Very Short Questions
Question 1 : From a certain height a mile got reduced to…….inches.
Answer : From a certain height a mile got reduced to six inches.
Question 2 : Why did the city look haphazard on the ground?
Answer : The city looked haphazard on the ground because it was impossible to get a wholesome view of the city.
Question 3 : The poet failed to find answers to certain questions. What were these questions?
Answer : The poet failed to understand why men hated men. Why men were ready to kill each other. He also could not comprehend why men built walls around the city.
Short Questions
Question 1 : What were the poets thoughts when he sees the city from the sky?
Answer : On seeing the city from a certain height in the sky, the poet was able to understand why the city had developed in a certain way. The city was developed in accordance to the needs of man and therefore, though it looked haphazard on the ground, adhered to a logical plan.
Question 2 : Discuss the tone of the poem.
Answer : In the opening stanzas of the poem, the poet adopts a fairly descriptive tone. He describes the landscape the way he views it from a certain height. He meticulously records the height that the plane attains and the way that alters his view of the city.
However, as the poem progresses, especially in the first stanza, the tone of the poet becomes meditative and philosophical. He meditates upon the reasons as to why man has become an enemy of man, why is he willing to kill people of his own species and so on.
Question 3 : Comment on the title of the poem.
Answer : The poem has been titled , “Geography Lesson” and has been titled quite suitably. The poet learns a lesson from the geography. He was able to understand that the city that looked unplanned when viewed from the ground had been developed in accordance with the needs of the man. It was, therefore, not unplanned, but beyond the understanding of the common man. Therefore, rather than continuously criticising their city, man should be thankful for the comforts that he has. Man should, on the other hand, try to derive answers to the mystery behind man’s hatred and animosity towards another man.
Value Based Questions
Question 1 : What is the central theme as conveyed by the poet?
Answer : The poet wishes to convey the irrational and illogical grudges and grievances that people nurture for each other. The poet fails to understand why people discriminate and judge on the basis of regional and territorial lives when geography and nature does not establish these differences.