On the face of it class 12 Explanation Difficult words Question and Answer
On the face of it by
Susan Hill
On the face of it class 12
On the face of it class 12 Introduction
the play is about an old man with a tin leg and a young boy with a burnt face the play starts with derry, the young boy stealthily entering into Mr, lamb’s garden by jumping over the wall A dialogue starts between the two and Mr, lamb realizes that derry is bitter lonely and depressed he avoids people as he feels they do not behave normally with him due to his burnt face Mr, lamb understand derry and his anguish and doesn’t get angry with him even though derry is rude towards him he makes derry realize that being handicapped is not a drawback he himself and a tin leg but he had learnt to cope with the indifference and cruelty of others, Mr lamb opens the world to derry by telling him to wait watch and listen, initally derry was very suspicious of Mr, lamb but towards the end derry has love and admiration for him he is ready to face the world and finds courage and strength to get what he wants derry goes back to Mr, lamb is no he has fallen off a ladder while picking apples,
On the face of it class 12 Point to Remember
- Mr, Lamb is sitting all alone in his garden
- suddenly derry entered the garden thinking no one was inside the house,
- Derry is scared to see Mr, lamb sitting in the garden
- Mr, lamb told him that his gates were always open for all people
- Mr, lamb assured him, that he could stay there if he wanted to sit there
- derry told him that people were afraid of his burnt face and hated him
- Mr, lamb convinced him that both of them were similar as both of them faced a disability ,
- Mr, lamb also told him that he should not bother about what others say,
- Derry was impressed by the positive thoughts of Mr, lamb
- Gradually derry was able to realise that he too was better than people
On the face of it class 12 characters
- Derry–Teenage boy with burnt face
- Mr, lamb–disabled oldman
On the face of it class 12 Explanations
Before you read
This is a play featuring an old man and a small boy meeting in the former’s garden the old man strikes up a friendship with the boy who is very withdrawn and defiant what is the bond that unties the two?’
Mr, lamb’s garden there is the occasional sound of birdsong and of tree leaves rustling derry’s footsteps are heard as he walks slowly and tentatively through the long grass, he pauses then walks on again he comes round a screen of bushes so that when Mr, lamb speaks to him he is close at hand and derry is starled
Mr lamb: Mind the apples!
Derry: what? who’s that? who’s there?
Mr lamb: lamb’s my name mind the apples crab apples those are windfalls in the long grass you could trip
Derry: I..there I thought this was an empty place I didn’t know there was anybody here–
Mr, lamb: that’s all right I m here what are you afraid of boy? that’s all right
Derry: I though it was empty ..an empty house
Mr lamb: so it is since I m out here in the garden it is empty until I go back inside In the meantime I, m out here and likely to stop A day like this beautiful day, Not a day to be indoors
Derry: [panic] I”ve got to go
Mr lamb: Not on my account I don’t mind who comes into the garden the gate’s always open only you climbed the garden wall
Derry: [Angry] you were watching me
Mr lamb: I say you but the gate’s open all welcome you’re
Mr lamb : that’s all right I m here what are you afraid of boy?” that’s all right
Derry: I though it was empty an empty house
Mr, lamb: so it is since I m out here in the garden it is empty until I go back inside In the meantime Im out here and likely to stop A day like this beautiful day, not a day to be indoors,
Derry: [panic]I”ve got to go
Mr lamb: Not on my account I don’t mind who comes into the garden the gate’s always open only you climbed the garden wall,
Derry: [Angry] you were watching me,
Mr lamb: I saw you but the gate’s open all welcome you”re welcome I sit here, I like sitting
Derry: I”d not come to steal anything
Mr lamb: No no the young lads steal scrump the apples, you re” not so young
Derry: I just wanted to come in Into the garden
Mr lamb: so you did here we are then,
Derry: you don’t know who I am
Mr, ;lamb: A boy thirteen or so
Derry: fourteen [panic] but I”ve got to go now good bye
Mr lamb: Nothing to be afraid of just a garden just me
Derry: But I m not –I,m not afraid [pause] people are afraid of me
Mr lamb: why should that be?
