Unit 3.1 Night of the Scorpion

Night Of The Scorpion Poem Questions And Answers

Question 1.
Get into pairs and discuss the following with your partners and complete the table.
Many people are superstitious. This means that they have belief for which they have no logical reason.
An example of superstition is that – walking under a ladder brings bad luck.
In pairs, list any superstitions that you know of.

Superstition	What it implies
(1) Smashing a mirror (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)	Brings seven years of bad luck.

Answer:

Superstition	What it implies
(1) Walking under a ladder	Brings bad luck.
(2) Smashing a mirror	Brings seven years of bad luck.
(3) A black cat crossing your path	A bad omen.
(4) Twitching of the eye	Brings bad luck.
(5) Sweeping your house after sunset	Goddess Lakshmi will walk out.
(6) Going near a peepal tree at night	The ghosts will kill you.
(7) Putting a black dot on your child’s face	Will ward off the evil eye.

Question 2.
Brainstorm what you know about Scorpions. Use the points given below.

Answer:

Question 1.
After reading the poem, complete the following. What happens? There are three main parts of the poem. Do you know what they are about? The first one is done for you.

Lines	What is happening?
1-7	The scorpion comes into the home to escape the rain and stings the poet’s mother.
8-33
34-48

Answer:

Lines	What is happening
1-17	The scorpion comes into the house to escape the rain and stings the poet’s mother. It then braves the rain again. The peasants come when they hear the news and search for the scorpion. They click their tongues to show their disappointment. They say that with eveiy movement the scorpion makes, the poison moves in the victim’s blood.
18-33	The villagers sympathize with the mother and offer consolation in various ways. They sit round the floor with the mother in the centre. More neighbours came in to help, with more candles and more lanterns.
34-48	The father is desperate and though he is a rationalist, he tries all sorts of things to cure the mother. He calls a holy man to perform rites and even poured paraffin on the bitten toe and set fire to it. After twenty hours the scorpion loses Its sting. All that the mother says Is that she is thankful to God that the scorpion picked her and spared her children.

Question 2.
Complete the following tables.
(A)

Background/setting of the poem
Type	Evidence (Quote lines from the poem)
Rural/Urban	……………………………………….

Answer:

Background/setting of the poem

Type

Evidence (Quote lines from the poem)

Rural

(1) ‘The peasants came like swarms of flies’.
(2) ‘and buzzed,the name of God a hundred times’.
(3) To paralyse the evil one’.
(4) ‘With candles and with lanterns’
(5) ‘on‘the mud-baked walls’
(6) ‘His poison moved in Mother’s blood, they said.’
(7) They sat around on the floor with my mother in the centre’
(8) More candles, more lanterns’.
(9) groaning on a mat
(10) trying every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid
(11) I watched the holy man perform his rites

(B)

Scorpion
Many images of the scorpion contrast in the opening lines of the poem. Find examples of each and add them to the columns below.
Timid	Dangerous
(1) hides …………………. (2) …………………. back	(i) Diabolic …………………. (ii) ………………….

Answer:

Scorpion
Timid	Dangerous
(1) Hides beneath a sack of rice	(1) Diabolic tail
(2) Is afraid of the people and goes back	(2) The Evil One
	(3) His poison moved in Mother’s blood

(C)

Imagery
Look at the description of the village peasants. What does the imagery suggest about them?
The Images	What images suggest
They came like swarms of flies.
They buzzed the name of God.
They threw giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls.
They clicked their tongues.

Answer:

Imagery
The images	what the images suggest
1) They came swarms of flies.	(1) They came it very large numbers, a huge crowd of people moving towards the house, like a swarm of flies.
(2) They buzzed the name of God.	(2) They kept repeating the name of God softly and continuously, like the buzzing of bees.
(3) They threw giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls.	(3) The lanterns they carried threw shadows on the walls, which looked like huge scorpion shadows to the frightened villagers.
(4) They clicked their tongues.	(4) They made sorrowful and frightening sounds with their tongues.

Question 3.
Choose the correct alternative.

1. The child is afraid but admires …………………………
(a) the initiative of the peasants.
(b) his father trying every way to cure.
(c) the bravery of his mother.
Answer:
(c) the bravery of his mother

2. His father and the villagers panic and hastily suggest ………………………….
(a) to take her to the hospital.
(b) ayurvedic treatment.
(c) religious remedies to help.
Answer:
(c) religious remedies to help

3. The poet seems to see the villagers as impractical and almost irritating which suggests that …………………………
(a) the poet is critical of caste
(b) the poet is critical of religion
(c) the poet is critical of tradition.
Answer:
(c) the poet is critical of tradition

4. This is a ………………………… poem as it tells a story.
(a) reflective
(b) imaginative
(c) narrative
Answer:
(c) narrative

5. Using the first person gives the feeling that it is told from …………………………
(a) personal experience
(b) public experience
(c) private experience
Answer:
(a) personal experience

6. ‘The scorpion picked on me. And spared my children’ depicts …………………………
(a) mother’s bravery
(b) mother’s endurance
(c) selfless and unconditional love of mother.
Answer:
(c) selfless and unconditional love of a mother

