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Question
Answer the following in about 100-120 words:
Trust and compassion can reform a person. Justify this statement in the light of the lesson 'The Thief's Story'.
Solution
In "The Thief's Story," a small-time thief discovers the value of kindness and trust. The reader also gains knowledge about how moral behaviour can be countered and a person can be changed for the better. Anil is portrayed as being irresponsible with money, but what distinguishes him from the wealthy and the greedy is how he chooses to view the development that people are capable of demonstrating. Even though he is aware that the thief tried to steal his money, he still has faith in the effectiveness of his compassion and support. The thief was completely transformed by Anil's kindness, support, and care; as a result, he no longer practices theft and has developed skills that will enable him to support himself in the future. The narrative exemplifies the transforming power of kindness and empathy, which can have a positive influence on a person's life and motivate them to make positive changes.
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Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
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How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Read the following passage and do the activities:
A1. Choose the correct alternatives from the given options and rewrite the sentences :
(appealing, casually, flattery, well-oiled) (2)
(1) I followed ….........
(2) Anil talked about the ….........wrestlers.
(3) I gave him my most ….........smile.
(4) A little …......... helps in making friends.
I was still a thief when 1 met Anil. And though only 15, was an experienced and fairly successful hand.
Anil was watching a wrestling match when I approached him. He was about 25 — a tall, lean fellow — and he looked easy-going, kind and simple enough for my purpose. I hadn’t had much luck of late and thought I might be able to get into the young man’s confidence.
“You look a bit of a wrestler yourself,” I said. A little flattery helps in making friends.
“So do you,” he replied, which put me off for a moment because at that time I was rather thin.
“Well, I said modestly, “I do wrestle a bit.”
“What's your name ?”
“Hari Singh,” I lied. I took a new name every month. That kept me ahead of the police and my former employers.
After this introduction, Anil talked about the well-oiled wrestlers who were grunting, lifting and throwing each other about. I didn't have much to say. Anil walked away. I followed casually.
“Hello again,” he said.
I gave him my most appealing smile. “I want to work for you”. I said.
“But I can't pay you.”
I thought that over for a minute. Perhaps I had misjudged my man. I asked, “Can you feed me ?”
“Can you cook ?”
“I can cook,” I lied again.
“If you can cook, then may be I can feed you.”
He took me to his room over the Jumna Sweet Shop and told me I could sleep on the balcony. But the meal I cooked that night must have been terrible because Anil gave it to a stray dog and told me to be off. But I just hung around, smiling in my most appealing way, and he couldn’t help laughing.
A2. Complete the following web-chart: (2)
A3. Find the similar meaning words from the passage for the following : (2)
(1) endearing
(2) miscalculated
(3) humbly
(4) awful
A4.
(1) “I want to work for you,” I said. (1)
(Change it into indirect speech)
(2) I can’t pay you. (1)
(Rewrite making it affirmative)
A5. “We should learn from our own mistakes.” Explain. (2)
Complete the web diagram.
Complete the given sentence.
Anil kept Hari as a cook because ____________
Complete the given sentence.
Hari was grateful ____________
Complete the given sentence.
Hari continued making money ____________
Complete the given sentence.
The moral of the story is ________.
Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.
Why did Anil employ Hari as a cook, although he could not afford to pay him?
Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.
What did Hari learn from Anil in the beginning?
Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.
Why didn’t Anil hand over Hari to the police? What effect would it have had on Hari?
Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.
Do you feel Anil’s way of handling a thief like Hari was effective? Justify your answer.
Why did Hari Singh smile in his most appealing way towards the end of the story?
A character arc is the transformation or development of a character throughout a story and refers to the changes a character undergoes as a result of their experiences, challenges, and interactions with other characters.
In the light of the above information, trace the character arc of the thief in Ruskin Bond’s The Thief’s Story, in about 120 words.
Imagine that Hari Singh from ‘The Thief’s Story’ by Ruskin Bond, writes a diary entry, exploring the theme of human values and relations that are essential in life and can transform a person in the context of his own experience. Write this diary entry as Hari Singh.
