1st PUC ENGLISH NOTES - IF I WAS A TREE - 2 MARKS / 3 MARKS / 4 MARKS - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
7
IF I WAS A TREE
Answer the following
questions 2 Marks Questions
1. Why does the speaker wish
to be a tree?
Ans: The speaker wants to escape caste
discrimination and live a free and respectful life like trees in nature.
2. How would the tree be
treated by the raindrops?
Ans:
The raindrops would not reject the tree but would lovingly feed it, showing no
discrimination like humans do.
3. What does the tree's shadow
symbolize in the poem?
Ans:
It symbolizes equality in nature, where no one feels polluted or impure due to
someone else's presence.
4. Why does the narrator
compare himself to a tree?
Ans:
He compares himself to a tree to show how nature treats everything equally,
unlike human society.
5. What does the cow represent
in the poem?
Ans:
The cow represents religion and purity, which are ironically shown to avoid
humans but not the tree.
6. How would mother earth
treat the tree?
Ans:
She would support and nourish it, not run away in fear of pollution, as humans
do with untouchables.
7. What kind of relationship
does the cool breeze have with the tree?
Ans:
The cool breeze shares sweet friendship with the tree, blowing lovingly without
any bias or hesitation.
8. How is the caste system
criticized in the poem?
Ans:
The poem criticizes caste as a man-made and cruel system that divides and
humiliates people.
9. What does the speaker want
after death if he were a tree?
Ans:
He wishes to be burned in holy fire or used as a bier, receiving a dignified
end unlike humans.
10.
What message does the poet convey through the poem?
Ans:
The poet shows that nature is free of casteism and humans should learn equality
from it.
Answer the following
questions 3 Marks Questions
1. Why does the speaker want
to be a tree?
Ans:
The speaker wants to escape the pain of caste discrimination he faces as a
human being. He feels that if he were a tree, no one would ask about his caste.
Nature treats everything equally, and he desires that kind of acceptance. He
wishes for a world where no one feels defiled by shadows or unclean due to
one’s birth. He believes trees live in peace and respect, forming sweet
friendships with the breeze and rain. His wish to become a tree reflects his
desire for dignity, acceptance, and freedom from social injustice.
2. How is nature presented in
contrast to human society in the poem?
Ans:
Nature is shown as equal, loving, and pure. In nature, the sunlight shines on
all, and the breeze touches all without bias. Trees, birds, animals, and
raindrops do not ask about caste or purity. In contrast, human society is
filled with discrimination. The narrator feels rejected and untouchable, and
people even avoid his shadow. The contrast highlights how cruel and unnatural
casteism is. The poet uses this comparison to expose human hypocrisy and show
that the natural world is more just and fair than human society.
3. Explain how the poem
criticizes caste-based discrimination.
Ans:
The
poem is a strong criticism of caste-based discrimination. The speaker uses the
image of a tree to show how free and respectful life is in nature. Unlike in human
society, where people are judged and hated for their caste, nature treats all
life equally. The speaker points out how even his shadow is considered
polluted. He says if he were a tree, the breeze, rain, and earth would accept
him without question. This clearly shows how hurtful and meaningless casteism
is and appeals for a world with equality and human dignity.
4. What is the role of
religious symbols in the poem?
Ans:
The poem uses religious symbols like the holy cow and sacred fire to expose the
double standards of society. The speaker says that even the cow, considered
holy and sheltering thousands of gods, would avoid him if he were a human
untouchable. However, if he were a tree, the cow would rub against him, not
knowing or caring about caste. Also, as a tree, he could be part of the holy
fire or a funeral bier—symbols of purity. These comparisons show how religion
is misused to support discrimination and how nature, in contrast, is fair and
respectful.
5. How does the speaker
express his desire for dignity in life and death?
Ans:
The speaker feels insulted and rejected in human society due to his caste. He
says that even his shadow is treated as unclean. But he hopes that if he were a
tree, he would be accepted in life and even after death. He would be
useful—burned in a holy fire or used as a bier. As a human, he knows he would
be denied such dignity. The poem shows the deep pain of untouchability and
expresses the speaker’s desire to live and die with respect, which he believes
nature offers more than society.
Answer the following
questions 4 Marks Questions
1. How does the poem ‘If I was
a Tree’ show that nature is free from caste discrimination?
