CBSE Class 12 English Vistas Should Wizard Hit Mommy John Updike Assignment Set B

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. What was the basic tale or plot of stories told by Jack
Answer: Every story told by Jack had a small creature usually named Roger. He had some problem and went with it to the wise old owl. The owl would tell him to go to the wizard. The wizard solved the problem with some magic spell. However, he charged some pennies for it.

Question. Why did Roger Skunk go to the owl? What advice did he get?
Answer: Roger Skunk smelled very bad. Whenever he went out to play, all other little animals would run away from him. He would then fell very sad and humiliated. In order to find a way out of his problem, he decided to go to the wise old owl. The owl advised Roger Skunk to go to the wizard.

Question. When would Jack tell her daughter, Jo, a story? When had this custom begun?
Answer: Jo’s father Jack used to tell her a story in the evenings and for Saturday naps. This custom began when Jo was two but now she was four years old. Thus, he had been telling her the stories for the last two years.

Question. How did the wizard solve the skunk’s problem?
Answer: The wizard asked the skunk what he wanted to smell like. At this the skunk told her that he wanted to smell like roses. The wizard took his magic wand and chanted a spell. Soon, the whole inside of the wizard’s house was filled with the fragrance of roses.

Question. What impression do you form of Jack as a father in the story, ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’
Answer: Jack is portrayed as a loving father, who loves telling stories to his four-year-old daughter, Jo. He brings in the dramatic element in his otherwise lame and boring story by using a lot of gestures and dramatic voices. This thrills his daughter, which eventually thrills him. Everything is fine till one day his daughter starts questioning his stories. She views each statement that her father makes with a critical eye and has a lot of questions. Instead of pacifying her by answering her questions, Jack tried to enforce his views on her. Therefore, we can say that Jack is loving and responsible but slightly an immature father.

Question. Do you think the father in the story is, more or less, an alter ego of the author, as far as the childhood is concerned?
Answer: John Updike’s childhood was tortured by ‘psoriasis’ and stammering and he had to suffer humiliation and ridicule at the hands of his classmates on account of this. Like him, Jo’s father too recalls certain moments of ‘humiliation of his own childhood. ”Thus the father more or less, was an alter ego of the author.”

Question. Why did the woodland creatures avoid Roger Skunk ? How did their behaviour affect Roger ?
Answer: The woodland creatures avoided Roger Skunk because of his awful smell. As soon as they saw him coming they would cry “Uh-oh, here comes Roger Stinky Skunk and they would run away. Roger Skunk would stand there all alone and weep silently.

Question. This was a new phase, just this last month. ‘What new phase is referred to here in the story “Should Wizard Hit Mommy”?
Answer: Children’s physical and mental growth is very speedy. Earlier Jo used to accept father’s word about magic etc, but now she has started having apprehensions about such spells. She has become more inquisitive and less credulous.

Question. How did the woodland creatures react to the Skunk’s new smell? What did Skunk feel about the new change ?
Answer: The woodland creatures found Roger Skunk’s new smell to be ”so good”. They gladly took him in their fold as a friend and played with him many games. Naturally, Roger was happy to have been accepted by others as their friend Moreover, his inferiority complex had disappeared.

Question. Why in you opinion is the smell of roses obnoxious for the Skunk mother “or How did Skunk’s mother react to his new smell ?
Answer: Nature keeps its own balance and has its own way. The Skunk’s smell is obnoxious for other creatures, but certainly not for other Skunks. Skunks are born with this particular smell and any deviation is violation of Nature. So the mother Skunk does not like the rose smell of Roger Skunk.. She believes that what is natural is not disgraceful.

Question. Why did Jo not approve of Skunk’s mother scolding him for his new smell ?
Answer: Jo was very happy to hear that Skunk had got rid of his awful smell and had been accepted by the woodland creatures. She did not like Skunk’s mother scolding him for his new smell because Jo thought it was a pleasant smell and the one that had won Skunk so many friends. Skunk’s mother, she thought, was wrong in scolding him for his new smell.

