Extract 1

The bonsai tree

In the attractive pot

Could have grown eighty feet tall

On the side of a mountain

Till split by lighting.

1) Which tree is the poet talking about? How tall would it have grown and in what circumstances?
Ans) The poet is talking about the bonsai tree. It could have grown eighty feet tall if it were on the side
of a mountain.
2) What does the bonsai tree symbolise? Explain.
Ans) The bonsai is a miniature tree grown in a pot. The bonsai tree symbolises women who are
oppressed by man in a patriarchal society.
3) Where would it have grown tall? How would it’s height be its enemy?
Ans) The tree could have been eighty feet tall by the side of a mountain . It could be damaged
only by lightning.
4) Why do you think the poet used the word ‘attractive pot ‘ in the extract?
Ans) The bonsai tree could have reached a height of eighty feet if it had been allowed to grow
freely. It has been kept small and confined in an attractive pot. The pot, while providing a place
for the tree to grow , also limits its growth.
The bonsai tree actually represents all women who are unfairly treated and controlled in a
society where man have more power.
Just like the plant is stuck living in an ‘attractive pot ‘, a woman is often within the four
walls of her home, doing all the household work and thinking it’s her job to be small, weak and
domesticated. This is because she has been conditioned or trained from a young age to think
like this.
A small bonsai tree In an attractive pot encourages the belief that women are
desirable when they are pretty, delicate and domesticated.
5) What does ‘till split by lightning symbolise? How is the tree protected from lightning?
Ans) ‘Till split by lightning ‘ symbolises the potential damage or challenges one might face in
the outside world.
A tree that could have grown to the height of eighty feet , is pruned and moulded to give it a
certain artistic quality and shape its branches and the trunk. Its growth is curtailed to just nine
inches and confined in an attractive pot. The gardener who does so sings and talks to the bonsai
and deceives it saying that it has transformed it into a bonsai otherwise if it had grown to its full
potential on the side of a mountain, it would have been destroyed by lightning.
A parallel is drawn between a bonsai and a woman. A woman meets the same fate as the
bonsai. Her freedom and growth is curtailed by the patriarchal society.The women are
prevented from flourishing to their full potential. Just as the pot shields the bonsai from
lightning, the home safeguards the women from all external adversities. Extract 2

…carefully pruned it.

