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Should Wizard Hit Mommy Extra Questions
Extra Questions, Notes, Assignment and study material for Class 12th as Per CBSE Syllabus
Chapter-5 English Language and Literature
Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
By- John Updike
About the Author – John Updike – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
John foyer Updike (1932 — 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only three writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once. Updike published more than twenty novels, more than a dozen short-story collections, as well as poetry, art and literary criticism and children’s books during his career. Hundreds of his stories, reviews, and poems appeared in The New Yorker. He also wrote regularly for The New York Review of Books. His most famous work is his “Rabbit” series.
Theme / Central Idea of the Lesson. Analysis of Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
The story raises a moral issue whether parents should decide what the children should do or let the children do what they like to do.
It also deals with child innocence represented by Jo and the adult perspective represented by Jake. Jo is like most children who dream and live in their own magical world. They are far removed from ugliness and petty differences. They are pure at heart. Jack invents stories and the plots he creates deal subconsciously with his own experiences and complexes. The story also deals with the theme that parents know what is best for the children even though the children may not realise it.
Theme of the Lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
 The story deals with certain moral issues and with the adult complexes that clash with childish innocence. Father Jack tells stories to his daughter Jo, influenced by his own childhood experiences, failures and complexes. On the other hand, his daughter lives in her own world of fantasy and doesn’t want to come out of it. She feels the pain of being rejected by the playmates when Roger Skunk is rejected due to his bad smell. The story highlights the point that the children also have their egos, identities, views and attitude. The ending of the story also highlights the fact that the children must understand that one must accept one’s identity and gracefully accept the way we are created by God.
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Justification of Title – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
The title is justified as the story revolves around the question of understanding. In the story within a story, the daughter desires for an ending where the skunk is acceptable to his playmates. However, the father ended the story where the skunk’s real self-remained intact. The story is dealt with from several perspectives; the adult and the children. The title is an open question put to the reader to attempt an interrogation, analysis and to give a verdict. The title invokes curiosity in the reader and attaches importance to the judgement passed as it would reflect the reader’s understanding of systems. The author has deliberately left the title open-ended.
Moral/ Message of the lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
The story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’ addresses important moral issues. It deals with the idea that parents know what is best for their children because parents love their children the most. One should not look for instant solutions to the problems in life, one should wait patiently for acceptance from friends. Acceptance or the lack of it from friends should not mean that you change the way Nature has intended you to be.
John Updike addresses common issues found in most families. Children have their own identity and views. Parents find it difficult to accept the fact that their children have individual identities and don’t appreciate their point of view. Both children and parents need to learn to be inclusive and appreciate diversity and creativity. They should not impose ideas on each other and build a culture of mutual respect, and tolerance.
CHAPTER NUTSHELL of Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
Theme
Moral debate-child’s perspective clashing with the adult perspectives.
Adult
realistic, reflective, philosophical
Child
immediate happiness
1.superficial and sensory level.
2. Jo had loved the ending of the story.
3. Roger became happy with the smell of roses.
4. She was displeased by the new ending.
5.wanted the father to make the wizard hit mommy.
6. Jack was not ready to make any change.
7. Jo should accept without questioning.
8.Learning about traditions and identity.
9. Both can be justified as an acceptable response.
Natural Is not disgraceful. Individuality identity
1. Skunk and creatures accept reality.
2. We should accept what is natural.
3. Wizard sees the point reverts the smell tamely.
Jack’s storyline
1. A creature usually named Roger (Roger fish, Roger squirrel, Roger chipmunk).
2. Suffered from a problem.
3. Went to the wise owl to find a solution.
4. The owl directed him to the magician
5. The magician would solve his problem in exchange for a few pennies.
6. To arrange for insufficient pennies the magician would direct the creature to a place where he could find it.
7. Roger would be happy would return home just in time to hear the train whistle that brought his daddy home from Boston.
Ugly middle position
1. Jack wanted to end the story as Jo wanted but didn’t.
2. He wanted to help his wife and yet, he didn’t do so.
Character Sketch of Jack
1. He wanted women clinging to him, chauvinistic.
2. He did not want to speak with her, work with her, touch her, anything, temperamental husband. Jack wants to help Caire yet doesn’t make any effort to do so.
3. Jack had infused his own childhood in the story, ‘humiliation of his own childhood’.
4. He hated being contradicted or questioned by his children. It’s Daddy’s story.
5. Skunk is as unquestioningly obedient Jack was to his mother. ‘She realised he was defending his own mother to her’.
Genre
The story with a story
Parents know best
1.Roger’s mother after Jack’s own.
2. Story-a reminder to Jo.
3. Importance of yielding to parents.
4. Mothers are always right.
5. The wizard takes his beating quietly.
6. Skunk’s mother really loved him, wanted to bring him up with right moral values.
Allegorical representation
1.owl-wise counsel
2. parents-authority
3. smell of roses-conforming to society
4. Skunk smell–individuality
5. pennies-effort to modify
Autobiographical elements
1. John Updike suffered humiliation and ridicule during his childhood. Jo’s father had moments of ‘humiliation of his own childhood’.