Derry: Everyone is it doesn’t matter who they are or what they say or how they took how they pretend I know I can see,
Mr lamb: see waht?
Derry: what they think,
Mr lamb : what do they think then?
Derry: You think here’s a boy you look at me and then you see my face and you think that’s bad that’s a terrible thing that’s the ugliest thing I ever saw you think poor boy but I”m not , not poor underneath you are afraid anybody would be I:”a m when I look in the mirror and see it I”m afraid of me
Mr lamb: No not the whole of you not of you
Derry: yes [pause]
On the face of it class 12
Mr lamb: later on when it’s a bit cooler I”II get the ladder and a stick and pull down those crab apples they’re ripe for it I make jelly it’s a good time of years september look at them.. Orange and golden, that’s magic fruit I often say but it’s best picked and made into jelly you could give me a hand,
Derry: what have you changed the subject for? people always do that why don’t you ask me? why do you do what they all do and pretend it isn’t true and isn’t there?in case I see you looking and mind and get upset? I”II tell you don’t ask me because you’re afraid to
Mr lamb : you want me to ask say so then
Derry: I don’t like being with people any people
Mr lamb: I should say to look at it I should say you got burned in a fire,
Derry: Not in a fire I got acid down that side of my face and it burned it all away it ate my face up it ate me up and now it’s like this and it won’t ever be any different,
Mr lamb: No
Derry: Aren’t you interested ?
Mr lamb: you re a boy who came into the garden plenty do, I”m interested in anybody anything there’s nothing god made that doesn’t interest me look over there–over beside the far wall what can you see?
Derry Rubbish Mr lamb Rubbish? look boy look what do yo see? Derry just grass and stuff weeds mr lamb some call them weeds if you like then a weed garden that there’s fruit and there are flowers and trees and herbs all sorts but over there weeds I grow weeds there why is one green growing plant called a weed and another flower?” where’s the difference, it’s all life —growing same as you and ,me,
Derry we’re not the same mr lamb real one got blown off years back lamey-lamb some kids say haven’t you heard them? you will lamey-lamb it fits doesn’t trouble me derry but you can put on trousers and cover it up and no one sees they don’t have to notice and stare mr lamb some do some don’t they get tired of it in the end there;s plenty of other things to stare at derry like my face
derry like my face me lamb it’s all relative beauty and the beast derry what’s that supposed to mean? me lamb you tell me derry you needn’t think they haven’t all told me that fairy story before, it’s not what you look like it’s what you are inside handsome is as handsome does beauty loved the monstrous beast for himself and when she kissed him he changed into a handsome prince only he wouldn’t he’d have stayed a monstrous beast I won ;t change
Mr lamb In that way? no you won’t derry and no one”II kiss me over only my mother and she kisses me on the other side of my face, and I don’t like my mother to kiss me she does it because she has to why should I like that? I don’t care if nobody ever kisses me , mr lamb ah but do you care if you never kiss them,
On the face of it class 12
derry who’d let me? not one me lamb who can tell. Derry I won’t ever look different when I”m as old as you I”II look the same I”II still only have half a face, mr lamb so you will but the world won’t the world’s got a whole face and the world’s there to be looked at derry do you think this is the world? this old garden ? me lamb when I”m here not the only one but the world as much as anywhere,
Derry: Does your leg hurt you?
Mr lamb: Tin doesn’t hurt boy?
Derry: when it came off did it?
