THINK ABOUT IT

Page 54

Q1. What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is his mother’s reaction? What does she do?
Answer: One Sunday afternoon, the author notices smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling. His mother’s initial reaction is to run out of the house. However, in a crazed state, she runs back into the burning house twice. The first time, she carries out a small metal box with important documents, and the second time, she goes back to retrieve his deceased father’s pictures and letters.

Q2. Why does he break down in tears after the fire?
Answer: The author breaks down in tears after the fire because he is overwhelmed by a series of losses. First, he feels the loss of his home. Then, he realizes that his beloved cat, whom he had rescued as a kitten, is nowhere to be found. The combination of these tragedies and his existing feelings of isolation at his new school causes him to break down.

Q3. Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his fear and insecurity?
Answer: The author is deeply embarrassed because he has no clothes, books, or backpack. He is wearing the dress he had worn to church, but he has to borrow tennis shoes from his aunt, which look “weird.” He feels like an outcast and a geek, and he is afraid he will never fit in. The words that show his fear and insecurity are: “I was totally embarrassed by everything,” “Was I destined to be an outcast and a geek all my life?,” and “I just wanted to curl up and die.”

Q4. 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 story shows the deep bond between the author and his cat in several ways. The cat is described as “never far from me” and purring loudly as she lies on his papers. The author is distraught when he realizes the cat is missing after the fire. He cries and aches for her, recalling her behavior as a kitten. The cat was so terrified by the fire that she ran over a mile away. A kind woman brings the cat back after seeing her collar with the author’s phone number on it. She had to work hard to find the owner because the phones were destroyed and disconnected.

Q5. 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 author’s schoolmates, upon learning of his plight, take up a collection and buy him new school supplies, notebooks, and clothes. This “genuine outpouring of concern” changes his understanding of life and people. He is no longer lonely because people who had never spoken to him before introduce themselves and invite him to their homes. He is so touched that he finally feels “things were going to be okay.” His loneliness vanishes, and he starts participating in life by making new friends and feeling a sense of community.

Q6. 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: The author had not physically gone anywhere. “My cat was back and so was I” means that with the return of his beloved cat, a sense of emotional wholeness and security returned to his life. He says he is “back” because he had been feeling lost, lonely, and devastated since the fire. The kindness of his schoolmates and the return of his cat allowed him to overcome his feelings of loss and tragedy and start rebuilding his life, both literally and emotionally.