2. Jack idealized the mother, as Roger does in the story.
Joanne
1.A happy-go-lucky child of four.
2. Naturally inquisitive and is curious. Are magic spells real?
3. ‘Reality phase’ Jo is displaying. better rationale and understanding.
4. ‘Tomorrow you say he hit that mommy’ immediate happiness.
5. Full of fancy.
Short and Simple Summary of the lesson in English- Should Wizard Hit Mommy?/ Summary in simple Words/ Critical appreciation of the lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
Jo, a four-year-old girl, is accustomed to hearing stories from her father, Jack, every evening and for Saturday naps. Jack followed a basic story structure. The main character of the story was Roger but it would be a different animal every day. Roger would have a problem and would consult the wise owl for a solution to his problem who in turn would direct him to a wizard. The wizard would solve the problem through his magic spell and would demand his fee. The wizard would then guide Roger to the place where this money could be found. Finally, a happy Roger would play games with other children and go back home to his mommy before his father returned from Boston.
That Saturday afternoon, as per the custom, Jack began his story. Jo suggested skunk as the main character for the story. Roger Skunk’s problem was his foul odour because of which other small animals avoid playing with him. To solve this problem, he went to the wise owl who directed him to the wizard.
Jo had lately started questioning the credibility of things told in the stories like magic spells, death, God, etc.
The wizard used his magic and changed the skunk’s foul odour to that of roses. The wizard charged him seven pennies. However, the skunk had only four pennies with him. So, he was directed to a place where he would find the remaining three pennies. He found the pennies easily and gave them to the wizard. Roger Skunk happily played with other children.
When Roger Skunk reached home, his mommy disliked the new smell. She did not want him to smell any different than other skunks as their foul smell was a weapon against enemies. Mommy Skunk took Roger back to the wizard to undo the spell. She hit the wizard over his head for making her son smell like roses. Now, Roger Skunk again regained his foul smell.
Jo was dissatisfied with the ending of the story. Jo wanted her father to retell the story the next day with a new ending where the mommy was hit back by the wizard.
However, Jack refused to change the way he ended the story. According to him, parents only did what was right for their kids. He explained to Jo that the little skunk loved his mother and did what she wanted as he knew that the mother would always do what was right for him. Jo, however, refuses to understand and insisted that Jack change the ending of the story. He went downstairs. Clare, his wife, was painting the chair rail. Clare observed that it was a long story. He simply said, ‘The poor kid’. He watched his wife working. He felt he was caught in an ugly middle position. He watched everything with utter weariness.
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Summary of the lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy? (2)
The story begins when Jack is telling stories to his four-year-old daughter Jo to put her to sleep on Saturday evenings. All these stories are made up by him. This started two years ago. Every story is a variation of the same tale and it starts with the same Roger Animal. He would go to the wise owl to solve his problems. The owl will direct him to the wizard who would do magic and solve his problems and demand money in return. Roger would be short of money and would go to a well as directed by the wizard and will get the money from there and would pay him off. He would be happy to solve his problems and would play with his friends happily. His father would return on the train and the family would have a delicious dinner.
That day, Jo wants it to be a Roger Skunk’s story who smells very bad and that is why no other animal wants to play with him. They will tease him saying ‘Stinky Skunk’. Roger would cry. At this point, Jo starts feeling connected with the character and she also starts crying. Jo insists on sending Roger Skunk to the owl. This reaction of Jo surprises father and he realises the growing changes in the child. Finally, the owl directs Roger Skunk to the wizard and he gets the smell of roses. Skunk is too happy and runs into the wood. All the animals gather around Skunk and they all play games.
When Skunk reaches home, his mother is annoyed and doesn’t like that smell. She takes him back to the wizard and hits him on the head and orders him to restore Skunk’s earlier smell. Jo doesn’t like this. She is angry at the behaviour of Roger’s mother. She wants the wizard to hit Roger’s mommy. But father disagrees and defends Skunk’s mother saying mothers are always right. But Jo is adamant and angry. Jo argues with her father but father exerts his authority as the storyteller and doesn’t change it. So finally Roger Skunk comes back home with his mommy and gradually other animals also get used to his smell and start playing with him.
Jo disagrees that this can happen and refuses to sleep. She wants another story in which mommy is hit. But Jack refuses and confronts Jo and threatens and orders her to sleep. He is in a dilemma because he knows that his pregnant wife is working downstairs all alone and he must help her. He feels trapped and uneasy, caught in a difficult situation.
Main Characters of the Story – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
Jack (The father): Jack, like any loving father, tells stories to his daughter Jo every day to put her to sleep. As he is not very creative and imaginative, he keeps one basic storyline. While telling the story, he tries to dramatise and modulates his voice to bring the effect. He himself didn’t have a very happy childhood. At times, his own childhood experiences, complexes, miseries, humiliations are brought out his stories.
He is a caring husband who shares the household work with his wife. At the same time, he seems to be a chauvinist who does not want to be taken for granted by women and doesn’t want to bow even before his small daughter. When the story fails to convince his daughter, he uses coercive methods to stick to his point of view. He is not able to understand the child’s psychology and that’s why exposes the child to the harsh realities of the world at such a tender age.
