1. Bruno’s coming into the narrator’s family began with a
tragedy. Explain.
Bruno was riding on his mother’s back when his mother was
shot by a companion of the author. Bruno ran around his mother’s dead body
making sorrowful noises. The author caught him and brought him home. The author
gave Bruno as a pet to his wife. Like this, Bruno’s coming into the narrator’s
family began with a tragedy.
2. In what way was Bruno’s diet remarkable?
Bruno could eat anything and everything. He could gulp down
porridge made of any ingredients, vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat curry, and rice.
He could eat bread, eggs, chocolates, sweets, pudding, and so on. He could drink
milk, tea, coffee, aerated water, buttermilk, and everything liquid. He enjoyed
whatever he ate or drunk.
3. Can we say that Bruno’s barium carbonate poisoning
happened due to the narrator’s carelessness? Why/Why not? (Write any one of the answers)
1. Yes. We can say that Bruno’s barium carbonate poisoning
happened due to the narrator’s carelessness. The narrator knows that Bruno eats
everything. He should have kept Bruno safely locked in another room.
2. No. We cannot say that Bruno’s barium carbonate poisoning
happened due to the narrator’s carelessness. The narrator didn’t realize that
Bruno would walk into the library and eat barium carbonate. The narrator might
be too preoccupied to think about this possibility.
4. The changing of Bruno’s name to Baba reflects the deep
attachment which the narrator’s wife felt toward the bear. Explain.
‘Baba’ means ‘a small boy’ in Hindustani. The changing of
Bruno’s name as Baba reflects a deep attachment which the narrator’s wife felt
towards the bear. She never felt that Bruno is only a pet and an animal. She
treated him as a part of the family. That is why she changed the name of Bruno
as Baba.
5. What necessitated the decision that Baba should be sent
to a zoo?
Baba has grown up. They are concerned about the safety of
the tenants’ children. Poor Baba has to be kept chained most of the time. He
has become too big to be kept at home as a pet. So, it is decided that he
should be sent to a zoo.
6. Do you think the family’s decision of getting Baba back
home from the zoo was wise? Why/Why not?
Yes. I think that the family’s decision of getting Baba back
home from the zoo was wise. When Baba is in the zoo, both Baba and the narrator’s
wife fretted. Baba couldn’t eat food properly. The narrator’s wife is worried
about the well-being of Baba. Baba became habituated to the narrator’s home as
his own home. Moreover, the narrator knows how to take care of Baba and keep
him safe.
