A Work of Artifice

A Work of Artifice
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The bonsai tree

in the attractive pot
could have grown eighty feet tall
on the side of a mountain
till split by lightning.
But a gardener carefully pruned it.
It is nine inches high.
(i) What kind of tree is the bonsai? What does it stand for in the poem?
Ans. The bonsai is a small decorative tree that is grown in a pot. It is pruned so that it does not
reach its normal size. In the poem, it stands for a woman oppressed and suppressed in a
male-dominated society.
(ii) Where could it have grown fully?
Ans. It could have grown fully outside in nature, on the side of a mountain. It could have grown
there up to eighty feet in height.
(iii) What does the gardener stand for in the poem? Why does he continue to cut the bonsai down
every day?
Ans. The gardener stands for a man - a lover or a husband - in the poem. He continues to prune
the bonsai tree and does not let it grow. He believes that it has to remain small and weak to look
attractive.
(iv) In what tone does the gardener speak to the bonsai tree?
Ans. He speaks to the bonsai tree in a happy and satisfied tone. He considers it to be lucky to
grow in a pot, where it is being looked after daily with love and care.
(v) Keeping the bonsai tree 'small and weak' is deliberate. What is its implication in the poem?
Ans. The bonsai tree is not allowed to grow to its full potential deliberately. In the poem, it
stands for a woman. Like the bonsai tree, a woman in a male-dominated world is prevented from
growing and showing her capabilities fully. She is made to accept her subordinate position by
keeping her confined to the four walls of her home.
Every day as he
whittles back the branches
the gardener croons,
It is your nature
to be small and cozy,
domestic and weak.
(i) What is the function of the 'gardener'? Which function of the 'gardener' referred to in the
poem is in reality regressive and harmful? How?
Ans. The function of the gardener is to prune the branches of the bonsai tree to keep it small and
attractive. The gardener, as a symbol of the dominating male, prevents the growth of his woman,
thus keeping her under his control. It is regressive and harmful for women and society in general.
(ii) In which tone does the gardener speak?
Ans. The gardener speaks in a happy and condescending tone.
(iii) In what way is the 'gardener' wrong?
Ans. The 'gardener' is wrong in the sense that everything and everybody has the right to grow. To
keep something or somebody deliberately underdeveloped is definitely wrong.
(iv) What do the last two lines suggest?
Ans. The last two lines suggest that in a male- dominated world man feels self-satisfied in
his wrong belief that woman is by nature weak, small and domesticated, and that she should
accept her position as such.
(v) What does the word 'croons' mean? What does it imply?
Ans. The word 'croons' means to sing quietly in a happy mood. It implies that the man,
represented by the gardener, is happy and self-satisfied by keeping his woman weak and
underdeveloped.
how lucky, little tree,

to have a pot to grow in.
With living creatures
one must begin very early
to dwarf their growth.
(i) Who is the speaker? Who is being addressed?
Ans. The speaker is a gardener who stands for a domineering male. The bonsai tree is being
addressed. The tree represents suppressed women in a male-dominated society.
(ii) What does the 'pot' mean in the metaphorical context of the poem? Give its relevance to the
development of women.
Ans. In the metaphorical context of the poem, the pot comes to represent the limited space
allowed to women to operate. A woman has to lead much of her life in the limited space of her
home.
(iii) What do men do to stunt the growth of women?
Ans. Men condition women to accept their subordinate position in society. They prevail upon her
to accept that she is weak by nature, born to do domestic chores. Thus, they prevent their natural
growth.
(iv) What stereotypical role do women play in life? How are they tricked to perform it?
Ans: Women play a stereotypical role as decoration pieces by making themselves look attractive
to men, and do everything to please them. They are tricked to perform this role by making them
accept that they are weak, small and domesticated by nature.
4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
the bound feet,

the crippled brain,
the hair in curlers,
the hands you love to touch.
(i) Who is being referred to here? Do you find any change in focus in the poem here?
Ans. Women in a male-dominated world are referred to here. Earlier, the focus was on the bonsai
tree. There is, thus, a clear shift in the poem here. The bonsai tree, we come to know, stands for
the woman who is prevented from growing to her full potential.
(ii) In which context are women's 'feet' bound? Why?
Ans. In some cultures, like the Japanese, women's 'feet' were bound to make them small and look
pretty. The binding of feet here symbolizes limiting the woman's opportunities to grow.
(iii) Why are women made to look attractive?
Ans. Women are made to look attractive to please men, as also to keep them under the delusion
that their prime duty is to look pretty and attractive.
(iv) The last two lines are ironic. How?
Ans. Men do everything to limit the physical, mental and spiritual growth of women. Ironically,
they look to women for loving and healing touch. Without women, they feel small and limited.
(v) What does the poet seem to lament? What does she expect of women?
Ans. The poet seems to lament the fact that women accept their subordinate role in society
willingly and even cheerfully. She expects women to realize their potentialities and break all
mental shackles which prevent their growth.

A Work of Artifice

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A Work of Artifice

The bonsai tree

how lucky, little tree,

the bound feet,

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