Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
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?
Advertisements
Solution
Initially, when Anil offered to educate him, he thought of it as a bright prospect for himself. He knew that once he could write such as an educated man, there would be no limit to what he could achieve in his field. For him, the motivation behind getting educated was robbing people. However, later, when he had stolen Anil’s money and then missed his train in which he would have escaped, he realized that he had completely forgotten about the whole sentences that Anil had promised to teach him to write. He thought about getting educated in a different light. He thought that it was a simple matter to steal and be caught, but to be a really big, clever and respected man was something else. He was inspired by the trusting and simple nature of Anil. This motivation to earn someone’s trust and be respectable made him return to Anil.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
Why does not Anil hand the thief over to the police? Do you think most people would have done so? In what ways is Anil different from such employers?
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 was grateful ______.
Anil didn’t hand Hari over to the police ______
The moral of the story is ______.
Why did Anil employ Hari as a cook, although he could not afford to pay him?
What did Hari learn from Anil in the beginning?
What tact had Anil used to change Hari’s dishonest ways?
‘And the smile came by itself without any effort.’ Say why. When do people give fake smiles?
Read the following passage and do the activities.
A1. Relate the following qualities with the two characters of the story:
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Narrator | Anil | |
| (1) | ||
| (2) |
| He took to his room over the Jumna Sweet shop and told me I could sleep on the balcony. But the meal I cooked that night must have been terrible because Anil gave it to a stray dog and told me to be off. But I just hung around, smiling in my most appealing way, and he couldn't help laughing. Later, he patted me on the head and said never mind, he'd teach me to cook. He also taught me to write my name and said he would soon teach me to write whole sentences and add numbers. I was grateful. I knew that once I could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve. It was quite pleasant working for Anil. I made the tea in the morning and then would take my time buying the day's supplies, usually making a profit of about a rupee a day. I think he knew I made a little money this way but he did not seem to mind. Anil made money by fits and starts. He would borrow one week, and lend the next. He kept worrying about his next cheque, but as soon as it arrived he would go out and celebrate. It seems he wrote for magazines a queer way to make a living! One evening he came home with a small bundle of notes, saying he had just sold a book to a publisher. At night, I saw him tuck the money under the mattress. |
A2. State whether true or false:
- Anil liked what the narrator cooked.
- Anil taught the narrator to write his name.
- Anil was a wealthy person.
- Anil made money by fits and starts.
A3. Match the words to their meanings.
| (1) Pleasant | Strange |
| (2) Fits and starts | Satisfactory |
| (3) Queer | Give |
| (4) Lend | Irregular bursts of activities |
A4. Do as directed:
Frame 'Wh' questions with reference to the phrases underlined below. (Change the first person pronouns to second person)
- He taught me to write my name.
- I think he knew I made a little money this way but he did not seem to mind.
A5. Give a brief description of Anil and the narrator's characters.
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.
Answer the following in about 100-120 words:
Trust and compassion can reform a person. Justify this statement in the light of the lesson 'The Thief's Story'.
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.
