The gardener
-By Rudyard Kipling
Description of the poem:-
When Helen Turrell became pregnant she was ashamed because she was not married. She left her home in England to have the baby in the south of France. When she returned to England. She pretended the baby was really her brother’s child. The brother, George, lived in India but he had died falling off his horse. This meant Helen had to look after the child. Helen told other lies, she had to go to the south of France because she was ill. She said the child had been born in India, but had been brought to the south of France by a nurse who had been dismissed when the child become ill and she said she had given the child’s mother some money for the child.
The was called Michael. Helen didn’t tell him that she was his real mother. She said she was his aunt, and that he was her nephew. Michael was sent to a private school. At school he was told he was born outside marriage.
When the First World War began, Michael joined the army. He didn’t have to do much fighting, but he was killing by an exploding shell that completely buried his body. After the war, Michael was re-buried in a huge cemetery in Belgium.
Helen decided to visit the grave of Michael. On her way to cemetery she met a women called Mrs. Scars worth said she visit graves for her friends who couldn’t come themselves. She took photographs of graves. She called these visits “commission”.
Late at night Mrs. Scars worth come into Helen’s hotel room. She said she was telling lies. Her real reason for visiting the cemetery was to visit the grave of someone special to her. (Probably a secret lover)
On the next morning, Helen visited the cemetery. It was huge; there were thousands of black crosses that all looked the same. Helen didn’t know how she could find her son’s grave. A gardener approached her. Helen said she was looking for her nephew’s grave. The gardener said he would show her the grave of her son.
Who is the gardener?
Some ideas:
- The gardener is really a Gardner.
- The gardener is the ghost of Michael.
- The Gardner is Michael’s real father.
- The gardener is Jesus Christ or an angel.
Character identity card
Name : Michael Turrell
Mother : Helen Turrell
Father : Unknown
Date of birth : Approx. 1896
Place of birth : South of France
Education : Private School
Job : Solider
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