Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Thief’s Story Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared The Thief’s Story MCQ and A Triumph of Surgery Questions & Answers so, you can check these posts as well.
The Thief’s Story Questions & Answers
Question 1: Who was Hari Singh? Why did he approach Anil at the wrestling match?
Answer: Hari Singh was 15 years-old young boy who was a thief. He approached Anil at the wrestling match because he seemed to be easy-going, kind and simple enough to be targeted as his next victim.
Question 2: “I was an experienced and fairly successful hand.” Why does Hari Singh say so?
Answer: Hari Singh said so because he did not consider his profession of stealing and cheating people bad in any way and admired himself for his talent as a thief. He believed that his ability to cheat and steal was perfect.
Question 3: Why did Hari Singh tell Anil that he looks like a wrestler?
Answer: Hari Singh told Anil that he looks like a wrestler because by making sweet talks, he wanted to win his confidence.
Question 4: Why was Hari Singh trying to make friends with Anil?
Answer: Hari was trying to make friends with Anil because his intention was to cheat him.
Question 5: Why did Hari Singh flatter Anil?
Answer: Hari Singh had an experienced and fairly successful hand at stealing and cheating people. He knew thatflattery is a very powerful weapon and it really helps to build friendships and win people’s confidence. So, he flattered Anil by saying that he is strong and looks like wrestler.
Question 6: Why did Hari Singh assume a new name every month?
Answer: Hari Singh was a thief and to earn his living, he used to steal and cheat people. This exposed him to the danger of getting caught by the police. So, he used to assume a new name every month to escape from the police and to befool his former employers.
Question 7: Why did Hari Singh give his ‘most appealing smile’ to Anil?
Answer: Hari Singh gave his ‘most appealing smile’ to Anil because he knew that in order to win his confidence and get some favour, he had to behave pleasingly.
Question 8: On what conditions did Anil agree to employ Hari Singh?
Answer: Anil agreed to employ Hari Singh on the condition that he would not give him any wages to him but would give him food and a place to stay in return for his services. Anil put this condition because he was a poor writer and could not afford to give any wages to Hari Singh.
Question 9: Where did Anil live? Why? Where did he put up Hari Singh?
Answer: Anil was a struggling writer and could not afford a big place so, he lived in a small room over the Jumna Sweet Shop. He put up Hari Singh in the balcony of this room.
Question 10: When did Anil pat the head of Hari Singh? Why did he say ‘never mind’?
Answer: Anil patted the head of Hari when the latter cooked a miserable meal. Anil was compassionate, kind hearted man and said ‘never mind’ so as not to hurt him and to make him feel comfortable.
The Thief’s Story Questions & Answers
Question 11: Why do you think Anil patted Hari Singh even after the latter had cooked really bad food?
Answer: Anil saw that Hari Singh was quite desperate to work for him so, he encouraged him by the gesture of patting and promised that he would teach him how to cook.
Question 12: Why was Hari Singh grateful to Anil for teaching him to write?
Answer: Hari Singh was grateful to Anil for teaching him to write because he knew that he would be able to make a lot of money with the help of education in his line of work as a thief.
Question 13: How did Hari Singh make ‘profit’ of a rupee a day? What Anil’s reaction to this?
Answer: Hari Singh used to buy daily necessities for Anil and he made a profit of a rupee a day. Anil knew that Hari Singh was cheating him but he decided to ignore this as he was a kind-hearted man.
Question 14: Did Hari Singh enjoy working for Anil? Why/Why not?
Answer: Yes, Hari Singh enjoyed working for Anil. He found it pleasant because there was hardly any work to do. After preparing the morning tea, he would go out shopping for the day’s needs where he made a profit of a rupee or so every day.
Question 15: What was Anil’s occupation?
Answer: Anil was a writer who used to write for magazines. He made money by ‘fits and starts’ and very often he had to borrow money. Besides, he was always worried about his next cheque.
Question 16: How did Anil get the money that he showed to Hari Singh one evening?
Answer: Anil sold his book to a publisher and that is how, he had managed to get a bundle of six hundred rupees notes in fifties which he showed to Hari Singh one evening.
Question 17: Why did Hari Singh conclude that Anil was a trusting person?
