THE LOST CHILD Q&A

20th May 2020

PLEASE POST YOUR ATTENDANCE:

THE LOST CHILD 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The students will be able to

 summarize the text

 state the theme and answer the questions that follow.

THEME:

 In The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand we have the theme of desire, materialism, connection, kindness, desperation, acceptance and security. Taken from his Selected Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises that Anand may be exploring the theme of desire. The young unnamed boy as he is walking with his parents asks his parents for many things. None of which his parents will buy for him. As to why this may be is uncertain though it may be a case that neither parent wishes to spoil their son.

He willingly accepts the fact that his parents are refusing to buy him the thing that the wants. It is also possible that Anand is placing a spotlight on materialism. The things that the boy wants. Though they may be important to him are not necessarily things that he needs. It is also clear to the reader that the boy wants several things and not just one item.

1. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?

A. On his way to the fair, the child sees the following things- He saw toys that were displayed in the shops lined up on the way and the vast mustard field which seemed like melting gold. There were brightly coloured dragonflies, butterflies and black bees which flapped their wings and sat on the flowers to suck nectar from them.He also saw  little insects and worms along the footpath that were crawling out of the holes in the footpath to get sunshine. The child saw a dove bird in the grove. Also, he saw hordes of people walking towards the fair.

The child often lagged behind because he would watch the different happenings around him. He would get attracted to these things and would stop in his way. Then, his parents would walk ahead and he would be left behind.

2. When does he realise that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and insecurity been described?

A. When the child raised his demand for a ride on the round about, his parents did not reply. He moved his head up to look for them. It was then that he discovered that he had lost his way. His anxiety and insecurity have been described in the following ways-

 The child saw hefty men with murderous eyes and got scared of them and he ran here and there looking for his parents. His turban untied ,his clothes became dirty and he was screaming at the top of his voice.

3. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?

A. The lost child loses interest in the things that he wanted earlier because now he is sad as he has lost his parents. Before getting anything of his choice like sweets, flowers, balloons, joy rides and music, he wants to reunite with his mother and father.

DO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ON YOUR OWN:

Q4.Who helped the child and how?

Q5.Give a suitable ending to the story in 80 words

WRITTEN WORK: ALL QUESTIONS 1 TO 5 TO BE DONE IN THE LITERATURE II NOTEBOOK