Childhood class 11:what are the reasoning skills that the poet uses to let us know about his lost childhood?
Answers
Introduction of the lesson- The Ball Poem
INTRODUCTION
I’m this poem John Berryman tells us about our reactions at some material loss. A boy loses a ball in the water. He is Very upset at the loss of the gall. A ball does not cost much.lt is not even difficult to buy a new ball. But the poet wants the `child to Understand that losing things is a common thing of life.
‘The Ball Poem’ looks like a simple story of a young boy losing his ball. The boy is severely upset over the loss. Normally, it may seem like a great overreaction. Children lose things like their toys and balls quite often. Usually, no fuss should be made about such a small thing. But the ball seems to be symbolising the poet’s childhood. The boy becoming an adult loses his childhood. He was clinging onto his childhood for so long. The poet accepts the changes in his life. Although he is still suffering yet he is learning to move on from his fleeting childhood. The true theme of the poem is that we should cherish every moment of life. Life is really very short. The poet realises that it is very difficult to deal with the loss but it must be done. We should move on as there is no use in wasting precious time and life.
The poem uses a good combination of tone, imagery and symbolism. In the beginning, the tone is depressing. It depicts a scene where a young boy has lost his ball when it is bounced into the harbour. The loss of the ball symbolises the loss of innocence and childhood. Like childhood, the lost ball can’t be retrieved. The tone in the end changes giving an encouraging message that life should be lived as it is and we should move on with the changing time. The poem is in the free verse as it suits its tone and content.
Summary in English- The Ball Poem
DETAILED SUMMARY
A boy loses a ball in the water. He is very upset. Though the ball does not cost too much it gives a big shock to him. He keeps staring at the place where his ball has gone. The poet sees all this but he doesn’t interfere with the boy’s ruminations. The poet thinks that the loss of the ball will teach the boy a lesson of accepting the loss with tolerance and pleasure. Everyone has to lose something or the other in this world still they are to survive and fulfil their obligations. This loss makes the boy learn that gains and losses are part and parcel of life. One should accept them as a common matter.
Detailed Summary (2)
1. The Boy Loses His Ball: The poem is about a young boy who loses his ball. Usually, losing a ball should not be a big issue. Young boys usually lose their toys and balls quite often. The ball is seen `merrily’ bouncing down the street. And ultimately the ball falls down into the water and lost forever. The boy stood there sadly watching the ball go. But he was helpless. Nor could he do anything to get the ball back. The ball here symbolises the innocent childhood of the boy which has slipped away and he wants it back.
2.0ther Balls Too: It is of no use to remind him that it was not a big loss. He can get more balls and continue his game. But for the boy, the loss of the ball is a great loss. There may be other balls and perhaps he can hope to get any one of them. However, the ball that he has lost can’t be retrieved. It has fallen into the deep water of the harbour. The boy is inconsolable. He loses hope in himself and becomes depressed and hopeless. He stands still, trembling and looking at the point where his ball has gone down into the harbour. Here, the lost ball stands for the lost childhood and the harbour stands for the vastness of life. It will not serve any purpose to remind him that the ball costs just a dime and is worth nothing.
Main Points of the Poem
The young boy lost his ball.
He was playing and saw the ball bouncing down the street.
Then, in the end, the ball fell down into the water and lost forever.
The boy sees everything happening before his eyes but he is helpless.
He only stands there helplessly moaning at the loss of the ball.
The loss of the ball may appear to be an ordinary incident.
It seems that boys lose such balls many times while they are playing.
The boy should not make a fuss over it.
The loss of ball is symbolic. It has a deeper meaning.
The loss of the ball is the loss of childhood and the loss of his dreams. And if it is lost, it never comes back again.
Similarly, we can’t console the child that he can have another ball.
Actually, he is sad that the ball he has lost can’t be brought back.
The innocent childhood that he has lost can’t be replaced or bought back with money.
Wealth can’t buy life and time.
Ultimately, a change comes in the grieving boy.
He comes to know that losing is a part of life.
The loss must not break his spirits.
There is no use of grieving over what has been lost.
He must stand up to face such losses with courage and determination.
Life has to be lived and not wasted in grieving and mourning over the losses suffered in the past.