Please refer to Should Wizard hit Mommy (John Updike) Class 12 English Important Questions with solutions provided below. These questions and answers have been provided for Class 12 English based on the latest syllabus and examination guidelines issued by CBSE, NCERT, and KVS. Students should learn these problem solutions as it will help them to gain more marks in examinations. We have provided Important Questions for Class 12 English for all chapters in your book. These Board exam questions have been designed by expert teachers of Standard 12.
Class 12 English Important Questions Should Wizard hit Mommy (John Updike)
Short Answer Type Questions :
Question. Wanting Roger Skunk to continue to smell the way a “little skunk should smell” has great significance. Explain.
Ans. 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 Skunk’s mother’s stubbornness e.g., 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 mommy on the head and leave Roger Skunk emitting the pleasant smell of roses. In the beautiful world of a child’s imagination, fairies and wizards are more real than reality itself. She could not digest the harsh realities of life. She did not like the rude mother who hit the benefactor of her own son.
Question. Why does Jo call the Skunk’s mommy stupid?
OR
What did Jo want Roger Skunk’s mother to be punished for?
Ans. Jo, being a child, considers Skunk’s mother to be stupid as she spanked the wizard for giving Skunk the smell of roses. Jo wants Skunk to get back the smell of roses and his mother to be punished as she thinks his mother to be insensitive, cruel and unfair.
Question. How are Jack’s views on life different from those of Jo?
Ans. Jack being a parent thought that the mother knew what was best for Roger Skunk, while Jo thought that Roger Skunk should also have a say in how he wished to smell. Since, he now smelled bad again, he would lose all his friends.
Question. How does Jo want the story to end? Why?
OR
How did Jo want the story narrated by her father to end?
OR
Why does Jo want Wizard to hit mommy?
Ans. Jo wants the wizard to hit mommy on her head with his magic wand for not understanding Roger’s feelings. She wishes the smell of roses to be intact because she feels that with that pleasant smell, Skunk will be accepted by his friends happily and play with other animals. Jo wants a happy ending.
Question. We can’t approve of Jack’s attitude towards his wife. Comment.
Ans. Jack’s attitude towards his wife was not a very healthy one. He did not like the feigned happiness and smile of his wife in a cocktail party. He wanted to help his wife, but he didn’t even though she was pregnant. He wanted to dominate her. He didn’t want to speak with her, touch her or work with her.
Question. Why do you think both Jo and Jack want a different ending each, for Roger Skunk’s story?
Ans. The difference between Jack’s and Jo’s ending of the story shows the difference in one’s perspective according to his/her age. Jack being an adult understands the importance of respecting one’s true identity. Through his story, he wanted his daughter to understand the importance of one’s own individuality and true self. Jo on the other hand, is a kid and loves to make friends and have fun with them. The fact that Roger skunk’s mother stopped him from making friends and having fun was simply wrong in her eyes. This is why Jo was angry at Roger skunk’s mother and wanted the wizard to hit her.
Question. What story did Jo want to hear the next day and why? What was father’s reaction to it?
Ans. Jo was not happy with the ending of the story narrated by her father. She wanted her, father to tell her the same story the next day, but with a changed ending in which the wizard would hit the mommy and give back the smell to Roger. She wanted the story in this manner because she could not bear the thought of Roger Skunk’s friends not playing with him. But her father, Jack, was angry with Jo for interfering in his story. He refused to change the ending. In fact, he wanted her to learn to respect parents and their decisions.
Question. How can we say that Jack is a dominant male?
Ans. Jack is a loving father. He used to tell stories to his daughter, Jo. Now the little Jo has grown a bit older. She has grown very inquisitive and also asks many questions. But Jack, instead of answering his daughter’s questions, always tries to keep his end up. In the Roger Skunk story, Jo says that the mommy was not at all justified in hitting the wizard. However, instead of giving any suitable answer to his daughter, he says that mommy should be respected. Thus, we can say that Jack is a dominant male.
Question. What was the basic plot of each story told by Jack?
Ans. The basic plot of each story told by Jack deals with the idea whether the parents should always decide what their children should do or give the children the basic freedom to make their own choices. Roger was a different animal such as a fish, a squirrel, a chipmunk or a skunk. Also, all stories had a Wizard and a wise owl as its primary characters. Whenever Roger had a problem, it went to the owl who directed the creature to the Wizard. As payment for his services, the Wizard would always demand more money than Roger had to spare.
Question. What problem did Roger Skunk face when he went to play with his friends? How did he solve it?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s problem was that he smelled foul. It was because of his stink that nobody mingled with him. Even his friends avoided him and did not play with him. For this reason, Roger used to remain disturbed and even cry. To find a solution to this problem, he went to the wise owl who suggested him to meet the wizard. The wizard helped him by giving him a spell after which he started smelling like roses. The wizard asked him for seven pennies but Roger had only four.
