NIGHT WITCHES Gul Mohar Reader Class 7

 NIGHT WITCHES

Understanding the Text


A.

1. The aircraft used by the female fighter pilots were built mainly of plywood and canvas. They were small and usually reserved for training and crop-dusting. These planes, if hit by bullets, could burst into flames. One plane could carry only two bombs at a time. A strong wind could toss the plane about. However, the advantage of these small and flimsy planes was that they could be manoeuvred quickly and easily.


2. The people in this situation were making the mistake of thinking that the brave pilot must have been a man—a brave lad. This shows that the female fighter pilots were an uncommon figure at that time—the people did not immediately think that the pilot might be a woman.


3. The female fighter pilots flew their planes at night, often quietly and secretly, running their engines slowly as they neared their targets, gliding their way to the bomb release points and then dropping the bombs. Because of this mode of operation, their planes only made soft whooshing noises as they flew by. This noise sounded like witches’ broomsticks to the Germans. That is why they gave the title ‘night witches’ to the Soviet female fighter pilots.


4. Limited technology was available to the Night Witches; they had no radar to navigate their paths through the night skies—only maps and compasses. They flew only in the dark. They carried no parachutes. Their craft could burst into flames if hit by bullets. Frequently, they had to fly through a wall of enemy fire. Each plane flew multiple missions in a night, as the planes could only carry two bombs at a time. This increased the risk of being shot. The planes had open cockpits, so the women had to suffer freezing cold. A strong wind could toss their small planes. All these factors made their missions particularly dangerous.




5.

a. Pilot Nadezhda Popova said this to her navigator.


b. Just before this, Popova and her navigator had completed a flight. They had survived the flight, but forty-two bullet holes were studding their little plane, with bullet holes in Popova’s map and helmet.


c. Suggested answer (accept any logical answer): The speaker must have said this because she had a lot of courage and a fine sense of humour. She meant that if they could survive such a flight where so many bullets struck their plane, maps and even their helmets without killing them, they were very lucky and would live a long life—they would not die easily.




6.

a. ‘All that’ refers to the female fighter pilots’ bravery and achievements—the thousands of missions they flew, the bombs they dropped and the challenges they overcame.


b. Suggested answer (accept any logical answer): The female fighter pilots decorated their planes with flowers because along with courage they also had a sense of beauty and wanted to make the planes which they flew look as nice as possible.


c. Suggested answer (accept any logical answer): This indicates a sense of humour. The Night Witches must have used their navigation pencils as lip colour as a good joke.





B.

1. Their passage was on its way to being a routine patrol, until the pilots found themselves face to face with a collection of German bombers.


2. Other countries, the US among them, may have allowed women to fly as members of their early air forces; those women, however, served largely in support and transport roles.


3. And the obituaries that resulted, celebrations of a life and a legacy largely unknown to many of us around the world, serve as a reminder of the great things the female flyers accomplished.


4. The Witches (they took the name given by the Germans as a badge of honour) flew only in the dark.


5. The Night Bomber Regiment was one of three female fighter pilot units created by Stalin at the insistence of Marina Raskova—an aviation celebrity who was,essentially, ‘the Soviet Amelia Earhart’.


6. She also prepared them for an environment that preferred to treat women as bombshells rather than bombers.

THE VISITOR Gul Mohar Reader Class 8 Answer 9th Edition

Summary

THE VISITOR written by Markus Frank Zusak

In May 1942, while the Second World War was at its peak the NSDAP were inspecting the basements of houses in German towns to see if they were suitable to serve as air-raid shelters.

They moved up and down Himmel Street while little Liesel is busy playing soccer, outside. Liesel was alert, once she realised that they would be raiding their basement, as well. She wanted to warn her parents, Rosa and Hans about the inspections, immediately.

She hatched a plan. She ran into another soccer player deliberately and injured her knee. That way, she had an excuse to go back home. Before the men reached their house, Hans told Max, the Jew man who was hiding in their basement, what was happening. He also asked everyone else to do nothing and pretend that all was well.

The officer who knocked on their door recognised Liesel as the ‘maniacal soccer player’ and teased her before going down to the basement. Max hid beneath the stairs, behind the drop cloths.

Three minutes passed. When the Nazi officer returned, he said that the basement wasn't suitable for shelter and merrily went his way. Max apologised for putting the family in such great danger.

The day is saved by the quick-thinking and resourceful, Liesel who took on a much more active role in maintaining their secret and keeping suspicion at bay. 

BIOGRAPHY of Markus Frank Zusak


Markus Frank Zusak (born 23 June 1975) is an Australian writer. He is best known for The Book Thief and The Messenger (US title: I Am the Messenger), two novels for young adults which became international bestsellers. He won the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 2014 for his contributions to young-adult literature published in the United States.


Life & Career

Zusak was born in Sydney, Australia. His mother Lisa is originally from Germany and his father Helmut is from Austria. They emigrated to Australia in the late 1950s. Markus is the youngest of four children and has two sisters and one brother. He attended Engadine High School and briefly returned there to teach English while writing. He studied English and history at the University of New South Wales, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education.

Zusak is the author of six books. His first three books, The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and When Dogs Cry, released between 1999 and 2001, were all published internationally. The Messenger, published in 2002, won the 2003 CBC Book of the Year Award (Older Readers) and the 2003 NSW Premier's Literary Award (Ethel Turner Prize) in Australia and was a runner-up for the Printz Award in America.

The Book Thief was published in 2005 and has since been translated into more than 30 languages. The Book Thief was adapted as a film of the same name in 2013.

The Messenger (I Am the Messenger in the United States) was published in 2002 and was one of Zusak's first novels. This novel has won awards such as the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards: Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature.

In March 2016 Zusak talked about his unfinished novel Bridge of Clay. He stated that the book was 90% finished but that, "... I’m a completely different person than the person who wrote The Book Thief. And this is also the scary thing—I’m a different person to the one who started Bridge of Clay eight, nine years ago ... I’ve got to get it done this year, or else I’ll probably finally have to set it aside."


Works

The Underdog (1999)

Fighting Ruben Wolfe (2000), sequel to The Underdog

When Dogs Cry (2001), a.k.a. Getting the Girl; sequel to Fighting Ruben Wolfe

The Messenger (2002); US title: I Am the Messenger

The Book Thief (2005)

Bridge of Clay (2018), Pan Macmillan Australia


Awards

In 2014, Zusak won the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association (ALA), which annually recognises an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature".

