Welcome to “A Work of Artifice Workbook Ans : ICSE Treasure Chest (Evergreen),” where we explore the poignant and thought-provoking poem “A Work of Artifice,” featured in the ICSE English Literature Treasure Chest by Evergreen Publications. This post provides thorough and insightful answers to multiple-choice and contextual questions, enhancing your understanding of Marge Piercy’s powerful commentary on gender roles and societal constraints. We meticulously dissect the poem, unraveling its rich metaphors, symbolism, and the critique of how society shapes and limits individual potential, particularly that of women. Each question serves as a gateway to deeper textual analysis, encouraging readers to explore the intricate language, underlying themes, and the striking imagery that Piercy employs to convey her message. Contextual inquiries broaden our perspective, prompting critical engagement with the poem’s socio-cultural implications and the broader issues of gender and identity. Through this examination, readers refine their analytical skills and develop a profound appreciation for Piercy’s artistry and the relevance of her social critique. Whether you are a student delving into ICSE English Literature or an avid reader exploring contemporary poetry, “ICSE Treasure Chest: A Work of Artifice Workbook Answers” offers valuable insights and guidance. Join us on this literary journey as we illuminate the path to understanding, one workbook solution at a time.
Table of Contents
Poem In Details :
The poem begins with a reference to a bonsai tree that could have grown ‘eighty feet’ tall, if it were given the opportunity to do so. It would have stood on a mountain top till it was split by lightning. But it has remained stunted in a pot as a gardener carefully prunes it to ensure that it remains only nine inches tall. The gardener sings happily to the bonsai:
It is your nature to be small and cozy, domestic and weak; how lucky, little tree, to have a pot to grow in.
At this point we realize that the bonsai tree stands for women oppressed by males in a patriarchal society. The gardener (the husband) seems to tell the bonsai (the woman) ahat she is lucky to be in a home doing domestic chores for she is small and weak. As the pot protects the bonsai from the ‘lightning strike’, the home protects the woman from all outside troubles.
The poet points out that as with the bonsai tree the gardener has to start early to keep it small. The men or society must begin early to “dwarf the growth of women – physical, mental and spiritual – and prepare them for their predetermined roles – curling hair to look attractive or binding feet to keep them small and weak. The last two lines suggest ironically that though men stunt women’s growth, they look to the woman for admiration and comfort. How can these women provide nurturing to the men responsible for keeping them down?
Line Wise Explanation :
Lines 1-5
It is a usual practice to keep the bonsai tree in a pot in a room as a decoration piece or as a miniature representation of nature. The bonsai tree symbolises stunted growth. The poet, referring to the bonsai tree, says that it could grow to eighty feet tall if it were allowed to grow outside the pot till it is cut down by lightning. As the poem grows, we realise that the bonsai tree is an oppressed woman who is not allowed to grow fully. physically, mentally and spiritually.
Lines 6-14
The gardener – who could be the woman’s husband or lover – subjects the bonsai tree (his woman, representative of all oppressed women in patriarchal society) to constant pruning and does not let it to grow more than just nine inches. The gardener happily tells the bonsai tree that it is in its nature to be small, weak and domesticated.
Lines 15-19
The man, like the gardener, tells his woman that she is lucky to be in a home doing domestic chores as she is small and weak. Just as the bonsai is safe and protected in a pot, so is she in her home. It is clear that he considers her to be a ‘pet’, a ‘possession’ that he keeps protected within the four walls of his home. He is aware of the fact that her conditioning (pruning) must begin early in life so that she remains the dependent woman that he so desires. This ‘conditioning refers to controlling the way somebody grows and behaves. The man ensures that she willingly subjects herself to accepting the role of a domesticated creature, small, weak and subjugated.
Lines 20-24
The poet here mention how men oppress women and stunt their growth. Women are made to curl their hair in order to be seen as attractive or bind their feet to keep them small. Their brains are stunted. They are made to think that this particular way to look attractive suits them or this is the only way they can be accepted in society.
The last two lines are ironic. The men who stunt the growth of women still want admiration and comfort from them. How could this be possible ?
Workbook MCQs :
1. Select the option that shows the correct relationship between the statements (1) and (2).
1. The bonsai tree can grow very tall.
2. It is carefully pruned to prevent its growth to serve as a decorative piece.
(a) 1 is the cause for 2.
(b) 1 is an example of 2.
(c) 1 is independent of 2.
(d) 1 is a contradiction of 2.
