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Poem 8 What If

Text Book Questions and Answers

Working with the poem (NCERT Page 122)

Question 1.
(i) Who is the speaker in the poem?
Answer:
Shel Silverstein is the speaker in the poem.

(ii) With your partner list out the happenings the speaker is worried about.
Answer:
The speaker was worried about the following things

• If she fails in the examination.
• If she gets sick and dies.
• If nobody likes Jier.
• If she becomes dumb.
• If she does not grow taller.
• If her parents get separated.
• If she gets beaten up.

(iii) Why do you think she/he has these worries? Can you think of ways to get rid of such worries?
Answer:
She has these worries because she thinks a lot. Most of these worries are born due to baseless fear. One can get rid of such worries with a strong will power and developing positive attitude towards life.

Question 2.
Read the following line.
Some What ifs crawled inside my ear.
Can words crawl into your ear? This is an image. The poet is trying to make an image of what she/he experiences. Now with your partner try and list out some more images from the-poem.
Answer:
Some other images are

• And pranced and partied all night long.
• What if the wind tears up my kite?
• What if green hair grows on my chest?
• And sang their same old Whatif song.

Question 3.
In groups of four discuss some more ‘whatifs’ that you experience in your day-to-day life and list them out.
(i) …………
(ii) …………
(iii) …………
(iv) …………
(v) …………
(vi) …………
(vii) ………..
(viii) …………
(i) Whatif I wake up late in the morning?
(ii) Whatif I arrive late in the school?
(iii) Whatif the teacher does not allow me to enter into the class?
(iv) Whatif I am punished in the class?
(v) Whatif I meet with an accident?
(vi) Whatif I am alone at night in a big house?
(vii) Whatif I lose my memory?
(viii) Whatif somebody steals my books?
And now write a poem of five or six lines with the ‘whatifs’ that you have listed.
Answer:
Do it yourself.

What If Extra Questions and Answers

Very Short Answer Type

Question 1.
What was the reason behind the child’s fear in the poem?
Answer:
The child was worried about his future because any mishap can happen anytime in life. There seems to be lack of security in child’s mind.

Question 2.
When did strange things hit the child’s mind?
Answer:
Strange things hit the child’s mind when she was lying on her bed the last night.

Question 3.
What do you understand by ‘Whatif song’?
Answer:
The ‘Whatif song’ in the poem means what will happen in case such a change takes place in the child’s life.

Short Answer Type 

Question 1.
Do you think the child’s fear was unnecessary?
Answer:
Yes, the child’s fear was unnecessary because she was only assuming things. Nobody is sure about future and it is a mystery for everyone. Thinking too much about future is needless and waste of time.

Question 2.
What happened the next morning when the child wakes up?
Answer:
The child wakes up the next morning and everything was fine. She was afraid of many things last night, but felt good in the morning, but soon started thinking what will happen if those terrifying moments appear again in her mind. The child is in habit of worrying unnecessarily.

Question 3.
What does the poem Whatif talk about? Give a few examples of some of the child’s worries or cynical fears.
Аnswer:
Children in general have some fears and worries. Their thinking can’t be rational or probable. The speaker gives a long list of some unusual situations or mishaps. These fears haunted her in sleep. She wondered what would happen if she lost her power to speak or got beat up, or got sick and died. Moreover, she might fail/miss the test, or her hair grew green or she was struck by lightning, or a war broke out, and her parents got divorced. By morning she became normal again.

Questions 4.
Who is the speaker in the poem Whatif? What is she worried about? Can you suggest ways to get rid of silly fears?
Аnswer:
The speaker in the poem is a girl. She is haunted by fears and worries. These are related to her safety. There is no sequence or substance in her fears. Such baseless and absurd fears trouble us when we go to bed. These are like frightening dreams, only a cowardly or weak minded person entertains such fears. One can get rid of them if one tells oneself firmly to shed all worries.

Long Answer Type

Question 1.
What kind of fears and doubts arise in the child’s mind?
Answer:
The child was worried what will happen if she loses the power to speak or if her school closes the swimming pool. She was anxious if she gets beaten up or if somebody puts poison in her cup. The child might fall sick and die. She might get hit by lightning and she might stop growing in height. There can be other bad situations such as wind might tear up her kite or a war breaks out. It is possible that her parents might get separated and her teeth can grow irregularly., She might not be able to learn dance and tear her pants.

