THE LOST CHILD (MOMENTS).pdf

well explained

1. Prose
Book:-Moments
Chapter-1
The Lost Child
By Mulk Raj Anand

2. MulkRaj Anandwas among the pioneers of
Indo-Anglian fiction amount with R.K. Narayan,
Raja Rao, and Ahmad Ali and was also one of the
first Indian writers in English who achieve the
International readership and popularity. His genre
of writing was realistic fiction and is acclaimed
for his literary works, which have earned the
position of modern Indian English literature
classics and are known around the world for
providing insight into the life of the oppressed
and portraying the true picture of poverty,
exploitation, and misery.He got huge praise for
his memorable protest
novelUntouchable(1935). After this, his other
two novels that depicted the story of Indian poor
society were published includingCoolie(1936)
andTwo Leaves and a Bud(1937).

3. Setting
Thestoryissetinthespring
seasoninanIndianvillage.It
offersalookintoaperiodof
timeinhistorywhenchanging
seasonswerecelebratedwith
fairs.

4. The Lost child
•excited as he was
going to a fair with his
parents.
•fascinated by many
things.
•an obedient child as
he could see the
refusal for his
demands on his
parent’s face.
•wanted to enjoy the
roundabout. But as he
moved back, he found
his parents nowhere.
Child’s Mother
•a typical
loving mother
who tries to
soften the
disappointment
of the child
The unknown
man
•a kind hearted
man who
rescues the lost
child
•tried each and
everything to
console the
child.
Child’s father
•a strict
disciplinarian
•He is the
head of the
family
•seems to be
leading the
family,
expecting
them to
follow him
Characters

5. CHARACTERS
TheLostChild:Thechildwasveryexcitedashewastoafair
withhisparents.Hewasfascinatedbymanythingsliketoys,
manysweets,agarland,etc.inthefair.Heaskedhisparentsto
buysomethingforhim,buttheyrefusedhim.Hewasan
obedientchildashecouldseetherefusalforhisdemandson
hisparent’sface.Hewantedtoenjoytheroundabout.Butashe
movedbacktorequesthisparentsforit,hefoundhisparents
nowhere.Hisfacewasconvulsedwithfearandtearsrolled
downfromhiseyes.Amanfromthecrowdheardhiscriesand
triedtoconsolehimbyofferingdifferentthingswhich
previouslyhewantedtohave.Thefearissopredominantthat
thechilddidnotshowanyinterest.Hewassoinnocentthathe
onlywantedhisparents.
:

6. Father:Heappearstobeastrictdisciplinarianwhodoesnot
giveintothedemandsofthechildfortoysandsweets.Heisthe
headofthefamilyandbothhiswifeandchilddonotquestion
hisdecisions.Infactheseemstobeleadingthefamily,
expectingthemtofollowhimwithoutdawdling.
Mother:Themotherhasbeendescribedasatypicalloving
motherwhotriestosoftenthedisappointmentofthechild
bydivertinghisattentionfromtheobjectsthathewantsto
possess.Sheseemstobetombetweenherhusbandandher
childasshestrugglestokeeppacewithherhusbandandat
thesametimekeepherchildfromstraying.Atsomepointher
attentionseemedtohavewavered,whenherchildgets
separatedfromher.

7. •UnknownMan:Theunknownmanwasavery
kindandgenerousman.Inthecrowd,hewas
theonlyonewhocameforwardtohelpthe
lostchild.First,heliftedupthelostchildinhis
arms.Heaskedthechildabouthimandhis
parentsandgottoknowthathehadlosthis
parents.Hetriedeachandeverythingto
consolethelostandsobbingchild.Heoffered
everyexcitingthingsinthefairtothechild
whichearlierhewantedtobuy.Theunknown
manisthesymbolofhumanitywhoisreadyto
helpthelostchildinallaspects.

8. Theme
Thestoryisbasedonthethemeoftheclosebondthatchildren
sharewiththeirparents.Thelostchildforgetsallabouthisdesires
andyearnsdeeplyforhisparentswhenhefailstofindthem.
Everythingelselosesitssignificanceandtheonlythingthat
mattersishiswishtobereunitedwithhisparents.
Message
Thestoryhighlightsthevalueofrelationshipsovermaterial
goods.Thechildrealisesthetruevalueofhisparentsonceheis
separatedfromthem.Italsoshedslightontheuniversalfearof
childrenandparentsofgettingseparatedfromoneanotherand
theresultofsuchacalamityasseenfromtheeyesofalittlechild.

9. SUMMARY
In“TheLostChild”,achildvisitsaspringfairwithhis
parents.Theplacewascrowdedwithpeopleandtherewere
differentkindsofstallssetupinthefair.Thechildwas
overjoyedwhenhesawthetoysintheshopsandpleadedto
hisparentstobuyhimatoy.Buthisfathergavehimastern
lookuponhearinghisrequest.Meanwhile,hismotherasked
himtoseethemustardfieldwhichlookedlikeafieldof
gold.Agroupofdragon-flieswereflutteringtheircolourful
wingsoverthemustardflowers.Thechildtriedcatchingone
ofthosecolourfulinsects,butashismothercalledhimto
thefootpathandherantowardshisparentsgaily.Heheard
thecooingofdovesandpickedupsomepetalsinthegrove.
Butagainashisparentscalledhim,hemadehiswaytowards
themwhilehewasrunningaroundthebanyantree.

