CBSE Class 10 English The Ball Poem Important Questions Set 02

Extract Based Questions

Extract 1

(a). Which adjective in these lines express the effect of this loss on the boy?
(a) Rigid
(b) Trembling
(c) Staring
(d) Crying
Answer: (b) Trembling

(b). Explain the expression ‘shaking grief’.
(a) trembling in grief
(b) crying in grief
(c) feeling unhappy and very sad
(d) not able to move
Answer: (c) feeling unhappy and very sad

(c). Which word in these lines is synonym of ‘Interfere’?
(a) Disturb
(b) Intrude
(c) Rigid
(d) Dime
Answer: (b) Intrude

(d). Why is money or another ball worthless for the boy?
(a) He does not want to play
(b) He is very sad
(c) Sense of loss as same ball cannot be found
(d) Cannot afford another ball
Answer: (c) Sense of loss as same ball cannot be found

Extract 2

(a). How much does a ball cost?
(a) 5 dimes
(b) 1 dime
(c) 10 dimes
(d) 7 dimes
Answer: (b) 1 dime

(b). Does the poet console the boy?
(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Can’t say
(d) The boy consoles the poet
Answer: (b) No

(c). Name the literary device used in “And no one buys a ball back.”
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Anaphora
(d) Alliteration
Answer: (d) Alliteration

(d). According to the poet, what is the child learning?
(a) to bear loss
(b) to take care of things
(c) to be careful
(d) to not be sad
Answer: (a) to bear loss

(e). Give antonym for the word ‘intrude’.
(a) interfere
(b) invade
(c) withdraw
(d) disturb
Answer: (c) withdraw

Short Answer Questions

Question 1. Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him”? Why doesn’t he offer him money to buy another ball? (Delhi 2020)
Answer: The poet decides not to intrude on him. He does not want to intervene in the natural process of learning. He does not offer him money to buy another ball because he wants the child to learn his lesson of responsibility.

Question 2. “... staring down / All his young days into the harbour where / His ball went.” Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it?
Answer: Yes, the child has a long association with the ball. The ball is linked to the memories of days when he played with it. That is the reason why the child is upset at the loss of the ball.

Question 3. What does “in the world of possessions” mean?
Answer: It means that the world is full of materialistic things and people give maximum importance to these things. This is the reason why they are upset at the loss of things.

Question 4. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.
Answer: No, the boy has never lost anything earlier. It was his first loss. The line “He senses first responsibility” suggests it.

Question 5. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? Try to explain this in your own words.
Answer: According to the poet, the child has learnt his first lesson. He has learnt the sense of responsibility. It is a learning process. He has learnt how to face the loss of something very important to us.

Question 6. Have you ever lost something you liked very much? Write a paragraph describing how you felt then and saying whether—and how—you got over your loss?
Answer: Last year I lost the wristwatch my grandfather had gifted me on my birthday. I had left it in the school washroom and when I went back, it was gone. I felt miserable for days because the watch reminded me of him. My parents offered to buy a new one, but I knew it would not be the same. Slowly I accepted the loss, and I learnt to be more careful with things that matter to me. Like the boy in the poem, I realised that some things, once lost, cannot be bought back.

Question 7. ‘He senses first responsibility’—What responsibility is referred to here? (The Ball Poem) (CBSE 2018)
Answer: The responsibility referred to here is that of accepting the loss of something very dear to us. One should learn to get over the fact of losing something and move on. This is the first taste of all the adversities waiting for us in this world. Thus, we should always keep in mind that nothing lasts forever, and if we don’t take proper care of things which are very dear to us while they are in our possession, we will regret it when we lose them.

Question 8. A ball is an easily available, inexpensive thing. Then, why is the boy so sad to lose it?
Answer: No doubt the ball is an easily available and inexpensive item but the ball the boy has lost is valuable for him. His memories of young days are associated with it, for he had been playing with it for a long time. It was not an ordinary but a special ball for him. No other ball could take its place. So, he is sad to lose it.

Question 9. Why does saying "O, there are other balls" offer no comfort to the boy after he has lost his ball?
Answer: Saying, "O, there are other balls," offers no comfort because the boy is overwhelmed with grief over his lost ball. To him, the lost ball was special, and no other ball could replace it. Telling him there are more balls doesn't change the fact that he lost something precious and meaningful.

Question 10. Explain how, “Out of sight, out of mind” might apply to the boy towards the end of the poem.
Answer: Towards the end of the poem, the boy saw his ball going ‘out of his sight’. With that, he recalled the time that he spent with the ball in his childhood days. However, the ball is no longer with the boy, and slowly, it will get ‘out of his mind’ too.

