Previous Year Questions: Poem - Aunt Jennifer's Tiger

CBSE Previous Year Questions 2025

Long Answer Type Question

Q.1. Both the poems 'My Mother at Sixty-six' and 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' delve into experiences of life. How do these poems bring out the internal conflict in each of the women? (5 Marks)

Answer: Both poems explore the profound internal conflicts of women grappling with the harsh realities of their lives-one facing the inevitable aging of a loved one and the other enduring the oppressive weight of marriage.

In "My Mother at Sixty-six," the poet (Kamala Das) experiences a conflict between her painful realization of her mother's mortality and her attempt to maintain a composed exterior. Upon seeing her mother "doze, open mouthed" with a face "ashen like that of a corpse," she is struck by a "familiar ache" and her "childhood's fear" of loss. To cope with this internal agony, she deliberately "put that thought away" by looking at symbols of vitality, like "Young Trees sprinting". Her internal conflict is finalized at the airport where, despite seeing her mother "wan, pale as a late winter's moon," she hides her fear behind a repetitive "smile and smile and smile" and optimistic parting words.

In "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," the protagonist faces a conflict between her subjugated, terrified physical reality and her deep-seated yearning for freedom and strength. Aunt Jennifer is physically and mentally burdened by the "massive weight of Uncle's wedding band," which represents the constraints of her married life. Her "fingers fluttering" and the difficulty she has pulling a needle highlight her state of nervous exhaustion and "ordeals". However, her internal spirit finds expression in her art; she creates tigers that are "proud and unafraid," "chivalric," and "certain". This creates a sharp conflict between the woman who is "mastered by" her circumstances and the "unafraid" tigers that represent the person she wishes she could be

Extract-Based Questions

Q.2. Read the following extract and answer the questions (6 Marks):

Extract:"Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool 
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band 
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie 
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made 
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.."

(i) Complete the following suitably: The massive weight of 'wedding band' symbolises __________.

Answer: The massive weight of the 'wedding band' symbolises the constraints, burdens, and oppressive nature of married life experienced by a woman in a patriarchal society.

Solution: The poet uses the word "massive" to describe the wedding band not because of its physical weight, but because of the emotional and social "weight" of the "ordeals" Aunt Jennifer is "mastered by" within her marriage.

(ii) By the phrase 'fingers fluttering', the poet portrays Aunt Jennifer in a constant state of __________. (nervousness/happiness)

Answer: Nervousness.

Solution: The word "fluttering" suggests a physical manifestation of fear and lack of confidence. Aunt Jennifer finds the needle "hard to pull" because she is mentally and physically exhausted by the dominance of "Uncle".

(iii) Read the assertion and the reason below, with reference to the given extract.
Assertion: Aunt Jennifer lives a life full of agony and pain.
Reason: She is a victim of the male dominant society.
(A) Both the assertion and the reason are true and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.
(B) Both the assertion and the reason are true, but the reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion.
(C) The assertion is true, but the reason is false.
(D) The assertion is false, but the reason is true.

Answer: (A) Both the assertion and the reason are true and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.

Solution: The poem addresses the "constraints of married life a woman experiences". The extract mentions she is "mastered by" ordeals and finds the wedding band "massive," confirming her agony is a direct result of the male-dominated marital structure.

(iv) Complete the following suitably: 'The tigers in the panel will go on prancing ........... ' The above line refers to the __________ of art.

Answer: Permanence (or immortality).

Solution: The contrast between the "dead" Aunt and the tigers that "go on prancing" signifies that while human life is transitory and subject to oppression, art is eternal and continues to embody the creator's desires long after they are gone.

(v) The expressions 'terrified hands' and 'ordeals' used in the above extract highlight the __________ of women in marriage.

Answer: Subjugation (or oppression/struggles).

Solution: The word "ringed" suggests Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by or trapped within these struggles, and "terrified hands" emphasizes the fear that defined her existence under the "mastery" of her husband.

