CBSE Class 10 English The Trees Important Questions Set 03

Short Answer Questions

Question 1. What are the three things that can’t happen in a treeless forest? (Delhi 2017)
Answer: In a treeless forest, no bird could sit, no insect could hide and no sun could bury its feet in shadow.

Question 2. In the poem ‘The Trees’, where are the trees? What are their roots, twigs, etc. trying to do? (AI 2017)
Answer: The trees are inside the house. The roots, leaves, twigs, etc. are all trying to make an escape from the house. The roots disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor, the leaves strain towards the glass, and the small twigs and boughs move to the doors.

Question 3. What happens to the house when the trees move out of it? (Foreign 2017)
Answer: When the trees move out of it, the doors remain open. The moonlight and the smell of the leaves and lichen enter the rooms.

Question 4. Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.
Answer: The three things that cannot happen in treeless forest are-- no bird can sit, no insect can hide and the sun cannot bury its feet in shadows.

Question 5. What does the poet compare their branches to?
Answer: The poet compares the branches to newly discharged patients who are half-dazed, moving to the clinic doors.

Question 6. What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?
Answer: The house becomes silent when the trees move out of it but the smell of the leaves and lichens stays in it.

Question 7. Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger in the Zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for ‘interior decoration’ in cities while forests are cut down, are ‘imprisoned’, and need to ‘break out’?
Answer: The poem represents the conflict between man and trees. The forests are being emptied for man’s use and on the other hand man himself grows plants and trees inside buildings for decorative and greenery purposes. The poet suggests that these trees imprisoned at homes are breaking out to be able to live free in the nature. It is similar to the tiger in the zoo as he too should be roaming free in the wild instead of being held captive for the visitors’ entertainment.

Question 8. On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for human beings; this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?
Answer: If we consider the trees to be symbols of man, then also the poem talks of breaking free from unnecessary rules and regulations. It tells of man wanting to break free from the confines of materialistic things, greed, lust and vices and live a free and clean life within nature’s beauty.

Question 9. Describe the empty forest as given in the first stanza.
Answer: The forest has no trees on which the birds can sit, the insects can hide or the rays of the sun can hide behind the branches of the trees. It is empty and silent.

Question 10. In the poem ‘Trees’, where are the trees? What are their roots, twigs, etc. trying to do?
Answer: In the poem ‘Trees’, the trees are inside the house. The roots work to disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor. While the tree grows, its leaves strain towards the glass. The small twigs and boughs try to move to the doors while they grow.

Question 11. Where is the poet when the trees are leaving?
Answer: The poet is inside the house writing long letters. She is sitting and watching the trees empty the house and is embarrassed to mention this in her letter.

Question 12. What has the poet compared the smell of leaves to?
Answer: The poet has compared the smell of leaves and lichens to the voices that are reaching the rooms. The smell travels to the rooms of the house like voices carrying over.

Question 13. What are the three things that can’t happen in a treeless forest ?
Answer: A treeless forest is basically an empty forest. A forest devoid of trees means the absence of a living environment. An environment, which would have otherwise been alive with chirping birds, buzzing insects and sunrays on the forest floor.

Question 14. How does the poet bring home the idea of transformation in the poem ‘The Trees’?
Answer: The movement and transformation of trees seems to be sudden and quick and comes about with collective effort. However, this change or transformation took a long time to build. The roots had to exert extremely so hard to come out of the depth of the ground. The leaves, twigs, and boughs broke the glass confinement. The poet emphasizes that if awareness is wide-spread and the efforts are earnest, the existing social and cultural set-up can be changed thoroughly.

Question 15. The ending of the poem indicates a celebration of victory. Discuss.
Answer: The poem ends on a happy note as trees have been able to break the bondage of homes and move out of the windows to go back to their natural environment. This symbolically points out the triumph of women in winning their fight for equality and independence. Women have busted myths about them created by patriarchy society and are establishing themselves as equal to men.

Long Answer Questions

Question 1. ‘Give me liberty or give me death’. How far does this phrase illustrate the theme of the poem ‘The Trees’?
Answer: This poem, dwelling upon the rejuvenating spirit of liberty, likens it to reforestation. Without a forest (freedom), the birds lacked a perch, the insects a hiding place, the sun a shady footrest and nights were empty. Freedom is a hard-won but silent battle, like disengaging roots from cracks in a veranda floor. The foliage, like secondary freedom forces, strives to break free through the window glass, and boughs shuffle out from under the roof. Chroniclers of freedom take an overview, as if from a veranda. Their writings hail freedom but scarcely record individual struggles towards freedom. The writer’s head is filled with freedom’s possibilities while the actual movement towards freedom surges through symbolic shattered glass panels, into the night.