Question 11. Why does the poet say that another ball will not suffice for the boy?
Answer: The poet says that another ball will not suffice for the boy because he was emotionally attached to his previous ball would not bring him the same satisfaction. It would feel alien and foreign. It would not bring the same feeling back for the boy as having his old ball.

Question 12. Explore the notion of possessions and responsibility as presented in the poem.
Answer: The poem explores the notion that possessions bring responsibility. When the boy loses his ball, he feels a heavy responsibility for taking care of his belongings. It demonstrates that owning things carries a sense of responsibilities, and losing them may be emotionally taxing as one learns to navigate the duties of life.

Question 13. Comment on the theme of the poem, 'The Ball Poem'.
Answer: The central theme revolves around the boy's loss of the ball. Phrases like "ultimate shaking grief" describe this loss, which is more than simply a straightforward incident but a deeply felt emotional experience. The poem explores the depths to loss even one that appears insignificant but can have a lifelong effect on a person.

Question 14. Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him”? Why doesn’t he offer him money to buy another ball?
Answer: The poet says, “I would not intrude on him” because he does not want to intervene in the natural process of learning. He wants the boy to learn the meaning of loss on his own. He also doesn’t offer him money to buy another ball because that would be worthless. He wants the boy to learn the lesson of responsibility.

Question 15. What is the significance of the phrase "in a world of possessions" as used in the poem?
Answer: “In a world of possessions" emphasises the fact that we live in a materialistic society where individuals cherish and possess a variety of possessions. It highlights the boy's realisation that having possessions comes with responsibilities, and losing something priceless makes him realise how important it is to take care of his possessions.

Question 16. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Give evidence from the poem to justify your answer.
Answer: No, it seems that the boy had not lost anything earlier. The sentence that justifies the opinion is ‘He senses first responsibility in a world of possessions’.

Question 17. What lesson has the boy learnt by losing the ball?
Answer: The poet says that the boy learns that there are so many things in life that are lost and cannot be brought back. He is sensing his first responsibility as he has lost the ball. The boy also learns how to stand up and leave the losses behind after understanding the true meaning and nature of loss.

Question 18. Write the sum and substance of the poem “The Ball Poem”. (CBSE 2016)
Answer: The poet, John Berryman, wants to teach through his poem that how to cope with the loss of possessions and move on in life. The poem brings forth the fact that loss is an inevitable part of a person’s life. However, it is important for the person to bravely bear his loss as life goes on and no loss should bring life to a halt.

Question 19. Why is it important for everyone to experience loss and to stand up after it? (Delhi Gov. QB 2022)
Answer: It is important for everyone to experience loss and to stand up after it to be strong and get on with life. Staying strong is the way to survive. One should understand that the past is gone and it will never come back. Experiencing loss sometimes helps us grow up and face hardships, as well as losses.

Question 20. “Money is external”. What does the poet mean by this expression? (Delhi Gov. QB 2022)
Answer: The poet believes that money cannot buy everything. It can bring us external happiness by buying us possessions, but it cannot make us recover from unhappiness due to the loss of a loved one or a valued thing.

Question 21. How does the poem question the notion that people should simply move on and forget about sentimental attachments to objects?
Answer: The poem shows that objects can carry memories and feelings that money cannot replace. The speaker says there is ‘no use to say ‘O there are other balls’’ and that ‘no one buys a ball back’. It respects the boy’s grief instead of asking him to forget it, while also showing that he must learn to stand up after loss.

Question 22. The poem gives a message that it important for everyone to experience loss and to stand up after it. Elaborate.
Answer: Loss is a part of life. When the boy loses his ball, he learns the ‘epistemology of loss’ — that things will be lost and money cannot buy them back. Experiencing such a loss early teaches him to accept it and ‘stand up’, which prepares him for bigger losses later in life.

Question 23. How does the poet use the imagery of the ball "cheerfully jumping up and down in the street" to convey the boy's sense of loss?
Answer: The happy image of the ball bouncing merrily down the street contrasts sharply with the ball falling into the water and the boy standing rigid and trembling. The contrast highlights the joy and childhood memories that the boy has lost along with the ball.

Question 24. ‘He senses first responsibility’ – What responsibility is referred to here? (CBSE 2018)
Answer: The responsibility referred to here was that of taking care of his things in this world of possessions and learning to cope with loss. The boy must understand that one way or the other, he is always going to lose his most prized possessions. However, he should not feel sorry for his loss.

