Note: For Full notes Consult Mamta Publication Guide.
2. Nissim Ezekiel: “Night of the Scorpion”
Q. 2. What impression do you form of the child's father and the villagers? Whose attitude do you find more viable?
Ans. The child's father was a sceptic as well as a rationalist. He is an educated man. He was free from any kind of superstitions. He believed in the power of medicines to cure a wound or sting. So he made use of the suitable medicines for the affected toe of his wife. He made use of paraffin and burning match stick to destroy the effect the scorpion's sting. The villagers were illiterate. They did not believe in medical treatment for the sting of the scorpion. They were prisoners of their Superstitions. They believed that if the scorpion was stopped from moving about, the pain of the lady would be brought under control. So he ignorant villagers started looking for the scorpion. They wanted to kill the Scorpion. The villagers chanted God's name a hundred times to immobilize the scorpion. Then with candles and lanterns in their hands they tried to trace out the scorpion. They could not find it. Then they clicked their tongues in despair. They said that with every movement that the scorpion made, his poison would move in Mother's blood. They were in the grip of superstitions. The father's attitude is more viable than that of the villagers. While the father is an enlightened man and a rationalist, the villagers are ignorant people.
Q. 3. Examine the use of parallelism and contrast by the poet in order to juxtapose the rationalism represented by father with the beliefs of the peasants.
Ans. Parallelism is the state or quality of being parallel. Or it is correspondence in form and ideas. Juxtaposition means putting side by side. The poem is the story of a scorpion bitting a child's mother. There are two parallel and contrasted ways of looking at the bite and offering a cure for it. The peasants in the neighborhood learnt about a woman having been stung by a scorpion. They came to the woman to express their sympathy and to relieve her of her pain. They chanted the name of God again and again in order to end the effect of the scorpion's sting. The scorpion was a devil that could be rendered ineffective only by this method, they thought. Then they planned another device to relieve the woman's pain. They began to search for the scorpion in order to kill it. According to a general belief, with every movement of the scorpion, the poison injected by it into the woman's blood through its sting would also move and would increase her pain. Then they all wished that the scorpion should remain motionless wherever it was. They also expressed the wish that the sins which this woman had committed in her previous life should be burned away that night by the pain of the sting. Furthermore the pain which she was suffering that night she will have to undergo in her next life. The peasants also expressed the wish that the woman's pain reduce the sum total of evil in this world which is unreal. They express the wish that the poison should rid the woman and should also free her of all worldly ambitions. The peasants could not locate the scorpion. The woman in meantime continued to suffer till the pain came to an end after hours. On the other side, the child's father was a man with a scientific attitude to life. He did not share the views of the peasants who superstitious. He applied a herb to his wife's toe. He even poured little paraffin over the affected flesh. He applied a burning candle order to burn away the sting from the woman's bitten toe. The poet has tried to paint the contrasted attitudes of the peasants were and the child's father to a scorpion sting suffered by a woman. The peasants were superstitious in their approach to the cure of the sting. The child's father was a rationalist. The parallelism of the two attitudes is very nicely contrasted in the poem.
Q. 4. Describe the use of multiple perspectives in the poem in order to make an all inclusive statement about the human situation.
Ans. A perspective is a particular way of thinking about or viewing something, especially one that is influenced by your beliefs or experiences. On the surface the poem tells the simple story of a rainy night. The narrator's mother is stung by a scorpion. When the villagers come to know of it, they come running to her. They try to trace the scorpion and also pray for the narrator's mother. The narrator's father treats the woman in a rational way. He applies some herb to her toe. He tries to burn the stung toe with paraffin.
But it is not merely a simple story of a scorpion bite. The poet has presented multiple perspectives. He has tried to mirror the whole tone and sensibility of the Indian society. Though set in a small village, the poet tells us about various shades of Indian thought and philosophy. We have superstitious but sympathetic villagers, the sceptical and rational father, the self sacrificing Indian mother, a holy man trying to tame poison with an incantation, and the popular belief that this world is unreal and that our sufferings purify our soul. In fact, this poem is a true reflection of the multiple perspectives through which Indian sensibility is reflected.
