A. TEXTUAL ASNWERS SOLVED :
1. Tick the item which best answers the following :
(a) The tall girl with their head weighed down means The girl
(i) is ill and exhausted
(ii) has her head bent with shame
(iii) has untidy hair .
(b)The paper -seeming boy with rat's eyes means The boy is
(i) sly and secretive
(ii) thin , hungry and weak
(iii) unpleasant looking .
(c) The stunted , unlucky heir of twisted bones means The boy
(i) has an inherited disability
(ii) was short and bony .
(d) His eyes live in a dream . A squirrel's game , in the tree room other than this means The boy is
(i) full of hope in the future.
(ii) mentally III
(iv) distracted from the lesson .
(e) The children's faces are compared to 'rootless weeds'
This means they are
(i) are insecure
(ii) are lll-fed
(iii) are wasters .
Ans - (a) (i) is ill and exhausted
(b) (ii) thin , hungry and weak
(c) (iii) full of hope in the future
(d) (iv) are insecure .
2. What do you think is the colour of 'sour cream ' ? Why do you think the poet has used this expression to describe the classroom walls ?
Ans - The colour of 'sour cream ' is off white . The poet has used this expression to suggest the decaying aspect . The deterioration in the colour of the classroom walls symbolises the pathetic condition of the lives of the scholars - the children of this slum school .
3. The walls of the classroom are decorated with the pictures of 'Shakespeare ' ' buildings with domes ', ' world maps ' and beautiful valleys . How do these contrast with the world of these children ?
Ans - The pictures that decorate the walls hold a start contrast with the world of these underfed , poverty- stricken , slum children living in cramped dark holes . Obstacles hamper their physical and mental growth . The pictures on the wall suggest beauty , well - being , progress and prosperity - a world of sunshine and warmth of love . But the world of the slum children is ugly and lack prosperity .
4. What does the poet want for the children of the slums ? How can their lives be made to change ?
Ans - The poet wants the people in authority to realise their responsibility towards the children of the slums . All sort of social injustice and class inequalities be ended by eliminating the obstacles that confine the slum children to their ugly and filthy surroundings . Let them study and learn to express themselves freely . Then they will share the fruit of progress and prosperity and their lives will change for the better .
B. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS :
1. In the opening stanza the imagery is that of despair and disease . Read the poem and underline the words / phrases that bring out these images .
Ans - The following words / phrases bring out these images of despair and disease :
'Rootless weeds ', 'the air tom round their pallor ',
The tall girl with the weighed - down head ',
The paper -seeming boy , with rat's eyes '.
'The stunted , unlucky heir of twisted bones ;.
'gnarled disease '.
2. Why does Stephen Spender use the images of despair and disease in the first stanza of the poem and with what effect ?
Ans - He uses the images of despair and disease to describe the miserable and pathetic lives of the children living in slum . The faces of these children are pale and lifeless . They and their hair are like ' rootless weeds ' . The burden of life makes them sit with their head ' weighed down ' . The stunted growth is depicted by ' the paper- seeming bo / and ' the stunted unlucky heir of twisted bones '. Their weak bodies recite their fathers'' gnarled disease'.
3. In spite of despair and disease prevading the lives of the slum children , they are not devoid of hope ? Give an example of their hope or dream ?
Ans - The burden of poverty and disease crushes the bodies of these slum children but not their souls. They still have dreams . Even their foggy future has not crashed all their hopes . They dream of open seas , green fields and about the games that a squirrel plays in the tree room .
4. How does Stephen Spender picture -rise the condition of the slum children ?
Ans - Stephen Spender uses contrasting images in the poem to picture-rise the condition of the slum children . For example -
"A narrow street sealed in with a lead sky Far far from rivers , capes and stars of words."
The first line presents the dark , narrow , cramped holes and lanes closed in by the bluish grey sky . The second fine presents a world of beauty , prosperity , progress , well -being and openness.
5. What is the theme of the poem 'An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum ? How has it been presented ?
Ans- In this poem Stephen Spender deals with the theme of social injustice and class inequalities . He presents the theme by talking of two different and incompatible worlds . The world of the rich and the 'civilized ' has nothing to do with the world of narrow lanes and cramped holes. The gap between these two highlights social disparities and class inequalities .
