Journey to then End of the Earth JOURNE Y TO THE END OF THE EARTH What is Students on Ice?

Students on Ice is an educational journey to Antarctica. It takes high school students to show themthe horrifying impacts of human activities in Antarctica so that the youngsters, the future policymakers of the earth, will realize that the end of the earth is quite near and therefore something is to be done to save the planet. Why did Geoff Green decide to take high school students to Antarctica? Geoff Green didnt find any good in taking curious celebrities to Antarctica until he thought of takinghigh school students. He believed the young vibrancy in them would easily understand theseriousness of the threat that poses the earth by visiting Antarctica and would act their bit to savethe planet from further deterioration. Why is Students on Ice a success? When one stands in the midst of the calving ice-sheets and retreating glaciers and melting icebergs, he realizes that the threats to the earth are real. It is different from talking about Antarcticafrom the comfort zones of our warm countries and therefore being in Antarctica is a shockingrealization. What does the parable of phytoplankton teach us? Phytoplankton is a single-celled grass that feed the entire southern oceans marine life. These microorganisms require a low degree of temperature for their survival. But due to the overheating and thedepletion of ozone layers, their existence is threatened. The message for the humans is to take careof the small things so that the bigger things will also fall in place. What beauty of balance does the author see in Antarctica and in the warm countries? While in Antarctica the author saw crab-eater seals having sun-bath on the ice-floes much like thestray dogs sleep under the shade of trees in the warmer countries. While the polar animals prefer abit of warmth, the tropical ones desire a bit cool. The author believes that the earth has a balancingof climatic variations and after millions of years the Polar Regions will once again become warmer and the warmer will turn cooler.In that short amount of time we have managed to create quite a ruckus Explain. OR, What is the human impact on Antarctica? Humans came to the earths scene just twelve thousand years ago which is comparatively a secondin the geological clock. Yet the destruction we have created on the planet is countless. We havemade this planet almost a scorching desert by way of deforestation for our developmental works. Allthese consequences are affecting the Antarctic regions even though we have not started anydestructive works there.How is Antarctica significant in climatic debates?Antarctica is a continent that has a landmass with miles deep ice, layers over layers. In each of those layers lie millions of years old carbon records of the organisms that existed since thebeginning of the earth.. While pondering over the issue of the future of the earth, these carbonrecords will shed light on the past and enable the scientist to co-relate the past, present and future.What is the significance of the title, Journey to the End of the Earth? Should Wizard hit mommy ? Q.1. what is the ugly middle position where jack finds himself trapped? Ans .The ugly middle position refers to jacks helplessness and dilemma. Its ugly because jack is not used to the women questioning his authority and jos constant interruptions, clarifications, pointing out mistakes , disagreements, questioning the end of the story and suggesting an alternate end makes jack uncomfortable. It is a middle position because jack is as if coerced by the tradition (recalls his own mother) and society; to inculcate certain moral lessons in Jo but at the same time he is at loss.. He is unable to satisfy Jos lingering anxiety as he fails to understand her perspective (her fear of abandonment), as a result he finds himself trapped in a cage along with his wife which brings him no solace. (Q.2) What is the moral issue that the story raises? (Ans) The story shows the conflict between two generations. It tells us about the belief, of the older generation, in customs and traditions and constantly questioning attitude of the younger generation, hence contributing to a generation gap. Not understanding her sons pain of loneliness and dejection, mother Skunk gets his smell changed to his original foul smell and loves him the way he is, raising the moral issue of whether parents should always decide what the children should do or let the children do what they like to do. There is an evident contrast between an adults perspective on life and the world view of a little child. Jo wants the wizard to hit Mommy and not vice versa because she represents the new generation and does not agree with her fathers view. Jack sums up

