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प्रश्न
Fiction writers prefer creating grey characters rather than black and white. Analyse this in detail, with reference to both the characters of The Thief’s Story.
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उत्तर
Introduction - Both characters in ‘The thief’s story’ are neither completely black (negative) or white (ideal) as both of them have redeeming qualities as well as those that need improvement. Therefore, the story reveals both their personas as grey. (mix of both black and white). Let us look at the natures of these characters individually.
i. Hari Singh
- He was a thief who was artful and too smart for his age.
- He fooled his victims and police with the help of his mind and wasn’t ashamed of lying and stealing.
- Also, he made no efforts to confess that he had given in to the temptation of stealing the notes.
- However, his nature changed due to love, affection, and Anil's trust.
- Therefore, the character of Hari Singh is not a flat character who is either black or white.
ii. Anil -
- While we can admire Anil for his qualities such as him being helpful and simple, he also had certain negative or ‘not ideal’ qualities such as -
- He was easily trusting and forgave the thief
- He never uttered a word despite knowledge of the theft.
- He was also casual about money and ignored Hari Singh’s pilfering.
- Therefore, even the character of Anil is not a flat character who is either black or white.
Conclusion - Grey characters present a challenge to the readers, allow a sense of unpredictability and present a moral challenge. Hari Singh and Anil are created as grey characters.
Notes
Marking Scheme
Content - 3, Expression - 2, Accuracy - 1
Curriculum document - Questions to assess creativity, imagination and extrapolation beyond the text and across the texts. This can be a passage-based question/ or taken from a situation/plot from the texts.
Note -
- Use the given descriptors to mark the LQs. For Content (refer to Value points) and Expression.
- If the response does not justify all points of a level, the response is marked down.
| Descriptors for Content (with reference to value points) | Marks |
|
• Sustained, clear, well-developed personal response to the task |
3 |
|
• Largely, a reasonably well-developed personal response to the task |
2 |
| • Fairly competent personal response to the task • Justification with restricted arguments/evidence |
1 |
|
• Limited awareness of the task |
½ |
| Descriptors for Expression (Coherence & Cohesion) | Marks |
|
• Carefully structured content with a beginning, middle and end with highly relevant ideas presented cohesively. |
2 |
|
• Ideas are generally well sequenced and related to the given topic maintaining overall cohesion of ideas. |
1½ |
| • Ideas sequenced fairly well and related to the given topic, sometimes maintaining cohesion of ideas. • Range of vocabulary is limited and conveys a basic idea of the overall meaning |
1 |
|
• Poor sequencing of ideas; though related to the given topic, expressed in a disjointed manner exhibiting a lack of coherence of ideas. |
½ |
| Descriptors for Accuracy | Marks |
|
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar are almost always or mostly accurate with occasional minor errors which do not impede communication |
1 |
|
• Spelling, punctuation, and grammar are fairly accurate, with some minor errors that mildly impede communication |
½ |
| • A lot of errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar that impede communication. | 0 |
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Does Anil realize that he has been robbed?
What are Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change over time? (Hint: compare, for example, the thought: “I knew that once I could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve” with these later thoughts: ‘Whole sentences, I knew, cloud one day bring me more than a few hundred rupees. It was a simple matter to steal − and sometimes just as simple to be caught. But to be a really big man, a clever and respected man, was something else.”) What makes him return to Anil?
Complete the web diagram.
Pick out from the story 3 or 4 examples of Code-mixing (Indian words used in English).
Read the story carefully and complete the table:
| Total no. of characters | Names | Age | Physical appearance | Earned money by | Qualities |
| ......... | ......... | ........... | ........... | ........... | |
| ......... | ......... | ........... | ........... | ........... |
Anil kept Hari as a cook because ______.
Hari continued making money ______
Anil didn’t hand Hari over to the police ______
Think and write in your own words in your notebook.
Why did Anil employ Hari as a cook, although he could not afford to pay him?
Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.
Why didn’t Anil hand over Hari to the police? What effect would it have had on Hari?
Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.
Do you feel Anil’s way of handling a thief like Hari was effective? Justify your answer.
Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.
‘And the smile came by itself without any effort.’ Say why. When do people give fake smiles?
Write a character sketch of ‘Hari Singh’ with the help of the following points, using the paragraph format.
|
Hari Singh’s background His dishonesty His aspirations His courage to change himself |
Imagine that Hari Singh from ‘The Thief’s Story’ by Ruskin Bond, writes a diary entry, exploring the theme of human values and relations that are essential in life and can transform a person in the context of his own experience. Write this diary entry as Hari Singh.