Joanne (The Daughter): Joanne or Jo is a smart, pampered, loved but sensitive child. Like any other child of four years, she is fond of stories. She is innocent and loves the happy ending stories. She lives in her imaginative world of fairies, magic wands, miracles, etc. and is not prepared for any harsh reality of life. She feels pain for Roger Skunk when he is rejected by his friends. Fun, games and peer appreciation mean so much to her.
She is very logical and argumentative. She has her own mind and cannot accept that mothers can be so cruel as to hurt their children. She urges her father to tell another story when she is not able to persuade him to change the ending of the story.
Jo, like a young smart kid, is full of questions. She is learning new things every day in school and is very inquisitive which gives her maturity. She is brave enough not to accept something that she doesn’t agree upon.
Following is the complete question bank for – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
Multiple Choice Questions of the lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
1.`Should Wizard hit mommy?’ is a——— within a story.
(a) story (b) digression (c) metaphor (d) moral
2.The custom of Jack telling a story began when Jo was
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 6
3. Jo is now nearly ———years old.
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5
4.The story is of a creature named ———–
(a) Skunk (b) Fish (c) Roger (d) Bobby
5.———— was Jo’s brother
(a) Roger (b) Bobby (c) Skunk (d),Jack
6.Jo’s brother was nearly——– years old.
