Question

Write a note on the elaborate prayer the neighbours make for the poet's mother.what does it reveal about their belief and philosophy of life

Answer 1

This question is from the poem Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel. It is about an incident in which his mother was bitten by a scorpion.  

After the scorpion bite, neighbours gathered at his house. They began to pray for the mother; they gave their own superstitious, philosophical and religious interpretations for the incident. They believed the scorpion bite was universe’s plan to cure the mother of her previous birth sins. They believed it would purify her flesh and soul.

However, they didn’t do anything to relieve the mother of her pain. They just sat around the writhing mother and gave their superstitious and philosophical opinions.