Gujarat Board GSEB Class 9 English Textbook Solutions Beehive Poem 8 On Killing a Tree Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.
Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 9 English Beehive Poem 8 On Killing a Tree
GSEB Class 9 English On Killing a Tree Text Book Questions and Answers
Thinking about the Poem
Question 1.
Can a “simple jab of the knife” kill a tree? Why not?
Answer:
No, a simple jab of a knife cannot kill a tree because it takes many years for a tree to grow and rise out of the earth. Moreover, only a chop cannot kill it because it will slowly rise again and grow to its original size.
Question 2.
How has the tree grown to its full size? List the words suggestive of its life and activity.
Answer:
The tree grows to its full size by absorbing years of sunlight, water and air. It slowly grows out of the earth and sprouts leaves. The words suggestive of its life and activity are ‘grown slowly consuming the earth’, ‘rising out of it’, ‘feeding upon its crust’, ‘absorbing years of sunlight, air, water’ and ‘sprouting leaves’.
Question 3.
What is the meaning of ‘bleeding bark’? What makes it bleed?
Answer:
‘Bleeding bark’ refers to the area on the tree trunk where it has been hit with the axe. It bleeds because the woodcutter has wounded the tree by cutting and chopping it.
Question 4.
The poet says ‘No’ in the beginning of the third stanza. What does he mean by this?
Answer:
In the beginning of the third stanza, the poet has said ‘No’ to lay emphasis on the fact that mere chopping of the tree would not kill it. The tree would grow again and regain its original size.
Question 5.
What is the meaning of ‘anchoring earth’ and ‘earth cave’?
Answer:
‘Anchoring earth’ refers to the roots of the tree that lie inside the earth and play the role of an anchor for the tree to grow. They ensure the security of the tree as they nourish it with water and nutrients. ‘Earth cave’ refers to the ground on which the foundation of the tree is laid as it holds the roots and keeps the tree standing tall and protects it from adversities such as heavy rainfall or storm.
Question 6.
What does the poet mean by ‘the strength of the tree exposed’?
Answer:
The strength of the tree lies in its roots, which the poet asks to snap out in order to kill the tree. Thus, the phrase ‘the strength of the tree exposed’ refers to the roots of the tree being exposed to sunlight and air.
Question 7.
What finally kills the tree?
Answer:
The tree is finally killed by the uprooting of its roots. When the roots, which had anchored it lying hidden in the earth for years, were dug out, the tree’s strength was exposed and this led to the death of the tree. It dried up after it had been uprooted.
GSEB Class 9 English On Killing a Tree Additional Important Questions and Answers
Reading Comprehension
Read the following stanzas and answer the questions given below them:
Question 1.
It takes much time to kill a tree, Not a simple jab of the knife Will do it. It has grown Slowly consuming the earth,
Rising out of it, feeding Upon its crust, absorbing Years of sunlight, air, water, And out of its leprous hide Sprouting leaves.
Questions :
(1) What is not easy, according to the poet?
(2) What has made the tree firmly rooted?
(3) The words ‘leprous hide’ stands for :
(a) firm roots
(b) damaged with leprosy
(c) discoloured bark
Answer:
(1) According to the poet, killing a tree cannot be done by just a single stroke of knife. It is not that easy.
(2) A tree takes years to grow. While growing it consumes water, minerals, etc. from the earth. It also absorbs sunlight, air and water all these years and is firmly rooted.
(3) The words ‘leprous hide’ stand for: discoloured bark
Question 2.
So hack and chop
But this alone won’t do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again To former size.
Questions :
(1) What will be ineffective in killing a tree?
(2) What will happen even if the tree is cut?
(3) When will miniature boughs expand again?
Answer:
(1) In killing a tree, even if one hacks? and chops, it won’t do. It will not kill the trees entirely.
(2) Even if the tree is cut with blows of an axe, it will not die. The bleeding bark of; the tree will heal and from close to the ground, Will rise curled green twigs. It will revive.
(3) If the miniature boughs are not checked/controlled, they will expand again to their former size.
Question 3.
No, The root is to be pulled out
Out of the anchoring earth;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out-snapped out
Or pulled out entirely,
Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
Questions:
(1) Explain ‘anchoring earth’.
(2) Identify and explain the Figure of Speech in the line: ‘And pulled out-snapped out’.
(3) How is the strength of the tree exposed?
Answer:
(1) The phrase ‘anchoring earth’ conveys that the earth like an anchor holds an l tree tight through its roots.
(2) The Figure of Speech in the line: ‘And pulled out-snapped out’ is Repetition. The word ? ‘out’ is repeated to intensify the fact that it is S not possible to kill a tree until it is completely rooted out.
