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प्रश्न
Justify how ‘Animals’ by Walt Whitman is a criticism of mankind and its ways.
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उत्तर
- human beings seem to have dropped/ shed their values/virtues/attributes.
- human society is blemished by ego, hypocrisy, hatred, materialism, fake display.
- the profusion of complaints, race for greed and lack of contentment.
- the poet wishes to leave the human world and join animals as he finds them better than humans (a testimony).
Notes
Guidance:
The question indicates that the examiner knows that the poet appreciates the animals for the display of virtues and hence that requires no elaboration.
The question requires an explanation of criticism of mankind and evidence to justify the same.
Content -
Award 1 mark for a full explanation of the two strands-criticism & evidence.
Award ½ mark for a partial explanation.
Expression -
1 mark when both aspects included
✓ Answer organised effectively
✓ usage of words supporting explanation & justification (that’s why, because, therefore etc.)
½ mark when either aspect is missing.
Deduct ½ mark from the overall score if the error density is high (more than a total of 2 spellings and grammatical errors).
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self-contain’d
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with
the mania of owning things.
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that
lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?
(A1) Complete the following sentences with the help of the poem.
(a) The poet wishes he could.............................
(b) Animals do not complain about............................
(c) Animals do not merely discuss.............................
(d) Animals are not crazy about .............................
(A2) The qualities of animals that highlighted by the poet in the poem are
.............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
(A3) Name and explain the figures of speech.
“I stand and look at them long and long.’’
What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class .
(Hint Whitman belongs to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth,which holds that civilisation has made humans false to their own true nature.
What could be the basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?)
Get into pairs and attempt the following:
“The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.” - Mark Twain.
Discuss with your partner what Mark Twain means from the above quote. Write in your own words.
Put the following attributes/abilities.
- self-control
- communicates
- love and care
- cooks
- good manners
- has 360° vision
- shows gratitude
- lives for more than 150 years
- swims
- learns computing
- worships god
- sleeps in standing position
- stands up immediately after birth
- brings up children
- belongs to various species

We come across many animals in our vicinity. We have also read about different animals in books. Make a list of all animals that fall under various categories. One is given for you.
| Amphibians | Mammals | Wild Animals | Aquatic Animals | Pet Animals |
| frog | cow | lion | octopus | cat |
Find adjectives from the poem which refer to positive and negative thinking.
| Positive | Negative |
| 1. ................... | 1. ................... |
| 2. ................... | 2. ................... |
| 3. ................... | 3. ................... |
The poet wishes he could ______.
Animals do not complain about ______.
Animals do not merely discuss ______.
Animals are not crazy about ______.
State whether the following statement is true or false.
Animals do not worship other animals.
State whether the following statement is true or false.
Humans have given up many good qualities.
State whether the following statement is true or false.
The poet has retained all his natural virtues.
With the help of the poem find the differences between animals and human beings.
| Human beings | Animals |
| Always complain about their condition | Never complain about anything |
Why does the poet wish to 'turn' and live with animals?
Mention any two reasons why Walt Whitman appreciates animals more than humans.
Walt Whitman speaks of the human race with a tinge of sarcasm. Which are the two reasons that you agree with?
What two attributes of the Animals please the poet?