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5
7. Jack narrates the story in the evenings and for ———- naps.
(a) Monday (b) Saturday (c) Sunday (d) Tuesday
8. Roger goes to a wise ————- with his problems.
(a) Tiger (b) Rabbit (c) Owl (d) Bat
9. He is advised to go to the———-
(a) Mommy (b) Wizard (c) Owl(d) Skunk
10. The problem is solved with ————
(a) courage (b) magic (c) a fight (d) an argument
11. When the problem is solved———— is demanded
(a) fee(b) happiness (c) nothing (d) food
12. Roger has insufficient ———
(a) gifts (b) friends (c) money (d) food
13. Roger’s daddy returns home from ————–
(a) New York (b) Boston (c) Washington (d) Reading
14. When Roger’s daddy returns home the family
(a) talks (b) see dinner (c) goes out (d) prays to God
15. (b) Roger Skunk’s smell makes ______ creatures run away
(a) Woodland (b) Wood York (c) Yorkshire (d) Wood hills
16. Roger Skunk feels ———when the other creatures ran away
(a) victorious(b) humiliated
(c) curious(d) determined to take revenge
17. Jack’s wife is called
(a) Mommy (b) Clare (c) Roses (d) Jill
18. The wife was———- downstairs.
(a) painting furniture (b) sleeping
(c) cooking (d) looking after Bobby
19. What is a crick?
(a) A hill (b) A little river (c) A park (d) A dress
20. Who lived in a little white house?
(a) Owl (b) Skunk (c) Wizard (d) Jack
21. Jack felt being——— suited him
(a) an old man (b) an Owl (c) a Skunk (d) a kid
22. Wizard’s magic things were all jumbled up in a big dusty ———-
(a) bag(b) box (c) corner (d) heap
23. What did Roger Skunk want to smell like?
(a) Roses (b) Lilies (c) Lavender (d) Jasmine
24. Jack ended the chant with the word ———-
(a) magic(b) abracadabra (c) hocus-pocus (d) bingo
25. What did Jack mistakenly call Roger Skunk?
(a) Roger Rabbit(b) Roger fish (c) Roger squirrel (d) Roger monkey
26. Roger Skunk had only———- pennies
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6 (d) 8
27. How many times did the wizard ask Roger to turn at the end of the lane?
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5
28. How many pennies did Roger find in the magic well?
(a) 3 (b) 5 (c) 4 (d) 5
29. What did mommy skunk call the smell of roses?
(a) Pleasant (b) Unusual (c) Heavenly (d) Awful
30. What did Mommy skunk take before going to the wizard?
(a) Hat (b) Umbrella (c) Stick (d) Purse
31. Mommy skunk was———- with the wizard?
(a) angry (b) pleased (c) indifferent (d) civil
32. What did the skunk family have for dessert?
(a) Cake (b) Cookies (c) Pie-oh-my (d) Ice cream
33. What word does Jo mispronounce as evenshiladee?
(a) Evening (b) Eventually (c) Evasive (d) Evacuation
34. What does Jo call Mommy skunk?
(a) Stupid mommy (b) Clever mommy (c) Dumb mommy (d) Bad mommy
35. Jo wanted———— in the story the next day
(a) skunk to smell of roses (b) skunk mommy to relent
(c) wizard to hit mommy (d) animals to love skunk
36. Clare was ———-months pregnant
(a) 4 (b) 5 (c) 6 (d) 7
37. What is Jo a short form of?
(a) John (b) Joe (c) Joanne (d) Jane
38. Clare had spread———-
(a) newspapers (b) clothes (c)food (d) washing
39. Clare complains of in——— Jack’s coming down
(a) hesitation(b) promptness (c) enthusiasm (d) delay
40. He feels he is caught in an——– middle position
(a) comfortable(b) beautiful (c) ugly(d) confusing
ANSWERS
1.(a) Story 2. (a) 2 3. (c) 4
5.(c) Roger 5.(b) Bobby 6. (a) 2
7.(b) Saturday 8. (c) Owl 9. (c) Owl
10. (b) magic 11.(a) fee 12. (c) money
13.(b) Boston 14. (b) has dinner15. (a) Woodland
16.(b) humiliated 17. (b) Clare 18. (a) painting furniture
19.(b) A little river 20. (c) Wizard 21. (a) an old man
22.(d) heap 23. (a) Roses 24. (d) bingo
25.(c) Roger fish 26. (b) 4 27. (b) 3
(a) 329. (d) Awful 30. (b) Umbrella
31. (a) angry 32. (c) Pie-oh-my
33. (b) Eventually 34.(a) Stupid mommy
35. (c) wizard to hit mommy 36. (c) 6
37. (c) Joanne 38.(a) newspapers
39. (d) delay 40.(c) ugly
Short Answer Type Questions
Short Answer Type Questions of the lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
Q1. What custom did John follow in the evenings and for Saturday naps?
Ans. Jack told his daughter Jo a story in the evenings and for Saturday naps. He told her a story that he would make up with a slight variation to the basic tale. This custom had begun two years ago when Jo was two.
Q2. What was the basic tale underlying each story that Jack told?
Ans.Each story that Jack told Jo was a slight variation of a basic tale of a small creature named Roger. Roger had some problem and went with it to the wise old owl. The owl told him to go to the Wizard and the Wizard performed a magic spell that solved the problem. He then demanded payment and would tell Roger how to procure pennies from the well down the lane. Roger would go home happy just in time to hear daddy come home from Boston.
Q3 What idea do you form about Jack’s skill in the art of storytelling?
Ann. Jack’s stories lack variety. He ended up telling the same story with a slight variation here and there. He told the stories in an interesting narrative with gestures, sound effects and sometimes even some histrionics.
Q4. How was the custom of storytelling especially fatiguing on Saturday?
Ans. Jack told Jo stories to make her sleep. Jo was now four and no longer slept like an infant. Saturday afternoons would become fatiguing as Jo refused to sleep despite lengthy story-telling sessions.
Q5. Which animal did Jo suggest for the story that day? Why?
Ans. Jo suggested the animal skunk that day. They must have talked about skunks at nursery school that day. It was a custom for Jack to have a slight variation in the story, so Jo chose skunk.
Q6. What was Roger Skunk’s problem? How did he get rid of it?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s problem was that he smelled awful. The other animals would run away. Roger Skunk would stand there all alone. He got rid of his problem with the help of the Wizard who made him smell like a rose.
Q7. Do you think Jack and Jo could identify with Roger skunk as a victim of the hatred of other creatures?
Ans. Jack brought the story to life when he narrated the tale remembering certain humiliations of his own childhood. The corners of Jo’s mouth drooped down and her lower lip bent forward. A tear flowed along the side of the nose. This shows that even Jo could identify with Roger Skunk.
Q8. Which two opposite forces acted on Jack while he was telling Jo the story?
Ans. Jack was telling Jo something she must know and had no wish to hurry on. On the other hand, he heard a chair scrapping. He realized that he must help his pregnant wife Clare to paint the woodwork downstairs. These were the opposite forces acting on Jack while he was telling Jo the story.
Q9. What do you learn about Jo’s new reality phase?
Ans. Earlier Jo used to accept her father’s word about magic etc. Now she had started asking if magic spells were real. She had become curious. She was growing up and wished to check the reality of all that was told to her.
Q10. What did Jack tell Jo about the Wizard?
Ans. Jack told Jo that in the wizard’s house all magic things lay jumbled together in a big dusty heap because the wizard did not have any cleaning lady. He added that the wizard was a very old man and wizards don’t die.
Q11. How did Jack make the role of the Wizard very impressive?
Ans. Jack fixed Jo with the trace like gaze. He chanted a magic spell in the wizard’s elderly irritable voice. The chanting was rhythmical and had sweet rhymes. He ended the chant with a `Bingo’. He paused. Then he changed the tone to a whisper to highlight the dramatic effect. He finally said that the wizard’s house was full of the smell of roses.
Q12. How did the woodland creatures react to the skunk’s new smell? What made Roger Skunk happy?
Ans.The woodland creatures found Roger Skunk’s new smell quite pleasant. They played many games with him and gathered around him. Roger Skunk was very happy to be accepted by the other animals.
Q13. What made Jack continue the story?
Ans. Instead of falling asleep, Jo started to fuss with her hands and looked out of the window. She thought the story was over. Jack didn’t like women when they took things for granted. So he continued the story.
Q14. Why was Roger Skunk’s mommy angry?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s mommy was angry because of Roger smelt of roses. She wanted Roger to smell the way a little skunk would. She ordered him to take her to the wizard so that she could get Roger’s original bad smell back as their smell was a tool to keep enemies away.
