THE FROG AND THE NIGHTINGALE
VIKRAM SETH
a) How did the creatures of Bingle bog react
to the nightingale’s singing?
Ans: The creature
of Bingle Bog appreciated the sweet voice of the nightingale. They, in fact,
crowded the places where they could see and hear the nightingale’s song.
Animals and birds came from long distances to hear her sweet and melodious
song.
b) Which are the different ways in which the
frog asserts his importance?
Ans: The frog
asserts his importance as a musician and an art critic. He also shows his
importance that he owns the Bingle Bog and reigns supreme in it. He also tells
her that if she gets training from him, she would scale new heights in singing.
c) Why is the frog’s joy both sweet and
bitter?
Ans: The frog’s joy
is sweet because he is earning a lot of money from the nightingale’s songs. But
his joy turns bitter because he became jealous of the nightingale’s popularity.
d) Why was the frog angry?
Ans: The frog was
angry because the nightingale didn’t sing sweetly to enable him to earn more. Secondly,
her voice was becoming ‘uninspired’ as her song now zipped, trilled and bounced
along.
e) How did the frog become the unrivalled
king of the bog again?
Ans: The frog
became the unrivalled king of the bog again after the death of the nightingale.
Now no bird or animal could rival him in singing. Secondly, all of them over
there were greatly scared of him.
Discuss the following questions and write the
answers in your note-books.
a) Bring out the irony in the frog’s
statement – ‘your song must be your own’.
Ans: When the
nightingale said that her song was her own, the frog remarked that she should
not boast about that and gave lessons to improve her. Later when she died, frog
hypocritically stole her statement and told the audience that he taught her to
be original in her song.
b) Do you think the end is justified?
Ans: No, the end is
not justified because the revenge of the nightingale’s ruthless killing could
not be taken as nobody could know frog’s reality.
c) Do you think the nightingale is
‘brainless’? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans: Yes, the
nightingale is truly brainless because she could not understand the craftily
scheme of the frog. Let herself be dominated by the frog, trusted him blindly,
was not confident about her talent, and relied on frog.
d) In spite of having a melodious voice and
being a crowd puller, the nightingale turns out to be a loser and dies. How far
is she responsible for her own downfall?
Ans: The
nightingale herself is responsible for her own downfall as such men are bound
to fall before the crafty and deceitful persons. She has no capacity to judge
and evaluate the persons from their sweet tongues. That’s why, she is killed by
the evil designs of the frog who ploys her to her death.
e) Do you agree with the frog’s inference of
the nightingale’s character? Give reasons.
Ans: No, I am not
completely convinced by the inference that the frog has about the nightingale character.
The nightingale is, in reality, a gullible bird but the frog portrayed her as
greedy and untalented bird. She won over the heart of her audience time and
again with her origin lyrics and compositions whereby the frog charged her with
being stale. She was much better singer than the frog but he made her take
lessons from him. The frog presented the nightingale exactly the opposite to
what she really was.
