Samacheer Kalvi 10th English Solutions Supplementary Chapter 4 The Aged Mother

February 11, 2022

Tamilnadu Samacheer Kalvi 10th English Solutions Supplementary Chapter 4 The Aged Mother

The Aged Mother Textual Questions

A. Rearrange the sentences given below in the correct sequence.

1. The son made up his mind to take back his mother home.
2. A farmer decided to leave his old mother on top of a mountain.
3. The governor realized his mistake and abolished the law.
4. Once in Shining, a cruel ruler declared that all old people must be put to death.
5. Using the clever idea of his mother, the farmer made a rope of ashes.
6. When the farmer bade farewell, she advised him to return home with the aid of twigs.
7. Filled with dread, he hid his mother in his home.
8. The mother dropped the small twigs as markers on the way to help her son return.
Answer:
4,2,8,6,1, 7, 5,3
4. Once in Shining, a cruel ruler declared that all old people must be put to death.
2. A farmer decided to leave his old mother on top of a mountain.
8. The mother dropped the small twigs as markers on the way to help her son return.
6. When the farmer bade farewell, she advised him to return home with the aid of twigs.
1. The son made up his mind to take back his mother home.
7. Filled with dread, he hid his mother in his home.
5. Using the clever idea of his mother, the farmer made a rope of ashes.
3. The governor realized his mistake and abolished the law.

B. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

The Aged Mother Summary Question 1.
What was the cruel announcement made by the leader?
Answer:
The cruel announcement was to put to death all the aged people.

The Aged Mother Questions And Answers Question 2.
Why was the farmer filled with sorrow?
Answer:
The farmer was filled with sorrow because he loved his mother very much. So he did not want her to die.

The Aged Mother 10th Supplementary Question 3.
What were the things carried by the farmer to the summit of the mountain?
Answer:
He took a quantity of unwhitened rice. He cooked and dried it. He tied it in a square cloth and swung it in a bundle around his neck. He also took a gourd filled with cool sweet water.

The Story Of The Aged Mother Question And Answer Question 4.
Why did the mother become anxious as they climbed up the mountain?
Answer:
The mother became anxious as they climbed up the mountain because her son did not know the mountains many paths and his return might be one of the dangers.

The Aged Mother Summary In English Question 5.
What did the mother drop along the way?
Answer:
She dropped a pile of twigs along the way.

The Aged Mother Questions Question 6.
What was the advice given by his mother for the safe return of her son?
Answer:
She advised her son to look carefully and follow the path which holds the piles of twigs. It will guide him to the familiar path farther down.

The Aged Mother Answers Question 7.
Why did the farmer’s burden seem to be light on his way back home?
Answer:
The farmer’s burden seemed to be light on his way back because he was happy to take his mother back to his home.

The Story Of The Aged Mother Question 8.
Where did the farmer hide his mother?
Answer:
The farmer hid his mother in a walled closet beneath the kitchen floor.

The Aged Mother Summary For Class 10 Question 9.
How did the farmer make the rope of ashes? On whose suggestion did he do it?
Answer:
Using the clever idea of his mother, the farmer made a rope of ashes. He made this by making a rope of twisted straw and burning it on a windless night.

The Aged Mother Answer Question 10.
How did the Governor realize his mistake?
Answer:
The Governor was pleased at the wit of the youth. So he demanded to know where he had obtained his wisdom. The farmer related the true story to him. He listened and meditated in silence. He realized his mistake and abolished his cruel law.

C. Answer each of the following in a paragraph of 120 to 150 words.

The Aged Mother Story Question 1.
Narrate the circumstances that led to the abandoning of the aged in Shining.
Answer:
The country Shining was governed by a cruel leader. He was a warrior. But he had a great and cowardly shrinking from anything suggestive of failing health and strength. This caused him to send out a cruel announcement. The entire province was given strict orders to immediately put to death all aged people. Those were harsh days and the custom of abandoning old people to die was common.

The poor farmer loved his aged mother with tender respect. This order filled his heart with sorrow. But no one ever thought twice about it. So with many deep and hopeless sighs, the farmer prepared to give his mother the kindest mode of death. He decided to take her to the summit of the Obatsuyama mountain and leave her there.

