A House Is Not a Home

A House Is Not a Home

Think about it

Question 1. What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is his mother’s reaction? What does she do?

Answer: One Sunday afternoon, the author smells something strange, and then he notices smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling. Soon the room gets completely filled with smoke that they cannot see anything. They reach the front door using their hands, and then into the front yard of the house.

        The author runs to the neighbours so that he can ask them to call the fire department, while his mother runs back into the house. She then runs out of the house carrying a small metal box full of important documents. After dropping the case on the lawn, she again runs back into the house so that she can bring the pictures and letters of her late husband as these are the only things she has to remember him by.

Question 2. Why does he break down in tears after the fire?

Answer: After the fire, he finds that his red tabby cat is missing. He is then hit by certain thoughts like the difficulties in the school, the fire that damaged his house and the loss of his favourite tabby cat. All these thoughts make him break into tears thinking that he suffers from big loss.

Question 3. Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his fear and insecurity?

Answer: The next day in school, the author is embarrassed because the clothes that he keeps wearing looks weird; he has no books, homework, or backpack. He feels himself like an outcast and a geek.

       The words that show his fear and insecurity are:

i. I didn’t want to grow up, change or have to handle life if it was going to be this way.

ii. I just wanted to curl up and die.”

Question 4. The cat and the author are very fond of each other. How has this been shown in the story? Where was the cat after the fire? Who brings it back and how?

Answer: The fondness between the cat and the author is shown at various places in the story. In the first instance, it is shown that the author had saved her life when she was a kitten and somehow she also knows that he is responsible for giving her the good life.

       In the second instance, when the author realises that his cat is missing, he breaks down in tears and cries and cries thinking that he suffers from big loss.

        After getting the cat, the woman tries very hard to find out whose cat it is. Finally she gets the address of the author by using the phone number present on the collar of the cat. She then brings it to the author.

Question 5. What actions of the schoolmates change the author’s understanding of life and people, and comfort him emotionally? How does his loneliness vanish and how does he start participating in life?

Answer: The schoolmates of the author show genuine concern for him when they know that he has lost everything in the fire.

         So the next day when he comes to school and begins to prepare himself for the gym class, some students start moving around him asking him to hurry up to the class. He finds their behaviour strange towards him but he doesn’t react to them as so many things happened with him in the past week. Then it seems to him that they are trying to push him into the gym.

         When the author reaches the gym class, he becomes emotional to find that his friends have brought so many things like notebooks and different types of cloth for him. Everybody then introduces himself to the author. They also invite him to their houses. These changes change the author’s understanding of life and people.

         On that day he makes many friends and starts participating in life. Thus his loneliness gets vanished.

Question 6. What is the meaning of “My cat was back, and so was I”? Had the author gone anywhere? Why does he say that he is also back?

Answer: No, the author had not gone anywhere.

         He thinks for the first time that things are going to be alright when he is helped by his new friends who buy him school supplies, notebooks and different types of clothes. They also invite him to their houses. He then makes friendship with them.

         Later when he gets back his red tabby cat from the women, he feels that he has got everything and so he says that he is also back.

Question 5. What actions of the schoolmates change the author’s understanding of life and people, and comfort him emotionally? How does his loneliness vanish and how does he start participating in life?

Answer: The schoolmates of the author show genuine concern for him when they know that he has lost everything in the fire.

        So the next day when he comes to school and begins to prepare himself for the gym class, some students start moving around him asking him to hurry up to the class. He finds their behaviour strange towards him but he doesn’t react to them as so many things happened with him in the past week. Then it seems to him that they are trying to push him into the gym.

       When the author reaches the gym class, he becomes emotional to find that his friends have brought so many things like notebooks and different types of cloth for him. Everybody then introduces himself to the author. They also invite him to their houses. These changes change the author’s understanding of life and people.

      On that day he makes many friends and starts participating in life. Thus his loneliness gets vanished.

Question 6. What is the meaning of “My cat was back, and so was I”? Had the author gone anywhere? Why does he say that he is also back?

Answer: No, the author had not gone anywhere.

         He thinks for the first time that things are going to be alright when he is helped by his new friends who buy him school supplies, notebooks and different types of clothes. They also invite him to their houses. He then makes friendship with them.

         Later when he gets back his red tabby cat from the women, he feels that he has got everything and so he says that he is also back.