Ans:
The poem “If I was a Tree” strongly contrasts nature with human society. The
speaker imagines life as a tree, free from the painful discrimination he faces
as an untouchable in human society. In nature, life forces like sunlight and
the breeze do not ask about caste. The sun does not feel defiled by touching a
tree, and the breeze forms a sweet friendship with the leaves. Raindrops don’t
avoid watering the tree, and mother earth supports the roots without fear.
Animals like birds and cows do not question a tree’s purity. This peaceful
coexistence in nature shows that it accepts and nurtures all beings equally.
Unlike humans, trees are not judged by their birth or caste. Through this
contrast, the poet criticizes the harsh realities of the caste system and
points out that nature has more sense of justice than human society. The
speaker’s desire to become a tree shows his deep pain and longing for dignity.
The poem teaches that if nature can be so kind and fair, human beings, too,
should give up caste-based hatred and embrace equality and compassion. This
poem is a powerful reminder of the beauty of nature’s equality and the cruelty
of human prejudice.
2. Explain how the poem is a
satire on untouchability and social inequality.
Ans:
“If I was a Tree” is a powerful satire on untouchability and social inequality.
The speaker, a victim of caste-based discrimination, imagines becoming a tree
to escape the pain of being judged and hated in human society. He sarcastically
points out that if he were a tree, nature would accept him without hesitation.
The sun, wind, rain, animals, and even the earth would treat him with kindness.
In contrast, humans call him polluted, avoid his shadow, and refuse him dignity
in life and death. The speaker mocks the hypocrisy of people who worship nature
and gods but treat fellow humans as untouchables. He criticizes how religion
and purity are used to justify social injustice. Even the sacred cow, full of
gods, would touch him if he were a tree, but not as a human. The speaker uses
irony to show how irrational and cruel casteism is. His wish to be a tree
reflects his longing for peace, equality, and respect. The poem exposes the
cruelty of untouchability and urges people to learn from nature’s fairness. It
is a bold and moving attack on the inhuman caste system, calling for a more
equal and compassionate world.
3. How does the poem
‘If I was a Tree’ express the pain and plight of a particular community?
OR
Why does the speaker wish to be a tree in ‘If I was a
Tree’?
OR
How does the poem ‘If I was a Tree’ illustrate the caste
system as one of the basic problems in our society?
OR
How does the poem ‘If I was a Tree’ illustrate the caste
system as one of the basic problems in our society?
Ans: The poem, ‘If I was a Tree’ is a veiled
and a bitter attack on the cruel and inhumane practice of caste discrimination
practiced in Indian society. It is a social satire in which the poet by just a
posing the world of nature with the human world accuses human beings of being
meaner than the world of nature for practicing untouchability against their own
fellowmen. The speaker intends to highlight the fact that caste Is purely a
man-made construct and with this diabolic idea powerful sections of society
have managed to humiliate and suppress the meek for centuries. The poet adopts
a logical approach to present before the reader, the impersonal and large-hearted
treatment of nature the pettiness of man. The speaker speaks in the persona of
an untouchable and presents some instances of untouchability that he Is
subjected to. He uses the ‘tree’ as a metaphor for a representative from the
plant world and highlights how agents of nature like the sunlight, the cðel
breeze and the raindrops would have treated him if he were not a tree when they
come in contact with him. The speaker says that if he was not a tree his shadow
would feel defiled when the sunlight embraces him; his friendship with the cool
breeze and the leaves would not be sweet; the raindrops taking him as an
untouchable would refuse to give him water to quench his thirst and the mother
earth would flee him asking for a bath if she came to know that he was
branching out further from his roots.
Similarly, the bird is representative of the
animal world. The speaker says that if he were not a tree the bird would have
asked him what caste he was if it wanted to build its nest. Similarly, if he
were not a tree the sacred cow would not scrape her body on him, scratching
whenever it itched her and incidentally the three hundred thousand gods
sheltering inside her would not have touched him. The speaker concludes
optimistically, hoping that because he is a tree, at least after its death, the
tree would be hacked into pieces of dry wood and would be either used as fuel
for the holy fire or a bier for a dead body. The pieces of wood, when they burn
as fuel in the holy fire, would make him pure and if not, as a bier for a
sinless body that would be borne on the shoulders of four good men. Thus, the
poem expresses the anguish and desperation of the untouchables.
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