A Child Is Born : Summary and Answer Question

Bihar Board Class 12 English: Dear students, “Mindbloom Study” (#1 Online Study Portal For Bihar Board Exams) has brought for you the Summary and Answer Question of “A Child Is Born”

SUMMARY

‘A Child is Born’ is a social and cultural essay written by Germaine Greer. According to the writer, in traditional societies a mother is kept free from the anxiety of childbirth. A woman during her pregnancy is cared by her husband and every member of her family. She does not feel alone, Because she has the support of the whole family. In many traditional societies women after marriage go to live with their mother’s-in-law and other members of the family in a joint family. But they are not accepted as the member of the new family until they have borne a child. In such societies a child plays an important role in the life of mother. A mother is known by the name of her child. She goes to her mother’s house for the birth of her child. When the baby is seven days old, there is naming ceremony. The baby is given new clothes. The women and girls gather and sing songs. Thus, when a baby is born, it is an occasion of joy for the whole family.

ANSWER QUESTIONS

B.1.1. Read the following sentences and write ‘T’ for true and ‘F for false statements :

i. In a traditional society, a pregnant woman has to follow the conventional procedure of childbirth.
ii. Even taboos and prohibitions help to manage anxiety.
iii. Western women suffer mostly because they have to manage everything on their own.
iv. In traditional societies, childbirth is a family affair.
v. The family support and conventional procedure lessen the mother-infant mortality.
vi. Freedom to live our own lives is more important than prenatal mortality.
vii. Western people do not think that all mothers-in-law are unjust and vindictive.
viii. Silent opposition in international conferences is not a major difficulty in the way of feminists.
ix. In many traditional societies the relation between mother and child is more important than that between husband and wife.

B.1. 2. Answer the following questions briefly :

1) How are the ways of managing childbirth in traditional societies useful?
2) A pregnant woman in a traditional society does not feel that she is alone. Why?
3) What is the superstition associated with acquiring new clothes and instruments for baby before the birth?
4) ‘In our anxiety to avoid death we may have destroyed the significance of the experience…’ What is the ‘experience’ the writer refers to ?
5) What is the ‘truism of anthropologies’ that the writer talks about?
6) What compels women to withdraw into silent opposition in international fora?
7) Why had Sudanese women officials stopped going to international conferences?

B.2.1. Read the following sentences and write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements :

1. A Sylheti woman may not visit her mother’s house during pregnancy.
ii. For Sylheti women, the whole matter of pregnancy is one of celebration.
iii. Garlands of turmeric and garlic are worn to please gods.
iv. The songs they sing are about the lives of women in Bengal.
v. Visiting mother’s house is one of the rewards of pregnancy.
vi. In Bangladesh, Rupthoka is a kind of sweet dish.
vii. All technological changes cause social developments.
viii. Child birth in modern hospitals is more brutal.

B.2.2. Complete the following sentences on the basis of the lesson :

a) The potential …… are alive in the memory of her community.
b) She will have other …….., for many of the rituals …….. of pregnancy involve the participation of the others who should support her.
c) In …….. societies, except for remarkable accidents, birth is always attended.
d) The description provided by the Amnesty for Women of typical Muslim marriage was no more than a coarse …… libel.
e) In many traditional societies in Africa and India, the biological family is deliberately weakened by enforced ……. .

B.2. 3. Answer the following questions briefly :

1) Where do Sylheti women go to stay during the last stage of pregnancy?
2) What is the reward of pregnancy for a young Sylheti woman?
3) How are children of the joint family in Bangladesh looked after?
4) What is the worst impact of Western medicine in traditional societies?
5) What is the immediate impact of poverty in medical field?

C. 1. Long Answer Questions

1. What is the role of rituals in managing childbirth in traditional societies?
2. Experience of childbirth is very significant. But modern technology has deprived the potential mother of this significant experience. How?
3. Describe the western interpretation of a bride’s longing for a child in a traditional society.
4. How do languages come in the way of a better understanding of the women’s problems?
5. Descrice the rewards of pregnancy as experienced by Sylheti women.
6. Does the writer want to say that the use of western medicine in childbirth is producing horrible results? Do you agree with her views?
7. What could be the worse fates than death for a pregnant woman?
8. What are the problems of a modern woman in matters of pregnancy and childbirth?

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