Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 5 Previous Year Questions - The Ball Poem

Ans: Both The Ball Poem and Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom explore loss, growing up, and transformation. In The Ball Poem, a boy loses his ball, symbolizing innocence, leading to emotional growth through accepting loss. Mandela faces loss of freedom due to apartheid, transforming into a resilient leader. Both depict growth through adversity, but Mandela’s loss is collective and systemic, while the boy’s is individual and symbolic.

Ans: John Berryman's "The Ball Poem" explores loss by using the boys experience of losing his ball as a metaphir of the inevitable nature of loss and the subsequesnt emotional growth and matujrity that comes with it. The ball symbolizes innocence and cherished childhood possessions, and its loss teaches the boy about the world's impermanence, the inability of money to replace what's lost, and the crucial lesson of resilience in facing setbacks.

Ans: The poet avoids consoling the boy to let him experience loss, fostering emotional growth and resilience. The poet believes facing grief teaches the boy to cope.  Consoling might diminish the lesson of life’s impermanence. The boy’s unassisted grief helps him understand loss’s inevitability.

Ans: The loss of the ball teaches the boy about life’s impermanence, helping him develop resilience and emotional maturity. The ball’s loss represents losing childhood security. The boy learns that losses are irretrievable, a life lesson.  His grief fosters understanding of how to cope with setbacks. The experience prepares him for future challenges, promoting maturity.

Ans: The phrase “And no one buys a ball back” means losses, like the boy’s ball, are permanent and cannot be undone.

Ans: In The Ball Poem, the boy’s loss of his ball symbolizes innocence, teaching him life’s impermanence and fostering resilience. In The Sermon at Benares, Kisa Gotami’s loss of her son reveals death’s inevitability, leading to acceptance through Buddha’s teachings. Both texts depict loss as an unavoidable part of life, shaping emotional growth and understanding, though the poem focuses on personal, symbolic loss, while the sermon addresses universal, existential loss.

Ans: The boy’s grief mirrors universal experiences of losing valued possessions or innocence.  It teaches that losses are inevitable and irretrievable. The boy learns to “stand up” and face life’s challenges independently. Accepting loss fosters emotional resilience and personal growth.

Ans: resigned
The speaker’s tone reflects a sense of resignation towards loss, indicating that it is an unavoidable part of life. 
This is evident in the following points:

• The phrase "balls will be lost always" suggests a constant cycle of loss.
• The speaker acknowledges that no one buys back a lost ball, highlighting the inevitability of loss.
• His tone conveys a deep understanding of the nature of loss and the need to accept it.

This acceptance is a crucial lesson for the boy, teaching him how to cope with loss as he grows.

Ans: The inference drawn from the poet's statement that "money is external" is that material wealth cannot compensate for emotional losses. It suggests that the true value of sentimental possessions cannot be replaced or restored with monetary means.

Ans: (d) respectful
The speaker treats the boy’s sense of loss with respect, acknowledging the importance of understanding personal loss, which is beyond mere material value.

Ans: The poetic device used in the given line is Alliteration. Alliteration is a poetic device where consecutive words in a sentence or phrase begin with the same consonant sound. Example - buys a ball back. 

Ans:
Good morning everyone.
Today, I'd like to discuss two pieces of literature that offer a powerful insight into how to deal with loss and the resilience of the human spirit required during times of crisis. In "The Ball Poem" by John Berryman and the excerpt from Anne Frank's diary, we see a common theme of loss and its impact on individuals. In Berryman's poem, a young boy is shown struggling after losing his ball. Comparably, during the turbulent years of World War II, Anne Frank writes in her diary about her feelings of loss and loneliness. These works impart lessons about the struggles of life and the importance of resilience in the face of challenges.
To conclude, I'd like to say that these pieces of literature serve as poignant reminders of our capacity to grow from the challenges that life throws at us rather than giving up.
Thank you.

Ans: (c)
The expression reflects the boy's distress and helplessness over the loss of his ball, highlighting his grief.

Ans: False
The poet is not delighted; rather, he is sympathetic toward the boy's loss and understands the emotional impact on him.

Ans: The poet repeats the word 'what' in order to emphasize on his statement. 

Ans: (b)
The poet feels that trying to console the boy by saying there are other balls would be futile, as it does not address the boy’s emotional attachment to the lost ball.

Ans: (c)
The line conveys a sense of despair, as the boy realizes the finality of his loss and the irretrievability of his ball.

Ans: (c)
In The Ball Poem, after losing his ball, the boy experiences grief but ultimately learns a valuable lesson about loss and responsibility. The poet uses this incident to convey the message that losses are inevitable, and one must learn to accept and move forward with them.

Ans: 'Him' refers to the little boy who has lost his ball.  

Ans: 'I' wants him to face the situation.

Ans: sensible 

Ans: The boy should learn to be careful.

Ans: valuable 

Ans:  first responsibility

Ans: worthless

Ans: he lost his ball

Ans: a dime

Ans: The responsibility referred to here was that of taking care of his things in this world of possessions and learning to cope with loss. The boy must understand that one way or the other, he is always going to lose his most prized possessions. However, he should not feel sorry for his loss.

Ans: The poet, John Berryman, wants to teach through his poem that how to cope with the loss of possessions and move on in life. The poem brings forth the fact that loss is an inevitable part of a person’s life. However, it is important for the person to bravely bear his loss as life goes on and no loss should bring life to a halt.