ON KILLING A TREE: QUESTION ANSWERS

 

Summary on Killing A Tree

On Killing a Tree Summary raises awareness among the readers regarding trees. Here the poet sensitizes the reader regarding trees by emphasizing the fact that trees are living things. Furthermore, the author makes a comparison between trees and humans. He does so by equating the trees with humans. By doing this, the author tries to convey the message that one should not cut trees because they are just like humans. Moreover, the author tries to explain that killing the trees is just like killing humans. Moreover, the author tells that trees do not die by merely cutting them. This is because the trees have a tendency to regrow from the point it is cut. Most noteworthy, one must completely uproot the tree in order to destroy it. This uprooting of the tree would certainly mean death. This is because the tree would be separated from the Earth which supports it.

On Killing a Tree Summary in English

Here, the author talks about how can one kill a tree. Some individuals think that a simple cut will be enough. However, a simple cut will certainly not be enough to destroy a tree. Furthermore, the tree grows gradually and it is rooted in soil. Moreover, the author tells us that the plant takes nutrition from the soil in order to grow. Gradually, it grows into a big tree. Also, there is a firm connection between the tree and the soil. The tree makes use of water, air, and sunlight to grow its many leaves and a formidable trunk.

Humans undertake the cutting and chopping of the tree bark into many pieces. However, even this cutting and chopping of the trees is not sufficient enough to completely destroy the tree. The point of cut in the tree gives out sap. This is certainly similar to human bleeding.  Gradually with time, this cut would heal and new branches will start emerging again. This shows that trees have an amazing ability to recover. So, to kill the tree would require an even more tougher step.

The poet then explains that in order to kill the tree beyond any doubt, one must uproot it. One must make sure to separate the tree from the Earth which provides support to it. Furthermore, the roots of the tree are such that they bind the tree and the soil together. Due to this binding, the tree is connected with the pit of the Earth. The author tells us that the roots are the most hidden part of the tree. Moreover, the roots are also the most sensitive part of the tree. Therefore, in order to destroy the tree, the detachment of the roots must take place. The roots are a part of the tree that are damp. Also, the roots are white in colour.

Uprooting a tree is certainly the ultimate step in destroying it. Once the uprooting of the tree takes place, then it’s only a matter a time before the tree dies. No tree on Earth can survive after uprooting. Gradually the tree after uprooting withers and dries up. This withering and drying up happens with the action of wind and heat. The trunk will gradually become brown. Moreover, the trunk will gradually twist and harden. Most noteworthy, the tree will finally meet its death. So, uprooting the roots turned out to be the most important step in destroying a tree.

Conclusion of On Killing a Tree

On Killing a Tree Summary discusses how to completely kill a tree in quite an ironical sense that touches the heart of readers.

Poetic Devices

1.      Imagery

 Here very strong imagery has been used and it shows the growth of the tree by taking nutrients from the earth and absorbing sunlight, air and water from nature.

Example:

·         Slowly consuming the earth Rising out of it, feeding upon its crust.

Absorbing years of sunlight, air, water. And out of its leprous hide sprouting leaves.

2.      Personification

The poet portrays the tree as a human being throughout the poem.

Example:

·         Bleeding bark — the wounded bark is represented as bleeding.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of sounds at close intervals. It is used to lend a lyrical or musical element to the poem.

 Examples:

·         The bleeding bark will heal.

(Here the poet has repeated ‘ b’ and ‘I’ sounds.)

·         The source, white and wet.

(In this line ‘w’ sound is repeated.)

Metaphor

 The metaphor is a comparison between two unlike objects, but the word of comparison ‘like’ or ‘as’ is not used. Instead of stating that one thing is like another, the poet identifies one with the other.

Examples:

·         The bleeding bark

Here the word ‘bleeding’ is a metaphor. The poet compares the sap oozing out of the bark of a hacked tree trunk to the blood of a human being or a living creature but does not use the word of comparison.

·         leprous hide

 Here the uneven, discoloured bark of a tree is compared to the discoloured and gnarled skin of a person suffering from leprosy. But the poet does not use ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Repetition

Repetition ‘ is using a word, phrase, or clause a number of times with the purpose of emphasis or to provide unity to the poem.

Example:

·         The root is to be pulled out-

            Out of the anchoring earth;

             It is to be roped, tied,

 And pulled out – snapped out

Or pulled out entirely,

 Out from the earth-cave.