(3) The strength of a tree is its roots. The ? more they are spread inside the earth, the stronger they make the tree. They are the source of a tree and lying inside they keep white and? wet. When they are taken out or exposed, we s can see the strength of the tree.
Question 4.
Then the matter
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
Questions :
(1)When is the process narrated in this stanza take place?
(2) How does a tree die ? or How is a tree killed?
(3) Identify and explain the Figure of Speech in the lines :
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering.
Answer:
(1) The process narrated in this stanza takes place when a tree is slowly rooted out from the earth.
(2) After the tree is rooted out from the earth, it does not stand erectly anymore. It lies on the ground under the scorching sun. It takes days together in the drying process. In the scorching heat of the sun, it becomes brown and gets hardened. While drying it gets twisted and finally withers away.
(3) The Figure of Speech in the lines: ‘Browning, hardening, Twisting, withering’ is climax.
Here, the entire drying process occurs in this ascending order, hence it is climax.
Figures of Speech
Choose the most appropriate Figures of Speech in the following lines :
Question 1.
…….‘it has grown slowly consuming the earth’.
A. Metaphor
B. Personification
C. Metonymy
D. Synecdoche
Answer:
B. Personification
Question 2.
‘And out of its leprous hide’.
A. Alliteration
B. Synecdoche
C. Metaphor
D. Apostrophe
Answer:
C. Metaphor
Question 3.
‘Not so much pain will do it.
A. Metaphor
B. Litotes
C. Alliteration
D. Simile
Answer:
B. Litotes
Question 4.
‘The bleeding bark will heal’.
A. Personification
B. Alliteration
C. Apostrophe
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Answer:
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Question 5.
‘And pulled out-snapped out’.
A. Repetition
B. Alliteration
C. Tautology
D. Metaphor
Answer:
C. Tautology
Question 6.
‘Out of the earth cave.
A. Metaphor
B. Exaggeration
C. Metonymy
D. Personification
Answer:
A. Metaphor
Question 7.
‘The source, white and wet’.
A. Repetition
B. Alliteration
C. Metaphor
D. Apostrophe
Answer:
B. Alliteration
Question 8.
(1) ‘Then the matter of scorching and choking…
(2) ‘Browning, hardening, Twisting, withering’…
A. Tautology
B. Internal Rhyme
C. Repetition
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Answer:
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Answer the following questions in five to six sentences each:
Question 1.
Critically analyse the poem ‘On Killing a Tree.
Answer:
The poem itself is modelled as a plant growing from the seed. The first line states, “It takes much time to kill a tree.” Then the process of growth of the tree is described. It is presumed that the tree has grown from its seed. The seed develops the root. The root works its way through the rocks and stones of the soil.
The tree grows slowly by feeding upon the earth’s crust absorbing years of sunlight, air and water. There is a fight during the development of the tree which is suggested in the poem. The survival of the tree, in spite of the efforts to kill it, is shown by the line. “And from close to the ground”.
Question 2.
Write the substance of the poem ‘On Killing a Tree.
Answer:
The poet Gieve Patel has presented a very beautiful ironical poem On Killing a Tree. He starts the poem with an ironical statement – It takes much time and strength to kill a tree. Then he explains the process of a tree’s growth-it grows slowly and rises out of the earth by absorbing years of sunlight, air and water. So, it is not easy to kill a tree with a single stroke of a knife. The tree has deep roots which draws its sap from the earth.
It gives rise to tiny twigs and miniature boughs. We hack and chop to kill a tree. Then he very skillfully describes the process of killing a tree. ? But hacking and chopping cannot destroy it completely as green twigs are sure to emerge from the bleeding bark. The miniature boughs (branches) will grow from close to the ground? and grow back to its normal size. The source of the tree is its roots which is white and wet.
The secret of its strength is that it is hidden s inside the earth for years together. It is fixed! firmly in the earth. Thus to kill a tree it has to s be uprooted, scorched and choked in the sun. After uprooting, the roots are to be exposed to the sunlight till they dry and become brown. ? Then it stops breathing. It becomes hardened, twisted and browned.
Question 3.
“The bleeding bark will heal”. How ? will the bleeding bark heal?
Answer:
In the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ Gieve? Patel says that a woodcutter may cut a tree with s his repeated blow. But this alone will not be? able to kill a tree. The affected tree does not s seem to express its pain because its bleeding bark will heal its pain all the time.