Question 2.
What is being an optimist or pessimist?
Answer:
For a person, being always optimistic is very much essential to lead a happy and healthy life. It is important to understand that life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes we are happy and sometimes sad. There may come different kinds of problems in our life. Instead of being monotonous it is preferred to face the issues and try to find the solution for the same. Optimism always helps to find a key for any kind of problem. If a person continues to be pessimistic, it becomes difficult to live a peaceful life. The person never gets strength to survive in difficult time. Thus, it is always important to be an optimist rather than a pessimist.

Extract Based Type

Extract 1

Directions (Q. Nos. 1-6) Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear And pranced and partied all night long
And sang their same old Whatif song: Whatif I’m dumb in school?
Whatif they’ve closed the swimming-pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there’s poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?

Question 1.
What came inside the child’s mind?
Answer:
Fears and doubts about life came into the child’s mind.

Question 2.
Do you think the child is afraid of death?
Answer:
Yes, the child was afraid of death as she thinks what will happen if somebody puts poison in her cup or what will happen if she falls ill

Question 3.
The speaker suffers from
Answer:
The speaker suffers from a dense of insecurity.

Question 4.
Write antonym for the word ‘close’.
(a) Shutdown
(b) Dumb
(c) Inside
(d) Open
Answer:
(d) Open

Question 5.
Find synonym for the word‘flunk’.
(a) Fail
(b) Mute
(c) Silent
(d) Rise
Answer:
(a) Fail

Question 6.
Give a word which rhymes with the word ‘long’,…………….
(a) Test
(b) Song
(c) Chest
(d) Dumb
Answer:
(b) Song

Extract 2

Directions (Q. Nos. 1-6) Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

What if a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don’t grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won’t bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don’t grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance? Everything seems swell and then.
The night-time Whatif strikes again!

Question 1.
Who might get divorced in the poem?
Answer:
The child was afraid that her parents might get divorced in future.

Question 2.
What made the child worried for the second time?
Answer:
The child became worried for the second time when she thought what will happen if those terrifying moments strike her again.

Question 3.
What are these doubts and worries called?
Answer:
The doubts and worries are called as cynical.

Question 4.
Give superlative degree of the word ‘taller’.
(a) Tall
(b) Tallest
(c) Long
(d) Length
Answer:
(b) Tallest

Question 5.
Write antonym for the word ‘start’.
(a) Begin
(b) Resume
(c) Continue
(d) End
Answer:
(d) End

Question 6.
Find synonym for the word ‘late’.
(a) Delayed
(b) Early
(c) Again
(d) Before
Answer:
(a) Delayed

Summary in English

The narrator is a young girl. Her mind is sometimes filled with doubts and fears. At night such unpleasant situations haunt her. She wonders what will happen if she loses her power to speak, or if the school closes the swimming pool, or if she gets beaten up, or if somebody puts poison in her cup. It is also possible that she may get sick and die, or fail in the examination, or stop growing in height, or is hit by lightning. The other such bad situations are that the wind may tear up the kite, or a war breaks out, or her teeth grow irregularly, or she may never learn to dance. When she wakes up next morning, everything looks fine and normal. But her fears return at night again.

Summary in Hindi

लेखक एक युवा बालिका है। उसके दिमाग में कभी-कभी संशय और भय भर जाते हैं। रात को ये दुखदायी स्थितियाँ उसके दिमाग को मथती रहती हैं।उसे हैरानी है कि क्या परिणाम होगा यदि वह अपनी वाक्शक्ति खो बैठे, अथवा उसका स्कूल स्विमिंग पूल के इस्तेमाल पर पाबन्दी लगा दे, अथवा कोई व्यक्ति उसकी धुनाई कर दे अथवा उसके प्याले में विष घोल दे। यह भी संभव है कि वह स्वयं बीमार पड़कर भगवान को प्यारी हो जाये, अथवा वह परीक्षा में फेल हो जाये अथवा उसका कद बढ़ना थम जाये अथवा उस पर आकाशीय बिजली गिर जाये। अन्य ऐसी बुरी स्थितियाँ हैं कि पवन उसकी पतंग फाड़ दे, अथवा विश्व में युद्ध छिड़ जाये अथवा उसके दाँत टेढ़े-मेढ़े उगे अथवा वह कभी भी नृत्यकला न सीख पाये।जब वह अगली सुबह उठती है तो सब कुछ ठीक-ठाक और सामान्य पाती है। पर उसके भय पुन: रात को उसे तंग करने लगते हैं।

Hindi version of the poem with comprehension

1. Last night, while I lay thinking here,
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
And pranced and partied all night long
And Sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I’m dumb in School?
Whatif they’ve closed the swimming-pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there’s poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatlif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
What if nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don’t grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?

