How does TV kill the children's imagination? Name and explain the figure of speech used here. (Ref: 'Television' by Roald Dahl)
Answers
The television is often referred to as the ‘idiot/idiotic box’, as the poet Roald Dahl too calls it (and not without reason). Though primarily meant for entertainment, the poet points out that TV ‘KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!’ As children watch TV, over a period of time, they get addicted to it. They behave like they have been hypnotized, so much so that they do not realise that there is a world beyond the TV. They simply sit and stare at the screen for hours together. Though the child is seeing things on TV, his brain is not getting stimulated. Instead, his brain becomes numb (‘AS SOFT AS CHEESE’) and he loses the power of ‘THINKING’. Children are born curious. Things intrigue them and they ask lots of questions and explore things. All these aspects are linked with imagination. Books, with their stories and imagery make children think and encourage them to imagine situations. However, TV affects their brains in such a way that children become abnormal and lose their imaginative and creative abilities. That is why the poet says that TV wipes out imagination altogether.
A number of figures of speech are applicable here.
1. Metaphor: A metaphor is used for comparative purposes. TV has been compared to an assassin. That is not say that TV is a killer or a murderer, but that TV is responsible for harming the brain to such an extent that it completely destroys the crucial imaginative powers.
2. Hyperbole: A hyperbole is the exaggeration of facts. It applies to the phrase in question as well as to the entire poem. Here, TV, that is a device, has been portrayed as an anti-social element that does all kinds of bad things like kill the imagination, cause a ‘RIOT’, clog and clutter the mind and so on. So, the poet has exaggerated the effects of TV.
3. Personification- It refers to treating a non-living entity as a living being. The fact that TV ‘kills’ the creativity of children, suggests that TV is indeed a person, involved in illegal activities. Further in the poem, it has also been referred to as a ‘monster’.
You can find the summary of the poem here: https://brainly.in/question/1513699
The poem Television written by Roald Dahl is a well-known poem which advises and encourages children to read books rather than watching TV. The poem takes a humorous look at a severe problem amongst young children today. It cautions us about the menaces of watching TV television excessively. TV deprives our minds of the power of creativity and imagination.
EXPLANATION:
- The capacity to think of new ideas diminishes when the child inertly engrosses himself/herself watching television. Watching excessive television destroys children’s ability to comprehend the world of fantasy. Their thinking ability corrodes and freezes.
- Personification is the figure of speech used in this poem. Dahl is used to expressing an idea or a thing as a person. He uses personification in the line: It kills their imagination dead! He gives TV the capability to kill and gives imagination the ability to perish at its hand.
To know more
In the poem the television by Roald Dahl how does the television watching makes the children dull
https://brainly.in/question/2779289
Explain the different themes of the poem 'television' by Roald Dahl
The themes are as follows:
1. Television- an idiot box
2. Death of imagination
3. Importance of reading books
https://brainly.in/question/9926364