The Awakening Age Poem by Ben Okri Exercise: Questions & Answers Class 12 English
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. Who are the people ‘who travel the meridian line’?
➜ The people ‘who travel the meridian line’ are Nigerians who have been separated into two groups as a result of the horrific civil war: the south and the north. During their existence in fragments, these people have experienced hunger, poverty, unemployment, and other facets of their life.
b. What does the poet mean by ‘a new world’?
➜ The poet implies a beautiful world full of hope, wealth, unity, truth, knowledge, and creativity when he says “a new world.” Following the emergence of civil peace in Nigeria, people have experienced the world of a unified Nigeria.
c. How are people connected to each other?
➜ People are connected together to each other by a sense of optimism derived from history. They have a lot of faith in their dreams and they may ascend to a new height of prosperity and unity with optimism and knowledge because of this strong hope.
d. What can we gain after our perceptions are changed?
➜ After our perceptions are changed, we can gain a variety of benefits. We may get honesty away from troubles and suffering by changing our perceptions. We may acquire harmony, integrity, wealth, work, wisdom, and creativity by changing our perceptions.
e. How are we benefited by new people?
➜ We are benefited by new people in a variety of ways since our solidarity with them drives us to a flourishing nation. They assist us in reaching a higher level of happiness in our hearts, sincerity in our views, work, knowledge, and creativity.
f. Describe the rhyme scheme of this sonnet.
➜ There are seven separate couplets (stanzas of two lines) in the poem, totalling fourteen lines. This sonnet’s rhyme scheme is simple and sonorous, providing a rhythmic tone, and each stanza has a rhyming couplet. The rhyme scheme is AA BB CC DD EE FF GG.
Reference to the Context
a. What does the poet mean by ‘the awakening age’?
➜ The awakening age refers to the period when Africans recognize, realize, or become conscious of their situation, as well as the creation of their new world. This is the age of enlightenment when there is peace, prosperity, liberty, happiness, unity, and harmony among people, and it arrives shortly after Nigeria’s brutal civil war.
b. Why, in your view, have these people ‘lived with poverty’s rage’?
➜ In my view, these people have ‘lived with poverty’s rage’ because Africans were exploited by Europeans throughout the colonial period for the sake of exploiting natural resources. African countries, on the other hand, were involved in a lengthy civil war. As a result of a few strong people gaining control of authority, there was an imbalance in the distribution of national wealth. Ordinary people have no idea there was more to life than poverty. They were more preoccupied with internal problems such as religion, culture, political philosophy, ethnicity, and so on, neglecting the sufferings of ordinary Nigerians.
c. Why does the poet appeal for solidarity among the people?
➜ The poet appeals for solidarity among the people for their dream of a better world to come true. He wishes for all of Nigeria’s unfortunate citizens to achieve new heights of prosperity, hope, unity, truth, wisdom, and creativity. He thinks that people’s solidarity can only help them overcome their obstacles, challenges, and sufferings.
d. Does the poet present migration in a positive light? Why? Why not?
➜ Yes, the poet presents migration in a positive light as it increases the working-age population. Migration helps for a shift in their condition from one level to another via awakening. The poet wishes for them to be unified, prosperous, honest, smart, and creative in a new age of awakening, free of the conception of suffering. Migrants bring skills with them and contribute to the development of human capital in recipient countries. They also encourage the advancement of innovative technology.
e. Nepal is also known for its economic as well as educational migrants. Have you noticed any change in the perceptions and behaviours of these migrants when they return home from abroad?
➜ Nepal is also known for its economic as well as educational migrants. Yes, I have noticed some sorts of changes in the perceptions and behaviours of these migrants when they return home from abroad. Lots of Nepalese youths travel overseas to pursue their education and find work. When they return home, we’ve witnessed a shift in their attitudes and behaviours. There are several advantages of returning to the home country. Working overseas allows people to raise their income, learn new skills, and save and invest. When they return home, they carry with them both financial and human capital gained overseas. Return migrants can only gain rewards if they are successful in earning skills, knowledge, and savings and if their home nation supports policies that encourage them to invest and apply their abilities.
f. Relate the rhyme scheme of this sonnet to the kind of life idealized by the poet.
➜ The rhyme scheme is AA BB CC DD EE FF and GG, and it is a poetry of optimism. Every couplet in each of the seven stanzas is beautiful in both rhyme and meaning. The poet can show the idealized existence of Nigerians in a new world of the awakening age with the assistance of the poem’s rhyme pattern. All of these rhyming phrases after couplets are linked to the lives of Nigerians and their ideal way of life, including wisdom, realization, hope, prosperity, truth, opportunity, and joy. His excellent rhyme scheme accurately expressed his expectations and good wishes for the ideal existence of Nigerians in the new world of the awakening age.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write an essay on ‘The Impacts of Migration on Nepali Society’.
➜ The Impacts of Migration on Nepali Society
The movement of people from one location to another is referred to as migration. Migration can occur both within and across countries. Permanent, temporary, or seasonal migration is the type of migration. Migration occurs for a variety of causes. These could be economic, social, political, or environmental in nature. Migration is influenced by both push and pull factors. Migration has an impact on both the place where migrants leave and the place where migrants settle. These effects might have both beneficial and harmful consequences.
Migration is of two kinds: Immigration and Emigration. Emigration from Nepal has a lengthy history (more than 200 years) and is on the rise. There are no effective emigration policies because of a lack of competent study and, on the other hand, a lack of government interest in this sector. Due to migration, t The contribution of remittances to GDP has increased, poverty has decreased, and the education and health sectors have gradually improved, but development is slow and the trade deficit has increased dramatically. As a result, there is an urgent need for international migration management (including emigration and immigration) that prioritizes national interests.