Animals Poem Extra Questions
Q. What is the central idea of the poem ‘Animals’? [CBSE 2020]
Ans. In the poem animals, Walt Whitman frankly tells that he feels more comfortable with animals rather than humans. The poem draws a contrast between humans and animals. With the passage of time, humans have forgotten all those good qualities that they possessed and have become uncivilized beasts who are extremely jealous, greedy, egoistic, hypocrite, lusty and discontent. However, the animals have been successful to carry the similar virtues that they had in them from the beginning of the world.
Q. Which qualities of animals has the poet lost and now wants to regain? Answer with reference to the poem, ‘Animals’. [CBSE 2020]
Ans. The poet wants to regain the qualities of animals as in, animals are natural and do not adapt to material goods like human beings do. This natural aspect of animals has helped them maintain their values. Humans, in order to possess more and more, have forgotten their kindness and innocence.
Animals do not complain about their situation, they are considered to be happier than humans. Animals live in natural surroundings; they accept their natural lives. Humans, on the other hand, have never accepted nature, i.e., they complain about it and try to change it, leading to an unhappy life.
Q. Why does the poet want to turn and live with animals? [CBSE 2020, 18]
Ans. The poet likes/prefers animals for their calm and self-controlled nature. He is impressed with animals because unlike human beings, they don’t desire to own things and are satisfied with their lives. The poet wants himself to turn into an animal and live with animals as they have retained the basic good values lost by humans.
Q. What vices in human being does Whitman notice? [CBSE 2020]
Ans. Whitman notices that human beings have been self-centred and do not respect other beings. They weep for their sins and pray to God to ask for forgiveness. Human beings are dissatisfied with their lives. They suffer from the obsession of possession and want to rule the world.
Q. The key to happiness is ‘Do not complain but accept the situation’. Elaborate it in the context of the poem ‘Animals’. [CBSE 2015]
Ans. It is true that the key to happiness is ‘Do not complain but accept the situation. ‘The poet, Walt Whitman in the poem ‘Animals’ justifies the given statement. In the poem, animals are compared to human beings to highlight the differences between them. On the basis of their characteristics of happiness, equality, simplicity and many more ‘tokens’, animals have been ranked much superior and nobler to humans.
The poet explains his belief by stating that animals are simple creatures who never complain about their situations. They have accepted their natural surroundings and thus, are happy and satisfied with their lives. Humans, on the other hand, have never accepted nature. They are always complaining about it and so, try to change it. Thus, they lead an unhappy life. The ever-increasing expectations of human beings and their demanding, greedy and selfish nature leads to their unhappiness.
Q. Explain the satisfaction that animals have and humans don’t. [CBSE 2014]
Ans. Animals do not have the desire to possess worldly things and thus, are satisfied with what they have. They live happily in their natural surroundings. However, humans desire to own as many things as possible and thus, are dissatisfied forever.
Q. Read the extract to attempt questions that follow. [CBSE 2019]
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them
plainly in their possession
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently
drop them?
(i) Explain the line: “They bring me tokens of myself”.
(ii) What does the poet accept?
(iii) What similarities does the poet find between the human beings and the animals?
(iv) What does the poet wonder about?
(v) Which poetic device is used in the line – “I wonder where they get those tokens”?
Answers
(i) The poet here means that the animals remind him of true values of the human nature such as love and understanding.
(ii) The poet accepts the bonding with animals and their love.
(iii) The poet finds that animals have virtues of truthfulness, kindness, and innocence just like human beings. However, human beings have long lost these virtues.
(iv) The poet wonders if the animals got their virtues from humans when they dropped them for their greed and selfishness.
(v) Alliteration is used in the given line.
Q. Read the extract given below and complete the sentences/answer the questions that follow by choosing the most appropriate options. [2013]
I think I could turn and live with animals,
they are
so placid and self-contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.
(a) The poet wants to live with the animals because they are ……
(i) calm
(ii) self-contained
(iii) satisfied
(iv) all of the above
(b) The poet feels more at home with animals than ………….
(i) birds and insects
(ii) human beings
(iii) natural things
(iv) all of the above
(c) The word which means ‘calm and quiet’ is
……………… .
(i) placid
(ii) complex
(iii) groan
(iv) contented
Answers
(a) (iv) all of the above
(b) (ii) human beings
(c) (i) placid
Q. ‘Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.’
Who is the poet talking about? What is their state of mind? [2011]
Ans. The poet is talking about the animals. The animals are placid and self-contained; they are happy. They are not worried about getting respect or disrespect. Most importantly, animals do not have ego.
Q. ‘They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God’. [2011]
Who are ‘they’? What makes him sick?
Ans. They’ are animals. What makes the poet sick are the discussions on the logic or the reasons about subjects of philosophy or religion which the humans more and more indulge in, unlike animals.
Q. They do not lie awake in the dark and
Weep for their sins, ………….. [2011]
Who are ‘they’? How are they different from human beings?
Ans. They’ are animals. Humans commit sins, which they regret. They cannot always repent even if they want to. This makes them sad, and so, they cry. On the contrary, animals behave on their natural instincts. Therefore, they do not have any grudges or regrets for their actions. Hence, animals do not cry.
Q. What are the tokens that the animals give to the poet?
Ans. The tokens that the animals give the poet are the qualities of innocence, simplicity and contentment. These are the qualities that man had, but now has left them on his journey towards a materialistic world.
