: The convict became a thief because he was jobless. He had no money to buy food for his sick wife, so he stole food for her and for doing that he was arrested and sent to prison.

10. What was the punishment given to the convict?

Answer: The Convict was imprisoned for 10 years. She was chained, treated like an animal, and forced to feed on filth. He was covered with vermin.

11. Was the convict eager to reach Paris?

Answer: Yes, the Convict was eager to reach Paris. He felt that he could easily lose himself in the maze of hundreds of people of Paris and no one would ever find him there and he could start a new life.

12. Why did the Bishop not go to the police?

Answer: The bishop did not go to the police because he was forgiving by nature. He wanted to help the convict and sympathised with him for all the suffering and pain he had to go through during his imprisonment. He also wanted to save his soul and bring him closer to God. Moreover, he felt that if he was sent back to prison, he would become worse than before.

13. Before leaving the convict asks the Bishop to bless him. What brought about this change in him?

Answer: The bishop showed extreme love and sympathy towards the Convict despite the fact that the Convict stole his silver candlesticks and treated him and his sister with violence. He even told the sergeant that he had given the candlestick to the Convict so as to spare his life from being imprisoned for the second time. Hence, the genuine love end caring attitude of the bishop brought about a change in the hardened heart of the Convict who did not experience love and compassion in a long time.

14. Fill in the blanks to complete the theme of the play.

Answer: The play is based on the theme that love and kindness can change a man rather than violence. The play is about a convict who breaks into the Bishop’s house. The benevolence of the Bishop somewhat softens the convict but when he sees the candlesticks he steals them. He is caught and brought back. He expects to go back to jail but the Bishop informs the police that the candlesticks were a gift. The act of the Bishop leads the convict to a belief in the spirit of God that dwells in the heart of every human being.

Think and Write

Read these statements from the play. Fill in the table given below.

Statement	Who says this?	To whom?	What traits does it reveal about the speaker and about the person spoken about?
“Don’t keep saying ‘Yes Madam’ like a parrot nincompoop.”	Persome	Marie	Shows Persome’s impatience and authority, and Marie’s subservience.
“You told him she was feeling poorly did you? And so my brother is to be kept out of his bed and go without his supper because you told him she was feeling poorly. There’s gratitude for you!”	Persome	Marie	Illustrates Persome’s concern for her brother and criticism of Marie’s action.
“…take my comforter it will keep you warm.”	Bishop	Marie	Highlights the Bishop’s kindness and care for others.
“You are like a child. I can’t trust you out of my sight. No sooner my back is turned than you get that minx Marie to sell the silver salt-cellars.”	Persome	Bishop	Shows Persome’s frustration with the Bishop’s generosity and carelessness.
“Why the devil do you leave the window unshuttered and the door unbarred so that anyone can come in?”	Convict	Bishop	Reveals the convict’s surprise at the Bishop’s trust and openness.
“My mother gave them to me on her deathbed just after you were born and…and she asked me to keep them in remembrance of her so I would like to keep them.”	Bishop	Persome	Displays the Bishop’s sentimental value for the candlesticks and his mother’s memory.
“No lock of course. Curse it.” (Looks round and sees the candlesticks again.) “Humph! I’ll have another look at them.” (He takes them up and toys with them.) “Worth hundreds I’ll warrant. If I had these turned into money they’d start me fair.”	Convict	N/A	Indicates the convict’s desperation and contemplation of theft.
“Ah thanks thanks Monseigneur. I (He sobs.) Ah I’m a fool a child to cry but somehow you have made me feel that that it is just as if something had come into me as if I were a man again and not a wild beast.”	Convict	Bishop	Shows the convict’s transformation and the impact of the Bishop’s kindness.

2. Do you think the bishop was right in selling the salt cellars? Why/Why not?

Answer: Yes, I think the bishop was right in selling the salt cellars.

In my opinion, we all should always try to help anyone who is in need of our help irrespective of our differences. The bishop, being a religious leader, should, therefore, live by the example of being a kind person in the likeness of Christ. His selling the salt cellars, therefore, was an absolutely right thing that he should have done because it was meant to help someone.

3. Do you think the punishment given to the convict was justified? Why/Why not? Why is the convict eager to reach Paris?

Answer: No, I don’t think the punishment given to the Convict was justified.

The Convict was punished harshly for a minor crime which he committed out of circumstances. He was poor and unemployed and in no position to provide for the basic needs of his ailing wife who was bedridden. He simply did not have the money. He was compelled to steal food for his wife and was caught by the police in the act. The punishment of 10 years and the treatment that he received in the prison because of that small crime could not be justified in any way.

