The story 'A Face In The Dark' describes Mr Oliver both as a fearless and a haunted person. Do you agree with both the characteristics of Mr Oliver? Justify.
Answers
Characterization
Mr. Oliver
Mr. Oliver is an Anglo Indian school teacher in an English Public School which is referred to as the "Eton of the East," situated at the outskirts of the city of Simla. He is a bachelor and therefore walks to the Simla market every evening from the school. While returning back he takes the short cut through the pine forest, a road which most people do not take because of the uncanny atmosphere of the forest. But Mr. Oliver is a man who has no fanciful mind and therefore dares to take that route every day. In other words, Mr. Oliver does not believe in ghosts and other supernatural beings as he is very courageous.
One day when it is windy and eerie sounds are reverberating throughout the forest, Mr. Oliver finds a boy sitting on a rock and weeping. He being a teacher thinks that it is against the rule of the school for students to be outside the campus after dark. Being a disciplinarian, he approaches the boy to scold him. But soon realizes that the boy was sobbing with convulsions and becomes sympathetic to the boy and tries to find out the reason why he is crying. As Mr. Oliver throws the torch light on the boy's face. he is terrified to find out that the boy has no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. This uncanny encounter makes Mr. Oliver so scared that he starts running blindly towards school.
The author shows how the man who believes in no fancy ideas still is scared when he is encountered with an uncanny face. As Mr. Oliver runs through the forest blindly, he meets another uncanny experience when he bumps into a watch man who too has no nose, no mouth, no ears, no eyes, not even eye brows. This meeting completely shatters him as the wind also blows out the light.
Some may believe that living alone in a hilly town has made Mr. Oliver psychologically disturbed to imagine uncanny creatures with faces having no eyes, nose, ears or mouth. But it may also be inferred that these uncanny boy and watchman that he meets are creations of his own mind. It may be that he is courageous but at the same time he is very practical too as he carries a torch as he takes a route through the forest to return back to the school.