I wonder By: Jeannie Kirby

Group membersYinson Yogeswaran MaruthamuthuNik Mazni Hanim Mohd FakriNisha RavindranThanuszah ChandranNavinahPalaniappanJanani Munusamy

1972

1941

BIOGRAPHY OF JEANNIE KIRBY

-Her real name is Milda Jeanne Kirby.-Was born on 29th October 1922.- Passed away on 28th December 1991 at Fort Smith, Arkansas.-Her burial was held at Ozark, Arkansas.

BIOGRAPHY OF JEANNIE KIRBY- cont,

-A daughter of Arch Risdon Kirby and Eunice B. Hardgrave.-Has no siblings.-Married to David Truss Westmoreland on 24 Jan 1942.-Has two children; Patricia Jean Westmoreland and David Kirby Westmoreland.

I wonderJeannie Kirby

I wonder why the grass is green,And why the wind is never seen?

Who taught the birds to build a nest,And told the trees to take a rest?

O, when the moon is not quite round,Where can the missing bit be found?

Who lights the stars, when they blow out,And makes the lightning flash about?

Who paints the rainbow in the sky,And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?

Why is it now, do you suppose,That Dad won’t tell me, if he knows?

Literal Meaning-OVERALL-

A child is wondering about the natural happenings, asking why the grass is green (instead of other colours) and why the wind is invisible.

He or she continues to ponder who teaches the birds to build nest and the trees stop growing. He or she also wonders when the moon is in crescent shape, where the other part of the moon is.

He or she proceeds to question about the person who makes the stars shining and how the lightning flash about. He or she keeps on asking who colours the rainbow and puts the clouds high in sky.

He or she cannot get the answers, thus, directs the questions to the other. Lastly, the child wonders why father doesn’t tell him or her if he knows the answers.

Meaning of the poem –LINE BY LINE-

Lines from the poem Meaning

I wonder why the grass is green The persona wonders why the grass has to be green.

And why the wind is never seen? The persona wonders why she can feel the wind but cannot see it.

Who taught the birds to built a nest, The persona wonders how the birds know how to build a nest.

And told the trees to take a rest? The persona wonders why the trees are always standing straight and tall, never once sitting down to have a rest.

O, when the moon is not quite round, At night, the persona sees the crescent moon and wonders why it is not always round

Where can the missing bit be found He also wonders where the other part of the moon is.

Lines from the poem Meaning

Who lights the stars, when they blow out, During the day, the persona cannot see the stars. So, the persona wonders who light the stars at night

And makes the lightning flash about? The persona wonders who causes the lightning to flash.

Who paints the rainbow in the sky, The persona wonders how the colourful rainbow appears in the sky.

And hangs the fluffy clouds so high? The persona wonders who hangs the fluffy clouds up so high in the sky.

Why is it now, do you suppose, Finally, the persona wonders why his father does not answer his questions.

That Dad won’t tell me, if he knows? Maybe, his father does not know the answers.

THE VERSIFICATION AND SOUND PATTERNS.

-6 stanzas (6 couplets)

Rhyme Scheme -regular (aa bb cc dd ee)

SETTING

- Day to night, outdoor

POINT OF VIEW

-First person ‘ I wonder’.

The persona(speaker) of the poem:

The persona is the voice in the poem (the person who might say the lines in the poem)

The persona might be an inquisitive child who observes the world around him or a naïve child.

THEMES

1) CURIOUSITYA child’s curiosity. Children loves to ask questions about anything that they do not understand.

2)THE POWER OF CREATORThe wonders of nature . People who take time to stop and appreciate nature will find that nature is amazing.

MORAL VALUES

1)There is an existence of God . We should appreciate and take care of the nature created.

2)We should be observant and sensitive to out surroundings

3)We must have a strong desire to learn a lot of knowledge and we should always cultivate a sense of wonder in our heart

- Imagery for example: nature (grass, wind, bird, moon, stars, lightning, rainbow, clouds)

-Personification ("trees...take a rest")

-Alliteration ("grass is green", "birds to build")

LITERARY DEVICES

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

Tone -questioning, curiosity

Mood -reflective

Language -simple, Wh-words/questions

SUMMARY OF THE POEM

Reading through the poem, the questions are those common questions asked by most children. These questions are identical to our questions that we asked when we were child. For example, "Why the sky and sea are blue?", "Why I can smell it but can't touch it?", "Why we grow taller each day", "Can I pluck the shining star?", "Why the sky is bright during daytime and yet dark at night?", etc.

Most children are curious in nature. Adults might find their questions naive and funny. However, the sense of wonder is essential as the motivation to drive them to seek for the answer. With the questions in mind, their curiosity urges them on finding the solution. Thus, they are those scientists-to-be, doctors-to-be, geologists-to-be, astronomers-to-be, teachers-to-be, etc. Thus, the message here is to cultivate the sense of wonder in our children's heart and avoid killing their interest to know about what happen in their environments and surroundings.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

The message is that (The Creator) is The Almighty. We, as human being, are naive to understand the hard work done by Him. Instead of asking Him for answers for our doubts, we are obliged to carry on our mission to seek and gain the borderless knowledge and message conveyed by Him. He may not give the whole knowledge directly, but He will guide us. One day, we will be enlightened with His knowledge for us