Key Characters:
•The speaker (imagines being a tree).
•Nature (symbolized through birds, sunlight, breeze, rain, Mother Earth, and the sacred cow).
Major Themes:
1. Equality and Non-Discrimination: Trees transcend human-made social barriers.
2. Purity of Nature: Nature interacts without judgment.
3. Human Prejudices: Contrasts natural acceptance with societal prejudices like casteism.
4. Sacredness and Spirituality: Explores the connection between trees and divinity.
Key Concepts:
•Caste and societal prejudices.
•The innocence and acceptance of nature.
•The spiritual symbolism of trees.
•Interdependence between humans and nature.
Imageries and Metaphors:
•Tree: Represents a pure, unbiased existence.
•Bird building its nest: Symbolizes trust and acceptance.
•Shadow and sunlight: Equality and unity without judgment.
•Sacred cow: Represents divinity and harmony with nature.
•Bier and fire: Transition to spiritual purity in death.
II. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each. (2 Marks Questions)
1. Who is the author of If I Was a Tree?
Answer: Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy is the author.
2. What is the poem primarily about?
Answer: The poem explores the equality and purity of being a tree compared to human biases.
3. How does the bird interact with the tree?
Answer: The bird builds its nest without asking the tree’s caste. 4. What happens when sunlight embraces the tree?
Answer: The shadow of the tree does not feel defiled.
5. Who scratches its body on the tree’s bark?
Answer: The sacred cow scratches its body on the tree’s bark.
6. How does the tree imagine itself after being cut?
Answer: It imagines becoming firewood or a bier for a sinless body.
7. What does the speaker say about raindrops?
Answer: Raindrops do not turn back, unlike prejudiced humans.
8. What does “branching out” symbolize in the poem?
Answer: It symbolizes growth and connection to Mother Earth.
9. What does the speaker mean by the “three hundred thousand gods”?
Answer: It refers to the divine presence believed to reside in the sacred cow.
10. Who translated this poem into English?
Answer: Rowena Hill translated the poem.
11. Why wouldn’t the bird ask the tree its caste?
Answer: The bird, like nature, doesn’t discriminate based on human social constructs like caste.
12. How does the poem contrast nature and human society?
Answer: Nature accepts all without prejudice, while humans discriminate based on caste and other biases.
13. What is the significance of sunlight embracing the tree?
Answer: It symbolizes equality and the absence of societal defilement in nature.
14. Why does the poet mention the sacred cow?
Answer: To show how nature and divinity coexist harmoniously.
15. How does the tree view being burned in a holy fire?
Answer: As a form of spiritual purification and a continuation of service.
16. What role does Mother Earth play in the poem?
Answer: Mother Earth supports the tree, symbolizing unconditional acceptance.
17. Why are the raindrops significant in the poem?
Answer: They symbolize purity and the rejection of societal prejudices.
18. How does the poet depict death in the poem?
Answer: Death is seen as a process where the tree continues to serve humanity, either as firewood ora bier.
III. Answer the following questions in about 60 words each.(3 Marks Questions)
1. How does the tree’s perspective on caste differ from human society?
Answer: The tree does not consider caste or social divisions. Its interactions with birds, sunlight, and other natural elements are unbiased, contrasting with human society, which often discriminates based on caste.
2. What lesson can we learn from the tree’s relationship with Mother Earth?
Answer: The tree’s harmonious relationship with Mother Earth teaches us to value and nurture our connection with nature, embracing equality and selflessness.
3. How does the poem highlight the sacredness of trees?
Answer: The tree serves all beings, houses gods in the sacred cow, and ultimately purifies through holy fire or as a bier, underscoring its sacred role.
4. Why does the poet imagine being turned into firewood?
Answer: The poet imagines serving even in death, highlighting the tree’s selfless contribution to humanity and nature.
5. What does the poem suggest about human prejudices?
Answer: The poem criticizes human prejudices like casteism and suggests adopting the tree’s impartial and accepting nature.
6. Explain the metaphor of “branching out” in the poem.
Answer: “Branching out” symbolizes growth, expansion, and reaching out. For the tree, it means connecting with Mother Earth and the ecosystem. For humans, it suggests embracing diversity and building inclusive relationships.
7. How does the tree symbolize harmony?
Answer: The tree interacts with all elements of nature—birds, sunlight, breeze, and rain—without discrimination, representing perfect harmony and acceptance.
8. Why is the cow’s action of scratching on the tree significant?
Answer: It symbolizes the divine acceptance of the tree, reinforcing the idea that nature transcends human biases.
9. How does the poet criticize societal norms through the poem?
Answer: The poet uses the tree’s pure interactions with nature to contrast with human prejudices like casteism, highlighting the flaws in societal norms.
10. How does the poet view the tree’s role in life and death?
Answer: The tree selflessly serves in life, providing shelter and shade, and continues to serve in death, symbolizing a pure and meaningful existence.
(FROM QUESTION BANK)
I. Answer the following in a word, a phrase, or a sentence each:
1. What does the speaker want to be in the poem, If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The speaker wants to be a tree.
2. Who would not ask the caste of the tree before building its nest in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The bird would not ask the tree’s caste.
3. According to the speaker in If I Was a Tree, what would the bird not ask before building its nest?
Answer: The bird would not ask about the tree’s caste.
