2nd PUC English Textbook Answers To the foot from its child
Here in this page we have given Springs English Textbook for 2nd Year Pre University Course (2nd PUC) Solution for Chapter 8 To the foot from its child. Here 2nd PUC English Textbook Answers full Solution by Teachers.
Comprehension I
1.) What would the foot like to be?
Ans. The foot would like to be a butterfly or an apple.
2.) Line 1 of the poem conveys the child’s ignorance of harsh realities.
3.) What does time teach the child?
Ans. The time teaches the child that it can neither be a butterfly nor an apple.
4.) The line ‘stones and bits of glass, streets, ladders and the paths in the rough earth’ indicates hardships one has to face in life.
5.) Why does the child’s foot feel defeated?
Ans. The child’s foot feels defeated because the world doesn’t let it the way it is. The world hampers its dreams.
6.) Mention the words that convey the real experiences of the foot.
Ans. ‘But in time, stones and bits of glass, streets, ladders, and the paths in the rough earth’ these words convey the real experiences of the foot.
7.) Identify the lines in the poem that suggest transformation of the foot.
Ans. ‘And the tiny, petaled toes of the child grow bunched and out of trim, take on the form of eyeless reptiles with triangular heads, like worms.’ These are the lines that convey the real experiences of the foot.
8.) ‘…condemned to live in a shoe’ suggests that the foot is forced to give up its dream.
9.) What does the line ‘until the whole man chooses to stop’ mean?
Ans. The line ‘until the whole man chooses to stop’ means the death of the man.
Comprehension II
1.) We think of a foot as a part of human body; but Neruda says ‘To the Foot From its Child.’ Explain.
Ans. In the poem ‘To the Foot from its child’ the poet has used foot as a metaphor to compare life’s journey from childhood to the death. The foot imagines to be a butterfly or an apple, this shows the childish innocence. Here the foot is not just a part of the body, but it has deeper meaning. It is transition of humans from innocence to adulthood. In adulthood one goes through rough roads, glass, ladders. The innocent child is exposed to the harsh reality of the life and then it realizes that it can neither be a butterfly nor an apple.
2.) Pick out the expressions that suggest the child’s imagination is fertile.
Ans. Apple and butterfly are the two expressions that suggest the child’s imagination is fertile. In his childhood, a child imagines to be a butterfly or an apple. It doesn’t realize the harsh truth of life. But when it goes through rough roads, stones, bits of glass, then he realizes that he cannot be a butterfly or an apple. His imagination ends there itself. His dreams are crushed by the society and the world.
3.) What contrasting descriptions of the foot does the poem offer? Why?
Ans. When the foot is in its child age, it doesn’t realize that it is a foot. It is a soft, flower like foot unaware of the harsh world and the society. It has its own imagination and dreams. But as the time passes, it realizes that it is just a foot inside an adult man’s shoe. It doesn’t get chance to communicate with another foot. It feels trapped in the shoe. The harsh realities of the life make him realize that its dreams cannot be completed. His innocence is lost in adult life. Once the foot becomes an adult, it has to go through different paths, roads which makes him realize that how the journey of life is. In the course of time, it loses its soft, flower-like charm and thus has to accept the life the way it is.
4.) The poem begins with the idea that child’s foot is not yet aware that it is a foot; at the end the foot is unaware that it had ceased to be a foot. What is the poet trying to convey through these statements?
Ans. This poem beings with the foot in its innocent stage where it is unaware of the harsh reality of the world. In its childhood, it has many dreams and wants to make it true. But as the time passes, it realizes that the world is not the same, one has to go through many hardships and survive in this world. Once the foot enters the adulthood, it goes through many stages. It goes through rough roads, bits of glass, ladder. This shows that how a man has to go through a lot to survive in this world. Over a period of time, it realizes that it is only a foot and stays inside a shoe. Here the poet uses foot as a metaphor for life. He wants to tell that a man has many dreams but one day it has an end to it. One tries hard to complete wishes, but ultimately many dreams remain incomplete in the course of life.
5.) How does Neruda describe the busy life of the individual as represented by the foot?
Ans. Once a foot enters the adulthood, it becomes busy in his life. It works day and night to meet the expectations of everyone. He has to work restlessly and continuously and even it tries to take break, it misses many things. It has to work in various fields like mining, farming, politics and keep working until the last day of the life. There is no rest for the foot once it becomes an adult because it has to work all the time.
6.) What does the last stanza of the poem mean? Can you think of parallels in nature?
Ans. Man’s death plays huge role in giving new things in the nature’s cycle. After a human’s body is buried, it decomposes and is used as a fertilizer. This fertilizer helps grow an apple tree and this apple tree helps the butterfly to sit on it and give shelter to it. In this way, man’s death doesn’t necessarily mean end, in fact it is the start of new lives for the many organisms.
Comprehension III
1.) Examine how Neruda’s poem works out the contrast between colourful dreams and humdrum reality of life.
Ans. In this poem, the poet tells us how a man has many dreams in his childhood. But as one grows old, his dreams are left behind and he gets too busy in his life. He becomes tied up in all his responsibilities and keeps going in his life. All his colorful dreams seem to be black and white as the man is busy in surviving his life. He cannot stop because he wants to fulfill the dreams of his family. He forgets his own dreams in fullfiling others.
2.) Neruda’s poem is a salute to the ordinary human being, who continues with life braving all odds. Do you agree? Give reasons.
Ans. Yes, I agree that Neruda’s poem is a salute to the ordinary human being. This poem is a huge salute to all the ordinary human beings who works day and night just to complete the needs of the life. An ordinary man tries his best to do everything that he could to make his life successful.
3.) Is Neruda criticizing how society crushes childhood dreams and forces people into rigid moulds?
Ans. Yes, Neruda is criticizing how society crushes childhood dreams and forces people into rigid moulds. According to him, the society hampers the real talent of the children and tries to shape them accordingly. It doesn’t take into consideration the wishes and dreams of the child. The society wants the children to fit into particular way of the life. It doesn’t want them to experiment with various fields.
4.) ‘Foot’ is a key word in the poem. Comment on Neruda’s skilful use of the word and its associations in terms of imagery to convey his ideas.
Ans. ‘Foot’ is a metaphor used for life. Through the word foot, the poet shows the stages of life of a man through childhood to adulthood. When the foot is in the childhood, it is sensitive, flower-like. It is kept away from the harsh reality of the world. It has many dreams. But once it becomes an adult, it realizes the harsh truth of the life. The adult man strives hard to survive in this harsh world.