Should Wizard Hit Mommy?

Should Wizard Hit Mommy?

Comprehension check:

Q1       Who is Jo? How does she respond to her father’s story telling?

 Jo is the shortened form of Joanne. She is the four year old daughter of Jack and Clare. For the last two years, her father, Jack, has been telling her bed-time stories. These stories are woven around the same basic tale and have the same characters and turn of events. She was an intelligent and inquisitive child. Her mind was bubbling with queries regarding whatever she heard or saw. Her responses to the stories were a curious mixture of emotions caught in recognition of the known and eagerness to explore the unknown aspects woven in the basic tale by her father. An impatient Jo wanted the story to move with a fast pace and yet cannot proceed with conflicting ideas or unresolved queries in her mind. She was also a very observant listener and corrected her father wherever she felt he faltered. The intensity of her engagement with the story was apparent from her body language and facial expressions. She empathized with the protagonist and rejected whatever did not fit in her own narrow world. The eagerness to understand and the restlessness to assert her point of view kept her awake. She was even willing to fight with her father and to coax him to end the story according to her standpoint. Her responses indicate that she had started developing a personality of her own.

Q2       What possible plot line could the story continue with?

From the perspective of Jo, the story should have ended with a happy note of Roger Skunk getting rid of the foul smell forever and being able to play with all other children.

Q3       What do you think was Jo’s problem?

Little Jo had been accustomed to the happy ending of the stories of Roger, where the wizard was helpful to him in fulfilling his wish. At the request of Roger Skunk, the wizard had changed his awful smell to that of the roses. Other small animals liked it and played with Roger Skunk happily. She could not digest the ending of the extended story where Roger Skunk's mother hit the wizard on the head and forced him to change Skunk's smell to the earlier foul one. Jo could not accept that mother's stubbornness-hitting the well wisher of her son, Roger Skunk. Jo insisted that her father should tell her the same story again the next day with changed ending. The wizard should hit that unreasonable mummy on the head and leave Roger Skunk emitting the pleasant smell of roses. In the beautiful world of a child's imagination, fairies and wizard's are more real than reality itself. She could not digest the harsh realities of life. She did not like the unfeeling mother.

Q4       What is the moral issue that the story raises?

The story shows that there is a sharp contrast between an adult’s perspective of life and the worldview of a little child. Children represent innocence. Hatred and injustice have no place in their world. In the story, the baby skunk was able to make friends only after he smelled of roses. In Jo’s perspective, the happiness of being able to make friends surpassed any other thing. As a result, she is unable to assess the reason why the mother skunk pressurized her child to get his original foul body odour back. On the contrary, Jack tried to justify the skunk’s mother and wanted Roger to listen to his mother even if it means smelling bad again. Jack, a typical father, wanted his daughter to believe that parents are always correct and they know what is best for their children. Thus, the story raises the question of whether parents should always be followed blindly.

Q5       How does Jo want the story to end and why?

 Jo was not convinced with the ending of the story and coaxed her father to retell the story the next day giving the story a predetermined path that she had set. According to her, neither Roger Skunk nor the wizard was wrong in the story. Jo refused to accept the end where Roger Skunk's mother hits the wizard and that too without being hit back. She wanted the story to end with the wizard hitting back the mother skunk with his magic wand.

Q6       Why does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother?

Jack has the typical parental attitude. He is of the opinion that the parents know what is best for their children. He asserts the parental authority time and again to quieten Jo and stifle her objections and amendments to the story of the foul smelling Skunk related by him. He defends the attitude of Roger Skunk's mother. She wants the natural characteristic-the foul smell restored. He says that she knew what was right. Secondly, the little skunk loved his mommy more than he loved all the other animals. That is why, he took his mommy to the wizard. She hit the wizard and forced him to change the smell of roses to his earlier bad odour. He insisted on this ending to emphasise the concern of the parents for children and their role in bringing them up on proper lines.

Q7       What makes Jack feel caught in an ugly middle position?

