Childhood

 CHILDHOOD
By Markus Natten

1. What cannot be found in Geography?

Ans. According to the poet Hell and Heaven cannot be found in Geography.

2. At what age did the poet ceased to be a child?

Ans. The poet ceased to be a child after eleven years.

3. What did the poet realize about adults?

Ans. The poet realized that adults were hypocrites. They seldom followed what they

themselves preached.

4. How do the adults behave?

Ans. The Adults act as kind and loving in front of others.

5. What did the poet learn about his mind?

Ans. The poet learnd that the mind belongs to the poet himself. All the thoughts produced in

his mind were not of other people but his own.

6. Where did the poet find his childhood?

Ans. The poet found his childhood in the face of an infant.

Long Answers:

1. What according to the poem is involved in the process of growing up?

Ans: According to the poem there are some remarkable processes in the process of growing up explained stanza wise. Beginning with the first stanza, the poem shows ageing as a part of growing. It is through age that we generally tend to measure us as child or adult. The realization of some subjects which cannot be proved physically are also hinted upon.

In the second stanza again, the knowledge of the nature of adult people are also shown as growth through realization of hypocrisy. Adult people tend to advise things that they themselves seldom follow.

In the Third stanza finally the poem tells that discovering one’s own mind and the thoughts within is a very mature part in become ng a grown up. This is the stage where the child realizes that it is an individual and has his/her own preferences.

2. What is the poet’s feeling towards his childhood?

Ans. The poet has a nostalgic feeling towards his childhood. He misses his childhood and tried hard to recall the exact stage or events which led him far away form this innocent stage of life. First he considered the age when he rationalized. He wondered that it might have been at the age of eleven, he could use arguments to decide the validity of certain supernatural facts. This may have resulted in the loss of his childhood habit of believing things simply. Next he feels that the understanding of the hypocrite nature of the adults made him far mature. Finally feeling one’s own mind is the stage, the poet thinks made him loose his childhood. Throughout the poem he desperately searches for the time which pinpoints his lost childhood. It is only at last that he sees to be able to feel his childhood again in the face of an infant child.