7. The poem does not have a rhyme scheme, which means the poem is a perfect example of a …………………………
(a) Ballad
(b) Sonnet
(c) Free verse
Answer:
(c) free verse

8. The poem is titled ‘Night of the Scorpion’, for, the major part of the poem, …………………………
(a) the mother remains triumphant at the end.
(b) the scorpion is the victor.
(c) the father succeeds in curing the mother.
Answer:
(b) the scorpion is the victor

9. The peasants chant the name of God to …………………………
(a) nullify the stinging experience
(b) praise God.
(c) appease God.
Answer:
(a) nullify the stinging experience

10. The click of tongues reflects their ………………………… to the predicament.
(a) individual response
(b) collective response
(c) group response
Answer:
(b) collective response

Question 4.
From the poem provide evidence for the following :

Stages	Evidence (lines from the poem)
(a) the attempts by the peasants to help alleviate the mother’s pain. (b) the action of these same peasants to kill the scorpion (c) the reaction of the rational father. (d) the various superstitions versus the ‘scientific’ (e) evil versus good.

Answer:

Stages	Evidence (lines from the extract)
(a) the attempts by the peasants to help alleviate the mother’s pain.	(1) The peasants came like swarms of flies’ (2) ‘and buzzed the name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil One.’ (3) ‘With candles and with lanterns’
(b) the action of these same peasants to kill the scorpion.	(1) ‘they searched for him’ (2) ‘they clicked their tongues’
(c) evil versus good	‘and buzzed the name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil One.’ ‘

Question 5.
Read the poem and complete the table showing the qualities of the father and mother giving sufficient evidences from the poem.

Qualities
Father	Mother

Answer:

Qualities
Father	Mother
sceptic, rationalist, loving, desperate	patient, long-suffering, brave, self-sacrificing, selfless
Lines as evidence: My father, sceptic, rationalist, Trying every curse and blessing, Powder, mixture, herb and hybrid. He even poured a little paraffin Upon the bitten toe and put a match to it. I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation.	Lines as evidence : My mother twisted through and through, groaning on a mat. My mother only said Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children.

Question 6.
(A) Match the Figures of Speech with the correct definition.

Poetic Devices
Figure	Definition
(1) Metaphor (2) Alliteration (3) Onomatopoeia (4) Simile	(a) The use of the same sound at the beginning of words (b) An implied comparison. (c) A comparison between two different things, especially a phrase, containing the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ (d) A word which resembles the sound it represents.

Answer:

Poetic Devices
Figure	Definition
(1) Metaphor (2) Alliteration (3) Onomatopoeia (4) Simile	(b) An implied comparison. (a) The use of the same sound at the beginning of words (d) A word which resembles the sound it represents. (c) A comparison between two different things, especially a phrase, containing the words ‘like’ or ‘as’

(B) Find examples from the poem that contain :
Similie : …………………………
Metaphor : …………………………
Onomatopoeia : …………………………
Answer:
Similie: A comparison between two different things, especially a phrase, containing the words ‘like’ or ‘as’
Metaphor: An implied comparison.
Onomatopoeia: A word which resembles the sound it represents.

Question 7.
Expand the flow chart in writing a paragraph in your own words.

Answer:
The poet’s mother is bitten by a scorpion and is in great agony. She fights the venom of the scorpion with the help of her husband and the villagers. She is unable to say anything, but only groans in pain. Finally, the poison is tamed after twenty hours. In the end, the mother thanks God that she has survived the ordeal, and that the scorpion had picked on her and spared her children.

Question 8.
The poet has used various kinds of imagery to create an image which appeal to our senses. Pick out various kinds of imagery and complete the table.

Visual imagery appealing to eyes	Tactile imagery (sense of touch)	Sound imagery	Internal sensations, feelings and emotions
(1) Scropion crawling beneath a sack of rice	(1) …………………………… …………………………… ……………………………	(1) buzzed the name of God	(1) fear
(2)	(2) Father pouring paraffin on the toe	(2) …………………………… …………………………… ……………………………	(2) ……………………………

Answer:

Visual imagery appealing to eyas	Tactile imagery (Sense of touch)	Sound imagery	Internal sensations, feelings and emotions
(1) Scorpion crawling beneath a sack of rice	(1) I watched the flame feeding on my mother	(1) buzzed the name of God	(1) fear
(2) With Candles and lanterns throwing giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls.	(2) Father pouring paraffin on the toe	(2) They clicked their tongues	(2) pain

Question 9.
Write an appreciation of the poem in a paragraph format.
Answer:
Point Format
(for understanding)
The title of the poem : Night of the Scorpion’
The poet: Nissirn Ezekiel
Rhyme scheme : written In frcc verse without any rhyme scheme or mctrc
Figures of speech : Onomatopoeia, Metaphor, Alliteraüon, Sim Ile, Antithesis, etc.
Theme/Central idea : The poet depicts the selflessness and unconditional love of a mother who stung by a scorpion.

