Clearing in the Sky by Jesse Stuart (Study questions)

 

Clearing in the Sky

By Jesse Stuart

 

Why didn’t the old man follow the advice of the doctor?

 

He is an active person who cannot sit still. The doctor advised him not to walk a city block but he ignored his advice and walked home five miles across the mountain. He had his own yardstick to measure his health and he did not believe what the doctors told him. He considers his ability to work hard as a yardstick to measure his health condition.

 

What had the doctors told the old man?

 

The doctors had told the old man to go home and spend time with his family. They also forbade him to do any kind of work and enjoy the few days of life that he had left with him.

 

Where did the old man take his son?

 

The old man took his son to the highest point of the mountain. He had cleared a piece of land and grown vegetables there. He wanted to show his son this piece of clearing in the sky which was a testament of his unyielding spirit and never say die approach.

 

Had the son ever been there before?

 

The son had been there several times. He remembered his time spent there while climbing to the top. But since the last three years he had not visited this place.

 

What were the vegetables the old man grew on his farm?

 

The old man grew yams, tomatoes and potatoes on his farm. He believed that the vegetables grown in land which has never been cultivated before would be richer in taste.

 

Why did the old man take the steep path?

 

The old man had made many paths leading towards the clearing. They were winding but less steep. He made a long winding path when the doctor told him that he did not have many days to live. With the passage of time, he made steeper paths which was an indication that he was getting better. Now that he was feeling healthy, he decided to take the path straight up the point.

 

Why did the son at the age of six cry?

 

The son cried at the age of six because he had lost the wooden plough in the furrows his father had made for him. Seeing him cry, his father made him another wooden plough but he never liked it the way he liked the first one.

 

 

What were the feelings of the old man at the age of seventy?

 

The old man felt that he had reached the age where his time on earth was borrowed. He tells his son that when a person reaches at this point in his life, he feels nostalgic. He goes to the places and people he knew and loved. The same happened to the old man and came back to this piece of land and decided to cultivate it.

 

Why had the old man planted his secret garden?

 

The old man and his wife cleared most of the mountainous land and cultivated it. He wanted to relive the days he and his wife worked on this land. Moreover, he wanted to cultivate a land which has never been ploughed before. He believed that the vegetables grown on such land would be richer in taste.