A Boy and His Stomach by Edgar Guest (Cambridge Connection English)
The Poem :
"What's the matter, stummick? Ain't I always been your friend?
Ain't I always been a pardner to you? All my pennies don't I spend
In getting nice things for you? Don't I give you lots of cake?
Say, stummick, what's the matter, You had to go an ache?
Why, I loaded you with good things yesterday;
I gave you more corn an' chicken than you'd ever had before;
I gave you fruit an' candy, apple pie an' chocolate cake,
An' last night when I got to bed you had to go an' ache.
Say, what's the matter with you? Ain't you satisfied at all?
I gave you all you wanted; you was hard jes' like a ball.
An' you couldn't hold another bit of puddin'; yet last night
You ached most awful, stummick! That ain't treatin' me jest right.
I've been a friend to you, I have! Why ain't you a friend o' mine?
They gave me castor oil becoz you made me whine.
I'm feelin' fine this mornin'; yes its true;
But I tell you, stummick, you better appreciate things I do for you.
Summary of the Poem :
In this poem of Edgar Albert Guest, a little boy is accusing his stomach for the pain of his stomach-ache. He is asking his stomach why it has been the reason for his stomach ache. In a very funny way, the boy is explaining the things he has done for the stomach.
He has been friendly to his stomach for a long time. He has spent all his money to buy nice foods for his stomach. Yet it is aching. He had eaten more corn and chicken the last night. He had taken fruits, candy, apple pie and chocolate cake. He felt the stomach ache when he was about to go to bed last night. He thinks that his stomach is not satisfied in spite of feeding so much things to it. It became stiff like a ball. There was not much place to put another bit of pudding last night. It was aching awfully. It was not right for the boy. The the boy treated the stomach like a friend but it is not treating him like the same. The boy was yelling in pain. They gave him castor oil to cure the pain. And it cured the pain of the boy and he is feeling relieved that morning. At the end, the boy warns his stomach to appreciate the things he is going to do for it.
Comprehension
A. Answer the questions.
1. Who is the boy talking to? Why is he upset with it? What has he always done for his stomach?
= The boy is talking to his stomach.
He is upset with it because it is aching.
He has always been good like a partner to his stomach.
2. To what had the boy treated his pardner the previous day? How did it repay him.
= The previous day, the boy gave his pardner good foods like more corn, chicken, fruit, candy, apple pie and chocolate cake.
But the time before going to bed, the stomach started to aching.
3. Who do you think gave the boy castor oil? Why did he/she do so?
= I think his family members gave him castor oil.
They wanted the boy to get relief from the stomach ache. That is why they did so.
4. How did the boy feel the next morning?
= The boy felt relieved in the next morning.
5. What does he warn his pardner about?
= The boy warns his stomach to appreciate the things he is going to do for it.
B. Answer the questions.
1. What short of partnership does the boy want form his pardner?
= The boy wants the same type of friendship from his pardner. The has always been a good friend to his stomach. He wants the same from it.
2. Do you think his pardner will be able to agree to the conditions set by the boy?
= I don't think his pardner will be able to agree to the conditions set by the boy because the stomach is the part of the digestive system of the boy. It will ache once unhealthy food is taken in. It is totally depends upon the food habit of the boy.
3. What things does the boy get for his pardner?
= The boy gets good foods like corn, chicken, fruit, candy, apple pie, chocolate cake, and pudding.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. "Say, what's the matter with you? Ain't you satisfied at all?"
a. Who said these line and to whom?
= A little boy said these line to his stomach.
b. What had the speaker done to satisfy his friend?
= The speaker had given good foods to satisfy his friend.
c. How did he know the friend wasn't satisfied?
= He knew the friend wasn't satisfied as it was aching awfully.
d. What does the speaker think is the reason for this?
= The speaker thinks that the stomach is not appreciating the food he intakes.
2. "I've been a friend to you, I have! Why ain't you a friend o' mine?"
a. Who has the speaker been a friend to?
= The speaker has been a friend to his stomach.
b. What is the speaker complaining about?
= The speaker is complaining about that in spite of giving his stomach good foods, it started aching.
c. How could the speaker feel better?
= The family members gave the speaker castor oil to get rid of the ache of the stomach. Then the boy relieved from his pain and felt better.
D. Think and answer.
1. Do you agree that the speaker is a young boy? Could it have been a girl? Give reasons for your answer.
= Yes, I think that the speaker is a young boy. Because the title of the poem is 'A Boy and His Stomach'.
Yes, it could have been a girl. Because every child, irrespective of boy or girl, eats to their greed. They do not think of the hygiene of the food they are taking.
2. What makes this poem funny?
= The innocence of the boy, his spelling mistakes and wrong grammar makes the poem funny. The way he was accusing his own stomach made the poem utmost funny. He personalises his stomach in most funny way.
About the Poet :
Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959) was a prolific English-born American poet who became known as the People's Poet. He published more than 20 volumes of poetry and was thought to have written over 11,000 poems. Most often, his poems were of 14 lines and talked of everyday life.