NCERT Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 3: Complete Resource for Keeping Quiet (Poem)
FAQs on NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Chapter 3 - Keeping Quiet
1. Does the poet promote total inactivity and death? Share your opinion.
No, the poet does not support the idea of total inactivity. In fact, he holds a firm belief in life and seeks every human to live in peace and contentment. The poet clearly stated that don't confuse 'stillness' with 'total inactivity. Total inactivity leads to death. But the stillness here means avoiding unfriendly and dangerous human activities. He wants everyone to enjoy their life, which is possible when they take out some time from their busy schedule. Poet also suggests people should go on vacation in order to introspect themselves and enhance their quality of life.
2. What does the word 'Sadness' refer to in the poem?
The stress, constant work, hostility, and destruction are referred to as 'sadness' in this poem. Such forms of sadness spread in people's lives when they do not understand themselves that can destroy them. When humans fail to understand their thoughts, they create a disastrous and harmful situation in life. It is the actions of humans that lead to trouble and threatening thoughts. He disapproves of people's race for beating each other that makes them overlook the virtues of humanity. So, humans are the main creators of all dilemmas, which is life's real tragedy.
3. What is the composer of the poem given in chapter 3 of the class 12th English Textbook?
The chapter, titled Deep Water Class, is a poem composed by William Orville Douglas. He was born in Minnesota, the USA in the year 1898. He taught English and Economics in a school. He studied Law at Columbia law school. He was nominated to the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He is often called the most liberal Supreme Court justice. He is one of the youngest justices to be appointed to the court. His tenure as the justice lasted for 36 years, the longest for any Supreme Court justice
4. Where did the poet get the motivation to compose the poem from?
The composer of the poem, William O. Douglas, has talked about his childhood love for nature in his autobiography Of Men and Mountains. In the book, he has talked about how he used to be scared of water. He described how an incident of his life almost killed him vividly and how the incident made him stronger. He also talked about how he overcame his fear. This is where the poet gets the motivation to compose a poem. Everyone is scared of something. The poem inspires us to defeat our fears so that we can achieve our best potential.
5. What incident is the poet talking about?
The incident that the poet is talking about happened when he was only 10 or 11 years old. He was learning how to swim at a pool that provided the exact opportunity that he was seeking. He wanted to swim in the river which his mother said was dangerous. Many people drowned in the river and died. The boy considered the pool to be safer as it was not very deep. He was slowly overcoming his fear and gaining confidence. As he was waiting for others to come, a big boy picked him up and threw him in the water. Refer to
6. What happened to the boy under the surface of the water?
The big boy that threw him in the poop, took the author by surprise. The moment he was thrown in the water, he was frightened. But he didn’t let his fear get the better of him. He decided the moment he touches the bottom, he will make a big jump, reach the surface. He will then paddle to reach the edge of the pool. But things didn’t happen as he had planned. But he tried again and again. Then, he started losing strength and suddenly he stopped his efforts trying to save himself. He felt sleepy and relaxed.
7. How did the author overcome his fear?
The incident that happened in his childhood terrorized him for the years to come. He was unable to enjoy his fishing trips, canoeing, boating, and swimming. He started taking small baby steps to overcome the fear. He hired an instructor who would teach him different techniques. The author learned to swim again but the fear remained. To overcome the fear, the author went to different lakes. He dived and swam. And, he swam until he had defeated all the lakes and in the end overcame his aquaphobia.