Reading Comprehension

"The Banyan Tree"

Mr. Steel

1. What does the father ask his son to do in this short excerpt from Hindu literature?

2. What does the boy see inside the seed?

3. What is the relation between what the boy sees and the beginning or genesis of the tree, according to the father?

4. What does the father say about the invisible essence of things?

5. What does the father say is the boy's relation with the invisible?

6. What does the father ask the son to do with the salt? What happens to the salt?

7. What does the father ask the son to do with the water? Why?

8. For what is salt a metaphor in this lesson? Explain.

9. What does the father say is the son's relationship with everything else in this excerpt? Explain.

10. What does the tale about the blind-folded man tell us symbolically about the plight of human beings? Explain.

11. What is meant by "home" at the end of the excerpt? Explain.