[THE PASSPORT – Extract-Based Questions and Answers
Poet: Mahmoud Darwish
Class XI English Literature | Unit 2 – Voices of Liberation
The following eight extract-based questions cover the important lines, themes, images and poetic devices of the poem The Passport.
General Instructions: Read the following extracts and answer the questions given below. Each question carries 4 scores. The score pattern is 2 + 2 or 1 + 1 + 2, following the Kerala Higher Secondary examination model.
Extract 1 – Loss of Identity
“They did not recognize me in the shadows That suck away my colour in this Passport”
(a) Identify the poem and the poet. (2)
(b) What does the expression “shadows that suck away my colour” suggest? (2)
Answers:
(a) The poem is The Passport, written by Mahmoud Darwish.
(b) The expression suggests the loss of the speaker's personal and national identity. The passport fails to recognise his true identity and reduces him to an official document.
Extract 2 – Suffering as an Exhibit
“And to them my wound was an exhibit For a tourist who loves to collect photographs”
(a) What does the word “wound” symbolise? (1)
(b) Who is mentioned in the second line? (1)
(c) Why does the poet compare his wound to an exhibit? (2)
Answers:
(a) The wound symbolises the pain of exile, displacement and suffering.
(b) A tourist who loves to collect photographs.
(c) The poet feels that others look at his suffering merely as something interesting to observe. They fail to understand his real pain and emotional experiences.
Extract 3 – Nature Recognises the Poet
“Because the trees recognize me All the songs of the rain recognize me Don't leave me pale like the moon!”
(a) Who recognises the speaker? (1)
(b) Identify the figure of speech in “the trees recognize me”. (1)
(c) What is the significance of nature recognising the speaker? (2)
Answers:
(a) The trees and the songs of the rain recognise him.
(b) Personification.
(c) Nature recognises the speaker's connection with his homeland even when human authorities fail to do so. The trees and rain represent his deep relationship with the land.
Extract 4 – Memories of Homeland
“All the wheat fields All the prisons All the white tombstones All the barbed boundaries”
(a) Mention any two images presented in the extract. (1)
(b) What do the “barbed boundaries” suggest? (1)
(c) What do the prisons and tombstones symbolise? (2)
Answers:
(a) Wheat fields and prisons. (Any two)
(b) They suggest borders, restrictions and separation.
(c) The prisons symbolise oppression and the loss of freedom. The tombstones represent death, suffering and the painful history of the speaker's people.
Extract 5 – Denial of Identity
“All the eyes were with me, But they dropped them from my passport stripped of my name and identity?”
(a) What does the speaker feel has been taken away from him? (2)
(b) Why does the speaker believe that a passport cannot represent his real identity? (2)
Answers:
(a) The speaker feels that his name, identity and the recognition of his people have been taken away from him.
(b) A passport contains only official information. It cannot represent the speaker's memories, culture, suffering and emotional connection with his homeland.
Extract 6 – Connection with the Homeland
“On a soil I nourished with my own hands? Today Jacob cried out Filling the sky: Don't make an example of me again!”
(a) What does the expression “soil I nourished with my own hands” suggest? (2)
(b) What feeling is expressed through the cry of Jacob? (2)
Answers:
(a) The expression suggests the speaker's deep connection with his homeland. He has worked on the land and considers it an important part of his identity.
(b) The cry expresses pain, protest and resistance against repeated suffering. It reflects the speaker's refusal to accept further injustice.
Extract 7 – Identity Beyond Documents
“Don't ask the trees for their names Don't ask the valleys who their mother is From my forehead bursts the sword of light”
(a) Why does the poet say that trees and valleys should not be asked about their names or origins? (2)
(b) What does the “sword of light” symbolise? (2)
Answers:
(a) Trees and valleys belong naturally to the land. They do not need documents to prove their identity. Similarly, the speaker believes that his connection with his homeland does not depend on a passport.
(b) The sword of light symbolises hope, strength, dignity and resistance. It expresses the speaker's determination to protect his identity.
Extract 8 – The Central Message
“And from my hand springs the water of the river All the hearts of the people are my identity So take away my passport!”
(a) What does the speaker consider his real identity? (2)
(b) Why does the speaker declare, “So take away my passport!”? (2)
Answers:
(a) The speaker considers his connection with his people, homeland, culture and shared memories as his real identity.
(b) He declares that his identity cannot be destroyed by taking away his passport. His sense of belonging lives in the hearts of his people and in his connection with the land.
Important Points for Examination
Passport: Official identity that fails to represent the speaker's true self.
Shadows: Loss of identity and recognition.
Wound: Pain of exile and displacement.
Trees and rain: Nature's recognition of the speaker.
Wheat fields: Connection with the homeland.
Prisons: Oppression and loss of freedom.
Tombstones: Death and suffering.
Barbed boundaries: Political borders and separation.
Sword of light: Hope, strength and resistance.
Hearts of the people: Collective identity and belonging.
Central Message: A person's true identity is not determined by a passport. It is deeply connected with the homeland, people, culture, history and memories.]