Goa Board Class 10 Solutions for English First Flight – Animals [Poem]
Page No. 84:
Question 1:
Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn and live with animals…” What is the poet turning from?
Solution :
The poet is turning from mankind and feels that he could possibly live with animals, birds, and nature.
Question 2:
Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t.
Solution :
The three things that humans do and animals don’t are as follows:
- Humans worry and complain about their condition and are never satisfied with what they have.
- Humans tend to think too much about their wrongdoings by lying awake and weeping in the dark.
- Humans also keep telling each other about their duties and obligations to God.
Question 3:
Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Discuss this in groups.
Solution :
Yes, humans kneel and worship other humans who lived thousands of years ago.
Many people worship their ancestors who lived years ago. They pray to them, observe fasts for them and hold religious services and ceremonies in their honour.
Humans also worship other humans who preached years ago. Some believe they are reincarnations of God. They kneel before them and worship them. They also follow their teachings and their way of life.
Question 4:
What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class. (Hint: Whitman belongs to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth, which holds that civilisation has made humans false to their own true nature. What could be the basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?)
Solution :
The ‘tokens’ that the poet says have been dropped are virtues that the human race once had, that made it superior to the other species. Through the ages, materialism has conquered humanity and end has become more important than means. Mankind seems to have lost humility, mutual respect and contentment in a race to possess everything than it lay its hand on. Animals on the other hand, display commendable characteristics by respecting each other’s territory and space, and being content when their basic necessities have been fulfilled. In a way, they seem to have picked up the virtues abandoned by humans and come across and more civilised than humans.