THE POEM ‘TREES’ APPEARS TO BE ABOUT TREES,

ENVIRONMENT, DEFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION.

ON A DEEPER LEVEL, WE DISCOVER THAT ADRIENNE RICH
IS EXPRESSING HER CONCERN ABOUT WOMEN AND THEIR
EMANCIPATION. ELABORATE WITH REFERENCE TO THE
POEM.
ANS: Literally the poem is about trees and nature. The poem emphasises
that man has spoiled the equilibrium of the ecosystem. The poet says that
the forsets got empty due to deforestation by humans.

Initially the plants and trees were meant to grow in open forests but men
uprooted them from their native place and kept them inside his own
house where the trees felt strangled. It gives us a moral that we should
not interfere with the natural process of plants’ growth.

On a deeper level, Adrienne Rich is using the metaphor trees for women
whose basic rights of freedom and expression have been seized by the
patriarchal society. Through this poem the poetess wants to make us
aware that women emancipation is lacking and it must be taken care of
else they may revolt for their freedom.

IV THE POEM ENDS ON A NOTE OF VICTORY. JUSTIFY WITH

REFERENCE TO THE LITERAL AND SYMBOLIC MEANING.
ANS: Literally, the trees were successful in disengaging themselves from
their roots and confinements and somehow stumbled into the forest. This
proves the strength of the trees and declares their victory.
If seen from a symbolic perspective, women successfully crossed over the
boundaries of the patriarchal society and entered the male-dominated
world to prove their strength and persona.
III THE POET USES TREES AS A SYMBOL FOR WOMEN
BREAKING PATRIARCHAL NOTIONS. DO YOU AGREE?
WHY/WHY NOT?
ANS: I agree that trees have been symbolised for women by the poet. The
breaking of window glass by the branches of the trees and the cracks in
the verandah floor show their resistance and struggle to leave the
traditional and obsolete norms set for women by the patriarchal society.
Women, who were forced to stay inside homes, are now moving into the
outer world to claim their liberty in the men’s world.

V THE POET SAYS THAT HER ‘HEAD IS FULL OF WHISPERS’,

WHEREIN THE ‘WHISPERS’ SYMBOLIZE FORCES OF
NEGATIVITY AND RESTRICTION. EXPLAIN WHY THE POET
SAYS THIS.
ANS: Whispers here symbolise the negative forces of the patriarchal
society which always confined women and restricted their freedom. But
now all the women are making a collective effort to liberate themselves.
So, these whispers will also go away.
40. What social injustices does the story ‘Bholi’ highlight?
Discuss them with Bholi as the one effected.
Ans. The story highlights some of our society’s injustices. One
of them is gender bias. Bholi, being a girl, is treated differently.
When her parents have to send a girl to school, they feel that
educating a girl will be a barrier to her marriage.
The other injustice is towards special–needs children. There is
zero tolerance towards specialneeds children in our society.
Here, Bholi is often made fun of because she is less intelligent.
Another major injustice is for ‘looks’ and stammering. When it
comes to her marriage, she is being made to get married off at a
very young age and that too with an old and limping man. Had
she been beautiful and normal like others, her parents would
have never thought of marrying her to such a person.
The curse of dowry is an element in the story. Bholi has a
pockmarked face due to small pox and also stammers as a child.
Her parents are willing to pay dowry to an old man with a limp
so that he marries her.

