Treasure Trove Textbook Solutions: Poem: The Cold Within | English Class 10 ICSE PDF Download

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Comprehension Passages
Stanza 1 and 2
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
 
Question 1.
 
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.
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Page 2


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Comprehension Passages
Stanza 1 and 2
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
 
Question 1.
 
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.
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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.
Stanza 3,4 and 5
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
 
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.
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Comprehension Passages
Stanza 1 and 2
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
 
Question 1.
 
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.
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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.
Stanza 3,4 and 5
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
 
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.
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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 5.
 
Which is the symbol word used in these lines?
 
Answer:
 
The word used is stick.
Question 6.
 
To what purpose are the symbol words used repeatedly?
 
Answer:
 
The symbol words are used for emphasis.
Stanza 6,7 and 8
 
 
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
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Comprehension Passages
Stanza 1 and 2
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
 
Question 1.
 
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.
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https://www.ncertbooksolutions.com
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.
Stanza 3,4 and 5
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
 
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.
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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 5.
 
Which is the symbol word used in these lines?
 
Answer:
 
The word used is stick.
Question 6.
 
To what purpose are the symbol words used repeatedly?
 
Answer:
 
The symbol words are used for emphasis.
Stanza 6,7 and 8
 
 
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
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Question 1.
 
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:
 
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Comprehension Passages
Stanza 1 and 2
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
 
Question 1.
 
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.
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https://www.ncertbooksolutions.com
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.
Stanza 3,4 and 5
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
 
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.
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https://www.ncertbooksolutions.com
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 5.
 
Which is the symbol word used in these lines?
 
Answer:
 
The word used is stick.
Question 6.
 
To what purpose are the symbol words used repeatedly?
 
Answer:
 
The symbol words are used for emphasis.
Stanza 6,7 and 8
 
 
Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.
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Question 1.
 
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:
 
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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
Project
Question 1.
 
How does figurative language assist in conveying the theme and purpose of the poem?
 
Answer:
 
Figurative language plays a vital role in developing the poems theme. “Their dying fire in need of
logs” literally means the fire that is keeping them warm, but also stands as a metaphor for their
sinful souls. They are committing sins such as racism, envy, arrogance, revenge, and greed. By
saying they need to add logs to the fire suggest that they need to help out someone other than
themselves, or they will “freeze” to death. Opening up and not being greedy will warm there souls
and will save them, unfortunately it has overcome them and is an impossibility.
Question 2.
 
Explain how diction is important in the poem with the help of an example.
 
Answer:
 
The line that Kinney starts his poem with is “six humans trapped by happenstance”. His diction in
this line is very important to the overall theme of the poem. 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. Another curious use of diction is by saying “trapped in happenstance”.
Happenstance means an event that might have been arranged although it is accidental. This use
of diction is important because by saying that it is accidental, yet almost seems arranged, gives the
reader a sense that they are supposed to be there. The fact that he says they are trapped
suggests that they do not want to be in the situation, but they cannot escape.
Question 3.
 
Explain the importance of rythm in the poem.
 
Answer:
 
The rhyme of the poems sets up an easy read. This allows for your eyes to simply guide and take
in Kinney’s message: the frigidness of people are what end up killing them. The rhythm is
important to the theme of the story because it makes reading the poem faster. This is important
because this indirectly shows how fast arrogance, greed, and sin can “kill” you.
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