NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Moments Chapter 8 A House Is Not A Home
THINK ABOUT I T
Question:- 1. What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is his mother’s reaction? What does she do?
Answer:- One Sunday afternoon, the author smelled something unusual, and then he noticed smoke seeping in through the seams of the ceiling. It filled the room quickly. The author and his mother ran out of the house to save their life. His mother ran back into the house and ran out carrying a small metal box full of important documents. She dropped the box on the lawn and rushed back into the house to bring the photographs of the author’s dead father, which was the only thing that she had to remember him by.
Question:- 2. Why does he break down in tears after the fire?
Answer:- When the fire was finally put out after five hours, the author discovered that his cat was missing. Now he had to face the loss of old school, his house and loving cat. All these things broke down him in tears.
Question:- 3. Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his fear and insecurity?
Answer:- The author is feeling embarrassed the next day at school because his clothes were weird, his books, homework, and his backpack all were burnt. He was insecure and frustrated. The words that express his fear and insecurity are:- “I didn’t want to grow up, change or have to handle life if it was going to be this way. I just wanted to curl up and die.”
Question:- 4. 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 author adored his cat. He never considered her far from him. She sat next to him while he worked on his homework and other household chores. When the author discovered that his cat had returned, he was overjoyed. He immediately grabbed her and felt relieved. This showed how much they cared for each other.
When the home caught fire, the cat ran over a mile away. A random lady returned it since the cat’s collar had a phone number written on it.
Question:- 5. 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 schoolmates brought notebooks, clothes, tops and sweatsuits etc for him. They came introduced themselves and expressed their concern. Their actions changed the author’s understanding of life and people. All of this had an emotional impact on him. He made many friends that day.
Question:- 6. 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 was depressed after a great loss in all fields his old school, his teachers, his house and his cat. In such circumstances he had no interest in life and he considered himself dead.
Finally, as soon as the circumstances changed, he felt relieved. He now had everything he needed. When he regained custody of his lost cat, He felt that he came to the earlier phase of life. Hence he said “My cat was back and so was I” .