 It is nine inches high.
Every day as he
Whittles back the branches
The gardener croons.
1) How tall is the tree? Why did it not grow any further?
Ans) The tree is nine inches tall. The tree does not grow any further because the gardener
stunts the potential of the tree by pruning and whittling under the pretext of keeping it safe.
2) Who prunes the tree? Why does he do so?
Ans) The gardener prunes and whittles the tree to restrict it from growing and shapes it
according to its desires. He stunts the potential of the tree under the pretext of keeping
it safe. Patriarchs in the society do the same with women under the pretext of protecting
them.
3) What does ‘croons ‘ mean? Briefly describe the symbolism here.
Ans) The tree that could have grown to a height of eighty feet is pruned and moulded to
give it a certain artistic quality and shape to its branches and the trunk. The growth is
curtailed to just nine inches and is confined in an attractive pot.
The gardener who does so sings and talks to the bonsai and deceives it saying that it
has transformed it into a bonsai otherwise if it had grown to its full potential, it would have
been destroyed by lightning.
A parallel is drawn between a bonsai and a woman. The crooning of the gardener is
compared to the male member talking to a female. The man, like the gardener would be
telling the woman that she is lucky to be in a home because she is small and weak. It is
the home that like the pot for the bonsai tree protects her from the ‘lightning strikes’
which means the dangers.
4) How is the bonsai tree fooled to choose its path?
Ans) The tree has been prevented from growing up into a full fledged tree and instead has
been planted in a small pot. It is preached to enjoy being in a pot because it has in its
nature to be small and therefore feel cosy in it. This way the poor tree is fooled to adjust to
the exposed miniature existence.
Extract 3
It is your Nature
To be small and cosy,
Domestic and weak;
How lucky little tree, To
have a pot To grow in.
1) What is the nature of the tree according to the gardener?
Ans) The narrator allows the tree to flourish in the pot where it is planted. To make its
forced Surrounding seem normal and appropriate the tree is made to believe that it is
its nature to be small, cosy and weak. The narrator intends to make the tree believe
about itself what ‘he’ chooses to believe it is.
2) Is the tree lucky to grow in a pot?Explain the irony In this line.
Ans) The little tree has not been allowed to grow up into a huge tree and is forced to stay
small. As a compensation for the limited existence of the tree, it is told to be happy
 and feel lucky about being planted in the pot where it can grow and flourish without
the dangers of facing the natural elements of disaster.
3) What effect do these lines have on the tree?
Ans) The gardener says that nature has made the tree small and weak so that it can be
domesticated. It is fortunate to have a pot in which it can grow.
These lines emphasise the limitations placed on the tree. They convey the idea
that the tree the tree is conditioned to believe that its confined state is natural and
even fortunate.
Patriachs in society do the same with women. They restrict their movement in the
garb of protecting them. Women are conditioned that they are domestic and weak and
made only for feminine roles. They want to tell women that they are fortunate to have
men to look after them.
4) Even though the tree had the potential to grow, it didn’t. Why?
Ans) The tree that could have grown to the height of eighty feet is pruned and moulded
by the gardener to give it a certain artistic quality and shape to its branches and the
trunk. Its growth is curtailed to just nine inches and confined to an attractive pot.
A woman meets the same fate as the bonsai. Her freedom and growth is curtailed
by the patriarchal society. If women were allowed the same opportunities as men,
they would have also reached their potential.
5) If the tree was nurtured, it would have grown tall and reached its potential. Comment.
Ans) The bonsai tree could have grown eighty feet tall On the side of a mountain if the gardener had not
carefully pruned it and kept its growth at nine inches..
Similarly women have a vast potential to grow and accomplish things but fail to do so
as a result of the manipulation of the gardener i.e. cultural restrictions of the society. I
women are allowed the same opportunities as men, they would have also reached their
potential.
Extract 4
With living creatures
One must begin very early
To dwrf their growth: The
bound feet,
The crippled brain,
The hair in curlers, the hands you
Love to touch.
1) Why should one begin very early? What do you understand by ‘dwarf’ ? Ans) These
lines es indicate thT society conditions women from their birth to believe in their inferiority
It is obvious that when a living being is expected to grow up in a particular way,
special care and efforts have to be put in to control it’s predetermined growth.
For children to become a specific ki d of person with certain qualities, parents and
teachers try to guide them from an early age.
‘Dwarf ‘ is a term that can either mean to stunt one’s growth or to belittle
a person and to make him feel small.
2) What is the significance of ‘dwarf ‘ and ‘crippled ‘?
 Ans) Both ‘dwarf’ and ‘crippled ‘ emphasize the intentional act of limiting or
damaging growth and potential. The poet emphasizes the way society directly or
indirectly prevents women from reaching their full potential.
3) Briefly explain the meaning and significance of’ bound feet’?
Ans) ‘Bound feet is an allusion to the Chinese practice of binding women’s feet to
prevent them from growing. This was not only done for aesthetic purpose but
also to prevent their freedom. It symbolises the extremes to which societies go to
suppress and control women.
4) ‘The bound feet’ and ‘the hair in curlers ‘ indicate that the poet is no longer talking
about a tree. Who/What is the poem talking about.
Ans The bound feet and the hair in curlers represents various practises in the
society that limits women’s growth and potential. The bound feet symbolise
physical constraints. and hair in curlers signify beauty standards. Women spend
their time,energy and attention towards appearing attractive. This prevents them
from reaching their potential. These practices were done to make women attractive
to men.
5) Explain the meaning and symbolism in ‘the handsyou/ love to touch.
Ans) ‘The hand you love to touch’ suggests intimacy and affection but also reflects
the objectification of women. It emphasizes the dichotomy of how society
cherishes woman while simultaneously suppressing and controlling them.