Jack feels that he has been caught in an ugly middle position physically, emotionally as well as mentally. He was conscious of his duties as a father and as a husband. Little Bobby was already asleep. His efforts to make Jo fall asleep proved quite fatiguing. She kept on interrupting him, asking for clarifications, pointing errors and suggesting alternatives. So he extended the story, though he was in a haste to go down stairs and help his pregnant wife in her hard work of painting the woodwork. Metaphorically too, jack is caught in the middle of two views in his story- one is the seasoned, reasoned and logical view of an adult and the other is the innocent view of a child.

Q8       What is your stance regarding the two endings to the Roger Skunk story?

Considering the tender age of Jo, both the endings seem a little irrational. It is certain that she will be learning from whatever she hears and visualizes at this age. If the story ends according to Jack, Jo will never be able to question anything she considers wrong in life since this ending stresses that elders are always right in whatever they do. In addition, the story shows the skunk’s mommy hitting the wizard for no fault of his. The wizard had only done what he was asked to. This may scare the four-year-old Jo, as it teaches that mothers, being elders, have the right to hit anyone, even if they are not at fault. On the contrary, if the story ends as Jo wanted it to, it will stop her from believing in and respecting her elders. She may even start believing that there is nothing wrong in hitting elders. A balanced view may be given in an apt ending, where the mommy either does not hit the wizard at all or realizes her mistake soon.

Q9       Why is the adult’s perspective on life different from that of a child?

A child’s speech and line of thought, his actions and reactions, are natural and not guided by any outward influence. He speaks from his heart in accordance with what is ethically right in his perspective. On the other hand, an adult has many things to consider before speaking or reacting. Thus, the influence of society governs and dominates his thoughts. In this chapter, Jo speaks what she considers correct. But Jack, an adult caught in a dilemma, kept thinking on the consequences of accepting his daughter's ending to the story and what the society has made him learn over time.

Short Answer Type Questions  (30 to 40 words)

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (3 Marks Each)

Q1. What custom did John follow in the evenings and for Saturday naps?

Ans. Jack told his daughter Jo a story in the evenings and for Saturday naps. He told her a story that he would make up with a slight variation to the basic tale. This custom had begun two years ago when Jo was two.

 Q2. What was the basic tale underlying each story that Jack told?

Ans.Each story that Jack told Jo was a slight variation of a basic tale of a small creature named Roger. Roger had some problem and went with it to the wise old owl. The owl told him to go to the Wizard and the Wizard performed a magic spell that solved the problem. He then demanded payment and would tell Roger how to procure pennies from the well down the lane. Roger would go home happy just in time to hear daddy come home from Boston.

Q3 What idea do you form about Jack’s skill in the art of storytelling?

Ann. Jack’s stories lack variety. He ended up telling the same story with a slight variation here and there. He told the stories in an interesting narrative with gestures, sound effects and sometimes even some histrionics.

Q4. How was the custom of storytelling especially fatiguing on Saturday?

 Ans. Jack told Jo stories to make her sleep. Jo was now four and no longer slept like an infant. Saturday afternoons would become fatiguing as Jo refused to sleep despite lengthy story-telling sessions.

 Q5. Which animal did Jo suggest for the story that day? Why?

 Ans. Jo suggested the animal skunk that day. They must have talked about skunks at nursery school that day. It was a custom for Jack to have a slight variation in the story, so Jo chose skunk.

Q6. What was Roger Skunk’s problem? How did he get rid of it?

Ans. Roger Skunk’s problem was that he smelled awful. The other animals would run away. Roger Skunk would stand there all alone. He got rid of his problem with the help of the Wizard who made him smell like a rose.

Q7. Do you think Jack and Jo could identify with Roger skunk as a victim of the hatred of other creatures?

 Ans. Jack brought the story to life when he narrated the tale remembering certain humiliations of his own childhood. The corners of Jo’s mouth drooped down and her lower lip bent forward. A tear flowed along the side of the nose. This shows that even Jo could identify with Roger Skunk.

 Q8. Which two opposite forces acted on Jack while he was telling Jo the story?