The peasants or villagers come to know that the narrator's mother has been stung by a scorpion. They come running like swarms of bees. They are superstitious people but their hearts are full of true sympathy. Their beliefs and views are typically Indian. Their sympathetic hearts are also typical Indian. The holy man trying to tame the poison reflects the typical Indian priest. The poet's father represents the rational outlook of educated classes. We also get a picture of Indian motherhood. After having suffered the pain of sting for twenty-four hours, the mother is thankful to God that only she has suffered and her children are safe. Thus the poem has presented multiple perspectives of a minor incident.
Q. 5. Will it be correct to say that the Indian society is a true expression of Indian society and sensibility?
Ans. It is easy to read this poem at two different levels. On the surface level, it narrates the story of a rainy night in a village when the narrator's mother (child's mother) is bitten by a scorpion. Her husband and the villagers try to lessen the sufferings of the victim till she recovers the next day and thanks God for sparing her children. At a deeper level, the poem presents a fascinating world of illiterate and superstitious rural folk who are sincere to the core and full of sympathy.
It is common knowledge that superstitious people believe in some of the old traditions and they believe some magical formulas for treating a disease or ailment: 'Educated people in the country are rational. Through a very simple incident, the poet has mirrored the entire tone and sensibility of Indian society.' It covers all aspects of Indian thought and philosophy. We have superstitious peasants, the sceptical and rational father, the self sacrificing Indian mother, a holy man trying to tame poison with an incantation, and the popular belief that this world is unreal and that our sufferings purify our soul. As a matter of fact, this poem is a true reflection of Indian sensibility. It is about India and the way in which Indians (both illiterate and educated) conduct themselves in moments of physical pain.
Q6. Write a short note on the story of the poem.
Ans.: The author's mother was once stung by a scorpion on a rainy night when the creature had come and settled under the sack of rice. Farmers from nearby places came and tried to ward off the evil by reciting the name of God a hundred times. They searched for the scorpion with the help of lanterns and candles but failed to find it. They said that the poison moved in the blood of the mother with the movement of the scorpion. They also said that the sting of the scorpion would wash away the sins of her previous birth and that it would reduce her sufferings in the next birth. It had the power to purify her flesh and her spirit. They sat in a circle with the mother in the centre where she cried with pain sitting on a mat.
The author's father was even more superstitious. He tried all sorts of magic spells and drugs to relieve the mother of the effect of the sting He even put a little kerosene oil at the toe of the mother and set it to fire among chanting of certain charms to lessen the effect of the poison. At last, after twenty hours the effect of the sting ended. Then the mother thanked God that the scorpion had stung her and not her children.
Q7. What is the message of the poem Night of the Scorpion?
Ans.: The message of the poem "The Night of the Scorpion" is the effort of the father and the peasants to save the mother from the effect of the poison of scorpion.
Q8.What is the Theme of the poem?
Ans. There are different themes of the poem and some important ones are discussed below:
Theme of Faith and Superstition: This poem can be understood in the context of Indian culture, which frequently builds its foundation on faith and superstitions. The peasants or the villagers, who came to extend their helping hands for the mother, started buzzing the name of God. They were in search of the scorpion in hopes of paralyzing the devilish creature. They also believed that with every movement of the scorpion, the poison would move in the mother’s blood causing her more pain. The villagers believed that the mother was only getting rid of her sins from her previous life.
Indianness and Motherly love: In his poems is the Indian culture or the theme of Indianness most dominant in theme as well as in structure. Firstly, there are the peasants, who are represented as a collective mass. They are believers of the Hindu concepts like “previous birth” and “afterlife” along with the spiritual purification process through suffering. They were of the view that the sting would purify the mother’s body and help her get rid of normal human instincts. Secondly, Ezekiel introduces the father who was more rational in his ways. He employed both traditional and scientific methods in order to pacify his ailing wife.
