CBSE Class 10 English The Necklace Assignment Set 04

Short Answer Type Questions
 

Question. How did Matilda fare at the ball?
Answer: Matilda was the centre of attraction at the ball. Every man wanted to be introduced to her and to dance with her. She danced enthusiastically and was drunk with pleasure and the admiration people showered on her. Thus, she fared extremely well at the ball.

Question. How and when did, Matilda find the borrowed necklace missing?
Answer: Matilda went home from the ball at about four o’clock in the morning. After reaching home, she removed the wraps from her shoulder before the glass so that she could have a final view of her glory. It was at that time that she found her necklace missing.

Question. Where did Loisel go to find the lost necklace?
Answer: First, Loisel went to look for the necklace at the place where they had walked on foot. Then. he went to the police and the cab offices to get some information about the necklace. When the necklace was still not found, he even put an advertisement in the newspapers.

Question. How was the money for the replaced necklace arranged?
Answer: When Loisel and Matilda were able to find a similar necklace, the shopkeeper demanded 40,000 francs. After bargaining, the price was settled for 36,000 francs. But Loisel had only 18,000 francs which his father had left for him. So, Loisel had to borrow the remaining amount on higher rates of interest so that they could return the necklace in time.

Question. How did Matilda gain time from Mme Forestier for returning her necklace?
Answer: When the lost necklace was not found, Matilda wrote to her friend Mme Forestier that she had broken the clasp of the necklace, and it had been sent for repairs. She did so to gain time for arranging money to buy a similar necklace.

Question. How did Mme Forestier react when Matilda told her that she had to buy a diamond necklace to replace the one she had borrowed from her?
Answer: After listening to Matilda’s miserable story, Mme Forestier was deeply touched and she took Matilda’s hands with sympathy. Moved by what Matilda had done, she replied that her necklace had not been made of pure diamonds. It had not been worth more than 500 francs.

Question. What did Matilda’s husband bring home one evening? Why was he so elated?
Answer: One evening, Matilda’s husband brought an invitation card inviting them to the residence of the Minister of Public Instruction. He was quite elated to receive the invitation because it was a rare honour, and on top of that, he thought that his wife would feel delighted to attend the ball.

Question. Was Loisel’s action appreciated? What was Matilda’s response?
Answer: No, Matilda did not appreciate the action of arranging the invitation card made by her husband to make her happy. Rather, she refused to go there because she did not have any good dress to wear on that occasion.

Question. What happened at the ball ? Was her dream fulfilled?
Answer: At the ball, Matilda was drunk with pleasure and filled with joy. She danced joyfully and excitedly. Fascinated with her charm and beauty, all the men wanted to be introduced to her. The officials of the ministry even desired to dance with her. She danced with passion and forgot everything in the victory of her glory.

Question. Why does the writer say that Matilda was born as if through an error of destiny into a family of clerks?
Answer: Matilda was a pretty and young lady. She should have taken birth in a family of delicacies and luxuries. She thought of elegant dinners and marvellous dishes. She loved frocks and jewels. But the ill-fated girl was born in a poor clerk’s family. The very idea of poverty angered and tortured her.

Question. What was the financial position of Matilda’s husband?
Answer: Matilda’s husband was a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. He was both poor and economical. He could not afford even to purchase a party dress or some jewels for his wife. She had to attend the dance party after borrowing a necklace from Mrs. Forestier. He had to do menial jobs to earn paltry sums.

Question. Madam Loisel’s pretty dress was ready for the party but as the day of the ball approached, a fresh problem disturbed her. What was the problem?
Answer: Mme Loisel’s pretty dress was ready for the party, but as the day of the ball approached, she had no jewellery to wear in the ball. Her husband had no money. She would have a poverty stricken look at the ball if she wore flowers as suggested by her husband.

Question. Why did Jeanne not recognise her friend Matilda ?
Answer: Matilda had been working very hard for ten years. She had become very rough, strong and hard women. She had unkempt hair and awry skirts. She was completely changed. So, Jeanne did not recognise her.

Question. Describe how necklace has a twist in the end.
Answer: The Loisels bought a necklace for thirty six thousand francs. They gave it in place of Mrs. Forestier’s false and cheap necklace. Both of them did menial jobs for ten years to repay their heavy loan. It gives Mme Loisel a sense of repentance. However, she could not recover her loss of about thirty six thousand francs.

Question. How did a tendency to show off become a curse for Matilda ?
Answer: Matilda was a pretty and young lady. She always thought about elegant dinner parties. Due to her habit of showing off she borrowed necklace from madam Forestier. But her happiness did not last long. She lost the necklace. She suffered for ten years to replace the false necklace with genuine necklace. So tendency to show off become a curse.

Question. What were the changes that take place in Matilda’s life after the ball?
Answer: After the ball Matilda lost Mrs. Forestier’s necklace. She and her husband bought a chaplet of diamonds by borrowing eighteen thousand francs. Both the husband and wife led a life of misery. Matilda send away the maid. She lived in a rented room and did all the household work. She lived a wretched life for ten years.