Answer :- (a) 1 is the cause for 2
2. Which of these statements is NOT true?
(a) The bonsai tree is an extended metaphor for a woman in patriarchal society.
(b) The growth of a woman is deliberately stunted in a man-dominated society.
(c) A woman is brainwashed to be careful only about her looks from the beginning.
(d) The poet urges all women to revolt against their oppressors.
Answer :- (d) The poet urges all women to revolt against their oppressors.
3. Every day as he
Whittles back the branches
the gardener croons.
Select the word that shows the mood of the gardener, as revealed by the above- mentioned lines.
(a) sad
(b) thwarted
(c) happy and self-satisfied
(d) jealous
Answer :- (c) happy and self-satisfied
4. Which of these attributes are NOT generally associated with women by men in patriarchal societies?
1. intelligent
2. mentally strong
3. weak
4. attractive
5. confident
6. capable of taking independent decisions
(a) 2, 3, 4
(b) 1, 2, 5 and 6
(c) 3, 4, 5 and 6
(d) 1, 3, 4 and 5
Answer :- (b) 1, 2, 5 and 6
5. how lucky, little tree,
to have a pot to grow in.
Which figure of speech is used in these lines ?
(a) simile
(b) oxymoron
(c) irony
(d) pun
Answer :- (c) irony
6. What does the word ‘artifice’ in the title of the poem ‘A Work of Artifice’ mean?
(a) art
(b) trickery
(c) intelligence
(d) skill
Answer :- (b) trickery
7. Which of these statements is NOT true?
(a) Women are themselves responsible for their plight in society.
(b) Women are conditioned to willingly accept stereotypical roles.
(c) The gardener represents the stereotypical male.
(d) Women need to protest against their suppression.
Answer :- (a) Women are themselves responsible for their plight in society.
8. Which of these attributes are NOT generally associated with women by men in patriarchal societies?
(a) intelligence
(b) dependence
(c) obedience
(d) weakness
Answer :- (a) intelligence
9. How does the gardener feel as he addresses the bonsai tree ?
(a) sad
(b) happy
(c) excited
(d) happy and proud
Answer :- (d) happy and proud
10. Why are women’s feet bound in some cultures?
(a) to punish women
(b) to make women slaves
(c) to make women realize their unimportance
(d) to make them small and look attractive
Answer :- (d) to make them small and look attractive
11. What would have happened to the bonsai tree if it had not been pruned?
(a) it would have died
(b) it would have grown 80 feet tall
(c) it would have looked attractive
(d) it would have borne fruit.
Answer :- (c) it would have looked attractive
12. The tone of the speaker in the poem is
(a) condescending
(b) amusing
(c) entertaining
(d) solemn
Answer :- (d) solemn
13. Select the option that best suggests that the poem is talking about women.
(a) it is your nature/to be small and cozy
(b) the crippled brain/the hair in curlers
(c) the hands you/love to touch
(d) the bonsai tree/in the attractive pot
Answer :- (b) the crippled brain/the hair in curlers
14. What is the theme of the poem? Select the correct option:
(a) Men are oppressors.
(b) Social conditioning is used to prevent women from flourishing to their full potential.
(c) Women are conditioned to feel happy in being small and weak.
(d) Women must protest against their stereotypical role in society.
Answer :- (b) Social conditioning is used to prevent women from flourishing to their full potential
15. Which of these figures of speech is extensively used in the poem?
(a) personification
(b) metaphor
(c) simile
(d) alliteration
Answer :- (b) metaphor
Comprehension Passages :
Passage – 1
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
The bonsai tree
in the attractive pot
could have grown eighty feet tall
on the side of a mountain
till split by lightning.
But a gardener
carefully pruned it.
It is nine inches high.
(I) What kind of tree is a bonsai? What does it stand for in the poem ?
Answer :- The bonsai is a small decorative tree that is grown in a pot. It is prevented from reaching its normal size. In the poem it stands for a woman oppressed and suppressed in a male-dominated society.
(II) Where could it have grown fully? What has stunted its growth?
Answer :- It could have grown fully outside in nature, on the side of a mountain. It could have grown there up to eight feet high. Its branches continue to be pruned. It prevents its growth.
(III) Who does the gardener stand for in the poem? Why does it not let the ‘bonsai tree’ grow to its full potential?
Answer :- The gardener stands for a man – a lover or a husband – in the poem. He continues to prune the bonsai tree and does not let it grow. He believes that it has to remain small and weak to look attractive.
