Important 3-Mark Questions - Chapter 5 - Somebody’s Mother (Unit 2)

Answer: The winter chill bends her body, recent snow makes the street wet and slippery, and her aged feet move slowly. The setting therefore creates real physical danger instead of serving only as background.

Answer: The woman stands “alone, uncared for, amid the throng”. Many people pass her, but nobody heeds her anxious eyes. The poem shows that loneliness can exist even when many people are physically nearby.

Answer: The boys welcome the deep white snow with excitement because school is over and they are free to play. For the old woman, the same snow makes the street wet and slippery. One setting creates joy for the children and danger for her.

Answer: The poem simply shows them hastening past the old and grey woman and not offering a helping hand. By placing their easy movement beside her fear and weakness, the poet lets the contrast reveal their lack of awareness.

Answer: He pauses instead of rushing, speaks softly, and says “if you wish” before helping. These details show that he notices her need but still respects her choice and dignity.

Answer: The boy’s feet are “firm and strong”, but the poem does not use this to make him superior. His strength becomes valuable because he shares it with the old woman and helps her cross safely.

Answer: His “young heart” is happy and content even though he receives no public reward. This shows that kindness can bring its own inner satisfaction and encourages helping for the right reason.

Answer: He imagines his own mother becoming old and needing help while he is far away. By placing someone he loves in the stranger’s situation, he understands the old woman’s need more deeply.

Answer: The line recognises that family cannot always be present. Society becomes humane when strangers are willing to care for vulnerable people in moments when their own families cannot help.

Answer: The first asks us to see the old woman as someone loved by a family. The final phrase applies the same idea to the helpful boy. Together they make kindness universal and mutual.

Answer: The boy’s offer and the woman’s prayer are given in their own words. This lets the reader hear kindness and gratitude directly, making the emotional moments more personal.

Answer: The woman first waits anxiously on a slippery street while people ignore her. Tension rises through the danger of carriage wheels and horses. Relief begins when one boy stops, offers help and guides her safely across.

Answer: The poem contrasts old age with youth, slow feet with hastening children, trembling feet with firm ones, and neglect with kindness. These contrasts make both the woman’s need and the boy’s compassion clearer.

Answer: “Somebody’s Mother” gives the stranger a relationship and emotional value. It asks the reader to see her as someone deeply important to another person, which is the core of the poem’s empathy.

Answer: The poem begins with her ignored and anxious, but ends with her safe, grateful and praying for the boy. Her prayer shows that the kindness continues emotionally even after the physical help is over.