Question 2.
Describe the farmer’s painful journey up the mountain.
Answer:
Just at sunset, the farmer took a quantity of unwhitened rice. He cooked and dried it. He tied it in a square cloth, which he swung in a bundle around his neck along with a gourd filled with cool, sweet water. He lifted his helpless old mother to his back and started on his painful journey up the mountain. The road was long and steep. The narrow road was crossed and recrossed by many paths made by the hunters and woodcutters.

In someplace, he lost the path and was confused. But he gave no heed to it. He blindly went upward towards the high bare summit of what is known as Obatsuyama. His mother was anxious, as her son did not know the mountains many paths. His return might be one of the dangers.

So she dropped piles of twigs on their path up to the summit of the mountain. Weary and heartsick, the youth gently released his burden and silently prepared a place of comfort as his last duty to the loved one. This was the painful journey of the farmer.

The Story Of The Aged Mother Summary Question 3.
‘The old are wise’. Prove this with reference to the story ‘The Aged Mother’.
Answer:
A cruel ruler of Shining in Japan proclaims an announcement that all old people should be put to death. A poor farmer s heart was filled with sorrow after hearing this, because he loved his mother very much. So he carried her to the top of the mountain with a lot of difficulties, as the path was confusing and dangerous. When he bid farewell to her, she advised him to follow the path where piles of twigs were dropped.

It would be easier for him to find his way. Her son’s heart broke at this attitude of his mother. He brought her back and hid her in a closet beneath the kitchen floor. His mother proved her wisdom, when the governor demanded a rope of ashes. She gave her son a clever idea to present a rope of ashes. The Governor was glad. He praised her sense of wisdom and abolished his cruel law.

Additional Questions

The Story Of The Aged Mother Summary Brainly Question 1.
Elucidate, ‘With the crown, there cometh wisdom’.
Answer:
In the saying “With the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom” – the crown of snow is pertaining to the elders. It underlines the importance of the elders in shaping our society. The word, “there cometh wisdom” explains that as we get old our everyday experiences make us to be intelligent.

Theoretical knowledge is always superficial. The impact is made only by experienced persons. The wisdom one gets from experience can never be compared to one who is learned theoretically. A person leams from Mistakes. Elders are generally optimistic and are ready to learn from their mistakes.

They also remember it for their lifetime and never repeat them. The elders who have faced different challenges in life and had survived them braving all storm serve as our guiding path because their varied experiences teach us to become wise. They are wise enough to know what is right from wrong.
‘There is a wisdom of the head and a wisdom of the heart.’

The Story Of The Aged Mother Moral Lesson Question 2.
Explain the mother’s love with reference to the story, ‘The Aged Mother’.
Answer:
The story of the aged mother revolves around a situation, when the despotic ruler, a warrior proclaimed a decree ordering that all the aged people should be put to death. The story is about a mother’s love. Mother’s love cannot be compared for it is pure and unselfish. Most of all it serves as our courage, weakness and strength that guides us to walk through our journey called life.

It’s something that no one can explain because it is cultivated with deep devotion, sacrifice, understanding and pain. When the poor farmer decides to give his mother a kind mode of death, he silently takes his mother to the bare summit of Obatsayuma and plans to abandon her there. On their way to the summit of the mountain, the heart of the loving mother grows concerned because she knows that her son will be in danger on his way back because it’s an untrodden path.

The aged mother, due to her wisdom and experience breaks the twigs and drops it quietly on the road to serve as a guide for her son’s return journey. She knows from the very start that she will be abandoned in the summit of the mountain but she also understands that it’s for her own good and her son’s. However, she maintains silence to avoid agonizing her son who was already distressed at his action because of her love for her child.