36. Read the following quote by American poet Maya Angelou

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the
lapels.” The stand taken by Bholi at the end of the story “Bholi”
is best described by this quote. Justify
Ans. The society always dictates the womenfolk to be
submissive and instructs them not to take charge of their life in
their own hands. It is the duty of the female to get married and
beget family. But for that, they need to be born beautiful but
along the socially acceptable lines.
Bholi was a girl with stammering and had pockmarks on her.
She was never loved and cared for; she was only regarded as a
burden. Thankfully she was sent to school, though the motive of
her parents was far from educating her, it was only for getting
rid of her worries. Years later, she raised her voice against her
own marriage. The man demanded dowry to marry her and so
Bholi rejected him. She took the steering of her life in her own
hands in a society where marriage is the first and only priority of
women.
This quote of Maya Angelou suits perfectly to Bholi because
being a young girl; she literally challenges the world, holding it
by the lapels

61. Describe the experience of the Halls in the room of their

eccentric scientist –guest.
Ans. The Halls had a weird and frightening experience in the
room of their eccentric scientist-guest. Mrs hall felt something
suddenly whizz past her ear. Then the hat on the bedpost leapt
up and dashed into her face and the chair sprung into the air and
charged at both of them. It pushed them out of the room,
slamming and locking the door after them.
62. Invisibility proved to be a curse than a boon for Griffin,
Discuss.
Ans. The ability to become invisible came to Griffin under the
condition of nakedness. This was like a curse because he was
roaming in the streets of London without clothes during the
harsh winter. Every time he was on the verge of getting caught,
he had to undress himself in order to escape.
In this way he was cursed to face the hostile weather and fear
of being caught.

II THE NEIGHBOURS SUSPECTED GRIFFIN OF BURGLARY.

STATE WHY THIS WAS/WAS NOT JUSTIFIED.
ANS: The neighbours’ suspicion of Griffin for burglary was not
justified as there was no evidence to support their accusation.
Griffin’s strange behaviour and invisibility did not prove that
he had committed any crime.

DO YOU FIND THE STORY BASED ON BEING INVISIBLE A

MERE FIGMENT OF ONE’S IMAGINATION OR A
PHENOMENON THAT IS PLAUSIBLE? ELABORATE WITH
YOUR OPINION.
ANS: The concept of invisibility is a topic of scientific study and
research, and while achieving true invisibility remains a
challenge, there have been significant advancements in the
field of cloaking technology, which makes the phenomenon of
invisibility plausible.

SCIENTISTS CONTRIBUTE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER

PLACE. GRIFFIN IS AN ANTITHESIS TO THIS STATEMENT.
JUSTIFY.
ANS: While it is true that scientists contribute to making the
world a better place through their research and innovations,
Griffin, the protagonist of “Footprints Without Feet,” is an
antithesis to this statement because he uses his scientific
knowledge for personal gain and causes harm to others,
leading to chaos and destruction.

42. Why did the Buddha choose Benares to preach his first
sermon? [Board Question]
Ans. Benares is the most holy dipping destination on the River
Ganges, which is usually crowded with pilgrims who come to
get a dip in the River Ganga, thus, getting rid themselves of
their sorrows and sufferings. Buddha’s aim was to lessen the
sufferings of human.

44. Who, according to Buddha, will obtain peace?

Ans. According to Buddha, he who seeks peace should draw out
the arrow of lamentation, complaint and grief. He, who has
drawn out the arrow and has become composed, will obtain
peace of mind.

47. Describe the journey of Sidhartha Gautama becoming the

Buddha. [Board Question]
Ans. Gautama Buddha began his life as a royal prince. He was
named Siddhartha Gautama. At twelve, Gautama was sent
away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures. At the age of
sixteen, he returned home to marry a princess.
The prince was deliberately shielded from all sufferings of the
world by his family. But this attempt was failed when the prince
chanced upon a sick man, an aged man, a funeral procession
and a monk begging for alms, while he was out hunting. These
sights of suffering, sickness and decay so moved him that he at
once went out into the world to seek enlightenment. He
wandered for seven years in search of enlightenment. Finally,
he sat down under a peepal tree where he vowed to stay until
enlightenment came.
Enlightenment came after seven days and he renamed the tree
as the Bodhi Tree or the Tree of Wisdom and began to teach
and share his new teachings .He then finally came to be known
as the ‘Buddha’, the ‘Awakened’ or the Enlightened one. The
Buddha gave his first sermon at Benares on the River Ganges.