ICSE Students can refer to The Cold Within Summary ICSE below which has been prepared by expert English teachers of ICSE as per that latest syllabus and guidelines issued by ICSE. These Chapter summaries have been prepared to help students to understand the entire chapter easily. You can also refer to more study material for ICSE Class 10 on our website
ICSE Class 10 English The Cold Within Summary
We have provided below a summary of Chapter The Cold Within. This is an important chapter in Standard 10th ICSE English. The summary provided below has been prepared by expert English faculty for ICSE based on the latest ICSE books. You should refer to all Chapter Summaries ICSE Class 10 English which will help you to understand all chapters and to get more marks in exams.
The Cold Within ICSE Class 10 English
About the Poet
James Patrick Kinney (16 March 1923 – 29 May 1974) was an Irish American poet. He dropped out in High School due to the financial problem in his family. He received recognition posthumously. He is best known for his inspiring poem, ‘The Cold Within’. He was a man of integrity and created poems that spoke his heart. Initially, he was rejected for being controversial, but soon gained popularity.
Summary
The poem highlights the rigidity of spirit based on discrimination of race, religion and caste, portrayed by the six individuals who became their own agents of death. Their reluctance to help each other made their hands stiff, refusing to share their log of wood, which was a sufficient proof of sin committed by humans. Thus, it was not the cold outside, but the cold ‘within’ – the coldness of feelings, the lack of the spark of humanity – that froze them all to death.
Explanation of the Poem
Stanza 1 & 2.
“Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story’s told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces round the fire,
She noticed one was black.”
Explanation: The narrator tells us that the six people are ‘trapped’ in a very cold and dark place, as a coincidence, and each person is holding a stick of wood. These people are gathered around a fire but this fire is about to die. It would continue only if some wood is added to it.
The first woman looks around the group and decides to keep back her stick as she finds a black man around the fire. She finds it unacceptable to help a black person, which highlights the ‘colour’ prejudice in human societies. Thus, her discriminatory attitude prevents her from saving herself and others from cold.
Word Meanings
Stanza 3 & 4.
“The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log he put to use
To warm the idle rich?”
Explanation: The next man held his feelings for people of other religious faith, different from his. He finds that none around the fire belonged to his church and decides not to spend his stick to warm others. Thus, he propagates ‘religious intolerance’ – that he did not wish to support one from another religion.
The third one was a poor man, which was evident from his old and torn clothes. He shook his coat to make himself comfortable, but it was not adequate enough to keep him warm. According to him, the rich were a Lazy Lot, so it was not worth sharing his log of wood to save them. His attitude lays emphasis on the prejudice based on ‘social status’.
Word Meanings :
Stanza 5 & 6.
“The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man’s face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.”
Explanation: The next in line was the wealthy man who goes blind with the thought to save his riches, putting his own life at stake. He wishes to keep away his stick than to put it in fire, as that would mean helping the poor who according to him, were useless and aimless. This reflects his biased attitude of class.
Then, there was the black man, who was filled with anguish and revengeful feelings for the white men, which was the result of the scornful attitude of the white towards the black; so he took it as an opportunity to avenge himself against the white, although he could have behaved rationally otherwise.
Word Meanings :
Stanza 7 & 8.
“The last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game?
Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin?
They did not die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.”
Explanation: The last man belonging to this hopeless group, though not prejudiced, was an opportunist and a selfish person. He did not favour anyone without gaining anything in exchange.
The last stanza summarizes the result of narrow – mindedness, biased attitude and selfishness of humans. All of the six people froze to death with the log of wood in their hands. Thus, it was not the cold weather which was responsible for their death, as they could have easily fought against it together, but it was the absence of warmth in their hearts that brought their doom.
Word Meanings :
The Cold Within Television Important Questions and Answers
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
or so the story’s told.
Question. What brought the ‘six humans together’?
Ans. The bitter cold climate brought the six humans together by chance.
Question. What did each of them possess?
Ans. Each one of them possessed a stick of wood in their hands.
Question. What could these persons have done?
Ans. Each person could have given his stick of wood (log) to keep the fire burning (to get warmth) and could have saved each other from dying in the bitter cold.
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces round the fire,
She noticed one was black.
Question. Who was the first man?
Ans. The first one was a woman who was a white (American).
Question. What had she noticed?
Ans. She (used for a human) had noticed that one of them in the group was a black (probably belonging to an African country).
