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On The Face of It Theme
The writer Susan Hill is known to explore the inner fears, loneliness, and hopes of her characters in her plays. Her works also reflect honest suffering with optimism. Similarly in this play ‘On the face of it’ the fears of being isolated and discarded from the mainstream of society on the part of the physically handicapped, are voiced. The story is a poignant one. Many times appearances are deceptive (भ्रामक) and we form preconceived notions about people without knowing them in reality.
Mr. Lamb has a tin leg, he is always ready to welcome everyone. He keeps his doors and windows open to invite people into his garden and house. But despite his outward bravado, he is also lonely and normal. People hardly make any effort to befriend him. ‘On the face of it’, Derek (Derry) also appears to be an angry, defiant1, and ugly boy who is hated by others. He reciprocates this feeling by hating others equally. It is sad that when he makes an effort to come out of his shell, he is confronted by the loss of Mr. Lamb, who had inspired him.
The play also highlights the fact that a sense of alienation2 and rejection is more painful than physical impairment. Moreover, the writer constantly harps3 upon the philosophy through Mr Lamb, that scars do not change a person and handicaps must be accepted in life.
On the Face of It Summary
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On The Face of It Question Answers
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Q.1. Who is Mr. Lamb? How does Derry get into his garden?
Ans. Mr. Lamb is an old man. He lives in a big house and has a garden of his own. He has a tin leg. One of his legs was blown off in the war. Derry gets into his garden not to steal or pick up apples. He likes the place and thinks that nobody is inside it. He climbs over the garden wall and comes inside.
Q.2. Do you think all this will change Derry’s attitude towards Mr Lamb?
Answer. Certainly, Mr Lamb will leave a deep impression on the mind of young Derry. Derry suffers from a complex because of his burnt face. Mr. Lamb motivates him to think positively about life, people, and things. Derry comes back to Mr Lamb. Though his mother tries to prevent him from going there.
Q. 3 What is it that draws Derry towards Mr Lamb in spite of himself?
Ans. Derry is a young boy who suffers from a sense of inferiority complex4. He has a burnt face. This makes him lonely and withdrawn. He avoids men and their company. He can’t stand their uncharitable remarks. He comes to Mr. Lamb’s garden in search of loneliness. He meets Mr Lamb. It is a meeting of two minds with totally opposite views. Derry is withdrawn. Mr Lamb is very social. He is ever ready to welcome anyone who enters his garden. Mr Lamb has a tin leg. One of his legs was blown off in the war. Children tease him by calling him “Lamey-Lamb”. But he doesn’t mind it.
Derry takes time to open up before Mr Lamb. But he finds a patient listener in him. Mr. Lamb accepts life as it comes. He is always cheerful and tries to comfort others.
Mr. Lamb leaves the stamp of his personality on Derry. He shows the young boy the ways of the world. He motivates him to move forward in life. He should stop caring what others say about his face. Locking oneself up in the room and closing eyes from the world is no solution.
Q 4. In which section of the play does Mr. Lamb display signs of loneliness and disappointment? What are the ways in which Mr. Lamb tries to overcome these feelings?
Answer– Mr. Lamb has a positive outlook toward life, people, and things. He accepts life as it comes. He lives alone. But rarely he displays signs of loneliness and disappointment. He has a tin leg. One of his legs was blown off in the war. When Derry asks: “Does your leg hurt you?”, Mr Lamb answers philosophically. He confesses that his leg pains now and then, particularly in wet weather. Loneliness and disappointment don’t find any place in the philosophy of his life.
Mr Lamb tries to overcome his loneliness by opening his heart to others. Whosoever comes, is welcome. He takes everything in his stride. He “likes to talk”. “He wants to have company.” He has “friends everywhere”. Everybody knows him. Kids come for the apples and pears and for toffees. There is nothing that doesn’t interest him. He enjoys sitting in the sun and reading books. Life means growing to him. He grows apples, pears, weeds, and flowers. So such a person never feels lonely and disappointed.
Q 5. The actual pain or inconvenience caused by a physical impairment is often much less than the sense of alienation felt by the person with disabilities. What is the kind of behaviour that the person expects from others?
Answer. It is quite true. The actual pain or inconvenience caused by a physical impairment can be quite painful. But the sense of alienation is much more painful. The real pain comes from the people. Their reactions towards disabled persons are never normal and human. People are either very cruel or they tend to be extra soft towards them. The results are offending in both cases. Equally hurting are the unwanted comforting lies aimed at consoling them. Derry is suffering from a sense of inferiority complex. He can’t face the world as it is. He avoids people. He likes to be lonely and withdrawn. He is totally alienated. He feels that no one can love and kiss him.