Question 25. What is the theme of the poem ‘The Ball Poem’?
Answer: In ‘The Ball Poem’, Berryman tells us about how our childhood can quickly fly by, how we grow up and face hardships. We lose things which we love and are attached to. We must not feel disheartened or dejected but try to stand up and bear the loss through self-understanding, as the boy who lost the ball he loved was trying to learn.

Question 26. Why did the poet not offer the boy money to buy another ball?
Answer: The poet watched the boy who had plunged into grief at the loss of his ball. He was inconsolable. The poet did not offer the boy money to buy another ball. He felt that another ball could not make the boy happy. It seemed that the boy had had the ball for a long time. The poet also wanted the boy to realise the value and learning of loss.

Question 27. What is the central idea of the poem?
Answer: The main idea of the poem is ‘the sense of loss in life’. Loss is a fact of life. The sooner a person learns to accept it the better it is. When we lose something for the first time, we feel very sad, which is very obvious. But later we learn to live with our loss. In this poem, the boy loses his ball. He is very sad. The poet can buy him another ball. But he does not want to do so. He wants the boy to learn the bitter truth of life that everyone suffers the loss of something dear.

Question 28. What does the ball signify for the boy?
Answer: The ball signifies his childhood for the boy. It symbolises all his memories of playing with and its loss is making him sad. The ball signifies his young days and his innocence.

Question 29. Why does the poet not offer the boy money to buy another ball?
Answer: The poet does not offer the boy money to buy another ball because he wants the boy to understand that money cannot buy everything. He wants him to be responsible enough to let go of things which he lost and move on in life.

Question 30. ‘He senses first responsibility’ – What responsibility is referred to here?
Answer: The responsibility referred to here is that in this world of possessions, the boy has not only to learn to take care of his things but also cope up with the loss of his favourite ball.

Question 31. What is the boy learning?
Answer: The boy is sad over the loss of his ball but he is learning to accept it. He could get another ball but he is learning to let go of the lost things and learn to cope with the loss.

Question 32. What idea does the poet wish to convey?
Answer: Through this poem, the poet wishes to convey the futility of grieving over the past. The memories are the treasure. The poet says that money and material things and their losses do not matter. One has to learn to accept them as a part of life.

Long Answer Questions

Question 1. ‘Possession is nine-tenths of the law.’ How far does the content of the poem, ‘The Ball Poem’, illustrate this idiom?
Answer: The boy in the poem has lost his ball as it went rolling down the street and into the water. The loss of the ball is a great educator about the value of possession and the responsibility of keeping one’s possessions safely. The boy’s personal life is shattered as his personal possession has slipped away and lies irretrievable, encompassing all his consciousness. Though he could be consoled with the offer of a substitute ball, or a dime to buy a ball, these prove worthless, and the loss awakens in him a sense of responsibility. The boy learns to stand up for his rightful possessions, besides learning to look after them by striving to be a responsible guardian.

Question 2. “Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind.” If you had to use the message of the given quote from the Buddha’s sermon (The Sermon at Benares) to help the boy cope with the loss of his ball and what it signifies (The Ball Poem), what would you include in your advice? Also, evaluate why it might be difficult for him to understand the notion.
Answer: I understand that you have lost your favourite ball and it makes you sad. The ball has gone into the water and cannot be retrieved. You look so crestfallen! Maybe I should give you some money to buy another one, but I guess you are really attached to the one you lost. It’s okay to lose things because it will make you more careful about your possessions. You will learn to be responsible and take care of your possessions. As you grow up, you will realise that money is important but that money can’t buy you everything. You will suffer loss, but weeping and grieving will not bring you peace of mind. You have to stand up again and step ahead to overcome your loss.
You are too young to understand what I am saying, but if you can remember it, you will find it useful when you are grown up.

Question 3. The poem deals with a child understanding loss for the first time. Matches and championships, too, deal with a different sense of loss. Explain how games and sports are a good way to train children to take losses in stride.
Answer: Sports are an amazing way to teach children how to accept the losses and failures in life. Life is full of inevitable happenings, losses and failures. In the same way, games and sports are full of uncertainties and losses. A player may win a tournament one day, and lose it the other day. However, no strong player will ever stop playing due to his/her failure in the match. He will definitely take advantage of his failure to learn his shortcomings and work even harder for the next tournament. In the same way, when a loss of a beloved possession takes place in life, a person shouldn’t bring his/her life to a standstill. He should accept his loss bravely and move on in life.