Question. What was Roger Skunk’s problem? What did he do to solve it?
Ans. Roger Skunk used to emanate foul smell so everyone made fun of him. To solve the problem, he took the wise owl’s advice and went to the wizard who made him smell of roses.
Question. “He was telling her something true, something she must know”. Why does the narrator make this statement?
Ans. Though Jack was telling his daughter the story of an imaginary character named Roger Skunk, he was actually telling her the humiliations he had to suffer in his own childhood. And that is the reason why the narrator tells us that Jack was telling her something true. Through the story of “Roger Skunk”, the narrator Jack wants to emphasize on the fact that mothers are always right and they know what is best for their child. Jack believes in the importance of individuality and the acceptance of what is natural rather than social acceptance by peers. This was what Jack wanted Jo to know and understand.
Question. What is mother Skunk’s role in the story?
Ans. Mother Skunk’s role in the story is to convince the reader about the narrator’s belief that we should never disobey our parents as they know what is best for us. Mother Skunk told Roger never to forget his distinct identity.
Question. What is the significance of the “half old tan and half new ivory cage of mouldings, rails and baseboards” appearing at the end of the story?
Ans. Certain threads in the story, which come up like digressions from time to time, hint at the marital discord between Jack and his wife. When Jack went downstairs and watched his wife labour, he saw Clare wearing an old shirt of his on top of her maternity dress, painting the chair. He visualized the woodwork as a cage and he felt caught in an ugly middle position. He felt that both of them were caged together. He must have felt trapped in responsibility and marriage. The use of the image of the “cage” reveals his dissatisfaction with his marriage. The story ends with the most poignant and telling lines—“…he did not want to speak with her, work with her, touch her, anything”.
Question. Having got rid of his stink, what problem did Roger Skunk face?
Ans. Having got rid of his stink, Roger Skunk now had his mother’s wrath to face. When she found out that Roger smelt of roses, she scolded him badly. Mommy skunk told Roger to embrace himself as he was born and be happy with it. She dragged Roger Skunk back to the wizard and forced the latter to give Roger his original stink back.
Question. On seeing Roger Skunk again with a very bad smell, how did the little animals react first and then later on when he had lost it?
Ans. When the Wizard changed Roger’s smell to that of roses at his request, the other little animals who earlier hated him gathered around him, because now he smelled so good.
Question. How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?
Ans. Roger Skunk’s story was different from the other stories narrated by Jack because in all the other stories, the family lived happily after meeting the wizard. But in Skunk’s case, his mother was not satisfied with the change. Jo, on hearing this story, insisted that her father should change the story and tell that the wizard took a stick and hit the mommy.
Question. Give an example to show that Jo was a sensitive child.
Ans. Jo was a very sensitive child because she was upset that Roger Skunk had no friends. She also expressed her unhappiness when Skunk’s mother hit wizard for giving him the smell of roses.
Long Answer Type Questions :
Question. How did Jack end the Roger Skunk story ? How and why did Jo want to change it?
Ans. According to Jack’s ending of the story, Roger ’s mother hit the wizard with an umbrella. He, then, acts as she wishes and Roger Skunk starts smelling bad again. Jo wants the ending of the story to be the other way. She wants the wizard to hit on the head of the ‘stupid mommy’. She wants the wizard to refuse to make Roger smell bad again.
Children look at this world from a different perspective. They look at people and things quite differently than the way adults do. Their perspective on life reflects simplicity and innocence. Jo has deep sympathy for Roger Skunk. Roger’s bad smell kept all the little animals away from him. The little Skunk stood alone and wept. The wizard made Roger smell of roses. He was happy. Other little animals were now attracted towards him. They now played and danced with him.
Jo’s main anger is against the “stupid mommy” of Roger Skunk. It was she who forced the wizard to make Roger Skunk smell very bad again. The hero of the story is always a role model for children. The tender-hearted Jo is shocked at the attitude of that ‘stupid’ mommy. She wants Roger’s mommy to be punished. The wizard must hit on her head hard with his magic wand.
Question. At the end of the storytelling session, why does Jack consider himself ‘caught in an ugly middle position’?
Ans. Jack was ‘caught in an ugly middle position’ because he was caught between two difficult situations. He was unable to escape the harsh realities of life, rather he tried to habituate himself to the prevailing situation. He had to manage his family with two children, his daughter Jo and his son Bobby. And hence, Jack was entangled between two worlds. The first world belonged to Roger Fish, Roger Squirrel or Roger Chipmunk where he is telling the story of a wise owl and the Wizard with a magic wand.
