give character sketch of oliver in poem face in the dark 150-200 words
Answers
Question:-
give character sketch of oliver in poem face in the dark 150-200 words
Answer:-
In the story “A Face in the Dark” Ruskin Bond has presented the protagonist Mr. Oliver as an Anglo-Indian teacher in a reputed English public school in Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India. The story being very short in length, the author has avoided detailed descriptions of his appearance and feelings. Moreover, Mr. Oliver speaks very little in the course of the story. But still we get a vivid picture of Mr. Oliver’s character from the story.
From the context of the story we can say that Mr. Oliver is a man of knowledge and skills to have got the position of a teacher in a school which had been called “Eton of the East“. He also seems to be professional and able at his business and that is why he has been teaching there ‘for several years’.
Oliver is also a realistic man as the narrator mentions —
Oliver was not a nervous or imaginative man.
We see Mr. Oliver taking the usually lonely path through the pine forest while returning to the school compound from the Simla bazaar even late at night. That only supports the narrator’s comment on him not being nervous. He is seemingly courageous enough to take that lonely way while other people are afraid of the eerie sound made by the wind through the pine forest. We also find Mr. Oliver’s common sense in carrying a torch with him.
From the few words that Oliver utters in the story we find Mr. Oliver as a man of discipline. He does not like the boy being out at that evening as it is against the rule of the school.
Answer:
A Face in the Dark is an interesting suspense story by Ruskin Bond where the author brilliantly exploits the elements of fear and darkness to capture the reader’s imagination. Dealing with the themes of fear, darkness and the supernatural, A Face in the Dark has a quick-paced plot which draws the reader in before leaving an unforgettable impression by keeping the climax right till the very end of the story.
A Face in the Dark follows a rather troubling event experienced by Mr Oliver, an Anglo-Indian teacher from a well reputed school in Shimla. This school had been named ‘The Eton of the East’ by the Life magazine and had groomed generations of boys from wealthy Indian families.
Mr Oliver, the protagonist of the story is said to have had the habit of strolling in the Shimla bazaar, about three miles from the school during the evening before returning via a shortcut through a pine forest. The tall pines would often make an awfully sad whistling sound when strong winds passed through them. In the story, the nature of this sound seems to have a disturbing effect on the passers-by who avoid traveling through the forest and stick to the main road. Because Mr Oliver was not a “nervous or an imaginative man“,we find him taking the road less travelled. He’s carried a torch whose batteries are running out and whose light move fitfully across the narrow forest. Definitely not a good sign for Mr Oliver.
The flicker of the light from his torch falls on the figure of a boy wearing a school cap. Initially, Mr Oliver wants to identify the miscreant as the students were forbidden from venturing out after dark as per the school rules. However, he quickly realizes that something is not quite right in this case:
“The boy appeared to be crying. His head hung down and held his face in his hands and his body shook violently. It was a strange soundless weeping. Mr Oliver felt distinctly uneasy.”