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Geography Lesson
Zulfikar Ghose
About Zulfikar Ghose
Zulfikar Ghose is an American novelist, poet. and essayist. He was born in 1935 in Sialkot, Punjab, British India. He lived and studied in England and later on moved to the USA, where he taught at the University of Texas. Ghose gained popularity with his trilogy The Incredible Brazilian, Some of his poetry books include The Violent West and A Memory of Asia: New and Selected Poems.
When the jet sprang into the sky.
it was clear why the City
had developed the way It had.
seeing it scaled Six inches to the mile.
There seemed an inevitability
about what on ground had looked haphazard,
unplanned. and without style
When the jet sprang into the sky.
When the jet reached ten thousand feet.
it was clear why the country
had Cities where the rivers ran
and why the valleys were populated.
The logic of geography-
that land and water attracted man-
was clearly delineated
When the jet reached ten thousand feet.
When the jet rose six miles high,
it was clear the earth was round
and that it had more sea than land.
But it was difficult to understand
that the men on the earth found
causes to hate each other. to build
walls across cities, and to kill.
From that height. it was not clear why.
Available Answers
- 1.
Complete the given table by filling in what the poet saw and thought.
When the Jet Rose Up At 10,000 Feet Reached Six Miles High I saw the city I saw ______________________ I saw _______________ I thought the city has _________________________ ____________________ grown according to the I thought ___________________ I thought ______________ necessity of its people. ________________________ _____________________ - 2.
Match the descriptions with the pictures by writing the correct numbers below the given pictures.
- When the jet rose up
- When the jet flew at 10,000 feet
- When the jet reached 6 miles high
- 3.
... what on ground had looked haphazard,
unplanned, and without style
When the jet sprang into the sky.- What looked 'haphazard, unplanned, and without style'?
- Did the poet's perception change as the jet changed position?
- What was the tone of the speaker?
- 4.
...it was clear why the country
had cities where the rivers ran
and why the valleys were populated.- How do these lines suggest man's dependence on nature?
- Where was the speaker?
- Why were there settlements in the valley?
- 5.
According to the poet, is it true that the development of the city in a haphazard manner was inevitable? Why?
- 6.
How is the 'logic of geography' different from the 'logic of humankind'? Give one example each from the poem.
10 more answer(s) available.