Class 5 English - TAMILNADU

Poetry: Vocation

The poem 'Vocation' from the Class 5 Tamil Nadu Samacheer Kalvi English textbook explores a young child's innocent imagination and desires. As the child goes about their day, they observe different working people in their neighborhood—a hawker selling bangles, a gardener digging the earth, and a watchman walking the night streets. Unlike adults who must follow strict routines, the child wishes to be free to choose these diverse professions. This chapter matters for board exams because it tests students' reading comprehension, poetic devices like imagery, and their ability to express personal thoughts about freedom and careers.

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Key Concepts

Vocation

A vocation means a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation, though in this poem, it represents the different jobs the child wants to try.

Hawker

A person who travels from place to place selling goods, whom the child watches in the morning calling out 'Bangles, crystal bangles!'

Gardener

A person who tends and cultivates a garden, whom the child observes digging the ground with a spade without worrying about getting clothes soiled.

Watchman

A person employed to guard a building or streets at night, whom the child envies for walking the dark, lonely streets with a lantern.

Childlike Imagination

The pure and creative way a child looks at the world, seeing freedom and adventure in everyday jobs that adults might find tiring.

Important Formulas

Vocation = A person's regular work, job, or profession
Hawker = A travelling street vendor who sells items by shouting out
Spade = A tool with a sharp-edged, rectangular metal blade used for digging
Lantern = A lamp with a transparent case protecting the flame or bulb, used outdoors

Board Exam Info

In Tamil Nadu (Samacheer Kalvi) Class 5 English exams, poetry chapters typically carry around 10 to 15 marks. Common question types include reading comprehension passages, matching lines to their meanings, identifying rhyming words, short answer questions about the speaker's wishes, and memory verses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the child want to be a hawker?

The child wants to be a hawker because there is no fixed route or time to go home, and they can wander wherever they like.

What makes the gardener's job appealing to the child?

The child likes that the gardener digs the earth with a spade and gets his clothes soiled without anyone scolding him.

Why does the child envy the watchman at night?

The child is fascinated by the watchman walking alone in the dark streets with his lantern, completely free while everyone else is asleep.

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