A Tiger in the Zoo Introduction by Leslie

A Tiger in the Zoo Introduction by Leslie Norris

Introduction George Leslie Norris was a prize winning welsh poet and short story writer. His first poem was published in 1938 but his first book of poetry came out in 1943. His literary works have won many prizes. His famous works are 'Finding Gold', 'The Loud Winder', Phoenix living poet's series Randsoms, etc. This poem 'A Tiger in the Zoo' explains the agony and helplessness of a caged tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet explains what his life could be if he had been a free animal. The poet has tried to explain about the condition of animals that are caged by human beings for their own fun. The poem deals with comparison between the two states. One with natural freedom and other when the freedom is denied. Leslie Norris raises the issue that the Zoos should be closed because poor dumb animals are kept behind bars without any fault of theirs. Selfish human forcefully deprive them of their basic right to freedom.

POEM He stalks in his vivid stripes The few steps of his cage, On pads of velvet quiet, Baring his white fangs, his claws, Terrorising the village! But he’s locked in a concrete cell, In his quiet rage. His strength behind bars, He should be lurking in shadow, Stalking the length of his cage, Sliding through long grass Ignoring visitors. Near the water hole Where plump deer pass. He hears the last voice at night, The patrolling cars, He should be snarling around houses And stares with his brilliant eyes At the jungle’s edge, At the brilliant stars.

Explanation 1. The tiger in Zoo walks in the limited place of the cage with few steps. There are stripes on it s body which are noticeable. Its paws are soft like velvet. No noise is produced when it walks on its velvet pads. The tiger is silent but in anger (rage). 2. The poet says that cage is not a right place for a tiger. It is not its natural habitat. He should be found sitting under same bushes or long grass near a stream or water hole. As soon as they saw plump (young and healthy dear coming there to drink water, they should slide silently through the grass and kill them. So the tiger should be in the forest there natural place to live and not in the cage. 3. The poet suggests that the tiger should be sitting at the jungle's edge of nearby village. It should be terrorising the people passing that way by showing its sharp teeth, baring (showing) its fangs (white teeth) and claws and producing low sound of anger.

4. In this stanza the poet feels deep sympathy at the (unpleasant situation) of the tiger. The tiger is imprisoned in a cell made of concrete (mixed material like cement, sand, small pieces of stones and water) He can not come out because strong bars and concrete cell stop him. His strength behind the bars. The tiger shows no interest in looking at the visitors. Rather he is stalking (walking in anger and proud manner) in the limited space of the cage. 5. The tiger in the cage is sitting and feeling unpleasant and restless. He hears the sound of patrolling cars of zoo authorities. He shows no interest. He is staring at the shining stars with brilliant eyes. The poet raises a moral issue on the cruelty of animals, which are kept in cages.

Word Meaning Stalks Vivid Stripes Rage Lurking Sliding Plump deer Sharling Baring White Fangs Concrete Cell Stalking Patrolling Cars Stares - Walks Clear Lines Anger Hiding Moving Y oung deer Showing the teeth Showing White teeth Cemented Cage Walking Police cars Looks angrily

Potic Devices 1. Rhyme Scheme : The rhyme scheme of all the stanzas is abcb. 2. Alliteration : He stalks in my his where plump deer pass His strength behind bars 3. Repetition : Velvet, quiet rage Brilliant eyes, brilliant stars

QUESTIONS ANSWERS Q. 1. How does the tiger walk in the cage ? Ans. that he is very angry at having been imprisonment in a cage. But he is helpless and can't do anything for his freedom. Q. 2. What does the poet say about a tiger in his natural surroundings ? Ans. fearlessly in the long grass near a water body. He hides in an ambush to hunt the prey like a plump deer for his food. Q. 3. On pads of velvet quiet/in his quiet rage, what does the tiger do in his cage ? It. Ans. He cannot express himself fully in this claustrophobic atmosphere. He does not take any notice of the visitors who come there. He always wishes to be free from this cage.

