Extract Based Questions (4 Marks)

Question.1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions
that follow.
“If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death”
(a) Whom does ‘we’ refer to in the above lines?
(b) Why does the poet want us to ‘do nothing’ for once?
(c) What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
(d) How can a huge silence do good to us?
Answer.
(a) ‘We’ refers to the human beings, who are always thinking about
their own progress and advancement.
(b) The poet wants us to ‘do nothing’ for once so that our mind can be
at peace and we are able to introspect and analyse our own actions.
(c) The poet refers to the ‘sadness’ which arises due to the fact that
people fail to understand themselves. They have no time to introspect
about their actions and their consequences.
(d) A huge silence can do good to us because we are able to achieve
peace in this silence. It helps us in analysing ourselves and our
actions, interrupting the sadness of threatening ourselves with death.
Question.2. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions
that follow:
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.”
(a) What does the Earth teach us?
(b) What does the poet mean to achieve by counting up to twelve?
(c) What is the significance of ’keeping quiet’?
(d) What is always alive, even when everything seems to be dead?
or
(a) What does the Earth teach us?
(b) Why does the poet count up to twelve?
(c) What will keeping quiet help us achieve?
(d) How does the Earth teach us that there is activity even in apparent
stillness?
Answer.
(a) The Earth teaches us how new life springs from dead remains, and
how there is life under apparent stillness.
(b) The poet wants to achieve peace by counting up to twelve. He
wants us to introspect in a moment of silence.
(c) Keeping quiet doesn’t mean just not speaking. It means that we
should avoid all activities which hurt nature and, in turn, hurt us.
(d) The Earth is always alive, even when everything else seems to be
dead. There is always some activity going on in nature beneath its
apparent stillness.
or
Answer.
(a) The Earth teaches us how new life springs from dead remains. It
gives us lessons about sustaining and resurrecting life.
(b) The poet is initiating an exercise in meditation. When he counts up
to twelve, the meditator puts away all digressions and experiences
bliss. He wants all meditators to experience that bliss.
(c) Keeping quiet will help us introspect, reflect and experience
silence and peace. This will in turn help us find solutions to our
problems.
(d) Though the Earth appears still, there are so many changes that
keep occurring beneath its surface. A seed that seems dead germinates
under the Earth and a new life springs from it.
Question.3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions
that follow.
“For once on the face of the Earth
let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.”
(a) Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
(b) What does he want us to do for one second?
(c) What does he mean by “not move our arms”?
(d) How can this moment of stillness help us?
Answer.
(a) The poet wants us to keep quiet in the hope that the moment of
tranquillity might help us in finding the answers to our problems.
(b) The poet wants us to be silent and motionless for one second.
(c) The poet means that we should be in a state of total stillness with
no physical activity at all.
(d) This moment of stillness can provide us physical and mental rest,
during which our mind will be at peace. We can analyse our actions
and their consequences and avoid rash or thoughtless behaviour.
Question.4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions
that follow.
“It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.”
(a) What will happen if there is no rush or running of engines?
(b) Why would it be called an exotic moment?
(c) How would we feel at that moment?
Answer.
(a) It will be an ecstatic moment of tranquillity without rush or
running of engines.
(b) It would be called an exotic moment because it will be an instance
of universal peace and brotherhood. In that moment, all of us would
initiate introspection through meditation and the whole world will be
enveloped in quietness.
(c) We would feel very strange at that moment, because at that time
everyone will have a feeling of oneness with their fellow human
beings. It will be a new feeling altogether.
Question.5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions
that follow.
“Now we will count to twelve,
and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the Earth,
let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.”
(a) How long does the poet want to stay still?
(b) What does he hope to achieve by keeping quiet?
(c) What does the poet mean by “not move our arms so much”?
(d) Why does the poet suggest us not to speak in any language?
Answer.
(a) The poet exhorts each one of us to count to twelve and then be
quiet, silent and motionless for a brief moment.
(b) He hopes to achieve and realise the value of quiet introspection. In
this silence, we shall feel that all are together and will experience a
strange feeling of togetherness.
(c) By this, he means that we should not make any physical
movement, as physical activity will stop and interrupt our
introspection.
(d) The poet wants us to simply be silent for a moment and utilise that
time to understand ourselves as well as others. Besides, language
differences often lead to conflict, which the poet, perhaps, wants to
avoid.
Question.6. Read the extract given below and answer the questions
that follow:
“Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.”
(a) What does the poet expect of the fishermen and why?
(b) While gathering salt, what will the man do?
(c) What do the hurt hands imply?
(d) How would man and nature benefit in this moment of silence?
Answer.
(a) In the exotic moment of silence and introspection, fishermen will
become conscious of the fact that they are causing harm to the whales.
The poet expects this because he feels that at this opportune moment
all evil will come to an end.
(b) The man gathering salt will stop for a while at that quiet moment
and look at his hurt hands.
(c) ‘Hurt hands’ means that human beings are oblivious of the pain
they are causing to themselves in the pursuit of amassing more and
more comforts. They have no time for themselves.
(d) In this moment of silence, man will not harm nature, and both
human beings and nature will get some time to attend to and recover
from their wounds.
