On the face of it explanation class 12 English

 ON THE FACE OF IT

  According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, “On the Face of it” is an informal expression used to say that something seems to be good, true, etc. but this opinion may need to be changed when you know more about it.

  An individual may be quite different from what we think of him or what he or she may apparently appear to be at first glance.

  There is an imperative need for us to view others by removing our glasses of prejudice, hatred, hearsay, and dislike.

  On the face of it, Mr. Lamb appears to be the mysterious, lonely, lame old fellow who lives in a neighborhood house with a huge garden.

  In reality, he is very kind, generous, loving, and altruistic. 

  Although Derek has an ugly and scary face, he is a fine lad of fourteen with a deep longing for love.  What is wrong is the way people in their lives and around them view and treat them. 

  On the face of it, there is so much diversity, so many differences and divides between the people and other species of the world but underneath there is a oneness, a sameness – all of them are created by God. 

  All of them need to live and grow together with love and mutual acceptance. 

  As the play progresses the characters’ views about each other and our impression of them change for the better.

 THEME 

  A shift in perception disability disability—both on a societal and an individual level—to more fully embrace the value and dignity of all people 

  This also includes changing the perspectives of people with disabilities themselves so that they might stop seeing their own disabilities as something to be hated or ashamed of. 

  How society treats people with disabilities, other than inviting all people to be kinder to each other and not look down on people different from themselves 

  seeing disabilities as things to be hated, hidden away, or ashamed of, they can be treated as simple facts of people’s experience,

  addressed as such without degrading people’s humanity or dignity.

  The play’s title, which most clearly refers to Derry’s burned face, also asks its audience to look beyond what is “on the face of it” when dealing with a disability.

 CENTRAL IDEAS

 HUMAN CONNECTION AND OPENNESS

 On the Face of It, a short play that mostly consists of a conversation between an old man, Mr. Lamb, and a fourteen-year-old boy, Derry, is largely concerned with the relationships between people and the things that divide them or bring them together. Derry has a burned face and Mr. Lamb has lost a leg, so society treats them differently from other people. In response to this, Derry has learned to close himself off and avoid others, while Mr. Lamb maintains an attitude of openness. Ultimately, Lamb’s friendliness and non-judgmental acceptance win Derry over, and the two find a strong (though brief) connection. In Mr. Lamb’s character, playwright Susan Hill presents a worldview that embraces openness, the dignity and value of all people, and the importance of connection and kindness between them—and though Lamb’s story ends in tragedy, his positive effects on Derry are what linger beyond the play’s final scene. Derry, whose face was badly burned by acid, avoids human interaction.

 DISABILITY AND PERCEPTION

 The two main characters of On the Face of it have a physical disability, but they react to their disabilities in very different ways. The fourteen-year-old Derry had half of his face badly burned by acid in an accident, while Mr. Lamb lost one of his legs in World War II. Because he has been treated poorly by society as a person with a visible physical disability, Derry avoids others and assumes that everyone either pities or fears him. Mr. Lamb, on the other hand, sees disabilities as something that doesn’t matter when it comes to one’s humanity, and his conversation with Derry offers the boy a different perspective. The play ultimately advocates a shift in perception about disability—both on a societal and an individual level—to more fully embrace the value and dignity of all people, whatever their experience or appearance might be. This also includes changing the perspectives of people with disabilities themselves.

 LONELINESS AND ALIENATION 

 The play largely consists of a single conversation between an old man, Mr. Lamb, and 14 years old boy, Derry, who had previously never met but who eventually finds a sense of connection and companionship with each other. A large part of the poignancy of this brief connection (brief because Mr. Lamb presumably dies before their relationship can grow) is that both characters live in a society that makes them feel alienated and alone. Because of their respective physical disabilities, Derry and Mr. Lamb are treated differently from other people, and this leads them to lives of relative isolation, whether willingly or not. On the Face of It explores some of the ways people separate themselves from others and alienate certain people and shows just how damaging loneliness and isolation can be. 

 NATURE, OBSERVATION, AND CONTEMPLATION

 While On the Face of It is primarily concerned with issues of human connection and alienation, it also touches on the value of simply sitting in nature, contemplating one’s experience, and observing the world and other people. Again, this is mostly presented through the character of Mr. Lamb, and also in the way that Derry is converted to Lamb’s contemplative worldview throughout their conversation. In connection with its theme of remaining open to all kinds of experiences, the play emphasizes the importance of appreciating nature and observing and learning from one’s surroundings. Throughout his conversation with Derry, Mr. Lamb often returns to the subject of simply sitting, listening, and learning. He says “I sit here. I like sitting,” and “I’m interested in anybody. Anything. There’s nothing God made that doesn’t interest me.” He speaks of listening to his bees, saying, “When you listen to bees for a long while, they humm….and hum means ‘sing’. I hear them singing, my bees”.

