Feelings (by C.J. Heck)

About the poem

Read to understand

A. Answer these questions with reference to the context.

‘ they don’t know how to fix that,’

1. What does ‘they’ refer to?

Ans. ‘They’ refers to bullies who said stuff to hurt the narrator.

2. What is it that needs fixing?

Ans. ‘That’ refers to the feelings of anger and unhappiness that bullies have.

3. Why do ‘they’ not know how to fix it?

Ans. They do not know how to fix it because they are very angry deep down inside and cannot find a solution to this problem.

4. What do they do when they can’t fix it?

Ans. When they cannot fix it, then they transfer their anger to someone they think is weaker than them.

B. Answer these questions.

1. What kind of things do the children in the poem say?

Ans. The children in the poem say things that hurt the feelings of the narrator.

2. Why do the things said by the children hurt the speaker?

Ans. The things the kids said hurt the speaker because they are not true.

3. What does the mother tell the child about happiness in stanza3?

Ans. The mother tells the child that happiness grows much faster than anger. She also advises the child to stay happy because it is better that way.

4. What are some of the consequences of letting anger stay with you?

Ans. The consequences of letting anger stay with us can be drastic. Anger is a waste of our lives and can become uncontrollable resulting in more unhappiness and hate.

5. What advice does the mother give in the last stanza?

Ans. The mother advises the child to stand up for his feelings, to be assertive but do so in calm and a friendly manner.

6. Match the stanzas to the key points they present.

Discuss and write

1. Do you think the child is talking about a real situation or an imaginary one? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans. I think the child is talking about a real situation that may have happened with him in school or while playing in the park. On coming back, he tells everything to his mom and his mom advises him prudently.

2. If you were in the child’s place, would you follow the mother’s advice? Justify.

Ans. If I was in child’s place, I would follow the mother’s advice because she knows me better than anyone else and she would always guide me the right path out of her experience.

3. Do you think the mother understands the child’s problem? Justify your response.

Ans. According to me, the mother understands the child’s problem because she has also gone through this stage. She therefore is able to guide child prudently.