Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers
The Cold Within Summary by James Patrick Kinney
The Cold Within Summary About the Poet
James Patrick Kinney (16 March 1923 – 29 May 1974) was an Irish American poet. He dropped out in High School due to the financial problem in his family. He received recognition posthumously. He is best known for his inspiring poem, ‘The Cold Within’. He was a man of integrity and created poems that spoke his heart. Initially, he was rejected for being controversial, but soon gained popularity.
The Cold Within Summary
The poem highlights the rigidity of spirit based on discrimination of race, religion and caste, portrayed by the six individuals who became their own agents of death. Their reluctance to help each other made their hands stiff, refusing to share their log of wood, which was a sufficient proof of sin committed by humans. Thus, it was not the cold outside, but the cold ‘within’ – the coldness of feelings, the lack of the spark of humanity – that froze them all to death.
The Cold Within Explanation of the Poem
Stanza 1 & 2.
“Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story’s told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces round the fire,
She noticed one was black.”
Explanation: The narrator tells us that the six people are ‘trapped’ in a very cold and dark place, as a coincidence, and each person is holding a stick of wood. These people are gathered around a fire but this fire is about to die. It would continue only if some wood is added to it.
The first woman looks around the group and decides to keep back her stick as she finds a black man around the fire. She finds it unacceptable to help a black person, which highlights the ‘colour’ prejudice • in human societies. Thus, her discriminatory attitude prevents her from saving herself and others from cold.
Word Meanings:
1. Happenstance – Accident, co-incidence
2. Bleak and bitter – Chilling, extreme (here)
3. Possessed – Had or owned
4. Logs – Pieces of wood
Stanza 3 & 4.
“The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log he put to use
To warm the idle rich?”
Explanation: The next man held his feelings for people of other religious faith, different from his. He finds that none around the fire belonged to his church and decides not to spend his stick to warm others. Thus, he propagates ‘religious intolerance’ – that he did not wish to support one from another religion.
The third one was a poor man, which was evident from his old and torn clothes. He shook his coat to make himself comfortable, but it was not adequate enough to keep him warm. According to him, the rich were a Lazy Lot, so it was not worth sharing his log of wood to save them. His attitude lays emphasis on the prejudice based on ‘social status’.
Word Meanings:
1. Birch – A type of hardwood tree, whose outer bark can be pulled off easily
2. Tattered – Old and torn
3. Idle – Lazy
Stanza 5 & 6.
“The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man’s face bespoke revenge ,
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.”
Explanation: The next in line was the wealthy man who goes blind with the thought to save his riches, putting his own life at stake. He wishes to keep away his stick than to put it in fire, as that would mean helping the poor . who according to him, were useless and aimless. This reflects his biased attitude of class.
Then, there was the black man, who was filled with anguish and revengeful feelings for the white men, which was the result of the scornful attitude of the white towards the black; so he took it as an opportunity to avenge himself against the white, although he could have behaved rationally otherwise.
Word Meanings :
1. In store — In his possession
2. Shiftless — Aimless; lacking ambition and energy
3. Bespoke — Produced
4. Spite — A desire to harm or defeat another person because you have Been wrongly treated
Stanza 7 & 8.
“The last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game?
Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin?
They did not die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.”
Explanation: The last man belonging to this hopeless group, though not prejudiced, was an opportunist and a selfish person. He did not favour anyone without gaining anything in exchange.
The last stanza summarizes the result of narrow – mindedness, biased attitude and selfishness of humans. All of the six people froze to death with the log of wood in their hands. Thus, it was not the cold weather which was responsible for their death, as they could have easily fought against it together, but it was the absence of warmth in their hearts that brought their doom.
Word Meanings :
1. Forlorn – Desolate, hopeless
2. Nought – Nothing
The Cold Within Summary Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin?
They did not die from the cold without They died from the cold within..”
(i) Name the poem and the poet.
(ii) Who was trapped and under what circumstances? Which words highlight a sense of emergency? Name the figure of speech used here.
(iii) What was the need of the moment? Why?
(iv) What made the first one hold back her stick?
(v) What is meant by ‘home to heaven anigh’? How does a plant help a bird? What does it do in twilight ?
Answer:
(i) It was ‘bleak and bitter cold’ i.e. it was severe cold and life was not possible without the warmth of fire. It was so cold that a person would freeze to death even in the absence of fire. It was a chill winter night.
(ii) The third man in the gathering was a poor man, which was evident by his tom and tottered clothes. Though he is in a miserable state and gives a hitch to his coat to make himself more comfortable, he is reluctant to give his piece of wood to save the dying fire as he does not wish to help the rich whom he calls ‘idle’, despite the rich who torture the poor and enjoy a relaxing life themselves. Thus, the poet showed the discrimination based on the economic standard of different individuals.
The figure of speech used here is ‘alliteration’ viz., repetition of ‘b’ in bleak & bitter.
(iii) ‘The black man’s face bespoke revenge”, which means that the face of the black man depicted the emotions of hatred and revenge that arises from the discrimination shown to him, once a victim now turns to an abuser, when he gets a chance.
The poem too contains a reference that highlights the discriminatory attitude of the White when the White woman in the same group held her stick back when she noticed a black man.
“But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces round the fire,
she noticed one was black.”
Thus the feeling of the black man are truly justified.
