On The Face of It Q1. What Is It That Draws Derry Towards MR Lamb in Spite of Himself?

On The Face Of It
Q1. What is it that draws Derry towards Mr Lamb in spite

of himself?
Ans. Both Derry and Mr Lamb suffer from physical impairment. Derry
has one side of his face disfigured and burnt by acid. The old man has a
tin leg because his real leg got blown off during the war. Apart from
these physical disabilities, Derry finds signs of loneliness and
disappointment in Mr Lamb’s life. The old man tries to overcome these
feelings but the sense of alienation felt by him is more painful than the
pain caused by physical disability.
Derry tries to avoid meeting people because they consider his face
frightful and ugly. They avoid him as they are afraid of him. His parents
seem worried about him and talk about him and his future.
Mr Lamb provides him a new approach to things. He tells him to see,
hear, feel and think about things around him. He should not hate others.
Hatred is worse than acid because it bums the inside. He has all the God-
given limbs. He must take a firm decision and work towards it. He will
succeed. He should not be afraid of people and they will not be afraid of
him. All these factors draw Derry towards Mr Lamb.
Q2. 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?
Ans. It is in the middle section of the first scene of the play that Mr
Lamb displays signs of loneliness and disappointment. He says that
when it is a bit cooler, he will get the ladder and a stick, and pull down
those crab apples. He makes jelly. Derry could help him. Then he says
he is interested in anybody or anything that God made. It may be a
person, flower, fruit, grass, weeds or rubbish. There are plenty of things
to look at. Some of them are his crab apples or the weeds or a spider
climbing up a silken ladder or his tall sun-flowers. He also likes to talk
and have a company. He has a hive of bees. He hears them singing. He
sits in the sun and reads books. He likes the light and the darkness. He
hears the wind coming through open windows. There aren’t any curtains
at the windows as they either shut things out or shut things in. These are
the ways in which Mr Lamb tries to overcome his loneliness.
Q3. 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?
Ans. The play ‘On The Face Of It’ focuses our attention on the physical
pain and mental anguish of the persons suffering from some physical
impairment. The playwright, Susan Hill, presents the two
leading‘characters—an old man and a small boy—having different sorts
of physical disabilities.
The old man has a tin leg. It did hurt him when it came off. Then he got
used to it. He feels pain now and then in wet weather. He finds it
inconvenient to run, to climb a tree or a ladder. He lives all alone in a
big house with a garden.
The boy has one side of his face badly burnt by acid. He felt the physical
pain then. After discharge from hospital, he feels hurt at the attitude of
the people. They regard his face as horrible and ugly, show signs of
being scared and avoid his presence. In short, he is disliked, if not hated.
He is not accepted as an ordinary member of society. So, he does not
like people to look at him.
It is clear that the sense of alienation that these disabled persons feel
causes them constant pain. Such persons expect kind and considerate
behaviour from others. They do not want tears, sympathy or pity. They
dislike being pointed at, nicknamed, mocked at or made a fun •: of. They
only demand a reasonable bahaviour from others, full of appreciation of
their difficulties.
Q4. 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. (Two different answers are possible. One is being given below)
Derry will not get back to his old seclusion. He has been associated with
Mr Lamb for a short time only, but even this brief association will effect
a change in the kind of life he will lead in future. Instead of being
conscious of what people comment about the ugliness of his face, he will
use his head and heart to achieve what he decides to do in life. It is also
possible that with his firm determination and zeal to achieve his aim, he
might do better than the rest, even those who do not suffer from any
physical impairment.
By his persuasive manner and skilful use of anecdotes, Mr Lamb
convinces Derry that a life of seclusion and withdrawal from the world
is dull as well as risky. The world has many beautiful objects to see and
admire, sounds to hear and ideas to think. One should have an open
mind and positive attitude. Hatred is worse than acid.
Derry’s mother tries her best to keep Derry with her. But Derry resolves
to go back to Mr Lamb to look at things and listen to him. He no longer
cares about his face. What he thinks and feels, and what he wants to see
and find out and hear is more important. He does not want to remain at
his home. He has got clear perception of things. If he does not go back
there, he will never go anywhere in that world again. In short, Derry’s
coming back to Mr Lamb is indicative of the change in the kind of fife
he is likely to lead in future.

On The Face of It Q1. What Is It That Draws Derry Towards MR Lamb in Spite of Himself?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

On The Face of It Q1. What Is It That Draws Derry Towards MR Lamb in Spite of Himself?

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

On The Face of It Q1. What Is It That Draws Derry Towards MR Lamb in Spite of Himself?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

On The Face Of It

Q1. What is it that draws Derry towards Mr Lamb in spite

Q2. In which section of the play does Mr Lamb display signs

Q3. The actual pain or inconvenience caused by a physical

Q4. Will Derry get back to his old seclusion or will Mr

You might also like