A Heartwarming Tale of Friendship and Acceptance
A story by Susan Hill about a teenage boy with a burnt face finding solace and acceptance in the company of a kind old man with a tin leg. Through their friendship, they learn to embrace life despite their struggles and differences, highlighting themes of resilience, empathy, and the power of positivity.
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Presentation Transcript
On The Face of It By Susan Hill
The story is about a teenage boy, Derry, who has a burnt face and Mr. Lamb who is a disabled old man with an artificial leg made of tin. Derry accidently enters his garden so that he can hide himself from people who hate him because of his ugly face. Mr. Lamb not only welcomes him in his garden but also encourages him to lead a normal life, leaving behind his past.
1.The play is about the friendship between an old man and a young boy who is withdrawn and defiant. 2.The child is very disturbed because of his scarred face and feels that people do not want to associate with him. 3.He drifts into a garden which looks very inviting but panics when he meets the old man. 4.The latter tries to make him feel at ease and advises him to accept life as it comes.
5.Mr Lamb s philosophy is to celebrate life in all its forms. 6. To him, difference is a part of life- a flower and a weed are the same, both signs of life, of growth 7. Having an artificial leg (tin leg), he has had to cope with the cruelty of others but has taken it in his stride. 8.He has a positive and optimistic attitude to life. 9.He tells Derry to live life to the full and to avoid bitterness which can be more corrosive than the acid that destroyed his face.
10. He advises Derry to accept life without any pre-conceived notions. 11. The power of choosing what one wants lies in one s hands. 12. Derry is extremely sensitive about his scarred face and has a fixed opinion that he is repulsive and ugly. 13. He locks himself in a world of his own and avoids contact with others. 14. But inspite of his sceptical attitude, he is moved by the old man s spirit. This is evident from the fact that he defies his mother and returns to the garden, though sadly a little too late.
15. Derry s face is scarred while Mr Lambs leg is an artificial one, a tin leg as he calls it. 16. Both have to cope with the cruelty of others. While Derry withdraws into his shell, Mr Lamb takes it into his stride. 17.One gets glimpses of the loneliness the old man faces in spite of his outward bravado in the scene when he talks to the bees. 18.From Derry s point of view also it is sad that when he finally makes an effort to come out of his shell, he is confronted by the loss (death) of the only person who had
Summary The story begins with a teenage boy entering a garden. His face is burnt on one side due to an accident when acid fell on half of his face. He has gone there to hide himself as he is afraid of facing people. He fears being teased by others for having such a face. But when he enters, he finds someone already present there. He tries to leave the place but he is stopped by the old man, Mr. Lamb, the owner of the garden. Derry feels guilty for entering the garden without permission. Mr. Lamb welcomes him and tells him not to leave just because of his presence. Derry wants to leave as he thinks people don t like his face and moreover ,they get afraid of his looks. But Mr. Lamb insists him to stay there. They enter into a conversation that how Derry is not liked by anyone and how he hates people behaving like this with him. Mr. Lamb tries to console him. He tells him that he has a tin leg and kids make fun of him. Still he is not depressed and enjoys his life. They both talk about various things and this leads to revelation of Derry s fear, depression and hatred about his being in such condition. But Mr. Lamb keeps on telling him to think of the positive things. Soon they become friends and Mr. Lamb asks him to help him in plucking the crab apples of his garden. Derry tells him that he had come too far from his home and hadn t told anything about this to his mother. Mr. Lamb tells him to take permission from his mother. Derry finds it difficult and this leads to a small quarrel between both of them. At last Derry tells him that he would come back after taking his mother s permission. His mother does not want him to go back but he comes back again to fulfill his promise. Meanwhile Mr. Lamb climbs the ladder on his own to pluck the crab apples as he was sure that Derry would not return. He was disabled and it was difficult for him to climb. Mr. Lamb falls from his ladder and dies. Derry, on the other hand, returns to the garden to help him. When he enters the garden, he sees Mr. Lamb lying on the ground. Derry tries hard to make him move but did not get any response from him. Finally he comes to know that he is dead and starts crying.
