English CBSE Class 12 NCERT Flamingo Poem 1 My Mother at Sixty-six Free Solution of Extra Questions and Answers – Extract Based Questions Short Answer Questions Long Answer Questions and Value Based Questions
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX
(Extra Questions)
Extract based questions
EB 1. Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning,
I saw my mother, beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse
and realised with pain that she was as old as she looked
1. Identify the poem and the poet.
2. Where was the poet driving to and why?
3. What is meaning of corpse?
4. What is the poetic device used in third line of the extract?
5. To whom does ‘I’ refer to?
6. What was the realisation?
EB 2. but soon put that thought away,
and looked out at young trees sprinting,
the merry children spilling out of their homes,
1. What does merry children symbolize ?
2. What does young trees signify?
3. Which thought did the poet put away?
4. Who looked out at the trees and children?
EB 3. And felt that old familiar ache, my childhood fear,
But all I said was , see you soon, Amma
All I did was smile and smile and smile
1. What was the childhood fear of the poet? Why does it return to her?
2. What is the poetic device used in last line of the extract?
3. What does the word ‘see you soon’ indicate?
4. Which word in the extract is synonym of ‘pain’?
5. What does the first two lines tell us about feelings of poet towards her mother?
EB 4. But after the airport’s security check
Standing a few yards away,
I looked again at her
Wan, pale as a late winter’s moon
1. Where is the poet presently ?
2. To whom is ‘her’ referred to in above extract?
3. What qualities of ‘late winter’s moon’ are compared?
4. What is the poetic device used in last line of the extract?
Short Answer Questions – 30 to 40 words
SA 1. What were childhood fears of the poet? Why the same fear comes again?
Answer: A child always likes to be in the company of her mother. The childhood fear of poet was about getting separated from her mother
While going the airport, poet realizes that her mother had become old. She visualises that her mother may not live long. So the fear of separation comes again to her.
SA 2. What kind of image has the poet used to describe her mother’s decay?
Answer: He mother is sitting beside her and dozing with open mouth. Her face looks ashen like a corpse. Her face is dull just like a hazy moon of late winter.
Mother represents old age and inactivity.
SA 3. How is the world inside the car different form activities outside the car?
Answer: The world inside the car represents old age and inactivity. Mother is old and is looking like a corpse. So the mood is of sadness and resignation.
The sprinting tress and merry children outside the car represent world of happiness, youth, hope and activity.
Thus the two worlds are different.
SA 4. What does the poet do after security check? What does she notice?
Answer: After security check, the poet looked at her mother. She noticed that her face was wan and pale like moon of late winter. She felt the pangs of fear of her childhood days.
The poet smiled at her mother and said ‘see you soon’.
SA 5. What is the familiar ache of poet? Why does it return?
Answer: A kid feels uncomfortable when her mother moves away from her. During childhood the poet had the fear of separation from her mother.
The poet sees that her mother has become old and weak. She thinks her mother may not live for a long time. Poet feels the fear losing her company once again.
SA 6. How does Kamla Das try to put away thoughts about her aging mother?
Answer: Kamal Das looks outside the car. She sees young trees appear to be moving at a great speed. Happy children are coming out of their homes. The outside world looked happy and full of activity.
Thus poet is able to divert her attention.
SA 7. Having looked at her mother, why does Kamla Das look at the young children?
Answer: Mother is old and is looking like a corpse. So the mood is of sadness and resignation. The poet wants to get rid of such thoughts.
She looks outside the window at merry children spilling out of their homes. This represents happiness, youth and activity.
So, poet looks out of the window to divert her attention.
SA 8. In the last line of the poem ‘My mother at Sixty-six’ why does the poet use the word ‘smile’ again and again?
Answer: The poet smiles to console her mother that she would be coming back soon. However, at that point of time she had to go away from her. She just could not do anything about it. In order to express her helplessness of that moment, she repeatedly uses the word ‘smile’.
Long Answer Questions – 120-150 words
LA 1. With fear and ache in her heart, words of assurance on her lips and smile on her face, the poet represents two contrasting feelings. Please explain emotions of the poet. Why does she smile?
Answer: The poet is going through a mixture of feelings and emotions.
While travelling in the car, poet realises that very soon she would depart for onward journey while her mother would return to hometown. She feels the pain of her child hood – of losing company of her mother.
She sees that face of her mother has become pale. She has become old and weak. The shine on her face is gone. She is dozing with open mouth. Her face is ashen like a corpse. She realizes that her mother may not live long. Her mother needs her company. So she is filled with a feeling of belongingness. She assures her mother that she will come back soon.
The smile on the face of poet represents hope. It also represents her love towards mother. She is trying to tell her mother that she loves her so much. She tells her to lead a life full of hopes.
But behind her smile there a feeling of compulsion as well Because she has to go to the other town and be away from her mother.
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