Paragraph Format
Thc poem ‘Night of the Scorpion’ is written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem is written in free verse without any rhyme scheme or metre. There are many figures of speech e.g. Onomatopoeia like ‘and buzzed the name of God a hundred times’. Here, we feel we can actually hear the buzzing of the prayers of the many peasants. The other figures of speech are Metaphor. Alliteration. Simile. Antithesis, etc.

The theme of the poem is the sense of sacrifice shown by a devoted mother. Even as she suffers the pangs of a scorpion-bite, she thanks God for sparing her children from such an ordeal.

Question 10
Project
Prepare a Presentation (on paper or on a PC) as a piece of reference to other students. Make use of the following points.
(1) Title page
(2) Introduction of the poet
(3) The Complete poem (All 48 lines)
(4) Learning objectives

(5) Style of writing
(6) Scorpion lines (1-7)
(7) The peasants
(8) The poet’s father
(10) The poet’s mother
(11) Vocabulary
(12) Credits (positive aspects)

Question 11.
Complete the following: (The answers are given directly and underlined.)
(1) The scorpion was forced to take shelter in the poet’s house to …………………
(2) In line no. 3, the word ‘him’ refers to …………………
(3) To ‘paralyse the Evil One’ in stanza 3 means ………………….
(4) ‘They’ in stanza 4 refers to ………………….
Answer:
(1) escape the heavy rain.
(2) the scorpion.
(3) to stop the activity of the devil, the scorpion.
(4) the peasants M10 had come to help.

Question 12.
Explain why the poem begins with the poet \ remembering the night.
Answer:
The poem begins with the poet remembering | the night because the whole incident that is narrated in the poem was very memorable and took place in the night. It created a strong impression on the poet.

Question 13.
Write the reactions of the people when they knew that the mother was stung by a scorpion.
Answer:
When the people knew that the poet’s mother was stung by a scorpion:
(i) The peasants came in swarms to help.
(ii) They buzzed the name of God a hundred times.
(iii) They searched for the scorpion with candles and lanterns.
(iv) They clicked their tongues because he was not found.

Question 14.
Pick out an example of Simile from the extract.
Answer:
The peasants came like swarms of flies. The peasants are compared directly to swarms of flies, with the use of the word like’.

Question 15.
Pick out an example of Metaphor from the extract.
Answer:
to paralyse the Evil One’. The scorpion is Implicitly compared to the devil.

Question 16.
Pick out examples of Onomatopoeia from the extract.
Answer:
(1) ‘and buzzed the name of God’
The word ‘buzzed’ indicates sound.

(2) ‘They clicked their tongues.’
The word ‘clicked’ indicates sound.

Question 17.
Pick out examples of Alliteration from the extract.
Answer:
(1) Parting with his poison-flash
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘p’.

(2) of diabolic tail in the dark room
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘d’.

(3) throwing giant scorpion shadows.
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘s’.

Question 18.
Pick out an example of Antithesis from the extract:
Answer:
‘they searched for him: he was not found’ Words having opposite or contradictory meanings are used in the same line.

Question 19.
Write down the rhyming words from the stanzas for the following:
(i) fight
(ii) clash
Answer:
(i) fight-night
(ii) clash-flash.

Question 20.
Complete the following: The peasants consoled the mother, saying:
(1) the poison will burn away ………………………
(2) her suffering will decrease …………………….
(3) the evil in this world will be …………………………
(4) the poison will purify her …………………………..
Answer:
(1) the sins of her previous birth
(2) the misfortunes of her next birth
(3) diminished by her pain.
(4) flesh of desire and her spirit of ambition.

Question 21.
(a) Pick out examples of Alliteration from the extract:
Answer:
(1) ‘May he sit still, they said’.
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘s’.

(2) ‘May the poison purify your flesh’
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘p’.

(b) Pick out an example of Antithesis from the extract:
Answer:
‘May the sum of all evil balanced in this unreal world against the sum of good’ Words having opposite meanings are placed close for contrast.

(c) Pick out an example of Repetition from the extract:
Answer:
‘More candles, more lanterns, more. neighbours’ Repetition of the word ‘more’ for emphasis.

Question 22.
Complete the following: (The answers are given directly and underlined.)
(1) The mother found relief …………………….
(2) All through the ordeal, the poet’s mother ………………..
Answer:
(1) after twenty hours.
(2) twisted and groaned in pain.

Question 23.
(1) Pick out an example of Onomatopoeia from the extract.
Answer:
‘groaning on a mat’ The word ‘groaning’ indicates sound.

Question 24.
Pick out examples of Alliteration from the extract.
Answer:
(1) ‘powder, mixture, herb and hybrid’
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘h’.

(2) ‘He even poured a little paraffin’
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘p’.

(3) ‘I watched the flame feeding on my mother’
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘f.

Question 25.
Pick out an example of Antithesis from the extract:
Answer:
‘trying every curse and blessing’ Words having opposite meanings are placed close for contrast.

Question 26.
Pick out an example of Personification from the extract:
Answer:
‘I watched the flame feeding on my mother’ The flame is given the human quality of feeding.