Hi Everyone!! This article will share Waiting For The Battle Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Earth Song, Payeng The Forest Man of India and You Can No Longer Reach Me Said The Sky so, you can check these posts as well.
Waiting For The Battle Questions & Answers
Question 1: Why was it all quiet at the battlefront? What were they waiting for?
Answer: It was all quiet at the battlefront because they had still not received orders to begin attack. The army was waiting for orders from their superiors to tell them when to attack.
Question 2: What kind of soldiers comprised the regiment posted on the hills?
Answer: The regiment posted on the hill mostly comprised of young soldiers. We know this because the tall soldier, Jim Conklin refers to them as ‘new’ and Henry, the main protagonist of the story, is also a young soldier who is awaiting orders to be a part of his first battle.
Question 3: Why did the other soldiers take the tall soldier’s news with a pinch of salt? What does this tell about him?
Answer: The other soldiers took the tall soldier’s news with a pinch of salt because they knew that he was in the habit of spreading stories that were not always true. The stories implies that in the past also, Jim had shared a lot of news with them that never came true.
This shows that the tall soldier was one who did not care much whether his facts were true or not. He was more interested in spreading news than verifying the facts.
Question 4: Choose the right answer:
(a) Young men enlisted their names in the army because
Answer: war was glorified and romanticized
(b) The young soldiers were disappointed at the army camp because
Answer: there seemed to be no fight or action.
(c) The young soldier’s mother did not talk of his coming back since
Answer: she did not want him to desert the army and return.
(d) The young man’s regiment was pitted against
Answer: the army of a country they wanted to take control of.
Question 5: Read and answer the questions:
As the hillsides changed from brown to green, the army awakened and began to tremble with eagerness at the talk of battle.
(a) What does ‘changing from brown to green’ mean?
Answer: ‘Changing from brown to green’ refers to the morning light falling on the hills. What looked brown at night looks green when the morning sunlight falls on it.
(b) Why did the army begin to feel excited and eager?
Answer: The army began to feel excited and eager because of the talk of battle that started among the soldiers. They had been restless for some action so they were excited to hear news that the battle may start soon.
(c) Why had they been doing all these days?
Answer: All these days, the soldiers had mostly been engaged in mundane activities and trying to keep themselves warm.
Waiting For The Battle Questions & Answers
Question 6: Read and answer the questions:
I don’t know what else to tell you, Henry, except that you must never avoid your duty, child. If a time comes when you have to be killed or kill, Henry, don’t think of anything except what’s right.
(a) Who is Henry?
Answer: Henry is one of the young soldiers awaiting orders for battle, waiting with his regiment on the hillside.
(b) Who is advising him?
Answer: Henry’s mother advises him with these words.
(c) Who would Henry be going?
Answer: Henry was on his way to join his regiment when she said these words to him.
(d) What do these words show about the speaker?
Answer: These words show that the speaker was a practical and righteous person. Although it hurt her that her son Henry was going to battle, she never tried to appeal to him emotionally to stay, once he had made a commitment to join the army. She gave him practical advice, telling him to do what was right, even in the most difficult circumstances that he would face.
Question 7: Read and answer the questions:
And he? He was merely a part of a vast blue display.
(a) Who is being talked about here?
Answer: Henry is being talked about here.
(b) What does ‘a vast blue display’ refer to?
Answer: The ‘vast blue display’ refers to the vast army that Henry was a part of. The blue colour probably refers to the colour of their uniform. Henry realizes that he is only a small part of the huge army, inconsequential when seen in terms of the size and scale of the army.
(c) Who was this vast display meant for?
Answer: This ‘vast blue display’ is meant to take on themight of their enemies. it is intended to show the other side what a large backing of soldiers they have to protect their land.
Question 8: “Did you ever think you might run yourself, Jim?” the youth asked. On completing the sentence, he laughed as if he had meant it as joke. What do these lines reveal about Henry?
Answer: These lines reveal that Henry was feeling very unsure of himself as a soldier at that point. As he was pondering about the fact that they might be going to war the next day, he was feeling unsure of whether he was the type of person to run away from the battlefield. Henry asks Jim, a more experienced soldier, whether he has ever thought about running away from the battlefield, because he wants some assurance on whether others have thought about it like he is currently doing. He laughs at the end of the sentence so that Jim may think that he is only joking. Else, Jim may take him to be a coward and laugh at him or look down on him.
Question 9: Do you think Henry’s desire to join the army stemmed from patriotism or from a boyish quest for adventure and glory? Explain with reference to the lesson.
Answer: I think Henry’s desire to join the army stemmed from patriotism or from a boyish quest for adventure and glory, rather than patriotic fervour. We know this because the story tells us how Henry had dreamt of battles all his life, excited by their vastness and firepower. In his dreams, he saw himself fighting many battles, with the people secured in his protective bravery. The author also tells us that, consciously, Henry was aware of the bloody nature of battles and how they were a blot on history. Yet, he was taken in by the glory of battles and wanted to join the army to gain these experiences first-hand. The ringing church bells announcing the news of a great battle had finally excited him enough to even ignore his mother’s warnings and go and enlist himself in the army.
So, these were Waiting For The Battle Questions & Answers.