Why I Like The Hospital

Poem-2
Why I Like the Hospital
Short Answer Questions:-
Question 1: Why was the speaker in the poem, Why I Like the Hospital in a bad mood when he entered
the hospital? What happened when he entered the lift?
Answer 1: The speaker in the poem, Why I Like the Hospital in a bad mood because he feels that is all
right to be in a bad mood in a hospital. This bad mood may be the result of his falling sick and going all
alone to a hospital. It seems that nobody is with him to console him and alleviate his mood.
When he entered the lift, he realises that he is not the only one, who has fallen sick. There are a number
of others like him, there is a complete silence, nobody is talking to anyone. It shows the general
apathetic attitude of the people towards one another.
Question 2: How does the speaker feel when he sees the ‘closed beige doors’ in the hospital? Why?
Answer 2: The speaker feels like he has entered the prison gate which is typically made of metal, such as
steel or iron, and is often painted in a dull color, such as gray or brown. The gate is typically tall and
imposing, with sharp edges and a sturdy design. It is often surrounded by a fence or wall, and may have
a guard tower or surveillance cameras nearby. The gate is usually locked and requires a key or code to
open. He feels so because the colour of the doors are similar like that in prison.
Question 3: Which scenes of human suffering arouse pathos in the speaker?
Answer 3: The poet depicts some scenes of human sufferings in the poem.
(i)During his visit to the hospital he is moved to see a mother afflicted with cancer. The mother does not
know how to reveal her fatal ailment to her children.
(ii) Then there is another patient, a bald girl (she might have lost her hair due to chemotherapy) who is in
a depressed mood, looking at the shunt above her missing breast.
(iii) He also sees an old ugly woman walking with an intravenous pole. (iv) He remembers once he saw a
terminal patient sobbing without shame in the open, expressing his helplessness and rage. He seems to
console himself as no one is there to calm him down with comforting words.
Question 4: Why does the speaker like the people in hospital who were taking down something in their
notebooks? What does it show about the state of mind of the patients?
Answer 4: The poet watches these people consulting notebooks,On the left columns of which appear
their acts done foolishly or badly -Times I Acted Like a Fool’, and on the right columns of which appear
their good deeds – Times I acted like a Saint’.
It is in the hospital it depicts the state of mind of the patients who get scared of death, and they begin
to calculate their good and bad deeds. The poet, thus, finds the hospital not a place to be disliked. He
declares:”I like the hospital for the way it grants permission for pathos’.
Question 5: Discuss the aptness of the title Why I Like the Hospital by Tony Hoagland ?
Answer 5: The title of the poem is quite catchy and startling. Normally no one likes a place where only
the sick people go, where you see only horrible scenes of pain and suffering. Then why does the poet like
the hospital ? In the very opening line, the poet answer this question. It is only the hospital where ‘to be
in a bad mood’ is all right, that is, acceptable. No where else are you permitted by this modern society to
express your inner feelings openly and freely. In the civilized, modern world, especially in the West, you
are supposed not to weep or cry or sulk before others. Expressing your agony in the public is looked
upon as a sign of weakness, which is luckily not so in our country. It is in this context that the poet likes
visiting the hospital where it is normal to cry and weep.
The title of poem, Why I Like the Hospital is an unusual but an apt title for the poem. It seems that the
poem is inspired by Tony Hoagland’s personal experience. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and
underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy sessions in a hospital in the USA. He died of cancer in
2018 at the age of 64. So the poem is a first-hand experience of the poet in a hospital. Especially a cancer
ward that makes it quite poignant.
The poet depicts some scenes of human suffering in the poem. During his visit to the hospital he is
moved to see a mother afflicted with cancer. The mother does not know how to reveal her fatal ailment
to her children. Then there is another patient, a bald girl (she might have lost her hair due to
chemotherapy) who is in a depressed mood, looking at the shunt above her missing breast. He also sees
an old ugly woman walking with an intravenous pole. He remembers once he saw a terminal patient
sobbing without shame in the open, expressing his helplessness and rage. He seems to console himself
as no one is there to calm him down with comforting words.
Finally, the poet likes the hospital for the way it allows patients to show their pain, suffering,
helplessness and emotions without any pretence of being strong. It also helps them to muster their
inner strength to endure the feeling of loneliness, pain and suffering. So, the poet likes the hospital for
the pathos, it arouses seeing the sufferings of the patients, for giving an opportunity to count their
scores in life on the basis of their good and bad decisions and for shedding their pretence of being strong
and accepting their pain and suffering and impending death.
Thus, the title of the poem is appropriate.

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Poem-2

Short Answer Questions:-

Question 3: Which scenes of human suffering arouse pathos in the speaker?

Thus, the title of the poem is appropriate.

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