ONCE UPON A TIME- GABRIEL OKARA- BASIC ENGLISH NOTES - SEMESTER II - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

 

ONCE UPON A TIME

GABRIEL OKARA

Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions.

1) What is the theme of the poem?

Ans: The themes of the poem loss of innocence, childhood experiences, and hypocrisy.

 

2) What happens to the poet when he visits someone for the third time?

Ans: When the writer visits somebody for the third time, they will get tired and shut the doors. They will not permit him to come into their home.

 

3) What does the poet mean when he says “good bye”?

Ans: The poet has changed with the society. He has learnt to say “good bye” in an unnatural way (“Good-riddance”).

 

4) How does the poet compare his face with dresses?

Ans:  The poet figured out how to change faces in various circumstances. Like changing dresses, he is compelled to wear faces.

 

5) What pleasantries does the poet use to fake cordiality?

Ans:  "Feel at home!", "come again" the poet utilizes fake cheerfulness. Individuals invite the guests for multiple times however the third time they will treat the visitors in an unexpected way.

 

6) What does he desire to unlearn and relearn?

Ans:  The poet wants to figure out how to bid goodbye in a decent manner. He wants to forget every one of the bad habits he has picked up throughout the long term.

 

7) How is the poet’s laugh reflected in the mirror?

Ans: The poet’s laugh reflected in the mirror is like a snake’s bare fangs.

 

8) What does the poet long for?

Ans: The poet longs for child-like innocence.

 

9) Who is the person addressing?

Ans: The poet is addressing to his son.

 

10) What does he hope to learn from his son?

Ans: The poet wants to learn from his son is a picture of innocence and acts without any malice. His emotions and smile should be genuine.

 

11) What does he mean by wanting “to unlearn all these muting things”?

Ans: Laughing unnaturally and shaking hands internally with scorn and contempt yet ostensibly with a fake smile are the muting things.

 

12) Why do you think the poet has given it the title, “Once Upon a Time”?

Ans: The title of this poem “Once upon a time” straight away makes you feel as if you are going back in time, it additionally causes you to feel as though what happened was a fantasy and it won't ever happen again.

 

13) What is the relationship between the narrator and the listener?

Ans: Father and son is the relationship between the narrator and the listener.

 

14)  What is the difference between how people laughed once upon a time and now?

Ans: The poet saw a change in the standard of conduct of a cutting edge man. He says that individuals used to laugh with their heart, their feelings were valid and authentic yet these days they smile just with their teeth. There is no indication of virtuosos in their smile. It resembles they smile out of impulse.

 

15)  What are some of those ‘Meeting things’ which Gabriel Okara says he wants to unlearn?

Ans: The poet saw that he had lost his actual feelings and honesty and shaped himself according to the personal conduct standard of others. He has figured out how to smile just with his teeth without having any sentiments. He snickers just for the sake of chuckling there are no evident feelings in his words and sentiments they are said just with his tongue and not his heart. He has sincerely confined from others. He has figured out how to wearer various faces for various events, for example, office face, road face, host face, cocktail face and have a smile like a fixed photo that won't ever change.

He has figured out how to manage this hard, crafty world by turning out to be actually similar to all individuals. The poet says that individuals extraordinary each other only for the sake of greetings. The poet angrily concedes that he, as well, makes empty greetings. He isn't content with such Hippocratic dealings. Every one of these things the poet needs to forget and recover beneficial routines.

 

16)  Give an example of hypocrisy in modern life as described by Gabriel Okara.

Ans: The poet says that nowadays people laugh just with their teeth and there is no indication of virtuosos in their smile. They smile just for smiling. It resembles they smile out of impulse individuals incredible each other just for greeting.

 

17) How do people shake hands?

Ans: The poet sees a sensational change in the behaviour of people. As indicated by the poet, some time ago people met each other generously and warmly greet sincere intentions however time changes each individual. All honest intentions have gone at this point. Everyone is zeroing in on their benefit. They shake hands without heart.

 

18) What does the phrase “Ice-block-cold eyes”?

Ans: The poet says that individuals have become mechanical. There is no sparkle and prodigies in their eyes when they smile. They laugh just for laughing. The expression "Ice-block-cold eyes" implies that there is no feeling or sentiments in their activity.

 

19) What is ironical about the invitation?

Ans: The poet says that people greet each other just for greeting and not generously. People welcome inviting them. People welcome someone to return home yet that man visited them their responses is by all accounts extraordinary. It resembles they shut the door for that man or some other visitor. They don't get the visitor third time.

20)  What does the expression ‘laugh with their teeth’ mean?

Ans: The expression "laugh with their teeth" implies that people don't laugh generously. They laugh just for giggling. There is no indication of prodigies in their laugh. It resembles they laugh out of impulse.

 

Answer the following questions.

1) Critically analyze the poem “Once Upon a Time”.

