Important Questions and answers of Riders to the sea. 2 Marks question of Riders to the sea. For university students, For Bankura university

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Important Questions and answers of Riders to the sea. 2 Marks question of Riders to the sea. 

1) Who are the riders in Riders to the Sea ? 

▶️ Thematically in the play the living Bartley and the ghost of Michael are the riders to the sea as seen by their mother Maurya But they actually suggest that in human life death always follows life and there is no escape from it.

2) What does the spinning wheel suggest in the play? 

▶️ In Riders to the Sea Cathleen spins the wheel which apparently suggests the monotony and everyday chores of the womenfolk. But it may also symbolize the Wheel of Law of Boddhism. This Law of Karma states that there is no power able to reverse the direction in which the wheel revolves.

3] What is the significance of Donegal in the play? 

▶️ Donegal is the name of a place situated in the north of Ireland. It is a seaside country and in the play Michael's body was washed up there and it got a Christian burial.

4 ) Why does not the young priest stop Bartley? 

▶️ There are many possibilities for which the Young Priest is unwilling to stop Bartley. Firstly, the priest is aware of the poor condition of Maurya's family. Secondly he has no control over young persons like Bartley who knows that hard reality has nothing to do with religiosity. Thirdly the Young Priest may be blind in belief that God will spare last son of Maurya and so Bartley's journey is safe.

5) Name two geographical locations in the play and their significance. 

▶️ The two geographical locations in the play are the green head and white rocks. Green head suggests a place where a ship generally harbours. White rocks refer to the rocks of limestone which indicate the nature of sea in a stormy weather.

6) Mention how Bartley and Maurya try to use the same rope? 

▶️ There is a row between Bartley and Maurya about a rope. While Maurya argues that the rope is needed to lower down the coffin of Michael when his body is washed up, Bartley thinks that he will use the rope as halter because he will ride down the red mare and the grey pony will run behind him.

7 ) What does the pig with black feet suggest? 

▶️ This has local and symbolic significances. Locally it is a common belief that a white pig with black feet suggests evil and hence ominous. Such a pig can bring misfortune and suffering. Symbolically black is recurring ides in the play which suggests evil. 

8) What's the significance of Bartley's changing of his shirt? 

▶️ Before his departure Bartley changes his old shirt with a newer shirt. Actually this new shirt belongs to Michael. When Bartley puts it on he unconsciously follows the path of Michael that leads to death.

9) What is the irony in the last words of Bartley? 

▶️ When Bartley goes out of the house he informs that he will ride down the red mare and the grey pony will run behind him. He is unconscious of the irony of this fateful journey. The grey pony in the play will be seen as Death by Maurya. She will see dead Michael riding on grey pony and chasing Bartley. 

10) Comment on Maurya's words that her son is more important than thousand horses. 

Ans: 

️Maurya is presented as a bereaved but desperate mother who tries hard to prevent her last son Bartley from going out in a stormy weather. Bartley's condition is equally desperate because he knows that he is the only male member in the family and so he has to overlook the possible danger of his life to earn a living. He knows that he has to sell his horses at good price by risking a riding on sea. But for a mother it is too big a price. Maurya cries out in despair that her son is more precious than thousand horses because money can never buy back a son who lost. Moreover she knows the greedy tax gathering of the sea. She has been paying it heavily from the past. Now when her last son remains, she will never allow him to become a victim to death. These words of Maurya reveal the pathetic life of these people and at the same time they evoke fear that because we feel that sometimes human life becomes worthless before the hardship and poverty of existence. 

Riders to the sea

11) "My heart is broken from this day"-when does Maurya say this? Why does she think so?  

▶️ When Maurya comes back to the cottage with the bundle of bread still in her hand, she utters those words as a sign of extreme sorrow. The words reveal her hopelessness.

Maurya says this because she could not give her blessing to her son Bartley. She went down to the spring well to see Bartley and also to give him his bread. But instead she saw a fearful vision that her dead son Michael was riding and following Bartley. The vision is terrifying because she has a faint hope that her last son will be spared by death. But now she realizes that Bartley too will follow the steps of her earlier members and he will die. Her broken heart is the mark of her hopelessness and at the same time it suggests her ultimate stoicism.

12)  "I see the fearfullest thing" what is the 'thing'? Why does the speaker call it 'fearfullest'? 

▶️  The thing here refers to the vision of Maurya that her dead son Michael was riding and following Bartley.

Maurya saw dead Michael riding the grey pony and following Bartley on red mare.

The vision is terrifying because she has a faint hope that her last son will be spared by death. But now she realizes that Bartley too will follow the steps of her earlier members and he will die. The implication is conveyed by the colour symbols. The grey pony itself suggests death and it is chasing the red mare and Bartley on it, red being the symbol of life and vitality. Maurya immediately realizes the ominous sign of the vision that Bartley will die. So she calls it fearfullest. 

13.What is the story of Bride Dara? How is it associated in the play? 

▶️ The story of Bride Dara is well known to the islanders. Dara, a woman saw the ghost of her husband with the living son in his arms. It was the sign of the coming death of the child and the child died soon after.

The story of Bride Dara is mentioned by Maurya in the play. She has a terrible vision that her dead son Michael was riding and following Bartley. Maurya saw dead Michael riding the grey pony and following Bartley on red mare. The story thus is linked with the vision. In the story of Dara, both the living and the dead appeared together and it gave an ominous idea for the living. Similarly dead Michael and living Bartley appear together in Maurya's vision and it clearly marks the end of Bartley. So Maurya refers to the story.

(Maurya compares the fearful vision she has seen to that of Bride Dara who has "seen the dead man with the child in his arms" . Both Maurya and Bride Dara experience the vision of loved ones who are dead; when the legendary goddess sees a dead man carrying a child in his arms, she loses her son in the battle, just like the deceased Michael who significantly comes from the dead to lead his brother to the other world. )

14. Comment on 'grey pony' with Michael! on it. 

▶️ Maurya has a terrible vision that her dead son Michael was riding and following Bartley. Maurya saw dead Michael riding the grey pony and following Bartley on red mare. The colour 'grey' is associated with death. In Bible, Revelation VI, the 'pale horse' stands for death. Hence Michael becomes the death in the play. Again Michael was seen wearing new shirt and new shoes. This vision is similar to the saying of Christ. Christ said that the poor are blessed and that they will enjoy all happiness when they go to heaven after death (Revelation XXI,5). Thus the vision of Michael wearing new shirt and shoes suggests his clean burial. Since Maurya saw the vision, it also suggests that the mother was expecting the clean burial of his son and his elevation to heaven.