city planners

Question 1

Who wrote ‘The City Planners’?

Answer 1

Margaret Atwood

Question 2

In what year was ‘The City Planners’ written?

Answer 2

1964

Question 3

What central theme does ‘The City Planners’ explore?

Answer 3

Humanity’s craving for uniformity and strict control over the environment

Question 4

What does Atwood suggest about the desires for uniformity in ‘The City Planners’?

Answer 4

They are strange, suffocating, and ineffective

Question 5

What term does Atwood use to describe the individuals responsible for urban planning?

Answer 5

City planners

Question 6

What imagery is used in the opening lines of ‘The City Planners’?

Answer 6

Cruising these residential Sunday streets in dry August sunlight

Question 7

What does the phrase ‘what offends us is the sanities’ imply?

Answer 7

The speaker finds discomfort in the very qualities associated with order and reason

Question 8

Fill in the blank: The houses in ‘The City Planners’ are described as being in _______ rows.

Answer 8

pedantic

Question 9

What does the term ‘sanitary trees’ suggest in the context of the poem?

Answer 9

The artificiality of the environment and the manipulation of nature

Question 10

What does the speaker compare the orderly suburban landscape to?

Answer 10

A rebuke to the dent in our car door

Question 11

What sound symbolizes the relentless maintenance of the suburban environment?

Answer 11

The rational whine of a power mower

Question 12

True or False: The speaker sees the suburban ideal as a form of denial of the messiness of human existence.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

What does the phrase ‘the driveways neatly sidestep hysteria’ imply?

Answer 13

The strict adherence to uniform design is a way to maintain control and suppress chaos

Question 14

What metaphor is used to describe the desire to protect oneself from nature?

Answer 14

The roofs display the same slant of avoidance to the hot sky

Question 15

What subtle signs of decay are mentioned in the poem?

Answer 15

The smell of spilt oil, a splash of paint on brick, a plastic hose poised in a vicious coil

Question 16

Fill in the blank: The ‘too-fixed stare of the wide windows’ suggests a sense of _______.

Answer 16

surveillance

Question 17

What does ‘the future cracks in the plaster’ symbolize?

Answer 17

The eventual deterioration of suburban infrastructure

Question 18

What does Atwood suggest will happen to the houses in the poem?

Answer 18

They will slide obliquely into the clay seas

Question 19

How does Atwood depict the City Planners in the poem?

Answer 19

As scattered and isolated individuals with insane faces of political conspirators

Question 20

What does the metaphor of ‘each in his own private blizzard’ imply about the City Planners?

Answer 20

They are trapped in their own delusions and disconnected from one another

Question 21

What theme is highlighted by the disconnect between the City Planners and their environment?

Answer 21

The arrogance and folly of those seeking to control the environment

Question 22

What does the phrase ‘concealed from each other, each in his own private blizzard’ emphasize?

Answer 22

The disconnect and isolation among the City Planners

It highlights their individual delusions and obsession despite their collective responsibility.

Question 23

What does the metaphor of the blizzard suggest in the context of the City Planners?

Answer 23

A sense of confusion and disorientation

It underscores the chaotic nature of their individual pursuits.

Question 24

What does Atwood critique through her imagery and language in ‘The City Planners’?

Answer 24

The arrogance and folly of those seeking to control the environment

It urges readers to confront the illusions of control in modern society.

Question 25

What does the phrase 'guessing directions' indicate about the City Planners' actions?

Answer 25

A lack of certainty or precision ## Footnote It suggests their decisions are based on guesswork rather than careful planning.

Question 26

How does Atwood use the simile 'transitory lines rigid as wooden borders'?

Answer 26

To imply the impermanence and insubstantiality of the City Planners' efforts ## Footnote It highlights the contrast between appearance and reality.

Question 27

What does the phrase 'white vanishing air' emphasize?

Answer 27

The intangible nature of boundaries created by the City Planners ## Footnote It suggests that their efforts are ultimately insubstantial.

Question 28

What contrast does Atwood create with the terms 'panic' and 'order'?

Answer 28

It highlights the illusion of stability in suburban life ## Footnote The panic exists beneath the surface of the supposedly orderly environment.

Question 29

What does the imagery of 'bland madness of snows' convey?

Answer 29

The surreal contrast between the suburban landscape and underlying chaos ## Footnote It illustrates the oppressive and absurd nature of suburban ideals.

Question 30

How does Atwood's use of natural forces in the poem serve her critique?

Answer 30

It makes the City Planners appear small and their efforts futile ## Footnote Forces like 'glaciers' and 'blizzard' surround them, emphasizing their powerlessness.

Question 31

What structure does the poem 'The City Planners' follow?

Answer 31

Seven stanzas of uneven lines in free verse ## Footnote It does not adhere to a specific pattern of metre or rhyme.

Question 32

How does the irregular structure of the poem reflect its themes?

Answer 32

It represents the chaotic and disjointed nature of the suburban environment ## Footnote This mirrors the eventual disintegration of the planned order.

Question 33

What theme is highlighted by Atwood's use of enjambment in the poem?

Answer 33

Nature versus civilization ## Footnote It contrasts the fluidity of nature with the rigid order of suburban life.

Question 34

What does the imagery of 'sickness lingering' and 'cracks' suggest about suburban areas?

Answer 34

The underlying decay and impermanence of suburban landscapes ## Footnote It indicates that the façade of order is ultimately unsustainable.

Question 35

What aspect of human nature does Atwood critique in 'The City Planners'?

Answer 35

Hubris and arrogance ## Footnote She illustrates the City Planners' irrationality and secrecy in their actions.

Question 36

What does the phrase 'scattered over unsurveyed territories' imply?

Answer 36

A lack of oversight and accountability in urban planning ## Footnote It suggests the City Planners' ignorance of the land they are building upon.

Question 37

What does Atwood suggest about the City Planners' decision-making process?

Answer 37

It is based on whims and personal preferences rather than research ## Footnote This reflects their arrogance in treating the landscape as a blank canvas.

Question 38

What is the significance of the phrase 'slide obliquely into the clay seas'?

Answer 38

It implies the fragility of man-made structures against nature ## Footnote It emphasizes the inevitability of decay and disintegration.

Question 39

What historical context influenced Atwood's writing of 'The City Planners'?

Answer 39

The increase in suburban neighborhoods after World War II ## Footnote This led to demands for mass-produced, uniform housing.