4. What wouldn’t feel defiled when sunlight embraces the tree in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The shadow of the tree wouldn’t feel defiled.
5. The_______ would embrace the tree in the poem If I Was a Tree.
Answer: b) Sunlight
6. Whose friendship with the cool breeze would be sweet in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The tree’s friendship with the cool breeze would be sweet.
7. ______ would not turn back taking the speaker for a dog-eater if he was a tree.
Answer: b) Raindrops
8. Who would not flee shouting for a bath in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: Mother Earth would not flee shouting for a bath.
9. According to the speaker, when would Mother Earth not flee shouting for a bath in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: Mother Earth would not flee when the tree branches out from its roots.
10. How many gods are sheltered inside the body of the cow?
Answer: Three hundred thousand gods are sheltered inside the cow.
11. Who are sheltered inside the body of the cow?
Answer: Three hundred thousand gods are sheltered inside the cow.
12. Where are the three hundred thousand gods sheltered in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: They are sheltered inside the sacred cow.
13. What would scrape her body on the bark of the tree in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The sacred cow would scrape her body on the bark.
14. When would the three hundred thousand gods touch the speaker if he was a tree?
Answer: They would touch the speaker when the cow scratches against the tree’s bark.
15. How does the speaker want to be purified in the poem If I Was a Tree?
Answer: By being burned in the holy fire after being cut into dry wood.
16. Name any one of the uses of the tree according to the speaker in If I Was a Tree.
Answer: The tree can be used as a bier for a sinless body.
17. When is the tree made pure according to the speaker in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: When it is burned in the holy fire.
18. The______ is hacked into pieces of dry wood to burn in the holy fire.
Answer: b) Tree
19. What becomes a bier for a sinless body in If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The tree becomes a bier for a sinless body.
IV. Answer the following questions in about 100 words each (4 Marks)
1. Why does the speaker want to be a tree in the poem If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The speaker wishes to be a tree because it is free from societal prejudices like casteism. Unlike humans, nature does not discriminate; birds, sunlight, rain, and the sacred cow interact with the tree without bias. The tree represents equality, purity, and service, both in life and after being cut. By imagining himself as a tree, the speaker critiques human discrimination and celebrates the harmony of nature, which accepts all beings without judgment.
2. How do the life forces sunlight and cool breeze enforce nature’s idea of equality?
Answer: Sunlight and the cool breeze interact with the tree without bias or discrimination, symbolizing nature’s impartiality. They embrace the tree purely as part of the ecosystem, without questioning its origin or identity. This behaviour contrasts with human society, where prejudices like casteism define interactions. By illustrating this harmony, the poet emphasizes the equality inherent in nature and critiques the divisive practices in human relationships.
3. How does the speaker in If I Was a Tree respond to the issue of caste discrimination?
Answer: The speaker contrasts the natural world’s inclusivity with human society’s caste-based discrimination. By imagining life as a tree, free from prejudice, the speaker highlights how birds, rain, and sunlight accept the tree unconditionally. In contrast, human beings create barriers, making the speaker wish for a simpler, more equitable existence in harmony with nature.
4. Examine the poem If I Was a Tree as a satire on social discrimination.
Answer: The poem critiques the caste system by contrasting human prejudice with nature’s inclusivity. It portrays natural elements like sunlight, rain, and birds as symbols of equality, highlighting the absurdity of societal hierarchies. The satire becomes apparent when the speaker imagines being purified only through death and fire, exposing the irrationality of caste-based defilement and the desire for acceptance.
5. Analyze the concepts of defilement and purification as illustrated in If I Was a Tree.
Answer: The poem explores how societal prejudices label individuals as impure, based on caste or identity. In contrast, the tree is free from defilement; its shadow, bark, and branches are universally accepted. Purification, as envisioned in the poem, happens through nature’s embrace and even in death, when the tree serves as firewood or a bier, symbolizing a final rejection of caste-based notions of impurity.
6. Nature nurtures all living beings, whereas humans fail to accept their own kind. How do you explain this with reference to If I Was a Tree?
Answer: The poem demonstrates that nature is inherently inclusive and nurturing, offering shelter, sustenance, and companionship to all beings without bias. In contrast, humans discriminate based on caste and identity, creating barriers. The tree’s interactions with sunlight, rain, and animals exemplify unconditional acceptance, exposing the failures of human society to embrace equality and harmony.
7. Compare and contrast the treatment of equality in nature to discrimination among humans as illustrated in If I Was a Tree.
Answer: Nature treats all beings equally, as shown by the bird building its nest, sunlight embracing the tree, and rain nurturing it without prejudice. In contrast, human society imposes divisions through caste and other biases, defiling interactions and relationships. The tree becomes a metaphor for equality, showcasing nature’s inclusivity and highlighting humanity’s failure to transcend discrimination.
8. How effectively does the poem present the caste system as one of the burning social problems in Indian society?
Answer: The poem presents the caste system as a dehumanizing force that creates unnecessary barriers. By juxtaposing nature’s unbiased acceptance with human discrimination, it exposes the irrationality and cruelty of casteism. The speaker’s desire to become a tree reflects a yearning for a society that values equality, making the poem a powerful critique of caste-based social hierarchies.