In 2006, Zusak was also the recipient of the Sydney Morning Herald's Young Australian Novelist of the Year Award.

THE VISITOR

Understanding the Text

A.

1. a. Liesel was trying to come up with a plan to excuse herself from the children’s game under some pretext and run back to her home and inform her parents about the NSDAP members coming down the street checking the basements in every house to check their viability for being turned into air-raid shelters.

She had to hatch a plan urgently because her parents were sheltering a Jewish man, Max in the basement and without Liesel’s information, her parents would totally be blindsided when the NSDAP came to their door and demanded to check the basement. The NSDAP, working under Hitler’s orders, wouldn’t have taken kindly either to a Jew in hiding or to the people who gave him shelter.



1. b. She had to make ‘it’ real because if the NSDAP members grew the slightest bit of suspicious from her actions, they would turn their house inside out and finally discover the Jew. Liesel realised that her best shot was maintaining all semblances of normalcy and somehow getting the information to her father.




2. a. At first, Mama had considered moving Max from the basement to Liesel’s room but then there was no time for that because the NSDAP were already at their door. Papa told them the only plan, given the situation should be to do nothing and receive the party members as naturally and cordially as they could.


2. b. Papa wanted them to pretend like they did not have “a care in the world” so that the NSDAP members who had come to inspect the basement in their house would not suspect that the Hubermanns had anything to hide.




3. a. Liesel and her parents were fond of Max. Her parents had decided to shelter a Jewish man on principle and had also grown to be fond of him. Of course, they also lived with the fear of discovery of their deed as well but the fact that the child in the family could empathize with Max’s fear and helplessness hiding in plain sight in a room with NSDAP members, shows the extent of their concern for Max.

3. b. We see the Hubermann concern for Max from the very outset. This was ever since Liesel’s throat dried up when she saw the NSDAP members coming down the road checking basements in every house. Papa’s immediate action and his act of maintaining a ruse with very high stakes is again proof of their fondness for Max who had almost become a family member.





B.

1. a. Max was holding a pair of rusty scissors, according to para 69, which could be turned into a stabbing weapon with the proper motivation and force. Max tells the family that he had never really meant to use them as a weapon but given the nervous state he was in, no one can be sure as to what he would have done had he been discovered by the Nazis.


1. b. Perhaps one could not blame Max even if he did use the scissors on the Nazi because in this context, Max would be desperate to do anything to survive for as long as is possible and escape the Nazi agenda of mass scale ethnic cleansing.




2. a. Liesel proves herself to be a clever and resourceful girl with courage and self control. She hatches a plan quickly so that she could slip away from the game with a legitimate reason for going back home. That way, she could warn her father of the imminent Nazi inspection. She tries to keep calm and convey the full information to her father.


2. b. Liesel partakes in her father’s charade of normalcy when the Nazis were inside their house inspecting the basement. Though her mind was assailed by images of Max crouching in terror, hiding from the Nazis, she was still able to function normally and keep her calm.

 

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS Gul Mohar Reader Class 8 Answer 9th Edition

 

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS

 Composed by Emily Dickinson



“Hope” is the thing with feathers — 

That perches in the soul — 

And sings the tune without the words —

And never stops — at all —

 

And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard — 

And sore must be the storm —

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm —

 

I’ve heard it in the chillest land — 

And on the strangest Sea —

Yet — never — in Extremity,

It asked a crumb — of Me.

About Emily Dickinson 

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10th, 1830. She would remain in Amherst her entire life, spending her last few years reclusively, seeing only close family and a few friends. During this period, and before her seclusion, Dickinson wrote many poems, of which only two were published while she was living. Lavinia Dickinson, Emily’s sister, gathered Emily’s poems after her death and began having them published in various selections beginning in 1890. Dickinson’ work includes almost 1800 poems, along with many vibrantly written letters.

Dickinson, the middle child born to her lawyer father and homemaker mother, was well educated for a female for the time period. She had several years of formal schooling, and she spent one year at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which was the longest period she ever was away from home. Although she reportedly had several male suitors, Dickinson never married. During her late teens and early 20s, Dickinson endured the deaths of several friends and family members, an occurrence that would contribute to her seeming fascination with death, as displayed in her often poignant poetry.

Although she wrote her first poems while still in her teens, her 20s and 30s were the most prolific for her work. In 1855, her father bought the home in which Emily had been born, and she moved back there, where she would remain for the remainder of her life. Her brother and his wife bought the estate next door, and Dickinson enjoyed both the numerous social gatherings offered next door as well as her more private setting at home. She had a conservatory built inside her family home so that she could indulge in another favorite hobby, gardening, year round. During this time, she sent several poems to the Atlantic Monthly, but none were published there. Two poems were published by a newspaper, however. Dickinson shared her poems with her family and close friends, but none knew the extent of her collection until after her death in 1886.

Summary

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS

Emily Dickinson


"Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson is based on a metaphor. The idea of “hope" is metaphorically transformed into a free and courageous songbird that dwells in the human soul. It keeps singing no matter how difficult the circumstances are.

This bird, as a silent companion, continues to preach the soul to stay steadfast and hopeful regardless of obstacles. Its song helps the devastated souls to regain their senses.

Dickinson also shows that hope is everlasting and undefeated. She compares human struggle with a storm. Hope serves as the beacon of light at the end of the storm.

Essentially, the poem seeks to remind readers of the power of hope and how little it requires of people. The speaker makes it clear that human beings cling to hope in times of
difficulty. Hope never asks for anything in return.

"Hope is the Thing with Feathers" is one of a number of poems by Dickinson that breathes new life into an abstract concept by using vivid imagery and figurative language. 

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS

Understanding the Poem

1. The poem, “Hope is the thing with feathers” is an extended metaphor. It personifies hope as a bird. 

This little bird resides in the human soul.



