What words in the poem suggest that idea to you? The words "At once began to bawl". How did this man come to think the elephant was "like a wall"? He fell against the animal's huge side, and it made him think of a wall. What was the second man's opinion about the elephant? He thought the animal was "like a spear". Account for that idea. He felt one of the elephant's tusks, and formed his opinion without going any further. And what about the third man? The third man put his hands on the elephant's trunk and felt it all over, but as he did not go any further, he declared that the elephant was "like a snake", because it was the only thing, as far as he knew, that squirmed about as the trunk did. What did the fourth man do? The fourth man felt the big front legs and declared the elephant was "like a tree". Tell us about the fifth man. The fifth man happened to touch the ear. He felt all over it but nowhere else, so he said the elephant was "like a fan". And what had the sixth man to say? The sixth man had caught hold of the elephant's tail, and when he had felt all over it, he declared the elephant was "like a rope". What conclusion did they come to in the end? They didn't come to any conclusion. They argued and argued for a long time, and each man was stubborn and stuck to "his own opinion". GENERALIZATION In what respects were they all alike? 1. Each one felt just one part of the animal and took the part for the whole. 2. Each was in a hurry to give his opinion and did not take time to form a good one. 3. Each man was stubborn and probably refused to feel where the others had felt. If they could be in your place, how would they see themselves? They would see how foolish they had been, and each would see that the others were as nearly right as he himself was. What lesson for ourselves can we learn from this? It teaches us not to be in a hurry in giving our opinions. What do we learn from the dispute mentioned in the last verse? We learn from it that, when our own opinions about anything are firmly fixed, it does no good to argue about the matter. In what way could they have arrived at the same conclusions? If each had done all that each of the others did, they would have agreed about the elephant. In what way were these men really blind? They could not, or would not, see the viewpoint of others. There may be a mental blindness, as well as a physical blindness. Here are two lines that you may memorize, as they fit the lesson very well: