POEM “ A TIGER IN A ZOO”

EXTRA QUESTIONS
SHORT QUESTIONS-:
Q1 Leslie Morris has described some of the activities of a tiger behind the bars of its cage .
Write them.
Ans Some of the activities of the tiger behind the bars of its cage include stalking along the
length of the cage , ignoring visitors , hearing patrolling cars and staring at the brilliant stars
shining in the sky.
Q2 How does the tiger make his presence felt in the village?
Ans The tiger makes his presence felt by snarling around houses at the jungle’s edge and by
showing his white fangs and claws.
Q3 Why does the tiger express his rage quietly?
Ans The tiger expresses his rage quietly because there is nothing he can do from behind the
bars of his cage. His strength and fierceness is locked. He feels helpless as he is no longer free
as he was in the jungle. That’s why he suppressed his anger.
Q4 Why should the tiger snarl around houses at the edge of the forest?
Ans The tiger should snarl around houses at the edge of the forest because of the following
reasons..
Firstly , the villagers will not disturb the peace of the forest.
Secondly , they will not kill the animals for money or just for fun.
Q5 How does the tiger feel in the zoo ?
Ans The tiger is a wild animal. He belongs to the jungle. So , he feels his freedom is curtailed in
the cage.No comfort or luxury can make any living happy if he is held captive. The tiger is also
feeling out of place and depressed. He longs to be free and go back to his natural habitat. He
feels helpless as his strength and aura locked behind bars of the cage.He cuts a sorry figure to
the readers.
Q6 Which is the natural habitat of a tiger ? What differentiates a cage from his natural habitat ?
Ans The jungle is the natural habitat of a tiger . In the jungle , he is free to roam . find his prey
and hunt it playfully . He can terrorise the people . In a cage his freedom is curtailed. He can not
live his life at his own pace. He belongs to the jungle ,so it is very difficult for him to adapt
himself to the surroundings not meant for him.
Q7 What kind of life should the tiger be leading? What stops him from doing so ?
Ans In the wild, the tiger hides in shade, moves quietly through long grasses and hunts his prey.
He breathes in open air.He displays his strength and terrorises people in villages. Since he
belongs to the wild ,he is supposed to lead a free wildlife but being behind the bars stops him
leading a free and happy life.
Q8 Compare a tiger in the zoo to a tiger in its natural habitat.
Ans A tiger in the zoo is caged ,so it does not have freedom . It has limited space for the cage
only to move. It can’t roar or terrorise people so its strength is of no use to him. Due to his
curtailed freedom and strength , he feels helpless.and sad, His condition is pathetic in a cage.
In its natural habitat, a tiger is free to roam , drink water from a pond , hide( ambush ) and hunt
its prey playfully . . It can roar and frighten people. His aura is at its best when he is in his
natural habitat.
Q9 Why has the tiger been locked “in a concrete cell”?
Ans The zoo authorities have captured the tiger and locked him in a concrete cell i.e cage, in
the name of their safety and to entertain the visitors.
Q10 Why does the tiger ignore the visitors?
Ans The tiger enjoyed terrorising people. In the cage , he loses all his pride and freedom. He
does not like to be a source of entertainment for the visitors . Moreover , he is troubled by them .
so, he ignores them.
Q11 The tiger hears the last voice at night and stares at the stars. What does it reflect?
Ans It shows that the tiger is not happy being in the cage . He is not able to sleep at night. It
makes us pity him. He is restless and longs for his freedom and goes back to his natural home.
Q12 What message does the poet convey through the poem?
Ans The poet compares and contrasts between a tiger in the zoo and in its natural habitat. He
highlights the issue that every living being values his freedom. It is the birthright of every living
creature. The man considers himself the most intelligent and superior creation of God.The poem
makes us thoughtful and feel pity for the tiger. It conveys the message to stop cruelty against
animals in the name of their safety and protection.
Q13 Which poetic devices have been used by the poet in the poem?
OR
Comment on the structure of the poem .
Ans The Poet has used simple and appropriate vocabulary to sensitise and make the readers
thoughtful. The structure and the words of the Poem highlights the pride and helplessness of
the tiger in the zoo. The rhyme scheme of the poem is abcb and stanza form is simple. The use
of repetition , metaphor and alliteration is prevalent throughout the composition to impart
melody and beauty.
LONG QUESTIONS-:
Q1 Love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being . Comment.
Ans Every living being deserves freedom. It is the natural instinct of every living being. From
human kind to plant to animal, every creature has the right to lead a free life . Just like we
humans can’t think of a life in the prison, similarly it is not right to restrict the tiger in a prison.
Nobody wants to live in confinement . Similarly , the tiger also longed for freedom. He was so
fed up being caged that he even ignored visitors. He took to and fro steps in the cage as if trying
to while away the time. The tiger wanted to escape this captivity. God has made all living beings
equally and thus , the animals too have the right to freedom. They should not be caged. It is
their right to enjoy their natural habitat.e forest and run freely in the ild. We should, thus respect
their freedom and should not put them in the zoo in the name of their safety and entertainment.