 Ans. Jack was telling Jo something she must know and had no wish to hurry on. On the other hand, he heard a chair scrapping. He realized that he must help his pregnant wife Clare to paint the woodwork downstairs. These were the opposite forces acting on Jack while he was telling Jo the story.

 Q9. What do you learn about Jo’s new reality phase?

 Ans. Earlier Jo used to accept her father’s word about magic etc. Now she had started asking if magic spells were real. She had become curious. She was growing up and wished to check the reality of all that was told to her.

Q10. What did Jack tell Jo about the Wizard?

 Ans. Jack told Jo that in the wizard’s house all magic things lay jumbled together in a big dusty heap because the wizard did not have any cleaning lady. He added that the wizard was a very old man and wizards don’t die.

Q11. How did Jack make the role of the Wizard very impressive?

 Ans. Jack fixed Jo with the trace like gaze. He chanted a magic spell in the wizard’s elderly irritable voice. The chanting was rhythmical and had sweet rhymes. He ended the chant with a `Bingo’. He paused. Then he changed the tone to a whisper to highlight the dramatic effect. He finally said that the wizard’s house was full of the smell of roses.

 Q12. How did the woodland creatures react to the skunk’s new smell? What made Roger Skunk happy?

Ans.The woodland creatures found Roger Skunk’s new smell quite pleasant. They played many games with him and gathered around him. Roger Skunk was very happy to be accepted by the other animals.

Q13. What made Jack continue the story?

Ans. Instead of falling asleep, Jo started to fuss with her hands and looked out of the window. She thought the story was over. Jack didn’t like women when they took things for granted. So he continued the story.

Q14. Why was Roger Skunk’s mommy angry?

Ans. Roger Skunk’s mommy was angry because of Roger smelt of roses. She wanted Roger to smell the way a little skunk would. She ordered him to take her to the wizard so that she could get Roger’s original bad smell back as their smell was a tool to keep enemies away.

Q15. Why did Jo not approve of skunk’s mother scolding him for his new smell?

Ans. Jo was very happy that skunk smell like roses. He was accepted by the woodland creatures and was happy. Jo did not approve of skunk’s mother scolding him for something that made him acceptable among his friends and brought him happiness.

Q16. Why does the wizard take the beating and change the rose smell?

Ans. Roger Skunk’s mother was very angry. She wanted Roger to smell the way a little skunk should. Jack wanted to impress upon his daughter that mothers were always right so in his version the wizard complied with the mother’s command.

Q17. How did Jo want the wizard to behave when mommy skunk approached him?

Ans. Jo did not like the fact that mommy had hit the benevolent wizard who had made Roger happy. She wanted the wizard to hit mommy who did not let her son have a pleasant smell. The smell of roses made Roger accepted by his friends.

Q18. Why does Jo insist that her father should tell her the story with a different ending the next day?

Ans. Jo was not convinced that the animals would eventually get used to the way skunk smell. Jo wanted the wizard to hit mommy who did not bother about son’s happiness on being accepted by other animals in woodland.

Q19. Why did Roger Skunk go to see the old owl?

Ans. Roger Skunk smelt very bad and all the woodland creatures would run away from him. No one played with him. This made him very sad and he wanted to remove the bad smell so that he could be accepted by his peers.

Q20. How did Jo want the story of Roger Skunk to end?

 Ans. Jo was dissatisfied with the ending of the story. She wanted the Wizard to hit Roger’s mother with his magic wand. She disapproved of Mother Skunk to get back his old smell. She wanted Roger to be accepted by his friends. She also wanted the ‘stupid mommy’ to be punished.

Q21. How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?

Ans.The stories told by Jack were well taken by Jo. The ending of Skunk’s story did not satisfy her. In the other stories, the Wizard would solve Roger’s problems but in this story Roger’s mother got his smell changed. The Skunk’s story in this regard was different from the other stories told by Jack.

Q22. How did the Wizard help Roger Skunk?

