Hi Everyone!! This article will share Words To A Grandchild Questions & Answers.
This poem is written by Chief Dan George. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Thirst A Story From Spain, Clues on Canvas and Mike Teavee so, you can check these posts as well.
Words To A Grandchild Questions & Answers
Word Galaxy
- Counsel – advice, especially given by older people or experts
- Complacency – a feeling of satisfaction with yourself so that you do not think any change is necessary
Question 1: Read and answer the questions:
(a) Whose ‘hearts’ are referred to in these lines?
Answer: In these lines, ‘hearts’ refers to the hearts of the grandfather and his grandchild.
(b) What does the poet mean by these lines?
Answer: In these lines, the poet means that even if he dies, his words in the form of the poem would be read by the grandchild several years later, and through these words their hearts would meet across the barriers of Time, Distance, and Death.
(c) Why does the poet use the refrain – if you let it happen? Explain.
Answer: The poet uses the refrain, ‘– if you let it happen’, to say that after his death, his grandson can read his words and understand his love and advice ‘–if’ the grandchild is ready to accept it with an open mind and a willing heart.
Question 2: Read and answer the questions:
(a) What is meant by the phrase ‘a person of little’?
Answer: The phrase ‘a person of little’ means that a poor person who doesn’t have much money.
(b) Why does the poet think that his grandchild will be a person of little?
Answer: The poet thinks that his grandchild will be a ‘person of little’ because he himself does not have a lot of wealth to pass on to his grandchild.
(c) According to the poet, why is it better to have little of what is good?
Answer: According to the poet, it is better to have ‘little of what is good’, than to have a lot of worthless wealth. He feels that when a person has very little in life, he can enjoy and value the real joys and pleasures of life, which rich people cannot understand or appreciate.
Question 3: Read and answer the questions:
(a) What do you think is the hour of magic?
Answer: According to the poet, the ‘hour of magic’ is the moment when we can value the lessons that Nature and Life teach us if we are sensitive to these lessons and voices. The grandfather wants his grandchild to have the right values in life and learn and understand the eternal rhythms of nature would make the grandson truly wise.
(b) Why should we listen to the hour of magic?
Answer: We should all listen to the ‘hour of magic’ because Life and Nature will whisper eternal truths and secrets to us which only the sensitive can hear, not the worldly or wealthy.
(c) What secrets will the poet’s grandchild get to know?
Answer: The poet’s grandchild will get to know certain eternal truths and values that life will teach him, such as establishing a bond with Mother Nature and protecting it instead of destroying it.
Question 4: Why does the poet feel that he may not be around to counsel his grandchild?
Answer: The poet feels that he may not be around to counsel his grandchild because he is old and it is likely that he will soon die and pass on to another world.
Question 5: What does the poet warn his grandchild against? Why?
Answer: The poet warns his grandchild against complacency and wants him to establish a close bond with nature. He also warns him against being overconfident because he can never be wiser than nature, he can only be as wise as men can ever hope to be according to the limitations of human nature.
Words To A Grandchild Questions & Answers
Question 6: Why is there no promise that life will live up to our hopes, especially to the hopes of the aged?
Answer: There is no promise that life will live up to our hopes because it has a way of surprising people and bringing unexpected twists and turns. Especially when we become old there is even less hope that life will help us realise our dreams because we have come to the end of our lives and it is time to die.
Question 7: How can the poet’s heart and the grandchild’s heart meet some day?
Answer: The poet’s heart and his grandchild’s heart can meet someday if the grandchild reads his poem and allows his words to reach and touch his heart. If he closes his mind against his grandfather, then the two can never meet ever.
Question 8: How can the poet’s grandchild grow wise?
Answer: The poet’s grandchild can grow wise if he listens to the secrets of the magic hour and allows himself to learn from nature.
Question 9: Why is it that the grandchild cannot be wiser than nature?
Answer: The grandchild can never be wiser than nature because he is only a man and no human can ever be wiser than nature. And yet, if he is sensitive and cares to listen, nature will whisper some of its secrets to him, such as the way days change into nights, change of seasons and other such secrets.
Question 10: What is the grandfather’s idea of true wealth and wisdom?
Answer: The grandfather’s idea of true wealth and wisdom are very different from most people. That is because he is a Native American – a race of people – who are very closely bonded with Nature and are very protective towards it. Being linked to nature, he knows that the wisdom of understanding the way days change into nights is far more precious and valuable than all the wealth of the world. So, he wants his grandson to have little and know a lot. He is an advocate of simple living and high thinking.
Question 11: In today’s world do people feel it is good to possess only a little? Give reasons.
Answer: In today’s world people feel that it is bad to possess only a little because the world has become extremely commercial and materialistic. People value things and a wealthy lifestyle. In today’s world, the concept of simple living and high thinking is slowly fading away.
Question 12: What kind of advice would the grandchild want to ask the grandparent one day?
Answer: According to me, one day the grandchild would want to ask his grandparents advice about some of the problems he faces in the world. He would naturally be confused about the value given to wealth in his world. This is where he would benefit from his grandfather’s advice.
So, these were Words To A Grandchild Questions & Answers.