Q2 It is a paper tiger that we come across in the poem. Justify with examples from the text.
Ans Though the tiger is portrayed as stalking about , it is only within the limited space and
confinement of a cage , where his stalking is mingled with his quiet rage. Instead of lurking in
the shadow of the jungle, in pursuit of some plump deer , he is caged. A tiger is the epitome of
strength and fierceness but due to the confinement in the cage , he is nothing but a paper tiger
only. He can’t show his strength. His power is of no use to him. Visitors enjoy themselves to see
a tiger caged and are not frightened of him.instead of terrorising villagers living in homes
adjoining the jungle , the tiger in the poem is locked in a concrete cell. Instead of hearing the call
of the jungle animals he hears the sound of patrolling cars. His brilliant eyes focus on the stars
shining brightly in the sky through his cage that heightens his pathetic conditions. He cuts a
sorry figure here , as he is seen helpless and unable to do anything .
Q3 How according to the poet a tiger , kept in the zoo feels?
Ans The tiger in a zoo is denied of its natural habitat. It is used to roam about in the jungle ,
stalking his prey and devouring it. In a zoo it is kept in a cage where he can walk just a few
steps everyday. Its anger has been suppressed in captivity because helplessly it resigns himself
to his fate. Out in the forest , he would have been hunting a deer that comes to the waterhole to
quench its thirst. In the zoo he does not have to hunt rather it is served without any effort. The
joy and fun of life has been snatched away from him. He is forced to behave in such a way that
that is opposite to its natural instinct. Any creature can grow and feel happy in its natural habitat
only. Freedom is the right of every living creature, and animals are also not an exception. The
tiger is bored and moves around in the limited space of the cage , ignoring the visitors, whom he
would have frightened to death had he been in the wild. But alas , at night , the tiger helplessly
looks at the bright stars in the open sky with his bright eyes wishing to be free just like them . A
tiger is meant to be in the forest behaving and living according to his natural instinct .We should
let them live as they are supposed to.

Q4Is it right to confine wild animals into cages ? Why or why not ?
Ans Wild animals are meant to live in the wilds only . it is their natural habitat. They are not
meant to be caged and displayed in the zoos. We all know that the majestic species of tigers is
on the verge of extinction.but we do not have any right to deprive them from their right to
freedom in the name of their safety. There used to be a time when they roamed proudly and
freely in the jungle . they are not meant to live in confinement. Being living creatures they can
also feel joy , happiness , pain or sorrow. The only difference between animals and us is that
they can not express their feeling by speaking. The tiger in the cage also is not an exception. He
longs for freedom , leading a normal life in his natural home where he can ambush , stalk and
hunt according to his will. Confinement leads to depression , frustration and misery . Moreover,
their offspring lose their hunting capabilities as they are not trained to hunt in the wild . as a
result , they would not be able to feed themselves . furthermore , confining wild animals disturbs
the whole ecological balance . we should . thus let the animals run freely in the wild they belong
to the jungle and not to the cage.