THE GOLDEN TOUCH BY Nathaniel Hawthorne WITH QUESTION AND ANSWERS

 

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

 

 

Introducing the author

 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne       (July     4,    1804   — May     19,

1864) is an American  novelist and short story

writer. His themes often centre on the inherent

evil and sin of humanity, and his works                      have

moral       messages          and       deep        psychological

complexity.

 

 

 

Unit I

 

Warm up

Human  beings  have  fascination  for  gold.  Unusual  greed  for  gold  invites sorrow, doesn't it? Hawthorne's story  The Golden Touch' narrates the misery of a legendary king who suffered for his desire to amass gold. Read the following unit of the text and note how King Midas was obsessed with the yellow metal:

 

The Text

Long ago, there lived a very rich  man called  Midas.  Besides being  rich, he was a king, and he had a little daughter called Marygold.

King Midas loved gold more than anything else in the world. He liked being a king, chiefly because he loved his golden crown. He loved his daughter dearly too, and the more he loved her, the more gold he wanted for her sake.

When  King  Midas saw the golden  light of the sun  at evening,  he wished  it could turn everything  into real gold. When Marygold came to him with a  bunch of sweet yellow flowers,he would say,'If they were as golden as they look, they would be worth picking!' Even the roses in his garden did not please him any more-the largest and sweetest and most beautiful roses ever seen                                                                                                                                               - because they were not made of gold. And although the king was very fond of music in his youth, the only music he loved now was the sound of gold coins, one against another.

At last, King  Midas could not bear to touch anything that was not gold.  He used to go down  to a secret room  under his  palace where he  kept his  precious store. He would let himself in and count his gold pieces. He would hold the bars of gold, and admire his gold cups and plates, until he could hardly bear to leave them.

Now in those days a great many wonderful things used to   happen just as they do today. One morning King Midas was in his treasure-room when he noticed that the sun was shining into the room more brightly than usual. Not only that, but a stranger stood there, smiling at him in the light of the sunbeam.

King Midas knew that he had locked himself in as usual, and so he guessed that his visitor was no ordinary person.

The  stranger  looked  at the  gold  pieces  that the  king  was  counting.   You seem to be a very rich man' he said.

But it has taken  me a long time to collect this gold',  said King  Midas.   If I could live a thousand years, I might have time to get richer'.

'What! Aren't you satisfied?' asked the stranger. 'What else do you want?'

Midas thought carefully. This was a wonderful chance, and he felt that the stranger had magical powers.

'I am tired  of collecting  my riches  so slowly',  he  said.  'I wish  everything  I touch could be turned into gold'.

The Golden Touch!' exclaimed the stranger.  Are you sure you would never regret it?'

'How could  I  regret  such  a  thing?'  said  Midas.   It would  give  me  perfect happiness at last'.

'Very well, then', the stranger said, as he turned to go. 'Tomorrow at sunrise you will find that you have the Golden Touch'.

The  light of the sunbeam brightened so vividly that Midas closed  his eyes. When he opened them again, the stranger had gone.

 VIDEO IN ODIA

 

Think it out

1. What do you learn about king Midas from the first two paragraphs of the story?

Ans.  The first two paragraphs throw light on the king Midas’s vast wealth and his obsession with gold.

2. What did he wish when saw the golden light of the evening sun?

Ans. When he saw the golden light of the evening sun. He wished it could change everything into genuine gold.

3. Why didn’t he like the roses of his garden?

Ans. He didn’t like the rose of his garden, because they were not made of gold.

4. How did he spend his time in his ‘treasure-room’?

Ans. He spent his time in his treasure-room in counting his gold pieces. Besides, he held the bars of gold and praised his gold cups and plates.

5. how did he come across the stranger?

Ans. He came across the stranger, when his treasure-room was bathed in bright sunshine; he found the latter in his locked room.

6. How did king Midas answer the strangers question, “what else do you want?”

Ans. When the stranger asked him ‘what else do you want?’. The king expressed his wish that everything he would touch could be changed in to gold.besides,he was sick of collecting his wealth at a very slow rate.