the issue in one sentence- She knew what was right. Jack also says that the little Skunk agreed to the mothers proposal because he loved his mother more than the other animals. Little Jo feels that the Skunks mother should not have robbed her little son of the pleasure he derived when playing with the other animals when he smelt of roses. She insists that the wizard hit the Mommy on the head and calls little Skunks mother a Stupid Mommy. Keeping to her view point, she insisted that her father should tell her the story the next day in a different manner. So we see that the story deals with moral issues dependent on the different levels of maturity of Jack and Jo. (Q.) Why did Jo not approve of skunks mother scolding him for his new smell? (Ans) Jo was very happy that skunk smelt like roses. He was accepted by the woodland creatures and was happy. Jo did not approve of skunks mother scolding him for something that made him acceptable among his friends and brought him happiness. (Q.) What do you learn about Jos new reality phase? (Ans) Earlier Jo used to accept her fathers word about magic etc. now she had started asking if magic spells were real. She had become curious since a month. She was growing up and wished to check the reality of all that was told to her. (Q.) Which two opposite forces acted on Jack while he was telling Jo the story? (Ans) Jack was telling Jo something she must know and had no wish to hurry on. On the other hand he heard a chair scrapping. He realized that he must help his pregnant wife Clare to paint the wood work down stairs. These were the opposite forces acting on Jack while he was telling Jo the story. (Q.) How does Jo want the story to end? Why? What light does it throw on Jos character? (Ans) Jo wanted the story to end with Roger being accepted by the other animals. In Jacks version, the wizard was hit by mommy. Jo did not relish this. The wizard was the person who fulfilled everyones wishes. He had helped Roger Skunk get rid of the bad odour. So she wanted her father to end the story with Roger skunk having a new and pleasant smell and wizard spanking the stupid mommy.Jo got totally involved in the story. spurned Roger. She could not bear to hear the skunk being lonely and sad again. She wanted the end of the story to change in which the benevolent Wizard hits mommy for being inconsiderate to Rogers need for acceptance by friends. She was independent in her thinking. Jo remains unconvinced by the fathers argument that mothers are always right.

II An Elementary School Stanza1 The poem describes an elementary school in a slum. The children look very pathetic. They are far away from the jubilation that marks childhood days. These slum children are far away from the gusty waves the strongly blowing winds, away from the lap of nature and open fields. Their faces reflect the sadness and are pale, deprived of any enthusiasm. They look totally worn out and exhausted. These slum children are confined to the dark and dingy walls of the slums. They are like rootless weeds (simili) These weak looking children with under nourished faces and unkempt hair (scattered all over their face, not neat and tidy) are called rootless as they lack proper nutrition. Moreover, they are unwanted plants which grow on their own without being cared for, totally neglected). Pallor Pale looking face because of illness. The tall girl has a weighed down head as she is burdened with the load of poverty and the trials and tribulations of life. Infact she is so subdued and suppressed that her head had bowed down with the burden of her misfortunes. The paper thin extremely thin boy (shows under nourished) has rats eyes because the poor undernourished boy is deprived of all the basic amenities of life. He is timid like a rat and full of anxiety, he searches for food and security (This is a metaphor). This unfortunate boy suffers from malnutrition and his growth is also stunted not properly developed. He has also inherited from his father twisted bones bent and distorted bones. He has inherited the poverty, disease and despair from his parents. His body is also deformed because of the twisted bones which he has inherited. He appears to be as sick as his parents. Therefore, his twisted bones, recite a fathers gnarled disease (gnarled means twisted and rough, covered with hard lumps). He

