Animals by Walt Whitman
1. Choose the meaning of the underlined words from the alternative given in the brakets:
(i) ...........they are so placid and self-contained. (irritated/trouble some/unruffled) hslc-2018, 2020
Ans:- Unruffled.
(ii) ....not one is demented with the mania.......(mad/dishonest/displeased) hslc-2020
Ans:- Mad.
Choose the correct answer:
(iii) The poet wants to live with:
(a) fellow humans
(b) microbes
(c) birds
(d) animals
Ans:-(d) animals
(iv) What do animals bring to the poet?
(a) token of good virtue
(b) token of greediness
(c) token of possessing things
Ans:-(a) token of good virtue
(v) What mania do humans suffer from?
(a) being powerful
(b) owning things
(c) good values
(d) eating
Ans:-(b) owning things
(vi) Who always complain about their condition?
(a) animals
(b) humans
(c) the poet
(d) birds
Ans:-(b) humans
(vii) Who kneels to another?
(a) animal
(b) human
(c) bird
(d) microbe
Ans:- (b) human
4. Why does the poet like animals?
(OR) Why does the poet feel more at home with animals than with humans? HSLC-2015
Ans:-
The poet has a predilection for animals because of their nature of
remaining serene and contended. They are above any desire to possess
material wealth and prosperity,and hence they need not complain about
their circumstance.But human beings are maddened with a desire to amass
things. So, the poet feels more at home with animals than with humans.
2. Explain the satisfaction that animals have and humans don't.
Ans:-
Animals do not hanker after worldly things. Human beings on the other
hand, have an insatiable appetite for amassing wealth. They repent of
their sins and express dissatisfaction at their condition. Animals are
not required to show respect to the dead whereas human beings are
beleaguered with customs and traditions.
3. Why do animals not weep for their sins?
Ans:-
Animals do not weep for their sins because there are no established
customs and traditions in their society to judge right or wrong. They
are too innocent to commit any sin. They are also devoid of the concept
of relationships. Their primary concern is their survival. So, the
animals don't have to weep for their sins.
4. What makes the poet sick?
Ans:-
What makes the poet sick is the tendency of human beings to commit all
kinds of sins and discuss their duty to God. This is sheer hypocrisy of
human beings, who on one hand do wrong and on the other pray to God.
5. Differentiate between humans and animals in terms of desire.
Ans:- Animals are very different from human beings in nature and desires. They do not have any desire to own things and amass wealth. They live a happy and contended life free from greed and material pursuits. Human beings have an unquenchable thirst for possessing valuables.
6. What does the poet mean by, "Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth"?
Ans:-
The poet says that animals do not have any custom of praying to God or
to ancestors. All are considered equal in their society. Therefore no
one is more respectable than the other. Innocence is the most attractive
quality of the animals and the absence of social conventions is also a
factor that contributes to their.
7. "They do not sweat and whine
about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for
their sins, They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God".
(a) Why do humans lie awake in the dark?.
(b) What do humans do about their condition?
(c) Which word is opposite to "good deeds"?
(d) Find a word from the passage that is an antonym of 'Thanking'.
Ans:- (a) Humans lie awake in the dark to repent of their sins.
(b) They sweat under the weight of their sinful actions and complain about their condition.
(c) Sins.
(d) Whine
8."Not
one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning
things, Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands
of years ago, Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth."
(a) What does the poet call a mania here?
(b) How are the animals not dissatisfied?
(c) What does 'demented' mean?
(d) Which word in the passage means 'species?
Ans:- (a) The habit of amassing wealth by human beings has been called a mania.
(b) Animals do not hanker after material possessions and therefore, they are never dissatisfied.
(c) mad
(d) 'Kind'.
Syllabus of Class X English
1. A Letter to God
2. Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
3. A Tiger in the zoo by Leslie Norris
4. Amanda by Robin Klein
5. Animals by Walt Whitman
6. Coorg by Lokesh Abrol
7. Tea from Assam by Arup Kumar Datta
8. Madam Rides the Bus by Vallikkannan
9. The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash
Momemts Supplimentary Reader in Class X English
10. The Midnight visitor
11. A Question of Trust
12. Footprint without feet
13. The Hack Driver
Post Graduate Teacher (English)
Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' Higher Secondary School, Bebejia, Nagaon, Assam.
Email: rupjyotigoswami983@gmail.com
Mobile: 9864425896.
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