Grandma Climbs A Tree

UNDERSTAND THE POEM

1. The speaker in the poem does not

call his grandmother 'childish'. What

else was she according to him? Why

does he consider her to be so?

Ans: According to the speaker, the

grandmother is a genius because she

would climb the tree very quickly.

2. Grandma had been in the habit of

climbing trees for a very long period.

Identify the lines that suggest this.

Ans: Ever since childhood, she'd had

this gift.

3. Look at the line 7 and 8 'She would

be told . . . . . . .' Who do you think

would tell her so?

Ans: The members of her family

would tell her.

4. Do you find anything odd in the

reply given by the grandma? If so,

why do you think it is odd?

(line 10-11)

Ans: We don't find anything odd

because it had been a gift for her. So she

would laugh.

5. Others had feared that granny would

fall from a tree one day or the other.

Did this happen? Or did something

else happen? (line 15- 18}

Ans: She did not fall but something

different happened. When all the members

of the family were in town, she climbed a

tree and couldn't come down.

6. What had the doctor recommended?

What was the reaction of the kids to

this advice?

Ans: The doctor took temperature of

the grandma and advised rest for a week.

The kids were happy because they heaved

sigh of relief.

7. Quote the lines which suggest how

wholeheartedly granny enjoyed

climbing a tree.

Ans: “That a house in a tree top

was she what now wanted."

8. 'My dad knew his duties'. What did

he think his duty was?

Ans: He wanted to fulfill the desire

of the grandma. So he started his work

on the same night and made her a tree

house.

9. Look at the picture given below the

title. Quote the lines that might have

guided the artist to draw that.

Ans: "Made her a tree house with

windows and a door" is a line that might

have guided the artist to draw the picture.

Read the poem again. Does the

behaviour of grandma strike you as

unusual? If so, Support your view

quoting her ways and responses to

others. One is done for you.

. Grandma climbing a tree (way 1)

She climbed a tree when she was

62. (response)

. She had this gift. (response)

2. "Growing old gracefully' is an

expression used in the poem.

Discuss with your partner whether

what the grandma was doing was

graceful or otherwise.

Ans: It was graceful because she

had continued her habit of climbing a

tree.

3. Both the narrator (speaker in the

poem) and his father were very

considerate towards Grandma.

Substantiate the statement with

textual support.

Ans: My dad knew his duties. He

said, That's all right. You will have what

you want, dear. I'll start work tonight. I

climbed to her room with glasses and

tray. These are the lines which show that

the narrator and his father were

considerate.

4. If you were to divide the entire poem

into two parts which line would you

pick up to be the beginning of the

second part? Why?

Ans: “After the Rescue" is the line

which starts to be the beginning of the

second part because it is the later part of

Grandma's life.

B. 1. Have a close look at the rhyme-

scheme. Write at least 5 pairs of the

rhyming words. e.g. said - bed.

Ans: Gift-Lift, Told-Old, All-Fall,

Town-Down, Well-Hell.)

2. "It was like a brief season". Name

the figure of speech in the sentence.

What are the two things compared?

Explain.

Ans: The figure of speech is Simile.

Her stay down is compared to a brief

season in hell.

3. "For being happier in a tree than in

a lift'. What is suggested through

this line? Exchange your views with

your partner.

Ans: Climbing a tree is natural but

going to a tree in lift is artificial. So she

wanted to climb a tree and fell happy.

"There was not a tree, she hadn't

been up” is an expression, Rewrite

the above sentence without using

'not' (note: the meaning should be

the same)

Give some more examples from

outside the text to illustrate effective.

use of double negatives.

Ans: She had been up in every tree.

She never goes with nobody.

I can't find my keys nowhere.

c. Read the line 'she would be up in

the branches in a trice'.

What picture do you get in your

mind when you read this? May be it

is the picture of grandma climbing a

tree deftly even like a monkey.

Ans: No. She would climb naturally

and carefully because she had this gift

during her childhood.

- Now read the following lines and say

what pictures or images that comes

to your mind. Try to draw these

pictures if you can.

1. An aged woman confined to bed.

2. Every breeze/whispered of summer

and dancing

3. Being happier in a tree than in a

lift.

4. I will grow disgracefully.