Lastly, there is the traditional “silent mother,” who thank God the scorpion picked on her and secured her children. Even in such condition like other Indian mother’s remains more fretful about the security and wellbeing of her children. This is the characteristic trait of an Indian mother, idealized in Indian culture as a dutiful, selfless, and devout woman. Whatsoever, a mother continues to love, regardless of the cultural context. She loves in a way she would.
Q9. Write a short note on the irony or ironical elements in the poem.
Ans.: Ezekiel draws upon irony and contrast to explore the conflict between superstition and reason. The irony of the whole poem consists in what the peasants did to cure the woman and what they should actually have done. The streak /note of this irony run through the images of the good and the evil, the images of light and darkness, and the juxtaposition of belief and reason. It should, however, be noted that the poet takes a perfectly detached view of the situation. Just as he does not satirize those who are superstitious, so also he does not admire the one who stands for reason. He only views the situation as an onlooker. If he does anything, he only casts an ironical smile, as an onlooker, on one of the ever-so-common incidents within his society that feeds on superstitions. Ironically, however, all his treatment also proved useless.
Q10. Identify the Literary Devices used in the poem?
Ans.
I. Alliteration - stung by a scorpion, Parting with his poison, diabolic tail in the dark, risked the rain, poison purfiy, through and through, poured a little paraffin, flame feeding.
II. Antonyms - previous/next, evil/good, sceptic/rationalist, curse/blessing.
III. Assonance - candle/lantern, buzzed/hundred, Mother's blood.
IV. Metaphor - scorpion is the Evil One.
V. Simile - like swarms of flies.
Q11. Who are the two main characters in the poem Night of the Scorpion?
Ans. Mother and children are the two main characters in the night of the scorpion poem.
Q12.What is the mood of the poem Night of the Scorpion?
Ans.The poem is reflective; it also has a religious and superstitious background and an underlying message of motherly love.
Q13.Identity the Symbols used in the poem.
Ans. In “Night of the Scorpion,” Ezekiel makes use of symbols to represent different ideas and thoughts. The “rain” pouring steadily throughout adds to the gloomy atmosphere of the poem. The “rain” is symbolic of the constant pain of the mother. The “shadows,” cast on sun-baked walls that took the form of a scorpion, indicate the hidden presence of an evil force. “Shadows,” as a motif, are often associated with a fear of the unknown that is in the backdrop of the poem. The “peasants” represent the agrarian nature of rural India. They are also symbolic of a closely-knit community. The father’s use of every “curse and blessing” and different natural remedies like “powder, mixture, herb and hybrid” to cure the scorpion sting are symbolic of traditional healing techniques some of which still persist.
Q14. Depict the images used in the poem.
Ans. Imagery, as a literary device, helps readers form a mental image evoking the five senses. There are majorly four types of imagery present in the poem that include:
I. Visual Imagery: This kind of imagery invokes the sense of vision. The poem is based entirely upon the retrospective visualization of a childhood incident. In order to paint the scenes, Ezekiel makes use of this type of imagery. For instance, he depicts how the scorpion stung his mother in the line, “flash/ of diabolic tail in the dark room.” He also uses visual images in “throwing giant scorpion shadows,” “I watched the flame feeding on my mother,” etc.
II. Tactile Imagery: This kind of imagery invokes the sense of touch. It is used in “My mother twisted through and through,” “He even poured a little paraffin/ upon the bitten toe,” and “I watched the flame feeding on my mother.”
III. Auditory Imagery: This kind of imagery is associated with the sense of hearing. For instance, the lines “buzzed the name of God a hundred times” and “They clicked their tongues” appeal to readers’ sense of hearing. Ezekiel uses the scheme of traditional chants in lines 18 through 29.
IV. Kinesthetic Imagery: This kind of imagery depicts movements. For instance, the stealthy movement of the scorpion is recorded in “to crawl beneath a sack of rice.” The way it stung the poet’s mother is depicted in “Parting with his poison—flash/ of diabolic tail in the dark room.”
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