Here the poet uses ‘pulled out’ and ‘out’ again and again to emphasize the effort involved in uprooting a tree and exposing its roots. It shows that the root of the tree is deeply fixed into the earth.

Enjambment

Enjambment is a figure of speech in which one line of poetry rolls on to the next line without any pause marked by a comma or a full stop. In this poem, there is enjambment in every stanza.

Example:

·         Rising out of it, feeding

Upon its crust, absorbing

Years of sunlight, air, water,

 Here there is no punctuation mark at the end of the first and the second line. The first line rolls on to the second and the second is carried on to the third.

·         So hack and chop

     But this alone won’t do it.

      Here the first line moves on to the second without any comma or full stop at its end.

·         Miniature boughs

     Which if unchecked will expand again

     To former size.

In these lines, full stop comes at the end of the third line. The first line rolls on to the second and the second rolls on to the third line.

 

Question 1.
Can a “simple jab of the knife” kill a tree? Why not?
Answer:
No, a simple jab of knife does not have the ability to kill the tree. It has to go through various processes. If its root is not removed from the earth, it will sprout again.

Question 2.
How has the tree grown to its full size? List the words suggestive of its life and activity.
Answer:
The tree consumes the earth, and rises out it feeding upon its crust. It absorbs years of sunlight, air and water.

Question 3.
What is the meaning of “bleeding bark”? What makes it bleed?
Answer:
‘Bleeding bark’ means the twigs which are cut mercilessly. They leave a liquid substance. If any part of the human body is cut, it starts bleeding. In the same way the liquid substance comes out from the branch of a tree. The human beings’ axe makes it bleed.

Question 4.
The poet says “No” in the beginning of the third stanza. What does he mean by this?
Answer:
‘No’ is used to emphasize the perspective that chopping or hacking will not be sufficient for killing a tree.

Question 5.
What is the meaning of “anchoring earth” and “earth cave”?
Answer:
It means that the earth protects it like a mother. ‘Earth Cave’ implies a hole inside it. The tree allows its roots to spread underneath. The earth protects it and fosters it. It provides all the essential ingredients to the tree.

Question 6.
What does he mean by “the strength of the tree exposed”?
Answer:
The stem/root is the strength of a tree. When the tree is pulled out, its strength is exposed.

Question 7.
What finally kills the tree?
Answer:
Pulling out the tree from the mother earth and scorching and choking it in the sun and air kill the tree. It becomes brown, dry and gets hard. Eventually it dies.

Short answer type questions

Question 1.
How does a tree become strong?
Answer:
A tree grows and expands gradually. Various forces of nature including the earth help in its growth. A tree grows on earth, feeds on its crust, absorbs years of sunlight, air and water. It makes them strong.

Question 2.
How do the sun and the air contribute in the killing of a tree?
Answer:
The sun and the air harden and wither the exposed roots of the tree and kill it. The sun and the air are the two essential elements that help in the growth of a tree. Left to themselves, they will never kill a tree. But if the roots are exposed and kept in the sun and air, the tree will wither away and die.

Question 3.
What is the most important thing to do while killing a tree?
Answer:
The most important thing to do while killing a tree is to ensure that the root is pulled out of the earth. A tree is not killed all of a sudden. So long the roots are intact inside the earth, the tree remains alive.

Question 4.
How the tree gets killed in the end?
Answer:
A tree takes a long time to get itself killed after it goes through a process of browning, hardening, twisting and withering. Then the roots are exposed to the sun and air. Then they start getting scorched and choked, and the process of dying begins.

Question 5.
Describe the growth and expansion story of a tree.
Answer:
The story of growth and expansion is gradual and methodical. The seed is sown into the earth. It sprouts. It grows slowly consuming the earth. It feeds on its crust. After years of absorbing sunlight, air and water of the atmosphere, it grows into a tree. Its ‘leprous hide’ sprouts leaves and branches making it huge in size.

Question 6.
Describe the healing power of a tree that doesn’t allow it to die so soon.
Answer:
It takes much time to kill a tree. Nature gifts every tree with a healing touch that won’t allow it to die. If we cut the bark with a knife, the bleeding bark will heal. Then, from close to the ground green twigs will appear. If it is left unchecked, the tree will expand again to its former size.

