No Men are Foreign Important Questions and Answers Class 9 English Poem

No Men are Foreign Important Questions and Answers Class 9 English Poem is given below. You can read and download the PDF of the Class 9 important questions from our site. Going through these important questions enhances your understanding level, knowledge about the concept, speed, accuracy & time management skills. Learning the answers of these important questions will help you to get excellent marks in the exams.

No Men are Foreign Class 9 Important Questions

Short Answer Type Questions

1. How do the people hate their brothers? Are they right?

Answer: People hate their brothers in different ways and the common of them is by taking arms against them. As they take them to be wrong and consider themselves to be right. It is always wrong they should live in peace and tranquility.

2. We hate our brothers and begin to harm them as well as ourselves. How?

Answer: It is a common tendency of people that they hate their brothers but whenever we do any wrong to our brothers, we begin to define our spirit and soul. By doing so, we also harm ourselves. We betray and criticise ourselves. The major harm that we do to ourselves is that our character is lost.

3. How does the Earth unite us?

Answer: The Earth unites us in many beautiful ways. We eat and drink the things that grow on the Earth. It is Earth we walk and play on and after our lives come to an end, we all lie hidden inside it according to our destiny.

4. What does the poet mean by the words ‘harvests’ and ‘war’?

Answer: The poet has used these two terms for their symbolic meanings. ‘Harvest’ is a symbol of peace the farmer does cropping work to feed himself. The term ‘war’ has been used to display the severity of destruction and starvation.

5. Hatred, jealousy and misdeeds are the dangerous pollutants of our own Earth. Discuss.

Answer: The world is a global village, a union, a singular entity. It may be possible that the people on the Earth may belong to different nations, castes, creeds, they may speak different languages and vernaculars, they may be follower of different religions but still they are equal. Each one whosoever lives on the Earth is our brother so we should follow the path of fraternity. If we are in the close vicinity of one another, we can enjoy peace and share the joys, nature has showered upon us. But if we do not follow this path and start a war against our own brothers, we are polluting our own beautiful Earth. Our hatred, jealousy and misdeeds have no limit and they are a serious threat to humanity. So, it is our responsibility that we m

Long Answer Type Questions


1. How does the poem justify that people in all countries of the world are essentially the same?

Answer: The poet justifies the statement that people living in different countries are essentially the same by asserting that ‘no men are strange’. Every single body breathes and functions in the same way as ours. Each one of us equally needs the sun, air and water. Human hands too are used for the similar purpose of toiling for livelihood. Eyes too a perform the similar function of sleeping and waking up. Love wins us all and we all recognise its power. In peace times, we all flourish and wars starve us. Hatred leads us astray and when we take up arms against each other, the entire earth is defiled and destroyed. Therefore, we all like peace which showers abundance and prosperity on us. Therefore, essentially we all are the same.

2. ‘Wars have always brought total ruin in this world, yet they are fought repeatedly.’ Discuss.

Answer: Wars are the result of over-ambition and greed of irresponsible rulers of the world. They bring ruin both to the victor and the vanquished by shattering the economy of the warring countries. In the past, wars were localised but now they are global and hence more dangerous and destructive. The memories of the First and the Second World Wars are still fresh in our minds. The horrific after-effects of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 can still be seen. Still, it is appalling to note that people of the world do not learn from history. The danger of yet another war lurks all the time. The divisive forces are even stronger in the present times and the mad race for armaments too is scary. Hope lies in the strength of the common people who should refuse to be fooled by vested and unscrupulous leaders. Instead, people of the world should look at the world as a global village that offers innumerable opportunities and reasons for peaceful coexistence.

3. How does the poet James Kirkup prove that no men are foreign? How far is he able to convince his reader about it?

Answer: The poet, James Kirkup, cites various examples to prove that no men are foreign. The very title of the poem is thought-provoking and compels the reader to think about the issue of people living in other countries as foreigners and strangers. As the poem progresses, the poet repeatedly emphasises that all human beings are identical in their nature and approach. All live on the same earth; enjoy air, sun and water; love peace and are averse to war. They all have common experiences and toil in a similar manner to earn the livelihood. The logical reasoning put forth by the poet and the frequent reminders fully convince the reader that no men are foreign. He gets the message that alienation from fellow brethren is equally damaging to himself. He also understands that by treating other men as foreign, the world stands exposed to the risk of war which can lead to irreversible destruction and pollution of mother earth.

4. How, according, to the poet, the human earth is ‘defiled’ and the innocence of air ‘outraged’?

Answer: The weapons of war make the earth dirty and spoil its atmosphere. The deadly ammunition destroys the fertility of the earth and makes it barren. Explosives cause destructive fires sending ashes all over. This pollutes the land as well as the air and the water. It leads to the spread of hunger and innumerable diseases. Both earth and air lose their purity. Thus, the victor, as well as the vanquished, find the Earth and its environment hostile and unfriendly. The kind mother Nature becomes absolutely helpless and is unable to shower her gifts on human beings. It is tarnished and robbed of its bounties. The innocence of air is signified by its purity. But wars strip the air of this innocence and fill it with smoke and dirt. The air then becomes unsuitable for human survival. Thus ‘human earth’ is ‘defiled’ and ‘innocence of air’ is ‘outraged’ by wars.

Extract Based Questions

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognise and understand.

  1. From which poem has this stanza been taken?
  2. What do ‘they’ have in common?
  3. Who is the writer?
  4. What does ‘common’ mean?

Answer

  1. No Men Are Foreign
  2. Eyes, sleep and strength
  3. James Kirkup
  4. Usual

2. Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
Remember, we who take arms against each other….

  1. Who have been called ‘our brothers’?
  2. Who instigates the commoners to hate their brothers?
  3. Who is the poet?
  4. What does ‘condemn’ mean?

Answer

  1. All men of the world.
  2. Selfish people who have vested interests spread violence and instigate hatred among their brothers.
  3. James Kirkup
  4. Express complete disapproval