General Details:

The author begins with insects like

bees, wasps and mosquitoes and
analyse their behavior
Insects are part of our lives and that
doesnt mean that we like to have them
with us. While a bee or wasp is gentle,
we do not like their company in our bed
rooms though we like them in a
garden. The mosquito is an
unscrupulous enemy that attacks
without waiting to be attacked. It stings
anyone, whether he is the gentlest or
the most dangerous man in the world.
Because a mosquito is a beast of prey
and is out for food, we wave it away
even in a garden.
Bees and wasps are comparatively
gentler than the unscrupulous mosquito
yet they exhibit a wild passion for
revenge. If they are attacked by

someone, even a mad dog in the

countryside, they take revenge by
attacking someone else, anyone whose
sight their eyes catch first. It is therefore
that innocent people are sometimes
attacked by wasps and bees.
A bee is gentle. It doesnt attack unless
it is attacked. A mosquito, on the very
other hand, stings anyone for blood.
Besides, a bee, the producer of honey,
doesnt cause malaria as the mosquito
does. Apart from helping the
strawberries and mulberry to multiply,
bees prefer a very calm, inoffensive life.
If a bee or wasp, though gentle in
character, enter our bedroom at two in
the morning and buzzed behind our
pillow, is a tedious company. Though we
can avoid getting stung by not moving,
lying motionlessly till the inoffensive bee
or wasp had flown away, it is not

desirable to try this preventive when

sleep is dearest and time is passing by.
Bees and wasps do not attack us
without being attacked. If a wasp or bee
alights on our face and wake us dearly
early in the morning, one can remain
motionless and see the insect fly away
after a quiet, harmless stay on our face.
Then the author tries to connect our
childhood with the sounds of the
insects
In spite of the fact that the hum insects
often irritate us, they are on the other
hand, delightful because they become
part of some universal music, they also
take us back to our childhood
Hum of insects can delight us owing to
the surroundings they are heard and
with the past events associated to the
sounds. Besides, when we hear these
sounds, something in our blood and

breath responds to the rhythm of these

sounds.
As the hum of insects and noises of
birds are associated with nature and
seasons, so are they connected to our
life, right from our childhood. When we
grow up, these sounds occasionally pull
us back to our childhood. In a way, our
happiness, other than that achieved
from people, has its origin in the nature,
in spring and summer, in the hum and
noises of insects and birds.
In childhood, children experience the
world around them as kind with them.
Generally children are not treated
harshly so they believe that the world,
with the hum of insects and farms and
gardens, is kind. Here they believe that
grandpas are always gentle and believe
their aunts who lie to the hungry children

that the biscuits that they have brought

are for the dogs.
Our childhood is full of fairy tales and
the world around us is more like a
dream than reality. There was a time
when we believed in heaven and hell
and punishment. We were told stories
about that hell where people with only
such teeth that have skins of certain
color can escape the fire of the hell.
The author, looking at the natural beauty
and the toys that we love in the
childhood, concludes that we seldom
remember our toys and the joy they
gave us and establishes that we can
never so much forget our gardens, their
flowers with fragrance and the farm.
Noahs Ark is the perfect place to
compare childhood with for so many
reasons. First, it Noahs Ark was a place
of happiness and peace. Noah was

asked by Yahweh to gather one pair of

all the living beings animals including
Noahs family, reptiles, birds, insects,
etc. All of them were the best that
existed on the earth. They were safe in
the ark and happy that they escaped the
deluge. Similarly, for children the world
is devoid of bad people and bad
animals. The child doesnt sense the
cruelty of the animals and adults until
they grew up. For children the world is
safe and full of good people, pretty
animals, amazing snakes and pleasant
rivers.
After having discussed the manifold
aspects of the heavenly sounds of
insects, the author concludes in a
negative note because he sees the
reality that in the modern world people
have got no time to enjoy the natures
sounds. Our life is restricted from all

directions like a heavy weight stopping

the movement of a top. For modern
men, the world is a problem to solve so
there is no place for the hum of insects.
In such a surrounding, the hum of
insects sounds like a run-down machine
that needs oiling and the insects that
create that sound appear like stabbing
creatures that make irritating noises.

ANALYSIS:
1. Bring out instances of contrasting
reactions that we have for insects.
2marks
Insects are part of our lives and that
doesnt mean that we like to have
them with us. While a bee or wasp is
gentle, we do not like their company in
our bed rooms though we like them in
a garden.

2. Why a mosquito is always waved

away, even in a garden? (2marks)
The mosquito is an unscrupulous
enemy that attacks without waiting to
be attacked. It stings anyone, whether
he is the gentlest or the most
dangerous man in the world. Because
a mosquito is a beast of prey and is
out for food, we wave it away even in
a garden.
3. What is a mosquitos approach to
Tom Pinch?
Tom Pinch is a prototype of peace
who goes loved by all but a mosquito,
whether it knows Tom Pinch or
otherwise, attacks him without any
reason and abandons him only when it
is waved away or killed by the most
lovable Tom Pinch himself.
4. What do you know about the blind
passion that insects such as bees

and wasps have for

reprisal/revenge? OR Why are
innocent people attacked by
insects? (2)
Bees and wasps are comparatively
gentler than the unscrupulous
mosquito yet they exhibit a wild
passion for revenge. If they are
attacked by someone, even a mad
dog in the country side, they take
revenge by attacking someone else,
anyone whose sight their eyes catch
first. It is therefore that innocent
people are sometimes attacked by
wasps and bees.
5. Why doesnt the author justify the
bees stinging a human being for
stealing its honey?
The author doesnt justify the bees act
of attacking the human being for

