Home-coming by Rabindranath Tagore – Contextual Q&A
Question 1
"Phatik was a boy of fourteen, and had lost his father while he was yet very young. His mother was the only protector he had in the world. But she looked after him with a somewhat impatient hand. His younger brother, Makhan, was the apple of his mother's eye, and Phatik was a trial to her, for he was always getting into mischief."
(i) What does "only protector" reveal about Phatik's family situation? (3)
(ii) How does the mother's treatment of Phatik differ from her treatment of Makhan? (3)
(iii) What does "impatient hand" suggest about the mother's care? (3)
(iv) Why is Phatik described as "a trial" to his mother? (3)
(v) How does this passage establish the root cause of Phatik's later suffering? (4)
Answer:
(i) Phatik has lost his father and has only his mother for protection and care. This makes him vulnerable and dependent on her for emotional support and guidance, yet that support is not consistently available or warm.
(ii) Makhan is "the apple of his mother's eye"—cherished and favored—while Phatik is treated with impatience and blame. His mother shows preference and love toward Makhan but treats Phatik as a burden or problem to be managed rather than a child to be nurtured.
(iii) "Impatient hand" suggests the mother's care is hurried, frustrated, and lacking in warmth or understanding. She cares for him but with irritation and exasperation rather than with tenderness or genuine affection. Her caregiving is perfunctory and cold.
(iv) Phatik is "a trial" because he is mischievous and gets into trouble, requiring constant correction and discipline. However, this description reveals the mother's bias—she labels Phatik as troublesome rather than seeking to understand why he misbehaves or what needs he is expressing through mischief.
(v) This passage establishes that Phatik's suffering originates not from external circumstances but from the lack of maternal love and understanding at home. His desperate search for love and belonging throughout the story is rooted in this early deprivation. The mother's impatience and favoritism set the stage for Phatik's vulnerability and his need for acceptance.
Question 2
"Uncle Bishamber came to visit them one day and proposed to take Phatik to Calcutta with him. He said that the boy would have better opportunities for education in the city. Phatik's mother, who had been troubled by her eldest son for so long, agreed readily. And Phatik himself, when he heard about the proposal, was delighted. He began to prepare for the journey eagerly, and the night before his departure, he gave away his most precious possessions to his younger brother—his fishing rod, his big kite, and his marbles."
(i) Why does Uncle Bishamber propose to take Phatik to Calcutta? (3)
(ii) What is revealed by the mother's "ready" agreement to the proposal? (3)
(iii) What is Phatik's initial reaction to the proposal? (3)
(iv) What is the significance of Phatik giving away his possessions to Makhan? (3)
(v) How does this scene function as a turning point in the story? (4)
Answer:
Question 3
"The night before he left, Phatik gave to Makhan his fishing rod, his big kite, and his marbles. Makhan's eyes were filled with tears when he received these gifts. He was a boy of eleven, and did not quite understand what these gifts meant. So he said, 'Phatik, why do you give me all these? Won't you want them?' 'No, brother,' said Phatik quietly, 'I shall not want them any more.'"
(i) What is the significance of Phatik giving away his most prized possessions? (3)
(ii) Why does Makhan not understand the meaning of these gifts? (3)
(iii) What does Phatik mean when he says "I shall not want them any more"? (3)
(iv) How does this scene foreshadow Phatik's fate? (3)
(v) What is the emotional significance of this parting between the brothers? (4)
Answer:
(i) By giving away his possessions, Phatik is essentially saying goodbye to his childhood and to his village home. These gifts are not mere objects but symbols of his identity as a village boy—a fisher, a kite-flyer, a player. His surrender of them represents his farewell to a life that will no longer be his. The permanence of the gift-giving suggests Phatik knows he will not return.
(ii) At eleven, Makhan is younger and hasn't experienced the cruelty and loneliness that have marked Phatik's life. He cannot comprehend why his brother would permanently give away valued toys. To Makhan, these are still sources of joy; he doesn't yet understand that Phatik has transcended such simple pleasures through suffering and despair.
(iii) The statement carries multiple meanings: superficially, Phatik means he won't need them because he's moving to the city where such village pastimes won't be available. More deeply, his tone ("quietly") and finality suggest he is preparing for something more permanent—that he won't "want" things in the way he once did because his capacity for childhood joy has been destroyed.
(iv) This scene foreshadows Phatik's death through the finality of his language and actions. His giving away of possessions mirrors a deathbed farewell. The phrase "I shall not want them any more" suggests a person who has decided they have no future to look forward to. Readers sense something ominous in Phatik's quiet resignation, a hint that he will not survive his sojourn in Calcutta.
(v) The parting is emotionally significant because it shows Makhan finally connecting emotionally with Phatik. Though they have competed for their mother's affection and Makhan has lied about the log incident, in this final moment they share genuine feeling. Makhan's tears suggest he senses something profound in his brother's quiet sadness. Yet even this moment of connection comes too late to prevent Phatik's tragedy—Makhan cannot save his brother through love alone.
Question 4
"One day Phatik heard of a band of boys of his own age making fun of him. He became more and more a timid and reserved child, suffering in silence like a stray dog that has lost its master. He did not know how to complain or ask for sympathy. But the look in his eyes asked the question which his lips had not the courage to utter: 'Why am I not loved?'"
