The Root Cellar summary by Theodore Roethke
Roethke, in his boyhood, spent much of his time in a large commercial greenhouse run by his family. His growing up in such a family made him examine the plants. As a result, he tries to connect human life with plants. From the poem, metaphorically, he aims to say that till human beings have a drop of blood, they make a struggle to survive.
Like human beings, plants also make a struggle to survive. Its example can be found in the root cellar where plants are making the struggle to survive and reproduce even in the ugly atmosphere. In this regard, he may say that nothing would sleep in the root cellar. It means that plants in the root cellar do not accept death easily even though they are in pathetic condition. The poet encourages us to make the struggle to survive. Being hopeless, we should not stay idle till we have a thread of hope in life.
The Root Cellar [question answer]
As a boy growing up in Michigan, Theodore Roethke spent much of his time poems show more than a passing acquaintance with growing things? in a large commercial greenhouse run by his family. What details in his poem show more than a passing acquaintance with growing things?
Ans: Roethke, in his boyhood spends much of his time in a large commercial greenhouse run by his family. His growing up in such a family has made him understand the plants and their existence. As a result, he tries to connect human life and plants. His poem shows more than a passing acquaintance with growing things because he not only understands the life of plants but also enforce him to compare the life of a root cellar with the human world.
What do you understand to be Roethe's attitude toward the root cellar)? Does he view it as a disgusting chamber of horrors? Pay special attention to the last two lines.
Ans: I think that Roethke as a humanist and lover of plants loves the atmosphere of the root cellar because he finds the struggle to survive and generate progeny even in an unfriendly environment. Root Cellar
Why is the dark and damp root cellar teeming with life and growth?
Ans: Living beings, till they have a thread of life make struggle to survive. The atmosphere of the root cellar is dark, ugly, and damp. However, everything inside of root cellar would not sleep. It means that they are making a struggle for life and growth.
What varieties of images does "Root Cellar" contain? Point out examples.
Ans: The images of the poem arouse sense and give vivid mental representation. He uses immensely visual and sensory images. In every line, he has used one or two images. As imagery, there are " Congress of stinks ", " roots ripe as old bait ", " Leaf - mold, manure, lime ", and so on, " Slippery planks " and so on.
Divide the images in the poem into sights, touches, tastes, and smells.
Ans:
Sight: ditch, bulbs, yellow, neck, snake, leaf
Touch / Feel: lime, dank, mildew
Taste: ripe
Smells: stinks, rank
What mood do lines 10 and 11 develop?
Ans: The last two lines develop a positive mood because they show hope for surviving. The writer indirectly tells us to survive even in our pitiful and tragic situation. We should make a struggle to survive till we can.
What is the connotation of the word "congress" in line 6 in "The Root Cellar"?
Ans: Generally, the word "congress" has three meanings; ' parliament', 'political party' and ‘together’. Here in the poem, congress means gathering the unpleasant smell of plants which is confined in the root cellar.
Write an essay on the world as a living entity.
Ans: There are billions of human beings, countless fish in the sea, and an amazing number of animal species. If you add in the insects, bacteria, fungi, and an overwhelming number of different types of plants, it's clear that the world is full of abundant life and all of the living entities of the world make struggle to survive on the earth.
In essence, many scientists are now beginning to believe that Earth itself and life on Earth have evolved together over time in such a way that each has affected the other every step of the way. Rather than life on Earth simply reacting to the environment, life on Earth also affects and changes the environment around it.
Is the last line of the poem "The Root Cellar" hyperbole or exaggeration? What does it mean as the conclusion of the poem?
Ans: Exaggeration simply means going to the top or high. For example, when you are waiting for your friend for 5 minutes but you say to him: "I have been waiting for one hour. It is an exaggeration. On other hand, hyperbole means an unrealistic exaggeration. For example, the tree street is taller than a church (exaggeration) The tree street is taller than the moon (hyperbole). So, in the poem, the last line of the poem is hyperbole because dirt never breath like human beings.
Discuss "The Root Cellar" as an ecological poem.
Ans: The poem "Root Cellar," written by Theodore Roethke, is a narration of the survival of nature amid harsh environmental conditions, which somehow limits the manner in which they thrive. In this sense, the poem is an ecological poem.
The poem, also uses ecological imagery to reflect how humans can struggle through thick and thin to attain whatever they want in life by not giving up. This poem seems to be based on the idea that life can be full of darkness just like the cellar which in this case is depicted as an unfavorable place for the plants to thrive.
The poem "The Root Cellar" is just a series of sensations. Do you agree? Give reasons
Ans: Yes, I agree, the poem is just a series of sensations that arises through imagery that attacks readers ' sensation. Especially, visual imagery of the root cellar brings a detailed and distinct sensation to the reader.