THE GRUMBLE FAMILY
Lucy Maud Montgomery
A. Read the following lines from the poem and answer the questions given below.
1. There’s a family nobody likes to meet;
They live, it is said, on Complaining Street
a. Where does the family live?
The family lives on Complaining Street.
b. Why do you think the street is named as ‘Complaining Street’?
Everyone living there keeps complaining about everything so the street is named as ‘Complaining Street’
2. They growl at that and they growl at this;
Whatever comes, there is something amiss;
a. What does the word ‘growl’ mean here?
Here ‘growl’ means make a low threatening sound of complaint.
b. Why do they find everything amiss?
They are grumblers from Grumble Family. They always grumble about everything so they find everything a miss.
3. Nothing goes right with the folks you meet
Down on that gloomy Complaining Street.
a. What is the opinion about the folks you meet down the street?
Everything goes wrong with the folks we meet down the street.
b. What does the word ‘gloomy’ mean here?
The word gloomy means sad and depressed.
4. The worst thing is that if anyone stays
Among them too long, he will learn their ways;
a. What is the worst thing that can happen if anyone stays with them?
If anyone stays with them he will learn their ways and become a grumbler like them.
b. What are the ways of the Grumble family?
The Grumble family is never satisfied. It finds fault with each and everything.
5. And so it were wisest to keep our feet
From wandering into Complaining Street;
a. What is the wisest thing that the poet suggests?
We should avoid going into Complaining Street. It is the wisest thing.
b. What does the phrase ‘to keep our feet from wandering’ refer to?
It refers to ‘avoid walking into a place’.
6. Let us learn to walk with a smile and a song,
No matter if things do sometimes go wrong;
a. What does the poet expect everyone to learn?
The poet expects everyone to walk with a smile and a song.
b. What should we do when things go wrong sometimes?
When things go wrong sometimes, we should not take it seriously. We should continue to work with a smile and a song.
B. Answer the following question in about 80-120 words.
Q 1. Write a paragraph on ‘The Grumble Family’ and their attitude towards other folks.
Ans. The Grumble Family lives on Complaining Street. It is in the city of ‘Never-Are-Satisfied’ close to the ‘River of Discontent’. All these show that the members of the family keep grumbling. They are full of discontent and they are never satisfied. The grumblers growl at each and everything. For them everything goes wrong. In summer they say that it is too hot. In winter they feel that it is too cold. Nothing goes right with them. They growl at rain and shine. When they have no grievances, they complain that they have nothing to worry about. But they never admit that they are grumblers. Their denial looks strange and it fills us with surprise.
Q 3. From the poem ‘The Grumble Family’ what kind of behaviour does the poet want the readers to possess?
Ans. The poet wants us to realize that life is not a bed of rose. There are ups and downs in life. Like day and night, heat and cold, we meet with joys and sorrows. They are like two sides of the coin. We must learn to accept everything, good and bad, success and defeat. Like a pessimist we should not keep looking at the dark cloud. We should remember that every dark cloud has a silver lining. Heat and cold are common in summer and winter respectively. They are unalterable. So we should learn to accept everything with a smile. Grumbling leads to pessimism and downfall. So let us root out this evil quality and look at things with cheer and joy.
Literary devices:
Anaphora
An anaphora is a technique where several phrases (or verses in a poem) begin with the same word or words.
e.g. They growl at the rain and they growl at the sun;
Epithet
An epithet is an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or the thing mentioned.
e.g. grumble family
complaining street
C. Answer the following:
1. And whether their station be high or humble,…
Pick out the alliteration from the above line.
high or humble
2. Pick out the other examples for alliteration from the poem.
summer, scold
growl, grumble
thing, that
long, learn,
them, their,
were, wisest
smile, song.
3. The weather is always too hot or cold;
Summer and winter alike they scold.
Nothing goes right with the folks you meet
Down on that gloomy Complaining Street.
Pick out the rhyming words and identify the rhyme scheme of the above lines.
Rhyming words: cold-scold; meet-street
Rhyme scheme: aabb
WINDOWS WISDOM 