The world upstairs consists of his children. Jo had raised a question about whether the Wizard should hit the mommy Skunk or not. Jack was unable to satisfy her as he was very cautious about the downside world where his wife Clare was painting. The house was not well kept and the household items were scattered. They were expecting a baby and he was supposed to go and help her as she was working hard to make both the ends meet. In this way, Jack was caught in an ugly middle position between the romantic world and the real world.
Question. With respect to the events in the story, ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy‘, who would you support, Wizard or Mommy? Justify your choice.
Ans. The story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?‘ could have two endings – one which has been originally told by Jack and the other which Jo wanted the story to end like.
I approve of the mature and realistic one narrated by Jack that the mother skunk hit the wizard on the head and forced him to restore the original smell to the skunk. Every species of animals has its special features. She wanted Roger Skunk to smell the way a little skunk should have. It should not carry the deceptive and borrowed smell of the roses. Roger Skunk is agreed to go with because he loved his mommy more then he loved all the other little animals. She knew what was right.
The mother’s point was proved right. When the wizard restored the original foul smell to Roger Skunk, the other little animals got used to the way he was and did not mind it at all. Of course, it took them some time. Jack, did not agree with Joanne’s remark that she was a stupid mother. On the other hand, we find her a caring and loving mother. When Roger Skunk was in bed, mommy skunk embraced him and said he smelled like her little baby skunk again and she loved him very much. Thus, Jack’s version brings out the mother’s love, care and
concern for her little baby.
Question. 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. As the child grows into maturity, his perspective and vision of life change gradually. A child views things at a superficial and sensory level but a grown up’s vision is realistic, reflective, philosophical and even psychological. Viewed from the study of the story ‘‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’’, Jo, a child of four, like most children of her age, prefers to live in dreams and fantasies. She is hostile by nature and would like to wreak vengeance on Skunk’s mother and wants the wizard to retaliate.
She is annoyed because her father refuses to accept her suggestion. The father has a mature perspective and sees beyond the surface and explores the philosophical and moralistic aspect of the entire situation. According to her father, the wizard had unwillingly interfered with nature and had, thus, done a great deal of harm and deserved to be punished. According to him, the punishment meted out to the wizard is well-merited and retaliation is out of the question.
Thus, the story makes it clear that the perspective of a child and that of an adult is totally different.
Question. How did Jo want the Roger Skunk story to end? Why?
Ans. The world of children is quite different from that of adults. Their world is a dreamy and magical world. It is a world of fantasy and romance. There is no place for ugliness and stink in their world. Roger skunk is the hero of the story. Jo never wanted her hero to be so ugly and stinky. It offends her fairness and justice. Therefore, Jo disapproves of Jack’s ending of the story of Roger Skunk. She wants her father, Jack, to tell the same story in a different way. The wizard must take his magic wand and hit Roger’s mommy hard for not understanding Roger’s feelings. Little Jo wants ‘that stupid mommy‘ to be punished. Her crime is that she went to the wizard and compelled him to make her son smell bad again. Jo wants him to smell nice so that he can play with other little animals. She doesn’t want Roger to feel sad and lonely for no fault of his.
Question. Describe Jack’s art of storytelling.
Ans. Jack was a good storyteller. He had begun the custom of telling a story to his daughter for the evening naps two years ago. Every day he made a slight alteration in the basic story which usually revolved around a creature named Roger. This creature always fell into some trouble and went to a wise owl for advice. The owl sent him to a wizard who cast a magic spell to solve the problem. To make his stories interesting, he would give sound effects to his stories e.g., when Roger Skunk had knocked at the door of the wizard, Jack rapped on the window sill to create an effect. When Roger Skunk reached the house of wizard, the wizard asked him many questions and Jack gave it one of his favourite effects. He scrunched up his face and spoke the wizard’s words like an old man. In the end, when Jo seemed satisfied at Roger getting the smell of roses, he didn’t like it. He made a twist in his story and extended the basic story. He hadn’t liked the expression on Jo’s face which reflected that she thought the story was all over. So, he made a change in the story and narrated it to her.
Question. How does Jo show her independent thinking in the story ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’?
Ans. Jo is just a little girl of four years but she is very sharp, inquisitive and intelligent. She suggests her father the animal whose story her father is to create. She keeps interrupting the story with suggestions about the animals the Skunk was going to meet such as the owl and wizard. She is not a girl who can easily accept things. She keeps asking questions like whether magic spells are real.
She shows maturity of a young girl. She asks her mother whether spiders really eat bugs as suggested by her father. She is so bright that she catches her father when he mentions Roger Fish instead of Roger Skunk. She is very strong and sensitive and immediately protests if things do not go according to her wish. When Jack ends the story just opposite to her perception, she refuses to accept and expresses her own views and outlook and insists her father to end the story with wizard hitting the mother.