A physically impaired person expects normal behaviour. He needs a human touch. Uncharitable remarks offend him. But he doesn’t want to be an object of pity either. Only a balanced and human attitude as adopted by Mr Lamb towards Derry, can comfort him.
Q.6. Will Derry get back to his old seclusion or will Mr Lamb’s brief association effect a change in the kind of life he will lead in the future?
Ans. Before meeting Mr Lamb, Derry had quite a negative attitude towards life and people. He had shut himself in his own self. He was totally alienated. His burnt face had created a deep sense of inferiority complex in him. He avoided meeting and interacting with the people. He felt offended by their cruel and uncharitable remarks.
Derry’s brief association with Mr Lamb proves to be quite rewarding. Mr. Lamb teaches him how to look at life, people, and things. Mr Lamb himself was a physically impaired person. One of his legs was blown off in the war. He had a tin leg. Children teased him by calling him “Lamey-Lamb”. He still loved them. He enjoyed meeting people. He loved reading books. He grew weeds and flowers. He distributed toffees to children. His attitude towards life was totally positive and productive.
Derry will never get back to his old seclusion. His burnt face will no longer eat away his self-respect, and confidence. He will learn gradually to find his place in the mainstream of life.
On The Face of It Extra Questions
Q. 1. Why does Derry say: “…. I’m not afraid. People are afraid of me?”
Ans. Derry suffers from a complex. Most of the physically impaired persons suffer from such a complex. He becomes withdrawn and defiant. He has got a burnt face. People find his face very terrible. They get scared when they look at his horrible face. So he is not afraid of the people but they are afraid of him.
Q. 2. Why did Derry come into Mr. Lamb’s garden? Why was he startled? (A.I. CBSE 2008)
Ans. Derry told Mr Lamb that he didn’t enter the garden to steal anything. He thought it was an empty place. He didn’t know if anybody was living there. He was startled to find Mr Lamb suddenly coming near and speaking to him. Derry asked in disbelief and surprise: “What?… Who’s there?”
Q. 3. According to Derry, what do people think and say about him? (A.I. CBSE 2008)
Ans. Derry thought that people were afraid of his burnt face. It was a terrible thing. No one would ever kiss him except his mother. When people stared at him, he felt they were afraid of him. This made him withdrawn5. He tried to avoid meeting people. Derry thought he was as ugly as a ‘devil’ and people thought him so.
Q. 4. How did Derry get his face burnt?
Ans. One side of Derry’s face was totally burnt. Mr Lamb guessed that Derry’s face got burned in a fire. Derry corrected him. He got acid all down on that side of his face. The acid burned it all the way. It ate his face up.
Q. 5. Why does Derry tell Mr Lamb that he is afraid of seeing himself in the mirror in the story “On the Face of It”? (CBSE Sample Paper)
Ans. Derry got acid all down on one side of his face. The acid burnt it all away. Whenever he looks at his face in the mirror, it looks terrible and very ugly. He is afraid of seeing himself in the mirror. He suffers from a complex and becomes withdrawn and defiant. He thinks that people too are scared when they look at his horrible face.
Q. 6. “I’m interested in anybody. Anything. There is nothing that God made that doesn’t interest me.” Do these words truly reflect Mr. Lamb’s character?
Ans. Mr Lamb is a man with a positive attitude towards life and people. He is not an escapist like Derry. He is also a physically disabled person. But the matter ends here only. He has a zest for life. He loves people. He loves growing weeds, collecting honey, and making jelly. He is always interested in anybody and anything.
Q 7. Why does Mr. Lamb have a tin leg?
Ans. Mr Lamb has a tin leg. One of his legs was blown off in the war. He has to walk an artificial tin leg. But Mr. Lamb doesn’t feel like a physically handicapped person. Nor does he suffer from any inferiority complex. Children call him “Lamey Lamb” but he doesn’t mind it
Q.8. What was the fate of the man who locked himself up in his room? Why does Mr. Lamb give this example?
Ans. There was a man who was afraid of everything. A bus might run over him. A donkey might kick him to death. So he went into his room. He locked himself there. A picture fell off the wall onto his head and killed him. Mr Lamb doesn’t want Derry to alienate himself. It can be dangerous. the door and stayed
Q.9. “I’m not fond of curtains. Shutting things out,” says Mr Lamb. How do these words reveal Mr. Lamb’s personality?
