How will you justify the theme of the right to live with reference to the chapter ‘Raising Scorpions’?
Answers
Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” presents a rural Indian village and its people, throwing light on their superstitions, temperament, and outlook on life which were prevalent in the poet's time. Nevertheless, the poem shows the concern and unity of the village people. Therefore “Night of the Scorpion” is not only a depiction of an incident in the life of the poet’s mother but also an overall portrayal of rural India.[6] It came from a religious background and Nissim wrote this poem trying to give the impression of anger, but also an underlying message of motherly love, along with a hint of culture and superstition[7]..
After twenty hours
it lost its sting.
My mother only said
Thank God the scorpion picked on me
And spared my children. [8]
- Nissim Ezekiel
The last lines of the poem carry the irony, that is, the poet’s mother expresses her gratitude to God for saving her children. “The concern of the villagers and the poet’s father seem rather superficial when pitted against the heartfelt feelings of his mother".[9] It is a universal truth that a mother cannot tolerate the pain and suffering of her children. In the context of the poem, this is not exceptional because the poet's mother expresses her concern for her children just after the relief from the intense pain which conveys an underlying gesture of unconditional motherly love.