10. •Whenthechildreachedthefairwithhisparents,he
sawasweetmeatseller.Hismouthwateredseeingthe
tastysweetsandheaskedhisfathertobuyhima
sweet.Butnoonepaidheedtohisrequest.Ashe
wentaheadwithhisparents,heheardaflower-seller
,hesawthebasketofflowersandwantedtobuya
garland.However,heknewhisparentswouldnotbuy
himtheflowers,sohemovedonwiththem.Then,he
noticedaballoon-mansellingrainbowcolour
balloons.Hewantedtobuythoseballoonsbuthe
knewthathisparentswouldrefuse,consideringhe
wascomparativelyoldertoplaywiththosecolourful
balloons.Hence,hewalkedpasttheballoon-manwith
hisparents.

11. Ashemovedforward,thechildnoticedasnake-
charmerwhowasplayingaflutetoasnakecoiledina
basket.Hewentclosertothesnake-charmer,buthe
knewhisparentswouldn’tapproveofhislisteningto
suchcoarsemusic.So,hewalkedfurtherandsawa
merry-go-round.Heobservedthatmanypeoplewere
enjoyingtherideandcalledouttohisparentsthathe
wantedtotakearide.Buttherewasnoreplyfrom
them.Whenheturnedaround,hecouldn’tfindhis
parentsnearby.Thechilddesperatelylookedoutfor
hisparents,buttheywerenowheretobefound.He
understoodthathewaslostsohestartedsobbing.

12. Thechildgaveoutalouddeepcryandtearsstartedrollingdownhis
eyesashesearchedforhisparentseverywhere.Hecriedloudlyand
rantoandfro,buthecouldn’tfindhisparentsanywhere.Theplace
wasverycrowdedandherantotheshrineifhecouldfindthemthere.
Unfortunately,hewaslostandashewaslittle,hewentaheadcrossing
manypeoplewhowerehugeinsizethere.
Suddenly,amanheardhiscryandliftedhimupinhisarms.Thechild
wasfortunatethathewaspickedupbyanaffectionateman.Thekind
manaskedhimabouthisparents,butthechildrepliedsobbinglynot
knowingtheirwhereabouts.Themantriedtopacifythechildand
askedhimifhewouldliketotakearideonthemerry-go-round.But
thechildrepliedthathewantedhisparentsonly.Soon,themantook
thechildtotheballoon-man,sweetshopandflower-sellerandasked
ifhewouldliketobuyanyofthose,buttheyoungboyrefused.He
wasadamantthathewantednothing,buthisparents.Thechildturned
hisfaceawayfromallthosethingswhichhewantedtobuyearlierand
hekeptsobbing,‘Iwantmymother,Iwantmyfather!’

13. MCQ
1.What did the lost child say when a man asked him, “Whose baby are
you ?”
(a) The child said, “I want my father, I want my mother.”
(b) The child said, “I want to go home.”
(c) The child said, “I live in a village.”
(d) The child said, “I am feeling hungry.
2. The child wanted to have balloons yet he walked on. Why?
(a) He knew his parents would never buy him the balloons.
(b) He knew his parents would say he was too old to play with such toys.
(c) Both A and B above.
(d) Neither A nor B.

14. 3. What did the father do when the child said, “I want that toy.”?
(a) He at once bought the toy for the child.
(b) He said, “Look, child, what is before you.
(c) He looked at the child red-eyed.
(d) He began to beat the child.
4.What is the theme of the story?
(a) Close bonding between parents and children
(b) village people are good
(c) we must go to village fairs
(d) None
5. How did the generous man try to calm down the child?
(a) showing him different toys
(b) taking him to rides
(c) talking to him and diverting his attention
(d) All

15. 1.(a) The child said, “I want my father, I want my mother.”
2. (b) He knew his parents would say he was too old to play with
such toys.
ANSWERS
3. (c) He looked at the child red-eyed.
4. (a) Close bonding between parents and children
5. (d) All

16. 1.What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair?
Why does he lag behind?
Textual Question Answers
The child sees a number of things which fascinate him on his
way to the fair
►Firstly, he saw toys at a shop.
►Then he saw a flowering mustard field.
►In the fields, the child also saw dragon flies, butterflies
fluttering their wings
►Then while walking on the footpath he was amazed by the
insects and worms
►When he entered the grove he saw doves which were
cooing.

17. ►The child also came across sweetmeat seller selling sweets
like burfi and gulabjamun and a little further he came across a
flower seller who was selling a garland of gulmohar
►Walking ahead, he saw a man selling rainbow colour
balloons
►He also saw a snake charmer who stood playing a flute to
a snake
►Finally, before losing track of his parents he saw a roundabout
swing.
The child keeps lagging behind his parents on the way and his
mother and father have to constantly call him so that he doesn’t
lag behind. This is because the child is fascinated by all the
things he sees on his way.

18. 2. In the fair, he wants many things. What are they? Why
does he move on without waiting for an answer?
Inthefair,thelittleboywantstobuymanythings.Hewants
tobuytoys,balloons,sweets,agarlandofGulmohar,watching
thesnakecharmerplayflutetoasnakeandarideinthe
roundabout.Buthemovesonwithoutwaitingforan
answerbecauseheknewthathisrequestwouldbedeniedat
eachstep.