Question. If Mme Forestier returns the necklace to Matilda what value would it reflect? What would you have done if you were in her place?
Answer: If Mme forestier returns the necklace to Matilda it would reflect honesty,intelligence and a strong bond If we’re in Mme forestier place I would return the necklace to matlida and will not feel guilty because I am no more upset.
 

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Give the character-sketch of Matilda.
Answer: Matilda was a pretty and young lady. She was born in the family of clerks and was married to a clerk. Having been born in a poor family she had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, loved or married by some rich man of dignity. She always suffered from poverty both at the homes of her husband and parents.
She was a short-tempered but tactful lady. She convinced her poor husband to buy her a party dress simply by rejecting the invitation to the ball. She was of showy nature and loved only delicacies and luxuries. She borrowed a necklace only to be noticed by the spectators. She repented when the necklace was lost. She suffered poverty for ten years after replacing the false necklace with a genuine necklace. She ever remained in distress. She was not a considerate and contented character.

Question. Give the character-sketch of Mr. Loisel.
Answer: Mr. Loisel was a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. He had no other source of income. Therefore, he lived from hand to mouth. He was very economical. He ate humble food in cheap dishes. He lived in a humble apartment. He was meek and gentle. He was considerate to the wishes of his short-tempered, pretty and sophisticated wife.
Loisel forgoes buying a gun to purchase a pretty dress for his wife. To keep her in good cheer, he urged her to borrow a necklace from her friend. He tried his level best to search the lost necklace. He was adventurous. He did not hesitate in spending his entire inherited money and even borrowing from money-lenders to replace the lost necklace. He was of flexible nature but a man of good character. He was a loving husband and had poor tastes.

Question. Describe the role of Mrs. Forestier in the story.
Answer: Mrs. Forestier was a rich lady. She was a good friend of Matilda. Her jewel case and black satin box were full of costly ornaments. She is a helpful, kind and considerate lady. When Matilda told her the story of her distress, she got ready to help her. She showed her all the golden ornaments and jewels of admirable workmanship. She did not hesitate the least in lending her superb necklace of diamonds to Matilda.
Mrs. Forestier snubbed Matilda for returning the necklace a bit late. She was a pure-hearted lady. She kept the jewel box without opening it or viewing her necklace. Her honesty and large-heartedness became evident when she declared that her necklace was false and of only five hundred francs in worth.

Question. Based on your reading of the story, write a paragraph on the topic “Living on Borrowed Money can Ruin One’s Happiness in Life.”
Answer: Living on Borrowed Money Can Ruin One’s Happiness in Life
Money is responsible for not only bringing happiness but also misery. The more the money is, the more greed it brings with it. And greed always leads to destruction. It is therefore essential to be satisfied with what one’s got. Living on borrowed money can only provide us with temporry happiness. Once that fades away, it leads to loss of trust and relations, arguments and fights over trivial matters etc. The more we borrow, the more we get trapped in the debts. And eventually there is no looking back. Therefore, if we are happy with our own possessions, we can save ourselves from such debts traps and lead a happy and contended life.

Question. Matilda was very proud of her beauty and charm and this led to her downfall. Based on your reading of the story write a paragraph on the topic : “Prides Goes Before a Fall.”
Answer: Prides Goes Before a Fall
People who are pround always walk with their chin up and don’t really see the dangers that are lying on their path. Hence, they stumble on some of those obstacles and fall down. On the other hand people who are humble look down while they walk and see what obstacles lie on their way. Hence, they are always down to earth and don’t really fail in life. Similarly, if we’re too conceited or feel self-important, something will happen to make us look foolish. Hence, it is important that we always remain humble in our life so that we don’t fall.

Question. Do you think Matilda’s husband was more accommodating than her?
Answer: Yes, of course, we find that Loisel was more accommodating and practical than Matilda. Matilda was ambitious and dreamt of leading a luxurious life. But being married to a clerk, she could not fulfil her over-ambitious desires with her limited means.
But Loisel was much more practical than her. He was happy, realistic and much more contented with his life. He did not dream of those things which were not possible to achieve. At the same time, he was a loving and caring husband. He gave Matilda 400 francs to buy a dress, which he had originally saved to buy himself a gun. He was also self-respecting and honest. After the necklace was lost, he worked hard for many years to pay off the borrowed amount. He willingly worked hard to pay off the debt without any complains.

Question. ‘Matilda was a grand success at the ball’. Explain.
Answer: Of course, Matilda enjoyed at the ball very much. She reached the party wearing a costly dress and a borrowed necklace. She was the main centre of attraction at the party. Everybody praised her for her grace, elegance, beauty and charm. She felt quite elated to dance with the high officials.
In the party, every man wanted to get introduced to her and wished to dance with her. She danced with enthusiasm and was intoxicated with pleasure. She just thought of nothing, but all that admiration that she was being given. She felt that the victory was so complete and sweet to her heart. So, Matilda was a great success at the ball and she enjoyed every moment of it.