(i) What effect does bullying have on Phatik's character? (3)
(ii) What does the simile "like a stray dog that has lost its master" convey? (3)
(iii) Why does Phatik not complain or ask for sympathy? (3)
(iv) What is the significance of "the look in his eyes asked the question"? (3)
(v) How does this passage summarize Phatik's emotional journey and inner turmoil? (4)
Answer:
(i) Bullying transforms Phatik from a mischievous village boy into a "timid and reserved child." He withdraws emotionally and becomes passive, learning not to assert himself or defend his interests. The bullying breaks his spirit and teaches him that expressing his needs is futile or dangerous.
(ii) The simile emphasizes Phatik's helplessness and loss of direction. A stray dog has lost its source of protection, identity, and belonging. Like such a dog, Phatik has lost his home, his familiar relationships, and his sense of security. He is abandoned in an unfamiliar environment with no one to care for him.
(iii) Phatik doesn't complain because he lacks agency and confidence to advocate for himself. As a child in a household that doesn't care for him, he has learned that expressing needs brings punishment or ridicule. Silence seems safer than asking for help that may not come.
(iv) The "look in his eyes" expressing what his lips cannot say reveals the depth of Phatik's emotional pain and his fundamental human need for love. His eyes betray the question his voice cannot ask, emphasizing that his deepest need—to be loved—is expressed non-verbally through his suffering appearance.
(v) This passage captures Phatik's complete emotional breakdown: from a mischievous boy seeking attention to a withdrawn child suffering silently, his entire being reduced to a single unanswered question: "Why am I not loved?" The passage reveals that beneath his silence lies profound emotional deprivation and a desperate yearning for basic human affection.
Question 5
"Phatik stood wistfully by the window and gazed at the roofs of the distant houses. And if by chance he espied children playing on the open terrace of a roof, his heart would ache with longing. One day he summoned up all his courage, and asked his uncle, 'Uncle, when can I go home?' His uncle answered: 'Wait till the holidays.'"
(i) What does "gazed at the roofs of distant houses" reveal about Phatik's emotional state? (3)
(ii) Why does his heart ache when he sees children playing? (3)
(iii) What does "summoned up all his courage" suggest about his question? (3)
(iv) How is his uncle's response inadequate to Phatik's emotional need? (3)
(v) How does this passage demonstrate Phatik's emotional isolation in Calcutta? (4)
Answer:
Question 6
"One morning Phatik woke up with a burning fever. The whole of his body was running with perspiration. It appeared that he had been lying awake all the night. His mind was delirious. He wanted to run away, to get away from the house, away from school, away from Calcutta. He wanted to go home—home to his mother. The servant had heard the sound of the door opening in the dead of night and followed him. Phatik, fever-stricken, did not know where to go. He had walked a little way, when he fell."
(i) What does the physical illness represent psychologically? (3)
(ii) Why is Phatik's desire to run away expressed as an urgent need rather than a reasoned plan? (3)
(iii) What does the phrase "running with perspiration" suggest about his emotional state? (3)
(iv) Why does Phatik want to go "home to his mother" despite her coldness? (3)
(v) How does this scene represent the climax of Phatik's emotional and physical deterioration? (4)
Answer:
(i) The physical fever is a manifestation of psychological breakdown. Phatik's emotional suffering—the accumulated loneliness, rejection, bullying, and despair—has literally made him physically ill. His burning fever represents the intensity of his inner turmoil having reached its breaking point. The illness is not incidental but the direct consequence of sustained emotional trauma.
(ii) The language—"wanted," "needed," described in present tense urgency—reveals this is not a calculated escape plan but a desperate act of a person at the end of their endurance. His delirium indicates his rationality has broken down. He is acting from pure instinct and desperation, not from reason. This urgency emphasizes the severity of his condition.
(iii) "Running with perspiration" suggests not merely physical illness but acute anxiety and panic. The excessive sweating indicates his body is in a state of extreme distress. Combined with the fever, it portrays a person completely overwhelmed by both physical and emotional symptoms simultaneously.
(iv) Despite knowing his mother is cold and doesn't love him, Phatik still wants to return to her. This reveals that maternal love, even withheld, remains the most fundamental human need. He seeks not necessarily warmth but the possibility of finally receiving it, or at least dying in the presence of the one person who should love him unconditionally.
(v) This scene represents the climax where all of Phatik's accumulated suffering—physical weakness, emotional breakdown, isolation, despair—converge in a single desperate act. His fever-stricken attempt to run home despite knowing he cannot succeed shows he has reached the absolute limit of his ability to endure. His collapse is both literal and metaphorical—the end of his capacity to survive in this unbearable situation.
Question 7
"The next day Phatik, for a short time, became conscious. His eyes wandered round the room as if he expected someone to come. At last, with an air of disappointment, his head sank back on the pillow. With a deep sigh he turned his face to the wall. Bishamber read his thoughts, and sent for Phatik's mother. When at last she came and cried: 'Phatik, my darling, my darling,' Phatik stopped his restless movements for a moment. His hands ceased beating up and down. He said: 'Ehtrs?' The mother cried again: 'Phatik, my darling, my darling.' Very slowly Phatik's eyes wandered, but he could no longer see the people around his bed."
(i) What does Phatik's expectation that someone would come reveal? (3)
(ii) Why does he turn his face to the wall "with a deep sigh"? (3)
(iii) What is significant about Bishamber reading his thoughts and sending for the mother? (3)
(iv) What does Phatik's response to his mother's words suggest? (3)
(v) How does this final meeting between Phatik and his mother carry tragic irony? (4)