Ans: The poet is tending to his child, so this could well be a dad starting to disclose how things used to be, the way people used to laugh in the past with their hearts and eyes. Interestingly, these days laughing is to a greater degree a get defensive, and the eyes are cold and searching for some different option from the genuine individual. So effectively the present is being decided by the past. The poet inclines toward the mentalities of people from an earlier time.

 

The specialty of shaking hands has additionally changed. In the previous days a greeting was real, an individual welcomed for what their identity was. However, nowadays individuals warmly greet one eye on your status, your financial status. People are not, at this point really warm towards others. People are eager for advancement, needing to get something from you. People welcome you round to their homes making out as though you're important to them however in the event that you don't quantify up socially or your status isn't exactly correct, you're not welcomed once more. Individuals these days are artificial and flighty due to the change of culture.

 

The poet himself needed to change and learn to agree. He utilizes a correlation, appearances to dresses, to feature the different personas he took on, meanwhile smiling. He additionally has become proficient at the merciless hand shake and empty excited laugh, in addition to he realizes how to bamboozle individuals with his goodbyes and invites and bogus respectfulness. Fundamentally he is saying that he has become a basic piece of this new culture. It's been a serious instruction for him.

 

What he needs most is to have the option to laugh in honesty again he compares himself to a snake; his teeth hold something harmful, even risky. He confesses all. He needs the child to tell him the best way to recapture this lost honesty. Instructions to laugh and smile like in the days of past when he was child and lighthearted and the way of life empowered receptiveness and genuineness and pure personality.

2) Explain the impact of Westernization expressed in the poem “Once Upon a Time.”

Ans: The poet of the poem “Once upon a time” is Gabriel Okara who is a Nigerian. He was born in the year 1921.In that year Nigeria got autonomy from Britain so around then they were as yet affected by the British culture. The foundation of the poem is that he is recollecting the manner in which people used to act and communicate with one another and he is contrasting it and how people associate with others now. How people used to get things done with their hearts and with joy. It portrays what happens when a conventional African culture and human progress meets with the western culture. The genuine belief of the reason for this poem is to diagram the conduct and character people have right now and attempt to take them back to the character that people used to have, when they used to get things done with feeling and with their hearts.

 

3) Write the central idea of the poem-Once upon a time.

Ans: People consistently seem misleading and crafty. Innocence is a blurring part of the man's culture. The child, however, is an image of innocence and acts with no noxiousness or ulterior intention. The man wishes to learn again this innocence from his child; however he neglects to understand that innocence isn't taken in a perspective. Whenever it is lost, it is gone until the end of time.

 

4) Give a critical appreciation of the poem "Once Upon a Time" by Gabriel Okara, highlighting the figures of speech in it.

Ans: “Once Upon a Time” is a poem written by the Nigerian poet Gabriel Okara. A father addresses his child about the contrast between being a child and being an adult. The dad in the poem misses the innocence of childhood: “I want to be what I used to be when I was like you". This is the theme of the poem and the poet utilizes different metaphors to additional feature this. For instance, the poet utilizes metaphors, for example, "ice-block-cold eyes." This includes further accentuation the reality how cool the poet feels the universe of adult has become. The dad laments the way that individuals are not true any longer; rather they are taking cover behind various faces they show openly. The poet utilizes a relationship to underline this point further: “I have learned to wear many faces like dresses.” This implies that the speaker puts on an alternate face contingent upon the event, very much like one would pick a dress contingent upon which dress would suit an event best. Thus the poet along these lines reminding his earlier childhood of innocence.

 

5) State the difference Gabriel Okara brings out between the way people used to greet each other in the past and now.

Ans: The poet says that there is no feeling in people's activity except for earlier same people were so truly warm and true to each other. The poet feels a feeling of blame that he has sincerely segregated from people and acts precisely and convey put smile across his face. He has figured out how to wearer various appearances for changed events, for example, office face, street face, host face, cocktail face and have a smile like a fixed photo that won't ever change. He has figured out how to manage this hard, deceitful world by turning out to be very much like all individuals. The poet says that people greet each other only for sake of greetings. The poet angrily concedes that he, as well, makes fake greetings. He isn't content with such Hippocratic dealings.

 

6)  Justify the title of the poem “Once upon a time”

Ans: "Once Upon A Time" is appealing title. This poem was written by a Nigerian poet Gabriel Okara. This poem obviously tells about the past. The poet recollects that before, people used to show happiness from their hearts on meeting somebody. In any case, nowadays people believe that the arrival of a guest makes huge issue. So they need riddance at the most punctual conceivable. Imitation has replaced reality. He comments that sometime in the past people felt genuine satisfaction on meeting their companions and family members. Their conduct was so veritable and brimming with warmth fondness. Yet, nowadays people warmly greet their privileges, while their left hands search their companion's pocket to get something. In the poet the poet has stood out the past from the present, so the title is advocated and suitable.