D. Identify the character/speaker.

1. He gave orders for the aged to be put to death.
Answer:
Despotic leader of Shining

2. He considered the order to be the kindest mode of death.
Answer:
The Governor who is the despotic leader

3. She quietly dropped some twigs on the way.
Answer:
The aged mother of the poor farmer

4. Let not thine eyes be blinded.
Answer:
The aged mother of the poor farmer

5. Together we will follow the path, together we will die.
Answer:
Poor farmer

6. I will think. I will think.
Answer:
Widowed mother

7. The truth must be told.
Answer:
Poor farmer

8. He listened and meditated in silence.
The Governor

9. Shining needs more than the strength of the youth.
Answer:
The Governor

10. With the crown of snow there cometh wisdom.
Answer:
The Governor

E. Choose the appropriate answer and fill in the blanks.

1. Shining was governed by a ………………. leader.
(a) strict
(b) kind
(c) cruel
(d) diplomatic.
Answer:
(c) cruel

2. The ………………. was the principal food for the poor.
(a) wheat
(b) brown rice
(c) unwhitened rice
(d) millet.
Answer:
(c) unwhitened rice

3. The road was crossed and re-crossed by many paths made by the ………………………. .
(a) hunters and woodcutters
(b) robbers and thieves
(c) vendors and tradesmen
(d) wildlife photographers and trekkers
Answer:
(a) hunters and woodcutters

4. Gathering ……………… he made a soft cushion and tenderly lifted his old mother onto it.
(a) dry leaves
(b) fallen pine
(c) broken twigs
(d) flowers
Answer:
(b) fallen pine

5. The governor demanded that his subjects should present him with a …………………. .
(a) basket of fruits
(b) rope of ashes
(c) flesh of animals
(d) bag of silverwares
Answer:
(b) rope of ashes

Additional:

A. Choose the Correct answer.

1. A poor farmer and his aged, widowed mother owned a bit of …………………. .
(a) cloth
(b) land
(c) woolen cloth
(d) iron
Answer:
(b) land

2. The country ……………… was governed by a despotic leader.
(a) Shillong
(b) Japan
(c) Shining
(d) Kolkata
Answer:
(c) Shining

3. The province was given strict orders to put to death all …………………. people.
(a) aged
(b) destitute
(c) handicapped
(d) sickly
Answer:
(a) aged

4. The order filled the poor man’s heart with ……………….. .
(a) joy
(b) happiness
(c) sorrow
(d) anxiety
Answer:
(c) sorrow

5. ………………….. was the principal food for the poor.
(a) unbeaten rice
(b) sifted flour
(c) wheat
(d) unwhitened rice
Answer:
(d) unwhitened rice

6. The poor farmer dried and cooked the rice and tied it in a ………………. cloth.
(a) triangular
(b) square
(c) wet
(d) parched dry
Answer:
(b) square

7. He took cool sweet water in a ……………………….. .
(a) bottle
(b) jar
(c) pot
(d) gourd
Answer:
(d) gourd

8. The high bare summit, is ………………… .
(a) Obayama
(b) Otsuyama
(c) Obatsuyama
(d) Obsuyata
Answer:
(c) Obatsuyama

9. Beneath the kitchen floor was a walled ……………….. for food.
(a) closet
(b) clarinet
(c) open space
(d) cabinet
Answer:
(a) closet

10. Stretch the twisted straw upon a row of flat stones and bum it on a ……………………. night.
(a) windy
(b) windless
(c) breezy
(d) stormy
Answer:
(b) windless

B. Rearrange the following sentences in coherent order.

1. a. It describes the love and affection a son and his mother have for one another.
b. Strict orders were given in the province to put to death all aged people at once.
c. The custom of abandoning old people to die was not uncommon, then.
d. ‘The Story of the Aged Mother’. By Matsuo Baasho is a Japanese folklore.
e. The country Shining was governed by a despotic leader who sent out a cruel proclamation.
Answers:
d, a, e, b, c
d. ‘The Story of the Aged Mother’, by Matsuo Baasho is a Japanese folklore.
a. It describes the love and affection a son and his mother have for one another.
e. The country Shining was governed by a despotic leader who sent out a cruel proclamation.
b. Strict orders were given in the province to put to death all aged people at once.
c. The custom of abandoning old people to die was not uncommon, then.

