1st PUC ENGLISH NOTES - THE SCHOOL BOY - 2 MARKS / 3 MARKS / 4 MARKS - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1st PUC ENGLISH NOTES - THE SCHOOL BOY - 2 MARKS / 3 MARKS / 4 MARKS - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Answer the
following questions 2-Marks Questions
- What does the schoolboy enjoy in the summer morning?
Ans: He enjoys waking up early, hearing birds sing, the huntsman’s horn, and the singing of the skylark.
- Why does the boy dislike going to school?
Ans: He dislikes school because it takes away his freedom and makes him feel tired and unhappy.
- What is meant by ‘cruel eye outworn’?
Ans: It means the teacher’s strict and tired look that scares the boy and makes him feel uncomfortable.
- How do the little ones feel in school?
Ans: They feel unhappy, tired, and worried because of the dull teaching and strict environment.
- What does the ‘cage’ symbolize in the poem?
Ans: The ‘cage’ symbolizes the school, which traps the child and restricts his freedom.
- How is learning described in the poem?
Ans: Learning is described as a “dreary shower,” which means boring and unpleasant for the child.
- What does the poet compare the child to?
Ans: The child is compared to a caged bird that cannot sing happily.
- What effect does formal schooling have on the boy?
Ans: It makes him unhappy, tired, and takes away the joy of learning.
- What does the boy want instead of school?
Ans: He wants to enjoy nature and learn freely in a joyful and natural environment.
- Why does the boy feel sad in school?
Ans: Because he is forced to stay indoors, under strict supervision, missing the joys of nature.
11. Who, do you think,
“I” refers to in the poem?
Ans:
“I” refers to a school-going boy in the poem.
12. “Sweet Company” refers to
(a) skylark (b)
huntsman’s horn
(c) bird’s song (d)
all of the above.
Ans: (d) all of the above.
13. What
drives the boy’s joy away?
Ans: The possibility of
going to class drives the boy’s joy away.
14. How do the little
ones spend the day in the school?
Ans: The little ones spend the day in the
school in a dull way as they are loaded with disappointment and anxiety.
15. What does “cage”
metaphorically refer to in the poem?
Ans: School is referred to a cage
metaphorically in the poem.
16. Pick the phrase from the following which does not refer
to formal schooling:
(a) buds are nipped (b)
fruits are gathered
(c) plants are stripped (d)
blossoms are blown away.
Ans:
(b) fruits are gathered.
17. Relate the Seasons mentioned under column A with the
stages of life under column B.
Ans: 1)
Spring : Childhood
2) Summer : Youth
3) Winter : Old Age
Answer the following questions 3-Marks Questions
- Describe the schoolboy’s
feelings about nature.
Ans: The schoolboy loves waking up
in the summer morning and enjoying the sounds of birds and nature. He feels
fresh and cheerful when surrounded by natural beauty. The skylark's song and
the huntsman’s horn bring him joy. Nature gives him a sense of freedom,
happiness, and peace. For him, learning in nature is more meaningful and
enjoyable than in a dull classroom. Nature teaches him through joy and
discovery. The poet shows that a child learns best when he is free and
connected to the natural world, not locked in a strict classroom.
- How does the boy feel in the
school?
Ans: The boy feels bored, sad, and
uncomfortable in the school. The teacher’s strict and cold attitude makes him
feel scared. He sits with his head down, tired and anxious. The joy he felt in
the morning disappears when he enters the school. He compares learning in
school to a boring rain that never stops. He cannot enjoy reading books or any
lessons there. The environment is dull and offers no excitement. School feels
like a cage to him, where he is trapped and forced to do things he does not
enjoy or understand.
- Why does the poet use the image
of a caged bird?
Ans: The poet uses the image of a
caged bird to show how the schoolboy feels trapped in school. Like a bird that
is naturally free and happy when flying, a child is also joyful and curious
when free. But when the bird is locked in a cage, it cannot sing happily, and
its wings droop. Similarly, a child, when forced into strict schooling without
joy or freedom, loses interest in learning. The poet uses this image to explain
how children’s natural love for learning can be destroyed by rigid and dull
education systems.