Mr lamb certainly derry and now i Mean where the tin stops at the top? Mr lamb now and then In wet weather it doesn’t signify derry, Oh that’s something else they all say look at all those people who are in pain and brave and never cry and never complain and don’t feel sorry for themselves
Mr lamb I haven’t said it derry and think of all those people worse off than you think you might have been blinded or born deaf, or have to live in a wheelchair or be daft in your head and dribble, mr lamb and that’s all true and you know it derry it won’t make my face change do you know one day, a woman went by me in the street —-i was at a bus stop and she was with another woman and she looked at me and she said… whispered only I heard her… she said look at that that’s a terrible thing that’s face only a mother could love,
Mr lamb so you believe everything you hear, then? derry it was cruel, mr lamb maybe not meant as such just something said between them, derry only I heard it I heard mr lamb and is that the only thing you ever heard anyone say in your life? derry Oh no! ve” heard a lot things mr lamb so now you keep your ears shut, derry you’re peculiar, you say peculiar things you ask question I don’t understand
Mr lamb I like to talk have company you don’t have to answer question you don’t have to stop here at all the gate’s open derry yes but , mr lamb I”ve hive of bees behind those trees over there some hear bees and they say, bees buzz but when you listen to bees for a long while they, humm and hum means sing I hear them singing my bees,
Derry but I like it here I came in because I liked it when I looked over the wall mr lamb if you’d seen me you’d not have come in
Derry: No
Mr lamb:No
Derry: it’d have been trespassing
Mr lamb: Ah that’s not why
On the face of it class 12
derry I don’t like being near people when they stare when –i see them being afraid of me mr lamb, you could lock yourself up in a room and never leave it there was a man who did that he was, afraid you see of everything everything , in this world a bus might run him over or a man might breathe deadly germs onto him or a donkey might kick him to death, or lightning might strike him down or he might love a girl and the girl would leave, him and he might slip on a banana skin and fall and people who saw him would laugh their heads off so he went into this room, and locked the door and got into his bed, and stayed there, for ever?”
Derry for ever?” Mr lamb for a while derry then what? Mr lamb A picture fell off the wall on to his head and killed him [ Derry laughs a lot] mr lamb you see?’ derry but you still peculiar things, mr lamb peculiar to some derry what do you do all day?’ mr lamb sit in the sun read books Ah you thought it was an empty house, but inside it’s full books and other things full
Derry but there aren’t any curtains at the windows mr lamb I”m not fond of curtains shutting things out shutting things in I like the light and the darkness and the windows open to hear the wind, derry yes I like that then it’s raining I like to hear it on the roof mr lamb so you’re not lost are you?” not altogether? you do hear things you listen derry they talk about me downstairs when I”m not there what’II ever do? what’s going to happen to him when we”ve gone? how ever will he get on in this world?” looking like that? with that on his face? that’s what they say”
mr lamb lord boy, you’ve got two arms two legs and eyes and ears you ve” got a tongue and a brain you”II get on the way you want like all the rest and if you chose and set your mind to it you could get on better than all the rest, derry” how ?” mr lamb same way as I do , derry do you have any friends” mr lamb hundreds,
derry but you live by yourself in that house it’s a big house too, mr lamb friends everywhere people come in —everybody knowns me the gate’s always open they come and sit here and in front of the fire in winter kids come for the apples and pears and for toffee, I make toffee with honey anybody comes so have you derry but I”m a friend
mr lamb certainly you are so far as I”m concerned what have you done to make me think you’re not? derry you don’t know me you don’t know where I come from or even what my name is , mr lamb why should that signify? do I have to write all your particulars down and put them in a filling box before you can be a friend, derry I suppose not no mr lamb you could tell me your name if you chose and not if you didn’t derry only it’s derek but I hate that derry if i”m your friend you don’t have to be mine I choose that
mr lamb certainly derry I might never come here again you might never see me again and then I couldn’t still be a friend mr lamb why not?” derry how could I? you pass people in the street and you might even speak to them but you never see them again it doesn’t mean they’re friends
Mr lamb doesn’t mean they’re enemies either does, it? derry No they’re just nothing people, that’s all mr lamb people are never just nothing never derry there are some people I hate Mr lamb that’d do you more harm than any bottle of acid , acid only burns your face,
On the face of it class 12
Derry only–Mr lamb like a bomb only blew up my leg there’s worse things can happen you can burn yourself away inside, Derry after, i d come home one person said he’d have been better off stopping in there In the hospital he’d be better off with others like himself she think blind people only ought to be with others blind people and idiot boys with idiot boys,