Q. 4 He should be lurking in the shadows/sliding through long grass 'what should the tiger be doing if he were in the jungle? Ans. The tiger would be lurking in the shadows of trees. He would be sliding slowly through the long grass. He would be sitting by some water hole and waiting for some plump deer to pass that way. Here, the poet presents the tiger's hunting process. Q. 6 tiger be doing if he were at the edge of the jungle ? Why should the tiger snarl around houses at the edge of the jungle ? Ans. The tiger would be moving around the houses in a nearby village. He would be growling while moving around the sight of his white fangs and his terrible claws would fill the villagers with terror. The jungle is the natural habitat of the wild animals where the tiger can express his power and strength.

Q. 6. 'Stalking the length of his cage/ignoring visitors' that is the tiger doing? Why is he ignoring the visitors? Ans. slowly and quietly. He sees that the visitors keep coming and going. None of them thinks of releasing him from his prison. The tiger sees that all of them are fellows of without feeling. So, he stops taking any notice of then. Q. 7 tiger looks at the stars? Ans. stars who are free in their own places and he also wants to mingle with nature. Again, the tiger is sad and dejected in the concrete cell. When he hears the last sound of the patrolling cars, he stares at the brilliant stars and remembering good and pleasant days in the forest.

Q. 8 How does the poet contrast the tiger in the cage with the tiger in the forest ? Ans. The poet says that the caged tiger is imprisoned. He is not free. He is angry. On the other hand, the tiger in the jungle is free. He walks in the tall grass and hunts the deer that pass the water hole. Q. 9 Why does the tiger express his rage quietly ? Ans. bars of his cage. He is helpless as his strength now lies inside the cage. He is no longer free as he was in the jungle. Q. 10 What does the poet convey through the poem ? Ans. The poet tries to expose the miserable life led by the aninnals in the zoo. He compares the life of the tiger in the zoo with its life at a natural habitat. The animals have the right to freedom and should not be caged, 'They should be allowed to run free in the wild.

Long Answer Type Questions Q. 1 Love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being. Comment. Ans. It is rightly said that love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being. Everyone loves freedom and does not want to live in Confinement. Similarly the tiger also longed for freedom. He was so fed up being caged that he even ignored the visitors. He takes to-and -fro steps in the cage as if trying to while away the time. The tiger wants to escape from 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 i. e. the forest and run freely in the wild. We should, thus, respect their freedom and should not put them in the zoo.

Q. 2 Is it right to confine wild animals into cages ? Why or why not ? Ans. in the zoos. We all know that the majestic species of tiger is on the verge of extinction. There used to be a time when they used to roam proudly and freely in the jungle. "They are not meant to live a life in confinement. They also have the right to freedom like all other living beings. Confinement leads to depression and misery. Moreover, their off springs lose the hunting capabilities as they are not trained to hunt in the wild. As a result, they would not he able to feed themselves. Furthermore confining wild animals disturbs the whole ecological balance. We should, thus, let the animals run free in the wild. "They belong to the forest and not to the cage.

Q. 3 What types of rhetorical devices are used by the poet in this poem? Ans. and oxymoron. The poet personifies the tiger thus, he refers to the tiger not as "it", but as "he". The poet uses the device of metaphor in the 3 rd line of the 1 st stanza when he compares the pads of the tiger's feet with velvet since both are soft and smooth to the touch. Again, "quiet rage" is an example of an oxymoron. The word "strength" in he poem means the body of the tiger and this is an example of metonymy. Q. 4 What is the central idea of this poem? Ans. forest rather than living in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a 2 oo. In the jungle, he can roam freely and express his power. In the forest, he can hunt where he requires food. It can approach human habitation. but will not do any harm to them. On the other hand, in the zoo, the space is too short for a tiger to roam about. His movement is restricted and his freedom denied. Here, the tiger lives an unnatural and unhappy life and become helpless