Short Answer Type Questions (3 Marks, 30-40 words)
Question.1. Which is the exotic moment that the poet refers to in
‘Keeping Quiet’?
Answer. The poet refers to the moment of stillness and quietness as an
exotic moment. It would be an exotic moment, as such a tranquillity
will initiate peace and brotherhood. There would be no movement, no
talk, no activity and consequently, no violence.
Question.2. What is the sadness that the poet refers to in the poem
‘Keeping Quiet’?
or
What is the sadness that the poet refers to in the poem?
Answer. The poet refers to the sadness which surrounds man due to
not having any time for himself, the pain of not understanding what
he or his fellow human beings want. He has no time for introspection;
as a result, he is unable to analyse his own actions and understand its
consequences.
Question.3. Which images in the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’ show that the
poet condemns violence?
Answer. The images of fishermen not harming the whales in the sea
and wars leaving behind no survivors to celebrate the victory show
that the poet condemns violence. The poet wants the warmongers to
change their blood-stained clothes to clean ones. The poet’s refusal to
have any association or dealing with death also shows that he is not in
favour of any form of violence.
Question.4. What symbol from nature does the poet use to prove that
keeping quiet is not total inactivity?
Answer. The poet uses nature as a symbol to explain his idea that
there can be life under apparent stillness. According to him, keeping
quiet is not total inactivity. A seed may appear to be dead and inactive,
but one day, the same seed may turn into a fruitful tree.
Question.5. How, according to Neruda, can keeping quiet change our
attitude to life?
Answer. Keeping quiet and suspending all our activities for a moment
will give us time to introspect and analyse our own actions. We will
develop a new understanding of our surroundings and thus change our
attitude to life. We will check our destructive ways and try to be more
positive and constructive.
Question.6. What are the different kinds of wars mentioned in the
poem? What is Neruda’s attitude towards these wars?
Answer. The poet has written about wars against humanity and nature.
Green wars, wars with poisonous gases and wars with fire are the
different kinds of wars mentioned in the poem. Wars do good to no
one. Pablo Neruda feels that such wars may bring victory, but there
are no survivors. It means that there is heavy loss on both sides.
Question.7. How can suspension of activities help?
Answer. The poet believes that suspension of activities will allow man
to introspect, which can help them in analysing their own actions, and
in solving many of their problems based on caste, religion or
nationality. It will help them develop a new understanding of their
surroundings, and thus make them mend their destructive ways.
Question.8. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and
death?
Answer. No, the poet clearly states that his asking for stillness should
not be confused with total inactivity or death. He perceives life to be a
continuous process, where man’s activities should not lead to
destruction of fellow human beings or nature, but should be
channelised in a resourceful way.
Question.9. According to the poet, what is it that human beings can
learn from nature?
Answer. Life under apparent stillness in attitude is the thing which
man can learn from nature. The Earth is never in a state of total
inactivity. Nature carries on its work even where there is stillness all
around. Winter is associated with inactivity, but this is not actually
true.
Question.10. What will counting up to twelve and keeping quiet help
us to achieve?
Answer. The poet asks each one of us to count to twelve and then be
quiet, silent and motionless. This quietness will create a moment of
togetherness among all; a condition which is foremost for the survival
of humanity, which is indeed an achievement. It will also give us One
to analyse our actions and their consequences.
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS:
1) What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
Answer. -According to the poet, we should stop all our activities for a
moment. Let us give up using all our machines and engines for a short
while because most of our troubles are due to our hurry and becoming
rash. We should do introspection and keeping still will pave our path
for peace.
2) Do you think Pablo Neruda advocates total inactivity and death?
Answer. -The poet Pablo Neruda does not advocate total inactivity
and death. We should not confuse total inactivity with stillness. Total
inactivity brings death while stillness entails rest for a moment so that
we can have calm introspection. The poet wants to truck with death.
Stillness will keep us start our activities again in a purposeful way.
3) What is the ‘‘sadness’’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
Answer. -The poet refers to the ‘‘sadness’’ which we form out of our
own thinking and actions. We understand a lot of things but do not
understand himself and his actions. His rush and hurry cause us
troubles. He is bent up creating wars against humanity. He is the
creator of all disasters. This is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in
the poem. Let us introspect ourselves and create mutual
understanding.
4) What symbol from nature does the poet involve to say that there
can be life under apparent stillness?
Answer. - The poet does not want us to confuse stillness with total
inactivity. There is life under apparent stillness. He quotes the
example of the Earth which is active round the clock. Thus, the poet
involves the Earth as a living symbol to prove his point. When
everything seems dead, the Earth proves to be alive under apparent
stillness, the nature remains at work and thus keeps the Earth alive.
5) What does the title of the poem suggest to you? What do you think
is the poem about?
Answer. -The title of the poem suggest that we must keep quiet for a
moment. There will be silence and all will set together and realise the
value of collectiveness. Here we should not confuse ‘stillness’ with
‘total inactivity’. Life should go on as it is doing about. Even the
nature remains at work and keeps the Earth alive which remains busy
in doing some activity. The poem stresses the significance of mutual
understanding and necessity of introspection.

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