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.
Important Questions of The Thief 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!