Class 12 English Previous Year: Short Questions With Answers (Part- 2) - My Mother at Sixty Six

Q.1. Why does the poet’s smile in the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ show? [Delhi/Outside Delhi 2018]
Ans. — Reassuring herself and her mother and
— Masking/hiding/covering her fear of separation, fear of mother’s death, hiding her fear of not
— Masking/hiding/covering her fear of separation, fear of mother’s death, hiding her fear of not being able to see her mother alive again, hiding her guilt/sorrow at leaving her mother at that critical juncture.
Detailed Answer : The poet’s smile in the poem shows that she is trying to mask her feelings. She is feeling guilty for leaving her mother at that critical fracture. She smiles to reassure herself and there mother that they would meet soon.

Q. 2. How did Kamala Das’s mother look during the drive to Cochin? [Comptt., Outside Delhi Set-I, 2013]
Ans. Kamala Das’ mother looked pale and wan, like a corpse during the drive to Cochin.

Q. 3. How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother? [Delhi Set-I, 2014]
OR
How did Kamala Das put away the thought of her mother’s old age? [CBSE, SQP I, 2012, Comptt. Delhi, 2010]
Ans. Value Points : Looks out of the car window at young trees sprinting/the merry children running out of their homes/by not looking at her mother’s old, ashen face/by distracting herself.
Detailed Answer : Kamala Das tries to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother by looking out of the window of her car. She saw young and healthy trees, cheerful children both representing happy life. She feels the vigour and vitality in them and for sometime, she forgets about her ageing mother.

Q. 4. How are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’? [Delhi Set-I, II & III, 2012]
OR
Why are the young trees described as sprinting? [Delhi Set-II, 2017]
OR
Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’ in the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’? [Comptt., Delhi Set-II, 2017]
Ans. Value Points : — Image of youthfulness
— energy
— vitality
— full of life
— contrast to mother’s pale/old face.
Detailed Answer : The young trees running spiritedly in the opposite direction stand in sharp contrast to the poetess’ aged and pale-looking mother. The trees symbolize youth and life, whereas the old mother represents old age and is moving towards the grave. They symbolise the quick passage of time that has brought old age to her.

Q. 5. What were the poet’s feelings as she drove to Kochi Airport? [Comptt., 2015]
OR
What were the poetess’s feelings at the airport? How did she hide them? [Outside Delhi Set-I, II & III, 2012]
Ans. Value Points : Fear of separation/worried about her ageing mother/fear of losing her mother/ anxiety.
Detailed Answer : The poetess’ feelings at the airport were of fear because she was afraid that her mother was going to die because she was looking very weak and she was not sure whether she would be able to meet her mother again. She hides her fear by smiling and assures her mother that they would meet again.

Q. 6. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter moon’? [Delhi Set-I, II & III, 2013] [Comptt., Delhi Set-I, II & III, 2011] (NCERT) [Comptt., Outside Delhi Set-I, 2017]
Ans. Value Points : Pale wan colour/mother had lost her glow on her face.
Detailed Answer : The mother has been compared to the ‘late winter moon’ because she has become pale like the moon in the winter. She is dull and lifeless.

Q. 7. What was the poet’s childhood fear? [Outside Delhi Set-I, 2014] [Comptt., Outside Delhi Set-II, 2017]
Ans. Value Points : — Mother was growing old
— fear of separation / death.
Detailed Answer : The poet, Kamala Das, had a childhood fear that she might lose her mother as she was growing old and weak. She always felt sad when she was separated from her and felt scared of losing her.

Q. 8. What childhood fear did Kamala Das refer to in her poem? How did she hide it? [Comptt., Delhi, Set-I, II & III, 2012] 
Ans. The childhood fear that Kamala Das refers to in her poem is that whether she would see her mother alive the next time when she came back. She hid this recurrent, nagging fear in smiles.

Q. 9. What childhood fear does Kamala Das have? Why? [Comptt., Outside Delhi, Set-I, II & III, 2012] 

OR 
What familiar ache and childhood fear did Kamala Das feel? [Comptt., Delhi Set-I/III, 2017] 
Ans. Value Points : Separation from mother / loss of mother.
Detailed Answer : As a child, Kamala Das had a fear of losing her mother. She always felt sad when she was separated from her mother and was scared that she might not be alive the next time she came back.

Q.10. What is the significance of the parting words of the poetess and her smile, in ‘My Mother at Sixty- Six’. [CBSE, SQP 2012] [Outside Delhi Set-I, 2010] (NCERT)
Ans. Value Points : — Optimism
— a hope to see her mother again
— reassuring her mother
— hiding her anxiety and fear
— emotions hidden behind the smile
— true feelings of loss and pain of separation.
Detailed Answer : The poetess’ parting words signify hope and a promise of meeting her mother again. She wants to leave a smiling face behind for her mother, so as not to let her mother know about her feelings and emotions towards her i.e., feeling of loss and pain of separation.

Q. 11. What kind of pain does Kamala Das feel in ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’? [Delhi Set-I, 2017]
Ans. Value Points : – Pain of separation
– losing her mother
– childhood fear-mother getting old.
Detailed Answer : Kamala Das feels pained at the thought of her mother getting old. She was pained to think that she may lose her mother soon.

Q. 12. Having looked at her mother, why does Kamala Das look at the young children? [Outside Delhi Set-I, 2017]
Ans. Value Points : – To drive away pain
– fear of separation from her mother
– children symbolic of life/energy/dynamism/ happiness
– to distract from thoughts of her ageing mother.
Detailed Answer : Kamala Das looked at the young children, as they represented youth, which is full of life and energy. She wanted to drive away the fearful and disturbing thought that her mother was getting old and weak and might die soon.

Q. 13. What did Kamala Das think when she looked at her mother? [Comptt., Outside Delhi Set-III, 2017]
Ans. Value Points : — Dozing like a corpse/ as old as she looked
— fear that may not meet her mother.
Detailed Answer : Kamala Das’ mother was dozing as she was siting in the car. Her face looked pale and like a dead body. Kamala Das thought that her mother would not live long and felt pain that she might not meet her again.