7. How did the stranger fulfill his wishes?

Ans. The stranger fulfilled his ambition by telling him that the following day atsunrise.he would find the golden touch at his disposal.

 

 

Unit II

 

Warm up

How did King Midas feel when his desire for turning everything into gold was fulfilled?  Read the following  unit of the text and  mark how King  Midas felt when what he touched changed into gold:

The Text

Next morning, King Midas awoke before the dawn. He looked eagerly to see if his bed had  been turned into gold. But no;  it was exactly as it had been before. He lay, very disappointed, looking around his room.

Suddenly, the earliest sunbeam of the rising sun shone through the window and  up  to the  ceiling  above.  It seemed  to  reflect  its  golden  light towards  him. Looking at the sheet on his bed, Midas was astonished to find that it had become cloth of gold. The Golden Touch had truly come to him, with the first sunbeam.

King  Midas got out of bed  in excitement. He touched one of the legs of the bed as he did so - and it immediately became a golden pillar. He pulled the curtain at the window, and at once it became golden, too. He put on his clothes and found himself dressed in golden cloth.

He took up his spectacles and put them on - and he found he could see nothing at all. The glasses had turned into gold and he could not see through them. He took them off again.

 

'Never mind', he thought to himself.  The Golden Touch is worth more than a pair of spectacles, and Marygold will be able to read to me'.

King Midas went downstairs and into the garden. He noticed that even the brass handle of the door became gold as soon as he turned it. Then he went among the rose-trees that had always been his pride and joy in the past.

When he went into breakfast that morning, he felt more hungry than usual. While he was waiting for his eggs to be ready, little Marygold came in crying bitterly.

'Look, father!' she cried, holding out a golden rose.                        went to pick you some rose and they are yellow and hard, and their sweet scent is gone'.

'Never mind, my dear', said her father.  They are worth much more like that. Sit down and eat your breakfast'.

He poured himself a cup of coffee as he spoke. The coffee pot was a golden one when he put it back on the table. Then he tried a spoonful of coffee, to see if it was sweet enough. But it had become liquid gold.

 

'Well!' he exclaimed. He was thirsty.

What is the matter, father?' asked Marygold.                                                                                                               `Nothing, child. Drink your milk,' Midas said. But the eggs that he tried to eat, the fish, the bread, the butter all the food was uneatable for the king, that morning.

'How am Ito have any breakfast?' he thought.  Such costly food is before me, and I can eat nothing!'

He looked across the table at Marygold. She was eating happily, her tears forgotten. She looked up, saw that something was wrong, and came round to comfort her father.

 

'What is wrong, father?' she asked.

Midas bent down and kissed his little daughter. Then                - what a terrible change came over Marygold! Her sweet little face turned to yellow gold, her lovely hair became golden metal, her little body hardened into a figure of solid gold. What had he done?

 VIDEO IN ODIA:

Think it out

 

8. When did the king discover that his desire for the golden touch had been fulfilled?

Ans. The king discovered that his desire for the golden touch had been fulfilled at the sight of his bed sheet transformed into cloth gold.

9. Why was the king not sad when his spectacles turned into gold?

Ans. The king was not sad when his spectacles turned in to gold. Because he felt that a pair of spectacles was not as precious as the golden touch.besides, her daughter marigold could read to him.

10. What was Marigolds complaint about the golden rose?

Ans. Marigolds complaint about the golden rose was that it had become yellow and hard and lost it fragrance.

11. How did the king console his daughter?

Ans. The king consoled his daughter stating that she should not think of it at all, because these rose flowers that had turned in to gold were invaluable. He lovingly said to her to sit and take her breakfast.

12. Why couldn’t the king enjoy his breakfast?

Ans. The king couldn’t enjoy his breakfast that included eggs, fish, bread, butter and a spoonful of coffe, because they all became gold.

13. What happened to marigold when the king kissed her?

Ans. When the king kissed her, the king saw before him a terrible figure instead of his little daughter. Her sweet face, her beautiful hair and her little body had all gone. There stood a statue of solid gold.

