Explore comprehensive question and answer solutions for ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’ – a heartfelt poem by Kamala Das. Perfect for exam preparation and in-depth understanding
My Mother at Sixty Six – Comprehensive Question & Answer Guide
Introduction: Dive into the essence of Kamala Das’s poignant poem, My Mother at Sixty Six, which reflects the poet’s deep emotional connection with her aging mother. This guide provides in-depth answers to common exam questions and helps students grasp the nuances of the poem for better preparation.
Class 12 English
Chapter 6
My Mother at Sixty-Six
1) Driving from my parents.
home to Cochin last Friday
morning, I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face…
ashen like that of a corpse…. (HS 2012)
(i) Where was the poet Kamala Das driving to?
Ans: The poet Kamala Das was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin Airport.
(ii) What did the poet notice while her mother sat beside her?
Ans: The poet noticed that her mother was sleeping with her mouth open.
(iii) Which word in the paragraph means sleep lightly, dead body?
Ans: Sleep lightly – Doze
Dead body – Corpse
(iv) Why was the poet’s mother face look like that of a corpse? (HS 2012)
Ans: The poet’s mother face looked pale, dried up, faded and life less like a dead body which made her face like corpse.
2) ….but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, (HS 2019)
(i) Who looked out at the young trees?
Ans: The poet, Kamala Das looked out at the young trees.
(ii) Which thought did the speaker put away?
Ans: The speaker put the thought of her ageing and decaying mother away from her mind.
(iii) What do the young sprinting trees signify? (HS 2017)
Ans: According to the poet, the young sprinting trees signify the energetic action of the youth.
(iv) Which word in the paragraph means running first?
Ans: Running First – Sprinting.
3) But after the airport’s
Security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile…. (HS 2014)
(i) What did the speaker do after the security check?
Ans: After the security check up, the poet stood a few yards away and looked at her mother’s face again.
(ii) Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a ‘late winter’s moon? (HS 2012, 2014, 2017)
Ans: The late winter moon does not have brightness and energy. So the pale and colourless mother’s face resembles the late winter moon.
(iii) Which word of the paragraph means colourless?
Ans: Colourless- Wan
4) …and felt that old
familiar ache, my children’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile… (HS 2017)
(i) What was the childhood fear that now troubled the poet? (HS 2014)
Ans: The childhood fear of the poet was the fear of dead and and decay.
(ii) What do the poet’s parting words suggest?
Ans: The parting words of the poet Kamala Das suggest both hope and fear. She hopes that they will meet again.
(iii) Why did the poet smile and smile?
Ans: The poet hides her real feeling from one another. The poet smiles and smiles to reassure that they will meet soon.
(iv) Which word of the paragraph mean pain?
Ans: Pain- Ache.
5. What is the kind of pain and ache the poet feels? (HS 2014)
Ans: The poet Kamala Das sees the wan and Corps like face of her mother. Time or ageing spares none. They even do not spare her mother. The poet is aware of it. With ageing Separation and dead become un avoidable. The poet has shown this fear since her childhood.
6. What do the parting words of the poet and her smiles signify?
Ans: The sight of her old mother’s corpse like face arouses the old familiar ache. The pale face of her mother at sixty six brings an image of decay and that. The poet smiles continuously saying that see would soon return. The poet’s smiling is an attempt to overcome the ache an fear inside her heart.
7. Why was the mother been compared to the late winter’s moon’?
Ans: The poet Kamala Das uses simile to show the poetic effectiveness between the poet’s mother and the winter moon. The poet’s mother is at Sixty- Six and has shrunk to an ashen face looking like a Corpse. She has lost her shine and Strength of her youth. Similarly, the late winter moon looks lazy opscure and lack of strength. So the comparison apt.
8. Why are the young trees described as sprinting?
Ans: It is a very common experience that during traveling we see objects running first. The appearance of the first racing is described as sprinting. They provide a strong contrast to the passive old lady sitting inside the car.
9. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children spilling out of their homes? (HS 2018, 2013, 2016)
Ans: The children are young and happy. They are moving out of their homes in large number. The image of the marry children is an image of happiness and spontaneity use over flow of live. On the other hand, the poet’s mother who is sitting beside her is an image of decay and passivity.
10. What is the significance of the parting words of the speaker and her smile in ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’?
Ans: Her smile signifies her helplessness at the farce of her mother in evitable death. She express her love and concern for her mother along with the underlying pain and struggle that she undergoes in coming to terms with this bitter realization.
11. Explain the statement “I saw my mother her face ashen like that of a corpse. (HS 2014)
Ans: The statement refers to the fact that the poet had only then realized how old her mother had become a look closed to death because her face already resembled that of a corpse due to her advancing age.
Conclusion: Master your understanding of My Mother at Sixty Six and be well-prepared for your exams with these detailed question and answer guides.
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