Night of the Scorpion — Chapter Summary
Maharashtra Board · Class 10 · English
Summary of Night of the Scorpion for Maharashtra Board Class 10 English. Part of the Maharashtra Board Class 10 English syllabus.
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Overview
Notice the strong contrast at the heart of the poem: the mother suffers in pain, the villagers respond with superstition, the father tries practical and magical remedies, and the child narrator remembers everything clearly. The poem ends by revealing the mother’s selfless love when she is glad that
Key Concepts
The poem presents the selfless love
The poem presents the selfless love of a mother. Even after great pain, she thinks first of her children and feels grateful that they were spared.
Ten hours of steady rain drive
Ten hours of steady rain drive the scorpion beneath a sack of rice. After stinging the mother, it risks the rain again.
The peasants arrive
The peasants arrive, chant God’s name, search with candles and lanterns, and offer blessings and curses. They believe the scorpion’s movement affects
The father is a sceptic
The father is a sceptic and rationalist, but in panic he still tries every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid. He even pours paraffi
A holy man performs rites
A holy man performs rites and an incantation to tame the poison.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the central idea of a mother’s selfless love.
- Identify the roles of the narrator, mother, father, peasants, holy man, and scorpion.
- Explain the contrast between superstition and rational thinking.
- Interpret important words and expressions such as diabolic, paralyse, diminished, groaning, sceptic, rationalist, and incantation.
- Recall the sequence of events from the scorpion’s shelter to the mother’s relief after twenty hours.
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Sources & Official References
Content is aligned to the official syllabus. Refer to the board website for the latest curriculum.
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