sits on his desk listening to the lessons. There is a sweet tender looking student who sits at the back of the class the class which is very dimly lit not proper lightning; this boy is different from the others as his eyes live in a dream he is dreaming and probably thinking about a better future. He is lost in his own world, therefore, not sad like the others. This boy thinks of the squirrels game (metaphor). He wants to enjoy and play freely like the squirrel in the garden outside. The squirrel climbs trees and hides in their holes. The boy also dreams to be free but he cannot as he must sit in the dull and dreary classroom. In the boys imagination tree room the hollow in a tree, is full of fun, curiosity and mystery. This is in contrast to the gloomy classroom. Stanza 2 The classroom is not well maintained. The walls are pale cream which were painted long ago with the help of donations make the place look more miserable and sad. Probably there is a portrait of Shakespeare on the wall. This is ironical as it is put up in a place where there is no serious teaching there is minimal education. These children in the slum elementary school will never be able to taste the joys of literature and it may raise hopes and aspirations which will never be fulfilled. Cloudless dawn and civilized dome suggest the monotonous life in the slum. These slums are surrounded by the civilized city and the children cannot experience the beauty of the sky at dawn and are unaware of it. All around them are concrete structures of the cities. The life in the slum contrasts with the cloudless sky at dawn and concrete structures which override the cities. There is also a picture of a beautiful valley full of sweet fragrant flowers and these children of the slum will never be able to experience this beauty. They are deprived of this beauty as they are condemned to live in the slums amidst garbage. The open-handed map in the classroom contrasts with their world. The world given to us by god is full of all the bounties whereas the world of these slum children is full of poverty and hunger. The world which they see is not the real world. Their world is confined to the narrow, dusty streets of the slum. The map in the classroom gives them hopes and aspirations and motivates them to explore the world but they will never be able to achieve that world. These children can get the glimpse of the outside world from the windows and it is far beyond their reach. They are far away from nature. These slum children have a bleak and foggy future in store for them. Their future is painted with a fog it is blurred by hopelessness. There is no hope for the slum children. Instead of the normal blue sky they live under the lead sky dark and dull, polluted shows there is no hope for them. The atmosphere hints at their monotonous life and the slum children remain confined throughout their lives confined to the filth and dirt of the narrow slum streets. They are away from the glory of natural beauty of the rives, mountains, stars III The children of the slum are fighting the battle of life unarmed. They are troubled by disease and despair. For them Shakespeare is wicked and map a bad example. The literary excellence of Shakespeare and the scenic beauty portrayed in the map cannot relieve them from their despair. For these slum children, literary excellence is a far-fetched thing and hence seems wicked. The map on the wall gives them false aspirations as it makes them aware of the beautiful world given by god. The world of these children is confined to the narrow streets of the slums. Therefore, map is a bad example. They feel cheated in being deprived of the thrilling sensations of the sun, the ships, and the emotions of love. The ship, sun and love symbolize joy and happiness which these children are deprived of. Their only experience is that of hunger and poverty. To reach out to the world beyond, these children are sometimes tempted to adopt wrong means even stealing to fulfill their dreams. These slum children live in cramped holes, striving and struggling for survival in the small, dirty rooms from fog to endless night - from foggy mornings till long endless nights, trying to male both ends meet. They live in unhealthy, filthy holes. Shyly turn secretly turn around in their cramped holes trying to spend endless nights. The slum children live on slag heaps piles of waste material after metal has been extracted from rock. Their world is full of dirt and garbage and they spend their life raking these slag heaps. The children wear skins peeped through by bones they are very weak and undernourished. They look like skeletons as their bones peep through their thin skin. They wear spectacles of steel with mended glass discarded spectacles by the rich, mended (repaired) and worn. Their life is like bottle bits on stones shattered and broken like bits of bottle on a stone. They are deprived of even the basic amenities of life. Their world is comprised of the foggy slums where they live nightmares. Slums are the reality for these children, their home, where they spend their life. For them life is worse than death. These slums are stalking the world just like death stalks victims anytime anywhere. The maps displayed in their classroom are no reality for them. They cannot locate their slum in that map. It is urgently required to give these slum inhabitants means and opportunities to lead a dignified and civilized life and bolt out these slums. IV The elementary school in the slum exists for name sake. The infrastructure is poor with hardly any