Question 2. What message does Adrienne Rich want to convey through the poem, ‘The Trees’?
Answer: The poem ‘The Trees’ by Adrienne Rich shows the conflict between man and nature. Trees are important to maintain ecological balance. They are important to all living beings. Society is growing and developing day by day. Human beings have been using nature for their own benefit and causing a lot of harm to it. In using natural resources like forests, we have forgotten the importance of trees. The message of the poem is that the presence of a few trees inside our homes is not equal to nature. Real nature is outside, in the forests that we have destroyed. The trees in the poet’s house want to break the walls of the house and move to the forest so that the birds can sit again on their branches, the insects can hide there and the sun’s rays can disappear under the shadow of the trees. The poem tells us how the trees want to break free from the walls that humans have put around them and go out into the forest. The trees should be allowed to thrive and not be imprisoned inside houses.

Question 3. ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ How far does this phrase illustrate the theme of the poems ‘The Trees’ and ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’?
Answer: Freedom is the true law of nature. This idea can be found everywhere and in all spheres. In the poem ‘The Trees’, the poet has described the deep feelings of the trees that want to become free from the prison made by human beings. The description of the struggle of the roots and branches to come out into the open from the floor is very real and heart-touching. The trees don’t want to live in these surroundings. So they do their best to come out of the floor and window.
We have read about many national heroes who sacrificed everything for freedom and to make their country free. Freedom is the very first need of all beings, humans as well as animals. In the poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’, the poet exposes the miserable life led by animals in the zoo. He compares the confined life of the tiger with its life in its natural habitat. Animals, just like humans, have the right to freedom and should not be caged. They should be allowed to run free in the wild because freedom is precious to all living beings.

Question 4. Does the poem ‘The Trees’ present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees used for interior decoration in cities while forests are cut down are ‘imprisoned’ and need to ‘break out’?
Answer: Adrienne Rich in ‘The Trees’ observes that the trees in her house are moving out into the forest, which has been empty for a long time. They have been ‘imprisoned’ and need to ‘break out’. The poet wishes to show the destroyed forests and the false nature that humans have tried to keep in their houses. The trees are yearning to go back to the forest. Since the forest outside was empty, no birds or insects could make the trees their home. She feels hopeful that the empty forest will be full of trees by the next morning.
Leslie Norris writes on a similar theme in his poem. Wild animals are meant to live in the wild. They are not to be locked up and displayed in cages. The tiger is an animal of the wild. This princely species is endangered. There was a time when tigers roamed proudly and freely in the forest, but man caged them in zoos for his entertainment. Imprisonment leads to depression and misery. In addition, wild beasts lose their hunting abilities because they lose touch with the forest.

Question 5. The trees in the poem stretch out their branches, break barriers and struggle hard to move out in open in their natural environment. Discuss the efforts that one puts in to break away from captivity and strive for freedom.
Answer: Freedom is more important than comfort, growth or development. When we have all the riches in the world, but no freedom, it feels as if we do not really have anything. Freedom is the most desired thing in this world. A bird in a golden cage also does not feel happy but when it is freed, it flies feeling chirpy and happy. Those who live with bare minimum necessities but are able to live freely are the happiest. Like the trees in the poem freedom is gained after a lot of effort. During the freedom movements of countries all around the world, people gave up their lives to make their country free.

Question 6. Imagine that the tallest oak in ‘The Trees’ and the hemlock tree in ‘Dust of Snow’ share a conversation about their speakers (the ‘I’ in the poems). Develop a conversation between the two trees.
You may begin like this:
Oak: Adrienne chose to stay indoors on the significant full moon night, you know.
Hemlock: Hmmm… Robert was out. Out in the snow that day. What do you think Adrienne might have been thinking?
Oak: Well… I feel ______. Why do you think Robert might have been out on a snowy day?
Hemlock: ______
Answer: Oak: Adrienne chose to stay indoors on the significant full moon night, you know.
Hemlock: Hmmm... Robert was out. Out in the snow that day. What do you think Adrienne might have been thinking?
Oak: Well, I feel she was full of bewildered thoughts as she was writing letters quietly without looking at us. Why do you think Robert might have been out on a snowy day?
Hemlock: Oh, he looked very tensed and depressed that day. I believe he was out to run away from his pool of negative thoughts and dejection. Thankfully, as the snowflakes fell on him, his mood lightened up. He was happy.
Oak: That’s great! I don’t know why Adrienne was so indifferent the night we moved out of the house. Perhaps she was truly busy with her letter-writing.

Question 7. As quoted by Marie Rutkoski, “Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.” Comment with reference to the theme of the poem.
Answer: The quote by Marie Rutkoski, "Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous," relates to the theme of the poem 'The Trees.' In the poem, the trees symbolize the pursuit of freedom and liberation. The poet highlights that in order to experience true happiness, individuals must break free from their confines and embrace change. This requires courage, as taking risks and venturing into the unknown can be challenging. The trees' struggle and determination to move out of the house reflect the courage needed to step outside one's comfort zone. By linking happiness with freedom and freedom with courage, the quote emphasises that true happiness is achieved through the bravery to pursue personal growth and embrace the transformative journey of life.