Q15. Why did Jo not approve of skunk’s mother scolding him for his new smell?
Ans. Jo was very happy that skunk smell like roses. He was accepted by the woodland creatures and was happy. Jo did not approve of skunk’s mother scolding him for something that made him acceptable among his friends and brought him happiness.
Q16. Why does the wizard take the beating and change the rose smell?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s mother was very angry. She wanted Roger to smell the way a little skunk should. Jack wanted to impress upon his daughter that mothers were always right so in his version the wizard complied with the mother’s command.
Q17. How did Jo want the wizard to behave when mommy skunk approached him?
Ans. Jo did not like the fact that mommy had hit the benevolent wizard who had made Roger happy. She wanted the wizard to hit mommy who did not let her son have a pleasant smell. The smell of roses made Roger accepted by his friends.
Q18. Why does Jo insist that her father should tell her the story with a different ending the next day?
Ans. Jo was not convinced that the animals would eventually get used to the way skunk smell. Jo wanted the wizard to hit mommy who did not bother about son’s happiness on being accepted by other animals in woodland.
Q19. Why did Roger Skunk go to see the old owl?
Ans. Roger Skunk smelt very bad and all the woodland creatures would run away from him. No one played with him. This made him very sad and he wanted to remove the bad smell so that he could be accepted by his peers.
Q20. How did Jo want the story of Roger Skunk to end?
Ans. Jo was dissatisfied with the ending of the story. She wanted the Wizard to hit Roger’s mother with his magic wand. She disapproved of Mother Skunk to get back his old smell. She wanted Roger to be accepted by his friends. She also wanted the ‘stupid mommy’ to be punished.
Q21. How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?
Ans.The stories told by Jack were well taken by Jo. The ending of Skunk’s story did not satisfy her. In the other stories, the Wizard would solve Roger’s problems but in this story Roger’s mother got his smell changed. The Skunk’s story in this regard was different from the other stories told by Jack.
Q22. How did the Wizard help Roger Skunk?
Ans. Due to the foul smell, the woodland creatures did not play with Skunk. Skunk on the other hand, wanted to play with them and be accepted. He went to the Wizard to seek a solution. The Wizard heard him out and invited him inside his house and with the help of his magic wand made him smell like roses.
Q23. What makes Jack feel caught in an ugly middle position?
Ans.Jack was divided into two difficult situations. Jo was dissatisfied with the ending of the story. Jack was unable to satisfy her and put her to sleep. On the other hand, his wife Clare was doing the work of painting. She was pregnant. Clare complained that he had told a long story. He could not help Clare. Jack felt utter weariness and did not want to speak with his wife or work with her or touch her. He was caught in an ugly middle position.
Q24. What was the basic plot of each story told by Jack? [Delhi 2017]
Ans. Jack’s stories had a common plot and characters. The main character, always an animal, would change but he would always be named Roger. The wizard and the owl would always be part of Jack’s stories. Also, the main character would always have to give some pennies to the wizard.
Q25. Having got rid of his stink, what problem did Roger Skunk face? [Delhi 2017]
Ans. After his visit to the wizard, Roger Skunk came back home smelling of roses. His mother wondered what that ‘awful’ smell was. Roger replied happily that the wizard had made him smell like that. The mother became very angry. She decided to take him right back to that ‘awful’ wizard. She wanted Roger to smell like a skunk and retain his identity at all costs.
Q26. What problem did Roger Skunk face when he went to play with his friends? How did he solve it? [Delhi 2017]
Ans. Roger Skunk smelled very badly. Due to his bad smell, no animal came near him. Whenever he went out, all other tiny animals would run away leaving him alone to weep over his fate. Roger Skunk visited the wizard and asked him to give him the smell of roses. The wizard took his magic wand and chanted a spell and the Skunk’s wish was fulfilled.
Q27. What is mother Skunk’s role in the story? [All India 2017]
Ans.Roger Skunk came back home. He smelled like roses. His mother wondered what that `awful’ smell was. The mother became very angry. She decided to take him right back to that ‘awful’ wizard. She wanted Roger to smell like a Skunk. A mother doesn’t care whether her child whom she loves and cherishes smells of roses or smells bad. Besides, through the mother’s character, John Updike wishes to convey that one’s God-given identity is sacrosanct and it should not be compromised for shallow reasons.
28. What changes did Jack find in his daughter as compared to the past when he began narrating bedtime stories?
Ans. Jack had been telling stories to Jo for two years. But he found that there was a change in his daughter as compared to the past. Now Jo was developing a questioning attitude and her curiosity level was increasing day by day. Did she want logical answers to questions as to how was God around them? Could magic spells be real? etc. Moreover, her awareness of the world was growing.
29. Why was Roger Skunk’s mummy angry with him? Does her anger seem justified?
Ans. When Roger Skunk’s mother found him smelling like roses, she got very upset and angry. She did not like the idea that her son should lose his originality. In fact, she was correct because one should not leave one’s originality for the sake of others.