2. a. Then he lifted his helpless old mother to his back and started on his painful journey up the mountain.
b. The poor farmer loved his aged mother with tender reverence.
c. So with hopeless sighs, the youth prepared for the kindest mode of death.
d. But no one ever thought twice about obeying the mandate of the governor.
e. At sundown, he took some cooked food with some sweet water.
Answers:
b, d, c, e, a
b. The poor farmer loved his aged mother with tender reverence.
d. But no one ever thought twice about obeying the mandate of the governor.
c. So with hopeless sighs, the youth prepared for the kindest mode of death.
e. At sundown, he took some cooked food with some sweet water.
a. Then he lifted his helpless old mother to his back and started on his painful journey up the mountain.

B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate phrases given below to form a complete meaningful paragraph.

1. (of abandoning old people to die / to send out / of failing health and strength / all aged people / was governed by a despotic leader)

The country Shining (i) …………………. who though a warrior, had a great and cowardly shrinking from anything suggestive (ii) …………………. This caused him (iii) …………………. a cruel proclamation. The entire province was given strict orders to immediately put to death (iv) ……………….Those were barbarous days, and the custom (v) …………………. was not uncommon.
Answers:
(i) was governed by a despotic leader
(ii) of failing health and strength
(iii) to send out
(iv) all aged people
(v)of abandoning old people to die

2. (with a rope of ashes / Time passed / sent forth heralds / hid his mother /as a boast of his power)

There the son (i) ………………………., supplying her with everything she needed, continually watching and fearing she would be discovered, (ii) ……………………., and he was beginning to feel safe when again the governor (iii) ……………….. bearing an unreasonable order, seemingly (iv) ……………….His demand was that his subjects should present him (v) ………………………… .
Answers:
(i) hid his mother
(ii) Time passed
(iii) sent forth heralds

C. Match the following appropriately:
1.

Answers:
(i)(b), (ii)(d), (iii)(e), (iv)(c), (v)(a).

2.

Answers:
(i)(d), (ii)(e), (iii)(b), (iv)(c), (v)(a).

D. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Long, long ago there lived at the foot of the mountain a poor farmer and his aged, widowed mother. They owned a bit of land which supplied them with food, and they were humble, peaceful, and happy.The country Shining was governed by a despotic leader who though a warrior, had a great and cowardly shrinking from anything suggestive of failing health and strength. This caused him to send out a cruel proclamation. The entire province was given strict orders to immediately put to death all aged people.

Those were barbarous days, and the custom of abandoning old people to die was not uncommon. The poor farmer loved his aged mother with tender reverence, and the order filled his heart with sorrow. But no one ever thought twice about obeying the mandate of the governor, so with many deep and hopeless sighs, the youth prepared for what at that time was considered the kindest mode of death.

(a) What do you know of the poor farmer and his aged mother?
Answer:
The poor farmer and his aged mother lived in their small bit of land at the foothills which supplied them with food. They were humble, peaceful and happy.

(b) Who ruled the country Shining?
Answer:
The Country Shining was ruled by a despotic leader who was a warrior himself.

(c) What was the despotic leader’s order to the entire province?
Answer:
The despotic leader ordered that all aged people who were failing in health and strength be put
to death immediately.

(d) Pick out the adjective that described the kind of days the people lived in at Shining.
Answer:
The adjective used to describe was ‘barbarous’.

(e) How did the poor farmer react in response to the order?
Answer:
The poor farmer loved his aged mother with tender reverence, and the order filled his heart with sorrow. With many deep and hopeless sighs, the youth prepared for the kindest mode of death.

2. Just at sundown, when his day’s work was ended, he took a quantity of unwhitened rice which was the principal food for the poor, and he cooked, dried it, and tied it in a square cloth, which he swung in a bundle around his neck along with a gourd filled with cool, sweet water. Then he lifted his helpless old mother to his back and started on his painful journey up the mountain.

The road was long and steep; the narrow road was crossed and re-crossed by many paths made by the hunters and woodcutters. In someplace, they were lost and confused, but he gave no heed. One path or another, it mattered not. On he went, climbing blindly upward – ever upward towards the high bare summit of what is known as Obatsuyama, the mountain of the “abandoning of the aged”.

