CBSE Class 12 English On The Face Of It Worksheet Set C

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Why is Derry startled as soon as he enters the garden?
Answer: Derry, a boy of fourteen, climbs over the boundary to enter Mr. Lamb’s garden assuming it to be empty. Mr. Lamb’s ‘Mind the Apples’ startled Derry.

Question. Why does Derry want to go home as soon as he comes face to face with Mr. Lamb?
Answer: Derry thought the garden was an empty place and had come out of curiosity. On seeing Mr. Lamb, Derry wanted to go home because he felt that Mr. Lamb like other people would find his face repulsive and frightful.

Question. Why does Derry feel that Mr. Lamb had changed the subject?
Answer: Derry feels that Mr. Lamb had changed the subject because he was afraid to ask him about his burnt face. Others had also done this before. He felt that people merely pretended the physical impairment wasn’t there.

Question. What is Mr. Lamb’s response to Derry saying that the tin leg did not trouble him?
Answer: Derry feels that Mr. Lamb can cover up his tin leg and people would not even get to know. Mr. Lamb replies that if he got affected, people would still make fun of him. One has to stop bothering about people and their reaction to one’s disability.

Question. Why do people’s consolations fail to console Derry?
Answer: Derry feels that he is too ugly to be consoled. He has been advised to take inspiration from those who have been blinded, born deaf, invalid or mentally retarded. Since Derry has none of these disabilities, he should realise that he was more fortunate than them. He feels sermons cannot make his face change to a handsome one.

Question. Why does Mr. Lamb narrate the story of a man who locked himself in a room because he was afraid?
Answer: Mr. Lamb told Derry a story of a man who was afraid of everything in the world. He went into his room and locked the door. A picture fell off the wall on his head and killed him. He narrated this story to make Derry realize that building a wall around him would not help. Derry needed to shed his fears and live life.

Question. Comment on the ending of the play ‘On the Face of it’.
Answer: Mr. Lamb who lived a full life in spite of a disability and loneliness helps Derry overcome his fears. He falls down exactly as Derry had said he would earlier in the play. Mr. Lamb has left the reformed Derry to complete the good work he had started. Even though the ending appears sad there is hope in the form of young Derry.

Question. What is the bond that unites the two – Mr. Lamb, the old man, and Derry, the young boy?
Answer: Mr. Lamb and fourteen-year-old Derry suffer from physical impairment. The old man has a tin leg because he got one of his legs blown off in the war. Derry has one side of his face disfigured and burnt by acid. It is the feeling of empathy that creates the bond. Mr. Lamb draws Derry out and infuses positivity into him giving him the courage to believe in himself as a person.

Question. How does Mr. Lamb react when Derry enters his garden?
Answer: Derry entered Mr. Lamb’s garden by climbing over the garden wall. He had thought that it was an empty place. He didn’t know there was anybody there. He just wanted to be in a secluded place. On seeing Mr. Lamb Derry was startled. He clarified that he didn’t enter to steal anything. Mr. Lamb tried to comfort Derry and allay his fear by saying that anybody could enter the garden. He asked him to pick up ripe apples lying in the long grass.

Question. Why does Derry enter Mr. Lamb’s garden?
Answer: Derry thought there was no one in Mr. Lamb’s garden. He did not come to steal apples but out of curiosity.

Question. Why does Derry not like being with people?
Answer: When people looked at Derry’s face they found it repulsive. They thought it was the ugliest thing they had ever seen. Some were afraid of what they saw. Derry did not like being with people who reminded him of his scars. He spurned people because he felt rejected and unloved.

Question. What peculiar things does Derry notice about the old man?
Answer: Derry felt Mr. Lamb had no friends and lived a lonely life. He had no curtains. He was not fond of shutting things in. He liked the light and the darkness. He also liked to hear the wind and listen to bees singing.

Question. What made Derry decide to go to the old man?
Answer: Derry decided to go to the old man because he had promised him that he would come. Mr. Lamb had helped him add a new meaning to his life. It was no longer about his face and looks but about what he thought. He no longer wanted to shun people. Derry knew that if he didn’t go back, he’d never go anywhere in this world again.

Question. Why does Derry’s mother oppose his going back to Mr. Lamb?
Answer: Derry’s mother has heard things about the old man. Though they have been here for only three months, she had been warned. She wants to protect Derry.

Question.  What terrible complex did Derry suffer from?
Answer: One side of Derry’s face was severely burnt by acid. Nobody liked him or befriended him. They were repulsed by his ugly face and avoided him. He withdrew on account of this and avoided people.

Question. Why did kids call Mr. Lamb ‘Lamey-Lamb’? How does he feel about it?
Answer: Mr. Lamb had an artificial leg. His limb had been blown off in a bomb explosion. The street children called him Lamey-Lamb. It no longer troubled him as he had come to terms with his disability.