Mr lamb and people with no legs altogether?” derry that’s right mr lamb what kind of a would that be? derry at least there’d be nobody to stare at you because you were’t like them mr lamb so you think you’re just the same as all the other people with burned faces? just by what you look like? Ah –everything is different itself ,
Derry how do you make all that out?” Mr lamb watching listening thinking Derry, I”d like a house with no curtains Mr lamb the gate’s always open Derry but this isn’t mine mr lamb everything’s yours if you want’ it what’s mine is anybody’s
Derry so I could come here again? even if you were out I could come here, mr lamb certainly you might find others here, of course Derry Oh, mr lamb well that needn’t stop you, you needn’t mind it’d stop them they’d mind me when they saw me here they look at my face and run
Mr lamb they might they might not you’d have to take the risk so would they Derry no you would you might have me and lose all your other friends because nobody wants to stay near me if they can help it, mr lamb I”ve not moved derry No mr lamb when I go down the street the kids shout lamey-lamb but they still come into the garden into my house’it’s a game they;re not afraid of me why should they be? because I”m not afraid of them that’s why not
derry did you get your leg blown off in the war? me lamb certainly derry how will you climb on a ladder and get the crab apples down then? mr lamb Oh there’s a lot of things I”ve learned to do and plenty of time for it years I take it steady derry if you fell and broke your neck you could lie on the grass and die if you were on your own,
Mr lamb I could derry you said I could help you mr lamb if you want to derry but my mother II want to know where I am it’s three miles home across the fields I”m fourteen but they still want to know where I am
Mr lamb : people worry
Derry: people fuss
Mr lamb : Go back and tell them
Derry: it’s three miles
Mr lamb it’s a fine evening you’re got legs derry once I got home they’d never let me come back mr lamb once you got home you’d never let yourself come back derry you don;t know what i could do mr lamb No only you know that, derry if I chose–Mr lamb Ah if you chose I don;t know everything boy, I can tell you what to do
Derry they tell me Mr lamb do you have to agree? derry I don’t know what I want –something no one else has got or ever will have somethings just mine like this garden I don’t know what It is Mr lamb you could find out derry how? mr lamb waiting watching listening sitting here or going there I”II have to see to the bees,
derry those other people who come here do they talk to you? ask you things? Mr lamb some do some don’t ask them I like to learn derry I don’t believe in them I don’t think anybody ever comes you re here all by yourself and miserable and no one would know if you were alive or dead and nobody cares, Mr lamb you think what you please
Derry all right then tell me some of their names Mr lamb what are names? tom dick or harry[getting up ] I”m off down to the bees derry I think you’re daft—crazy, Mr lamb that’s a good excuse, derry what for? you don’t talk sense Mr lamb good excuse not to come back and you’ve got a burned up face, and that’s other people’s excuse derry yo’re like the others you like to say things like that, if you don’t feel sorry for my face you’re frightened of it and if you’re not frightened you think I”m ugly as a devil I am a devil, don;t you? [shouts]
[Mr lamb does not reply, he has gone to his been] derry [Quietly]No you don’t I like it here pause derry gets up and shouts I”m going but I”II come back you see you wait I can run I haven’t got a tin leg I”II be back derry runs off, silence the sounds of the garden again Mr lamb To himself there my dears that’s you seen to Ah you know we all know I”II come back they never do though not them never do come back the garden noises fade,
Scene two
Derry’s house Mother you think I don’t know about him you think I haven’t heard things? derry you shouldn’t believe all you hear mother been told warned we”ve not lived here three months but I know what there is to know and you’re not to go back there derry what are you afraid of? what do you think he is? an old man with a tin leg and he lives in a huge house without curtains and has a garden and I want to be there and sit and listen to things, listen and look ,
On the face of it class 12
Mother: listen to what?
Derry; bees singing him talking
Mother: and what’s he got to say to you?
Derry: things that matter things nobody else has ever said things I want to think about, mother then stay here and do your thinking you’re best off here derry I hate it here mother you can’t help the things you say I forgive you it’s bound to make you feel bad things and say them, I don;t blame you derry it’s got nothing to do with my face and what I look like I don’t care about that and it isn’t important it’s what I think and feel and what I want to see and find out and hear and I”m going back there only to help him with the crab apples only to look at things and listen but I”m going
Mother you’II stop here Oh derry Oh no oh no because if I don’t go back there, I”II never go anywhere in this world again the [door slams derry runs panting and I want the world –I want It … want it the sound of his panting fades].
