A Tiger in the Zoo
By– Leslie Norris
Short Answer Type Important Questions
1. What do you understand by `His strength behind bars’? What kind of a cage is he locked in?
Ans. The tiger is wretched in its cage. His power is confined behind the bars. He was locked in a small cage where he is devoid of freedom. He feels unhappy, frustrated, restless and angry.
2. Is it safe to allow tigers to live in their natural habitat these days?
Ans. Although it is ideal for tigers to live in the wild, today, it will mean certain death for them. Fast diminishing jungles and danger posed by poachers have pushed tigers to the brink of extinction, making their natural home unsafe.
3. The tiger in the poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ has some obvious limitations, describe them in contrast to its natural habitat.
Ans. The tiger in the zoo was confined to a small space. He was angry that he couldn’t be free to move, hunt and do what he pleased forced to be a showpiece; and the cage’s bars obstructed his view of the starry night. This was all unlike his natural habitat where he hunted fiercely and slept fitfully.
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4. What is the theme of the poem?
Or
What message does the poet want to convey through the poem—Tiger in the Zoo’?
Ans. The poet wants to convey that it is cruel to keep the wild animals in small enclosures of the zoo, away from their natural habitat. They feel angry, helpless and unhappy and remember their life and environment in the forest.
5. Why do you think the tiger was stalking in the cage? What does it show?
Ans. I think the tiger was feeling restless and uneasy in that small cage. He seems to be frustrated and helpless as he could not come out of the cage in the open and enjoy his freedom. He did not want to be a mere showpiece and a source of entertainment for human beings.
6. Describe the movement of the tiger in the cage and in the wild.
Or
What difference do you find in the mood of a tiger when he is in a zoo and when he is in a forest?
Ans. In the zoo, in his small cage and devoid of freedom, the tiger feels unhappy rather frustrated, restless and angry. In the forest, he enjoys moving majestically wherever he wants, terrorizes the villagers by displaying his sharp teeth and claws. He is happy in the forest, enjoying his liberty and surroundings, but not in the zoo.
Q.7. What does the poet say about a tiger in his natural surroundings?
Ans. The poet says that the tiger should be in the jungle. It is his natural habitat. In the jungle, he moves in the long grass near a water hole. He hides in shadow to hunt the deer for his food.
Q.8. Where is the strength of the tiger and how does he treat the visitors?
Ans. The tiger is imprisoned in a cage. So his strength is behind the bars. He paces to-and-fro the length of the cage. Visitors come to his cage. But he ignores those visitors.
Q.9. How does the tiger terrify the villagers?
Ans. The tiger prowls around the houses of the villagers. He terrifies them by snarling at them. Their houses are situated near the jungle. He terrifies the villagers by baring his fangs and showing his long claws.
Q.10. How does the tiger behave at night?
Ans. At night the tiger feels lonely. He hears the sound of the patrolling cars. He looks through the bars at the shining stars. His eyes are also shining.
Q.11. How does the poet contrast the tiger in the cage with the tiger in the forest? [H.B.S.E. 2017 (Set-A)]
Ans. The poet says that the caged tiger is imprisoned. He is not free. He is angry. On the other hand. the tiger in the jungle is free. He walks in the tall grass and hunts the deer that pass near the water hole
Q.12. How does the tiger walk in the cage? [ H.B.S.E. Match, 2017 (Set-C)]
Ans. The tiger walks in the cage in a proud manner. He walks quietly. But his eyes show that he is very angry at having been imprisoned in a cage. But he can’t do anything for his freedom.
Q13. How does the tiger stalk in the cage?
Ans. The tiger is not in his natural habitat—the jungle. the lie is locked in a cage made up of cement and concrete. He keeps on stalking inside his cage from one side to the other. He is walking in a quiet rage with his heels which are padded like velvet.
Q14. How does the tiger prepare himself for hunting when he is in his natural habitat — the jungle?
Ans. The mighty tiger roams freely in his natural habitat – the wilds. He knows how to ambush his prey. He waits for his prey lurking unseen in the shadow of trees. He slides through the long grass quite unnoticed. He comes to the water hole where he can find his favourite prey – plump deer.
Q15. How does the tiger terrorise the villagers? Does he have any intention of killing them?
Ans. Sometimes, the tiger roams around freely and comes near the edge of the jungle. He comes very near to the houses of the villagers which are situated on the outskirts of the jungle. Roaming there, he opens out his white sharp teeth and paws to terrorise the villagers. He has no intention of killing them as he never attacks until he is provoked to do so.
Q16. How does the tiger feel locked in the concrete cell of the zoo? Why does he ignore the visitors?
Ans. The tiger is basically an animal of the wilds. He is’ a denizen of the forest. Being locked in a concrete cell of the zoo, he feels quite helpless. His immense strength is of no use to him as he is put behind the bars. He only stalks the length of his cage. He ignores the visitors who came to see him after buying their tickets. He doesn’t want to present himself as an object of entertaining others.
Q17. What does the tiger do at night? What does he feel when he stares at the brilliant stars in the sky?
Ans. The patrolling cars move around and the tiger hears their sound late at night. He is locked in a cage but stares at the brilliant stars shining in the vast and open sky. The vast open sky and the brilliant stars only intensify the feeling of helplessness that he feels inside the cage.
Q18. Freedom can’t be bargained at any cost. What message does Leslie Norris give to the readers in ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’?
Ans. Not only humans but animals too cherish freedom. Freedom can’t be bargained. In this case, a tiger may be well-fed and protected. However, the curtailment of his freedom keeps him in ‘quiet rage’. He resents being behind the bars. He is a different animal when he is in his natural habitat, the jungle. He roams around the water hole and ambushes his favourite plump deer.
Q19. He hears the last voice at night, The patrolling cars, Who hears the last voice and of what?
Ans. The tiger hears the last voice Le, the sound of the patrolling cars at night. He is imprisoned in a cage in the zoo. The patrolling cars are making a round of the zoo to see that everything is all right.
Q 20. And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.
Why are the eyes brilliant? What is common between the eyes and the stars?
Ans. The tiger’s eyes shine brightly in the darkness of night. The stars are also shining in the sky. The common thing between the tiger’s eyes and the stars is that both are brilliant.
Q21. What message do you get from this poem?
Ans. From this poem, we come to know that animals like to live freely in the forest. The animals do not want to live in the zoo. Their life is pitiable in it.
Q22. Baring his white fangs, his claws
Terrorising the village.
Who bears his fangs and how does he terrorise the village?
Ans. The tiger bares his white fangs. He terrorises the people of the village because he keeps snarling around houses.
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