 Ans. Due to the foul smell, the woodland creatures did not play with Skunk. Skunk on the other hand, wanted to play with them and be accepted. He went to the Wizard to seek a solution. The Wizard heard him out and invited him inside his house and with the help of his magic wand made him smell like roses.

Q23. What makes Jack feel caught in an ugly middle position?

 Ans.Jack was divided into two difficult situations. Jo was dissatisfied with the ending of the story. Jack was unable to satisfy her and put her to sleep. On the other hand, his wife Clare was doing the work of painting. She was pregnant. Clare complained that he had told a long story. He could not help Clare. Jack felt utter weariness and did  not want to speak with his wife or work with her or touch her. He was caught in an ugly middle position.

 Q24. What was the basic plot of each story told by Jack? [Delhi 2017]

 Ans. Jack’s stories had a common plot and characters. The main character, always an animal, would change but he would always be named Roger. The wizard and the owl would always be part of Jack’s stories. Also, the main character would always have to give some pennies to the wizard.

Q25. Having got rid of his stink, what problem did Roger Skunk face? [Delhi 2017]

Ans. After his visit to the wizard, Roger Skunk came back home smelling of roses. His mother wondered what that ‘awful’ smell was. Roger replied happily that the wizard had made him smell like that. The mother became very angry. She decided to take him right back to that ‘awful’ wizard. She wanted Roger to smell like a skunk and retain his identity at all costs.

 Q26. What problem did Roger Skunk face when he went to play with his friends? How did he solve it? [Delhi 2017]

 Ans. Roger Skunk smelled very badly. Due to his bad smell, no animal came near him. Whenever he went out, all other tiny animals would run away leaving him alone to weep over his fate. Roger Skunk visited the wizard and asked him to give him the smell of roses. The wizard took his magic wand and chanted a spell and the Skunk’s wish was fulfilled.

Q27. What is mother Skunk’s role in the story? [All India 2017]

 Ans.Roger Skunk came back home. He smelled like roses. His mother wondered what that `awful’ smell was. The mother became very angry. She decided to take him right back to that ‘awful’ wizard. She wanted Roger to smell like a Skunk. A mother doesn’t care whether her child whom she loves and cherishes smells of roses or smells bad. Besides, through the mother’s character, John Updike wishes to convey that one’s God-given identity is sacrosanct and it should not be compromised for shallow reasons.

28. What changes did Jack find in his daughter as compared to the past when he began narrating bedtime stories?

 Ans. Jack had been telling stories to Jo for two years. But he found that there was a change in his daughter as compared to the past. Now Jo was developing a questioning attitude and her curiosity level was increasing day by day. Did she want logical answers to questions as to how was God around them? Could magic spells be real? etc. Moreover, her awareness of the world was growing.

29. Why was Roger Skunk’s mummy angry with him? Does her anger seem justified?

Ans. When Roger Skunk’s mother found him smelling like roses, she got very upset and angry. She did not like the idea that her son should lose his originality. In fact, she was correct because one should not leave one’s originality for the sake of others.

30. Why did Jo think Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell?

 Ans. Jo was a small child. For her peer acceptance and appreciation was of utmost importance. That’s why she thought Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell as it gave him acceptance and appreciation of his peer group.

31. How did the wizard help Roger Skunk?

 Ans. Roger Skunk smelled very bad and that is why nobody wanted to play with him. The owl suggested him to go to the wizard for help. The wizard asked Roger Skunk for the smell he wanted to have and so gave him the smell of roses with the help of his magic wand.

32. Why does Jo insist that her father should tell her the story with a different ending?

Ans. Jo was a small girl of four years. For her peer acceptance and appreciation was the most important thing. She found it cruel and insensitive on the part of mommy to hit the wizard and get back Skunk his original smell. She wanted a happy ending and also wanted the wizard to hit mommy for her insensitive act. So she asked her father to tell the story with a different ending.

33. Which action of Jo annoyed Jack? What do you think disturbed him?

 Ans. While Jack was telling the story, Jo was interrupting him due to her excitement. This annoyed Jack. Moreover, Jo’s interference was more of predicting in nature which Jack didn’t like. Jack didn’t want to lose his authority as a storyteller and wanted to exert full freedom for that. That’s what disturbed him. Moreover, he was in a hurry to make Jo sleep so that he could help his pregnant wife who was working alone downstairs.

