mr. oliver enconter with the boy and the watchman could either be real or figment of his imagination. give your comments in this context of the story
Answers
Answer: The story 'A Face In The Dark' is a short story penned by Ruskin Bond. It is an open-ended story that leaves the ending completely unto the imagination of the reader, based on the information provided in the story. The story is set in a dark, eerie forest. The protagonist is a Mr. Oliver, a teacher in a renowned boarding school in Shimla. While returning from his evening walk through the Shimla Bazaar, Mr. Oliver regulars a path through the forest. Ruskin Bond uses different elements to set an unsettling and eerie atmosphere to create a background for the climax. As Mr. Oliver is passing through the forest, he notices a boy sitting on the corner of the trail with his head in his hands, weeping. Mr. Oliver is immediately concerned and attempts to console the boy however, when the boy raises his head, Mr. Oliver notices that the boy is lacking any facial features. Mr. Oliver is visibly spooked and takes to his heels. On the way he notices a watchman and feels a sense of security so he waits by him for a while. He narrates to the watchman the events that occurred in the forest. this when the watchman raises the lamp in his hand to his face and asks Mr. Oliver whether it resembled his face and this is where the story ends. It is evident from the story that Mr. Oliver is neither a imaginative nor a nervous man. This leads us to believe that the events were either a trick of the mind and Mr. Oliver was hallucinating or a prank coordinated and executed by the watchman and the student. As it was a boarding school and the fact that the watchman was an adult and over such petty pranks, the first alternative seems likely. The hallucinations could have been a result of Mr. Oliver's exhaustion on having walked through the Shimla Bazaar or in whole or in part due to the poor lighting for the boy and as for the watchman, Mr. Oliver's shock and immense fear on seeing the boy may have caused. These or only speculations on wholly based on my interpretation of the story and, as I mentioned, the reasons are up to the reader.
P.S.: Thank you for taking the time to read my answer! I apologize in advance for any error you may find in my answer as this was written in a bit of rush. If you do notice a error feel free to notify me and I shall remedy it at the earliest
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