Jharkhand Board Class 9TH English Notes | ON KILLING A TREE
JAC Board Solution For Class 9TH English Poetry Chapter 8
COMPREHENSION
■ Read the following passage and answer the questions that
follow :―
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.
Q. (a) Name the poem from where this extract has been taken.
(b) Who has written these lines?
(c) What is the poet talking about in this stanza?
(d) How has the tree grown up ?
(e) How has the earth helped the tree's growth?
Ans.(a) Pocm-On Killing a Tree.
(b) Written by-Gieve Patel.
(c) The poet is talking about the process of the growth of a
tree and also why a tree cannot be killed by cutting.
(d) The tree has grown up talking water and minerals from
the earth's crust and using sunlight and air.
(e) The earth provides the roots support. water and minerals
and thus helps in the tree's growth.
2. So hack and chop
But this alone wont 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 is unchecked will expand again
To former size.
Q. (a) How do hacking and chopping affect a tree?
(b) Whom does the poet refer to as the 'miniature boughs'?
(c) What will happen if the twigs are not checked?
Ans.(a) The hacking and chopping can wound a tree and cause
pain. But it cannot kill a tree.
(b) The poet calls the newly sprouted twigs close to the
ground as 'Miniature boughs'.
(c) If twigs are not checked, they will expand to the size
ofthe branches or the tree.
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,
Q. (a) What shall one have to do to kill the tree?
(b) How is the earth seen in relation to it?
(c) What does the poet mean by saying the carth cave'?
Ans.(a) One shall have to pull out or snap out the tree from the
roots.
(b) It is like a cave to preserve it.
(c) Like a cave, the earth also is dark and hideous. So the
poet calls the earth- 'the earth cave'.
4. And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
Q. (a) What happens when the tree is pulled out?
(b) How does the source of the tree look?
(c) Where has the source of the tree laid?
Ans. (a) Its strength is seen.
(b) It looks white and wet.
(c) It has laid inside the earth.
5. Then the matter
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
Q. (a) What does 'then' signify?
(b) How do sun and air affect the root and body of the
tree?
(c) What changes take place when a tree is uprooted?
Ans.(a) "Then' refers to the time after tree has been uprooted.
(b) Sun and air give life to the tree so long as it is held
firmly by the earth. But the roots of a tree die when
exposed to sun and air.
(c) When the root is pulled out, the upper body also gets
the death blow. The colour turns brown, the dried wood
becomes dead wood. It becomes hard, shapeless and
lifeless.
Short Answer Type Quesions
Answer these questions in about 30-40 words each :―
Q. 1. Can a simple job of the knife kill a tree? Why not?
Ans. No, a mere stabbing in tree cannot kill a tree because a
tree has deep roots in the earth, and those very roots are the source
of its strength.
Q. 2. What is the meaning of 'bleeding bark'? What makes
it bleed ?
Ans. The bark or outer skin of the tree is wounded when one
pierces a knife into it. As blood oozes out of the body, so does
some juice flow out of the bark. But it heals with the passage of
time.
Q. 3. What is the meaning of 'anchoring earth' and 'earth
cave'?
Ans. A tree is held firmly in the earth. It goes deep into the
dark bowels of the earth. The earth is then the main support of the
tree.
Q. 4. What does the mean by 'the strength of the tree
exposed?
Ans. The strength of the tree lies chiefly in its roots. If you
pull the roots out and keep it in the sunlight and air, the tree like a
fish out of water breathes its last.
Q.5. What finally kills the tree?
Ans. The tree is finally killed by the hot sun which dries,
discolours, hardens and twists it. The tree is then reduced to lifeless
hard wood.
Q. 6. How does a tree rise out of the earth?
Ans. The tree rises out of the earth very slowly. At first, its
seeds sprout up under the soil. From it develops a plant which in
years becomes a tree.
Q. 7. What is the proper method of killing a tree?
Ans. A tree is cut off first. It is hacked, then chopped. Then its
roots are pulled out of the earth. Only then a tree can be killed
completely.
Q. 8. Why does a tree 'absorbs years of sunlight, air, water'?
Ans. A tree needs cnergy to grow. It gets energy by the process
of photosynthesis i.e. the process of trapping sunlight using
chlorophyll, absorbing air and water to give glucose and oxygen
and vapor.
Q.9. Why do the people kill a tree?
Ans. The people kill a tree to make more space for residential
and industrial purposes. They clear the green lands to make houses,
factories and other construction.
Q. 10. Why does the poct call the earth 'the anchoring earth"?
Ans. The poet calls the earth 'the anchoring earth' because as
an anchor holds the ship and helps it stand, similarly the earth
gives support to the tree and helps it stand erect.
Q. 11. Why does the poct call the root 'the source'?
Ans. The poet means to say that the tree's strength lies in its
roots hold the tree firmly to the ground and are its store house of
energy.
Q. 12. What changes do the roots undergo above the ground?
Ans. The roots get discolored and dried. It gets brown and
becomes harder. The roots get twisted and wither away. Thus the
roots dry up and the tree dies.
Q. 13. How has the tree grown as given in the opening of the
poem ?
Ans. The tree has grown slowly after consuming the earth and
rising out of it. It has fed upon its crust. It has absorbed years of
sunlight, air and water. It has sprouted leaves out of its bark.
Q. 14. What will happen to the tree after its bark will heal?
Ans. After the bark will heal, curled green twigs shall rise
from close to the ground. These will be small boughs. These will
grow to their former size if these are not checked.
Q. 15. How does the root of the tree look when it is pu lied
out of the earth?
Ans. When the tree is pulled out of the earth, its strength is
exposed in the baring of its root. It is the most sensitive part of it.
It has laid in the earth hidden for years. It is its 'source, white and
wet'.
Q.16. What are the two important stages for killing a tree
completely?
Ans. The two stages are- One, the tree should be pulled out
entirely with ropes. Its root will be out. It is its source, white and
wet. Second, the uprooted tree should be scorched in the sun and
air. It will get brown, hard and withered.
Q. 17. How does the poet create feelings of sadness in the
poem?
Ans. The feelings of sadness are created by the poet in asking
how a tree is to be killed. Killing, jabbing, hacking, chopping,
bleeding, uprooting etc, are the words that create such feelings.
Q. 18. How is the whole poem built round an irony?
Ans. The whole poem is built round an irony. The poet is
sarcastic that knifing or jabbing a tree will not kill it. But for
killing the tree it is to be pulled out and dried up in the sun and the
air. The poet is describing the process of killing a tree. But indirectly
he asks: should we kill it?
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