30. Why did Jo think Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell?
Ans. Jo was a small child. For her peer acceptance and appreciation was of utmost importance. That’s why she thought Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell as it gave him acceptance and appreciation of his peer group.
31. How did the wizard help Roger Skunk?
Ans. Roger Skunk smelled very bad and that is why nobody wanted to play with him. The owl suggested him to go to the wizard for help. The wizard asked Roger Skunk for the smell he wanted to have and so gave him the smell of roses with the help of his magic wand.
32. Why does Jo insist that her father should tell her the story with a different ending?
Ans. Jo was a small girl of four years. For her peer acceptance and appreciation was the most important thing. She found it cruel and insensitive on the part of mommy to hit the wizard and get back Skunk his original smell. She wanted a happy ending and also wanted the wizard to hit mommy for her insensitive act. So she asked her father to tell the story with a different ending.
33. Which action of Jo annoyed Jack? What do you think disturbed him?
Ans. While Jack was telling the story, Jo was interrupting him due to her excitement. This annoyed Jack. Moreover, Jo’s interference was more of predicting in nature which Jack didn’t like. Jack didn’t want to lose his authority as a storyteller and wanted to exert full freedom for that. That’s what disturbed him. Moreover, he was in a hurry to make Jo sleep so that he could help his pregnant wife who was working alone downstairs.
34. Which two factors made Jack continue the story?
Ans. While Jack was telling the story, he found that though Jo was exhibiting the desired response to the story, her response was not sincere like his wife’s presence at the cocktail party. So he thought of continuing the story to create her real interest in the story. Moreover, he noticed that Jo was expecting the story to end in a particular way and he could not bear when women take things for granted. So he decided to continue the story by giving it a twist.
35. Why did Roger Skunk’s mommy insist on taking him to the wizard at once?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s mother was annoyed to find him smelling like roses. She believed that a skunk should smell like a skunk. It is their natural feature and the mark of their identity. So, she wanted his original smell to be restored as soon as possible and that is why she immediately took him to the wizard.
36. Why did Jo feel that the Skunk’s mommy was stupid?
Ans. For Jo, if mommy does not care for the wishes of the child, then she is stupid. Jo found Roger Skunk’s mommy very cruel and insensitive because she did not bother about her son’s happiness and could not understand the misery he faced when rejected by woodland creatures.
37. Why was Roger Skunk’s mother angry? On whom did she pour her anger?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s mother was angry to find that Roger Skunk smelling like a rose and losing his original smell. In a rage, she went to the wizard and hit him on his head for changing Roger Skunk’s smell. She asked him to give back him his original smell.
38. Why did Roger Skunk go to visit the owl?
Ans. Roger Skunk smelt awful that is why no woodland creature was ready to play with him. He was rejected and ridiculed by all other children in the forest. He was very sad and disheartened. So, in order to take the advice as to how to get rid of the smell, he went to the owl.
39. How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?
Ans. All the previous stories narrated by Jack had a happy ending where the protagonist was happy and satisfied at the end of the story. But this story ended on a very different note. Here Roger Skunk was given his original bad smell because his mother didn’t want him to have any other smell. The wizard’ who gave the smell of roses to Skunk, was hit by mommy on his head.
40. What did Jo want the wizard to do when Mommy Skunk approached him?
Ans. Jo was a small girl of four years. She had more importance for peer appreciation and acceptance. She is too young to understand the moral value to remain original and maintain our own identity. That is why Jo didn’t like her act of hitting the wizard on the head. She wanted that mother should be punished for her cruel act of having hit the wizard on the head.
41. Why does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother?
Ans. Jack insisted that it was the wizard and not the mother who was hit because he wanted to imbibe a moral value in his daughter. He wanted to stress the point that parents are always right so they demand our respect and authority.
42. Which do you think is a better ending of Roger Skunk’s story, Jo’s or her father’s? Why?
Ans. In fact, the ending of Roger Skunk’s story should be as the father Jack had given. Every story should have a moral lesson. In this ending, the message’ is very strong and important. We must honour and respect what we have got naturally. We should not try to lose our identity and originality and should be accepted in society for what we really are.
Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- of the lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
Q1. Character Sketch of Jack.
Ans. Jack is the protagonist of the story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ The story examines the issue of parenting, the adult tendency to quell the questioning mind of a child and the belief that the viewpoint of the adult is the only valid one.
Jack is conscious of his duties as a father and a husband. He has been telling stories to his daughter Jo since she was two years old, for her Saturday and evening naps, but now two and a half years later he is fatigued and confused by her constant questioning, pointing errors (Roger fish instead of skunk), asking for clarifications and suggesting alternatives. He has the typical parental attitude and opinion that parents know what is best for their children and stifles her objections and amendments shown by his defending the skunk’s mother and indirectly his own.
Jack feels caught in an ugly middle position physically, emotionally and mentally. He did not like women to take anything for granted, to the extent that he extends the story and changes the ending, giving it the face that he wants to. This despite the fact that he knows that he should be helping his pregnant wife paint the woodwork. Jack is someone who is not used to his authority being questioned and so is confused by Jo’s questioning. Though a loving parent he finds it hard to accept the fact that Jo now has a mind of her own. His insensitivity and impatience comes across in his dealings with his daughter, and the fact thatan as the viewpoint is biased by personal experiences.