पिछली रात जब मैं यहाँ लेटी हुई सोच-विचार कर रही थी, कुछ प्रश्न मेरे कानों में प्रवेश कर गये – ‘कहीं ऐसा हो तो क्या हो’? वे सारी रात उछलकूद और मस्ती करते रहे। और वे अपना पुराना गीत ‘ऐसा हो तो क्या हो।’ गाते रहे। कहीं मैं स्कूल में गूँगी हो जाऊँ, अथवा स्वीमिंग पूल में प्रवेश बंद कर दें, अथवा मुझे कोई पीट दे, अथवा मेरे चाय के प्याले में कोई विष घोल दे अथवा मैं रोना-धोना शुरू कर दूँ, अथवा मैं बीमार पड़कर स्वर्ग सिधार जाऊँ, अथवा मैं परीक्षा में फेल हो जाऊँ, अथवा मेरी छाती पर उगने वाले बाल हरे रंग के हो जायें, अथवा सभी लोग मुझे नापसन्द करन लगें अथवा आकाशीय बिजली मुझ पर आ गिरे अथवा मेरी लम्बाई यहीं रुक जाये, अथवा मेरा सिर छोटे आकार का होने लगे, तो फिर क्या हो?

Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

Question 1.
When do strange questions strike the poet?
(a) In the morning
(b) In the afternoon
(c) In the evening
(d) In the night.
Answer:
(d) In the night.

Question 2.
What does she mean by What if song?
(a) What will happen if she loses her power to speak
(b) The song means what will happen in case such a change takes place
(c) What will happen if she gets beaten up
(d) None of the above.
Answer:
(b) The song means what will happen in case such a change takes place

Question 3.
The ‘Whatif song haunts the speaker……….
(a) only once
(b) again and again
(c) only twice
(d) every moment.
Answer:
(b) again and again

Question 4.
What does the poem reveal about the speaker?
(a) She is bold
(b) She is timid
(c) She is filled with doubts and fears
(d) She is confident.
Answer:
(c) She is filled with doubts and fears

Question 5.
What does the expression Whatif mean?
(a) What will happen in case these happen
(b) What will happen the next moment
(c) What will happen if the earth gets dry
(d) None of the above.
Answer:
(a) What will happen in case these happen

2. Whatif the fish uwon’t bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don’t grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems swell, and then
The night-time Whatif strikes again!

कहीं यदि मछलियाँ काटना बंद कर दें, पवन मेरी पतंग को फाड़ दे, लोग युद्ध छेड़ दें, मेरे माता-पिता तलाक ले लें, बस आने में देर हो जाये, मेरे दाँत सीधे सामान्य न होकर टेढ़े-मेढ़े हो जायें, मैं अपनी पैंट फाड़ दूँ, मैं कभी भी नृत्य न सीख पाऊँ, तो फिर क्या होगा? हर चीज दिन में ठीक-ठाक लगती है, पर रात में वही प्रश्न मुझे पुन: तंग करने लगते हैं।

Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

Question 1.
Which of the fears is not applied to the speaker?
(a) What will happen in case the fish stops biting
(b) What will happen in case her parents get divorced
(c) What will happen in case she gets poor marks
(d) What will happen in case a war breaks out.
Answer:
(c) What will happen in case she gets poor marks

Question 2.
Such silly questions are baseless, still…..
(a) they trouble the speaker every time
(b) they create havoc in the speaker’s life
(c) they develop negative aptitude in the speaker
(d) none of the above.
Answer:
(d) none of the above.

Question 3.
What are these doubts and worries called?
(a) Cynical fears
(b) Inborn fears
(c) Habitual fears
(d) Baseless fears.
Answer:
(a) Cynical fears

Question 4.
What type of people do entertain such fears?
(a) Strong-minded people
(b) Haughty people
(c) Weak-minded people
(d) Mature people.
Answer:
(c) Weak-minded people

Question 5.
What does the word ‘swell’ in the extract mean?
(a) Deformed
(b) Spoiled
(c) Short in size
(d) Large and wonderful in size.
Answer:
(d) Large and wonderful in size.