HE DID IT
Said the dangerous sea,
“You’ll not conquer me,
Try as hard as you can.
You are not a whale,
You are not a shark,
You cannot walk
On the waves, young man.”
So he made a boat
That was able to float
“Ho, ho!” said his foe,
“It floats all right
And it’s watertight,
But you can’t make it go
“Oh yes I can,”
Replied the young man.
And he made some oars
And learned how to row
When the sea saw
The boats and the oars
And all the rowers,
He said, “Young man,
They make a fine show,
But what will you do
When they venture out
Where the deep sea swells
Can take them up
And toss them about
Like cockshells”?
“You can’t stump me”,
Said the bright young man,
And cut down a tree
And made a tall mast
And rigged it with sails
To catch the high winds
And weather the gales
When the ships set out
With their sails unfurled
To cross the Atlantic
And discover the world,
The sea looked them over
From stern to stern
And when he saw,
With considerable awe,
That Columbus himself
Was on one of them,
He said, with a show
Of humility
“I admit, young man,
You have conquered me.”
MARY BRITTON MILLER
I. Answer the following questions
- Why is the sea so confident that the young man will not be able to conquer him?
Ans:The sea thinks that the young man is not a whale nor a shark and he also cannot walk on the waves.
- What did the young man do on listening to the challenge of the sea?
Ans: The young man On listening to the challenge of the sea he make a boat and made it to float.
- Did the sea think that the young man would be able to make his boat go? How did the young man prove that he could make it go?
Ans:No the man did not make it in the beginning but at the end the young man made it ready and the sea tells that it can float all right and water tight but you cannot make it go.
- What did the sea want to know when the young man was all set to go? [read lines 22,28]
Ans:The sea wanted to know whether the young man overcomes the the tides.
5.Why did the young man make the mast?
Ans:The young man make the mast to the tall upright post (wooden log)fixed to carry a boat sail.
6.Was the sea angry to see ships cross the Atlantic?
Ans: No the sea is consider to the awe to sea ship across the atlantic.
7.How did the sea show its greatness of heart?
Ans:The sea said “i admit young man “you have conquered me.
- Do you think the poet is telling a story? Or Would you take the poem as a reflection on man’s conquest of the sea?
Ans:The think the poet celebrates the discoveries of the great explorers of the world and how they are discovered new places and sea routes facing a lot of difficulties.
- What is the attitude of the sea when it says,
“I admit, young man,
You have conquered me”.
a. magnanimous b. generous
c. submissive and humble d. indifferent
Ans:c. submissive and humble.
- Who is portrayed as the conqueror – the man or the sea?
Ans:The man twas portrayed as the conqueror .
11.What aspects of man are described in the poem?
Ans:Discovering nature
hardworking
Courageous
Exploring nature
Ans: Courageous
12. What picture of the sea do you get from the poem.
Ans: Although the sea is dangerous and formidable it has a magnanimous art to admit that man as indeed conquered him.
II. Match column “A” with column “B”. Column “A” has the challenges given by the sea to man and column “B” has the responses given by man.
Answer
| A | B |
| You cannot walk | he made boats boats go |
| You cannot make | he made oars |
| You cannot venture out | he made oars when I swell |
.
III. He said, with a show
Of humility,
“I admit, young man,
You have conquered me.”
a. Who does the word “you” refer to?
Ans:The word refers to young man
b. What aspect of man is described in the poem
Ans:Adventures aspects.
c. When did the speaker say these words?
Ans:After man conquered the sea the speaker said these words.
