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Extract I
Six humans trapped…….one was black.
1. Which figure of speech is used in the line ‘In bleak and bitter cold’? What special significance do the adjectives bleak and bitter have?
Alliteration, close repetition of consonant sound.
The adjectives bleak and bitter define the word cold. The coldness outside is comparable to the coldness within the hearts of these six characters as they are not warm or friendly with each other.
2. Who are the people referred to in the above extract? Why do they need logs?
The people referred to are six indifferent people, who are trapped together by chance in biting cold. They need logs so that they can renew the dying fire to prevent themselves from cold.
3. State how the following theme is connected with the theme of the poem:
Their dying fire in need of logs
Literally, it refers to the fire that is dying and needs to be kept alive with the use of a log. Metaphorically, it can be understood as the fire of compassion in their hearts that is dying. To keep it burning what they need is a log of wood, but they do not use it. Thus, by the end, each one of them dies from ‘the cold within’.
4. What does the first one hold back and why?
The first person holds back her log because she was guided by her racist attitude towards the black man. So she does not use log to prevent the black man from getting its warmth.
5. What character traits would you associate with ‘the first one’ and ‘the next man’? Why?
The first one can be said to be holding a racist attitude as she does not want to benefit the black man. The next man can be said to be a bigot who on seeing that one of the men in the group does not belong to his religion, prevents himself from using his log to renew the fire.
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white.
1. What is meant by ‘tattered clothes’? What does this expression symbolise? Why does the ‘third one’ gives his coat a hitch?
Tattered clothes refer to the torn clothes. This expression symbolises that the man, who was wearing them was poor and had little money to cover himself in extreme cold.
The poor man does not intend to use his log to renew the fire and thus to protect himself from biting cold, the pulled up his coat to feel a little warm.
2. The ‘third one’ doesn’t want to use his log to warm the rich. Why?
The ‘third one’ is a poor man and is envious of the rich man. He is prejudiced and thus does not put his log to use.
3. What thoughts preoccupy the rich man’s mind? What does it say about him?
The thoughts of keeping his wealth safe from the lazy poor man preoccupied the rich man’s mind. It reflects his class bias.
4. What prejudice the black man has and for whom?
The black man is filled with revenge for the white ma. Based on colour of the skin, he considers the white man different from himself.
5. Explain the following lines:
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white
The lines refer to the black man, who was filled with revenge for the white man. Therefore, to harm the white man he does not put his log to use. Making the white man suffer in cold was his only chance to get his revenge.
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The last man of this forlorn………….from the cold within.
1. Explain the phrase ‘forlorn group.’ Which figure of speech is used here?
The phrase ‘forlorn group’ is an example of oxymoron i.e., a pair of contradictory terms. This phrase is ironical as it refers to these six people, who were sitting together in a group and were sad and lonely.
2. What game is the poet referring to while mentioning the last man of the group?
The selfish game of give and take that the last man employs-since anyone else does not offer his log to renew the fire, he also steps back.
3. What ‘proof of human sin’ is being referred to here? Explain.
All the six people died with their logs tightly clutched in their hands. Their indifference, animosity, discrimination invited death. This ‘proof of human sin’ is referred here.
4. The poet says that the characters ‘died from the cold within.’ What does he mean?
The title of the poem The Cold Within is symbolic of lack of warmth and compassion in human beings. Six human beings are caught against their will in ‘bleak and bitter cold,’ but none of them uses the wooden stick each one has , due to racism, envy, arrogance, revenge and greed. They are so cold from inside that they do not realise that by not helping others, they themselves will perish. Their cold heartedness invites death in the end and they die with their logs held tight in their hands.
5. What message is the poet trying to convey in the poem? How does he succeed in carrying out his task?
The message that the poet tries to give is that discriminatory attitude and hatred that humans have against one another on the basis of race, class and religion is futile. It is self-destructive.
The poem projects discrimination based on race, class and religion by narrating the story of six individuals who are caught together by chance in extreme cold. The people in the poem are from different backgrounds and religions. Owing to their prejudices against one another, it becomes difficult for them to put their stick into the fire. The discrimination, racism and bigotry proves futile as none of the six people stay alive at the end. Each perishes, not because of the cold outside but of the cold heartedness within each.
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Question 1.
Six humans ...... was black.
Explain with reference to context
Answer:
These lines are from the poem, ‘The Cold Within’ written by James Kinney. The poem touches on how each of the people around the fire died because of the “Cold Within,” and because of their inability to accept each other. It so happened that due to an accidental or arranged event they were together on that bitterly cold night. However, they were not together willingly. Each had a stick and even if one would give his stick to keep the dying fire going they would have survived. But the first man did not give his stick due to racial prejudice as he notice that one amongst them was black. It was not the cold weather that killed them but the frigidity of their hearts led to their deaths.
Question 2.
What does happenstance mean?
Answer:
Happenstance means an event that might have been arranged although it is accidental.
Question 3.
