CBSE Class 12 English HOTs Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Set 04

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS 

“Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.”

Question. How are Aunt Jennifer's tigers described?
(a) As bold and fearless
(b) As cruel and menacing
(c) As rober and serene
(d) As sleek and slender
Answer: (a) As bold and fearless

Question. Why are they described as denizens of a world of green?
(a) Because they eat the herbibores
(b) Because they are green in colour
(c) Because they live in dense green forests
(d) Because they are bright and beautiful
Answer: (c) Because they live in dense green forests

Question. Why are they not afraid of men?
(a) Because men are afraid of them
(b) Because they are bold, fearless and symbol of strength
(c) Because they are carnivorous
(d) Because they are knitted on a piece of cloth
Answer: (b) Because they are bold, fearless and symbol of strength

Question. The word 'prance' in the extract means ......
(a) destroy
(b) camouflage
(c) shriek
(d) move about or leap
Answer: (d) move about or leap

Question. Why are the tigers called Aunt Jennifer's tigers?
(a) Because she has adopted them
(b) Because they are her creation representing her hidden aspirations
(c) Because they are friendly to her
(d) Because she feeds them daily
Answer: (b) Because they are her creation representing her hidden aspirations

Question. How are they different from Aunt Jennifer?
(a) In terms of beauty and elegance
(b) In terms of food habits and movement
(c) In terms of cruelty and cunningness
(d) In terms of courage and strength
Answer: (d) In terms of courage and strength

Question. How do they move?
(a) In sleek chivalric certainty
(b) In haphazard manner
(c) In fearful manner
(d) In carefree manner
Answer: (a) In sleek chivalric certainty

Question. The word 'Chivalric' in the extract means ......... .
(a) industrious
(b) ferocious
(c) gallant
(d) cautious
Answer: (c) gallant

“Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering
through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hands.”

Question. What is Aunt Jennifer's mood?
(a) Happy and joyous
(b) Pensive and thoughtful
(c) Bold and eventful
(d) Anxious and fearful
Answer: (d) Anxious and fearful

Question. Why are her fingers fluttering?
(a) Because of growing age
(b) Because of the burden of marital discord
(c) Because of the fear of the tigers
(d) Because of the terror of her husband
Answer: (b) Because of the burden of marital discord

Question. What does Uncle's wedding band refer to?
(a) The wedding ceremony
(b) The wedding gown
(c) The wedding ring on Aunt Jennifer's finger
(d) The wedding dowry
Answer: (c) The wedding ring on Aunt Jennifer's finger

Question. How is uncle's wedding band heavy?
(a) Due to responsibilities and restrictions imposed on women in a male dominated society
(b) Due to drunkenness of the Uncle 'Aunt Jennifer's husband'
(c) Due to adoption of the tigers
(d) Due to madness of the uncle 'her husband'
Answer: (a) Due to responsibilities and restrictions imposed on women in a male dominated society

“When Aunt is dead,
her terrified hands will lie.
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.”

Question. Why Aunt Jennifer created the tigers so different from her own character?
(a) To depict her flamboyant personality
(b) To create visuals of being bold and fearless
(c) To show her hidden desire
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Answer: (d) Both (b) and (c)

Question. The expression 'ringed with ordeals' implies that
(a) she was forced into marriage
(b) she felt burdened of her marital constraints
(c) she was surrounded by unpleasant thoughts
(d) she was engraved with terror
Answer: (b) She felt burdened of her marital constraints

Question. The word 'prancing' in the extract means
(a) dancing
(b) jumping
(c) feeling of being proud or pleased by yourself
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. What does the tiger she embroidered symbolise?
(a) Her terrified and weak persona
(b) Strength and courage
(c) Speed and power
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Answer: (d) Both (b) and (c)

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. Describe the tigers created by Aunt Jennifer.
Answer: Aunt Jennifer's tigers are topaz-coloured. They are fearless and confident residents of dense green forests. The tigers represent strength, bravery and fearlessness. Aunt Jennifer yearns to be bold and confident like them.

Question. How is Aunt Jennifer different from her tigers? or How are Aunt Jennifer's tigers different from her?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer's tigers are created by her on the tapestry. However, they present a sharp contrast to their creator. While Aunt is weak, meek and submissive and is scared of expressing her feelings openly, the tigers are strong, fearless and confident. They are bold creatures and are scared of none, not even of men.

