A house is not a home class 9 summary
Answers
story relates the experiences of the writer after she joins a new high school. All her friends have gone to a different school and she feels very isolated among the new students and teachers. She often visits the teachers in her old school and they encourage her to participate in the activities at her new school. They assure her that in time she will grow to love her new school.
On a Sunday afternoon soon after, the writer is seated on the dining table, doing her homework. As it is a cold and windy day, there is a fire going in the fireplace. The writer’s red tabby cat is lying on top of her school papers. The reader is informed that the writer had rescued the cat when it was a kitten and since then they have had a close relationship. Suddenly, the writer smells something strange: she looks up to the ceiling sees that smoke is pouring in through its seams. It fills the room quickly and they run out of the house to find that the fire has engulfed the roof. While the writer runs to the neighbour’s house to call the fire department, her mother runs back into the house.
The writer’s mother returns with a metal box that has important documents and then runs back in. The writer knows she has gone to collect pictures of her father who had passed away when she was young. She knows that the pictures are all that her mother has left of him. The writer tries to run into the house after her mother but is restrained by a fireman—by this time, the street is full of fire trucks. She tells him that her mother is in the house and he assures her that the other firemen have gone into the house to rescue her. He wraps her in a blanket and makes her sit in a car.
Soon enough, a fireman emerges with the writer’s mother. The writer is relieved and runs to her mother and hugs her. She feels that the happiness of that moment has washed over all the times she had argued with her mother and hated her.
It takes five hours to douse the fire and the house appears almost completely destroyed. At this time, the writer remembers her cat and realises that it is nowhere to be found. She becomes overwhelmed by the feeling of loss: of her old school, her friends, her old teachers, her home and now, her cat. Although she does not want to leave without knowing what happened to her cat, the firemen announce that it is not safe to go into the house. Thus, with just the clothes they are wearing and the blankets given by the firemen, the writer and her mother make their way to her grandparents’ house to spend the night.
The next day, the writer’s mother forces her to go to school. The writer does not want to go because she is very embarrassed: she is still wearing the dress she wore the day before and has had to borrow tennis shoes from her aunt. She has lost her books, her homework and her backpack in the fire. She feels very self-conscious because she knows that instead of blending in, this incident will cause her to stick out like a sore thumb. At school, she feels lost and completely out of place.
She goes to her old house after school and is pained to see that only the pictures and documents rescued by her mother have survived the fire. Once again she longs for her cat. However, there is no time for grief, as they need to find a new house and buy new clothes for school. Eventually, they rent an apartment near their old house. The writer visits her old house in the hope of finding her cat. She misses her cat terribly and remembers the time they had spent together.
The writer realises that everyone in her school has come to know of the fire. She feels embarrassed by the attention people give her. The next day, people gather around the writer and ask her to hurry up and head to gym class. She finds this strange but upon reaching the gym, she sees that a table has been set up and piled with school supplies, notebooks and clothes—all of it is for her. Strangers introduce themselves to her and even invite her to their homes. This heartfelt gesture touches her heart and she finally feels hopeful about her situation. At last, she makes new friends.
A month later, the writer is at the site of her old house with two of her new friends, watching her house being rebuilt. She realises that because of the fire incident, she was able to break through her insecurities and embrace the wonderful things and people around her. She realises that just like the house, her life too is being rebuilt.
This story relates the experiences of the writer after she joins a new high school. All her friends have gone to a different school and she feels very isolated among the new students and teachers. She often visits the teachers in her old school and they encourage her to participate in the activities at her new school. They assure her that in time she will grow to love her new school.
On a Sunday afternoon soon after, the writer is seated on the dining table, doing her homework. As it is a cold and windy day, there is a fire going in the fireplace. The writer’s red tabby cat is lying on top of her school papers. The reader is informed that the writer had rescued the cat when it was a kitten and since then they have had a close relationship. Suddenly, the writer smells something strange: she looks up to the ceiling sees that smoke is pouring in through its seams. It fills the room quickly and they run out of the house to find that the fire has engulfed the roof. While the writer runs to the neighbour’s house to call the fire department, her mother runs back into the house.
The writer’s mother returns with a metal box that has important documents and then runs back in. The writer knows she has gone to collect pictures of her father who had passed away when she was young. She knows that the pictures are all that her mother has left of him. The writer tries to run into the house after her mother but is restrained by a fireman—by this time, the street is full of fire trucks. She tells him that her mother is in the house and he assures her that the other firemen have gone into the house to rescue her. He wraps her in a blanket and makes her sit in a car.
Soon enough, a fireman emerges with the writer’s mother. The writer is relieved and runs to her mother and hugs her. She feels that the happiness of that moment has washed over all the times she had argued with her mother and hated her.
It takes five hours to douse the fire and the house appears almost completely destroyed. At this time, the writer remembers her cat and realises that it is nowhere to be found. She becomes overwhelmed by the feeling of loss: of her old school, her friends, her old teachers, her home and now, her cat. Although she does not want to leave without knowing what happened to her cat, the firemen announce that it is not safe to go into the house. Thus, with just the clothes they are wearing and the blankets given by the firemen, the writer and her mother make their way to her grandparents’ house to spend the night.