Question. Why does mother Skunk hug and pat her son as he prepares to sleep ?
Answer: The obedience shown by Roger Skunk impresses the mother and she pats and hugs him as he prepares himself for sleep. The idea behind her action is that obedient children will always be loved and patted by mothers. The mother’s gesture is also an expression of her satisfaction at her little one getting back his Skunk smell.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. What is the moral issue that the story raises ?
Answer: Although “Should Wizard Hit Mommy?” reads like a typical bed time story elders tell little children, it does raise a moral question – Should parents always decide what is best for their children and should children always obey their parents unquestioningly ?
Roger Skunk is a very obedient child but he feels very sad and upset because he smells so awful that nobody wants to befriend him and play with him. One day he gets a change to get his bad smell replaced with the smell of roses. He feels excited about the change for everyone likes his new smell and readily agrees to play with him. However Roger’s mother does not like the change. For her, Roger was better off with his original smell. So, she makes the wizard restore Skunk’s original smell. Roger meekly accepts his mother’s decision and other children get used to Roger’s awful smell and don’t complain about in any more.
But the narrow world view of the little girl, Jo likes to spell out the slogan of equality for all. She believes in the axiom “Tit for Tat”. She feels that mothers is wrong in getting her son’s original smell back and wants her to be spanked by the wizard for her mistake. Her father, who has modeled Skunk’s story on his own story, strongly defends the mother Skunk’s decision.
Thus, the author through this story raises a moral question of how much authority parents should exercise in teaching their children what is wrong, what is right, what they should do and what not. Since, there is no single correct answer to the question, he leaves it for the readers to answer it on the basis of their beliefs, cultures and values.

Question. Who is the author of the lesson?
(a) John Updike
(b) John Donne
(c) William Blake
(d) John Williams
Answer: a

Question. What is this story about?
(a) Worldview of a little girl and her curious questions to her father
(b) worldview of children
(c) world of wizars
(d) All these
Answer: a

Question. How did the wizard help Roger Skunk?
(a) by using magic wand
(b) by chanting
(c) by helping him get rid of foul smell
(d) All these
Answer: d

Question. What did the Wizard ask Roger?
(a) what did he want to have
(b) what did he want to eat
(c) what did he want to smell like?
(d) None
Answer: c

Question. How did Jo want the story of Roger Skunk to end?
(a) wanted to punish Roger's mother
(b) wanted to hit her
(c) wanted to kill her
(d) wanted to beat her
Answer: a

Question. Who hit whom in the original story?
(a) roger hit his mom
(b) Roger hit the wizard
(c) Wizard hit Roger's mom
(d) Roger's mom hit the wizard
Answer: d

Question. Why does Jo call Roger's mom stupid?
(a) because she doesn't listen
(b) because she is stupid
(c) because it is because of her action that Roger start smelling bad again
(d) none
Answer: c

Question. Why did Jo think that Roger Skunk was better with new smell off?
(a) because she was able to bear him now
(b) she was able to be with him now
(c) because of pleasant smell now people were able to be friends with him
(d) All these
Answer: c

Question. What did Roger want to smell like?
(a) marigold
(b) Sunflower
(c) Jasmine
(d) Rose
Answer: d

Question. What kind of end Jo did want for Roger's story?
(a) pathetic
(b) sad
(c) Happy note
(d) All these
Answer: c

Question. How could Roger find so many new friends to play happily?
(a) because of new dishes
(b) because of new clothes
(c) because of new appearance
(d) because of new rosy smell
Answer: c

Question. Why was Roger's Mom angry with him?
(a) because of new rosy smell
(b) because of new dress
(c) because of new appearance
(d) none
Answer: a

Question. Why does Roger's mother not want him to smell like a rose?
(a) becase she didn't like it
(b) because she is allergic to it
(c) because he is a skunk and he should smell bad
(d) none
Answer: c

Question. What did Roger's mother decide finally?
(a) to take him back to awful wizard and get his bad smell back
(b) to take him with her
(c) to get him new smell
(d) none
Answer: a

Question. How does Jo want the wizard to behave with Roger's mother?
(a) nicely
(b) politely
(c) rudely
(d) She wants the wizard to hit her
Answer: d

Question. Why does Jo want the Wizard to hit Roger's mother?
(a) because she speaks rudely
(b) because she behaves rudely
(c) because she doesn't let her son have new smell
(d) none
Answer: c

Question. What idea does Jo not approve?
(a) Roger's mother have rosy smell
(b) Wizard hit Roger's mother
(c) Roger's mother hit the wizard
(d) None
Answer: c

Question. Why did Roger Skunk visit the owl?
(a) to be his friend
(b) to talk to him
(c) to learn the art of flying
(d) to seek his advice to solve his problem
Answer: d

Question. What advice did the wise owl give to Roger Skunk?
(a) to visit his friends
(b) to think deeply
(c) to consult his mother
(d) to consult the wizard
Answer: d

Question. What did the wizard demand to make Roger smell like a rose?
(a) 10 pennies
(b) 4 pennies
(c) 5 pennies
(d) 7 pennies
Answer: d

Question. How many pennies did Roger have to pay?
(a) 7 pennies
(b) 6 pennies
(c) 8 pennies
(d) 4 pennies
Answer: d

Question. Where did the wizard suggest Roger to get rest three pennies?
(a) from a tree
(b) from a river
(c) from the ocean
(d) from a magic well
Answer: d