Question. What is the weight that lies heavy on Aunt Jennifer's hand?
Answer: The weight that lies heavy on Aunt Jennifer's hand is the weight of Uncle's wedding band, which signifies her married life. Probably the weight of her married life has burdened her so much that she feels subjugated.

Question. What picture of male chauvinism (tyranny) do we find in the poem, 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'?
Answer: In this poem, the picture of male chauvinism (tyranny) we find is symbolised by the wedding ring Aunt Jennifer wears, as it symbolises her husband's tyranny over her.

Question. What will happen when Aunt Jennifer is dead? or What will happen to Aunt Jennifer's tigers when she is dead?
Answer: The tigers created by Aunt Jennifer will keep on prancing even after her death, as she has created them on the tapestry. This means that art endures beyond human life. It also shows that her longing for freedom from male domination will endure forever, even after she dies.

Question. What are the difficulties that Aunt Jennifer faced in her life?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer was a victim of oppression at the hands of the patriarchal society. She was subjugated by her husband and the wedding band lay heavy on her hand. She was so terrified that her hands fluttered even when she carried something so light as knitting needles and wool.

Question. How does Aunt Jennifer express her bitterness and anger against male dominance?
Answer: Aunt Jennifer is too terrified to openly resist the oppression that she is a victim of. She expresses her bitterness and anger against male dominance silently through her art. She creates tigers on her tapestry; animals that are symbolic of bravery, fearlessness and strength. The tigers she creates are wild and free from any kind of bondage.

Question. Why did Aunt Jennifer choose to embroider tigers on the panel?
Answer: Tigers represent strength and fearlessness. Aunt Jennifer is very oppressed. The burden of her marital life has traumatised her. She has an inner desire to be free from oppression and expresses this in her art by embroidering tigers on the panel.

Question. Aunt Jennifer's efforts to get rid of her fear proved to be futile. Comment.
Answer: The trembling hands of Aunt Jennifer because of the weight of the 'wedding band' show that she still is a victim of male chauvinism. Even her death won't free her from her ordeal as she will still be wearing the ring that symbolises her failed marriage.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. Explain the stark difference in the death of Aunt Jennifer and the tigers prancing.
Answer: The tigers remain constant through the poem and only seem to become stronger as the poem progresses. However, it is Aunt Jennifer who in her death gradually fades away. She in her death gets defeated due to her unfulfilled desires. She perhaps accepts the bondage of domination as her fingers still remain ringed and she dies surrounded by the difficulties in her life. The tigers are the cherished world of freedom for her, prancing in pride, a world she is never able to enjoy. It gives us a practical look at the reality that Aunt Jennifer never wins and she accepts her defeat stoically as she conforms to the society she has lived in. She bears the weight of the ring, whether dead or alive, because she has already given up her freedom by getting married.

Question. Analyse the symbols and poetic devices employed in the poem.
Answer: Adrienne Rich has aptly used a number of images, symbols and poetic devices in the poem to convey the theme. The tigers symbolise the freedom of spirit which Aunt Jennifer dreams of attaining, but never achieves except in her dreams and art. Aunt Jennifer metaphorically represents all women as a group, women who are victims of male superiority and domination. Tigers symbolise the true nature of a woman's free soul that values strength and assertion. There lies a metaphor in the implied comparison of the tigers to the bright topaz denizens where tigers are considered to be the inhabitants of the forests, the crafted green world on the panel. The tigers are also attributed with the quality of chivalry in their confidence. The alliteration in 'fingers fluttering' evokes the sense of irony in the poem, as the fingers signify Jennifer's physical feebleness. She therefore finds it difficult to pull the ivory needle. The alliteration 'prancing proud' signifies the everlasting strength of the tigers.

Question. In a predominantly male dominated society, women have always faced oppression from men. What changes can be brought about in society for uplifting the position of women like Aunt Jennifer?
Answer: The position of women like Aunt Jennifer can be uplifted in society by implementing the measures given below, as these are still lacking in society:
(i) Education, particularly the girl child's education, is still lagging behind, as girls are burdened with domestic duties at an early stage in life and also married at an early age.
(ii) Women are not given equal opportunities equal to men in life, whether it is upbringing, education or employment. Society should change so that women are treated equally to men.
(iii) Women should be empowered to take their own decisions in life. Aunt Jennifer is afraid of her husband because he dominates all aspects of her life; she cannot take any decisions on her own. Thus, she expresses her suppressed desires through her knitting.