Q2. What is the moral issue that the story raises?
Ans.The story shows the conflict between two generations. It tells us about the belief, of the older generation, in customs and traditions and constantly questioning the attitude of the younger generation, hence contributing to a generation gap.
Not understanding her son’s original loneliness and dejection, Skunk’s mother gets his smell changed to his original foul smell and loves him the way he is, raising the moral issue of whether parents should always decide what the children should do or let the children do what they like to do.
There is an evident contrast between an adult’s perspective on life and the world view of a little child. Jo wants the wizard to hit mommy and not vice versa because she represents the new generation knew not to agree with her father’s view. Jack sums up the issue in one sentence- `She knew what was right’. Jack also says that the little skunk agreed to the mother’s proposal because he loved his mother more than the other animals. Little Jo feels that the skunk’s mother should not have robbed her little son of the pleasure he derived w. en playing with the other animals when he smelt of roses. She insists that the wizard Keeping hit the mommy on the head and calls little skunk’s mother a `Stupid Mommy’ keeping to. herviewpoint, she insisted that her father should tell her the story the next day in a different manner. So we see that the story deals with moral issues dependent on the different levels of maturity of Jack and Jo.
Q3. Do you consider the title appropriate and justified?
Ans.The title ‘Should Wizard hit Mommy’ is justified. It focuses the readers’ attention on the two well-wishers of the main character Roger Skunk. The wizard makes Roger smell of roses. Mommy skunk hits the wizard and makes him restore the bad odour of skunk. The reader is presented with two different opinions. The father, Jack, has a great reverence for mothers and does not consider mother skunk’s hitting the wizard objectionable. However, Jo, for whom the wizard is very good, condemns the mother. She demands that in the story the next day, the wizard hit the mommy.
The author has deliberately kept the story open-ended and does not take a decision. He seeks the reaction of the reader whether the ‘mommy’ needs to be hit or not. He does so by putting a question mark at the end of the title making the title appropriate.
Q4. How does Jo want the story to end? Why? What light does it throw on Jo’s character?
Ans. Jo wanted the story to end with Roger being accepted by the other animals. In Jack’s version, the wizard was hit by mommy. Jo did not relish this. The wizard was the person who fulfilled everyone’s wishes. He had rid Roger skunk of the bad odour. So she wanted her father to end the story with Roger Skunk having a new and pleasant smell and the wizard spanking the stupid ‘mommy’.
Jo would get totally involved in the story. She even shed a tear or so, when the woodland creatures spurned Roger. She could not bear injustice to the wizard by `Mommy, skunk. She wanted the ending of the story to change in which the benevolent Wizard hits mommy for being inconsiderate to Roger’s need for acceptance by friends. She was independent in her thinking. Jo remains unconvinced by the father’s argument that mothers are always right.
5. 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?
Ans. The same situation can be viewed through two different perspectives. This is evident through the story of Roger Skunk. In the story, Roger Skunk had a very bad smell and was ridiculed and rejected by his peer group. He went to the wizard who changed his bad smell into the pleasant smell of roses. Consequently, he is appreciated and accepted by all the creatures. But his mother was annoyed and went to the wizard, hit him on Roger’s head and got Roger’s original smell restored. From the viewpoint of Jo, this was not the appropriate ending as mommy cannot be so cruel to humiliate her own child. So she wanted mommy to be punished. But from Jack’s viewpoint, parents are always right and keeping one’s originality is very significant. Thus, the story emphasises the point that the same situation can be analysed through two different angles.
6. Why did Jo think Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell?
Ans. Jo was a small girl. For her peer appreciation and acceptance was the most important thing. In fact, she identified Roger Skunk with herself. She felt bad and could feel the pain of Roger Skunk when he was rejected by the other woodland creatures due to his bad smell. So when the wizard gave him the new smell due to which he smelt like roses, Jo became happy. Due to his new smell, all the creatures became his friends and he was accepted wholeheartedly. He enjoyed playing with the woodland creatures throughout the day. Acceptance and appreciation of Roger Skunk by other creatures of the woodland made Jo feel that he was better off with the new smell.
7. Why was Roger Skunk’s mommy angry with him? What did she finally tell him?
Ans. Roger Skunk, on the advice of the wise owl, went to the wizard to get rid of his had smell. The wizard gave him a new smell, i.e. of roses. He was very happy. Due to this good smell, all the creatures of the woodland became his friends and allowed him to play with them. But when he reached home in the evening, his mother was angry to find him smelling of roses. She didn’t want Roger Skunk to lose his originality. She scolded him and asked him to immediately have his original smell restore. She finally took him to the wizard and hit him on his head as a punishment and asked him to restore Roger Skunk’s original smell.