2.

a. Not only is Hope a bird, it can also sing melodious songs. It perches on the human soul and sings all the time. However, the song has no words or diction. It solely has a tune. But this tune in itself is a pure feeling and a deep seated longing that sprouts from the human soul.


b. Hope keeps singing, relentlessly soothing the soul. It sings the sweetest when the going gets tough and the Gale starts to blow. When life gets difficult and obstacles are thrown our way, there is Hope, singing through the chaos and disorder.
‘That kept so many warm’ is the line in the second stanza which talks about how the bird makes people feel.


c. When the poet says that the bird never stops singing, she means that hope is omnipresent. It does not need a specific situation or time to make its presence felt. It rests in the human heart and springs to action when the going gets tough.



3. The tune of hope sounds more comforting than ever in times of difficulty, when the Gale starts to blow. When life gets unbearable and newer challenges loom large, Hope soothes its listeners, singing through the chaos and mayhem.



4. Hope never gets upset or disturbed. The lines “Yet, never, in Extremity, it asked a crumb—of me.” tell us this.
The poet says that she has heard the bird during the hardest, coldest times, when emotions are churning and life is difficult. But even when things are extreme Hope is still there and never asks for anything. Hope can give us strength to carry on in the most adverse of conditions. Its songs can be heard, even as the storm rages on.



5. The lines, “And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard— And sore must be the storm—” tells us that the speaker has found hope in the most desperate of circumstances.



6. The speaker has heard the bird sing during the hardest, coldest times, when emotions are churning and life surreal. But even when things are extreme Hope is still there and never asks for anything. She says this to show the perpetuity of hope. Hope exists in the cruellest of times, never asking anyone for anything in return.

MATILDA CAN DO MAGIC! Gul Mohar Reader Class 6 Answer 9th Edition

 

Summary

Matilda Can Do Magic!

The excerpt begins after Miss Trunchbull’s glass has fallen down—an event for which there seems to be no explanation. The story opens with Matilda revealing that she has a secret that she wants to reveal to a trustworthy adult. So, she approaches Miss Honey to speak about it. Matilda first tells Miss Honey that she is not responsible for putting the newt in the glass. Miss Honey says that she knew that. Matilda then confides in Miss Honey that it was really her who made the water spill. She claims that she moved it and forced it to tip, using her mind. Miss Honey does not believe her. However, she decides to gently show Matilda that she is probably imagining things by simply asking her to demonstrate it again. Matilda focuses on the glass and wills it to fall with her mind, thus leaving Miss Honey in shock. She invites Matilda home to have tea with her and promises that she will not reveal the secret to anybody else.

Matilda is a fantasy novel i.e. it contains elements that are purely imaginative and could never happen in real life. In this excerpt, the reader encounters fantasy in Matilda’s ability to move things around with her mind. The plot has been written cleverly so as to keep the reader in a state of suspense until the end. The writer has used very descriptive language to make the story come alive. 

Roald Dahl 

Roald Dahl was born on 13th September 1916 in a Cardiff district called Llandaff. Dahl’s parents were Norwegian. Nine years after his father had died, his family moved to Kent in England and Roald attended Repton School : he was just 13. After school, he decided that he wanted to travel (voyager). So he got a job with the Shell Oil
Company and two years later was sent to East Africa. In 1939, he joined the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) and became a fighter pilot during World War II.

Dahl started writing in the 1940s. He married the American actress Patricia Neal in 1953. They had five children together but got divorced in 1983. He wrote some of his best books between 1975 and 1986 (‘Danny the Champion of the World’ in 1975, ‘Matilda’ and ‘The BFG’ seven years
later and ‘Boy’ in 1984). Roald Dahl died on 23rd November 1990 in Oxford, England.

MATILDA CAN DO MAGIC!


Understanding the Text

A. Complete these sentences


1. In order to help her make sense of what had happened, Matilda felt she must tell her secret to a wise and sympathetic grown-up.

2. Miss Honey became alert when Matilda said she wanted to talk to her, because her meetings with Miss Trunchbull and Mr and Mrs Wormwood about Matilda, had made her concerned about the child.

3. Matilda was worried that Miss Trunchbull was going to expel her because she believed that Matilda had put the newt in the glass of water.

4. Matilda said she made the glass fall over because she was angry at being accused of something she hadn’t done.

5. On seeing the miracle performed, Miss Honey stared at Matilda in shock and awe, unable to say a word.




B. Answer these questions


1. The astounding event that is being referred to is that Matilda had made a glass of water fall all over Miss Trunchbull, using the power of her mind. Matilda didn’t think she could tell her parents because they wouldn’t believe that she could have done this by herself in the first place.


2. The speaker wants Matilda to tip the glass over again She asks her to perform the action ‘again’ because she doesn’t believe Matilda could have done it and wants Matilda to realise that it is all part of her imagination.


3. Matilda concentrated the whole of her mind and her brain and her will up into her eyes, and once again but much more quickly than before she felt the electricity gathering and the power was beginning to surge, and the hotness was coming into the eyeballs, and then the millions of tiny invisible arms with hands on them were shooting out towards the glass, and without making any sound at all, she kept shouting inside her head for the glass to go over. It wobble, then it tilted, then it toppled right over and fell with a tinkle on to the table-top.


4. In saying that Matilda “seemed so far away”, Miss Honey means that Matilda had been so completely involved in performing the act of magic that it appeared to have transported her into another world altogether.


5. Matilda has the special ability to move things around with her mind. This special ability makes Matilda special because this is a supernatural power which no other child usually has.


6. The fact that Miss Honey gives Matilda the chance to prove herself even when she doesn’t believe her tells us that she is patient and understanding. We also learn that she cares enough about children to listen and consider their ideas and opinions. These qualities give us the confidence  that she is just the sort of person that Matilda can confide in. 

Daffodils ICSE Poem Passage's / Extract's Questions & Answers

Daffodils ICSE Poem Passage's Questions & Answers



PASSAGE-1



(i) The poet compares the daffodils to the stars because of their beauty. He says so since the numerous daffodils around a tree, appear to form the milky way, with every daffodil as a star.



(ii) Through the above line, the poet is saying that the daffodils were stretched in such a long line along the shore of a lake, that the poet thought the line was endless.



(iii) The poet used a hyperbol, and has exaggerated the actual number of the daffodils by saying that there are ten thousand daffodils, that he sees at once.



(iv) The peculiar thing about the dance of the daffodils is the fact that their dance is happening because of the wind. Although the daffodils are not moving by themselves, still it seems very beautiful.



(v) The sight of the daffodils comes to the poet's mind later in the poem, since he describes that whenever he is sad, the sight of the daffodils in his mind makes him feel happy again.




