Questions and Answers from "The Grandmother"

Ray Young Bear, an American-Indian poet and novelist, was born in a Mesquaki tribe. He is the writer of "The Grandmother". In the "Grandmother", the poet has recalled his grandmother's picture.The theme of his writings is the contemporary American Indian's search for identity.

Questions and Answers from "The Grandmother":

Question No. 1: What images do you find in the poem written by a member of the Sauk and Fox (Mesquaki) Indian tribe of North America ? To what senses do these images appeal ? (उत्तरी अमेरिकामा सोक र फोक्स (मेस्क्वाकी) इन्डियन प्रजातिका सदस्यहरु द्वारा लिखित यस कवितामा तपाई के विम्व (images) पाउनु हुन्छ ? यी विम्वहरुले कुन इन्द्रियहरु (आँखा, नाक, कान, जिब्रो, स्पर्श) लाई आकर्षण गर्दछ ?
Answer: The poem is full of metaphorical implications. In a sense the whole poem is a massive (विशाल) metaphor (रुपक) of the Mesquaki poets's attempt to reflect upon the vanishing native identity of the Mesquaki Indians. The poem has many images that appeal to our different senses. For example, the image of 'purple scarf', 'plastic shopping bag', 'hands', 'head', 'rock', 'light', 'stirring ashes', 'sleeping fire' and 'night' appeal to our sense of sight. Grand mother's 'warm' and 'damp' hands appeal to our sense of touch. The 'smell of roots' appeals to our sense of smell. The 'voice' from the rock and 'her words' evoke (जगाउनु) our sense of sound. Thus, the imagery used in the poem presents a concrete picture of the poet's grandmother.

Also Read:

THE GRANDMOTHER | Summary in English and Nepali | Class-12

Question No. 2: How does the speaker feel toward his grandmother ? In what words or lines does he make his feelings clear ? (आफ्नो हजुरआमा प्रति वक्ताले कस्तो भावना व्यक्त गर्छन् ? कुन शब्द र पङ्क्तिहरुमा उनी आफ्नो भावना स्पष्ट पार्छन्।)

Answer: The speaker feels a deep sense of intimacy toward his grandmother. He finds her all loving and all-inspiring. Therefore he identifies her from the distance when she goes to or returns from the market carrying a plastic shopping bag.

Question No. 3: What four things does Ray Young Bear remember about his grandmother ? (आफ्नी हजुरआमाको बारेमा रे योङ्ग वियरले कुन कुन चार चिज सम्झिन्छन् ?)

Answer: Ray Young Bear remembers his grandmother wearing a purple scarf and carrying a plastic shopping bag. Moreover, he remembers her touching him with her loving hands, which gave him a feeling of intimacy to her. He also finds her voice coming from the rock inspiring all the time. These are the mainly the four things he never forgets about his grandmother.

Question No. 4: What is the central idea of the poem ?

Answer: The central idea of the poem is the poet's search for his cultural identity. Here, the 'Grandmother' represents the cultural identity of the Mesquaki tribe. By remembering his grandmother, he is lamenting the loss of cultural identity. The poet is suggesting that the cultural identity is the base of their existence. Everyone should work hard to seek and preserve such identity.

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