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Sometimes, it takes an unusual incident or instance in our lives that can help us rediscover ourselves. Such instances help us change our perspective and teach us lessons for a lifetime. In this chapter The Thief’s Story class 10, we will go through a similar narrative that can positively influence our lives. The chapter is mainly centred around two principal characters, a 15-year-old small-time thief and a 25-year-old man named Anil. It is a simple yet interesting tale that is penned by the esteemed story writer Ruskin Bond. His work has been recognized by the Indian Council of Child Education for stimulating the interest of children in English literature. Let’s further delve into the story The Thief Story Class 10 and understand what is the main takeaway from this story.
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Explanation of The Thief Story Class 10
The story is centred around a 15-year-old boy who is a small-time thief who keeps on changing his name to conceal his identity and avoid being caught by the police and his previous employers. He continues to execute small robberies and trick people until he meets Anil. He introduces himself as Hari Singh while Anil is watching a wrestling match. Hari Singh is desperate to rob someone as he hasn’t tricked anyone for the past few days. Anil seems an easy target for Hari Singh as Anil was a simple man.
Hari asks Anil whether he can employ him or not and Anil says that he cannot employ him and pay him but he does assure that he can feed him if he knows how to cook and to that Hari Singh lies that he knows how to cook as he has an ardent desire to rob Anil.
Hari began his job that included making tea for Anil in the morning, buying groceries, and cooking dinner. On his first day, he cooked tasteless and bland food which Anil fed to the stray dogs instead of rebuking Hari. When Hari used to go to buy groceries he used to keep the leftover balance amount of 1 or 2 rupees with himself and Anil didn’t mind that as well.
This spoke volumes louder about the letting go attitude and easy-going nature of Mr. Anil. Anil also taught Hari how to read, write and cook. Hari was on cloud 9 because of it as he thought that now something great would happen in his life. Anil didn’t have a stable source of income and his way of earning was erratic and irregular as he would borrow money from someone and lend it to the other person and when he earned a huge chunk of money he would go and celebrate with his friends.
One day Anil came up with a huge amount of 600 rupees and that is the moment for which Hari was waiting desperately and one night when Anil was asleep, Hari stole 600 rupees and went to the nearest railway station to board the train but his pricked conscience didn’t allow him to proceed further and he came back. He knew no one in the town apart from Anil whom he had robbed and hence, with no alternative he slept on a bench in the park and at that time it was drizzling, so all the notes were wet now
In the morning he returned back to Anil’s home and slid the notes under his pillow where they were earlier kept. Out of 600 rupees, Anil gave him 50 rupees and that note was wet which clearly implies that Anil had figured out the misdemeanor of Hari but there wasn’t a strong reaction towards it. Seeing the genuineness of Anil’s nature, Hari melted and decided to amend his ways and start a new life afresh.
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Summary of The Thief Story Class 10
The Thief’s Story by Ruskin Bond is much more than just a tale of a thief. The narrative focuses on fundamental human connections and ideals. A robber will find it simpler to burgle a man who is greedy. Even a robber finds it challenging to burglarize a thoughtless and trustworthy individual. A fifteen-year-old burglar is the subject of the tale. To avoid the police and his previous jobs, he used to alter his name once a month. He referred to himself as Hari Singh this time. Anil, the second character in the narrative, is a 25-year-old author. One day, the thief runs into Anil and begs if he may work for him. Anil becomes friends with this young boy. He works for Anil, who has complete faith in him. Does the young man betray his trust? The tale reveals how the robber tricked Anil by committing fraud before backing out.
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Key Takeaways
- It is easy to judge someone but it takes character and strength to understand someone’s situation and step in their shoes to see life from their lens. Anil is a quintessential example of Empathy who always empathized with Hari and understood that nobody had taught him basic manners and moral values and that is why he had become a thief.
- Genuineness always melts the heart of the other person and motivates him/her to amend their wrong ways and walk upon the right path and at last, because of Anil’s genuineness Hari melted and took a firm decision to change his life and give his life a proper direction
- Pricked Conscience always diminishes one’s self-esteem and one must always abide by their conscience to live a satisfactory life.
CBSE NCERT Class 10 Chapter 2 The Thief’s Story Solutions
Question 1:
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Answer:
‘I’ refers to the narrator of the story that is Hari Singh. He was the fifteen-year-old thief.
Question 2:
What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
Answer:
He is “a fairly successful hand” at robbing people and stealing. By this, it is meant that he was an experienced thief who was very swift and adept in his work. He could rob people without getting caught.
Question 3:
What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Answer:
As Hari approached Anil for work, he was told by him clearly that he could not pay him for it. So, he asked Hari to cook so that he could feed him and stay with him. But as soon as he found out that the Hari didn’t know how to cook, he taught him to cook and how to write his name. Anil also promised tHari to teach him how to write whole sentences and calculate numbers. Besides all this, Anil also gave money to Hari to buy the daily supplies, and this would even leave space for a rupee a day profit.
