An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

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An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Questions and Answers

Q.1 Tick the item which best answers following:
(1) The tall girl with her head weighed down means – The girl

•  is tall and exhausted.
•  has her head bent with shame
• has untidy hair
  Ans.  is tall and exhausted.

(2) The paper -seeming boy with rat’s eyes means- The boy is

•  sly and secretive
•  thin, hungry and weak
• unpleasant looking
  Ans. thin. hungry and weak.

(3) The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones means – The boy

• has an inherited disability
•  was short and bony
•  distracted from the lesson
  Ans. has an inherited disability

(4) His eyes live in a dream, A squirrel’s game, in the tree room other than this means

The boy is

•  full of hope in the future
•  mentally ill
•  distracted from the lesson
  Ans.  full of hope in the future.

(5) The children’s faces are compared to rootless weeds’.

This means they

•  are insecure
•  are ill-fed
•  are wasters
  Ans. are insecure.

Q.2 What do you think is the color of ‘sour cream? Why do you think the poet has used the expression to describe the classroom walls?
Ans. The walls of the classroom in this slum smell of sour cream. It shows the real condition of the school building and classrooms in slum areas. The poet has used this expression to draw the attention of various personalities of society towards the poor condition of children in a slum school. He has also used various expressions to draw out the real and bad situations of school in slum areas. The word ‘Sour” shows a state of the indifference of authorities towards these children. They have built the school but never paid any heed towards its maintenance or the upliftment of the children studying there. This careless and ignorant attitude of the people in authority is shown in the poem.

Q.3 The walls of the classroom are decorated with pictures of Shakespeare’s, “buildings with domes’, “world maps’ and beautiful valleys. How do these contrast with the world of these children?
Ans. Like most of the classrooms of every school, the walls of the slum school are decorated with pictures of Shakespeare’s “buildings with domes’, ‘world maps, and beautiful valleys’. These things are there to make the students known to the famous literary world and personalities. Moreover, these things are symbols of happiness and prosperity. But these all things are meaningless to these hungry and unclothed children. Despite learning these objects attract them to steal to feed. Themselves. So what is there in these Pictures and monuments presents a sharp contrast to that of the real-life situations of these children.

Q.4 What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their lives be made to change?
Or
What message does Stephen Spender want to convey through his poem ‘An Elementary School Classroom in a slum?
Ans. The poet requests all representatives of different sections of society to come forward to give some relief to these poor children. In simple words, all the reputed members of society should spare some time and money for the sake of these poor children. These poor children should be provided with food and shelter. They should also be provided with a better and natural environment so that they could be nourished. In this way, with the help of different people, their lives can be made to change.

Q.5 How does the world depicted on the classroom walls differ from the world of the slum children?
Ans. The world depicted on the classroom walls present life full of pleasure and happiness. There is not any mark of hunger. But the world of slum children is very miserable, full of hunger and sadness.