Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Thief by Ruskin Bond
The Thief by Ruskin Bond
This story tells us how love and kindness can change a theif or a criminal. Arun a young lad of 15 who is kind ,considerable and sympathetic person and the other fellow 'The Thief' who is thief by profession joins Arun in a view to rob him. One day Arun was watching a wrestling match where the thief tries to get into conversation with him and finally wins Arun's confidence and joins with him in a view to rob him .He finds his master a saintly person and of a trusting nature.So, he thinks he will be an easy victim. He joins him as a cook but does not know how to cook.Arun being of kind person teaches him how to cook and he even teaches him how to read and write. Arun never questions the theif about his purchases he make the thief became very fond of his masters goodness and nobility.One day Arun came with a wad of notes and kept it under his mattress the thief watches him clearly and is tempted to steal his money. He is successful in his operation and runs away but his conscience and his feeling of grattitude brings him back to Arun he feels ashamed of his act.Arun knows about the whole act as the notes were still wet from last nights rain but he doesnt give any impression that he knows about it.Arun knows that he has betrayed his masters trust but Arun never made any issue out of it. This sympathetic attitude of arun had a great impression on the thief. so, the thief changes into a good man.
There was enough time to jump into the compartment but somehow Deepak did not attempt to board the train. Soon he was standing alone on the deserted platform. Here the readers find a gradual change in the psyche of the thief. Suddenly he got philosophic and realized that Arun was a good master and he never doubted his intentions. He wondered how Arun would react when he would come to know about the theft. He had studied the faces of people when they went through a material loss. He recalled that a greedy person shows panic, a rich person shows anger and a poor person shows fear when they lose something valuable but when Arun would come to know about the theft he would be saddened, not for the loss of money but for the breach of trust. Deepak also realized that if he would learn to read and write it would definitely help him get true success in life. Deepak was repentant. He slowly reentered the town but he had nowhere to go and he didnt know anyone except Arun. Soon the drizzle started and the crisp notes tucked up in his trousers got wet. Ultimately having a prick in his conscience Deepak came back to Aruns house and disproving the saying that a thief is always a thief he cautiously slipped back the money under the mattress and went to sleep with a hope that Arun didnt know anything about the whole episode. Next morning Arun got up earlier than him and handed him a cup of tea with a wet five rupee note and promised him that hence onward Deepak would be paid regularly and soon he would teach him to write full sentences. Although aware of everything Aruns countenance didnt display any emotion and he was absolutely normal. The story highlights the moral dilemma of the thief as well as his potentiality for goodness. It also reminds us of The Bishops Candlesticks, a beautiful extract from a great novel Le Miserable by Victor Hugo. Although the scenario, characters, content and the treatment is altogether different yet the message and the moral of the story is the same that a hardened criminal can be transformed into a pious soul through love, compassion and kindness.
The characters in the short story "The Thief," written by Ruskin Bond.
There are two characters in Ruskin Bond's short story "The Thief." The Thief/ Deepak The narrator of the story is the thief. The story is told in first person; therefore, the thief tells his own story. After Arun asks him his name, the thief gives him the name of Deepak. This is not the thief's real name(as seen in the text). "Deepak," I lied. Deepak was about my fifth name. I had earlier called myself Ranbir, Sudhir, Trilok and Surinder. The thief is fifteen when the story takes place. The thief sees Arun as an easy target to rob and persuades his way into Arun's home. Arun Arun is "around twenty" when he first meets the thief. Arun employs the thief as a cook (even though the cooking is horrible). In the end, Arun helps the thief to realize that people can change and promises to teach him to write.