(vi) Choose the correct option: 'Tigers in the panel' symbolise:
(A) Aunt Jennifer's interest in wildlife.
(B) Tigers in the green forest.
(C) Aunt Jennifer's deep desire for freedom.
(D) Tigers that are yellow in colour.

Answer: (C) Aunt Jennifer's deep desire for freedom.

Solution: The tigers are described as "sleek," "chivalric," and "unafraid" of men. These qualities are the exact opposite of Aunt Jennifer's own character, suggesting they serve as a symbolic outlet for the freedom she cannot achieve in her real life.

CBSE Previous Year Questions 2024

Short Answer Type Questions 

Q.1. Explain how 'The tigers in the panel .... Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid'.  (2 Marks)

​Answer: This expression highlights the immortality of art in contrast to the transience of human life. While Aunt Jennifer is physically and mentally suppressed by her marriage, the tigers she has embroidered represent her inner longing for bravery and freedom. Even after her death, these artistic creations will remain vibrant and fearless, continuing to "prance" as a permanent symbol of the strength she could never achieve in reality.

Q.2. "The tigers in the panel that she made / Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid." What is the tone of the poet reflected in the above lines?  (2 Marks)

Answer: The poet's tone is one of admiration mixed with irony. There is admiration for the majestic, "chivalric" nature of the tigers, which are "bright topaz denizens" of their world. However, the irony lies in the sharp contrast between these bold, fearless creatures and their creator, Aunt Jennifer, who lived a life of fear, "mastered" by the ordeals of her marriage.

Long Answer Type Questions 

Q.3. After reading 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' and 'Going Places', you realise that Aunt Jennifer and Sophie's mother have been subdued by their respective husbands. As a social activist, you have to write an article to a newspaper on the need to empower women. You may begin like this: "Empowerment of women is a very essential social reform. It needs to be accelerated for any nation to progress."  (5 Marks)

Answer: Empowerment of women is a very essential social reform. It needs to be accelerated for any nation to progress. Literature often mirrors the harsh reality of domestic suppression, as seen in the lives of Aunt Jennifer and Sophie's mother.

In the poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers", Aunt Jennifer represents women who are physically and emotionally burdened by the "massive weight" of patriarchal expectations, symbolised by her husband's wedding band. Her fingers flutter in fear, and she can only find a temporary escape through her embroidery. Similarly, in the story "Going Places", Sophie's mother is depicted with a "crooked back" and a face grimy from labor, perpetually stooped over the sink in a "small room steamy from the stove". Both women are subdued, their identities lost in the drudgery of domesticity and the shadows of their husbands.

True progress can only be achieved when women are freed from these "ordeals". Empowerment involves providing women with the agency to pursue their dreams, whether it is through education, financial independence, or shared domestic responsibilities. We must move towards a society where no woman's fingers "flutter" in fear, but instead, they "pace in sleek chivalric certainty".

Q.4. If Aunt Jennifer speaks to Pablo Neruda, the poet of 'Keeping Quiet', about her problems and constraints, would it be right for her to accept his response of introspection, reflection, and silence? Write a letter to Pablo Neruda.  (5 Marks)

Answer: 
​To, Pablo Neruda, Chile.

Subject: Seeking Clarity on the Power of Silence.

Dear Mr. Neruda,

I have recently contemplated the plight of Aunt Jennifer, a woman "ringed with ordeals" and mastered by the constraints of her marriage. In your poem "Keeping Quiet", you advocate for a "huge silence" to interrupt our sadness and allow for quiet introspection.

While your call for a moment of stillness to create "mutual understanding" is profound, I wonder if such silence would truly help Aunt Jennifer. Her life is already defined by a forced, suffocating silence where her "terrified hands" can barely pull an ivory needle. For her, silence has been a tool of suppression, not reflection. Would it be right for her to accept more silence? Perhaps what she needs is not the stillness of a "stop for one second," but the loud, "prancing" courage of her tigers to break her chains.