PASSAGE-2



(i) Earlier in the poem, the poet describes the daffodils by saying that they seem as numerous as the stars in the sky, that they are very beautiful, and golden coloured, and looked as if they were dancing when the wind shook them.



(ii) The waves that the poet had in mind were of the currents in the lake situated beside the daffodils. He notices that the currents in the lake makes them seem dancing as well.



(iii) The poet compares the dance of the daffodils to that of the waves because, they were both seemed to be dancing because of the cool breeze that was blowing during the time.



(iv) The poet could not help bring happy in the presence of the beautiful objects of nature, since he enjoys nature more than anything, and it also makes him happy.



(v) The 'wealth' that the poet has referred to here is the wealth of joy from bring around nature. He realizes the wealth of it's joy by being away from natural objects, which makes the poet sad, and in a melancholic emotion.




PASSAGE-3



(i) 'They' are referred to the dancing daffodils situated along a lake, and around a tree. In the past, when the poet was walking around aimlessly, and like a cloud, he fortunately came across a number of daffodils in the forest.



(ii) The sight of natural objects, like the daffodils, and the lake, and seeing them move, which seems like they are dancing, when a cool breeze flows through, makes the poet become happy again, and lost in the beauty of nature.



(iii) In the above paragraph, the poet says that he is only able to think about the dancing daffodils, he has the bliss of solitude, when he is alone, and nobody disturbs him.



(iv) According to the poet, in the past, he came across a bunch of daffodils around a tree, and near a lake, and re-imagining this scene always makes him happy since he loves nature.



(v) The message that the poet has conveyed through these lines is that nature has the power to relieve us of any stress, or sadness. If we be around natural objects most of the time, we can forget all of our sorrows.






Daffodils ICSE Poem Extract's Questions & Answers




Extract I

I wander’d lonely…….in the breeze.

1.    Who has been referred to as ‘I’ in the first line of the extract? Where do you think was he wandering?

The poet, William Wordsworth. The poet was wandering near a lake at Grasmere, in England.

2.    What does the poet encounter while wandering? Where does he encounter  them?

He encountered a large number of golden daffodils, besides a lake and beneath the trees.

3.    Why do you think the poet refers to the daffodils as golden?

To symbolise the magical effect it creates in his heart and mind.

4.    Discuss the importance of the following lines with reference to the poem:

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

These lines personify the beautiful daffodils. The poet sees the daffodils growing  along the margin of a bay, and they appear to be dancing and fluttering in the breeze. These lines are important as it was the daffodils’ lively appearance that captivated the poet.

5.    Which figure of speech is used in the following lines? How many daffodils do you think the poet saw? Give reason for you answer.

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils,

Hyperbole. The poet saw a huge group of daffodils along the riverside which can be deduced from the words, ‘crowd’ and ‘host’. Moreover, in a hyperbolic expression, he said, “Ten thousand saw I at a glance.”





Extract II

Continuous as the stars….in sprightly dance.

1.    How are the daffodils compared to the stars?

Continuous as the stars that shine. This simile is used to describe the daffodils spread continuously like the shining stars that twinkle in the night sky.

2.    What is the milky way? Why is it referred to in the extract?

Is the galaxy that contains our Solar System and from the earth it appears as a band of light in the night sky. It  is draw our attention between a crowd of beautiful  daffodils indistinguishable from  each other  and a continuous  band of twinkling  stars in the night sky.

3.    What is meant by the margin of the bay?

The margin means the line where land and water meet. The daffodils  in the poem, line the shore of the lake.

4.    State how the technique of using exaggeration heightens the poetic effect in the extract?

Exaggeration is used to emphasise the large number of daffodils that he saw during his walk along the river. The exaggeration of daffodils stretched endlessly in a ‘never ending line” along the margin of  a bay is beautiful.  The use of such exaggeration thus heightens the poetic effect.

5.    Briefly describe the musical quality of the extract.

Daffodils is a lyric poem. The word ‘lyric’ is derived from ‘lyre’, and it implies that the poem is meant to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre.

The rhyming pattern followed in this poem is that in each stanza the first line rhymes with the third; the second with the fourth; and the fifth with sixth. Each stanza ends with a rhyming couplet.





Extract III

The  waves beside…….show to me had brought.

1.    How did the daffodils outdo the waves?

The water in the lake had ripples looking like waves dancing. The daffodils tossing and dancing like human beings seemed to be competing against these waves. According to the poet, the daffodils defeated the waves in glee.

2.    What is meant by jocund company? Which  jocund company is the poet referring to? Why does the poet find it jocund?

It means a happy and gleeful company. The poet is referring to the jocund company of thousands of daffodils.

The beautiful daffodils dancing before the poet captivated him. It made him happy and refreshed. It made him feel one with nature. That is why he finds  their company jocund.

3.    Which wealth referred  to by  the poet? Explain how the wealth was brought to the poet?

Wealth refers to the peace and happiness that the show of daffodils fluttering  and dancing before him brought to him, something  he could be  not acknowledge at that very movement.

The wealth was brought to the poet  when he encountered the golden  daffodils surpassing  the beauty of dancing waves.

4.    What is the mood of the poet in the above extract? Which lines tell you so? Why is he in such a mood?

The poet is in a happy and cheerful mood. He himself reflects his happiness in the following lines:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company

The feeling of ones with nature that the poet has experienced  on seeing lively and dancing daffodils is the reason for his happy mood.

5.    With reference to the above extract, state why Wordsworth can be called nature poet.

The poet in the beginning  wanders lonely as a cloud but the vast  belt of daffodils tossing their heads in sprightly dance captivates him.  The daffodils even outdo the waves and this golden company makes the poet feel happy and one with nature. Thus, Wordsworth can be called a nature poet.





Extract IV

For oft, when on my couch……… with daffodils.

1.    What happens to the poet when the he lies on his couch in a pensive mood?

The image of the golden daffodils flash before him and change his mood into happy one.

2.    What is the ‘bliss of solitude’ referred to in the extract? How does the bliss of solitude take place?

The bliss of solitude is referred to the paradise the poet finds himself in  as soon as the image of golden daffodils flashes before his eyes. His loneliness is overtaken by the image of daffodils which make him feel as if he were dancing along with the daffodils.