Question 7.
Describe various processes that lead to the ultimate death of a rootless tree.
Answer:
The roots are the most sensitive parts hidden in the earth for years. The tree gets air and water through them. When a tree is uprooted, it follows certain steps till it finally dies. It goes, through scorching and choking in the sun and air. Browning, hardening, twisting and withering are the processes that lead to the ultimate death of a tree.

Long answer type question

Question 1.
Write the critical appreciation of the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’?
Answer:
The poem itself is modelled as a plant growing from the seed. The first line states “It takes much time to kill a tree.” Then the process of growth of the tree is described. It is presumed that the tree has grown from its seed.

The seed develops the root. The root works its way through the rocks and stones of the soil. The tree grows slowly by feeding upon the earth’s crust absorbing years of sunlight, air and water. There is a fight during the development of the tree which is suggested in the poem. The survival of the tree, in spite of the efforts to kill it, is shown by the lines. “And from close to the ground”.

Question 2.
Describe the pulling out of the roots and the various processes of withering and dying of a tree after it.
Answer:
The roots are the most sensitive parts of a tree. They remain hidden inside the earth for years. First root is to be pulled out of the anchoring earth. It is roped tied and pulled out entirely. The strength of the tree is totally exposed. Then starts the process of scorching and choking. The rootless tree is scorched in the sunlight. It is choked as it doesn’t get necessary oxygen for its survival from the air. Then the colour fades and hardens. It loses its proper shape. It twists and withers. Finally, it dies down.

Value based questions

Question 1.
After reading the poem, what similarities can we draw between trees and some great people of yesteryears?
Ans.
Trees go on live on for years. There are some trees in the Amazon forest which are said to be more than five hundred years old. We may take some lesson from them to spread our roots deep inside the earth. There had been some great people of yesteryears who still live in our memories. They had spread their roots inside our consciousness and as a result refuse to die. The hidden root gives all the sustenance to a tree. One needs to snap this source of life to kill a tree.

 

Extra questions and answers

Question 1.
How does a tree become strong?
Answer:
A tree feeds on the earth’s crust, consuming nutrients from the earth. The tree also absorbs years of sunlight, air and water. This makes it strong.

Question 2.
“So hack and chop/ But this alone won’t do it.” What won’t this do? Why won’t it do it?
Answer:
Hacking and chopping is not enough to kill a tree. The tree endures the pain but continues to live on as it heals over time. The bark which has been chopped will heal itself. Green twigs and small branches will soon emerge from the bleeding bark and in time the tree will regrow to its original size.

Question 3.
What is the meaning of “bleeding bark”? What makes it bleed?
Answer:
Bleeding bark suggests the wound on the tree that is caused by hacking or chopping the tree. When the branches of a tree are chopped off, the tree bleeds as the sap can be seen to flow. It expresses the pain of a tree.

Question 4.
What are miniature boughs? What happens if they are left unchecked?
Answer:
Miniature boughs are new branches which sprout where the tree was hacked or chopped. If they are left unchecked, they expand and become a huge tree. The chopped tree grows back to its former size.

Question 5.
How does the tree heal itself?
Answer:
The tree is equipped with a power to heal itself. When a tree is hacked or chopped, leaves sprout from the wounded bark. From close to the ground curled green twigs rise. Miniature boughs expand again to their former size. The tree, in time, grows back to its former size.

Question 6.
How does the poet describe the growth of the tree in the first stanza of the poem?
Answer:
The poet says that the tree grows slowly getting its nutrients from the earth. Then it absorbs sunlight, water and air for many years. The bark of the tree looks ugly because it is rough and has crooked lines on it. It is very ironical that soft and green leaves come out of the leprous hide. Gradually, it grows into a big tree.

Question 7.
Why does it take so much time to kill a tree?
Answer:
It is not easy to kill a tree simply by hacking or chopping it. The tree has deep roots which give birth to tiny twigs and branches which help the tree attain its old stature. For a tree to be killed, the root has to be uprooted, and it has to be scorched and choked in sun and air. This process takes much time and it requires a lot of effort.

Question 8.
How does the tree grow to its full size? List the words suggestive of its life and activity.
Answer:
The tree grows to its full size by consuming nutrients from the earth, feeding upon its crust absorbing years of light, air and water. Consuming, rising, feeding and absorbing are the words suggestive of its life and activity.