Question. What part of the story did Jack himself enjoy the most?
(a) when mother hits the wizard
(b) when Roger finds pennies from the mgic well
(c) when at the wizard's house, Roger imitates wizard's voice
(d) none
Answer: c

Question. Why did Jack enjoy Roger's imitation of wizard's voice?
(a) he recalls his past
(b) he recalls his childhood
(c) he relates his own childhood experiences with it
(d) none
Answer: c

Question. Why did Roger visit the wizard?
(a) to learn magic
(b) to gossip
(c) to get rid of his mother
(d) to seek advice to get rid of foul smell
Answer: d

Question. Who advised Roger to go to the wizard?
(a) His mother
(b) Jo
(c) Jack
(d) Owl
Answer: d

Question. Why does Jo want her father to tell her story in a different way?
(a) to give the story a sad ending
(b) to understand the story better
(c) to complete the story
(d) to give the story a happy ending with an adult and mature understanding
Answer: d

Question. What kind of a person is Roger's mother is in Jo's opinion?
(a) wise
(b) pleasing
(c) wicked and stupid
(d) All these
Answer: c

Question. Where does Jo prefer to live?
(a) in the world of friends
(b) in the school of swings
(c) in her world of dreams and fantasies
(d) none
Answer: c

Question. Why does Jo's father want to punish the wizard?
(a) as a mature person he thinks that wizard has tried to interfere with nature so it must be punished
(b) because he doesn't like the wizard
(c) he thinks that wizard spoil chidren
(d) none
Answer: a

Question. Why did Roger want to change his smell?
(a) because no one liked him
(b) none was ready to play with him
(c) he smelt very badly and it made people cry
(d) All these
Answer: d

Question. Why did Mother Skunk want her son to retain his identity?
(a) she is an adult
(b) has a mature thinking
(c) wanted her son to be accepted as it is
(d) All these
Answer: d

Question. Why does Jo's father has a different opinion from Jo?
(a) because Jo is a child
(b) because he has a mature thought
(c) he doesn't go by facial expression
(d) All these
Answer: d

Question. What is different about Roger's story ?
(a) Jo had a different opinion from her father
(b) this was more interesting
(c) it had a wizard
(d) none
Answer: a

Question. Why did Jo have a different opinion from her father?
(a) because she was a child
(b) because she was unable to see beyond facial expressions
(c) because she wanted a happy ending
(d) All these
Answer: d

Question. What is the moral of the story?
(a) Parents are wise and know what is best for them
(b) mothers should not interfere in their children's affairs
(c) mothers are cruel
(d) chidren are cute and right
Answer: a

Question. Who is Jo?
(a) A 4 years old girl who is curious to find unknown aspects of the stories told by her father
(b) a girl child
(c) a naughty girl
(d) A 4 years old girl who is curious to find unknown aspects of the stories told by her fathe
Answer: d

Question. Why did Jack start finding storytelling telling ritual a chore ?
(a) because it became a routine to make Jo sleep
(b) because it was becoming interesting day by day
(c) friends were liking it
(d) none
Answer: a

Question. What does a 4 year old child symbolise in the story?
(a) innocence
(b) smartness
(c) obstinacy
(d) none
Answer: a

Question. What do adult people signify in the story?
(a) maturity and experience
(b) wise words
(c) cruelty
(d) indifference
Answer: a

Question. Clare complains of in __ Jack‘s coming down
(a) hesitation
(b) promptness
(c) enthusiasm
(d) delay
Answer: d

Question. What is Jo a short form of?
(a) John
(b) Joe
(c) Joanne
(d) Jane
Answer: c

Question. Jo wanted ___in the story the next day
(a) skunk to smell of roses
(b) skunk mommy to relent
(c) wizard to hit mommy
(d) animals to love skunk
Answer: c

Question. What word does Jo mispronounce as evenshiladee?
(a) Evening
(b) Eventually
(c) Evasive
(d) Evacuation
Answer: b

Question. Mommy skunk was ___with the wizard?
(a) angry
(b) pleased
(c) indifferent
(d) civil
Answer: a

Question. What did mommy skunk call the smell of roses?
(a) Pleasant
(b) Unusual
(c) Heavenly
(d) Awful
Answer: d

Question. How many times did the wizard ask Roger to turn at the end of the lane?
(a) 2
(b) 3
(c) 4
(d) 5
Answer: b

Question. What did Jack mistakenly call Roger Skunk?
(a) Roger Rabbit
(b) Roger fish
(c) Roger squirrel
(d) Roger monkey
Answer: c

Question. What did Roger Skunk want to smell like?
(a) Roses
(b) Lilies
(c) Lavender
(d) Jasmine
Answer: a

Question. Jack felt being ___ suited him
(a) an old man
(b) an Owl
(c) a Skunk
(d) a kid
Answer: a