‘Curled green twigs’ of the tree closely attached to earth will? grow from the miniature boughs. The strength of the tree lies in the roots. If these roots are ! not completely uprooted, they will expand and become a full-grown tree again. ?
Question 4.
“It takes much time to kill a tree,?Not a simple jab of the knife. Will do it …” s Why does it takes so much time to kill a !; tree?
Answer:
It is not easy to kill a tree simply with ? a stroke of a knife. The tree has deep roots s which give rise to tiny twigs and miniature? boughs. The root has to be uprooted, and it s has to be scorched and choked in sun and air. ? This process takes much time and it requires a slot of effort. Then only the tree is killed. ?
Question 5.
Describe the growth of a tree in detail.
OR
How does a tree grow?
Answer:
The poet, Gieve Patel sketches how s a tree grows in the first stanza of his poem ‘On killing a Tree’. To him, the tree grows slowly consuming the earth firmly. It absorbs sunlight, air and water from nature for years to make food with these nutrients. But a tree heals its wounds by hacking and chopping to rise miniature boughs into full size itself again. Thus, a tree grows slowly by absorbing years of sunlight, air and water.
Question 6.
Contrast ‘bleeding bark’ with ‘green twigs’. What does ‘blood’ represent? What does ‘green’ show?
Answer:
The poet has used the words and phrases very skillfully. ‘Bleeding bark’ is suggestive of deterioration whereas ‘green twigs’ suggest fresh growth. ‘Blood’ represents death. ‘Green’ shows the springing of life. ‘Green’ and ‘blood’ symbolize the change from death to life.
Question 7.
Describe the process of uprooting a tree.
OR
How does the poet describe the uprooting of a tree?
Answer:
Neither a simple jab of a knife nor hacking and chopping kill a tree. Hence the root of the tree should be pulled out of the earth. It would, then, be roped, tied and snapped out. So it should be pulled out entirely from the earth cover. Then it should be exposed to sunlight. This, according to the poet, is the complete process of uprooting a tree.
Question 8.
Justify the title of the poem ‘On Killing a Tree.
Answer:
‘On Killing a Tree’ by Gieve Patel describes two things. First, it speaks of the meticulous task of killing a tree. Then it tells us about the perversity and tragedy of such action, about man’s systematic destruction of the environment. The poet invokes Nature’s resilience in the first two stanzas through the images of a feeding tree and a healing tree.
In the following two stanzas he creates a sense of hunting in the methodical analysis of the execution of a tree. Thus the poem, from its beginning to the end, describes in detail the process and consequences of killing a tree. Hence the title is appropriate and it drives the poet’s point home in a superb way.
On Killing a Tree Summary in English
On Killing a Tree Introduction:
Gieve Patel (Born 18 August 1940) is an Indian poet, playwright, painter, as well as a practising physician/doctor based in Mumbai. Patel belongs to a group of writers who have subscribed themselves to the ‘Green Movement’ which is involved in an effort to protect the environment.
His poems speak of deep concerns for nature and expose man’s cruelty to it. Patel’s works include ‘Poems’, ‘How Do You Withstand’, ‘Body’ and ‘Mirrored Mirroring’. He has also written three plays titled Princes, Savaska and Mr Behram.
On Killing a Tree Summary:
It tells us that killing a tree is not easy. It is very time-consuming. The jab of a knife or an axe, or chopping off a bough is not enough to bring a tree down. These jabs may inflict pain on the tree but the pain is not enough to kill it. A tree grows straight out of the earth, nourishing itself on the nutrients found in the earth, along with years of sunlight, water, and air. And even though the bark looks irregular and scaly, leaves and branches sprout of it.
The ‘bleeding bark’, the part where it has been wounded or where a bough is chopped off, will heal with time. New green twigs will grow again; boughs chopped off will be replaced by new boughs, which will grow into their former size. The poet explains how a tree could be killed.
He says to kill a tree its root has to be pulled out. The root, which is the source of a tree’s life, must be pulled out of its cave, in order to mortally harm the tree. By ‘earth cave’ the poet means the point, deep inside the earth, where the root is attached.
Once the centre, the life source the root is exposed, the tree becomes vulnerable. The source is described as white and wet, probably alluding to tree sap which is a white liquid. The exposed life source, which when left open to the sun and air, will be scorched due to the heat and the air won’t be able to reach the scorched places to relieve it of the heat.
Slowly, it will start to become brown, with all the softness fading out leaving a hard, lifeless remainder behind. With time, it will start to wither, become dry and bent out of shape, leaving a corpse where a tree used to be. In short, the exposure will leave the root vulnerable to all vagaries of weather, which will ultimately weaken the tree and kill it.