NO MEN ARE FOREIGN By by James Kirkup

 

NO MEN ARE FOREIGN

By

James Kirkup

Q. 1. Answer the following questions:

(i) "Beneath all uniforms .. ..." What uniforms do you think the poet is speaking about? 

Ans. I think the poet is speaking about the uniforms of armed forces of the countries of the world.

(ii) How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?

Ans. The poet suggests that all people  on earth are the same as they all: breathe, are burried, are aware of sun and air and water, need peace, are starved by wars, labor, wake up and sleep, have strength, love and hate, pollute air etc.

Q. 2. In stanza 1 five ways in which we are all alike. Pick out the words.

Ans. Each of us has a similar body.

All of us breathe

All of us walk.

All  of us lie

We live and die on the same earth.

Q 3. How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the words.

Ans. We all need sun, air and water. We all live well in peace but starve during war,. We all have hands and work with them.

Q. 4. ............ whenever we are told to hate our brothers ....... 'When do you think this happens?  Why?  Who "tells" us?  Should we do as we are told, at such times?  What does the poet say? 

Ans. Whenever there is war, leaders tell people to hate the other country. They tell us to do so because their ego is hurt.  But we should not do as they tell us.  The poet says that if we fight against them we do not harm anyone else.  We kill, condemn, and betray ourselves. 

Additional questions

Q.1.  What is the message / theme / central idea of ​the poem? 

Ans.  The message / theme / central idea of ​​the poem is that no men are foreign. They have many similarities of body, mind, feelings, attitudes and actions.  We should love, peace, harmony, brotherhood and so on. 

Q. 2. How do we defile the human earth? 

Ans.  We defile the human earth by our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocene of air that is everywhere our own.  Thus, by polluting the environment of the earth we make it a difficult planet to live on. 

Q.3.  Explain: 'A single body breathes'. 

Ans.  A single body breathes' means the similar physical structure of human beings breathe in and breathe out similarly all over the world.  The distinctions among the people are only external. 

Q.4. What does ‘They too, aware of sun and air and water’ signify? 

Ans.  The line "They too, aware of sun and air and water" signifies the similar use of these gifts of the universe by all the human beings everywhere on the earth. 

Q. 5. How, according to the poet, is life common in every land?

Ans. According to the poet, the life is common in every land. People wake or sleep in the same manner. Love can win the strong. People recognize and understand in the same manner.

Q. 6. What do we actually do when we hate our brothers?

Ans. When we hate our brothers, we actually hate ourselves. We actually dispossess, betray and condemn ourselves. We actually degrade ourselves.

Q. 7. What is the outcome of a war? 

Ans.  The outcome of a war is disastrous.  It defiles our own earth.  It pollutes the environment. It keeps human beings starved for a long time. 

Q. 8. How can you say that no men are foreign? 

Ans.  No men are foreign as a single body breathes beneath all uniforms.  We all wake, sleep and labour in the same manner.  We all recognize, understand and love in the same manner.