Question 3 - Chapter 5 - On the Face of It - Vistas - Chapters (Literature) - English Class 12

Read the extract and answer the following questions.

Extract:

MR LAMB: You’re a boy who came into the garden. Plenty do. I’m interested in anybody. Anything. There’s nothing God made that doesn’t interest me. Look over there....over beside the far wall. What can you see? 

DERRY: Rubbish.

 MR LAMB: Rubbish ? Look, boy, look....what do you see?

 DERRY: Just....grass and stuff. Weeds. 

MR LAMB: Some call them weeds. If you like, then....a weed garden, that. There’s fruit and there are flowers, and trees and herbs. All sorts. But over there....weeds. I grow weeds there. Why is one green, growing plant called a weed and another ‘flower’? Where’s the difference. It’s all life.... growing. Same as you and me. 

DERRY: We’re not the same.

(On The Face Of It)

Question (i)

What is the main message that Mr Lamb is trying to convey to Derry in the extract?

Answer:

Answer as written by the student:

The main message that Mr Lamb is trying to convey to Derry in the extract is that all life forms are valuable and interesting, and that there is no difference between weeds and flowers, or between him and Derry.

Step-by-step explanation:

• To answer this question, we need to summarize and interpret Mr Lamb's words and actions in the extract.
• Some evidence that shows that Mr Lamb is trying to convey this message are:
•    He says that he is interested in anybody and anything, and that there is nothing God made that does not interest him , which shows that he values and respects all life forms.
•    He asks Derry to look at his weed garden, and questions why one green plant is called a weed and another a flower, which shows that he challenges the conventional labels and judgments that people make about nature.
•    He says that it is all life, growing, same as him and Derry, which shows that he draws a parallel between plants and humans, and implies that they are equal and connected.

Question (ii)

 How does Derry react to Mr Lamb's words in the extract?

1. He agrees with him
2. He disagrees with him
3. He ignores him
4. He questions him

Answer: