Night of the Scorpion – Class 12 Alternative English Chapter 11

Night of the Scorpion.

Note for Students: Understanding “Night of the Scorpion”

Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” is a powerful and vivid poem that recounts a dramatic childhood memory: the night the speaker’s mother was stung by a scorpion. The poem is set in a rural Indian village and brilliantly captures the chaotic scene that unfolds.

As you read, pay close attention to the three different reactions to the scorpion sting:

1. The Peasants: They represent superstition and traditional beliefs. They chant prayers and offer philosophical and religious explanations for the mother’s suffering.
2. The Father: He represents a more modern, rational, and scientific approach. He is a “sceptic, rationalist” who tries “every curse and blessing,” including powders, herbs, and even putting a match to the wound.
3. The Mother: Her reaction, which comes only at the very end, is the most powerful. It represents pure, selfless maternal love.

The poem is a fascinating exploration of the clash between faith and reason, tradition and modernity. But its most enduring message is found in the mother’s final words, which reveal the incredible depth of a mother’s love, a force that transcends all pain and fear.

Comprehension

This section will help you test your basic understanding of the poem’s narrative and characters.

A. Answer these questions in one or two words.

1. Who was stung by the scorpion?
   • Answer: The mother.
2. What kind of a night was it?
   • Answer: A rainy night.
3. Who came like swarms of flies?
   • Answer: The peasants.
4. Who is the ‘Evil One’ in the poem?
   • Answer: The scorpion.
5. What will purify the flesh and soul of the mother?
   • Answer: The poison.

Short Answer Questions

This section requires you to think more deeply about the poem’s details, symbolism, and language.

B. Answer these questions in a few words each.

1. What led the scorpion to crawl beneath the sack of rice?
   • Answer: Ten hours of steady rain had driven the scorpion to seek shelter inside the house.
2. Which lines in the poem suggests the mother’s suffering?
   • Answer: The lines are: “My mother twisted through and through, / groaning on a mat.”
3. Which word or phrase in the poem suggests that the scorpion represents something evil?
   • Answer: The phrase “diabolic tail” and the name “the Evil One” suggest the scorpion represents evil.
4. What does ‘mud-baked walls’ suggest in the poem?
   • Answer: The “mud-baked walls” suggest that the speaker’s family lived in a simple, humble, rural house, typical of an Indian village.
5. What led to the formation of giant scorpion shadows on the walls of the speaker’s hut? (AHSEC 2022)
   • Answer: The peasants searching for the scorpion with their “candles and with lanterns” cast giant, flickering scorpion-like shadows on the mud-baked walls of the hut.

Brief and Detailed Answers

These questions require a more detailed analysis of the poem’s themes, imagery, and central message.

C. Answer these questions briefly in your own words.

1. What is the role of superstition in the poem? How do the villagers’ beliefs impact their actions and attitude towards the mother?
   • Answer: Superstition plays a major role in the poem, guiding the villagers’ response to the crisis. They believe the scorpion is an “Evil One” and that as it moves, the poison moves in the mother’s blood. Their beliefs lead them to chant prayers to “paralyse” the scorpion and to offer philosophical justifications for the mother’s pain, seeing it as a way to burn away the “sins of your previous birth” and balance good against evil.
2. What does the mother’s reaction to the scorpion’s sting suggest about her character?
   • Answer: The mother’s reaction, revealed only in the last three lines, suggests she is a character of immense and selfless love. After twenty hours of agonizing pain, her only thought is one of relief and gratitude that the scorpion stung her and not her children. This highlights her maternal instinct and her capacity for sacrifice as the most powerful force in the poem.
3. What are the themes and ideas explored in the poem?
   • Answer: The poem explores several key themes: the clash between superstition and rationality (seen in the peasants vs. the father), the power of community and solidarity in times of crisis, the philosophical ideas of karma and destiny, and most importantly, the profound and selfless nature of maternal love.
4. Describe the use of language and vivid imagery by the poet.
   • Answer: The poet uses simple language and powerful, vivid imagery to create a dramatic scene. He uses a simile to describe the peasants coming “like swarms of flies,” and a metaphor when their lanterns throw “giant scorpion shadows” on the walls. The image of the “flame feeding on my mother” is particularly striking and intense, effectively conveying the child’s perspective of the chaotic and frightening events.
5. How do the religious and cultural references in the poem contribute to its themes?
   • Answer: The religious and cultural references are central to the poem’s themes and setting. The peasants’ “buzzing the name of God” and their beliefs about karma (“sins of your previous birth”) and reincarnation (“misfortunes of your next birth”) firmly root the poem in a traditional Indian village context. These references highlight the theme of faith and superstition as a way for the community to make sense of suffering and misfortune.

D. Answer these questions in detail.

1. What according to you is the central theme of the poem? How does it develop in the poem?
   • Answer: While the poem explores the conflict between superstition and rationality, its central and most powerful theme is selfless maternal love. This theme is developed quietly throughout the poem and delivered with immense force in the final lines. The narrative begins by focusing on the external chaos: the scorpion, the rain, and the arrival of the villagers. It then shifts to the clash of responses—the peasants’ prayers and the father’s rationalist remedies. The mother is, for most of the poem, a passive figure, merely “groaning on a mat.” The reader is led through the intellectual and cultural conflicts surrounding her. However, the entire poem builds towards her one and only utterance. After twenty hours of pain, when the ordeal is over, her first words are not of her own suffering but of gratitude: “Thank God the scorpion picked on me / And spared my children.” This stunning conclusion reframes the entire event, revealing that while the villagers and the father were concerned with their own beliefs and methods, the mother’s only concern was the safety of her children. This makes maternal love the ultimate, transcendent force in the poem, more powerful than superstition, reason, or even pain itself.
2. Comment on the poem’s use of various literary devices.
   • Answer: Nissim Ezekiel masterfully uses various literary devices to create a vivid and emotionally resonant poem:
     • Simile: The most striking simile is “The peasants came like swarms of flies,” which effectively captures their large numbers, the buzzing sound of their prayers, and perhaps a slightly irritating, overwhelming presence from the speaker’s perspective.
     • Metaphor: The “giant scorpion shadows” on the walls is a powerful metaphor. The villagers’ attempts to help ironically create more fear and magnify the image of the “Evil One.”
     • Imagery: The poem is built on strong sensory imagery. We have the “flash / of diabolic tail in the dark room,” the visual of the “flame feeding on my mother,” and the auditory image of the mother “groaning on a mat.” These images immerse the reader in the tense, chaotic atmosphere of the night.
     • Personification: The scorpion is personified as an “Evil One,” giving it a malevolent intent that reflects the villagers’ superstitious worldview.
     • Onomatopoeia: The word “buzzed” (“buzzed the name of God”) imitates the sound of the peasants’ continuous chanting, linking back to the “swarms of flies” simile.
     • Irony: There is a deep irony in the mother’s final words. While everyone else was focused on her, her focus was solely on her children, making their elaborate rituals and remedies seem secondary to the simple power of her love.
3. How does the poem bring forth the strong sense of solidarity among the village folk of India?
   • Answer: The poem powerfully brings forth a strong sense of solidarity among the village folk by showing their immediate and collective response to a neighbor’s misfortune. The moment they hear of the scorpion sting, the peasants come “like swarms of flies.” This simile, while perhaps slightly critical, emphasizes their sheer numbers and the speed with which they gather. They do not come empty-handed; they bring “candles and with lanterns” and actively search for the scorpion, believing it will help the mother. They sit with the suffering mother for hours, “on the floor with my mother in the centre,” creating a circle of support around her. Though their methods are based on superstition—chanting prayers and offering philosophical comfort—their intentions are rooted in genuine compassion and a shared sense of community. They are united in their desire to help, demonstrating a deep-seated cultural value where an individual’s suffering is a collective responsibility. This communal gathering in a time of crisis is a hallmark of the solidarity found in traditional Indian village life.