Question 9.
The poet uses several images of death and violence in the poem. Can you list them?
Answer:
The images of death are “hack, chop, scorching, choking, browning, hardening, twisting and withering”. The words that show violence are “roped, tied, pulled out and snapped out entirely from the earth’s crust”

Question 10.
Why does the poet use the word ‘kill’ rather than ‘cut’?
Answer:
The poet makes a distinction between cutting a tree and killing it. Cutting a tree, or hacking and chopping, does not destroy the tree completely, and the tree regrows by sending out new shoots and miniature boughs. The poet then gives step-by-step instructions on the total annihilation of a tree. Once the roots of the tree are pulled out, and are exposed to sun and air, the killing of the tree is complete. The tree will have no second life.

Question 11.
How does the poet personify the tree?
Answer:
The poet describes the tree as if it was a human being. Like man, the tree has grown slowly consuming the earth, eating and drinking from it, absorbing and soaking in innumerable years of air, sunlight and water. The bleeding bark is compared to the discoloured skin of a man suffering from leprosy. It too feels pain and pleasure alike the human beings. So he uses the expression ‘killing the tree’ rather than ‘destroying’ or cutting’ it.

Question 12.
The bark of the tree is described the ‘leprous hide’. Bring out the irony in the fact that the leprous hide sprouts leaves?
Answer:
The poet describes the broken, discoloured bark of a tree that has been hacked and which resembles a leper’s skin. Leaves grow from the leprous hide or the bark of the tree. This is ironic because leprosy usually eats away the body. It does not promote growth. But, here, the leprous hide has been depicted as a source of growth.

Question 13.
Explain the meaning of “anchoring earth” and “earth cave”?
Answer:
“Anchoring earth” refers to the earth under which the roots of a tree are held firmly, thereby providing strength and nourishment to it. “Earth cave” refers to the hollow space in the earth where the roots were which have now been pulled out. The poet calls it so, as the roots, which are the most sensitive part of the tree, stay hidden securely under the earth.

Question 14.
How can the tree be killed?
Answer:
The tree is killed when its roots are uprooted and they get scorched and choked in sunlight and air. This process leads to the browning, hardening, twisting and thereby, withering of the roots. This kills the tree

Question 15.
How will the “bleeding bark” heal?
Answer:
In the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ Give Patel says that if a tree is hacked repeatedly, this alone will not be able to kill a tree. The bleeding bark will heal as ‘curled green twigs’ and miniature boughs of the tree will grow from the bark. These branches and boughs will expand and the tree will regrow to its full size again.”

Question 16.
How does the poet describe the killing of a tree?
Answer:
A tree cannot be killed by jabbing at it with a knife nor hacking at it with an axe. To kill a tree, the root of the tree should be pulled out of the earth. It should, then, be roped, tied and snapped out. So it should be pulled out entirely from the earth cover. It should be exposed to sunlight. This, according to the poet, is the complete process of uprooting a tree.

Question 17.
Where does the strength of the tree lie? Why is it referred to as ‘the source’? Why is the source most sensitive one?
Answer:
The strength of the tree lies in its root. The root is the source of the tree’s life. It is the most sensitive because it has been hidden for years inside the earth and once the root is exposed to sun and air, it shrivels and withers and the tree dies.

Question 18.
How do the roots look like when they are pulled out?
Answer:
The real strength of the tree lies in its roots, which are held underground by the anchoring earth. When the roots are pulled out, they are white and wet.

Question 19.
Why does the poet describe the killing of a tree in such graphic detail?
Answer:
Give Patel treats the tree as a living organism. He feels that the tree should not be denied the right to live. He, therefore, describes the killing of a tree in such graphic detail as to evoke sympathy to trees. According to him, to hurt a tree is akin to hurting a human being.

Question 20.
Bring out the sarcasm in the poem On Killing a Tree.
Answer:
“On Killing a Tree” is a sarcastic poem about man’s indiscriminate destruction of trees. The tree is presented as an enemy to man. The poem begins ironically, describing the crime committed by the tree. For years, it has consumed the earth’s crust. Like a thief, it has absorbed sunlight, air and water. It has grown up like a giant. So the tree must be killed. But it is not an easy task. A simple jab of knife will not do it. From close to the ground it will rise up again. To kill it, the tree should be tied with a rope and pulled out from the anchoring earth, exposing its bleeding white root. Once the root withers and chokes, the tree will die.

