The Rum Tum Tugger Poem Summary Meanings and Question Answers

The Rum Tum Tugger Solutions, Summary and Poetry Appreciation for the class 6 English Wind Chimes book are given here.

Summary

It is a poem for children and brings humour. The Rum Tum Tugger is half a pet cat and half a domestic nightmare. He wants the exact opposite of what you give him: a grouse if you give him a pheasant, a house if you put him in a flat, a rat if you gave him a mouse, to be outside if you let him in, a feast if you give him a fish and a rabbit if you give him fish. He blocks doorways and gets into bureau drawers he cannot get out of. He will not have cream unless he steals it from the larder himself. He is not fond of cuddling but makes sure to jump into the lap of anyone who is sewing. But really, there is not much of a point in getting aggravated about him and his ways, or trying to change him or complaining about him because there is nothing to be done about the Rum Tum Tugger’s oddities.

Comprehension

Answers:

1. a. He is the Rum Tum Tugger.
   b. He will do whatever he wants to.
   c. For he will do as he pleases.
2. a. The wrong side of the door is any side on which the Rum Tum Tugger becomes an obstruction.
   b. He is always on the wrong side because he always wants to be wherever he is not.
   c. The speaker thinks it is terribly boring.
3. a. ‘In it’ refers to the fact that the Rum Tum Tugger is in the cream.
   b. ‘Up to the ears’ implies that he is pretty much submerged in the cream.
   c. He sniffed and sneered at the cream when it was given to him.

Answers:

1. Whenever the Rum Tum Tugger is given something to eat, he wants something else.

2. The Rum Tum Tugger likes to lie down in a bureau drawer but kicks up a fuss when he cannot get out of it.

3. For he will do/As he do do/And there’s no doing anything about it!

4. The Rum Tum Tugger is put off by affectionate behaviour, as is made clear by the line, ‘The Rum Tum Tugger doesn’t care for a cuddle;’.

5. attempt yourself

6. attempt youself

Poetry Appreciation

Answer:

The repetition in the poem occurs in the stanza ending lines, ‘For he will do/As he do do/And there’s no doing anything about it!’.

Firstly, the lines convey the stubborn character that defines the Rum Tum Tugger. The only way to coexist with this cat is to make peace with his oddities.

The humour is further heightened by the tone of desperation and failure in them. It conveys that poet has struggled long and hard with the Rum Tum Tugger’s misbehaviour and eccentricity and finally, has just given up