Answer any one of the following question in 40-60 words.
(a)
But believe me son I want to be when I was like you. I want to unlearn all these muting
inings. Most of all I want to relearn how to laugh."
What qualities / traits of his childhood does the poet want to have once again?
(ii)
What does he want to unlearn?
(See Lesson 26)
Answers
The question refers to the poem “Once Upon a Time” by Gabriel Okara
The speaker is talking to his son and comparing how things are different for a child and for an adult. A child is innocent and straight forward, with no hidden agenda. An adult however, is much more complex and scheming.
1)The speaker wants the same innocence and honesty that a child has. He wants to be able to mean what he says and also to present his honest self to people. The poet wants the simplicity of childhood back in his life, so that he can actually laugh heartily, and not fake it. Modern society has taken away the spontaneity of life and sincerity from relationships. The poet thus wants to regain both his lost innocence and sincerity.
2)Here the speaker shares his desire to 'unlearn' all the aspects that have muted the goodness of humanity. He wants to give up hypocrisy, dishonesty and pretence. He wants to be his own normal self, instead of having different faces for different situations (wear many faces like dresses). The speaker wishes to unlearn modern ‘qualities’ like lack of emotion (ice-block-cold eyes), dishonest intentions (search behind my shadow) and living without compassion (shake hands without my heart, my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs). He yearns to go back to the pure state of innocent childhood.