Question 21.
Justify the title of the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’.
Answer:
In On Killing a Tree Gieve Patel makes a sarcastic comment on man’s systematic destruction of the environment. He gives man step-by-step instructions on how to kill a tree so that it doesn’t grow again. In the first two stanzas the poet talks about Nature’s through the images of a feeding tree and a healing tree. In the following two stanzas he talks of the execution of a tree. Thus, the poem, from its beginning to the end, describes in detail the process and consequences of killing a tree. So the title is appropriate and drives the poet’s point home in a superb way.

On Killing a Tree Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
What is the theme of the poem On Killing a Tree?
Answer:
The main theme of the poem is deforestation. The poet emphasizes that killing trees is not a simple task. Merely cutting the branches or the stem of a tree will not serve the purpose. The tree clings on to life with great tenacity, as it fights all odds and grows back again. He highlights the cruelty with which humans try and destroy trees by describing in detail the painstaking process required to destroy or kill a tree, using images of violence, as if it were a cold -blooded murder.

The roots of the tree will have to be pulled out and dried in the sun so that the tree ultimately dies. Thus, the poet seems to be revere Mother Nature and suggest that it will take a lot of effort and planning to destroy an organism rooted in nature than a simple “jab of knife.”

Question 2.
How can a tree be killed?
Answer:
In the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’, Gieve Patel says that it is not an easy task to kill a tree. It can’t be done by a simple jab of knife. A tree grows slowly by consuming the earth’s nutrients. It absorbs sunlight, air and water for years. So, it cannot be killed by hacking and chopping. It causes pain but the tree does not die. Its bleeding bark heals itself. From close to the ground, its trunk produces twigs and small branches.

It they are left unchecked, they will expand to the former size. If a tree is to be killed, the roots of the tree must be pulled out from the earth-cave. After uprooting it is scorched and choked in sun and air. Then, it goes through a process of browning, hardening, twisting and withering. Ultimately, the tree is killed.

Question 3.
Justify the title of the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’.
Answer:
The title, ‘On Killing a Tree’ is ironical, and is apt and justified. The tree has been personified by the poet Gieve Patel. He laments the deforestation that is taking place. The poet says that the act of killing a tree is a ceremonial task. The tree grows up consuming nutrients from the soil and absorbing sun, air and water and becomes stronger.

A simple jab with a knife, or hacking and chopping cannot kill a tree, because the tree will regenerate. To kill a tree, the roots have to be pulled out of the anchoring earth, exposed to the sunlight and air for scorching and choking. The act of killing a tree becomes complete when the tree becomes completely withered and dies.

Question 4.
How can a tree be killed in ‘On Killing a Tree’. Or, How does the poet describe the methods of killing a tree in the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’?
Answer:
In the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’, the poet Give Patel describes how a tree is tortured by man for its complete annihilation. Killing a tree is a difficult task because a tree grows slowly by consuming the earth and absorbing sunlight and air. It cannot be killed by a simple jab of knife, or even by hacking and chopping. The bleeding bark of the tree will heal itself, sending out shoots and branches that will help it regrow to its former size.

The tree’s roots are firmly fixed in the anchoring earth and, in order to kill a tree, it must be uprooted. It is to be roped, tied and pulled out from the earth-cave. After uprooting, the root is to be exposed to sunlight, and air for scorching and choking. Then, it goes through a process of browning, hardening, twisting and withering. Then only is the tree killed completely.

Question 5.
Give a brief summary of the poem.
Answer:
The poet speaks about the killing of a tree. He says that a lot of work has to be done in order to kill a tree and it cannot be killed by merely attacking it with an axe. The tree has fed upon the earth and grown from its crust by absorbing water from the soil for many years. It has also taken years of sunlight and oxygen to grow. Hacking and chopping is not enough for killing it as the bark heals itself. The part of the trunk which is close to the ground may give rise to new twigs, and the discoloured bark of the tree gives rise to new leaves.

Soon the tree grows to its former size. The poet says that to kill a tree one must attack its roots by pulling it out of the earth where it has been hiding safely all these years. When the root is pulled out of the earth, it is white and wet as it is very sensitive. The root, which is the strength of the tree, is then left exposed to the air and the sun where it starts drying and discolouring. It goes through stages of browning, hardening, twisting and withering before it finally dies.