on the face of it Flashcards
. Who is Mr Lamb? How does Derry get into his garden?
Mr Lamb is an old man. Apparently, he had served in the army where one of his legs was blown off in the war: Now, he has a tin leg. He stays in a big house and has a garden.
He even keeps the gate of his garden open. Everyone is welcome in his garden. Most of his time is spent in reading books or sitting in the garden.
Mr Lamb has adjusted himself with his physical impairment, and had rather got over it with the passage of time. He has learnt how to keep himself steady on the ladder while plucking apples from the branches. Children call him ‘Lamey-Lamb’ when he goes down the street but he is undisturbed, taking it as fun. Thus, they are not afraid of him.
They come into his garden for apples and pears. So, Mr Lamb has a jolly good time.
Derry gets into his garden by climbing the wall even though the gate is open. Perhaps, he does not want to be noticed by the people while entering through the gate.
Do you think all this will change Derry’s attitude towards Mr Lamb?
Before coming into contact with Mr Lamb, Derry showed signs of loneliness and disillusionment. He felt alienated due to the behaviour of the people. Initially, he thought Mr Lamb was like other people, so he drew back from him. But he found Mr Lamb to be different from others. Mr Lamb said peculiar things which Derry was unable to comprehend, yet he felt that these things did matter. Mr Lamb was able to inspire in him the self-confidence and determination to overcome his physical impairment. Derry, who regarded Mr Lamb as a crazy old man, initially, was filled with love and admiration for him towards the end of the play. This is quite obvious as he wept over the death of Mr Lamb.
What is it that draws Derry towards Mr Lamb inspite of himself?
. Mr Lamb boosted Derry’s morale through his talk. He made him realise that there was more to life than being stuck on with a handicap or a burnt face. The ridicule of the people did not matter. Life is a challenge and one should face it. It is important to move on in life and have a positive attitude in life. We should not be affected by the petty prejudices and reactions of other individuals.
In which section of the play does Mr Lamb display signs of loneliness and
disappointment? What are the ways in which Mr Lamb tries to overcome these feelings?
At the end of the play, Mr Lamb shows signs of loneliness and disillusionment. Derry desires to go back home otherwise his mother would be worried. However, he promises to come back. Left isolated, Mr Lamb says to himself, “We all know. I’ll come back.
They never do, though. Not them. Never do come back.” We find Mr Lamb showing signs of loneliness and disappointment. However, these feelings do not overpower him.
He has evolved certain ways to overcome his feelings. He has reconciled himself to live with his physical impairment. He has accepted the reality of having a tin leg. Thus, he doesn’t get disturbed when children call him ‘Lamey-Lamb’. Instead, he feels amused and regards it as a game. Likewise, he spends time by sitting in his garden or reading books. The gate of his garden is always open. Children could come there for apples, pears and toffees. Everyone who wanted to come to his garden was welcome.
The actual pain or inconvenience caused by a physical impairment is often much less than the sense of alienation felt by the person with disabilities. What is the kind of behaviour that the person expects from others?
A disabled person is regarded as an outcast. People do sympathise with them. However, they are not accepted in the mainstream life. The disabled person feels alienated from the society. The feeling of alienation is truly more depressing than the actual pain or inconvenience as a result of physical impairment. A physically impaired person wants others to regard him as a human being and not as an object of pity. He does not like others to be overprotective towards him. He does not even want any special treatment.
He puts in extra labour to make up for his physical impairment. He even expects people to provide him an opportunity to explore and prove his worth rather than just discarding him as a useless person.
Will Derry get back to his old seclusion or will Mr Lamb’s brief association effect a change in the kind of life he will lead in the future?
Mr Lamb’s brief link with Derry was a turning point in the life of Derry. Before meeting Mr Lamb, he led a secluded life due to the behaviour of the people towards him. People would get horrified and withdraw as they looked at his burnt face. So he began to avoid people and lived in seclusion. He came to Mr Lamb’s garden stealthily by climbing the wall even though the gate was open as he did not like to be seen by people. Over there, he came in contact with Mr Lamb, who like him, was physically impaired. Mr Lamb had a tin leg as the real one was blown off in the war. Mr Lamb who was like him had inspired Derry to face the world inspite of his physical impairment. Instead of brooding over his burnt face, he should regard himself lucky that he had got two arms, two legs, and eyes and ears, a tongue and a brain. If he set a goal to do something, his burnt face would not stand in the way and he could do even better than all the others. So Mr Lamb infused a new spirit and zest of life in Derry who now found a new meaning to his life. This was evident from the fact that he went back to Mr Lamb’s garden despite stiff resistance from his mother.