(IV) Why does the gardener want the bonsai to remain small and weak? What is its implication in the poem ?
Answer :- The bonsai tree is not allowed to grow to its full potential deliberately. In the poem, it stands for a woman. Like the bonsai tree, woman in male-dominated world is prevented from growing and showing her capabilities fully. She is made to accept her subordinate position by keeping her confined to the four walls of her home.
(V) What is the main idea projected in the poem?
Answer :- The main idea projected in the poem is that if anything or anybody is not allowed to grow, it will remain underdeveloped and weak. This is true in the case of bonsai tree and a woman in the male-dominated society.
Passage – 2
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Every day as he
whittles back the branches
the gardener croons. It is your nature
to be small and cozy.
domestic and weak;
(I) What is the function of the ‘gardener’? Which function of the ‘gardener’ referred to in the poem is in reality regressive and harmful? How?
Answer :- The function of the gardener is to prune the branches of the bonsai tree to keep it small and attractive. The gardener, as a symbol of dominated male, prevents the growth of the woman, thus keeping her under his control. It is regressive and harmful for the woman and society in general.
(II) In what tone does the gardener speak? What picture do you form of the ‘gardener’ in your mind as ‘he’ speaks to the bonsai tree ?
Answer :- The gardener speaks in a happy and condescending tone. We think the ‘gardener’ is an arrogant and dominating person.
(III) In what way is the gardener wrong?
Answer :- The ‘gardener’ is wrong in the sense that everything and everybody has the right to grow. To keep something or somebody deliberately underdeveloped is definitely wrong.
(IV) What do the last two lines suggest?
Answer :- The last two lines suggest that in a male-dominated world man feels self-satisfied in his wrong belief that woman is by nature weak, small and domesticated, and that she should accept her position as such.
(V) What does the word ‘croons’ mean? What does it imply?
Answer :- The word ‘croons’ means to sing quietly in a happy mood. Tt implies that the man, represented by the gardener, is happy and self-satisfied by keeping his woman weak and underdeveloped.
Passage – 3
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
How lucky, little tree, to have a pot to grow in. With living creatures one must begin very early to dwarf their growth.
(I) Who is the speaker? Who is being addressed?
Answer :- The speaker is a gardener who stands for a domineering male. The bonsai tree is being addressed. The tree represents suppressed woman in a male-dominated society.
(II) What does the ‘pot’ mean in the metaphorical context of the poem? Give its relevance to the development of women?
Answer :- In the metaphorical context of the poem, the pot comes to represent the limited space allowed to women to operate. A woman has to lead much of her life in the limited space of her home.
(III) What do males do to stunt the growth of women ?
Answer :- Men condition women to accept their subordinate position in society. They prevail upon her to accept that she is weak by nature, born to do domestic chores. Thus, they prevent her natural growth.
(IV) Bring out the significance of the last two lines.
Answer :- The last two lines are ironic. They convey the idea that conditioning of women to accept their servility should begin quite early so that they come to accept their role easily and naturally.
(V) What stereotypical role do women play in life? How are they tricked to perform it?
Answer :- Women play the stereotypical role as decoration pieces by making themselves look attractive to men, and do everything to please them. They are tricked to perform this role by making them accept that they are weak, small and domesticated by nature.
Passage – 4
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
the bound feet,
the crippled brain,
the hair in curlers,
the hands you
love to touch.
(I) Which shift in context is brought out with these lines ?
Answer :- Woman in male-dominated world is referred to here. Earlier, the focus was on the bonsai tree. There is, thus, clear shift in the poem here. The bonsai tree, we come to know, stands for the woman who is prevented from her normal growth.
(II) In which context are women’s ‘feet’ bound? Why?
Answer :- In some cultures, like the Japanese, women’s ‘feet’ were bound to keep them small and look pretty. The binding of feet here symbolises limiting the woman’s opportunities to grow.
(III) Why are women made to look attractive ?
Answer :- Women are made to look attractive to please men, as also to keep them under delusion that their prime duty is to look pretty and attractive.
(IV) The last two lines are ironic. How?
Answer :- Men do everything to limit the physical, mental and spiritual growth of women. Ironically, they look to women for loving and healing touch. Without women, they feel small and limited.
(V) What does the poet seem to lament? What does she expect of women?
Answer :- The poet seems to lament the fact that women accept their subordinate role in society willingly and even cheerfully. She expects women to realize their potentialities and break all mental shackles which prevent their growth.