Why does the poet use this diction?
Answer:
This use of diction is important because by saying that it is accidental, yet almost seems ,arranged, it gives the reader a sense that they are supposed to be there.
Question 4.
What is suggested by the use of the word trapped?
Answer:
The word trapped suggests that they do not want to be in the situation, but they cannot escape.
Question 5.
Explain the symbolism used by the poet.
Answer:
The poet uses symbolism to show that it was the coldness of their hearts which extinguished the fire of life. Fire, which symbolized hope and acceptance, might have saved the , characters but they refused to shun their prejudices and let it die thus sealing their wn doom.
Question 6.
What do the logs denote?
Answer:
The logs symbolize each character and how they “couldn’t bring [themselves] to give the fire” their wood in order to save all of them.
Question 7.
Which sin is hinted at in these lines?
Answer:
The sin of racial discrimination is hinted at. The first man does not give his stick because he does not want to save a black mart.
Question 8.
What does the phrase ‘six humans’ signify?
Answer:
By saying “six humans”, it is almost as if he is talking about all humans. If he would have said “people” then we might have different associations with the words.
Question 1.
The next man ...... shiftless poor
Explain with reference to context
Answer:
These lines are from the poem, ‘The Cold Within’ written by James Kinney. The poem touches on how each of the people around the fire died because of the “Cold Within,” and because of their inability to accept each other. The second man mentioned in these lines is a bigot and does not want to help the man who was not from his religion. The poor man did not want to help the idle rich while the rich man wanted to keep his wealth from the poor. They are consumed by the negativity of intolerance, envy and bitterness.
Question 2.
In stanza 3, why did the man refuse to use his stick of wood?
Answer:
The man refuses to give up his stick because of religious intolerance as he sees a man not belonging to his church.
Question 3.
Why did “the third one” refuse to use his stick of wood?
Answer:
The third one was a poor man in torn clothes and he did not want to give his stick as he envied the rich man his wealth and did not want to save the idle rich.
Question 4.
Why did the rich man refuse to use his stick of wood?
Answer:
The rich man thought of hoarding his wealth and wanted to keep his great amount of money away from the undeserving, lazy poor people.
Question 1.
The black man's face ..... died from the cold within.
Explain with reference to context
Answer:
These lines are from the poem, The cold within’ written by James Kinney. The poet talks about the feeling of revenge in the heart of the black man which prevented him from giving his stick to keep the fire going because he wanted to take revenge from the white I man. The last man avoided giving his stick because none of the others had given theirs. The fire died and they too died of the cold, each a prisoner of the hate within, the coldness of their hearts which killed all of them. They all had sticks in their hands which they could f have given to keep the fire going but the hate in their hearts prevented them from helping others and so they too died on the alter of their frigidity and discrimination.
Question 2.
Why did the black man refuse to use his stick of wood?
Answer:
The black man saw his stick as a means to take revenge from the white man and so did not gove his stick.
Question 3.
What happened to the six humans? Why?
Answer:
The six humans died due to the cold. Their hatred for each other prevented them from giving up their sticks to keep the fire going and so they all died due to the cold. But actually it was the cold in their hearts which killed them.
Question 4.
What does this say about what prejudice can do to people and the importance of working together?
Answer:
Prejudice destroys not only our enemies but also us. The frigidness of people is what ends up killing them. This is important because this indirectly shows how fast arrogance, greed, and sin can “kill” us.
Question 5.
Analyse the title and whether it is appropriate.
Answer:
The Cold Within- is a good and appropriate expression. Cold-heartedness really is what killed the characters. This symbolizes their “coldness” and prejudices against each other. Eventually, this is what killed them.
Question 6.
Discuss personification as used by the poet.
Answer:
The use of personification is very artfully done. One line mentions “Death’s still hands,”suggesting that Death is a person who now essentially owns these six people.
Question 7.
Who are ‘they’ referred to here ? Where were they ?
Answer:
‘They’-refer to six men in a group.They were all caught in an extreme cold weather, sitting near a dying fire.
Question 8.
What were the logs in their hands ? What was their significance ?
Answer:
The logs in their hands were sticks of woods. These logs of woods needed to fuel the dying i fire, or these was no hope for their survival.
Question 9.
What was the obvious cause of their deaths ?
Answer:
The six men held their logs of wood back out of some prejudice. The fire died out, and they died of cold.
Question 10.
What do you mean by the ‘cold within’? How’it is responsible for their deaths?
Answer:
‘The cold within’ means the lack of warmth within,bom out of selfishness, greed, arrogance, etc. It is because of these negative feelings, ‘the cold within’, that they do not give up their sticks of wood which could have kept the fire burning and kept them alive.
Question 11.
What message does the poet want to convey ?
Answer:
According to the poet, the prejudice of race, religion or colour is sinful. We must rise above all prejudices to be kind, generous and helpful. We should not allow ourselves to be dictated by the ‘cold within’ which is self-destructive
