Maharashtra Board · Standard Nine · English · Chapter 2.3
Somebody’s Mother
by Mary Dow Brine
Meanings
| ragged | wearing old and torn clothes |
| throng | large crowd |
| unheeding | neglecting |
| hailing | welcoming |
| Lest | for the fear that … |
| lend a hand | help |
Paraphrase of the Poetry
An old woman, dressed in ragged clothes and bent with the chill of a winter day, stood at a street crossing. The street was covered with fresh snow, and she was too old and slow to cross it quickly. She waited there for a long time in the middle of a crowd, but no one noticed her or the worried look in her eyes.
Then a group of schoolboys came down the street, shouting and laughing, because school was over for the day. They moved together like a flock of sheep and welcomed the deep, white snow. They hurried past the old woman without offering any help. She was too timid to move, afraid that the carriage wheels or the horses’ feet might knock her down on the slippery road.
At last, one of the cheerful boys stopped beside her and softly offered to help her across. She rested her aged hand on his strong young arm, and he guided her safely over the street. He felt proud that his own feet were young and strong enough to help her.
Then he went back to his friends, feeling happy and content. He told them that the woman was somebody’s mother, and even though she was old, poor and slow, she deserved help. He hoped that someone would help his own mother in the same way if she ever grew old while he was far away.
That night, at home, the old woman bowed her head and prayed. She asked God to be kind to the noble boy, who was somebody’s son and his mother’s pride and joy.
Appreciation of the Poetry
The poem ‘Somebody’s Mother’ is written by Mary Dow Brine. Its central idea is that we should always help people in need. A young schoolboy helps an old woman cross a busy, snowy street, because he knows she is somebody’s mother and hopes that someone will help his own mother one day. The poem is written in rhyming couplets (aabb), and the poet uses figures of speech such as simile, inversion, alliteration and repetition. My favourite lines are ‘She’s somebody’s mother, boys, you know, / For all she’s aged, and poor and slow.’ I like the poem because it teaches us to be kind, not cold-hearted, and to treat elders with love and respect.
Warming Up!
1.Read the following proverb that has a biblical reference.
‘Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.’
Now find at least 5 other proverbs / axioms / quotations which convey the same message. Search the internet / dictionary of proverbs.
- ‘How people treat you is their Karma; how you react is yours.’
- ‘Treat others as you wish to be treated. Don’t just be nice, but be kind to other people. That can be so rewarding.’
- ‘Be good to people. You will be remembered more for your kindness than any level of success you could possibly attain.’
- ‘How you treat others is how you really feel inside.’
- ‘Be careful how you treat people. What you do to others has a funny way of coming back to you.’
2.Study the following sets of words :
Set A – pleased, happy, joyful, ecstatic
Set B – letter, word, sentence, paragraph
Note : The words in these sets are arranged in an ascending order, each word showing a higher degree than the previous one. Now rearrange the following groups of words in the ascending order.
(a) (1) adult (2) aged (3) infant (4) youth
(b) (1) cold (2) freezing (3) cool (4) chill
(c) (1) brilliant (2) genius (3) bright (4) intelligent
(d) (1) mountain (2) peak/summit (3) mound (4) hill
Prepare similar word chains using the following ideas.
rain – drizzle
wind – breeze
sunshine – warm
waterbody – pool
size – big
size – small
In Between the Poetry
Q. Guess the following, using references from the poem :
The setting – the region, the locality
It is an extremely cold town, in a region in America.
The time – the time of the year and the day
The poem is set in the winter season, on a weekday afternoon.
English Workshop
1.Pick out lines from the poem that help create images of the following in our mind and write them in the table.
| No. | Old Woman | The Street | Schoolboys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | The old woman was ragged. | The streets were white with snow. | The boys were laughing. |
| 2. | She was bent with the chill of winter. | The streets were crowded. | They came like a flock of sheep. |
| 3. | Her feet were trembling. | Horse carriages were trampling down. | They hastened on their way. |
2.Write at least 5 rhymes from the poem.
3.Give, in your own words, TWO reasons for each of the following :
(a) The woman was reluctant to cross the street by herself.
- She was old and weak.
- She was afraid of being run over by the horse carriages.
(b) The schoolboys were in a happy mood.
- They had just been let out from school.
- It was freedom from a long, busy day.
(c) One of the schoolboys helped the old woman cross the street.
- He felt it was his moral duty to help her.
- He knew that someday, when his own mother needed help, a stranger like him would help her in return.
(d) We must help those who are in need.
- Our heart feels happy and content when we help someone.
- We never know when we would need help in return in life.
4.Think and write in 5-6 lines, why most of the people on a road/street ignore those in need of help. What about you? Write about your feelings after you have helped / not helped, when needed.
Most people on a road or street ignore those in need of help because they are either cold-hearted or they feel that another person may come forward to help. Some may even fear that they will be cheated if they try to help. When I helped someone in need, I felt really proud of myself. It made me feel happy and content from inside. It made my day.
5.Read the poem : ‘Home they brought her warrior dead’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Home they Brought her Warrior Dead
– By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Home they brought her warrior dead:
She nor swoon’d nor utter’d cry:
All her maidens, watching, said,
“She must weep or she will die.”
Then they praised him, soft and low,
Call’d him worthy to be loved,
Truest friend and noblest foe;
Yet she neither spoke nor moved.
Stole a maiden from her place,
Lightly to the warrior stepped,
Took the face-cloth from the face;
Yet she neither moved nor wept.
Rose a nurse of ninety years,
Set his child upon her knee –
Like summer tempest came her tears –
“Sweet my child, I live for thee.”