(iv) The sixth and the last man in the gathering was an opportunist. As stated by the poet-
“The last man of the forlorn group
Did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave was how he played the game.”
Thus, it is apparent that this man will not spend his resources without making sure that he has gained something in return. Though he carries no malice towards anyone, yet he will not give up the opportunity to make some profit in doing something which may benefit others.
(v) James Patrick Kinney’s poem, ‘The Cold within’ is all about discrimination based on prejudices and its unpleasant consequences. The six people gathered around the fire in a chilling winter night, possessed a stick of wood each. They could have easily survived the cold if they had kindled the dying fire with their sticks. But they rejected to share their logs to keep the fire burning. Five of them were prejudiced against one another upon petty things like, colour, race, religion, social class, etc; while the sixth one was an opportunist.
Eventually, they were seen frozen to death, each holding on grimly to a log of wood, and this obviously due to their prejudiced attitude even in the time of need. Thus, the poet attributes their death to the cold in their hearts, not to the cold atmosphere outside.
Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story’s told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces round the fire,
She noticed one was black.
(i) What is the name of the poem and by whom is the poem written?
(ii) What were the circumstances and who was trapped under them? Highlight the words which sense emergency? Name the figure of speech used here.
(iii) What was the need of the moment? Why?
(iv) What made the first human/person hold back her stick?
(v) Give the meaning of
(a) happenstance
(b) dying fire
Answer:
(i) The name of the poem is, ‘The Cold Within’ and the poet is ‘James Patrick Kinney’.
(ii) Six humans were trapped accidentally. It was severe cold. The words ‘bleak and better’ symbolize the extreme situations of life.
The figure of speech used here is, ‘alliteration’ – ,viz. repetition of ‘b’ in bleak & bitter.
(iii) It was extremely cold and life was impossible without the warmth of fire. Each of the six humans possessed a stick, which they were suppose to contribute to keep the fire going, else, they would freeze to death once the fire dies out.
(iv) The first one holds back her stick, because she sees a black man in the group and because of her racist attitude she is not able to save him by adding her log to the fire, no matter even if she herself too suffers.
(v) (a) coincidence
(b) the fire which was about to get extinguished.
Question 3.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log he put to use
To warm the idle rich?
(i) What character trait does the next man portray? Why?
(ii) What does ‘tattered clothes’ mean and what do they symbolize?
(iii) What is meant by ‘a hitch’? Why does the third one give a hitch to his coat?
(iv) What was the reason for the third one to not part away with his log of wood?
(v) Give the meaning of- 4
(a) could not bring himself to
(b) a hitch
Answer:
(i) The next man is prejudiced, who, on seeing a man not belonging to his church, decides to hold back his stick to rekindle the fire.
(ii) ‘Tattered clothes’ mean, ‘old and tom clothes’. It means that the third man was a poor man who did not have enough money to cover himself with proper clothes.
(iii) ‘Hitch’ means’ ‘to move with a jerk or tug’.
The man gave a hitch to his coat to make it more comfortable and bring warmth to himself.
(iv) This man seems to be a victim of discrimination based on the economic standard of different individuals. He is envious of the rich man and considers nil a an ‘idle.’ Thus, he does not put his log to fire.
(v) (a) to not be able to force himself to do something
(b) a shake or a jerk
Question 4.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man’s face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
(i) What was the rich man thinking about?
(ii) From whom did he fear a threat to his wealth?
(iii) What kind of expression did the black man’s face depict/show ?
(iv) Give the meaning of
(a) in store
(b) shiftless
(c) bespoke
(v) What did the black man see in his stick ?
Answer:
(i) The rich man, oblivious to reality, lay back thinking how to safeguard the wealth he possessed.
(ii) He wants to keep his wealth safe from the poor who he considers as lazy and aimless, because he can’t let go of his possessions which he has earned through his sheer hard work.
(iii) The black man’s face depicted the emotions of hatred and revenge which were the outcome of the discrimination he had undergone due to the white people. He is a victim of racism.
(iv) (a) in possession
(b) lacking ambition and energy
(c) represented
(v) Keeping back his stick, seemed to him an opportunity to avenge himself against the rich. Instead of making use of the opportunity to save his life, he wasted it in fulfilling his revengeful feelings.
Question 5.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
The last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game?
Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin ?
They did not die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.
(i) What game does the poet refer to? Who plays the game? How?
(ii) Why does the poet refer the group as a ‘forlorn group’? Name the figure of speech used here.
(iii) What proof do they provide regarding the human sin?
(iv) Give the meaning of –
(a) in store
(b) shiftless
(c) bespoke
(v) According to the poet, what is the reason behind their death?
Answer:
(i) The poet refers to the game of ‘give and take’. This game is played by the last man of the group who seemed to be a selfish businessman. He would not use his resources till he gained something in return.
(ii) ‘Forlorn’ means, ‘sad, lonely and hopeless.’ The figure of speech used here is ‘Oxymoron’ in which, opposite ideas are placed together. Though there are six people sitting together in a group, yet each one was sad and lonely.
(iii) The men showed rigidity of spirits. They committed a sin of discrimination against one another, which consequently led to their own doom.
(iv) (a) in possession
(b) lacking ambition and energy
(c) represented
(v) According to the poet, the men could have saved themselves and the others by doing away with their sticks, but they chose to keep them back due to their biased attitude. Thus, it was the coldness of their hearts, lack of humanity and treatment of discrimination, that killed them.