34. Which two factors made Jack continue the story?

Ans. While Jack was telling the story, he found that though Jo was exhibiting the desired response to the story, her response was not sincere like his wife’s presence at the cocktail party. So he thought of continuing the story to create her real interest in the story. Moreover, he noticed that Jo was expecting the story to end in a particular way and he could not bear when women take things for granted. So he decided to continue the story by giving it a twist.

35. Why did Roger Skunk’s mommy insist on taking him to the wizard at once?

Ans. Roger Skunk’s mother was annoyed to find him smelling like roses. She believed that a skunk should smell like a skunk. It is their natural feature and the mark of their identity. So, she wanted his original smell to be restored as soon as possible and that is why she immediately took him to the wizard.

36. Why did Jo feel that the Skunk’s mommy was stupid?

 Ans. For Jo, if mommy does not care for the wishes of the child, then she is stupid. Jo found Roger Skunk’s mommy very cruel and insensitive because she did not bother about her son’s happiness and could not understand the misery he faced when rejected by woodland creatures.

37. Why was Roger Skunk’s mother angry? On whom did she pour her anger?

 Ans. Roger Skunk’s mother was angry to find that Roger Skunk smelling like a rose and losing his original smell. In a rage, she went to the wizard and hit him on his head for changing Roger Skunk’s smell. She asked him to give back him his original smell.

38. Why did Roger Skunk go to visit the owl?

 Ans. Roger Skunk smelt awful that is why no woodland creature was ready to play with him. He was rejected and ridiculed by all other children in the forest. He was very sad and disheartened. So, in order to take the advice as to how to get rid of the smell, he went to the owl.

39. How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?

 Ans. All the previous stories narrated by Jack had a happy ending where the protagonist was happy and satisfied at the end of the story. But this story ended on a very different note. Here Roger Skunk was given his original bad smell because his mother didn’t want him to have any other smell. The wizard’ who gave the smell of roses to Skunk, was hit by mommy on his head.

40. What did Jo want the wizard to do when Mommy Skunk approached him?

Ans. Jo was a small girl of four years. She had more importance for peer appreciation and acceptance. She is too young to understand the moral value to remain original and maintain our own identity. That is why Jo didn’t like her act of hitting the wizard on the head. She wanted that mother should be punished for her cruel act of having hit the wizard on the head.

41. Why does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother?

 Ans. Jack insisted that it was the wizard and not the mother who was hit because he wanted to imbibe a moral value in his daughter. He wanted to stress the point that parents are always right so they demand our respect and authority.

42. Which do you think is a better ending of Roger Skunk’s story, Jo’s or her father’s? Why?

Ans. In fact, the ending of Roger Skunk’s story should be as the father Jack had given. Every story should have a moral lesson. In this ending, the message’ is very strong and important. We must honour and respect what we have got naturally. We should not try to lose our identity and originality and should be accepted in society for what we really are.

ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS (6 Marks Each)

 Q1. Character Sketch of Jack.

 Ans. Jack is the protagonist of the story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ The story examines the issue of parenting, the adult tendency to quell the questioning mind of a child and the belief that the viewpoint of the adult is the only valid one.

 Jack is conscious of his duties as a father and a husband. He has been telling stories to his daughter Jo since she was two years old, for her Saturday and evening naps, but now two and a half years later he is fatigued and confused by her constant questioning, pointing errors (Roger fish instead of skunk), asking for clarifications and suggesting alternatives. He has the typical parental attitude and opinion that parents know what is best for their children and stifles her objections and amendments shown by his defending the skunk’s mother and indirectly his own.