Question 8. Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for ‘interior decoration’ in cities while forests are cut down, are ‘imprisoned’ and need to ‘break out’?
Answer: Yes, the poem presents a conflict between man and nature. Man is causing deforestation by cutting down trees for his own use. On the other hand, he decorates his house with trees. We are damaging our environment without even thinking about the end results. By clearing up the forests, we are endangering ourselves and the animals. We are ruining their natural habitat and killing them for our fun or food, but on the other hand, we are keeping them in cages on the pretext of safeguarding them by making sanctuaries and zoos. So, it is true that we are in direct conflict with nature and are making other living beings prisoners, be they trees or animals.

Question 9. The poet, Adrienne Rich, subtly conveys the message about the importance of trees. Comment. (CBSE 2020)
Answer: In the poem ‘The Trees’, the poet Adrienne Rich subtly gives a message about the importance of trees for everyone. Without trees, the birds would not have a place to sit, insects would have no place to hide, and the sun would not bury its feet in shadow. We enjoy looking at the saplings as they beautify our surroundings. But slowly, as the saplings grow into trees, they spread their roots, branches, and leaves and seem to yearn to go outside, where they can live and grow without any restrictions. Then the trees no longer look attractive indoors. The trees are welcomed into nature by strong winds and the moon. The author hereby emphasizes that the trees need to be kept alive, by not imprisoning them inside the house for the mere reason that they look beautiful indoors.

Question 10. You have been asked to present an evaluation on the effective use of imagery to convey the theme of confinement and the longing for freedom in “A Tiger in the Zoo” and “The Trees”. Write this presentation draft including your insights, in about 120 words, comparing the approaches of both poems. You may begin this way: Today, we will explore how the poets in "A Tiger in the Zoo" and "The Trees" use imagery….
Answer: Today, we will explore how the poets in “A Tiger in the Zoo” and “The Trees” use imagery to show confinement and the longing for freedom.
Leslie Norris contrasts the tiger ‘locked in a concrete cell’, ‘stalking the length of his cage’, with images of it ‘lurking in shadow’ and ‘snarling around houses’ in the wild. The final picture of the tiger staring at the ‘brilliant stars’ captures its helpless longing.
Adrienne Rich uses personification: roots work to disengage themselves, leaves strain towards the glass and boughs shuffle like newly discharged patients. The breaking glass and the moon ‘broken like a mirror’ suggest the trees’ escape.
Norris’s imagery ends in captivity, while Rich’s shows a determined movement towards freedom.

Question 11. Imagine yourself as a reader of the poem 'The Trees'. After reading the poem, you are inspired to break the social norms placed on women that limit their dreams in the long run. Write a paragraph in about 120 words inspiring women to step out of the confines they feel and embrace their own growth and freedom.
Answer: Like the trees in Adrienne Rich’s poem, many women are kept indoors as decorations, their roots pressed into narrow cracks. But the trees did not accept their fate. All night they worked and strained until the glass broke and they reached the forest. Women too must believe that they belong to the open world. Education, skills and self-belief are the roots that will help us break free. Do not let anyone decide the limits of your dreams. It may be hard, and you may stumble at first, but every effort counts. Step out, take your place in society and fill the empty ‘forest’ with your talent. The world needs your voice, your work and your leadership.

Question 12. Trees in forests are disappearing and more plants and trees are appearing in greenhouses. Give the gist of the poem ‘Trees’ in this context.
Answer: Man is clearing forests at an alarming rate for his land and timber needs. This is actually emptying the forests. On the other hand, it is fashionable to have a ‘green’ living room full of exotic indoor plants. More and more trees and plants are being put indoors. This shows a mirror to man’s hypocritical and selfish approach towards nature. Man has always been concered about his own benefit. Humans encroach upon forests to make houses and then try to recreate those forests in their living rooms. In the poem ‘Trees’, the poet watches the trees break free from the confines of her house and head towards the forests where the birds can now sit, the insects can hide and the sun’s rays have places to hide among the branches.

Question 13. Adrienne Rich is both an environmentalist and feminist. Discuss the statement in the context of her poem ‘The Trees’.
Answer: Adrienne Rich is profoundly concerned about man’s tampering with nature and about women being enslaved by men. The poem ‘The Trees’ can be read at two levels it has a text and a sub-text. On the apparent level, the poem deals with the problem of deforestation which leads to ecological imbalance. The poet raises a voice against the clearing of forests and growing trees in cramped places like houses where their growth remains stilted. There is emphasis on the need of afforestation for keeping the environment free from pollutants. If human beings tamper with the plan of nature, there is always disaster. In the poem, the trees put up a struggle for their freedom.
However, at a deeper level, the poem is about women’s fight for liberation and equality. Like the trees in suppressive houses, women in patriarchal society have been confined and restrained. They have been denied a free existence. They have been treated as beings with no identity of their own. However, women now realise the power politics behind suppression by men and are fighting for equality with men in social, political, cultural and economic spheres. And just like the trees, they too will be victorious. The protest of the trees is therefore symbolic of the protest of thw women. This layered meaning of the poem makes Adrienne Rich both an environmentalist and a feminist.