Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Brainstorm what you know about Scorpions. Use the points given below.
Advertisements
Solution
Scorpions
1) How they attack: either crush their prey or inject it with venom, or they attack using their pincers to hold down the prey: then they sting it. If you step on a scorpion it will sting you straight away.
2) Their appearance: has 8 legs, a pair of pincers, and a narrow, segmented tail ending in a venomous stinger
3) Any more information about them: most people associate them with poisonous stings; however, most of the stings do not present a serious threat and most healthy people do not even need medical treatment after being stung. They have long life-spans; can survive anything, a year without food; eat anything: glow in the dark.
4) Where they live: found on all continents except Antarctica; live everywhere except in very cold places; hide under logs, rocks, clutter, trees, and sand; also live in burrows.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the following extract and do the activities.
I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Patting with his poison – flash
Of diabolic tail in the dark room -
he risked the rain again.
The peasants came like swarms of flies
And buzzed the name of God a hundred times
to paralyse the Evil One.
With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison
moved in Mother’s blood, they said.
(A1) Choose the correct option for the following.
(1) The incident in the poem took place in
(i) the morning (ii) the night
(iii) the afternoon (iv) the evening
(2) ‘The Evil’ mentioned in the poem was
(i) the peasant (ii) the God
(iii) the scorpion (iv) the mother
(3) The scorpion crawled beneath a sack of
(i) sugar (ii) a wheat
(iii) corns (iv) rice
(4) The peasants are compared with
(i) flock of sheep (ii) group of monkeys
(iii) swarms of flies (iv) herds of cattle
(A2) Write the reactions of the people when they knew that the mother was stung by a scorpion.
(i)..................................................................
(ii)................................................................
(iii)...............................................................
(iv)...............................................................
(A3) Write down the rhyming words from the stanzas for the following.
(i) fight - (ii) clash -
Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in paragraph format.
Night of the Scorpion
I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Parting with his poison – flash
of diabolic tail in the darkroom –
he risked the rain again
The peasants came like swarms of flies
and buzzed the name of God a hundred times
to paralyze the Evil One.
With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison
moved in Mother’s blood, they said.
May he sit still, they said
May the sins of your previous birth
be burned away tonight, they said.
May your suffering decrease
the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.
May the sum of all evil
balanced in this unreal world
against the sum of good
become diminished by your pain.
May the poison purify your flesh
of desire, and your spirit of ambition,
they said, and they sat around
on the floor with my mother in the center,
the peace of understanding on each face.
More candles, more lanterns, more neighbors,
more insects, and the endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through,
groaning on a mat.
My father, sceptic, rationalist,
trying every curse and blessing,
powder, mixture, herb, and hybrid
He even poured a little paraffin
upon the bitten toe and put a match to it.
I watched the flame feeding on my mother.
I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the
poison with an incantation.
After twenty hours
it lost its sting.
My mother only said
Thank God the scorpion picked on me
And spared my children.
-Nissim Ezekiel
you can use the following points while appreciating the given poem:
i. Title
ii. Poet
iii. Theme/Central idea
iv.Rhyme scheme
v. Figures of speech
vi. Special features (type the poem, imagery, implied meaning if any,etc.)
vii. Favorite lines
viii. Why I like/don’t like the poem.
After reading the poem, complete the following. What happens? There are three main parts of the poem. Do you know what they are about? The first one is done for you.
| Lines | What is happening? |
| 1-7 | The scorpion comes into the home to escape the rain and stings the poet’s mother. |
| 8-33 | |
| 34-48 |
Complete the following table.
| Background/setting of the poem | |
| Type |
Evidence (Quote lines from the poem |
| Rural/Urban | ______________________ |
Complete the following table.
|
Imagery |
|
| Look at the description of the village peasants. What does the imagery suggest about them? |
|
| The Images | What images suggest |
| They came like swarms of flies. | |
| They buzzed the name of God. | |
| They threw giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls. | |
| They clicked their tongues. | |
Choose the correct alternative.
The child is afraid but admires ____________.
Choose the correct alternative.
‘The scorpion picked on me. And spared my children’ depicts ____________.
Choose the correct alternative.
The poem does not have a rhyme scheme, which means the poem is a perfect example of a ___________.
The poet has used various kinds of imagery to create an image that appeals to our senses. Pick out various kinds of imagery and complete the table.
| Visual imagery appealing to the eye | Tactile imagery (sense of touch) | Sound imagery | Internal sensations, feelings, and emotions |
| (1) Scorpion crawling beneath a sack of rice | (1) _________ ____________ ___________ |
(1) buzzed the name of God | (1) fear |
| (2) ___________ ___________ ___________ |
(2) Father pouring paraffin on the toe | 2) ___________ ___________ ___________ |
2) ___________ |
Prepare a Presentation (on paper or on a PC) as a piece of reference to other students. Make use of the following points.