Question. What arguments does Derry give to convince his mother why he wanted to go to the old man’s garden?
Answer: Derry told his mother that Mr. Lamb had a tin leg. He lived in a huge house with no curtains. Derry wanted to be in Mr. Lamb’s garden and listen to things that matter. Things nobody else had ever said. Things he wanted to think about. He added it was nothing to do with his face but about what he felt.

Question. How does Mr. Lamb keep himself busy when it is a bit cool?
Answer: When it got cooler, Mr. Lamb kept himself busy by getting the ladder and a stick to pull down the ripe crab apples. He made jelly out of them.

Question. What is the attitude of Mr. Lamb to Derry who comes to his garden?
Answer: Mr. Lamb is gentle and friendly. He is not repulsed by Derry’s appearance and tells him to mind the crab apples. He urges Derry to stay on.

Question.  ‘We’re not the same’, says Derry. How does Mr. Lamb try and convince him that there is no essential difference between them?
Answer: Mr. Lamb tells Derry, that despite apparent differences, they are the same. They have life and are growing. Both of them have a physical disability. The differences are superficial and unimportant.

Question. Why is one green plant called a ‘weed’ and another ‘flower’?
Answer: Mr. Lamb says there is no difference between a weed and a flower. They are variations of the same life which is all important. They are both growing and they both represent life – developing or growing with Mr. Lamb and Derry. There is inherent oneness in God’s creation.

Question. What did Derry feel about the conversation the two women had at the bus stop?
Answer: Derry once overheard a woman who went by him when he was at a bus stop whisper about him. She told the other woman that his face was a terrible thing. It was a face only a mother could love. Derry felt it was a cruel thing to say and it upset him very much.

Question. Why did Mr. Lamb leave his gate always open?
Answer: Mr. Lamb was a lonely man. The gate was always open. People would often come in. Kids came for the crab apples and for toffee. Mr. Lamb was not afraid of anything and he did not mind strangers entering his house or garden.

Question. How does Derry interpret the fairy story ‘Beauty and the Beast’? What does he feel about himself?
Answer: The story about the inner beauty being more important than the outer appearance has often been narrated to Derry. The beast in the story changed into a handsome prince. Derry feels his situation will never change. No one kissed him, not even his mother. She only kissed him on the other side of the face.

Question. What kind of garden does Mr. Lamb have? Why does he like it?
Answer: Mr. Lamb’s garden was an empty, unkempt garden where both weeds and flowering plants grew side by side. There was a crab apple tree which was laden with ripe, red and orange fruits. There was also a beehive. The gate always remained open. Lamb enjoyed talking to anyone who cared to walk in. The garden was a source of solace to his lonely life. He enjoyed the sunshine and living in the lap of nature.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Compare and contrast the characters of Mr. Lamb and Derry.
Answer: Both Mr. Lamb and Derry suffer from physical impairment. Mr. Lamb has an artificial leg made of tin and Derry has a severely burnt face – both the experiences have been terribly painful for the respective sufferers Apart from this Mr. Lamb does not bother about his lameness or that children make fun of him. He takes life as it come without grumbling.
He keeps the gates of his house and windows open. Mr. Lamb loves all the creatures of God and states, ‘There’s nothing God made that doesn’t interest me’. Weeds and flowers demonstrate life and growth. If one isolates oneself, one might suffer like the man in Mr. Lamb’s story who died when a picture fell off the wall and killed him. Derry on the other hand is a young boy of fourteen who is conscious of his ugly face and is full of bitterness. Derry is withdrawn and complexed. He hates meeting people. He suffers on account of the pain caused by his notions of how much people hate him and are repulsed by him. Derry is forced by Mr. Lamb to see that actions are more important than looks and even weeds have their value. Mr. Lamb’s positive attitude changes Derry and inspires him to rush back and face the world.

Question. What is the theme of the play ‘On the Face of it’? How has it been worked out?
Answer: On the Face of it’ deals with the theme that appearances are deceptive. Derry’s mother has been warned about Mr. Lamb and Derry is seen as a repulsive, ugly boy. Mr. Lamb, on the contrary, is a kind and generous man who has a positive and practical outlook. Derry is a vulnerable boy who desires love and acceptance.
The play also deals with the consequences of physical impairment on the person’s emotions. People need love and not pity. This theme has been brought out through the positive attitude of Mr. Lamb who draws Derry out of his shell. He tells Derry that acid only burns the face but isolation and withdrawing from the world consumes the whole being. Mr. Lamb illustrates that scars do not change a person. On the face of it, people may appear differently abled but they are all the same. They are God’s creations like the weeds and the flowers. It is life. The theme has been woven into the play through the interaction of the two characters.