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Why does Mr Lamb leave his gate open? CBSE 2011
Ans. Mr Lamb’s physical disability doesn’t crush his openness and large-heartedness. He is not alienated from the mainstream of life like Derry. On the other hand, he keeps his house and heart open to people. Anybody can enter his garden. He is not fond of curtains. He doesn’t believe in shutting things out. So he keeps his gate open for all.
Q. 10. What kind of world will it be if all the physically disabled start living together to avoid people staring at them?
Ans, Derry believes in withdrawal and escapism. He wants to live where no one may stare and pass cruel remarks at him. The blind ought to be with the blind people and the idiot boys with the idiots. Mr Lamb doesn’t believe in such segregation6 It will not be a pleasant and healthy world.
Q.11. “Once you got home, you’d never let yourself come back,” says Mr. Lamb to Derry, Is he right in his assessment?
Ans. Mr Lamb says that once Derry gets home, he will never let himself come back. People say but never come back. But Derry says that he will come back. Mr Lamb should wait for him. Derry does come back. His mother tries to hold him back but he comes back to Mr Lamb.
Q. 12. What peculiar things does Derry notice about the old man, Mr Lamb? (CBSE 2012)
Ans. Derry notices certain peculiar things about the old man, Mr. Lamb. He has got a tin leg. The real leg got blown off years back in the war. But Mr. Lamb doesn’t allow his physical disability to come in the way of enjoying his life fully. He keeps his gates and garden open for the kids. They are not afraid of him. He likes to learn things. Kids come for apples, pears, and toffees. He has an open heart that welcomes all. He has developed a positive attitude towards life, people, and things.
Q. 13. Why does Derry’s mother warn him not to go to meet Mr Lamb?
Ans. Derry’s mother claims to have heard many things about Mr Lamb. She has been told and warned by the people. She asks Derry not to go back there. Derry asks her not to believe all she hears. He is determined to go there,
Q. 14. Why doesn’t Derry stay to help Mr. Lamb get crab apples? ( CBSE 2008)
Ans. Derry can’t stay to help Me Lamb to get crab apples. He had been away from home for long. His mother must be worried. She wanted to know where he was. His home was at a 589
distance of three miles across the fields. He was fourteen but still, his mother wanted to know where her son was.
Q. 15. Why does Derry go back to Mr Lamb?
Ans. Derry is determined to go back to Mr Lamb. Mr. Lamb says “things nobody else has ever said”. Moreover, he has promised Mr Lamb to come back to him. He wants to prove that he has fulfilled his promise. Mr Lamb has given him a new meaning of life. So he is coming to meet him again.
Q. 16. How does Mr Lamb’s brief association with Derry affect the latter? (CBSE 2012)
Ans. Mr Lamb’s brief association with Derry affects the latter quite deeply. He learns from Lamb that disabilities should not be allowed to sour and distort our lives. He develops a positive attitude towards life and people. He doesn’t care about his face now. Nor does he bother what people think of him. It is what he thinks and feels that is important for him. Mr Lamb’s brief association makes Derry mentally strong and confident to face the world as it is.
Q. 17. What is the bond that unites the two, old man, Mr Lamb and Derry, the small boy?
Ans. The old man, Mr. Lamb, and the small boy, Derry, have differences in age, attitude, and behaviour. Mr Lamb is open to all and has a positive attitude to life and things. Derry is withdrawn and suffers from a complex that he has a horrible and ugly face. However, there is a bond that unites the two. Both of them are victims of terrible accidents. Lamb got one of his legs blown off and Derry got one side of his face burnt as acid fell on it. These physical deformations unite the two in spite of their age difference.
Q. 18. Has Derry overcome the complex regarding his burnt face? How?
Ans. Derry feels bad when people talk about his face. But now Derry is not the same person. He has overcome his inferiority complex. Nor does he care what he looks like. It is not important for him now. He is going back to Mr Lamb only to look at things like him.
Q. 19. Describe the message that the play ‘On The Face of It’ conveys to the readers.
Ans. The one-act-play ‘On The Face of It’ conveys a definite message. Life has to be lived. We should always be within the mainstream of life. We should not allow ourselves to be alienated. Nor should we suffer from a complex if we are physically challenged. We should accept life as it comes.
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