I believe introspection is a luxury for the free, but for the oppressed, it might just be another "massive weight". I look forward to your perspective on how silence can become a strength rather than a cage.

Yours sincerely, 
A Concerned Reader.

Extract-Based Questions 

Q.5. "Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen, / Bright topaz denizens of a world of green. / They do not fear the men beneath the tree; / They pace in sleek chivalric certainty."  (6 Marks)

(i) Which of the following are symbolised by the 'tigers' in the extract above?
I. masculine world 
II. feminine world 
III. world of bold, fearless creatures 
IV. world of beautiful handicrafts 
(A) I, II and III 
(B) II, III and IV 
(C) III and IV
(D) I, III and IV

​Answer: (D)
Solution: The tigers represent the masculine world of strength and the bold, fearless traits Aunt Jennifer lacks, while also being a product of her handicraft.

(ii) State whether the given statement is True or False: 
The creator of the tigers was fearless and assertive like the tigers.

​Answer: False.
Solution: The poem explicitly states Aunt Jennifer's hands are "terrified" and she is "mastered" by her ordeals, unlike her "proud and unafraid" tigers.

(iii) Complete the following sentence: The use of the word 'topaz' suggests that the image of the tiger on the screen is __________ .

​Answer: bright, yellowish-orange, and radiant like a gemstone.
Solution: Topaz is used as a metaphor to describe the brilliant, golden-yellow colour of the tigers against the "world of green".

(iv) 'Tigers do not fear the men beneath the tree because they are
(A) tamed
(B) in a cage
(C) fearless
(D) kings of the jungle

Answer: (C)
Solution: The poem states they pace in "chivalric certainty," highlighting their innate bravery and lack of fear towards men.

(v) Based on the poem's rhyme scheme evident in lines 1 and 2, which of the following will rhyme? mean, akin, cream.

​Answer: mean.
Solution: Lines 1 and 2 rhyme (screen/green). The word "mean" shares the same "een" sound.

(vi) 'Chivalric certainty' refers to which poetic device?
(A) Alliteration
(B) Metaphor 
(C) Simile 
(D) Repetition

Answer: (A)
Solution: Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sound 'c' in "Chivalric certainty".

Q.6. "Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool / Find even the ivory needle hard to pull. / The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band / sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand..."  (6 Marks)

(i) 'Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.' Through the above expression, the poet indicates:
(A) Aunt Jennifer is happily married. 
(B) Aunt Jennifer loves the tigers in the panel.
(C) Aunt Jennifer's unhappy married life.
(D) Aunt Jennifer's rich and luxurious life.

Answer: (C)
Solution: The "massive weight" is a metaphor for the emotional and physical burden of a restrictive, unhappy marriage.

(ii) Select the option that has the same literary device as used in 'Still ringed with ordeals'.
(A) Leopards cannot hide in the jungle as they are spotted.
(B) Sun smiled happily on us. 
(C) Her lovely voice was music to his ears. 
(D) Life is like a box of chocolates.

Answer: (A)
Solution: "Ringed" is a pun, referring to both the wedding ring and being surrounded by difficulties. Similarly, "spotted" is a pun referring to the leopard's skin and being seen.

(iii) Complete the following sentences with reference to the extract: The Tigers in the panel symbolize ________ .

​Answer: Aunt Jennifer's suppressed desire for freedom, strength, and a life without fear.

(iv) State whether the statement given below is True or False: 
"Find even the ivory needle hard to pull." The above expression suggests that Aunt Jennifer is dying.

​Answer: False.
Solution: It suggests her extreme physical and mental exhaustion and the fear she feels toward her husband, which makes even a simple task difficult.

(v) Based on the rhyme scheme, evident in lines 1-2, which word would rhyme with line 1 (wool)?

​Answer: pull.

(vi) The use of the word 'fluttering fingers' in the extract suggests that the fingers of Aunt Jennifer are trembling. This creates an image of _________ .

Answer: frailty, nervousness, and patriarchal oppression.