Read and Find Out (Page 10)
Question 1:
How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Answer:
Hari thought that when Anil would discover that he is a thief, Anil would be sad not because of the loss of his money but because of the loss of his trust in Hari.
Question 2:
What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Answer:
Hari’s experience in his short term career as a thief familiarised him with the reactions of different people. A greedy man showed fear; a rich man showed anger and a poor man showed acceptance to being robbed.
Question 3:
Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
Answer:
Yes, Anil realised that he had been robbed by none other than Hari. He probably came to know of it from the damp notes, which got wet due to rain the previous night. Even after that, he didn’t express anything to Hari and gave him a fifty rupee note and promised to pay him regularly.
Think about it (Page 13)
Question 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?
Answer:
Hari was grateful to Anil, because he was the one who taught him to write his name and to write whole sentences. He understood that being an educated man would add to his abilities that will help him achieve a high social status in life. And when he steals money and leaves Anil’s house, he realises that being educated is a more fulfilling experience, that stealing is a crime, and that he might soon get caught. He realises the value of education and the respect he would recieve when he would become educated. Hence, he feels guilty for cheating a noble man who gave him food and shelter. In addition, his urge to receive an education also compels him to return to Anil’s house.
Question 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?
Answer:
Anil on realising that Hari has been robbing him, didn’t call the police and hand over Hari on theft charges. He was well aware of the theft from the damp notes but he did not thrash him or even mention it in front of Hari. He was happy that Hari had realised his mistake and understood the importance of education in life.
People like Anil in today’s world are scarce. Most people would call the police or may be act in some other way. But Anil was very patient and considerate towards Hari as he wanted him to become an educated man and lead his life respectfully.
Anil was very understanding and compassionate by nature which made him different from other employers. When Hari returned with the money, it gave Anil the hope that Hari wanted to mend his ways and grow up to become a noble and literate man.
Talk about it (Page 13)
Question 1:
Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life?
Answer:
In the real world, people like Anil and Hari Singh rarely exist and are mostly found in fiction only. However, there may be an exception sometimes when we may come across people like Anil. From the story, we know that Anil is a kind-hearted and considerate person who is deeply concerned about Hari’s education and future. When Hari stole Anil’s money, Hari’s conscience pricked him, and he had a change of mind, and realised the importance of education for his future. Hence, finding such kind of imaginary characters is a rare possibility in today’s world.
Question 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?
Answer:
Yes, in the story a significant detail shows Anil was a struggling writer. His lifestyle was simple, with irregular income, and he always spent money as per his capabilities. He made money sporadically. He would borrow one week, and lend the next. He kept worrying about his next cheque, but as soon as it arrived, he would go out and celebrate with his friends. Hari observed that Anil was unable to pay him a salary because he did not have a regular source of income. However, Hari felt that although Anil earned less, he never ill-treated him and was quite considerate towards him.
Question 3:
Have you met anyone like Hari Singh? Can you think and imagine the circumstances that can turn a fifteen-year-old boy into a thief?
Answer:
No, I haven’t met anyone like Hari Singh but such kind of people do exist in the world. Many a time, a fifteen-year-old boy may be forced under unavoidable circumstances to become a robber. Majorly people commit crimes to feed themselves or their families or out of addiction. It can also be inorder to sustain their luxurious lifestyle and demands.
Question 4:
Where is the story set? (You can get clues from the names of the persons and places mentioned 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?
Answer:
This story is set in Uttar Pradesh, somewhere near Lucknow. We get this from the story when it mentions a railway station for an express train to Lucknow. The presence of the sweet shops, mandis and bazaars also indicates it to be a somewhat small and simple town. It can also be assumed that the characters in the story conversed in Hindi and not in English.
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Important Questions of The Thief’s Story Class 10
Hari Singh though was successful in robbing Anil but along with Anil, he robbed himself of his conscience and a golden opportunity of getting literate and educated.
Anil had clearly communicated that he cannot pay Hari but he can feed him if he knows how to cook and both of them mutually agreed.
Yes, Hari did like carrying out all the chores like making tea, bringing groceries for Anil as he used to teach him how to write, read and cook and used to treat him respectfully.
Hari said that more than the loss of money, Anil would be upset at the loss of his faith in Hari.
Due to his previous experience with theft, Hari was aware of the many ways that people respond when they are robbed. He said that a greedy guy exhibits fear, a rich man exhibits wrath, and a poor man exhibits acceptance.
Yes, as soon as Anil handed Hari a fifty rupee note that was still moist from the previous night’s rain, he realised that he had been stolen.
We hope our notes on The Thief Story Class 10 helped you in understanding the chapter better. Stay tuned to Leverage Edu for study notes, educational trends, news and more!
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