3.    Explain the transition from poet’s pensive mood to his heart filled with joy.

When he is in a pensive mood,  the image of golden daffodils flashes before him and changes his mood. The poet, who was lonely in the beginning of the poem, experiences ‘the bliss of solitude’ by the end. He then feels calm and refreshed. The memory of the daffodils fills his heart with joy and he feels  as if his heart were dancing with the daffodils.

4.    With reference to the last two lines of the extract, state the influence that nature can have over an individual’s mind.

Nature becomes positive force for the poet. When the poet lies on his couch in a contemplative mood, the image of dancing daffodils flashes before him, he is filled with happiness. Thus, the very thought of being in the lap of nature uplifts the spirit.

5.    Wordsworth says that poetry is “ the overflow of feelings arising from emotions recollected in tranquillity.’ In this context, state how the poem shows the truth of his statement.

Poetry for Wordsworth does not depend upon rhetorical and literary devices, but is the free expression of the poet’s thoughts and feelings. When he was away from noisy and polluted cities, he relied on his memory and reconstructed  his experience of his feelings. Thus collecting his emotions with the help of his memory of encountering daffodils, he composed this poem.

DAFFODILS ICSE POEM BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

DAFFODILS ICSE POEM BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH




I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.





Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.





The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:





For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Television Poem by Roald Dahl ICSE Solutions

 

Television Poem by Roald Dahl ICSE Solutions -

PASSAGE-1


i. The most important thing that the poet has learned as far as children are concerned is that they should never be allowed to watch television as it fills their minds with junk. The better solution to this problem would be not to intall the television set in thier homes at all.


ii. Television is referred as idiotic thing by the poet. The poet advices not to intall it because it hypnotises and produces dulness in the minds of those who watch it.


iii. In almost every house with television, children are staring at the television  screen without doing any productive work.
It upsets him because he cosiders television as a monster that kills children’s imgination.


iv. The figure of speech used here is Hyperbole, which uses exaggeration for emphasis  or effect. To put emphasis on the hypnotic effect of television, the poet says that previous week at someone’s palce he had seen half a dozen eyeballs rolling about on the floor.


v. Repetitions are used to emphasise that children should never be allowed to watch television as they just sit and stare at it without doing anything productive.

a). Two types of repetition:

  Is neverNEVER NEVER, Let
  Them near your television set-

They sit and stare and stare and sit

b). The rhyme scheme followed throughout the poem is aa bb cc dd




PASSAGE- 2

1. The television set keeps the children hypnotised as they watch all the junk that it telecasts.


 2. Television proves to be useful for the parents because it keeps their children still and occupied. The children then do not indulge in any kind of fights. It allows the parents to do their house hold chores peacefully.


3. It produces dullness in their mind.

It kills their imagination and thinking ability.

It hypnotises them and fills them with junk.


4. The ability to think of new ideas dimnishes when child passively engages in watching television. Watching too much television destroys children’s abilty to understand the world of fantacy. Their thinking power rusts and freezes.
Personification is the figure of speech used here. It is used to express a thing or idea as a person.
Dahl uses personifiaction in the line:
It kills their imagination dead!
He givies television the ability to kill and gives imagination ability to die at its hand.


5. Yes, Dahl seems to be critical of television because he seems to highlight only the negative effects of television on children,such as : It rots their senses, kills their imagination, clogs their mind, makes them dull, and incapable of understanding the world of fantasy. It feezes thier thinking power.




PASSAGE- 3

1. The poet here answers the parents’ query that if they take the television set away, what type of entertainment they would give to make their children occupied.

 The poet replies by asking  parents to recall how the children kept themselves entertained by reading books before television was invented.


2. The poet refers to the television as a monster that kills children’s imagination. Before television was invented,children would actively engage themselves only in reading. Books could be found everywhere – on the nursery shelves,on nursery floor,in the bedroom or by the children’s bed.


3. THEY ....USED ...TO... READ!
......................
One half of their lives was reading books!

The following lines use repetition to create a smooth flow and to put emphasis on th fact that children used to read only books before monstrous television was invented. Moreover, the emphasis on the word READ implying importance of reading books.


4. This is done to catch the readers attention and emphasise that instead of watching television ,children should engage themselves in reading as they used to do before television was invented. The use of captail letters is equivalent to shouting.

5. Once childen start reading, they get so involved in reading that there would be books everywhere. The last four lines describe such a secnario. The nursery shelves would be filled with books. Books would be scattered on the floor and by the children’s bed.




PASSAGE- 4

1. Synecdoche. It is a figure of speech in which a part is put for the whole or the whole for a part. In the poem, the expample is: The younger ones had Beatrix Potter.

 Here  the name of the author Beatrix Potter is used to represent the whole gamut of her works such as ‘The tale of Squirrel Nutkin’, ‘The Tale of Mr Tod’, and ‘The Tale of Piling Bland.’

Example of rhyming scheme is: Potter, Rotter


2. The poet remembers the time when the children used to only read books. They used to read books filled with tales of treasure islands, voyages, smugglers, pirates, ships, elephants and cannibals. It was a time when young children travelled to an all new adventurous world of animals with Mr Tod, Squirrel Nutkin, and Piglin Bland.


3. The refernece is important because it transports the readers to a time before the television was invented when children used to read.


4. The poet suggests that TV sets should be thrown out and should be replaced with bookshelves.

His suggestion does not seem to be practical as television is also a medium of education. Children can be guided to watch educational programmes and newscasts.


5. TV sets should not be thrown out of the houses. Dahl mentions only the negative aspects of television. Television has educational  benefits as it is an audio-visual medium and can help children learn by watching. However, there is a need to maitain a balance between watching television and other activities.




PASSAGE-5

1.   He gave this advice in continuation of his suggestion of throwing TV sets away. According to the poet replacing TV sets with bookshelves would be best as far as children are concerned.


2.   Children will give dirty looks to their parents when their TV sets would be replaced with bookshelves filled with books. Children would then scream and yell and fight  with their parents.


3.   The parents are advised to ‘fear not’ because their children’s tantrums would be temporary; what would be permanent is their love for books which would soon follow.