- What kind of education does the
poet support?
Ans: The poet supports education
that is joyful, natural, and free. He believes that learning should not feel
like a burden or punishment. Children learn best when they are happy and in a
natural environment. He is not against education but against the way it is
given. He criticizes the strict teachers, dull classrooms, and long hours that
take away the child’s happiness. The poet wants children to grow like plants in
spring — full of life and joy. He believes schools should encourage curiosity
and imagination, not fear and pressure.
- What message does the poet give
about childhood?
Ans: The poet says that childhood is
like spring — full of growth, joy, and freedom. If we take away these things,
children can never grow into happy and successful adults. He warns that formal
schooling, if done wrongly, can spoil this beautiful stage of life. Children
should be allowed to play, explore, and learn naturally. The poet wants society
to protect and value the joy of childhood. He believes that forcing strict
education too early can damage a child’s creativity and mental health.
Childhood is a time to nurture, not control.
6.
What does the schoolboy love to do on a summer morn? What
drives his joy away?
Ans: The schoolboy loves to wake up early with the birds’ songs and huntsman
blows his horn and skylark sings with him. He was enjoying the company of them.
However, he isn't permitted to do this as he needs to go to class and the
school drives all delight away.
7.
Describe the boy’s experience in the school.
Ans: The boy's involvement with school is
full with fear and depression. The teacher appearances makes child bend down
his head and sit in fear and anxiety. His tiredness and fear are reflected in
the hanging way in which he sits and the nervousness that he shows. The books
give him no satisfaction and the school causes him to feel exhausted.
8.
According to the poet, how does formal education curb a
learner’s potential?
Ans: According to the poet formal education
controls the capability of the children as it detracts from the child its
opportunity. The child resembles a confined fowl in school and simply like the
wings of the confined feathered creature hang, the soul of the child droops in
school which imparts in the child a feeling of fear. Youngsters, similar to
plants, should be supported and given reflection, on the off chance that they
are to age effectively and prove to be fruitful later on. In the event that
children are not permitted to have a characteristic adolescence, which is spent
in playing completely among the normal things: slopes, glades, sheep, winged
animals, and so forth, at that point they will wilt before they can bloom into
develop grown-ups. Spring represents new development and that is the reason the
artist utilizes the fable of the spring to challenge that a school doesn't
permit spring to flourish.
Answer the following questions 4-Marks Questions
- How does the poet contrast the
schoolboy’s experiences in and outside school?
Ans: In the poem, the schoolboy finds joy in the summer morning when he is surrounded by nature. He enjoys the songs of birds, the horn of the huntsman, and the company of the skylark. Nature makes him feel free, happy, and full of life. This is the outside world where learning happens through curiosity and joy. However, once he enters school, everything changes. The school is a dull place where the child feels trapped and tired. The teacher’s strict eyes scare him, and the lessons are boring. He feels like a bird in a cage, unable to sing or fly. The joyful child of the morning turns into a drooping, unhappy student. The poet uses this contrast to show that natural learning is better than forced, formal education. A joyful start of the day turns into sadness due to the harshness of school. This contrast makes the poet’s message clear — children should be allowed to learn freely in nature, and education should be joyful and not a burden. If we take away their joy, they lose their interest and ability to grow happily.
- How does Blake describe the
harmful effects of formal schooling?
Ans: Blake criticizes formal schooling in his poem "The School Boy" by showing how it harms a child’s natural growth and happiness. He believes that children are like plants or flowers — they grow best in a happy and free environment. If they are forced into strict, boring classrooms, their minds and creativity begin to droop. He compares children to birds — naturally cheerful and energetic — but when they are placed in schools that act like cages, they lose their joy and become dull. The poet says that such a rigid system not only makes learning boring but also destroys the child’s spirit. He asks how children can grow into happy adults if their childhood is filled with fear and pressure. Blake is not against education, but he wants it to be filled with freedom, joy, and understanding. He believes that nature is the best teacher, and education should be playful and exciting. If education becomes a burden, it takes away the true beauty of childhood and blocks the child’s full potential. Thus, the poet appeals for a more loving, joyful, and natural method of teaching young minds.
