whose life was soft in the chapter of slum children at play
Answers
Explanation:
Read the poem given below and
answer
In this poem, Stephen Spender has brought out the miserable condition of the children studying in an elementary school in a slum. The children in the classroom are pale and unhealthy and some are even diseased. Their unkempt and dull hair has been compared to rootless weeds. One of the girls is apparently burdened with the miseries of poverty. One of the boys has inherited his father’s disease and has stunted growth. Another student is sitting unnoticed and he is yearning to play outdoors. The donations given to the school in the form of pictures, paintings and maps are meaningless for the children. They exhibit the world of the elite and the privileged while the children in the slum have a future that is sealed and confined to the slum. Their future is dark and limited. The donations on the walls only add to the frustration of the children. They are tempted to attain what would be unattainable for them. The only hope for them is the support from powerful people like the governor, inspector or an influential visitor. The children in the slum can progress only if they are given good education and the freedom to move into a world of opportunities and progress. The poet also states that history is made only by those people who have the power of knowledge. Hence, educating and letting the children into a free world of opportunities would release them from the suffocating, wretched life in a slum.