4.   Yes. Watching television for hours, makes the children dull and passive. It kills their imagination; on the other hand, reading books will help them to travel to new and exciting  worlds of ‘dragons, gypsies, queens and whales.” Dahl remembers his days, when television was not invented and children would spend their time reading; a time when nursery floor and the side of their beds were filled only with books;  a time when young children travelled to an all adventrous  world of animals with Tod, Squirrel Nutkin and Pigling Bland.


5.   To develop a habit of reading books is an important advice that the poet gives. Reading transfers one to a beautiful world of imagination and fantasy. Reading fills  one’s heart with true joy and happiness.




PASSAGE-6


1.   It refers to children’s act of starting to read books once television is uninstalled from their houses. The poet feels very excited about it as he employs an easy, delightful and cheering tone while talking about books. His excitement is reflected  through: “Oh boy, Oh boy!”


2.   Yes. Watching television for hours, makes the children dull and passive. It kills their imagination; on the other hand, reading books will help them to  travel to new and exciting  worlds of ‘dragon, gypsies, queens and whales.”


3.   He has a strong dislike for television and he describes it as nauseating, foul, unclean, monstrous and idiotic. However, he firmly believes that reading is a powerful tool for learning and considers books as lovely, wondrous, fine, fantastic


4.   Yes. Watching television for hours, makes the children dull and passive. It kills their imagination; on the other hand, reading books will help them to  travel to new and exciting  worlds of ‘dragons, gypsies, queens and whales.” Dahl remembers his days, when television was not invented and children would spend their time reading; a time when nursery floor and the side of their beds were filled only with books;  a time when young children travelled to an all adventrous  world of animals with Tod, Squirrel Nutkin and Pigling Bland.


5.   The television is a silly invention of modern science that does not have any positive effect. It is ‘nauseating’ and disgusting to watch. It is ‘foul’, morally bad and offensive. It telecasts only ‘junk’. The television screen thus is repulsive.     

Television Poem by Roald Dahl ICSE Solutions

 

Television Poem by Roald Dahl Solutions - 

PASSAGE-1


(i)  'We' are referred to the parents who are unaware of the bad effects of television, which is affecting their children's future, and killing their precious time.


(ii) The ignorant parents of the children who are addicted to television are being referred to, by the poet, as he wants to inform them of the bad effects of watching television.


(iii) 'Idiotic thing' refers to the television set. It is being called 'idiotic' as all it does, is kill the children's precious time where they can study, and learn something, instead of watching television.


(iv) The poet tries to reason, and convince the parents, that the television set is useless, and that the parents should not even install the television in the first place.


(v) There is some relevance of this advice in our present-day world, as the television does waste our time, but then again, we can what is happening around the world via new channels, we can also gain knowledge from channels like Discovery, National Geographic, etc.



PASSAGE-2


(i) The advice that was given by the poet to the parents earlier in the context was to stop their children from wasting their time in front of the tube, and not to install the television at all.


(ii) The poet describes the television as an 'idiotic thing', saying that it is a device with no benefits at all, and it only wastes our time and money. He says that books are better than television.


(iii) The thing that the poet has observed in every house, is a television set, which he hates to see, and does not understand why parents even install it for.


(iv) According to the poet, the 'eyes' of the children pop out when they keep watching the television for too long, and with no stopping. In order words, he tries to say that their eyes are harmed.


(v) In the last lines of this context, the poet is using metaphor when he is comparing the children with a dozen eyeballs. He uses this figure of speech, to make the poem more amusing, and interesting.



PASSAGE-3


(i) The children who continuously keep watching the television for a long time without taking a break, are being addressed to, in the poem.


(ii) The poet's main concern is children, who are taking damage to their body as well as their future by watching the television without studying or taking a break.


(iii) 'That shocking ghastly junk' is addressed to the programs which appear on the television, which the children love to spend their precious time on.


(iv) The parents let their children watch television uninterrupted since then their children do not annoy or disturb them anymore, as their time is mostly spent in front of the television.


(v) According to the poet, watching television makes the children dull, as they are only wasting their time on the tube, instead of reading books, or play outside, which can provide actual benefit for them.



PASSAGE-4


(i) The parents let their children watch television for so long, since their kids do not disturb, or make interactions with them anymore, because of the television, and so, in order to enjoy the freedom, they let them do so.


(ii) The poet says that watching an excess of television makes children dull, and dumb, and also damages their thinking power since the television only shows junk content which gives no knowledge at all.


(iii) According to the poet, television is making children unimaginative, because it contains no knowledge at all, and only shows content which contains no educational value, thus, making them unimaginative.


(iv) The activity referred to later in the poem that sharpens the brain is by reading books. As the poet says, books are the only source for knowledge, and to get creative.


(v) No, I do not agree to this because, in this period, there are many educational, business related, etc, types of shows that can often educate us about the things, that we might not know. There are also new channels that give us the day to day general knowledge of what is happening around the world.



PASSAGE-5


(i) The parents' response to the poet's advice to them about their children watching television is that, if they remove the television set, there will be no means for the children to entertain themselves with.


(ii) The poet reminds the parents of how they used to entertain themselves, back in the day, when they were children themselves, and tells them that they did so by reading books.


(iii) The exclamations, 'Great Scott' and 'Gadzooks' used by the poet in the extract, is used to express the shock, and annoyance of the poet on the parents who do not stop their children from watching television.


(iv) The poet uses all capital letters in this line, so as to emphasize the point that in his time when he was a child, he and his parents spent their time reading books.


(v) The poet recommends reading of books to the children, as he believes that books are the only source of knowledge, and for the minds of children to be more creative.



PASSAGE-6


(i) The anxiety which the poet has shown regarding watching television by the children is that they start to feel uncomfortable without the television since they are addicted to it.


(ii) The poet wants the children to read books, to make use of their time, and learn something, instead of watching television, which only wastes time, and kills imagination.


(iii) The poet says that the reading of books is better than watching television by informing us that when we read books, we learn something, and also get creative, which, watching the television cannot do.


(iv) The stories about Mr. Tod, and his dirty dog, the squirrel Nutkin, the small pig named Bland, and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, were very amusing, and thus, captivated the young minds in the past.


(v) No, I do not agree with the poet, since although books are the source of entertainment and knowledge. We can never know about the things happening all over the world without the news on TV. Books can not update us every day to day events just in minutes.



PASSAGE-7


(i) The poet recommends reading books to children because he says that books can also entertain us, and increases our creativity. He says that we can also learn something from books.


(ii) The stories about Mr. Tod, and his dirty dog, the squirrel Nutkin, the small pig named Bland, and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle were very fascinating, and thus, interested the children in the past.


(iii) Since the 'Penelope' is a sweet smelling dish. The poet uses this term to describe the fun, and joy in reading storybooks, by giving this example from a famous storybook.


(iv) He was a famous British writer, who was very popular and loved by most of the children, for his amusing stories, like Mr. Tod, and his dirty dog; squirrel Nutkin, etc.


(v) The animal characters in the stories of Beatrix Potter, used by the poet here, to express the examples of good books, are Mr. Tod and his dirty dog, squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Blang, and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.



PASSAGE-8


(i) 'We' are referred to the people which side with the poet, on thinking that the television is a useless thing and that we should go back to the means of entertainment in the past, which were books.


(ii) The advice that is repeated here is to throw away the television, and make a bookshelf in its place because he believes that TV is making children dull, and unimaginative, and he wants to stop this from happening.


(iii) The 'dirty looks' as said by the poet in the extract refers to the angry, and annoyed children, who will give cold stern stare to their parents when they un-install the TV set.


(iv) The impression of the children mentioned here by the poet is the type of children who are very rude and do not listen to their parents, even when they are doing something for their own good.


(v) No, I would not react violently, but instead, try to reason to them, and not watch television excessively, and make a fixed time to watch the tube.



PASSAGE-9


(i) The parents of the children, who watch television for no fixed time, are being addressed here. They are being referred here, as they are responsible for their children to become dull, and dumb.


(ii) The action of the parents to remove the television, and force them to read books, would evoke protest by their youngsters, since they have become addicted to the tube, and can not live without it.


(iii) The parents should ignore the angry looks of their children, the kicks, and hits from sticks by their children, and even biting them while they remove the television set.


(iv) The poet uses the exclamation-'oh boy, oh boy', to express the surprise, and amusement, which the parents are going to feel when they see their children reading books.


(v) If the youngsters start reading books, they would be actively engaged with the stories. They would be thinking and imagining the stories on their own, and thus, their brains would become sharper.



PASSAGE-10


(i) According to the poet, in the absence of the television set, the children will want to spend their time. So, they will read, and when they do so, they will completely forget about watching television.


(ii) When the television set is removed, the children will try to entertain themselves by reading some good books, and when they will do that, they will totally forget about watching television.


(iii) Once the children begin to read the books, their mind becomes filled with joy at the wonderful, and fantastic stories, and they would imagine these stories themselves.


(iv) According to the poet, once the television set is removed, and they start reading books, they will eventually forget about the TV set, and start on to enjoy themselves, even while reading books.


(v) A. He thinks that TV makes the young, very lazy, and they do not want to do any activity, other than that.

   B. He assumes that it blocks their minds, and imagination, making them dull, and dumb.

Television by Roald Dahl: Summary & Explanation

Television by Roald Dahl: Summary & Explanation

About the poem

Roald Dahl is one of the most prolific modern writers in English and is well known as a children’s author. The poem ‘Television’ is a famous poem of Dahl that advises and inspires to read books instead of watching the television. This is one of the most relevant poems of our time. The poem takes a comic look at a serious problem among young children today. It warns us about the dangers of watching television excessively. TV robs our minds of the power of imagination and creativity.

He advises us to read books as it will enable us to discover deeper levels of joy, find fulfillment in life and open a whole new and exciting world for us.

Form & language

The poem is a long one but very simple in language and form. It follows rhymed Iambic tetrameter lines throughout the poem with no stanza division. The poet has capitalized the important portions – especially where he talks about the undesired consequences of watching television.

Paraphrase & Explanation of the poem

Line 1-16

The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set —
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.

Dahl advises from his experience that people should never ever allow their children to go near the television set. It is even better not to install ‘the idiotic thing’ called television. But why is a television an idiotic thing according to the poet? Throughout the entire poem, Dahl attempts to answer it.

In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)

The poet shares his experience here. In almost every house he has visited, he has watched children gaping at the screen. They were staring with their eyes wide open and with absolute concentration of mind. For sitting a long time before the television set, they become tired. Sometimes they sit or lie in a lazy and casual manner (loll and slop and lounge about) and get sloppy. But still, they stare at the television until their eyes are too tired to watch any more (their eyes pop out).

All these are not Dahl’s imagination. He indeed saw a dozen eyeballs, i.e., half a dozen children sitting on the floor at someone’s house very recently, say last week.

They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotised by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.

When the children are before a television set, they ‘sit and stare and stare and sit’ for long hours. They don’t seem to be moving from there, as they probably forget everything around them in the real world. Rather, the one they watch on the television becomes real for the time being.

They are almost hypnotized by this idiotic box. They are ‘absolutely drunk’, their minds are filled with those ‘shocking ghastly junk’ which are mostly unreal and inappropriate for the age. Those TV shows kill their valuable time and make them lazy with no room for their physical play and exercise. They have no scope of spending time with books and nature, and interacting with others. Their minds, filled with the images and stories of a virtual world, are compared to a drunk man’s imaginary world in an apt metaphor here.



Line 17-21

Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink –

The poet now says that he knows that the television keeps the naughty children calm. When they are in front of a TV set, they no more do mischievous things like climbing out the window sill, fighting, kicking and punching. They let the mother free to cook the lunch and wash the dishes in the sink without any disturbance. But that can’t be an excuse to let them sit before a TV, because the poet thinks that the idiotic device does more harm than good.



Line 22-33

But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!

The poet-speaker now asks the parents whether they ever spent a moment to think exactly what harm this television does to their loving child. He himself answers it in a brilliant way.

Watching the television regularly damages the sense in the head. Children are drawn away from the reality, the real world around him. He just believes what he watches, without considering the context. His own environment hardly matches with the ones he sees on screen, but still he thinks all that are real and applicable to him.

It also kills the power of imagination in the mind. Children start to live in a pre-set imaginary world that they see on the screen. They slowly lose their own creative thinking, their own imagination. Though what TV shows display are mostly fictional, that is a close imitation of the real world, not a completely different world as in a fairy tale.

IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND

Roald Dahl continues to argue on how television affects a child’s mind. Children watch different shows on different channels. Sometimes there are contradictory ideas. Sometimes, it does not match with reality and they are surprised. Thus, these things clog and clutter up the mind – mess up the organised ideas and thoughts.

Moreover, the child forgets to think on his own. His entire mind is full of the images he has seen on the TV. So how would he get the time and scope to think over other things? His important time is wasted in the thoughts that are fictional and not related to his own life. Thus his study and thoughts on how to improve his skills and personality are neglected. This is as if the child gradually becomes ‘dull and blind’.

HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!

The poet feels that due to the imposed limitation on thoughts, the children can no longer understand a fantasy or a fairy tale. They cannot extend their imaginative power to that level. They are now used to see an image of the likely real world – a virtual reality.

HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK — HE ONLY SEES!

Dahl now opines that by watching television, the brain becomes soft like cheese. Children now believe everything they watch or hear on TV. They cannot find their own logic to analyse and interpret a thing. The power of thinking, the thought process freezes and gets rusty. They cannot think on their own. All they do is watching and believing what others say on TV.



Line 34-42

‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’

Now the poet says that he knows what the readers or especially the parents would ask him. The question is how parents shall entertain their affectionate children if they take the TV set away from them. The poet has the answer in the following lines.

We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do?
‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?

The poet answers the above question only by throwing a question. What people used to do to keep themselves entertained when television was not invented? TV set is a dreaded device, a monster to him. He wants people remind what they used to do in the absence of such a device.



Line 43-51

We’ll say it very loud and slow:
THEY … USED … TO … READ! They’d READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!

The poet himself reminds us that children in earlier times used to read lots of books. Surprisingly people then spent half of their lifetime by reading books. (‘Great Scott! Gadzooks!’ is an expression of surprise or amazement.)

The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!

In those earlier days the nursery selves were full of books. In nursery schools, books remained scattered on the floor. Even in their home, the bedroom and the bed – books cluttered up everywhere.



Line 52-71

Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)

Here the poet talks about the popular books of adventures that children used to read in his time. In those days boys and girls read fantastic stories of dragons, gypsies, queens, whales, treasure islands, smugglers, pirates, ships, elephants, cannibals and so on.

The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!

The younger children used to read stories written by Helen Beatrix Potter, an author of children’s books featuring animals with colourful illustrations. Dahl here pays a tribute to the children author for her fantastic stories on animals. He also mentions some of the stories like ‘How the camel got his hump’ and some characters like Mr. Toad, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle etc. from those stories. This shows the poet’s love for those books and how he enjoyed them in his childhood days.

Line 72-84

So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.

Roald Dahl, the poet now requests the parents for their own good to throw away their television set and install a book shelf in its place.

Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-

After installing the book shelf in place of a TV set, the parents will face some dirty looks, screams, yells, bites and kicks from their children. They may even hit them with sticks. But the poet insists on filling that shelf with lots of books on various topics ignoring all those screaming and such.

Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.

Dahl here assures us that after a week of two, those children would find nothing to do without a TV set around. So they will finally feel the need to read books. They will come closer to books on their own.



Line 85-93

And once they start — oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!

And once they start reading, the only way is ahead of them. They will find it interesting to read more and more books. That will give them the imagination and thoughts, the knowledge and wisdom, the satisfaction of mind and heart. And at one stage they will grow so keen on reading books that they will wonder what they had found in that silly machine called television. They will find the television screen disgusting and unclean then, as they will discover the real joy of reading books.

And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

And finally, each and every kid will love the parents for giving them the opportunity to find real joy in reading books. Even when they would grow up, they would thank their parents for taking that television set away and installing the book shelf there.

The poet advocates for reading and only reading. Dahl thinks TV can never be a substitute for books. Books are the only things that can deliver real wisdom.
________________

🧑‍🏫👲👱🧑‍🦰🤵🙋

Television Poem by Roald Dahl ICSE

The most important thing we've learned, 

So far as children are concerned, 

Is never, NEVER, NEVER let 
Them near your television set -- 
Or better still, just don't install 
The idiotic thing at all. 

In almost every house we've been, 
We've watched them gaping at the screen. 
They loll and slop and lounge about, 
And stare until their eyes pop out. 
(Last week in someone's place we saw 
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.) 

They sit and stare and stare and sit 
Until they're hypnotised by it, 
Until they're absolutely drunk 
With all that shocking ghastly junk. 
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still, 
They don't climb out the window sill, 
They never fight or kick or punch, 
They leave you free to cook the lunch 

And wash the dishes in the sink -- 
But did you ever stop to think, 
To wonder just exactly what 
This does to your beloved tot? 
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD! 
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD! 
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND! 
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND 
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND 
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND! 
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE! 
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE! 
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES! 

'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say, 
'But if we take the set away, 
What shall we do to entertain 
Our darling children? Please explain!' 
We'll answer this by asking you, 
'What used the darling ones to do? 
'How used they keep themselves contented 
Before this monster was invented?' 
Have you forgotten? Don't you know? 
We'll say it very loud and slow: 
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ, 
AND READ and READ, and then proceed 
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks! 
One half their lives was reading books! 

The nursery shelves held books galore! 
Books cluttered up the nursery floor! 
And in the bedroom, by the bed, 
More books were waiting to be read! 
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales 
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales 
And treasure isles, and distant shores 
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars, 
And pirates wearing purple pants, 
And sailing ships and elephants, 
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot, 
Stirring away at something hot. 
(It smells so good, what can it be? 
Good gracious, it's Penelope.) 

The younger ones had Beatrix Potter 
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter, 
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland, 
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and- 
Just How The Camel Got His Hump, 
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump, 
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul, 
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole- 

Oh, books, what books they used to know, 
Those children living long ago! 
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, 
Go throw your TV set away, 
And in its place you can install 
A lovely bookshelf on the wall. 
Then fill the shelves with lots of books, 
Ignoring all the dirty looks, 
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks, 
And children hitting you with sticks- 

Fear not, because we promise you 
That, in about a week or two 
Of having nothing else to do, 
They'll now begin to feel the need 
Of having something to read. 

And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy! 
You watch the slowly growing joy 
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen 
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen 
In that ridiculous machine, 
That nauseating, foul, unclean, 
Repulsive television screen! 
And later, each and every kid 
Will love you more for what you did.

by Roald Dahl