 Jack feels caught in an ugly middle position physically, emotionally and mentally. He did not like women to take anything for granted, to the extent that he extends the story and changes the ending, giving it the face that he wants to. This despite the fact that he knows that he should be helping his pregnant wife paint the woodwork. Jack is someone who is not used to his authority being questioned and so is confused by Jo’s questioning. Though a loving parent he finds it hard to accept the fact that Jo now has a mind of her own. His insensitivity and impatience comes across in his dealings with his daughter, and the fact thatan as the viewpoint is biased by personal experiences.

Q2. What is the moral issue that the story raises?

Ans.The story shows the conflict between two generations. It tells us about the belief, of the older generation, in customs and traditions and constantly questioning the attitude of the younger generation, hence contributing to a generation gap.

Not understanding her son’s original loneliness and dejection, Skunk’s mother gets his smell changed to his original foul smell and loves him the way he is, raising the moral issue of whether parents should always decide what the children should do or let the children do what they like to do.

There is an evident contrast between an adult’s perspective on life and the world view of a little child. Jo wants the wizard to hit mommy and not vice versa because she represents the new generation knew not to agree with her father’s view. Jack sums up the issue in one sentence- `She knew what was right’. Jack also says that the little skunk agreed to the mother’s proposal because he loved his mother more than the other animals. Little Jo feels that the skunk’s mother should not have robbed her little son of the pleasure he derived w. en playing with the other animals when he smelt of roses. She insists that the wizard Keeping hit the mommy on the head and calls little skunk’s mother a `Stupid Mommy’ keeping to. herviewpoint, she insisted that her father should tell her the story the next day in a different manner. So we see that the story deals with moral issues dependent on the different levels of maturity of Jack and Jo.

Q3. Do you consider the title appropriate and justified?

Ans.The title ‘Should Wizard hit Mommy’ is justified. It focuses the readers’ attention on the two well-wishers of the main character Roger Skunk. The wizard makes Roger smell of roses. Mommy skunk hits the wizard and makes him restore the bad odour of skunk. The reader is presented with two different opinions. The father, Jack, has a great reverence for mothers and does not consider mother skunk’s hitting the wizard objectionable. However, Jo, for whom the wizard is very good, condemns the mother. She demands that in the story the next day, the wizard hit the mommy.

The author has deliberately kept the story open-ended and does not take a decision. He seeks the reaction of the reader whether the ‘mommy’ needs to be hit or not. He does so by putting a question mark at the end of the title making the title appropriate.

Q4. How does Jo want the story to end? Why? What light does it throw on Jo’s character?

Ans. Jo wanted the story to end with Roger being accepted by the other animals. In Jack’s version, the wizard was hit by mommy. Jo did not relish this. The wizard was the person who fulfilled everyone’s wishes. He had rid Roger skunk of the bad odour. So she wanted her father to end the story with Roger Skunk having a new and pleasant smell and the wizard spanking the stupid ‘mommy’.

Jo would get totally involved in the story. She even shed a tear or so, when the woodland creatures spurned Roger. She could not bear injustice to the wizard by `Mommy, skunk. She wanted the ending of the story to change in which the benevolent Wizard hits mommy for being inconsiderate to Roger’s need for acceptance by friends. She was independent in her thinking. Jo remains unconvinced by the father’s argument that mothers are always right.

5. The same situation can be viewed through two different perspectives. How does ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ establish this point through the views of Jack and Jo?

 Ans. The same situation can be viewed through two different perspectives. This is evident through the story of Roger Skunk. In the story, Roger Skunk had a very bad smell and was ridiculed and rejected by his peer group. He went to the wizard who changed his bad smell into the pleasant smell of roses. Consequently, he is appreciated and accepted by all the creatures. But his mother was annoyed and went to the wizard, hit him on Roger’s head and got Roger’s original smell restored. From the viewpoint of Jo, this was not the appropriate ending as mommy cannot be so cruel to humiliate her own child. So she wanted mommy to be punished. But from Jack’s viewpoint, parents are always right and keeping one’s originality is very significant. Thus, the story emphasises the point that the same situation can be analysed through two different angles.

