Should the Wizard Hit Mommy by John Updike-Class XII English-CBSE English for Class 12-Questions-Answers

 

Lesson 5: Should the Wizard Hit Mommy by John Updike

Short answer-type Questions

Most Important Qs & Ans.

Q1. What is a Skunk? What is the problem with him in this chapter? Ans. Skunk is a small animal found in America. When it is in danger, it throws a very bad smell. In the story, Roger skunk wants to get rid of his foul (bad) smell.

Q2. Why did Roger Skunk go in search of the wizard?

Ans. Roger’s Skunk’s body gave out a horrible (very bad) smell. The small animals in the forest did not play with him. Someone told him to take the wizard’s help for his problem. So he went in search of him.

Q3.How did the wizard help Roger Skunk? (2009)

Ans. The wizard took a magic wand and chanted (uttered) some odd words in his old irritable voice. In the twinkling of an eye (very soon), he smelt like roses. After that, the wizard demanded seven pennies for his work.                                                                                   

Q4. How did Roger’s mother get back her son’s old smell back? (2008)

Ans. Roger’s mother was not happy at the changed smell. She took an umbrella and Roger Skunk with her and reached the wizard’s place. She hit the wizard on his head with the umbrella. He had to change roger’s smell as his mother wished.                                                

Q5.What is the moral issue that the story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’ raises?

Ans. The story raises a moral issue. Jack’s daughter wants that the wizard should hit Skunk’s mother. But Jo does not want to do this. He wants to give her a moral lesson that mothers cannot be wrong.

Q6. How was Jo’s job of telling stories to his daughter becoming difficult day by day?

Ans. Jo has grown up to four now and her mind has also grown. She is becoming more and more inquisitive now. So Jack’s job of telling a story has also become difficult for him, especially on Saturdays.

Q7. How did Jo want the story to end and why? Or

How did Jo want the wizard to behave when Mommy approached him? Ans. Jo wanted that the story should end in a different way. The wizard should hit Skunk’s mother. She finds nothing wrong if the wizard had changed Skunk’s smell.

Q8. Why was Roger Skunk’s Mommy angry with him? What did she finally tell him to do?

Ans. Roger Skunk’s mother was angry with him because he had got his smell changed. She told him to take her at once to the magician.

Q9. What makes Jack caught in an ugly middle position?

Ans.  Jo wants that Jack should tell her the story in which the wizard hits the mother. But Jack does not want to tell such a story in which a mother is insulted and beaten. He wants to tell Jo that elders are always right.

Less Important Qs

Q1. What were common elements in Jack's stories?

Ans. Every story had a basic tale with a common name Roger. Roger always had some problems. He used to go to the wise owl to find its solution. The owl then would send Roger to the wizard who did some magic spells to solve the problem.

Q2. What did Jack feel that his head was empty?

Ans. Jack had been telling stories to his little daughter for the last two years. Every time he had to tell a fresh story. So he felt that his head was empty.

Q3. Why did Roger Skunk go in search of the wizard?

Ans. Roger Skunk smelled very bad. So someone told him to go to a wise owl for help. The owl also told him to go to a wizard for help. So he went to the wizard to get rid of his foul smell.

Q4. Why did Jo have sympathy for Roger Skunk?

Ans. No animal played with Roger skunk due to his bad smell. When the wizard changed his smell, Roger was very happy. He also played with other animals in the forest. Jo also had sympathy for him.

Essay type Qs.

Q1. How does Jo want the story to end and why?                                        Or  Why did Jo disapprove of Jack’s ending of the story of Roger skunk? How did she want it to end?

Ans. Jo does not want the way her father ended the story. Her reasoning power has developed now. She raises questions during the stories often told by her father. In this story, she is not ready to accept the reaction of Skunk’s mother. She thinks that the wizard had not done anything wrong. He had just removed Skunk’s foul smell at his request. But the Skunk’s mother hit him for that. She should not have done so. She wants a different end of the story in which the wizard would also hit the mother. But Jo does not want to do this. He wants to give her a moral lesson that mothers cannot be wrong.

Q2. What is the moral issue raised in the story ‘Should the Wizard Hit Mommy?’ raises?

Ans. In this lesson, Jack narrates a story to his daughter Jo. She is growing up now. Her mind is also developing. She starts applying her reasoning to the story. Jack narrated a story in which the mother hits an umbrella to the wizard. Jo knows that he was wrongly punished. He had done a good thing to Roger skunk. He had given him a good smell at Roger’s request. So Jo tells her father to narrate such a story in which the wizard hit the mother. But Jack does not want this. He does not want that mother should be hit back. He wants to prove that the mother was not wrong. This is the moral issue raised in the story.