The Convict was eager to reach Paris because he felt that he could easily lose himself in the maze of hundreds of people of Paris and no one would ever find him there and he could start a new life.

4. The term “irony” refers to a disagreement. This can be between what someone says and what he or she really means. This is verbal irony. The discrepancy can be between a situation that one would logically anticipate or that would seem appropriate and the situation that actually develops. This is situational irony. The discrepancy can even be between the facts known to a character and the facts known to us, the readers or the audience. This is called dramatic irony. Now, pick two examples of dramatic irony from the text.

Answer:

• The Bishop’s Naivety and the Convict’s Plan: The Bishop demonstrates kindness and trust towards the convict, unaware of the convict’s initial plan to steal from him. The audience knows of the convict’s intentions, creating a tension between the Bishop’s innocent generosity and the convict’s deceitful plans.
• The Gift of the Candlesticks: After the convict steals the candlesticks and is caught by the gendarmes, the Bishop claims he gave them as a gift. This moment is dramatically ironic because the audience knows the candlesticks were stolen, not gifted, contrasting with the gendarmes’ and Persome’s understanding of the situation based on the Bishop’s declaration.

5. The convict was a victim of circumstances. Do you agree/disagree? Give reasons.

Answer: Yes, I agree that in the Bishop’s Candlestick, the Convict was a victim of circumstances.

The convict was not a criminal, to begin with. He was poor and jobless, and he did not have the money to provide for the basic needs of his wife, who was sick and bedridden. The immediate need for food and the lack of resources to get the food compelled him to steal as an easy way out. But he was caught in the act and was sent to prison for 10 years.

6. Do you think we need jails or reform houses? Justify your answer.

Answer: I think we need more reform houses but also need jails at the same time.

Jails are important for hardened criminals so as to keep them away from society where they can put the lives of others in danger. But we also need an increased number of reform houses as humans are adaptive in nature and criminals can be transformed into responsible citizens if they are given the proper treatments. Every human has a good part inside of him and reform houses can bring out that good part of the criminals. Further, many a time, the criminals are actually the victims of circumstances and not choices and in such cases, reform houses are of utmost importance and not prisons.

8. Read the following extracts from the text and answer the questions that follow.

a) Persome: You told him she was feeling poorly did you? And so my brother is to be kept out of his bed, and go without his supper because you told him she was feeling poorly. There’s gratitude for you!

i) Who is Persome speaking to and about whom?
ii) Where has he gone and why?
iii) What are the speaker’s views about him?

Answer: i) Persome is speaking to Marie about her brother the Bishop.

ii) He had gone to Marie’s house to pray for her mother, who was sick.

iii) The speaker’s view is that her brother was too soft and people take unfair advantage of his kindness.

b) Bishop: Ah, you are admiring my candlesticks. I am proud of them. They were a gift from my mother. A little too handsome for this poor cottage perhaps, but all I have to remind me of her. Your bed is ready. Will you lie down now?

i) Who is the Bishop speaking to?
ii) Why is the person admiring them?
iii) What does the Bishop advise him?

Answer: i) The Bishop is speaking to the convict.

ii) The person is admiring them because they look beautiful and expensive, and he is contemplating stealing them.

iii) The Bishop advised him to lie down as his bed is ready.

c) Bishop: Please; they may help you. And, my son, there is a path through the woods at the back of this cottage which leads to Paris; it is a very lonely path and I have noticed that my good friends the gendarmes do not like lonely paths at night. It is curious.

i) What is the Bishop referring to?
ii) Where is he sending him? Why?
iii) what is the consequence of the Bishop’s kindness?

Answer: i) The Bishop was referring to the candlesticks.

ii) He was sending him to Paris. The Bishop wanted the convict to start life anew, which he could do by moving to Paris without coming to the notice of the police who were looking for him.

iii) Bishop’s kindness made the convict change his heart. The convict became a changed man and decided to start life afresh away from the life of crime that he had resorted to.

d) Convict: Ah, thanks, thanks, Monseigneur. I-I-(He sobs.) Ah, I’m a fool, a child to cry, but somehow you have made me feel that-that it is just as if something had come into me-as if I were a man again and not a wild beast.

i) Who is the convict speaking to?
ii) What is he trying to convey?
iii) What has brought about the change?

Answer: i) The convict is speaking to the Bishop.

ii) He is trying to convey that he has a change of heart.

iii) The change is the consequence of the Bishop’s kindness despite everything the convict has done against him.

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