Answer: In spite of knowing that Hari Singh has the habit of stealing money while buying daily necessities for him, Anil gave him a key to his door for easy coming and going. Therefore, Hari Singh concluded that Anil was a trusting person.
Question 18: Why did Hari Singh find it difficult to rob Anil?
Answer: Hari Singh found it difficult to rob Anil because a careless person like Anil did not even notice that he had been robbed and that would take all the pleasure out of the work.
Question 19: How did Hari Singh justify to himself the act of stealing Anil’s money?
Answer: Hari Singh justified to himself the act of stealing Anil’s money by saying that he was gradually losing his skill of stealing and had he not stolen it, Anil would have wasted the money on his friends. Moreover, Anil did not pay him any wages.
Question 20: When and how did Hari Singh steal Anil’s money?
Answer: Hari Singh stole Anil’s money when he was fast asleep at night. He slipped his hand stealthily under the mattress where the money was hidden and carried out this theft like a thorough professional.
The Thief’s Story Questions & Answers
Question 21: What did Hari Singh plan to do after stealing Anil’s money?
Answer: After stealing Anil’s money, Hari Singh planned to catch the 10.30 p.m. express to Lucknow so as to escape from police and Anil as fast as possible before the discovery of theft.
Question 22: Why did Hari Singh stand at the platform?
Answer: After having stolen Anil’s money, Hari Singh’s dilemma had prevented him from running away so, he stood at the platform.
Question 23: Why didn’t Hari Singh have any friends?
Answer: Hari Singh believed that for a thief, friends cause more trouble than give help so, he did not have any friends.
Question 24: Why did Hari Singh find himself in a maidaan?
Answer: Hari Singh found himself in a maidaan because after having stolen Anil’s money, he did not have any place to go.
Question 25: Why did Hari Singh sit down on a bench?
Answer: After having robbed a kind employer who trusted him, Hari Singh sat down on a bench to do some self-introspection and resolve his dilemma.
Question 26: Describe the weather at night after Hari Singh left the station.
Answer: The night when Hari left the station was an early November chilly night. There was first a light drizzle which was followed by quite a heavy rain that added to Hari Singh’s discomfort. This was accompanied by a cold wind that blew the rain across his face.
Question 27: What was the discomfort to which the light drizzle added?
Answer: The discomfort to which the light drizzle added was the pricking-conscience of Hari Singh that stopped him from running away with Anil’s money.
Question 28: ‘…but now I had it all.’ How much was ‘all’ that ‘I’ had now? Was ‘I’ happy to have it all?
Answer: It was six hundred rupees in all that ‘I’ means Hari Singh had. No, Hari Singh was not happy to have it all because after having breached Anil’s trust, he was feeling guilty.
Question 29: What are Hari Singh’s views about the reaction of different people on being robbed?
Answer: On being robbed, a greedy man looks fearful, a rich man shows anger while a poor man shows acceptance.
Question 30: Why did Hari Singh decide to go back to Anil?
Answer: For betraying kind-hearted Anil, Hari Singh’s conscience was pricking him because he was the one who gave him food, shelter and education. Hari Singh decided to go back to Anil because there he would get the opportunity to lead a decent life.
Question 31: Why was Hari Singh nervous when he returned to Anil’s room after attempting to run away with the latter’s money?
Answer: Hari Singh knew that it was easier to steal something than to return it undetected so, he was nervous when he returned to Anil’s room.
Question 32: Why did Hari Singh get up late on the morning that followed the night when he had attempted to steal Anil’s money?
Answer: Hari Singh got up late because he did not want to face Anil and also, he wanted to sleep over the unpleasant happenings of the previous night.
Question 33: Why did Hari Singh say, “My heart sank,” when he saw a fifty rupee note in Anil’s outstretched hands?
Answer: Hari Singh said so because he thought that Anil had discovered his theft and he did not know how to face that person who had trusted him completely. He also feared that he could be handed over to the police, too.
Question 34: Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
Answer: Yes, Anil does realise that he has been robbed. Hari’s observation ‘He knew’ implies that the theft had been discovered since the notes were still wet from the last night’s rain. However, Anil pretended that he was unaware of the matter as he wanted to give a chance to Hari Singh to reform himself.
So, these were The Thief’s Story Questions & Answers.