No Men are Foreign

                                                     No Men are Foreign

Q1. What does the poet mean when he says “Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign”?

Ans. The poet is fervently pleading with readers to give up strong nationalism and the idea that people from different nations are different from one another. We are brothers because we live on the same planet, share the same water, and breathe the same air, but there are moments when our personalities clash and we act in an adversarial manner. The poet urges us to abandon our misguided nationalism and embrace inter-human fraternity.

 

Q2. How does the poet prove that there are no foreign countries?

Ans. The sun, the soil, and the air belong to everyone. God has created the same Earth and the same human beings all over the world. They share a similar bodily composition and functional components. Therefore, there should not be any bias in our mind too.

 

Q3. What is meant by uniforms? What is there beneath all uniforms?

Ans. The term “uniform” describes the distinctive attire worn by members of the same group or body or by students enrolled in particular educational institutions. The word “uniforms” is used by the author in this poem to refer to both the military uniforms worn by troops and the various traditional garments worn by people from different nations and civilisations around the world, or the various outfits that represent the wearers’ identities. The identical human body is hidden beneath every costume.

 

Q4. Bring out the irony in the use of the word “uniform”?

Ans. Uniform means same but uniform also stands for an outfit, costume, or means of identification that is the same for a group or organisation is called a uniform. In times of conflict, uniforms are especially important since they help distinguish and identify soldiers from different sides who would otherwise look the same. But differences arise because of uniforms. Every country has a uniform, so the world is still divided rather than one.

 

Q5. How are all the people of the world brothers?

Ans. Given that we are all made of flesh and blood, all people have a similar physical makeup. We will be interred in the same earth when we pass away and will continue to walk on the same ground while we are alive. We also utilise the same water, air, and sun.

 

Q6. How can we be one people though we belong to different nations?

Ans. We all share the same body and live and die on the same planet, thus even though we come from various countries, we can still be considered one people. We all enjoy the same air, water, and sun. We all have been created by God who has created everything on the Earth, so we all are uniform.

 

Q7. What are peaceful harvests? What do the peaceful harvests symbolise?

Ans. The abundant crops raised during peaceful times are the harvests of peace. As they can only be nurtured during peaceful times, they are referred to as being peaceful. They stand for joy and abundance.

 

Q8. What does the poet mean when he says “by war’s long winter starv’d”?

Ans. A country faces the possibility of hunger if there is war there because all agricultural production stops. War makes a land barren, just as there are no crops in the winter season too. Due of this, there is a food shortage in the winter and hunger also occurs during wartime. People die of starvation. Thus, war and winter are linked to starvation.

 

Q9. What do you understand by “Their hands are ours”? How can we conclude that their labour is the same as ours?

Ans. “Their hands are ours” refers to the fact that people in other nations work arduously to support themselves. The lines on their hands are the same as on ours. Thus, we can infer that despite coming from a different country, they have put in a lot of effort throughout their lives, just like us.

 

Q10. The poet says that men from other countries have the same basic requirements as us. Elaborate.

Ans. By claiming that men from other countries enjoy the same sunlight, breathe the same air, and drink the same water, the poet asserts that they have the same needs as men in his own country. Additionally, they put in a lot of effort to support themselves. They too live off their produce when there is peace and feast when there is war.

 

Q11. How can we win over the strength of our opponents?

Ans. Instead of using force to overcome our opponents’ might, we can utilise love because everyone responds to it and values a sense of brotherhood.

 

Q12. What does the poet mean by “In every land is common life, That all can recognise and understand”?

Ans. People from other countries are just like us. They concur with the idea and sentiment of brotherhood beyond all boundaries. It is implied that if we reach out a loving hand, they will recognise it and voluntarily take our hand.

 

Q13. How does the poet bring out in the extract the idea that men are not strangers to one another?

Ans. The poet makes it clear that all human beings experience love, wake up, and go to sleep the same way. We can all perceive and comprehend the common language of love and brotherhood, despite the differences in our outward appearance.

 

Q14. “… whenever we are told to hate our brothers…….” Who tells us to hate our brothers? What is the poet’s opinion regarding this?

Ans. Occasionally, some self-centered individuals who only care about themselves will cause harm to innocent people. They carry it out for their own gain. The common or average man becomes enraged by his fellow humans because he cannot comprehend these tricks. Such things lead to wars. Because all people are the same, the poet advises against taking such negative advice.

 

Q15. What happens when we hate our brothers?

Ans. When we detest our brothers, we try to rob them of their possessions, betray them, and criticise them. However, when we hate our brothers, we actually rob, deceive, and condemn ourselves. We are blind to the fact that by harboring animosity towards our brothers, we are actually harming ourselves

 

Q16. What do you understand by hells of fire and dust? How do we defile the earth? How does air remind us of our sharing the earth? How is air innocent?

Ans. The repercussions of using bombs and other weapons of war are hells of fire and dust. They contaminate the oxygen we breathe, which is essential to our survival.

By separating our planet into nations, viewing other people as our enemies, outsiders, and foreigners, and by cultivating animosity towards one group of people, we contaminate the globe. We fight wars, and the weapons we use in those wars contaminate the air we breathe by producing dust, smoke, and debris that builds up on the ground.

The air we breathe is still undivided even though humans have partitioned territory. All men and women breathe air, which has no national boundaries and travels freely throughout the world. Since air is essentially pure, it is unadulterated. Humans cause air pollution through fighting, producing smoke, and raising dust.