2.1 Cherry Tree
-Ruskin Bond
ICE BREAKERS
· Trees are revered because:
(a) They give us natural food webs.
(b) They cause of rainfall.
(c) They provide us with the material for food and shelter.
(d) They store the carbon.
(e) They give us day to day life materials like paper, furniture, kitchen wares etc.
(f) They give us different toys.
(g) They produce atmospheric oxygen for our respiration system.
(h) Trees are the main habitat of the wild life population.
(i) They are the sources of natural resources.
· Column A shows your involvement in growing a tree, as well as the stages in the life of a tree. Column B shows the feelings you experience at all the stages. Match them appropriately.
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A |
B |
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1. You planted a sapling.
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a. Gave you a feeling of joy to see the promising future.
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2. You watered the plant.
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b. The new experience brought excitement to you. |
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3. You saw the shoot for the first time.
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c. You were happy and satisfied because you experienced what you had often heard, that small beginnings can lead to great achievements. |
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4. You fenced the plant.
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d. The colour, symbolizing life, gave you a feeling of hope. |
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5. The plant gradually saw lush green leaves grow on it.
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e. You wanted to make a humble beginning. |
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6. The tree had buds too.
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f. Your motive was to protect it. |
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7. Birds made a nest on the tree which was fully grown and laden with flowers.
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g. You cared for it. |
1.- You planted a sapling.-
e.- You wanted to make a humble beginning.
2.- You watered the plant.
g.- You cared for it.
3.- You saw the shoot for the first time.
b.- The new experience brought excitement to you.
4.- You fenced the plant.
f.- Your motive was to protect it.
5.- The plant gradually saw lush green leaves grow on it. d.- The colour, symbolizing life, gave you a feeling of hope.
6.- The tree had buds too.
a.- Gave you a feeling of joy to see the promising future.
7.- Birds made a nest on the tree which was fully grown and laden with flowers. c.- You were happy and satisfied because you experienced what you had often heard, that small beginnings can lead to great achievements.
BRAINSTORMING
(A1) (I) Find proof from the poem for the following.
(a) The poet has mentioned different seasons.
- SUMMER- And suddenly that summer near the end of May,
- MONSOON- Split it apart and a monsoon blight
- SPRING- Next spring I watched three new shoots grow,
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(b) The poet’s minute observations of the steady growth of the cherry tree. - I found a tree had come to stay. - It was very small, five months child
- Lost in the tall grass running wild.
- Next spring I watched three new shoots grow,
(C) The colour imagery in the poem.
-Pink flow
-Red fruit
-Green growing pain
-Blue blind sky
(d) The struggle of the cherry tree for survival.
- The plant was almost destroyed on several occasions-
- Goats ate the leaves, the grass cutter scythe
Split it apart and a monsoon blight
- The young tree struggle, upward thrust
- Its arms in a fresh fierce lust
For light and air and sun.
(ii) State whether the following statements are True or False. Correct the false statements by finding evidence from the poem to support your remark.
(a) The cherry tree did not take long to grow. - False- Next spring, I watched three new shoots grow,
(it took the next spring means almost a year to grow into a tree.)
(b) Birds and insects were benefitted from the tree.- True
(c) The poet was exalted at the sight of the cherry tree.- True
(d) The poem has an underlying message about the importance of trees.- True
(e) The poet repents planting the cherry tree. - False- I praised Night and Stars and tree;
That small, the cherry, grown by me.
(The poet praised the full grown cherry tree.)
(A2) (i) Discuss in groups, reasons/consequences/ effects:
(a) The life of the cherry tree was threatened.
- The life of the cherry tree was threated because no one cared or watered it. Goats ate the leaves and it was damaged / spoilt by the grass cutter’s scythe and the monsoon.
(b) The cherry blossomed.- The cherry tree grew fully and blossomed beautifully with the small pink, fragile and quick to fall flowers with the merest breath and sleepiest breeze at around.
(ii) A small thought, put in action, led to a great achievement. Pick out the lines from the beginning and end of the poem and explain their significance. - The beginning lines are –
Since I placed my cherry seed in the grass.
“Must have a tree of my own,” I said,
The poet desired to plant a tree or his own tree in the yard. So he planted, watered it and forgot about it as we normally do.
- In the end the poet says-Yes, I! – praised Night and Stars and tree:
That small, the cherry, grown by me.
The simple thought of the poet of planting tree resulted into a beautiful tree bearing blossoms and fruits.
The initial positive minded thought ended with positive result.
(A3) The Cherry tree has inspired the poet to compose the poem. Such poems, describing Nature or aspects of Nature are called “Nature Poems”. Find out some expressions from the poem that bring out the elements of beauty of Nature.
The expressions describing Nature/ its aspects are -- Lost in the tall grass running wild.
- Goats ate the leaves, the grass cutter scythe
- Split it apart and a monsoon blight
- Shrivelled the slender stem
- For light and air and sun
- At the merest breath, the sleepiest breeze…….
- Blind sky, at the finches as they flew
- Of nectar from each bloom and the sun sank
- Swiftly, and the stars turned in the sky,
- I praised Night and Stars and tree
(A4) (i)Read the line.Pink, fragile, quick to fall
Notice the arrangement of the words in the line:
They move from healthy of delicate
This figure of speech is called Climax where successive words, phrases, sentences are arranged in ascending order of importance. Here, the cherry blossom turns pink, ripens and is ready to be picked.
(ii) Find out examples from the poem.
Alliteration –
- Since I placed my cherry seed in the grass.
- And suddenly that summer near the end of May,
- Goats ate the leaves, the grass cutter scythe
Antithesis –
- It was very small, five months child,
Lost in the tall grass running wild.
- Came back thinner, rather poor,
But richer by a cherry tree at my door.
Personification –
- I found a tree had come to stay.
- Blind sky, at the finches as they flew
- While bees in an ecstasy drank
(A5) (i) Cherry tree is a narrative poem. Features that make it a narrative poem are given below. Justify them with proper examples.
(a) The poem has a beginning, middle and an end.- Beginning - The poem begins with planting the seed and forgetting about it.
- Middle – The struggle of the plant,
- End – Praising the branches of full grown tree, admiring the creatures living on it, getting fully satisfied.
(b) Different places are mentioned.- Kashmir and some visiting places
(c) Characters are referred to.- Grass cutter, goat, birds and insects
(d) Incidents are arranged in sequence.- Wished to have a tree – watering it – very small – five months’ child – struggled to grow up – grew three new shoots –six feet high cherry tree- blossoms and fruit.
(e) There is a dialogue between the poet and the reader of the characters of the poem.- The poet is telling the reader an incident- about planting a seed – the way it suffered to live and its change into a full grown cherry tree.
(f) It is a time- bound poem.- The poem begins with planting seed and ends with blossomed and fruit bearing tree.
- The poet mentions summer, spring & monsoon seasons.
(ii) Compose 8 to 10 lines.
Narrate any incident in your life without using any rhyming pattern.
I remember a few things- when I started my education,
I was naughty, didn’t know the importance of books,
Wasting my time in playing and visiting places,
But when I was an adult, I knew the importance of time and career.
Now without wasting my time, I work hard,
Knowing the competition, I prepare myself.
I have chosen my career and work hard.
And have understood the true importance of time.
2 comments:
Nice drafting.
Great job done.
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