The Snake Trying Important Questions Class 9 Beehive English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What does the poet wish for the snake?
Answer
The poet wishes that the snake should escape unhurt.
Question 2. What is the snake trying to escape from?
Answer
The snake is trying to escape from the pursuing stick.
Question 3. Where was the snake before anyone saw it?
Answer
The snake was lying on the sand before anyone saw it.
Question 4. Was the snake harmful?
Answer
No, it was not a harmful snake as it is not poisonous. The poet says the snake is a green one. Green snakes are generally garden snakes and are considered harmless as they are not venomous.
Question 5. Why did the person with a stick attack the snake?
Answer
The person attacked the snake when he saw it lying on the sand. He was driven by his own fear of snakes and their being venomous that led him to attack the snake to either kill it or drive it away.
Question 6. Why does the snake suddenly curve his body?
Answer
The snake, lying comfortably on the sands on the bank of a pond, suddenly notices a person trying to kill him with a stick. Naturally, he cannot remain to lie at rest when face to face with death. He twists and wriggles his body to avoid being struck by the stick.
Question 7. What does the poet wish for the snake?
Answer
The poet sees the snake as a beautiful creation of Nature. Moreover, it is a green garden snake and not a harmful one. He wishes that it should not be assaulted with the stick. It should be allowed to go under the water into the reeds to hide without being hurt.
Question 8. Does the poet support the person with the stick?
Answer
No, the poet does not at all support or approve of the person who intends to kill the snake with his stick. He does not find any reason why a harmless, non-poisonous, beautiful, and graceful snake should be put to death. He wants the snake to be spared and allowed to live.
Question 9. What does the poet mean when he says ‘O Let him go’?
Answer
The poet tells the man chasing the snake with a stick to let the snake go. The poet wishes that the snake should not be hurt and should be allowed to make its escape and reach its destination safely.
Question 10. Why does the poet want the snake to be spared?
Answer
The poet wants the snake to be spared because he is non-venomous and hence harmless. He is so safe that he cannot harm even a young child. Since the snake is not a threat to any human being, there is no rhyme or reason in killing him.
Question 11. What impression do you form of the poet in this poem?
Answer
The poet loves Nature and all its creations. He finds the snake and its graceful movements beautiful. He is compassionate and does not want the snake harmed. He tries to stop the person with the stick from attacking the snake and is happy to see the snake glide away into the reeds.
Question 12. Where did the snake finally vanish away?
Answer
The snake finally vanished away into the green thin reeds. It would lay there until it would be noticed and chased away by some people. The ripples in the green slim reeds are the heavens for it. So, it disappeared into the green thin reeds.
Question 13. How does the snake look when it tries to escape?
Answer
The snake was lying on the sand when someone saw it and chased it with a stick. The snake glided away through the water and disappeared among the reeds. It looked beautiful and graceful and its body curved and glided across the water.
Question 14. Where did the snake hide and how?
Answer: The snake hid among the green reeds growing on the other side of the pond. He did this by merging his slender and green body with the slim and green reeds. This camouflage helped him deceive the person who was trying to kill him.
Question 15. Where did the snake finally go? How did the poet view its escape?
Answer
The snake glided away through the water into the reeds and finally disappeared among the ripples in the green reeds. The poet heaved a sigh of relief when the snake reached there safely.
Question 16. Is the snake in the poem ‘The Snake Trying’ a victim or a threat?
Answer
The snake in the poem ‘The Snake Trying’ is a victim and not a threat. It is a harmless snake, who is lying on the sand till he is chased by a human being with a stick. Yet, despite being attacked, the snake makes good its escape, rather than retaliate.
Question 17. What is the message of the poem The Snake Trying’?
Answer
The poet loves animals. He conveys the message that we should love them. We should not kill animals and other creatures of God, especially when they are not harmful.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. How is the poem “The Snake Trying” an inspirational poem?
Answer
The poem has a deep moral lesson as it inspires the reader to cultivate a sympathetic and loving attitude towards all living creatures. The poet shows how there is beauty in all creations of God, even in the curling and curving body of the snake. He wants this beauty to be preserved. The poet’s plea to the man chasing the snake is, in fact, his request to all to preserve the diversity of nature.
The poem inspires in readers a sense of justice by stressing that killing an innocent snake without any provocation is unfair. Animals may be killed only for self-defense, else they must be saved. The poem further motivates the readers to attain deep knowledge about the phenomenon of nature. By gaining a thorough knowledge, one may be able to distinguish between the harmful and the harmless animals. Thus, the poem motivates people to adopt humanistic and friendly feelings towards all living creatures.
Question 2. Snakes are not harmful to human beings and we should avoid killing them. Explain with respect to the poem ‘Snake Trying’.
Answer
In this poem, someone tries to hit a snake with a stick. But the snake saves itself from the pursuing stick and escapes into the reeds. The snake is small and hides and the poet feels that he is harmless even to children. Snakes are shy creatures and avoid man. Only when they are under threat they try to bite human beings. Further, they are a friend of the environment. So we should try to avoid killing them. They keep the rat population under check and cause no harm to man.
Question 3. Why does the man want to kill the snake? How does the snake protect itself?
Answer
Seeing the snake lying on the sand, the man sees it as a potential threat and reacts to it in that manner. He takes a stick and rushes to attack the snake. He tries to kill it, or at least hurt it. The snake, which is a garden snake, and not dangerous even to children, makes good its escape. He does not react even to provocation.
He only tries to escape before the man can reach it and kill it. The movement of the snake is very graceful and elegant. The snake does not stick to one straight path but wends its way in and out of the path. At last, the snake floats over the water and hides itself among the green reeds.
Question 4. Which values can be noticed about the poet from his attitude towards snakes?
Answer
The poet’s concern and caring attitude towards the snakes emphasize his values of gentleness, kindness, and sympathy. His thoughtfulness towards all living beings can also be noticed after reading this poem. We know that his thoughts are based on sound scientific reasons when he tells that all snakes are not poisonous. The small and green ones, in particular, are absolutely safe and cannot harm even children.
We learn that the poet is an environmentalist and believes in the preservation of animals when he dissuades the man with the stick from killing the snake. His profound sense of love for the innocent snake is also revealed when he requests the man to let the snake go and hide amidst the slim, green reeds.
The poet’s deep understanding of the behaviour of snakes can be seen when he remarks that the snake can camouflage and deceive the hostile person by merging itself into the green reeds. The poet, with his great concern for the snake, inspires the readers to develop the values of love and concern towards all living beings.
Question 5. How does the attitude of the poet towards the snake differ absolutely from that of the man with the stick?
Answer
The poem The Snake Trying” by W.W.E. Ross presents two divergent attitudes towards the snake. The man with the stick shows a cruel and unsympathetic attitude, He believes that all snakes are poisonous and a threat to human beings. Therefore, although this particular snake is lying comfortably on the sandy bank of the pond with no intention of harming anyone, the man gets ready to kill him the moment he sees him.
The poet, on the contrary, has a loving and kind attitude towards the snake. He does not find it to be ugly or terrifying. Instead, he finds beauty and elegance in his body and displays appreciation for the appealing looks of this creature.
Moreover, the poet seems to have a thorough knowledge of the behaviour of the different varieties of snakes. He informs the man with the stick that the snakes with thin, green bodies are absolutely harmless and cannot harm even children. He does not want such a harmless snake to be killed. Instead, he should be permitted to escape to safety by hiding himself among the reeds.