(a) What did the poor farmer do at the end of his work before taking his mother to the summit?
Answer:
The poor farmer took a quantity of unwhitened rice which was the principal food for the poor. He cooked it, dried it and tied it in a square cloth, which he swung in a bundle around his neck along with a gourd filled with cool, sweet water.

(b) Why was the journey painful?
Answer:
The journey up the mountain was painful because he was very grieved when he lifted his helpless old mother to his back.

(c) How was the road up the mountain?
Answer:
The road up the mountain was long and steep. It was crossed and recrossed by many paths made by the hunters and woodcutters.

(d) How do you know that he was focused on his journey?
Answer:
There were times, when they were lost and confused but he did not bother about anything and walked continuously up the summit.

(e) Why did the poor farmer choose Obatsuyama?
Answer:
The poor farmer chose Obatsuyama because it was the mountain of the ‘Abandoning the Aged’.

The Aged Mother by Matsuo Basho About the Author:

Matsuo Basho was born in 1644 in Iga Provence and died on 28th November, 1694 in Osaka, Japan. Matsuo Basho’s poetry is internationally renowned; and, in Japan, many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Basho was introduced to poetry at a ‘young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo which is modem Tokyo, he quickly became well known throughout Japan. He made a living as a teacher; but then renounced the social, urban life of the literary circles and was inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing.

The Aged Mother Summary:

Introduction:
Author Matsuo Basho expresses the love the mother shows on his son and the way he reciprocates it. The story is a drama of how the son fights to thwart the cruel fate that fell upon his mother and the wittiness of his mother that helped save her from the ill fate of all old mothers.

King’s decree:
“The Story of the Aged Mother”, by Matsuo Basho is a story in which a son and his mother’s pain in their battle against the decree of putting aged people to death is portrayed. The story happened at the foot of the mountain where a poor farmer lived in a country called Shining with his aged mother whom he loved. Their place was governed by a tyrannical leader who sent the announcement of killing all aged people which was not common then.

Son set to abandon mother:
When the poor farmer heard the decree he felt sorrow in his heart for his aged mother. Just as his labour ended, he prepared food from a portion of unwhitened rice, covered it in a square cloth and knotted it in his neck along with a gourd filled with cool, sweet water. He then carried his mother on his back and started walking towards the summit of Obatsayuma, the mountain of the“abandoning of aged”.

Mother’s anxiety:
On their way to the top, the helpless mother noticed the perilous path and thought that her son didn’t know the paths and might pass through danger. So she reached for twigs, snapped them to pieces and quietly dropped them until they reached the summit. The poor farmer freed his mother and made a comfortable cushion with pine needles and bid farewell.

Motherly love
Before he left her, she told him about the trail she made with the piles of twigs. His mother’s words clearly portrayed the unconditional love that the mother had for her son, an unselfish love that thumped the heart of the poor child and made him cry.

Son faces the verdict
Now, the farmer realized that they need to face the verdict together. So, he again carried his mother on his back and started to walk back to their humble hut in the valley.
He hid his mother on a walled closet used for food beneath the kitchen. Time passed and they both felt secure and safe until one day the despotic leader demanded the people of the valley to present him with a rope of ashes.

Farmer seeks mother’s wisdom:
The poor farmer was dumbstruck and informed his mother. His mother thought for a while and came upon a wise idea. She told him to make a rope of twisted straw, stretched upon a row of flat stones and bum it on a windless night. The tyrant was pleased of what he had witnessed and asked the poor farmer about his knowledge.

Poor farmer comes out with the truth:
The poor farmer told him the truth and stated everything he had done. The tormentor listened and meditated in silence. On hearing the story, he decided to abolish the harsh law and saw the presence of elders to shape the society. Now the despotic leader acknowledged that with the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom.

Conclusion:
It was a happy ending that has a moral code that a son should never let go of his mother whatsoever the situation may be. The king realised his mistakes and the worth of wise elders. Due to the wisdom of the mother, all the elders were saved.