serious teaching. The school springs in activity only when a governor, a school inspector or a visitor comes on a round of the school. The administrative machinery of the school also gears up at that time. Then the map becomes their window from where they can see the world beyond their slums. Since they are confined to the slums, these sights and glimpses are shut upon them as they are deprived of all opportunities and means. Their lives are shut up in the cemeteries of these slums where they slither and slog to make both ends meet. These windows shut upon their lives like catacombs. (Catacombs are underground tunnels used for burying dead people) Break O break open till they break the town This suggests that the poet hopes that these children will break free from their morbid life, from the chains of the slums. He appeals to those in power to liberate these children from the miserable slums and enable them to breathe in the fresh, beautiful and healthy environment away from the foggy slums. They should be able to bask in the open green fields and let them run free on the golden sands. Their world should not be confined to the horrendous and gory slums. The poet visualizes freedom for these children. He wants a carefree life where they get economic and social justice, where they have the right to be happy. These slum children should be able to enjoy the fundamental right of education otherwise their lives will be miserable and unfulfilled without the world of books. They should be able to learn not from the books alone but also from the world, the nature around them. The poet ends on a note of positivity and wants opportunities to be available to these children. The people who strive for knowledge are the ones who create history. The ones who are let free are the ones who will create history. People who outshine others, who glow like the sun, who break free from the constraints of their restricted life are the ones who create history.

III

An Elementary School Stanza1 The poem describes an elementary school in a slum. The children look very pathetic. They are far away from the jubilation that marks childhood days. These slum children are far away from the gusty waves the strongly blowing winds, away from the lap of nature and open fields. Their faces reflect the sadness and are pale, deprived of any enthusiasm. They look totally worn out and exhausted. These slum children are confined to the dark and dingy walls of the slums. They are like rootless weeds (simili) These weak looking children with under nourished faces and unkempt hair (scattered all over their face, not neat and tidy) are called rootless as they lack proper nutrition. Moreover, they are unwanted plants which grow on their own without being cared for, totally neglected). Pallor Pale looking face because of illness. The tall girl has a weighed down head as she is burdened with the load of poverty and the trials and tribulations of life. Infact she is so subdued and suppressed that her head had bowed down with the burden of her misfortunes. The paper thin extremely thin boy (shows under nourished) has rats eyes because the poor undernourished boy is deprived of all the basic amenities of life. He is timid like a rat and full of anxiety, he searches for food and security (This is a metaphor). This unfortunate boy suffers from malnutrition and his growth is also stunted not properly developed. He has also inherited from his father twisted bones bent and distorted bones. He has inherited the poverty, disease and despair from his parents. His body is also deformed because of the twisted bones which he has inherited. He appears to be as sick as his parents. Therefore, his twisted bones, recite a fathers gnarled disease (gnarled means twisted and rough, covered with hard lumps). He sits on his desk listening to the lessons. There is a sweet tender looking student who sits at the back of the class the class which is very dimly lit not proper lightning; this boy is different from the others as his eyes live in a dream he is dreaming and probably thinking about a better future. He is lost in his own world, therefore, not sad like the others. This boy thinks of the squirrels game (metaphor). He wants to enjoy and play freely like the squirrel in the garden outside. The squirrel climbs trees and hides in their holes. The boy also dreams to be free but he cannot as he must sit in the dull and dreary classroom. In the boys imagination tree room the hollow in a tree, is full of fun, curiosity and mystery. This is in contrast to the gloomy classroom. Stanza 2 The classroom is not well maintained. The walls are pale cream which were painted long ago with

