Tamilnadu State Board New Syllabus Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Guide Pdf Poem 7 The Stick-together families Text Book Back Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.
Tamilnadu Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Solutions Poem 7 The Stick-together families
9th English Guide The Stick-together families Textbook Questions and Answers
1. “The gladdest people living are the wholesome folks who make
A circle at the fireside that no power but death can break.”
Question (a)
Who are the gladdest people living?
Answer:
The gladdest people are those who live together as wholesome folks.
Question (b)
Where do they gather?
Answer:
They gather at the fireside.
Question (c)
What can break their unity?
Answer:
Only death can break their unity.
2. “And the finest of conventions ever held beneath the sun
Are the little family gatherings when the busy day is done.”
Question (a)
When do they have their family gatherings?
Answer:
They have their family gatherings at the end of the busy day.
Question (b)
Where do they have their family conventions?
Answer:
The family conventions are held beneath the sun.
Question (c)
What does the poet mean by ‘finest conventions’?
Answer:
The finest conventions mean a family get together.
3. “There are rich folk, there are poor folk, who imagine they are wise,
And they’re very quick to shatter all the little family ties.”
Question (a)
What do the rich and poor folk imagine themselves to be?
Answer:
The rich and the poor folks imagine themselves to be wise.
Question (b)
What do they do to their families?
Answer:
They are quick to shatter their little family ties.
Question (c)
Whom does ‘they’ refer to?
Answer:
They refers to the rich and poor people who do not consider the little family ties as valuable and shatter them.
4. “There are some who seem to fancy that for gladness they must roam,
That for smiles that are the brightest they must wander far from home”
Question (a)
Why do they roam?
Answer:
They roam to attain gladness.
Question (b)
According to them, when do they get bright smiles?
Answer:
They get bright smiles when they wander far from home.
5. “But the gladdest sort of people, when the busy day is done,
Are the brothers and the sisters who together share their fun.”
Question (a)
Who are the gladdest people?
Answer:
The gladdest people are those brothers and sisters who share their fun.
Question (b)
When do they share their fun?
Answer:
They share their fun when the busy day is done.
Question (c)
What does ‘who’ refer to?
Answer:
Who refers to the brothers and sisters.
6. “It’s the stick-together family that wins the joys of earth,
That hears the sweetest music and that finds the finest mirth;”
Question (a)
Who wins the joys of the earth?
Answer:
The stick-together families win the joys of earth.
Question (b)
How do they find their joy?
Answer:
They find their joys by being together and hearing the sweetest music
Question (c)
What does the poet mean by ‘stick-together family’?
Answer:
The stick-together family means those families who spend time together (Joint families) and share their fun and sorrows and can be only separated after death.
B. Based on the understanding of the poem, fill in the blanks using the words and phrases given below to make a meaningful summary of the poem.
The poet brings out the difference in the attitudes of children living in a joint family and the nuclear family. The (1) …………………. are the happiest of all. Whereas the (2) …………………. of nuclear families take (3) ………………….. The gladdest people are the children from (4) …………………….. who circle near the fireside. No power other than death can break them. The (5) …………………… imagine themselves to be wise and in the process they (6) ………………….. ties. Each of them goes searching for pleasure in their own selected way. They harvest only (7) ………………….. and find empty joy. But the wisest among them are the children of the stick-together families. When the busy day is done, they together (8) ………………… The stick-together family wins (9) ………………….. The old house shelters all the (10) …………………… The poet invites wandering brothers to come and join the Stick – together families in their fireside and have fun.
Answers:
- stick – together families
- children
- separate ways
- joint family
- rich and poor folk
- shatter their family
- bitterness
- share their fun
- the joy of earth
- charm of life
C. Answer the following questions in about 80 – 100 words.
Question 1.
The stick – together families are the happiest of all. Explain.
Answer:
The stick-together families are the happiest of all. There is so much fun living together in joint families. There is a lot of excitement in joint families. The gladdest people living are the good folks who create a circle for themselves. They share their joys and sorrows. The finest of all large formal gatherings is the little family gatherings. The wisest children are in stick-together families. Some travel far away to seek joy but the happiest kind of people, are the ones who share their fun in stick-together families. It is sure that the stick-together family wins the joys of the earth.
(OR)
A joint family makes a happy home. The poet evaluates the happiness of the children in the stick – together families. The children from joint families are the happiest in the world. They circle near the fireside and share their fun. They have the finest little gatherings after every busy day is done.
They win their joys of earth. They find the finest happiness by hearing the sweetest music. The old home shelters them with all charm that life can give. They have the gladdest playground. They also have the happiest living place. The wandering brothers can come back to enjoy the happiness of life.
“There is nothing greater than a joint family”.
Question 2.
Bring out the difference between the children of the joint family and the nuclear family.
Answer:
Title: The stick – together families.
Author: Edgar Albert Guest.
Characters: Brothers and Sisters of Joint family and the nuclear family.
Theme: There is nothing greater than a joint family.
In his poem, “The Stick – together families” the poet brings out the difference in the attitudes of children living in joint family and the nuclear family. The joint families are the happiest of all. The gladdest people are the children from the stick – together families who circle near the fireside. No power except death can break them. But the brothers and sisters from the nuclear families take separate ways.
The poor and the rich people imagine themselves to be wise. They are quick enough to shatter their family ties. Each one goes searching for pleasure in their own selected way. They harvest its bitterness and find empty joy.
