1. “And no one buys a ball back. Money is external”. What does the poet imply by this expression?
Through this expression the poet implies that a lost ball cannot be bought back even with money. Money can only be used to buy valuable things but not to restore or compensate for a thing that is lost.
2. ‘He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes’. What is the boy learning from the loss of the ball?
The boy is learning the epistemology of loss from the loss of the ball. He is understanding what means to lose something he greatly admires.
3. Why does the poet say that he will not offer the boy money to buy another ball? Or 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 that he will not offer the boy money to buy another ball because balls are anyway worthless and also because he wants the boy to understand what it means and how it feels to lose something.
4. “Money is external”. What does the poet the mean by this expression taken from ‘The Ball Poem’?
By this expression the poet intends to make us realize the mere material value of money which in no way helps us to understand the essential worth of a commodity. In this world of possessions, the value of money is only to buy things and this does not make us understand the true value of things.
5. What does ‘in’ the world of possessions” mean?
The above line ‘in’ the world of possessions means a world of material things. Things of value are owned and priced because of their worth.
6. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the words that suggest the answer?
No, the boy has not lost anything earlier. The line, he senses his first responsibility, suggests so.
7. ‘He senses first responsibility’ - What responsibility is referred to here?
The responsibility referred to here is of losing a ball by a little boy and how he learns to grow up. The ball is a much loved happy innocent days. The closing of the ball losing his innocence and he is forced to grow up, and become responsible.