Question. How did Matilda and Loisel suffer to pay off the debt?
Answer: Matilda had lost the necklace, which she had borrowed from her rich friend Mme Forestier. So, Matilda and her husband decided to buy a similar necklace and send it to her. But the cost of the similar necklace was 36,000 francs and the Loisels had only 18000 francs. So, they had to borrow 18000 francs on a higher rate of interest to pay for the necklace.
To pay this debt, they had to lead a miserable life, full of hardships. They had to shift to a cheap room and had to even dismiss their servant. Matilda started to do all the household work herself. She fetched water, washed the floor, utensils and dirty clothes. She even did her shopping on her own to save money. Meanwhile, her husband worked in the evening and late at night to earn enough money to pay the debt. It took them ten years to finally pay off the entire debt.

Question. ‘Mme Forestier proved to be a true friend’. Elaborate this point in a paragraph or two and then end the story the way you want to.
Answer: Mme Forestier was a sincere friend. She was shocked to see Matilda’s condition. She couldn’t even recognise her because she looked older than her age. When Matilda told her the story about the lost necklace and the miserable days she had and how it took them ten years to pay for the diamond necklace that she had returned, she felt quite disheartened. Mme Froestier was saddened to hear the story and felt even more regretful to tell her friend that her diamonds were false.
The story could have ended on a positive note. The story could have said that after hearing the depressing story, Mme Forestier finds the necklace in her discarded jewellery box and returns it to Matilda. She does this so that Matilda could then wear the necklace that she had worked hard to pay for ten years forever.
 

Extract Based Questions

1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
She went home towards four o’clock in the morning. Her husband had been half asleep in one of the little salons since midnight, with three other gentlemen whose wives were enjoying themselves very much.
He threw around her shoulders the modest wraps they had carried whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball costume. She wished to hurry away in order not to be noticed by the other women who were wrapping themselves in rich furs.

Question. State any one inference about M Loisel from the given context. He threw around her shoulders the modest wraps they had carried whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball costume.
Answer: M Loisel was a caring husband who didn’t want his wife to fall sick due to cold.

Question. State which of the options from I to 4 can be applied with reference to the given question or context: True (T), False (F), Partially or maybe true (PT), Not applicable (NA).
Which of the following interpretations best describes the attitudes of the men and women in the extract?
1. All the women were social beings; the men were private.
2. The men had vanity but the women were modest.
3. The men were reasonably balanced but the women were vain.
4. The men were social beings; the women were private.
(a) 3 - F 2 - PT, 1 - T, 4 - NA
(b) 2 - T, 1 - PT, 3 - E 4 - NA
(c) 4 - T, 1 - F, 2 - PT, 3 - NA
(d) 3 - T, 2 - F, 1 - PT, 4 - NA
Answer: (d) 3 - T, 2 - F, 1 - PT, 4 - NA

Question. ‘She went home towards four o’clock in the morning’ What does this description tell us about Matilda? Elaborate in about 40 words, with reference to the extract.
Answer: Matilda enjoyed to the hilt at the ball. She danced with enthusiasm and was intoxicated with all the attention she received. The night of the ball had been the realisation of a long cherished dream for her when every eye admired her. She didn’t want to leave the party early.

Question. Which phrase would correctly substitute ‘the modest wraps’ in the given sentence from the extract? “He threw around her shoulders the modest wraps they had carried.”
Answer: an ordinary shawl

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
How would it have been if she had not lost the necklace? Who knows? How singular is life, and how full of changes!
How small a thing will ruin or save one!
One Sunday as she was taking a walk in the Champs-Elysees to rid herself of the cares of the week, she suddenly perceived a woman walking with a child. It was Mme Forestier, still young, still pretty, still attractive. Mme Loisel was affected. Should she speak to her? Yes, certainly. And now that she had paid, she would tell her all. Why not?

Question. State any one inference about Mme Loisel from the given context. ‘One Sunday as she was taking a walk in the Champs-Elysees to rid herself of the cares of the week’
Answer: Matilda was taking a break after a long week of hard labour.

Question. State which of the options from I to 4 can be applied with reference to the given statement or context: True (T), False (F), Partially true (PT), Not applicable (NA).
Mme Loisel says, Wow singular is life, and how full of changes! How small a thing will ruin or save one! Because _____.
1. she had had a remarkable life.
2. her life had changed for the better.
3. her stubbornness had wrecked her life.
4. she had lived an ordinary life.
(a) 3 - F, 2 - PT, 1 - T, 4 - NA
(b) 3 - T, 1 - PT, 2 - F, 4 - NA
(c) 4 - T, 1 - F, 2 - PT, 3 - NA
(d) 2 - T, 1 - F, 3 - PT, 4 - NA
Answer: (b) 3 - T, 1 - PT, 2 - F, 4 - NA

Question. ‘Mme Loire! was affected. Should she speak to her? Yes certainly. And now that she had paid, she would tell her all. Why not?’ Why does the author say, ‘Mme Loisel was affected? Elaborate in about 40 words, with reference to the extract.
Answer: Matilda chanced to meet Mrs. Forestier who still looked young and pretty whereas Matilda had grown old and tough because of her blind ambition and vanity. She now decided to confess the loss and replacement of the necklace and face the truth.

Question. Which phrase would correctly substitute ‘singular’ in the given sentence from the extract? How singular is life, and how full of changes!
Answer: remarkable