Class 10 English NCERT Book Footprints Without Feet Chapter 2 The Thief’s Story Questions and Answers with PDF File for cbse, hbse and other state boards.
The Thief’s Story Question Answer Class 10 English
Read and Find Out
Q. 1. Who does I’ refer to in this story ?
Ans. In this story I’ refers to the thief boy, Hari Singh.
Q. 2. What is he “a fairly successful hand” at ?
Ans. The narrator of this story is a thief boy. That is why, he is ‘a fairly successful hand’ at stealing things.
Q. 3. What does he get from Anil in return for his work ?
Ans. In return for his work he does not get any salary from Anil. He gets only a place to sleep or live at and food to eat.
Q.4. How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Ans. The narrator is a thief. Anil gives him shelter and food. But he steals Anil’s money. After that the thief thinks that Anil will be sad when he discovers the theft.
Q. 5. What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed ?
Ans. He says that different people react differently when they are robbed. A greedy man showed fear. A rich man shows anger. A poor man showed acceptance.
Q. 6. Does Anil realise that he has been robbed ?
Ans. It is possible that Anil does realise that he has been robbed. The next morning he gives a fifty rupee note to Hari Singh. The note is still wet. This might have made him realise the truth. But he is a large hearted person. He behaves as if nothing has happened.
Think about it
Q. 1. What are Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education ? Do they change over time? (Hint: Compare, for example, the thought: “I knew that once I could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve” with these later thoughts: “Whole sentences, I knew, could one day bring me more than a few hundred rupees. It was a simple matter to steal – and sometimes just as simple to be caught. But to be a really big man, a clever and respected man, was something else.”) What makes him return to Anil ?
Ans. Hari Singh comes to Anil’s house as a servant. Anil offers to educate him. He is overjoyed. But his reactions to the prospect of receiving an education undergo a change with the passage of time. In the begin ing he thinks that if he wrote like an educated man he could achieve limitless success (or money). Later, there is some change in this perception. He feels that if he wrote whole sentences, they could bring him more than a few hundred rupees. Then money loses attraction for him with reference to education. What he wants from education is to become a big man, a clever and respected man. This makes him return to Anil because only Anil could teach him as he wants.
Q. 2. Why does not Anil hand the thief over to the police? Do you think most people would have done so? In what ways is Anil different from such employers ?
Ans. The next morning, Anil does not find the money missing. But he might have noticed that the notes were damp. It would have been clear to him that Hari Singh had tried to steal the money. But he does not show any emotion. Hari Singh studies his face. There is no sign of his having detected the theft. However, it is possible that he detected the truth. But he does not hand over Hari Singh to the police. He is a large-hearted person. Perhaps Hari Singh’s coming back changed his mind.
But most people do not behave like Anil. In Anil’s position, they could have handed over such persons to the police after beating them themselves. Anil is different because he decides to reform the thief through kindness and sympathy.
Talk about it
Q. 1. Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life ?
Ans. It is true that people are becoming materialistic and hard-hearted. But it is also true that people like Anil and Hari Singh are still found in real life also. But their number is very small.
Q. 2. Do you think it a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer ? Does this explain his behaviour in any way ?
Ans. It is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer. He leads a hand to mouth existence. He earns money by fits and starts. So he knows what it means to be without money. He can under stand Hari Singh’s position. That is why, he takes him as a servant although he has no money to pay him salary. He has a large heart. So, although he may have detected the theft of his money, he does not report to the police.
Q3. Have you met anyone like Hari Singh ? Can you think and imagine the circumstances the can turn a fifteen-year-old boy into a thief ?
Ans. Yes, I have met a boy like Hari Singh. He used to commit petty crimes. I studied his life. I came to the conclusion that the circumstances make one a thief. Poverty is the biggest factor. One is prepared to do anything to douse the fire burning in his belly. This can turn a young man into a thief.
Q. 4. Where is the story set ? (You can get clues from the names of the persons and places men tioned in it.) Which language or languages are spoken in these places ? Do you think the characters in the story spoke to each other in English ?
Ans. It appears that the story is set in Delhi. A number of clues point to this fact. These are: “The Jumna Sweet Shop’, ‘railway station’, The Lucknow Express was just moving out’. Hindi, English and other Indian languages are spoken in it. I do not think the characters in the story spoke to each other in English. However, they might have used some English words like ‘time’, ‘train’, ‘clock tower’.