ANIMALS                            ( WALT WHITMAN)

Q1) Write the central theme of the poem ‘Animals’?

Ans1)  The poet presents a universal message that animals are not selfish and cruel like human beings. We must learn from them their virtues.

Q2)  what are the things which are not done by the animals?  

Ans2)  The animals do not bewail over their condition and weep for their sins. They do their duties as the God has allotted them to perform.

Q3)  why do the animals have no mania of owing things?

Ans3)  Animals do not have the mania of possessions as they are completely satisfied with their life. They do not kneel before others and do not remember even their ancestors.

Q4)  How do the animals show their relations? 

Ans4) The animals show their relations by their faithfulness, service and love.

Q 5) Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn and live with animals...” What is the poet turning from?

Ans: The poet is turning away from living with other humans as he finds them complicated and false. He would rather live with animals that are self-contained and non-complaining.

Q6: Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t.

Ans: The poet has drawn three comparisons between humans and animals. Humans sweat and work to make a living and later whine and sulk about the amount of work they have to do to survive. Animals, on the other hand, do not whine about their condition. Humans lie awake at night and cry for the wrongs they have done. Animals do not weep for anything they do and sleep peacefully. Finally, humans make each other sick by discussing their duties to God. However, animals do not have any god and they live and survive without any prayers or fasts.

Q 7) Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Discuss this in group.

Ans: Yes, humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago. They worship their ancestors and pray by kneeling in front of their portraits. They hold religious sermons and ceremonies in their memory.

Q 8) What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class. (Hint: Whitman belongs to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth, which holds that civilization has made humans false to their own true nature. What could be the basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?

Ans: The token that the poet says he might have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him, is his true nature as a human. While humans came close to civilization, they gradually moved away from their true nature. The natural instincts that humans had and the innocence with which they lived and helped each other have been left behind somewhere. As they got near civilization, they chose to leave behind the virtues of kindness, sincerity, unselfishness, joy, satisfaction, respectability, and sharing. They took to vices such as greed, selfishness, desire to capture everything, and other such inhuman characteristics. Animals have carried forward the real instincts and characteristics, which the poet looks at and tries to remember where he had negligently lost his true nature.

“Animals” by Walt Whitman

  JULY 23, 2015 / SAZZAD SODIAL

Very Short Type Questions : Mark : 1 each.

Choose the correct alternative:

(a) The poem “Animals” is composed by

(i) Robert Frost

(ii) Walt Whitman

(iii) W.B. Yeats.

Ans:    (ii) Walt Whitman

(b) The poet wishes to live

(i) in a village (ii) in a jungle (iii) with animals

Ans:    (iii) with animals

(c) Animals, according to the poet, are

(i) placid and self-contained (ii) brutal        (iii) placid only.

Ans:    (i) placid and self-contained

(d) The animals do not weep over their

(i) sins (ii) ancestors  (iii) failures.

Ans:    (i) sins

(e) In the world of animals, no one is

(i) honest  (ii) respectable or unhappy                 (iii)   materialistic

Ans:    (ii) respectable or unhappy

Choose the correct meaning of the italicized words from the alternatives given in brackets.

(a) ………. so ‘placid’ and self contained ……….

[calm / pleased / angry ]

Ans:    calm.

(b) ………. sweat and ‘whine’ about ……….

[roar / a long, high complaining cry / utter softly ]

Ans:    a long, high complaining cry.

(c) ………. one is ‘demented’ with ……….

[sane / calm / mad] 

Ans:    mad.

(d) ………. ‘evince’ them plainly ……….

[show / express / presents]

Ans:    show.

TRUE OR FALSE

(a)   Walt Whitman composed the poem “Animals”.       

   Ans:  True.

(b)   This poem is taken from ‘Song of Myself’ in leaves of grass.           

  Ans:   True.

(c) Animals are the creatures that create havoc.             

 Ans:   False.

(d)               Animals are not placid.              

Ans:   False.

(e) Animals do not weep for their sins.                

    Ans:  True.

(f) According to the poet, no one amongst the animals are mad for owning things.    

    Ans:  True

Very Short Type Questions: Mark: 1 each.

1)      Who wrote the poem, “Animals”?

Ans:  Walt Whitman wrote the poem “Animals”.

2)      Name the book from where this poem has been taken.

Ans: This poem has been taken from Walt Whitman’s collection of poems, “Leaves of Grass”.                

3)      What was the wish of the poet?

Ans:    The wish of the poet was to turn into an animal and live with them.

4)      What are the qualities possessed by the animals?

Ans: The animals possess the qualities of placidity, self-dependence, complacence and simplicity.

5)      What, according to the poet, do the animals not do regarding their condition?

Ans: The animals, according to the poet, neither sweat and whine about their condition nor lie    awake at night and weep for their sins.

6)      What do the animals not do for their sins?

Ans:  The animals do not lie awake at night and weep for their sins.

7)      Are they dissatisfied?

Ans: No, they aren’t.

8)      With what are the animals not demented?

Ans: The animals are not demented with the mania of owning things.

9)      What do the animals bring to the poet?

Ans: The animals bring tokens of mutual love and understanding to the poet.

10)  Why does the poet wonder?

Ans: The poet wonders where the animals got the tokens they bring to him.

11)  Give the meaning of the following words:

placid, self-contained, weep, demented, kneels, evince

Ans:  placid – calm, self-contained – independent / self-dependent, weep – to express deep sorrow by shedding tears, demented – mad, kneels – to fall or rest on the knees, evince – show.

Short Type Questions : Marks : 2/3

1.      Why does Walt Whitman feel more at home with animals?

Ans:  Animals are placid and self-contained. They worry neither about their condition nor about their sins. They are not dissatisfied, respectable, unhappy or demented with the mania of owning things. They show their relations with the poet. So the poet Walt Whitman feels more at home with them.

2.      What quality of the animals mesmerizes the poet?

Ans: The poet is mesmerized with the animals’ qualities such as placidity, self-dependence, complacence and simplicity.

3.      How do the animals act about their condition and duty to God?

Ans:  The animals never sweat and whine about their condition. They do not make other