6. Why did Jo think Roger Skunk was better off with the new smell?

Ans. Jo was a small girl. For her peer appreciation and acceptance was the most important thing. In fact, she identified Roger Skunk with herself. She felt bad and could feel the pain of Roger Skunk when he was rejected by the other woodland creatures due to his bad smell. So when the wizard gave him the new smell due to which he smelt like roses, Jo became happy. Due to his new smell, all the creatures became his friends and he was accepted wholeheartedly. He enjoyed playing with the woodland creatures throughout the day. Acceptance and appreciation of Roger Skunk by other creatures of the woodland made Jo feel that he was better off with the new smell.

7. Why was Roger Skunk’s mommy angry with him? What did she finally tell him?

 Ans. Roger Skunk, on the advice of the wise owl, went to the wizard to get rid of his had smell. The wizard gave him a new smell, i.e. of roses. He was very happy. Due to this good smell, all the creatures of the woodland became his friends and allowed him to play with them. But when he reached home in the evening, his mother was angry to find him smelling of roses. She didn’t want Roger Skunk to lose his originality. She scolded him and asked him to immediately have his original smell restore. She finally took him to the wizard and hit him on his head as a punishment and asked him to restore Roger Skunk’s original smell.

8. Discuss the significance of the title ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’

Ans. The title of the story is in the form of a question and raises moral and ethical issues. Jack told a story to little Jo in which mommy hit the wizard for daring to change the natural feature of her child. But Jo found it to be cruel on the part of mommy. The story depicts a conflict of viewpoints between the adults and the children. Jo believes in a happy ending so she wanted her father to tell another story in which the wizard would hit Mommy. But her protest is a challenge to parental authority. Jack wondered whether he would bend before Jo’s emotional blackmail or not. The story is left at this crucial moment and the writer leaves it to the reader to interpret it in the light of his or her own experiences and beliefs.

9. In what way is Roger Skunk’s story similar and different from other Roger’s stories?

Ans. Jack used to sell stories to Jo on Saturday afternoons to put her to sleep. He was doing it for the last two years and had made a storyline. Every time there is a Roger creature in the story who had a problem and he always went to the wise owl to take his advice. The owl used to refer him to the wizard who with his magic spell solved his problems and charged money. There were creatures like fish, squirrel, Chipmunk, etc. with minor problems and the wizard used to solve these problems quickly. Moreover, they were not rejected or teased by their peer groups. But Roger Skunk’s problem was very characteristic of his tribe and was related to a moral issue: the originality of one’s own natural characteristics.

10. What part of the story did Jack himself enjoy the most? Why?

Ans. Jack enjoyed most part of the story in which the wizard is present. He was proud of his ability to enact the part of the wizard through his voice modulation and facial expressions. He did it by scrunching up his face and whining through his eyes, which felt for the internal rheumy. He liked to enact like an old man. This kind of improvisation in the storytelling captured Jo so much in the story. Moreover, Jack himself felt satisfied and happy to tell the story using all his wits and talent.

11. Jack is not used to having his authority questioned? How do we know about it? How does he show this to his daughter?

Ans. Jack was not used to his authority being questioned. Till this time, Jo had never been questioned for anything in the story. But now a phase was developing. Jo had started asking questions and reasons. Moreover, Jo’s constant questioning during the story and her protest to accept the ending of the story appeared to him to be a threat to his authority. Many times during the course of storytelling Jack exerts his authority by asking her “Who’s telling the story?” At the end when he left the room in spite of Jo’s protest to the end and demand for a new story, he came back again to sense the restlessness of Jo. Here he ultimately used the adult authority and asked her if she wanted him to spank her.

12. How does Jack interweave his own childhood in the story of Stinky Skunk?

 Ans. Jack told his daughter Jo a story in which the protagonist Roger Skunk is humiliated and rejected by the peer group because of his bad smell. While narrating the story, Jack felt this to be part of his own childhood experience. He remembered the humiliations and ridicules that he had faced in his childhood. He told Jo that all the other creatures refused to play with or befriend Roger and ran away because of his bad smell. He was left alone to cry. This must have been his own childhood experience when he might have been rejected and mocked by peers and would have cried alone as everyone would have left him.