Previous Year: Long Questions With Answers - Should Wizard Hit Mommy? | English Class 12 PDF Download

Q. 1. How did Jack end the Roger Skunk story? How and why did Jo want to change it? [Outside Delhi Set II, 2016]
Ans. Value Points : 
– ended story by saying that Mommy Skunk took little Skunk to the wizard and changed the smell back to its original stinky one
– mother knew what was right for Roger Skunk According to Jo :
– it was a ‘stupid mommy’
– couldn’t digest the statement that little Skunk’s mother hit the wizard on his head and restored his original smell
– mother had no right to deprive Skunk of its happiness
– was happy that Skunk earned a lot of friends by changing smell
– suggested another ending where mother would be hit by the wizard
– wanted mother to be punished
Detailed Answer : According to Jack’s ending of the story, Roger ’s mother hit the wizard with an umbrella. He, then, acts as she wishes and Roger Skunk starts smelling bad again. Jo wants the ending of the story to be the other way. She wants the wizard to hit on the head of the ‘stupid mommy’. She wants the wizard to refuse to make Roger smell bad again. Children look at this world from a different perspective.
They look at people and things quite differently than the way adults do. Their perspective on life reflects simplicity and innocence. Jo has deep sympathy for Roger Skunk. Roger’s bad smell kept all the little animals away from him. The little Skunk stood alone and wept. The wizard made Roger smell of roses. He was happy. Other little animals were now attracted towards him.
They now played and danced with him. Jo’s main anger is against the “stupid mommy” of Roger Skunk. It was she who forced the wizard to make Roger Skunk smell very bad again. The hero of the story is always a role model for children. The tender-hearted Jo is shocked at the attitude of that ‘stupid’ mommy. She wants Roger’s mommy to be punished. The wizard must hit on her head hard with his magic wand.

Q. 2. How does Jo show her independent thinking in the story, ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’? [Comptt. Delhi / Outside Delhi 2018]
OR
How did Jo want the Roger Skunk story to end? Why? [Delhi Set I, 2016]
Ans. Value Points : 
— she suggests the animal whose story her father was to create, (skunk)
— she keeps interrupting the story with suggestions about the animals, the skunk was going to meet, (owl, wizard etc.)
— asking whether magic spells were real
— she is in a reality phase
– asks her mother whether spiders really ate bugs as suggested by her father
— catching her father when he mentions Roger Fish instead of Roger Skunk
— protesting when the mother in the story gets the smell of roses changed to the foul smell of the Skunk
— insists wizard hits the mother
Detailed Answer : The world of children is quite different from that of adults. Their world is a dreamy and magical world. It is a world of fantasy and romance. There is no place for ugliness and stink in their world. Roger Skunk is the hero of the story. Jo never wanted her hero to be so ugly and stinky. It offends her fairness and justice. Therefore, Jo disapproves of Jack’s ending of the story of Roger Skunk. She wants her father, Jack, to tell the same story in a different way.
The wizard must take his magic wand and hit Roger’s mommy hard for not understanding Roger’s feelings. Little Jo wants ‘that stupid mommy’ to be punished. Her crime is that she went to the wizard and compelled him to make her son smell bad again. Jo wants him to smell nice so that he can play with other little animals. She doesn’t want Roger to feel sad and lonely for no fault of his.

Q. 3. Why did Jo feel that the Skunk’s mommy was stupid? [Foreign, Set-I, II & III, 2014]
OR
Why does Jo want that the wizard should hit the mommy? Does her stand reflect a child’s perspective on life? What is your choice?
Ans. Value Points : She insisted on the Skunk smelling the way Skunks did, though she knew he would have no friends / was angry with the wizard for changing him / hit the wizard and got the smell changed.
Detailed Answer : Children look at this world from a perspective which is different from that of an adult. Their perspective on life reflects their fantasy and innocence. Jo considers little Roger Skunk the hero of the story. She has a deep sympathy for Roger Skunk.
Her expressions while listening to the story of poor Roger reflect her feelings. Roger faced segregation. His bad smell kept all little animals away from him. The little Skunk stood alone and wept. When the wizard made Roger smell of roses, he was happy. Other little animals were now attracted towards him. They played and danced with Roger who smelled like roses now.
Jo’s main anger is against the “stupid mommy” of Roger Skunk. It was she who forced the wizard to make Roger Skunk smell very bad again. The hero of the story is always a role model for children. The tender-hearted Jo is shocked at the attitude of that ‘stupid mommy’. She wants that Roger’s mommy must be punished. The wizard must hit on her head hard with his magic wand. Children think like stories and always want happy endings whereas adults know that in real life, there may not be always a happy ending.

Q. 4. The same situation can be viewed through two different perspectives. How does ‘‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’’ establish this point through the views of Jack and Jo? [Outside Delhi Set-I, 2014] 
Ans. As the child grows into maturity, his perspective and vision of life change gradually. A child views things at a superficial and sensory level but a grown up’s vision is realistic, reflective, philosophical and even psychological. Viewed from the study of the story ‘‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’’ Jo, a child of four, like most children of her age, prefers to live in dreams and fantasies.
She is hostile by nature and would like to wreak vengeance on Skunk’s mother and wants the wizard to retaliate. She is annoyed because her father refuses to accept her suggestion. The father has a mature perspective and sees beyond the surface and explores the philosophical and moralistic aspect of the entire situation. According to her father the wizard had unwillingly interfered with nature and had, thus, done a great deal of harm and deserved to be punished.
According to him, the punishment meted out to the wizard is wellmerited and retaliation is out of the question. Thus, the story makes it clear that the perspective of a child and that of an adult is totally different.

Q. 5. A child’s standpoint invariably is different from that of an adult. Justify the statement with reference to the story, ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’. [Comptt., Outside Delhi Set-I, II & III, 2012]
OR
An adult’s perspective is different from that of a child. Why? Answer with reference to the story ‘‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy.’’ [CBSE, SQP II, 2012]
Ans. Roger Skunk was awful smelling. No one wanted to come close to him. Therefore, he went to a wizard to make him smell sweet. The wizard made him smell like roses. Roger Skunk’s mother did not like that and asked the wizard to make him the way he was. The wizard did the same. When the child heard this, she did not like the way her father had ended the story. She wanted Roger Skunk to be very sweet smelling and the mother to be punished.
This shows that the opinion of adults and children differ. The world of a child is quite different from that of an adult. It is a world of fantasy and wonder. There is no place for ugliness in their world. An adult’s perspective is different from that of a child’s because the adult has experience of life. On the other hand, the child’s mind is not developed. The child is curious and inquisitive about things around him.
The child’s imaginary power is exemplary. He wants to get more and more knowledge about the things described to him. It is the duty of the adult to mould the behaviour of a child. Adults should give them the knowledge that things are not as they are seen. There is a difference of perspective regarding life between the two only because of mature and immature minds.