3.
Write briefly the speaker’s experience in the school, in
‘The School Boy’.
OR
How
does the school boy view his experience in school in ‘The School Boy’?
Ans: In the poem, ‘The School Boy’ Blake
makes a plea on behalf of little children who hate the experience of going to
school because of the prevalent authoritarian ways of school authorities. In
the poem, we see that it is a matter of utmost disappointment for the schoolboy
to attend school on a sweet summer morning when actually he wishes to enjoy the
mirth of summer. He is tired and even puzzled under the strict supervision of
his teacher. The phrase ‘cruel eye outworn’ refers to the authoritarian eyes of
the teacher that actually tire the boy. Instead of enjoying the pleasures of
summer, the child has to compulsorily attend the school where he spends his day
in boredom and dismay. Naturally, in such a set-up, the child experiences
weariness. He sits drooping out in the sea of tediousness. The child resents
the assault on him by the oppressive personality of the teacher and the
unnecessary words of learning the teacher gushes out without attempting to
understand either the child’s intention his urge for unchecked freedom. The learning’s
bower refers to a garden where the child can be taught in an interesting way,
only if nature accompanies him instead of the school teacher. A bird which is
born cheerful and jovial can never sing 5weet songs if caged. Similarly, a
child, if restrained under the umbrella of annoying fear, tension and the
skepticism of his teacher, can never enjoy the natural instincts of joy and
playfulness. A world full of rigid course of discipline will ruthlessly take
away the beautiful spring — the childhood days — of a person’s life. Thus,
though the tone of the poem is not highly critical, Blake does make his point
clear— don’t kill the joy of learning.
4.
Bring out the contrast between the boy’s experience
inside and outside the school in ‘The School Boy’.
Ans: In the poem ‘The School Boy’, the first
stanza portrays the experience of the schoolboy outside the school, whereas the
next three stanzas present the experience of the schoolboy inside the school.
In the first stanza, the speaker is a young boy who tells the reader that he
feels joyful to rise in the fresh and delightful summer morning. He enjoys the
chirping of the birds which announces the daybreak. The boy gets entertained by
the company of the hunter who blows his horn from a distant field and the sweet
lullabies of skylarks. Thus, the image of the child in the first stanza focuses
on nature as free and unfettered. He is associated with the spring as a time
for growth, freshness and playfulness. But, in the next three stanzas; we get a
totally different picture of the young schoolboy. Once the boy is inside the
school, he loses his feeling of paradise. In the school, the birds sing no
longer and the atmosphere is no longer pure or innocent. The boy is supervised
by a cruel teacher and the young ones spend the day In sighing and dismay. The
boy finds the school boring. He sits drooping in class. He claims that school
hours are too long. He can’t find any interest in books. He describes the
learning in school as a long ‘dreary shower’. In the next stanza, the boy says
that inside the school he feels like a caged bird that is forced to sing, and
when he feels annoyed, he cannot but droop his tender wings. Thus, the bird
imagery allows for the comparison between the schoolboy outside the school and
the schoolboy inside the school.
5.
How does the formal education curb the learner’s
potential, in the poem ‘The School Boy’?
OR
How
is the child’s growth ‘nipped and stripped’ of its joy in the springing day in
‘The School Boy’?
Ans: Formal education is the obstacle for
free learning to the children. Children prefer natural learning than formal
schooling. The restrictions of formal schooling make children to detest their
learning. Hence the poet questions when the buds are nipped and ‘blossoms have
blown away’, and ‘tender plants are stripped’, how can a child get happiness in
learning.
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