Hi Everyone!! This article will share Small Pain In My Chest Questions & Answers.
Written by Michael Mack, this poem highlights the sadness and cruelty of war, touching upon the abrupt end to young, innocent lives and the pain it causes to the family. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of The Camel’s Complaint, A Fishy Story and The Clothing Man so, you can check these posts as well.
Small Pain In My Chest Questions & Answers
Word Galaxy
- Beckoning – gesturing; drawing attention
- Crest – the top part of a hill
- Canteen – a small container for carrying water or another drink, used especially by soldiers or travellers
- Vim – energy
- Zest – enthusiasm
- Winced – grimaced
- Recall – remember
Question 1: Choose the correct option:
1. Why did the soldier boy call out to the narrator?
(a) He needed help for his pain.
(b) He wanted to drink some water.
(c) He was bored.
(d) He was feeling cold.
2. Why was the stain on the boy’s shirt reddish-brown?
(a) He had fallen in the dirt.
(b) It came from the food he had eaten.
(c) It was the blood of a wounded comrade.
(d) It was his blood mixed with dirt.
3. How does the boy justify feeling cold when the sun was shining brightly?
(a) He was not wearing warm clothes.
(b) He felt he was weak.
(c) He joked that he was getting old.
(d) He felt it was due to dehydration.
4. The boy thought that if his wife saw him now, she would consider him
(a) weak
(b) strong and grown
(c) embarrassing
(d) brave
Question 2: What does the narrator observe about the soldier boy’s demeanour?
Answer: The narrator observes that the soldier boy’s demeanour was calm and he beckoned for help.
Question 3: How does he describe the battleground?
Answer: The battleground is described as having craters that are big and deep in the earth and dead bodies lying on the ground after a long and hard battle.
Question 4: What did the soldier boy ask for?
Answer: The soldier boy asked for a sip of water to relieve a small pain in his chest.
Question 5: How does the soldier boy describe the moment when he felt a small pain in his chest?
Answer: The soldier boy recounts climbing a hill with two hundred soldiers, when they cleared the crest of a hill but an explosion at night caused the small pain in his chest.
Question 6: Why does he count himself lucky?
Answer: He counts himself lucky because he is alive with just a small pain in his chest, unlike his comrades who are all gone.
Question 7: What, in his imagination, would the boy’s wife and mother think of him, if they saw him in that condition?
Answer: In his imagination, the boy’s wife and mother would think of him as weak if they saw him in that condition.
Question 8: How does the narrator describe the end?
Answer: The end is described as the boy quietly dying from that small pain in his chest, with the narrator holding him as their wounds press against each other.
Small Pain In My Chest Questions & Answers
Question 9: Read the lines and answer the questions:
1. ‘I wonder if you’d help me, sir,’ he smiled as best he could.
A sip of water on this morn would surely do me good.
(a) What does the boy’s smile, under these circumstances, tell us about him?
Answer: The boy’s smile, under these circumstances, tells us that he is trying to maintain a positive demeanour despite his pain.
(b) What did the narrator notice on the boy’s shirt?
Answer: The narrator noticed a large stain on the boy’s shirt, which was reddish-brown from his blood mixed with Asian dirt.
(c) How many soldiers were initially there?
Answer: Initially, there were two hundred soldiers.
(d) What did the boy do after being hit on the chest?
Answer: After being hit on the chest, the boy sat down under a tree.
2. Seems silly that a man my size so full of vim and zest,
Could find himself defeated by a small pain in his chest.
(a) What is the irony in the lines above?
Answer: The irony is that the boy, full of vitality, finds himself defeated by a small pain in his chest.
(b) Do you think that the boy realises he is mortally wounded? Give reasons to justify your answer.
Answer: Yes, the boy likely realizes he is mortally wounded, as indicated by his reflection on the small pain in his chest.
(c) What did the boy say before he died?
Answer: Before he died, the boy expressed that it seemed silly to be defeated by a small pain in his chest.
(d) What did the narrator do then?
Answer: The narrator held the boy as he died.
Question 10: What is the theme of this poem?
Answer: The theme of the poem revolves around the impact of war on individuals, the loss of young lives, and the pain it causes to families.
Question 11: Explain the irony in the title of the poem.
Answer: The irony in the title lies in the contrast between the word ‘small’ in the title and the profound impact of the pain described in the poem, which leads to the soldier boy’s death.
Question 12: Why do you think the narrator felt that the boy’s smile was ‘the brightest’ that he had seen?
Answer: The narrator likely felt that the boy’s smile was ‘the brightest’ because despite the dire circumstances, the soldier boy maintained a positive and courageous attitude.
Question 13: What are the things the boy says which make the reader realise he was dying?
Answer: The things the boy says that indicate he was dying include small pain in his chest, feeling cold and expressing gratitude for a sip of water.
Question 14: What does the narrator mean by the ‘large wound in his heart’?
Answer: The ‘large wound in his heart’ metaphorically represents the emotional pain and trauma experienced by the narrator as he holds the dying soldier boy, emphasizing the impact of war on the human soul.
So, these were Small Pain In My Chest Questions & Answers.