the help of donations make the place look more miserable and sad. Probably there is a portrait of Shakespeare on the wall. This is ironical as it is put up in a place where there is no serious teaching there is minimal education. These children in the slum elementary school will never be able to taste the joys of literature and it may raise hopes and aspirations which will never be fulfilled. Cloudless dawn and civilized dome suggest the monotonous life in the slum. These slums are surrounded by the civilized city and the children cannot experience the beauty of the sky at dawn and are unaware of it. All around them are concrete structures of the cities. The life in the slum contrasts with the cloudless sky at dawn and concrete structures which override the cities. There is also a picture of a beautiful valley full of sweet fragrant flowers and these children of the slum will never be able to experience this beauty. They are deprived of this beauty as they are condemned to live in the slums amidst garbage. The open-handed map in the classroom contrasts with their world. The world given to us by god is full of all the bounties whereas the world of these slum children is full of poverty and hunger. The world which they see is not the real world. Their world is confined to the narrow, dusty streets of the slum. The map in the classroom gives them hopes and aspirations and motivates them to explore the world but they will never be able to achieve that world. These children can get the glimpse of the outside world from the windows and it is far beyond their reach. They are far away from nature. These slum children have a bleak and foggy future in store for them. Their future is painted with a fog it is blurred by hopelessness. There is no hope for the slum children. Instead of the normal blue sky they live under the lead sky dark and dull, polluted shows there is no hope for them. The atmosphere hints at their monotonous life and the slum children remain confined throughout their lives confined to the filth and dirt of the narrow slum streets. They are away from the glory of natural beauty of the rives, mountains, stars III The children of the slum are fighting the battle of life unarmed. They are troubled by disease and despair. For them Shakespeare is wicked and map a bad example. The literary excellence of Shakespeare and the scenic beauty portrayed in the map cannot relieve them from their despair. For these slum children, literary excellence is a far-fetched thing and hence seems wicked. The map on the wall gives them false aspirations as it makes them aware of the beautiful world given by god. The world of these children is confined to the narrow streets of the slums. Therefore, map is a bad example. They feel cheated in being deprived of the thrilling sensations of the sun, the ships, and the emotions of love. The ship, sun and love symbolize joy and happiness which these children are deprived of. Their only experience is that of hunger and poverty. To reach out to the world beyond, these children are sometimes tempted to adopt wrong means even stealing to fulfill their dreams. These slum children live in cramped holes, striving and struggling for survival in the small, dirty rooms from fog to endless night - from foggy mornings till long endless nights, trying to male both ends meet. They live in unhealthy, filthy holes. Shyly turn secretly turn around in their cramped holes trying to spend endless nights. The slum children live on slag heaps piles of waste material after metal has been extracted from rock. Their world is full of dirt and garbage and they spend their life raking these slag heaps. The children wear skins peeped through by bones they are very weak and undernourished. They look like skeletons as their bones peep through their thin skin. They wear spectacles of steel with mended glass discarded spectacles by the rich, mended (repaired) and worn. Their life is like bottle bits on stones shattered and broken like bits of bottle on a stone. They are deprived of even the basic amenities of life. Their world is comprised of the foggy slums where they live nightmares. Slums are the reality for these children, their home, where they spend their life. For them life is worse than death. These slums are stalking the world just like death stalks victims anytime anywhere. The maps displayed in their classroom are no reality for them. They cannot locate their slum in that map. It is urgently required to give these slum inhabitants means and opportunities to lead a dignified and civilized life and bolt out these slums. IV The elementary school in the slum exists for name sake. The infrastructure is poor with hardly any serious teaching. The school springs in activity only when a governor, a school inspector or a visitor comes on a round of the school. The administrative machinery of the school also gears up at that time. Then the map becomes their window from where they can see the world beyond their slums. Since they are confined to the slums, these sights and glimpses are shut upon them as they are deprived of all opportunities and means. Their lives are shut up in the cemeteries of these slums where they slither and slog to make both ends meet. These windows shut upon their lives like catacombs. (Catacombs are underground tunnels used for burying dead people) Break O break open till they break the town This suggests that the poet hopes that these children will break free from their morbid life, from the chains of the slums. He appeals to those in power to liberate these children from the miserable slums and enable them to breathe in the fresh, beautiful and healthy environment away from the foggy slums. They should be able to bask in the open green fields and

let them run free on the golden sands. Their world should not be confined to the horrendous and gory slums. The poet visualizes freedom for these children. He wants a carefree life where they get economic and social justice, where they have the right to be happy. These slum children should be able to enjoy the fundamental right of education otherwise their lives will be miserable and unfulfilled without the world of books. They should be able to learn not from the books alone but also from the world, the nature around them. The poet ends on a note of positivity and wants opportunities to be available to these children. The people who strive for knowledge are the ones who create history. The ones who are let free are the ones who will create history. People who outshine others, who glow like the sun, who break free from the constraints of their restricted life are the ones who create history.