SHOULD WIZARD HIT MOMMY?

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SYNOPSIS
John Updike [
Jack used to tell his daughter, Jo (Joanne), a story before her Satu~day naps and in th e
7Vening. The stories revolved around a basic tale - a small creature with a problem went
th
to e wise owl who sent him to the wizard. The wizard solved the problem, and
demanded payment, directing the creature to- a place there the pennies could .be fou nd _
There the creature, usually called Roger, played with the other animals till its mother
called it home. The story ended with the father returning home from work and ·a
description of the sumptuous dinner.

~ne afternoon, the tale was about a skunk who was upset because no one played with
him as he smelt bad. The skunk asked the wizard to make him smell of roses so that
he would be happy and all the woodland creatures would play with him. However, when
he went home, his mother was furious at what the wizard had done. She took her son to
the wizard and hit the wizard over the head and made him change the skunk back to his
smelly self. •
Jo was upset at this as she felt the animals would once more leave Roger Skunk out but
Jack said that the mother loved him as Re was and eyentually the animals too got used
to him. Jo was, however, disappointed with the ending of the story and wanted one
where the mother will suffer the following day.
While he had been telling the story, his thoughts were with his pregnant wife who was
working downstairs. But when Jack came downstairs, he was still caught up in the
turmoil caused by the story. Caught in the middle, he understood his daughter's point of
view, while as a parent he also sympathized with his mother's desire for a child to
celebrate his individuality. He felt bound and was unable to share this conflict even with
his wife.
The moral and autobiographical aspects of the story within the story have the following
implications: t
Moral Aspect: Are Mommies always right? Should you change yourself to please
" others? Should one be proud of oneself first in order to be accepted by others?
Autobiographical Aspect: Jack remembered 'certain humiliations' pertaining to his own
childhood; he was telling his daughter something 'true'. Also he thought his mother was
always right and mattered the most to him.
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Short Answer Q~estions(SOLVED) : . .t · . _

Read the following extract and answer the ~uest1ons that follow:(1x4-4marks~
"This custom, begun Whe. n she
.. was. tw· o' was itself now·. nearly
. two years old, and his
tt , b . . .

head felt empty. . h.. h the above line has been taken. Also name its author.
. 1. Name the lesson from w ic .. . .... :: . . .
,•
T~e above line has been taken from the lesson, ' Should Wizard hrt Mommy' and its
author is John Updike.
2. Whom do the words 'she' and' his' refer to?
The words 'she' and' his' refer to Joanne and her father, Jack.
3.Which custom is being referred to in the above line? .
The custom of of Jack telling a story to his daughter.Joanne, in the evening and for
Saturday naps is being referred to in the above line.
4. Why did his head feel empty?
His head felt empty as he had been cooking up a story for nearly two years now and he
could not think of anything new now.

1.Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:(1x 4=4marks)
"He was pleased with this moment - he was telling her something true, something she
must know- and had no wish to hurry on."
1.Which moment was he pleased with?
2. Why was it so? . ·
3. What was the message he was trying to convey to her?
4. What does the above extract tell us about 'him'?
.
2.Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow: (1x 4=4marks)
"This was a new phase, just this last month, a reality phase," ·
1. What do you understand by 'a reality phase'?
2. What examples are given of the 'reality phase'?
3. What was the 'reality phase' an indication of?
4. Did Joanne want the story to end the way her father ended It?

Short Answer Questions: (30- 40 Words; 2 Marks)

1. What was the basic tale on which Jack based his stories?
2. What was Roger Skunk's problem? , ..
3.What does Jack's insistence on mothers always being right tell you about his
childhood? :
4. Was Jo enjoying the story.that she was being told? .
5. What is ironic about Roger Skunk's mother saying,"What's that awful smell?"
6. Why does the mother want th e skunk to smell like himself?
7. Why does Jo want the skunk to smell like roses?
8. What was Jae.k's dilemma? i ·
9. Why did Jack not want to tal~ to his wife?
10. Why was the story-telling session espedally tiring for Jack on Saturday?

Long Answer Questions: (120-150 Words; 6 Marks)

1. Why was Jack upset with hi~ daughter's disinterest?
· 2. What does Jack try to' tell. his daughter through the story.of Roger Skunk? Is he
successful in his attempt? ·
3 Wh · .· ?
st
4· . at Was the story that Jack told Jo? What was the moral of th e ory
· Discuss the title of the story.
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8 ample Answers
Answ ·
er in about 1~O words:
? 1
) An adult's perspective on life is different from a child's. Discuss with reference to
· Should Wizard Hit Mommy?"
An adult's perspective is very different from that of a child. This can be seen clearly in
th st
e ory "Should Wizard Hit• Mommy?" Jack · tells his: daughter.Jo, a story before
a
bedtime. Since she wants to hear story about a skuhk,. he tells herabout Roger Skunk
who smells so bad that rio one wants to play with .him; Roger goes to the owl that
directs him to a wizard who makes him smell of roses. He Is happy and has plenty of
friends to play with, but when he goes home; his mother i.s ·very angry.. She takes him to
s0

the wizard and insists that Roger be made to smell like a kunk again.
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Jo is upset with the mother for making the wizard change Roger back into his earlier_.
smelly self. Like all childre'.n, she felt it was good that h·e had friends to play with. She ·
knew how difficult it was t6:fit in if one did not conform. However, Jack through his story
wants to tell his daughte\ that you must always be yourself and not give in to peer
pressure. He wants to say that if you are comfortable being yourself, eventually they will
accept you as you are. :· The differences between adult and child perspectives are
· honestly dealt with in the story. ·
Sample Answers - short : . .
Q 1) What was the basic.tale:on Which Jack based his story? . .
a
The tale which Jack told :Jo was of small creature, named Roger, who took his
problems to the owl. The owl sent him to the wizard who solved the. problem and
demanded payment. He did~not have enough money, so_ · he was directed to a place
where the money could be found . Then the creature played with the others and went
~home in time to hear the train bringing his father home. The story ended with a
description of the family getting together at supper.
Q 2) What is Jack trying to tell Jo through the skunk story? What is Jo's reaction?
Through the story, Jack is trying to tell his daughter that one must be. comforta?le_ in
his/her own skin and eventually one will be accepted for what one is. Jo 1s unhappy with
the story as she wants Roger Skunk to be liked by the other animals so he can join in
their games. She does not like Roger to be isolated.
Q 3) Why was Roger Skunk's mommy unhappy with the change in her ~hild? .
Roger Skun k,s mother was unhappy that her child had begun to smell like
, roses.
h She · t·
hit
. .
:ned ~::: ~::.e i~:e
d for it She believed that one should accept one s c arac ens ics
1
we a.ccept our qualities, others would value them too. A skunk
was meant to smell that way.