But the children of the joint family are the wisest. When the busy day is done they share their fun together. The children of the joint family win the joy of earth. The old home roof shelters all the brothers and sisters. However, there is a chance for the wandering brothers to come back and join the stick-together families in their fireside and have fun.
“The Stick – together families are the happiest of all”.
(OR)
The poet brings out the difference in the attitudes of children living in a joint family and the nuclear family. The joint families are the happiest of all. But the children of nuclear families take separate ways. The children from the joint families circle near the fireside. They are the happiest children. Except for death, no power can break them. The children from nuclear families take separate ways.
Each one goes searching for pleasure in their selected way. They harvest their bitterness and find empty joy. Whereas the inmates of the joint families are the wisest. After their busy day, they share their fun. Thus they win the joy of earth. The old home shelters all of them. However, the wandering brothers return to the joint families and have fun.
“The joint family is the happiest of all”.
D. Answer the following.
Question 1.
There is rich folk, there is poor folk, who imagine they are wise, ………..
Pick out the words in alliteration.
Answer:
Words in alliteration. There, there, they, folk, talk.
Question 2.
Mention the rhyme scheme of the poem?
Answer:
Rhyming words are: far, are: make, break, sun, done. The rhyme scheme is aa bb cc.
Additional Questions & Answers
A. Answer the questions that follow each set of poetic lines.
1. But it’s bitterness they harvest, and it’s empty joy they find
For the children that are wisest are the stick – together kind.
Question (a)
What does ‘they’ refer to?
Answer:
‘They’ refers to the children from the nuclear family.
Question (b)
What do they harvest?
Answer:
They harvest the bitterness.
Question (c)
What do they find?
Answer:
They find empty joy.
Question (d)
Who is the wisest?
Answer:
The stick – together kind of children are the wisest.
2. Each goes searching after pleasure in his own selected way
Each with strangers likes to wander and with strangers likes to play.
Question (a)
What does each go searching after?
Answer:
Each goes searching after pleasure.
Question (b)
Where does each go?
Answer:
Each goes in his own selected way.
Question (c)
Whom does each like to wander with?
Answer:
Each likes to wander with strangers.
Question (d)
What does each like to do with strangers?
Answer:
Each likes to play with strangers.
3. That the strange friend is a true friend and they travel far astray.
They waste their lives striving for a joy that’s far away.
Question (a)
Who is a true friend?
Answer:
The strange friend is a true friend.
Question (b)
What do ‘they’ refer to?
Answer:
‘They’ refers to the children from a nuclear family.
Question (c)
What is meant by ‘astray’?
Answer:
‘Astray’ means wrongdoing.
Question (d)
What for do they waste lives in striving?
Answer:
They waste their lives in striving for a joy that is far away.
4. It s the old home roof that shelters all the charm that life can give
There you find the gladdest playground, there the happiest spot to live
Question (a)
What does the old home roof shelter?
Answer:
The old home roof shelters all the charm that life can give.
Question (b)
What do nuclear family children find in the old home?
Answer:
Nuclear family children find the gladdest playground there.
Question (c)
What is the happiest spot to live?
Answer:
The old home is the happiest spot to live.
5. And O weary wandering brothers, if contentment you would win
Come you back unto the fireside and be comrade with your kin
Question (a)
Who are the wandering brothers?
Answer:
The wandering brothers are the children from the nuclear family.
Question (b)
Why are they weary?
Answer:
They wandered far away. So they are weary.
Question (c)
What would they win if they return unto fireside?
Answer:
They would win contentment if they return unto fireside.
Question (d)
Pick out the words in alliteration.
Answer:
The words in alliteration:
Line – 1: weary, wandering.
Line – 2: come, comrade; back, be; you, your.
Listening:
E. Listen to the passage and fill in the blanks with an appropriate answer.
- A person is valued based on his ………………….
- …………………. does not happen overnight.
- A close family bond is like a …………………
- A strong foundation for any individual comes from being with a ………………….
- A gift not only with …………………., but ……………………. who care and love us beyond themselves.
Answers:
- family and upbringing
- bonding
- safe harbour
- supportive family
- lovable parents, siblings
Speaking:
F. “The building actually rests on the well-laid foundation and hence is strong and still.” How can this be related to a family? Discuss with your partner and share your views in the class.
“The building actually rests on the well laid out foundation and hence is strong and still” is a mean¬ingful statement. Only when the foundation is built well, a building can stand on it firmly. Likewise, a foundation is very necessary for the formation of the family.
A family is like a building. It does not mean a house but it is a home. A family is an invisible or abstract thing. But it is a bond, a long lasting relationship that holds a bond with each other. There are many values that one has to get the family bonding in the right manner.
A close family bond is like a safe harbour Bonding does not happen overnight. It is through a family we learn the values of love, trust, hope, belief, cultures, morals, traditions, and every little matter that concerns us. A strong foundation for any individual comes from being with a supportive family. As the building serves as a shelter, a family also protects us by all means.
We have parents who support us, teach us moral values in life, give us a strong foundation in character, teach us the importance of love and being loved trust for one another, and many other morals that could be obtained from a family. The family is created at birth and establishes ties across generations. Families are the foundation of society and create our personal template for giving and receiving love in intimate relationships.
Writing:
G. Write a four-line poem with rhyming words describing your family.
My Family:
We‘re a sweet little family
We live together quite happily
We have a lot of games and fun
As and when the busy day is done