 WEED - SYMBOL ANALYSIS

 The major part of the play takes place in Mr. Lamb’s Garden, and at one point the old man directs Derry’s attention to a certain part of the garden near the far wall. “What can you see?” he asks, and the boy first responds, “Rubbish,” and then, “Just...grass and stuff. Weeds.” Mr. Lamb then points out that there is only an arbitrary distinction between what is considered a flower and what is considered 3 a weed. Lamb says, “It’s all life...growing. Same as you and me.” Weeds, therefore, act as a symbol of perspective and perception, particularly regarding the disabilities faced by both Derry and Mr. Lamb (Derry’s burned face and Mr. Lamb’s amputated leg). A plant can be seen as a flower—something positive and desirable—or as a weed—something negative and undesirable—just like a disability can. The plant (or person with a disability) itself does not change, but when society’s perspective of it changes, it can go from being something rejected and avoided to something cultivated and admired. And while the plant obviously cannot change its perception of itself, humans can—and in this brief exchange about weeds, Mr. Lamb suggests that Derry could do so. He cannot change society’s perspective (whether others treat him like a flower or a weed), but he can change the way he thinks about himself. Instead of feeling ashamed and angry, he can recognize that he, like all other people, is just “life...growing” and valuable in his own way.

 MESSAGE 

  The message woven into the plot of the play is that scars do not change a person and handicaps must be accepted by individuals and society. 

  With a burned face, Derry had to face discrimination, because of which he had turned pessimistic. ... Mr. Lamb tells Derry that it all depends upon people's individual perceptions. 

  Mr. Lamb is a person who looks at things with a "half-full" perspective.

  He points out how one green plant is considered desirable and how the other (weed) is undesirable and how the sound made by the bees may be noise to some and music to others.

  He teaches Derry to not look at his burnt face as a disability and try to overcome it just as Mr. Lamb had dealt with his tin leg.

 QUESTIONS

 Q1. In what sense is the friendship between Mr. Lamb and Derry fruitful? 

 Answer. The friendship that flourished between Mr. Lamb and Derry was indeed fruitful. Mr.  Lamb’s unending enthusiasm and unceasing zeal to live life despite all odds helped Derry change his outlook towards life. Derry, who was just carrying on an unhappy existence, was able to see some meaning to his life after meeting Mr. Lamb. 

 Q2. What is the bond that unites the two—Mr. Lamb, the old, and Derry, the small boy? How does the old man inspire the little boy? 

 Answer. It is a physical disability in different forms, the empathetic feeling that creates a bond, which unites the old man and Derry. Although both face the same problem, there is a vast difference in their attitude toward the problem and their perception. Due to his age, the old man has an upper hand in life and experience, which gives him the zest to inspire the little boy. He has a better understanding of the situation. 

 Q3. How does Mr. Lamb try to remove the baseless fears of Derry?

 Answer. Mr. Lamb tries to remove his baseless fears of Derry by telling him that nothing in this world is so worthless that it deserves to be considered trash or waste. Even weeds have their own value. He advises Derry to ignore people’s comments and think of beautiful objects. He tells him to hear only those things that are worth hearing. It is an attitude that matters. 

 Q4. What qualities of Mr. Lamb attracted Derry to him?

 Answer: Mr Lamb was a person full of life. Sadness or negativity found no place in his world. His physical impairment and people’s humiliating remarks had failed to dampen his spirit. His undying optimism and ever-friendly attitude drew Derry towards him. For Derry, Mr. Lamb was his source of inspiration. 4

 Q5.Why does Derek not like being with people? 

 Ans. Derek is full of self-reproach and rejection on account of an acid-burnt side of his face. He doesn't like being with people because they constantly remind him of his ugliness and stay away from him. He does not like to see people being afraid of him because he is ugly. Instead of feeling loved and wanted like the other children, he feels rejected and unwanted.

 Q6. It's all relative to "Beauty and the Beast". What does Mr. Lamb mean by this statement? 

 Ans. Mr. Lamb means to say that different people have different viewpoints to look at the same thing. Some find one thing beautiful, and others find it ugly. It all depends on one's outlook and attitude. It is therefore important to adopt a positive attitude towards everything in life just like the princess, Beauty who loved the monstrous beast in the fairy tale but the beast, although he was the prince, failed to see his own reality. The point is that you are not what you appear but what you are as a person. Looks can be deceptive. 

 Q7. Why does Mr. Lamb not have any curtains on the windows of the house? 

 Ans. Mr. Lamb says that he is not fond of curtains. He does not want to shut things in and shut things out. He likes natural light and darkness. He wants to hear the winds outside. He wants to be a part of the world outside.That's why he keeps his windows open.