GyanpithThe Ball Poem by John Berryman shows a boy grieving over a ball that bounces into the harbour, and how the loss teaches him the meaning of loss and responsibility in a world of possessions. This page gives complete answers to all the questions on the poem.
Key points
- A boy watches helplessly as his ball bounces down the street and into the water
- The ball stands for his childhood memories, so a new ball cannot replace it
- The poet does not offer money because the boy must learn to bear loss by himself
- Losing the ball is the boy's first experience of responsibility in a world of possessions
- The poem's message is that everyone loses things and must learn how to stand up again
Thinking about the Poem
1. Why does the poet say, "I would not intrude on him"? Why doesn't he offer him money to buy another ball?
The poet says "I would not intrude on him" because the boy is going through a private moment of deep grief. He feels that disturbing the boy at this time would be unwelcome, and that the boy must face his sorrow on his own.
He does not offer money for another ball because he knows that "a dime, another ball, is worthless". The boy is not crying for the price of the ball but for what it meant to him. A new ball cannot bring back the lost one or the memories attached to it. Besides, the poet wants the boy to learn an important lesson: in life, things are lost, and one has to learn to bear the loss. Buying another ball would stop him from learning this.
2. "... staring down/All his young days into the harbour where/His ball went ..." Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it?
Yes, the boy seems to have had the ball for a long time. The phrase "all his young days" suggests that the ball had been with him through much of his childhood. It was closely linked with the memories of the happy days he spent playing with it. So when the ball sinks into the harbour, he feels as if those happy days and a part of his childhood have also gone into the water with it. That is why he stands "rigid, trembling, staring down" in such deep grief.
3. What does "in the world of possessions" mean?
"In the world of possessions" refers to the material world we live in, where people own things such as toys, money, houses and other belongings. In such a world, people become attached to what they own, and they must also face the fact that possessions can be lost. The poet means that through the loss of his ball, the boy is learning his first lesson about owning things: he is responsible for what he possesses, he can lose it, and he must learn to accept the loss.
4. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.
No, the boy has probably not lost anything important before. This seems to be his first experience of loss. The words that suggest this are: "He senses first responsibility / In a world of possessions." The word "first" shows that he is facing such a situation for the first time. His strong reaction also supports this: "An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy / As he stands rigid, trembling". He does not yet know how to deal with losing something he loves.
5. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? Try to explain this in your own words.
The poet says that the boy is learning "the epistemology of loss", that is, what it really means to lose something. He is realising that things we love can be lost for ever, that "no one buys a ball back", and that money cannot replace what has emotional value. Money, the poet says, is "external": it cannot buy back feelings and memories.
Most importantly, the boy is learning "how to stand up" after a loss. Everyone, sooner or later, loses something precious, and many people lose things many times in their lives. The boy must learn to accept the loss, bear the pain with courage and move on. This lesson will help him face bigger losses when he grows up.
6. Have you ever lost something you liked very much? Write a paragraph describing how you felt then, and saying whether — and how — you got over your loss.
When I was in Class VII, I lost the wristwatch my grandfather had given me on my birthday shortly before he passed away. I had taken it off to play football in the field near our house, and when the game was over it was gone. I searched every corner of the field until it grew dark, but I could not find it. That night I could not eat or sleep. The watch was not costly, but it was my last gift from my grandfather, and every time I looked at it I remembered his smile. My parents offered to buy me a new one, but I refused, because no new watch could take its place. For many days I felt empty and blamed myself for being careless. Slowly, my mother helped me understand that my grandfather's love was in my memories, not in the watch. I began to write down the stories he used to tell me so that I would never forget them. In this way I got over my loss, and I also learnt to take better care of the things that matter to me.