8. Discuss the significance of the title ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’
Ans. The title of the story is in the form of a question and raises moral and ethical issues. Jack told a story to little Jo in which mommy hit the wizard for daring to change the natural feature of her child. But Jo found it to be cruel on the part of mommy. The story depicts a conflict of viewpoints between the adults and the children. Jo believes in a happy ending so she wanted her father to tell another story in which the wizard would hit Mommy. But her protest is a challenge to parental authority. Jack wondered whether he would bend before Jo’s emotional blackmail or not. The story is left at this crucial moment and the writer leaves it to the reader to interpret it in the light of his or her own experiences and beliefs.
9. In what way is Roger Skunk’s story similar and different from other Roger’s stories?
Ans. Jack used to sell stories to Jo on Saturday afternoons to put her to sleep. He was doing it for the last two years and had made a storyline. Every time there is a Roger creature in the story who had a problem and he always went to the wise owl to take his advice. The owl used to refer him to the wizard who with his magic spell solved his problems and charged money. There were creatures like fish, squirrel, Chipmunk, etc. with minor problems and the wizard used to solve these problems quickly. Moreover, they were not rejected or teased by their peer groups. But Roger Skunk’s problem was very characteristic of his tribe and was related to a moral issue: the originality of one’s own natural characteristics.
10. What part of the story did Jack himself enjoy the most? Why?
Ans. Jack enjoyed most part of the story in which the wizard is present. He was proud of his ability to enact the part of the wizard through his voice modulation and facial expressions. He did it by scrunching up his face and whining through his eyes, which felt for the internal rheumy. He liked to enact like an old man. This kind of improvisation in the storytelling captured Jo so much in the story. Moreover, Jack himself felt satisfied and happy to tell the story using all his wits and talent.
11. Jack is not used to having his authority questioned? How do we know about it? How does he show this to his daughter?
Ans. Jack was not used to his authority being questioned. Till this time, Jo had never been questioned for anything in the story. But now a phase was developing. Jo had started asking questions and reasons. Moreover, Jo’s constant questioning during the story and her protest to accept the ending of the story appeared to him to be a threat to his authority. Many times during the course of storytelling Jack exerts his authority by asking her “Who’s telling the story?” At the end when he left the room in spite of Jo’s protest to the end and demand for a new story, he came back again to sense the restlessness of Jo. Here he ultimately used the adult authority and asked her if she wanted him to spank her.
12. How does Jack interweave his own childhood in the story of Stinky Skunk?
Ans. Jack told his daughter Jo a story in which the protagonist Roger Skunk is humiliated and rejected by the peer group because of his bad smell. While narrating the story, Jack felt this to be part of his own childhood experience. He remembered the humiliations and ridicules that he had faced in his childhood. He told Jo that all the other creatures refused to play with or befriend Roger and ran away because of his bad smell. He was left alone to cry. This must have been his own childhood experience when he might have been rejected and mocked by peers and would have cried alone as everyone would have left him.
Value-based Questions of the lesson – Should Wizard Hit Mommy?
1. During our childhood and in adolescence peer pressure plays a very important role in our lives. Write a speech on the topic ‘Effect of Peer Pressure on Children.’
Ans. ‘Effect of Peer Pressure on Children’
Good Morning everyone. Childhood is supposed to be the most tender time of life. A child is like clay with no preconceptions. His world is too small. It includes their parents and friends. But as Wordsworth said, “The child is the father of the Man”, so even this small child is conscious of his image, acceptance and appreciation. At this young age, it is very difficult for a child to accept ridicule and rejection because he is not mature enough to handle the harsh realities of life. As a result, the action and reaction of his friends become most important for him.
It’s not that the peer effect is always negative. Many times, a child learns new constructive things and habits in a very natural way while dealing with his friends. He learns social manners and the significance of caring and sharing. But if the peer group is not right, then the pressure of peer group might mislead him. He can start imitating bad habits like telling lies, abusing, stealing, etc. Even if the child knows whatever the others are doing is wrong, he is compelled to do the same out of peer pressure.
Thus, I conclude with the point that peer pressure can be very effective if the peer group consists of children who have good habits. But if the peer group is not up to the mark, then this may bring disastrous effects on children.
2. The conflict between the viewpoints of children and parents is a very common feature. Many time parents find it difficult to handle children. Write an article on the growing conflicts between the ideologies of the parents and children with reference to the story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’
Ans. Conflicts between Parents and Children
The conflict between parents and children is an age-old phenomenon. Some call it a generation gap, another conflict of ideas. In fact, they both seem to be right on their part. Parents, being adults, want to be caring and cautious about their children. As an adult, it is their duty to imbibe traditions and values in them. Their concern for the future of their children makes them supervise them. But, on the other hand, children have their own viewpoint. For them, their individuality and standing in their own society are of utmost importance. Like Jo in the story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ they find it cruel on the part of their parents to make them an object of ridicule as also rejection by the peer group. But, on the other hand, parents are also right in their ideology, like Roger Skunk’s mommy. who did not want her son to lose his originality and identity? She wants to teach Skunk that we should not change for others rather the world should accept us as what we are.
Thus, the conflict between the ideologies of parents and that of children is an ongoing process.