Question. Why did she hold back his stick?
Ans. She held back his stick because she had noticed one black man around the fire. She suffered from racial prejudice so she refused to contribute (his log) to the dying fire.
Question. What kind of prejudice did she have in his mind?
Ans. She acted out of her racial prejudice as she did not want to warm the black and save him from the bitter cold.
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
Ans could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick off birch.
Question. Who were trapped on the day of bitter cold?
Ans. Six human beings were trapped in the bleak and bitter cold. The first was a white woman, the second was a man who suffered from religious intolerance, the third was a poor man, the fourth was a rich man, the fifth was a black man and the sixth was a man who lacked generosity.
Question. What was needed for their survival?
Ans. They all needed a stick of wood to light the dying fire and warm themselves for their survival.
Question. What did the second man notice? What did he do?
Ans. The second man noticed that one of the human beings did not belong to his religion. He did not give his stick to add fuel to the dying fire.
Question. Why did he decide not to help a person of a different religion?
Ans. He decided not to help a person of a different religion because he suffered from the sin of racism and intolerance.
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
The third one sat tattered clothiers
he gave his coat a hitch
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rice?
Question. Who do you think was the third man?
Ans. The third man was probably a poor man as he was wearing tattered (torn and worn out) clothes.
Question. Why did he decide not to ‘warm the idle rich’?
Ans.He felt that the rich do not work hard, they just exploit the poor so they do not deserve to live. He decided not to give his stick to warm the idle rich as he had feelings of bitterness and jealousy against the rich.
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
Question. Who were the other three men in the group referred to earlier?
Ans. The other three men referred to earlier, in the group were a white man (used for a human though it was a white woman), a man who lacked religious tolerance and a poor man.
Question. What was the rich man lost in his thoughts?
Ans. His greed for money kept the rich man lost in his thoughts. He was thinking of how to keep safe, what he had earned, from the poor, who he believed, were lazy and shiftless (without any goal in life).
Question. Why did he decide not to help the poor man?
Ans. He decided, not to help the poor man as he felt that the poor did not deserve to survive, they were lazy and shiftless. The rich man actually had the sins of greed and stinginess within him.
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
The black man’s face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to sprite the white.
Question. What were the prejudices in the minds of the poor man and the rich man?
Ans. The poor man had feelings of bitterness and jealousy against the rich. He thinks that he should not use his log to warm the idle rich. The rich man is equally prejudiced against the poor. According to him, the poor are lazy and shiftless. He suffered from greed and stinginess.
Question. What did the black man’s face reveal?
Ans.The black man’s face revealed hatred and revenge for the white man.
Question. How could he hurt the white man?
Ans.The black man is full of hatred for the white people, he could hurt the white man, somehow, by holding back his stick and not contributing to add fuel to the dying fire which could help the white man to survive the bitter cold.
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
The last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
Question. What did each man fail to do?
Ans. Each man failed to contribute to add fuel to the dying fire (by not giving away his stick) which would warm them and help them to survive. They all failed to overcome the petty barriers of class, race and religion that divided them.
Question. What type of man, was the last person?
Ans. The last person was a man who lacked generosity. He was selfish and believed in giving only for his own profit.
Question. Why did he too, fail to part with his log of wood?
Ans. He too failed to part with his log of wood because he lacked generosity and would give only when he could gain something in return. In this situation he saw no profit, so he did not contribute to the dying fire
Read the lines given below and answer the questions:
Their logs held tight in still hands
Was proof of human sin
They did not die from the cold without
They died from the cold within
Question. Who are ‘they’ referred to here? Where were they?
Ans. ‘They’ refer to the six men who were caught in extremely cold weather. They were all standing around a fire to warm themselves.
Question. What was the obvious cause of their deaths?
Ans. The six men refused to share their log to fuel the dying fire and keep each other warm because of some or the other prejudice (the cold within their hearts). The fire died out, all were found frozen to death in the morning.
Question. What do you mean by the ‘cold within’? How is it responsible for the death of the six persons trapped in bitter cold?
Ans. The ‘cold within’ means the lack of feeling in the heart, born out of selfishness, prejudice, malice etc. It is because of these negative feelings, that the six men did not give up their sticks of wood which could have kept the fire burning and kept them warm, to survive. Because of the cold within them, these six human beings could not overcome the barriers of class, race and religion that divided them.
