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Chapter Analysis
Beginner6 pages • EnglishQuick Summary
The story 'The Lost Child' revolves around a young child who goes to a fair with his parents. Excited and fascinated by the bustling fairground, he is intrigued by sweets, toys, and other attractions, but his parents refuse to indulge his desires, prompting him to move on. However, when he gets separated from them amidst the crowd, his only desire becomes reuniting with them, thus highlighting the fundamental bond between a child and their parents.
Key Topics
- •Parental bond and security
- •Childhood innocence and desires
- •The impact of separation anxiety
- •Material vs emotional needs
- •Symbolism of the fair setting
Learning Objectives
- ✓To understand the theme of emotional security over material desires.
- ✓To analyze how setting reflects a character’s emotional journey.
- ✓To appreciate the use of symbolism in storytelling.
- ✓To discuss the universal emotions depicted in childhood experiences.
- ✓To explore the narrative techniques used by Mulk Raj Anand.
Questions in Chapter
What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?
Page 6
In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?
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When does he realise that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and insecurity been described?
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Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?
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What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?
Page 6
Additional Practice Questions
Discuss the significance of the mustard field in the story.
mediumAnswer: The mustard field represents the pure, innocent joys of childhood, as it distracts the child momentarily from his desires at the fair. It symbolizes the freedom and simple pleasures that exist outside material wants.
Why do you think the child refuses the man’s offers after being lost?
mediumAnswer: The child refuses the man's offers because his desire for material objects is overshadowed by his longing for the comfort and security provided by his parents. It shows how the emotional need for family overshadows all other desires for a child.
Analyze how the author uses the setting of the fair to depict the child's emotions.
hardAnswer: The fair, bustling with colors, sounds, and crowds, mirrors the child's initial excitement and later his isolation and fear. As the story progresses, the once attractive fair becomes overwhelming and frightening, symbolizing the shift in the child's emotional state.
Explain the role of the sweets and toys in the narrative.
easyAnswer: The sweets and toys in the narrative serve to illustrate the child's naive worldview, where material desires are paramount until he experiences real fear upon being separated from his parents, emphasizing the theme of parental love and protection.
How does Mulk Raj Anand convey the universality of a child's bond with parents in this story?
mediumAnswer: Through the child's diminishing interest in pleasures of the fair and his sole focus on finding his parents, Anand portrays a universal realization of every child – the profound emotional bond and need for parental presence and protection.