Gusty waves the privileged children are compared to gusty waves energetic, exuberant and forward moving Futures

res painted with a fog Sealed in with a lead sky stars of words from fog to endless night wear skins peeped through by bones let their tongues /Run naked into books whose language is the sun

Like rootless weeds;

Like bottle bits on stones (their lives are as shattered as broken bits of scattered glass smashed on stones;)

these Windows that shut upon their lives like catacombs;

weighed down: burdened with the weight of poverty and hopelessness

a.

reciting:

Literal the boy is reciting the lesson. Figurative he is more prominently reciting his fathers disease i.e.

repeating his fathers disease of twisted bones and deformity which has been passed down through generations

b. sour cream:
Literal the neglected walls have turns a dirty yellow Figurative a dismal place where all dreams would turn sour

c. lead sky:
Literal sky polluted with industrial fumes. Figurative A sky that does not open opportunities but weighs down

heavily blocking all escape from the slums.

Squirrels game fun outdoors to escape the dull classroom civilized dome riding all cities cities that show civilization progress and marvelous architecture (ALSO PERSONIFICATION riding all cities) Open-handed map (a map drawn arbitrarily by the people in power and the privileged) map with slums as big as doom the grim reality of the lives of slum children

Fog bleak and unclear ships and sun adventure and beautiful lands offering opportunity slag heaps industrial waste, toxic filth and squalor windows windows of the slum classroom do not open out to opportunities and the wide world. They show only fog covered slums;

and if the children are not allowed to break open out of these slums the windows will close on them burying them in endless misery, hopelessness and doom them to deathlike existence. Green fields, gold sand nature and golden opportunities;
white and green leaves first-hand knowledge from pages of books and nature run azure experience the rich colours of nature sun symbol of enlightenment; of equal blessing/ equality

Far far from gusty waves these childrens faces Far far from rivers, capes, and stars of words
Break O break open till they break the town

Surely, Shakespeare
From fog bottle bits

lives like

Q1. What do you think is the colour of sour cream? Why do you think the poet has used this expression to describe the classroom walls? Ans. Sour cream indicates the colour cream or dirty white. The poet has used this expression to describe the poor dull and ill-equipped environment of the classroom. The walls were painted long ago by donations and since then no attention has been given to them. We see the neglect these children face. It adds to the dull ambience.

Q2. The walls of the classroom are decorated with pictures of Shakespeare, buildings with domes, world maps and beautiful valleys. How do these contrast with the world of these children? Ans. All these totally contrast with the world of the children in the slum. They get half education, the value of education for the children is minimal and to have these pictures which are symbols of high quality education is incongruous here. The buildings with domes are examples of a civilized world, the world unknown to them. The world map is irrelevant to them because the slums, their world cannot be located by them. Finally, the beautiful valley with rivers and capes is meaningless to them. They just have the polluted sky to watch from the broken window panes. These children are deprived of natural beauty.

Q3. What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their life be changed? Ans. History theirs, whose language is the sun. Only the educated can change the course of history. Hence, the poet wants the children of the slums to be educated so that they are ready to face all odds in their lives. The poet wants the slum children to be rid of their dull and dreary rut of the school. They should be provided the opportunities to experience the joys and beauty of the world out side their slum. They should experience life in the lap of nature, discover its joy and accumulate its wealth of knowledge. The poet makes a frantic appeal to all the authorities to liberate these children from the darkness of their lives and to bring light into their lives.

Q5. Describe the children in the slum in the poem. Ans: The children are malnourished have long, wild hair and are thin and weak.

Q7. What is the poet trying to convey? Ans: The poet is trying to convey that the that the lives of the slum children are only confined to a small area and they are not accepted by the outside world. The windows of the outside world are shut on their faces. The poet feels that they should be given freedom and equality. He also says the conditions of schools in slums are poor and can be improved if the government and people in power come together to take suitable steps