stealing its honey because man is the

master of this partially civilized world.
6. How is the bee morally higher in
the scale than the mosquito? (2)
A bee is gentle. It doesnt attack
unless it is attacked. A mosquito, on
the very other hand, stings anyone for
blood. Besides, a bee, the producer of
honey, doesnt cause malaria as the
mosquito does. Apart from helping the
strawberries and mulberry to multiply,
bees prefer a very calm, inoffensive
life.
7. When do both, the bee and the
wasp, become tedious company?
(2)
If a bee or wasp, though gentle in
character, enter our bedroom at two in
the morning and buzzed behind our
pillow, is a tedious company. Though
we can avoid getting stung by not

moving, lying motionlessly till the

inoffensive bee or wasp had flown
away, it is not desirable to try this
preventive when sleep is dearest and
time is passing by.
8. What is, in the authors opinion,
the infallible preventive against a
wasps stinging while one is roused
from sleep by its crawling over the
face? (2)
Bees and wasps do not attack us
without being attacked. If a wasp or
bee alights on our face and wake us
dearly early in the morning, one can
remain motionless and see the insect
fly away after a quiet, harmless stay
on our face.
9. Which are the three possible
reasons under which the hum of
insects delights us?
In spite of the fact that the hum insects

often irritate us, they are on the other

hand, delightful because they become
part of some universal music, they
also take us back to our childhood
10. How can the hum of insects
delight us?
Hum of insects can delight us owing to
the surroundings they are heard and
with the past events associated to the
sounds. Besides, when we hear these
sounds, something in our blood and
breath responds to the rhythm of these
sounds.
11. What are the three sounds that
Lynd refer to as the three noises
that appear to have an infinite
capacity for giving us pleasure?
Noises of insects, the noises of birds
and the sound of the sea possess
infinite capacity for giving us pleasure.

12. Why are grownups not able to

hear the hum of insects? What do they
hear instead? (2)
13. How is the hum of insects that
one hears at a late stage of his life
associated with ones childhood?
(2) OR, How is the hum of insects is
a pleasure of reminiscence?
As the hum of insects and noises of
birds are associated with nature and
seasons, so are they connected to our
life, right from our childhood. When we
grow up, these sounds occasionally
pull us back to our childhood. In a
way, our happiness, other than that
achieved from people, has its origin in
the nature, in spring and summer, in
the hum and noises of insects and
birds.
14. It was a present that overflowed
with kindness, though everybody else

except the ox and the ass believed

that it was only by the skin of our teeth
that any of us would escape being
burnt alive for eternity. How does this
statement explain childhoods serenity
and innocence? (2)
Serenity
In childhood, children experience the
world around them as kind with them.
Generally children are not treated
harshly so they believe that the world,
with the hum of insects and farms and
gardens, is kind. Here they believe
that grandpas are always gentle and
believe their aunts who lie to the
hungry children that the biscuits that
they have brought are for the dogs.
Innocence
Our childhood is full of fairy tales and
the world around us is more like a
dream than reality. There was a time

when we believed in heaven and hell

and punishment. We were told stories
about that hell where people with only
such teeth that have skins of certain
color can escape the fire of the hell.
15. Why does the author believe
that only nature has lasting
impressions in our mind?
The author, looking at the natural
beauty and the toys that we love in the
childhood, concludes that we seldom
remember our toys and the joy they
gave us and establishes that we can
never so much forget our gardens,
their flowers with fragrance and the
farm.
16. What are the illusions that we
have in the childhood?
During childhood, we have the illusion
that the Springs will never cease and
that the happiness will never be over.

17. Why are we still able to

appreciate the hum of insects even
at a very later stage of our life?
Hum of insects is connected to our
childhood memories and to our senses
connected to autumns and springs in
the past. Even when we hear the hum
of insects at a very later age, we are
able to return to our childhood.
18. Why does the author compare
childrens world to Noahs Ark?
Noahs Ark is the perfect place to
compare childhood with for so many
reasons. First, it Noahs Ark was a
place of happiness and peace. Noah
was asked by Yahweh to gather one
pair of all the living beings animals
including Noahs family, reptiles, birds,
insects, etc. All of them were the best
that existed on the earth. They were
safe in the ark and happy that they

escaped the deluge. Similarly, for

children the world is devoid of bad
people and bad animals. The child
doesnt sense the cruelty of the
animals and adults until they grew up.
For children the world is safe and full
of good people, pretty animals,
amazing snakes and pleasant rivers.
19. Why does the author end in a
negative note?
After having discussed the manifold
aspects of the heavenly sounds of
insects, the author concludes in a
negative note because he sees the
reality that in the modern world people
have got no time to enjoy the natures
sounds. Our life is restricted from all
directions like a heavy weight stopping
the movement of a top. For modern
men, the world is a problem to solve
so there is no place for the hum of

insects. In such a surrounding, the

hum of insects sounds like a run-down
machine that needs oiling and the
insects that create that sound appear
like stabbing creatures that make
irritating noises.
More Questions
1. What to does the author refer natural
melodies? How are they natural
melodies? (5)
2. How can one establish peace with
the insects and live an undisturbed life
in the lap of the nature? (10)
3. Why are grownups not able to hear
the hum of insects? What do they hear
instead? (2)
4. How does the hum of insects stir our
reminiscence?
5. How are the sounds of the insects
associated with our childhood?