On the face of it class 12
Scene Three
Mr lamb’s garden [garden sounds the noise of a branch shifting apples thumping down the branch shifting again ] Mr lamb steady that’s got it that’s it more apples fall and again that’s it and A creak a crash the ladder falls back mr lamb with it thump the branch swishes back creaks then silence derry opens the garden gate still, panting, ]
derry you see you see! came back you said I wouldn’t and they said but I came back I wanted –he stops dead silence Mr lamb Mr you’ve he runs through the grass stops kneels mr lamb it’s all right you fell I”m here silence I came back, Lamey-lamb I did come back derry begins to weep,
On the face of it class 12 Question and answers
Question:1 why did derry avoid people?
Answer: Derry used to avoid people became reclusive and introvert Actually his physical deformity took a toll on his mental health he perceived that everybody was looking at and thinking about him, thus he developed a sort of interiority complex and shut himself with in his self imposed confinement, out of reach of the outer word,
Question:2 why did Mr, lamb keep the door of his house open?
Answer: Mr, lamb was projected as the other side to the coin, in sharp contract to a reclusive and cocooned derry Mr, lamb was a forthcoming person with open personality despite his physical impairment his person personality is represented by the open doors and curtain less windows of his home,
Question:3 why did derry come to meet Mr, lamb ?
Answer: Mr, lamb’s attitude towards life changed the mind set of derry , derry found wings, a new perception about himself which opened a whole new world for him and gave him a new lease of life though his mother tired to stop him to revisit Mr, lamb but derry did not listen to her,
Question:4 what did derry’s mother think of Mr, lamb?
Answer: Derry’s mother does not hold a good opinion about Mr lamb she has heard many things about the old man, therefore she stops derry from visiting Mr lamb,
Question:5 how does Mr lamb influence derry?
Answer: lamb tells derry that he is old and had a tin leg, children call him lamey-lamb but still they come to this garden they are not afraid of him because he is not afraid of them, he never bothered about his old age or tin leg as life has many more things to offer,
On the face of it class 12 MCQs Question and answer
Question:1 derry entered Mr, lamb’s garden by —-
- walking through open gate
- climbing over the wall
- climbing the window
- None of these
Answer:(2) climbing over the wall
Question:2 why did derry enter Mr lamb’s garden?
- wanted to see the birds
- wanted to see the flowers
- wanted to steal apples
- out of curiosity
Answer:(4) out of curiosity
Question:3 Interior of Mr ;;lamb’s house was full of —
- clutter
- books
- furniture
- all of these
Answer:(2) books
Question:4 before meeting Mr lamb derry was—
- fear stricken
- aggressive
- withdrawn and Defind
- rude
Answer:(3) withdrawn and defind
Question:5 How old was derry?
- 11 years
- 14 years
- 16 years
- 17 years
Answer: (2) 14 years
Question:6 which story was told by Mr lamb to derry?
- The frog and the nightingale
- The braveheart
- of his own life
- The beauty of the beast
Answer:(4) The beauty of the beast
Question:7 how did Mr, lamb help Derry?
- giving him apples
- giving him job
- allowing him to play there
- transforming his perspective towards life
Answer:(4) transforming his perspective towards life
Question:8 Mr, lamb did not have curtain why?
- expensive to buy
- difficult to wash
- to keep an eye on the fruit trees
- do avoid suffocation of isolation and loneliness
Answer:(4) do avoid suffocation of isolation and loneliness
Question:9 why was derry surprised after entering the garden?
- because the garden was full of weeds
- because he saw big beehive
- because he heard Mr, lamb’s voice
- because he saw big apple tree
Answer:(3) because he heard Mr, lamb’s voice
Question:10 Mr lamb was happy in spite of his disability because–
- of his acceptance of it and positivity
- he had grown old
- he had a big house and garden
- he got sympathy from others
Answer:(1) of his acceptance of it and positivity