The Gardener: - Rudyard Kipling
The Gardener: - Rudyard Kipling
The Gardener: - Rudyard Kipling
- Rudyard Kipling
Author
•Rudyard Kipling(1865-1936), British poet, novelist and writer of
short stories was born in India , and set many of his writing in the
India of the Raj.
•He is remembered for his tales for children, stories notably The jungle
book.
•He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907.
•The Gardener belonging to the later years of his life is taken from
Debits and Credits (1926).
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“Words are, of course the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
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Characters present in the story
Helen Turrell Leading character
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Setting
The story took place in the homeland of Helen
Turrell , Hampshire, south of France , India
( past) and then Hagenzeele.
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symbolism
‐ This story is full of symbols like:
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Scene-2
After that she allowed him to say so only at bedtimes. the child became angry
with her and threatened to hurt her by dying soon.
The child was named Michael, fearless, philosophical and fairly good looking.
At the age of six, he got to find that Helen was not her real mother but his aunt.
She did not allow Michael to call her mummy because she was unmarried.
After that she allowed him to say so only at bedtimes.
The child became angry with her and threatened to hurt her by dying soon.
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First scene of the story( according to Helen)
‐ According to the Helen’s clarification, , the child was brought from India where
her father was a police officer.
‐ The villagers of Hampshire believe Michael( a child) to be an unfortunate son
of Helen’s late brother, George Turrell and his beloved( not wife).
‐ According to Helen, he was born in Bombay with the help of a nurse, the child
was brought in France from Bombay. Helen had lung trouble and in order to
regain health she had been staying in the south of France.
‐ The nurse was careless, so Helen had dismissed the nurse. There was no one left
to take care of the child. Helen brought him to her home in Hampshire..
‐ Helen used to call her nephew.
she told to
villagers and
michael was a
reality or a
lie????
Upcoming scenes will reveal a
different reality. And there will
be a new twist in the story.
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Scene-3( courses of time)
Michael got maturity in due course of time but his interest in Helen was
constant and increasing throughout.
Though Helen wanted him to join Oxford University, he took war as his
career.
He joined the army when first world war was started.
Michael was killed by splinter shell explosion.
Helen got to find that Michael was dead .
After full verification about the message, she decided to leave that place
to see his grave in Hazenzeelein the third Military Cemetery.
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Scene-4( meeting an english woman)
She left for Hazenzeelein the third Military Cemetery to see
michael’s grave.
She met an English woman, Mrs. Scarsworth in a teashop, 3
km away from cemetery.
They stopped by and Mrs. Scarsworth reveals that she had
come to see the grave of her secret lover.
Helen told that she came to see the grave of her nephew.
Next Morning she walked alone toward the grave.
She was searching for a grave of Michael.
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death of Michael!!!
And now there will
be an entry of the
gardener who will
reveals the truth
suprisingly!!!
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Last scene (the gardener)
There in a graveyard when she was searching for the grave, she saw a man
knelt behind a line of headstones- evidently a gardener.
He did not introduce her neither did he salute her.
He asked who she was looking for.
She said it was Lieutenant Michael Turrell , her nephew.
He had infinite compassion in his expression and eyes and said he would
show her where her SON lay.
She went away supposing him to be a gardener when she left the cemetery.
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“
The gardener, a mysterious character appears at the end of the story to
reveal the reality that was hidden by Helen about the relationship between
her and Michael.
He was appeared creating a drastic turn in a story creating confusion
among the readers.
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The reality (1)
Everything she told about the Michael, her relationship
with him, how he was brought here was turn out to be false
at last after the gardener’s words.
She might have created the false story about him as she
might be condemned in the society.
All the villager had also believed her story that Michael’s parents had died and she
brought him here in Hampshire and reared him as a Nephew.
But as soon as the Michael joined the Army instead of Oxford, there came a turning
point as Michael was suddenly strangled to death due to splinter shell.
When she visited the graveyard, there was the gardener who helped her showing the
right graved and claimed that its his son.
This event suprizingly reveals the reality of Helen.
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Theme
“The gardener” presents Kipling’s scorn of organized
shallowness of feeling and his conviction of the depth and
purity of individual feelings.
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What was the effect of Michael’s death on Helen?
Ans : Helen was eager to know about Michael’s death who had
become a soldier. First he was sent to England but later on he was
sent to Somme. One day a shell-splinter dropped and killed
Michael death. She wrote many letters to many people and offices
to find Michael’s death. The war stopped but she didn’t take any
interest in the war. She sat on various relief commities. One day
she got an official letter and there was news of Lieutenant
Michael Turrell. She knew that Michael’s dead body was in
Hagenzeele. Hagenzeele was the third Military cemetery. Finally,
she goes to Hagenzeele to see Michael’s grave.
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