LITERATURE IN ENGLISH Class: 9 and 10

THE COLD WITHIN

- James Patrick Kinney

I. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces round the fire,
She noticed one was black.

1. What is the background against which the poem is narrated?

 The poem is narrated against the background of six humans being trapped together by
chance in bleak and bitter cold.

2. Comment on the form and tone of the poem.

 The Cold Within is written in the form of a narrative poem. This form of poetry tells a story.
 The tone of the poem is melancholic.

3. Discuss the literal and metaphorical meaning of the line-‘Their dying fire in need of logs’.
 Literally the line means that the fire in the center of the group was dying and needed to be
kept alive with the use of logs.
 Metaphorically it means that the fire of compassion in their hearts was dying- and the
selfish refusal of each person to share his/her log of wood only worsened the situation.

4. The first person in the group was a racist. Justify.

 The first person held her log of wood back because she noticed that of the six faces round
the fire one was black. Thus proving that she was a racist.

5. Why did the second person refuse to give his stick of birch to the fire?
 The second person refused to give his stick of birch to the fire as he noticed that the man
sitting across from him was not one of his church (religious community).

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II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.

1. Who was the third person? How did he rationalize not parting with his log?
 The third person was a poor man who sat in tattered clothes and gave his coat a hitch.
 He thought of the rich as idle and so he did not wish to use his log to warm the rich.

2. Why did the rich man refuse to contribute his log of wood to the dying fire?
 The rich man believed that all the wealth he had in store was something that he had earned
and should be kept away from the lazy, shiftless poor.

3. This poem highlights the points of view of the two extremes of the economic divisions in society.
Justify.
 The poor man who sat in tattered clothes believed the rich to be idle.
 The rich man who just sat back thought of the poor as lazy and shiftless.
 Thus, each of the two extremes has their own perceptions of the other.

4. In what way does the poem bring to light the feelings of the Blacks towards the Whites?
 As the light from the dying fire passed the black man’s sight, his face bespoke revenge.
 All that he saw in his stick of wood was a opportunity to be vindictive towards the white.
 In this way. The poem brings to light the feelings of anger within the blacks towards the
whites.

5. Mention any two examples of alliteration in the poem.

 Six humans trapped by happenstance
 In bleak and bitter cold
 But the first one held hers back
 For, of the faces round the fire
 The black man’s face bespoke revenge
 For all he saw in his stick of wood
 They did not die from the cold without

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III. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They did not die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.

1. What character traits would you associate with the last man? Why?
 The last man was selfish because he did nothing except for gain.
 He believed in giving only to those who gave him something in return.

2. What proof of human sin is being referred to in the above lines?

 The logs being held tight in their hands owing to their unwillingness to share, invites
death(who has been personified).
 The human sin refers to the disobedience to God’s commandment- Love thy neighbor as
thyself’. Their sin also lies in the fact that they died owing to their stubbornness and
selfishness.

3. The poet says that the six people died from the cold within. What does he mean?
 The six people, even though they are facing the same situation of being caught together by
chance in the extreme cold, let their differences and prejudice (the cold within their hearts)
surpass their survival instinct.
 It is ironic how the outside cold could have been taken care of only if they were not cold
from within. It is this cold within each of them that caused them to eventually die.

4. What is the theme of the poem?

 Futility of discrimination is one of the themes of this poem. Each person’s hatred for the
others only leads to death.
 Lack of warmth in human relations is another theme. The title itself highlights this theme.
The people in the group died from the cold within them- they could not bring themselves to
feel compassion for the persons they disliked.

5. Do you think the message of this poem is relevant today? Why?

 Yes. The message of the poem is ‘unity is strength’. The six people are representatives of
the whole human race. Had the six people been able to put aside their personal differences,
they would have survived the bitter cold.
 The world today is full of various social problems like bigotry, poverty, unemployment,
illiteracy, etc.
 This poem serves as an eye opener to all of us. We must unite despite our many differences,
in order to live meaningful, happy lives. No good comes for any sort of division in society.

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