UNIT 3

WARM-UP:

How do you expect the story to end? Does King Midas repent for his desire for gold? Read the following unit of the text and note how  King Midas got rid of his golden touch:

 

The Text

This story would be too sad for us all if we lingered too long on this terrible sight. King Midas could not bear to look at Marygold, yet he could not leave her side. He felt so sad and sorrowful that he wished he was the poorest man in all the world if only his beloved daughter could be herself again.

In despair, Midas looked about him. Suddenly he saw the stranger that had visited him the day before.

 

Well Midas', said the stranger. 'How do you like having the Golden Touch?'

'I have lost everything I really loved', said King Midas. 'I am full of sorrow and regret. Gold is of no use to me now'.

'So you have learnt something since yesterday?' asked the stranger.   Now which is worth more - the Golden Touch or a cup of cold water?'

 

'Oh, blessed water!' exclaimed Midas. Will I ever taste it again'.

  

The Golden Touch           - or a  piece of bread?' the stranger said.  'A piece of bread', answered Midas, is worth all the gold on earth!'

'Gold - or your own little daughter?' asked the stranger. 'Oh - my child, my child!' cried poor Midas.

'I would not have given one hair of her head for the power to change the whole earth into gold!'

 

The stranger looked seriously at King Midas.

You are wiser than you were', he said. Your heart is still flesh and blood. You know truly that the common things of life, which are within everyone's reach, are more valuable than riches. Tell me, do you want to keep the Golden Touch?'

'No, it is hateful to me now', said Midas, passionately. A fly settled on the kings nose and immediately fell to the floor, a small scrap of gold. Midas shuddered.

'Then go down to the end of your garden', said the stranger, and wash yourself in the water of the river there. Then bring some of the same water and sprinkle it over anything that you wish to change back again. If you do this, truly and sincerely, you can set right again the results of your greed of gold'.

 

King Midas bowed his head. When he looked up again, the stranger had vanished.

The king ran at once to the river. Without waiting to take off his clothes, he dived in. In the coolness of the water, he felt at once that a weight had been lifted from his heart and body.

He came out of the river. He was free of the Golden Touch! He put out his hand and touched a wild rose on the river's bank, and he found with thankfulness that it remained the same sweet flower. Taking up a water pot, he quickly filled it with river water and took it back to the palace.

I expect the servants thought it very strange to see their royal master carrying a water pot; but that water was more precious to Midas than an ocean of gold.

 

The king went straight to the golden figure of little Marygold. As he sprinkled the water on her, the rosy colour came back to her cheeks. She began to sneeze and shake the water from her golden hair.

 

'Oh, father! See how wet I am - and my dress was clean this morning!' she said.

Marygold did not know what had happened to her, and her father did not tell her how wrong and foolish he had been. He took her out into the garden, where they watered the flowers together and picked a bunch of sweetly-scented roses.

 VIDEO IN ODIA

Think it out

 

14. How did the king realize that the golden touch was a useless gift for him?

Ans. The king realized that the golden touch was a useless gift for him, because it deprived him of everything that he loved, especially his sweet little daughter marigold. The king had become a grief-stricken person.

15. ‘You are wiser than you were’ – why did the stranger say so?

Ans.      The stranger said so; because he marked that the king was seething with repentance for his obsession with gold. The king wished he had not given one hair of his daughters head in exchange of the power to transform the entire earth into gold.

16. What did the stranger advice the king to do to get rid of his golden touch?

Ans. In order to get rid of his golden touch, the stranger advised the king to go to the end of his garden, and wash himself in the water of the river there. This was not all. He should bring some of the same water and sprinkle it over anything he wished to change back again.

17. How did the king get back his daughter?

Ans. The king got his daughter back by going straight to the golden figure of his daughter and then sprinkling some water brought from the river on her.

18. Is the story a tragic or comic one? Give your reasons.

Ans. The story, the golden touch is not a tragic one, because though grief- stricken king could not look at marigold. There is no death inevitable.instead; the story is a comic one. King Midas, the protagonist of the story, in spite of his sadness makes us laugh for his blind love of gold. How can a father make his loving little daughter a victim of his boundless greed? His reaction at the loss of everything he loved and his belated realization of his mistakes and above all, the stranger’s words contribute to the comic aspect of the story, although there are patches of pathos.