A House Is Not a Home

Summary

After passing junior high school, the author joined a high school. The author felt awkward
during his first year of high school. He missed his old school and often went to meet his old
teachers. They encouraged him to get involved in school activities.
One Sunday afternoon, not long after he had started high school, he was sitting at home
doing his homework. His little cat was sitting on the table. He smelt something strange. Then
he noticed smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling. The author and his mother
came out of the room. The author ran to the neighbours to call the fire brigade. The house
was completely burned down. The author realized that his cat was found nowhere. He broke
down. The author and his mother went to the author’s grandparent’s house to spend the
night.
The next day it was Monday and the author went to school wearing the school uniform and
shoes borrowed from his aunt but no school bag. He thought that everything had been
finished for him. He was feeling insecure. There was no time to grieve. They borrowed money
from the author’s grandparents. They rented an apartment nearby. When the debris of their
burned house was being cleared, the author came there daily hoping that his cat was
somewhere to be found. The news of this fire tragedy spread in the school. The next day at
school, the people were acting even more strange than usual. They had taken up a collection
and had bought him school supplies, notebooks and all kinds of different clothes. They were
introducing themselves to the author very warmly. The author made friends that day. A
month after the tragedy, their house was being rebuilt. The author’s friends were with him. A
kind lady came with the author’s cat. It gave new life to the author.

Comprehension Questions

1. Why did the author visit his old teachers? How did they encourage him?
The author felt isolated in high school without his closest friends. He missed his old
teachers so much that he visited them often. They would encourage him to get involved
in school activities so that he could meet new people. They also assured him that he
would soon adjust to his new school and probably end up loving the new school more
than the old one. They made him promise that when that happened, he would still come
by and visit them from time to time.

2. When did the fire break out in the author’s house? What were the author and his cat
doing at that time?
On one Sunday afternoon of a cold and windy winter, the author was at the dining-room
table doing homework with the fire burning in the fireplace. His red tabby cat was lying
over his papers, purring loudly and sometimes swatting at his pen. His mother kept
stoking the fire to keep the house nice and warm.

3. Why did Zan’s mother rush into the burning house, the first time?
Zan’s mother saved important documents from the burning house by courageously
rushing inside the house and bringing out a small metal box that contained those
documents.

4. Why did Zan try to run after his mother and why did the fireman hold him back?
Zan tried to run after his mother because he was afraid of losing her. He was afraid that
she might get burnt in the fire. The fireman held him back because Zan’s act was very
rash and illogical. If he could not have saved his mother he would have risked his life as
well.

5. Who brought out Zan’s mother from the burning house? Why was an oxygen mask put
on her?
A fireman brought Zan’s mother out of the burning house.
She had inhaled a little smoke and so he rushed her to the truck and put an oxygen mask
on her to facilitate better breathing.

6. What happened to the narrator’s mother when she had run into the burning house?
The author’s mother inhaled a little smoke when she ran into the burning house. She was
rescued by the firemen who put an oxygen mask on her after bringing her out. However,
she was fine soon.

7. When did the author realise that his cat was missing?
After five hours of raging fire that burnt down the author’s house almost completely, he
realised that his cat was missing. He had not seen her all this while and realised to his
horror that she was nowhere to be found.

8. In what condition does the author go to school after the fire incident?
After the fire incident, the author went to school wearing the dress that he had worn to
church on Sunday morning and the tennis shoes that he had borrowed from his aunt. His
shoes, clothes, books, homework, and backpack had been destroyed in the fire.

9. Why did the author dislike growing up?
The author had lost his old school, his friends, his house and most of all-his dear pet cat.
Hence, he felt that he didn’t want to grow up, change or have to handle life if it was
going to be this way.

10. Why does the author feel that everything was surreal?
Surreal means something strange or unreal. The author felt that everything was surreal
because too many unfortunate things had happened to him – his house was burnt down,
his cat was lost, his mother was left with no money and he had no books, shoes, clothes

and school uniform. All the security he had known had been ripped away. The changes
were too much and too many for him to handle.
The author and his mother had lost their home and their belongings. They had no
money. The author felt pain at the loss of his cat but life had to move on. He could not
grieve as a new place to live had to be found and new clothes had to be bought.

12. Why did Zan’s mother have to borrow money from his grandparents?
Zan’s mother had to borrow money from his grandparents because her credit cards, cash
and even identification that was needed to draw money from the bank had got burnt in
the fire. She had to rent a new place, buy new clothes for Zan and resettle quickly.

13. How and why were people acting stranger than usual at Zan’s school?
When Zan was getting ready for gym class at his locker, people were gathering around
him asking him to hurry up. This was stranger than usual as they almost seemed to shove
him into the gym. They behaved so because they had put up a surprise collection of
school supplies and clothes etc. for Zan on a table in the gym.

14. What kind of help did the author get from his schoolmates after the fire accident? What
was the author’s reaction?
The author’s schoolmates had gone out of their way to bring him the things - school
supplies, notebooks, and different clothes. Those who had never spoken to him
introduced themselves and many invited him to their homes. Their genuine outpouring of
concern really touched him. It seemed like Christmas because the assorted gifts were
similar to the surprise gifts that one gets from loved ones on Christmas. He felt that
things were going to be alright.

15. Why was it different for Zan to see his house getting rebuilt?
It was different to see his house getting rebuilt because Zan wasn’t alone this time. Two
of his new friends from school were with him. The fire had helped him by diverting his
mind away from his feelings of insecurity and open up to the wonderful people around.
16. How did the author’s feelings of loss and tragedy seem to diminish?
Although the author had lost his house, his belongings in the fire, the author felt
gratitude that he and his mother were safe along with their important documents. As a
result of the fire, he made new friends and was grateful for their gifts and concern. He
was deeply grateful for the kindness of the woman who had rescued his cat. This
gratitude diminished his feelings of loss and tragedy.

Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100-150 words each. 

1. Describe the fire tragedy that struck Zan’s house.
One Sunday afternoon, on a cold windy fall day, Zan was doing his homework, his cat was
sitting on his papers and his mother was stoking the fire. At first Zan only smelled
something strange but soon noticed smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling.
The smoke filled the room quickly. Somehow, they groped their way to the front door
and ran out into the front yard. Zan ran to his neighbours to call the fire department and
his mother ran back into the house to get a small metal box full of important documents.
She rushed back into the house to retrieve his husband’s pictures and letters – the only
things she had to remember him by. Zan tried to run after her but was stopped by a
fireman. Some fire fighters ran into the house and safely brought out Zan’s mother and
gave her an oxygen mask because she had inhaled smoke. It took five hours to finally put
out the fire but the house was almost completely burnt and there was sign of Zan’s pet
cat.

2. What values in Zan’s mother endeared him to her?
Zan’s mother was his sole support after the death of his father. She carried out her
responsibilities as a single parent with complete devotion. Zan loved her a lot and
obeyed all that she asked him to do because he respected her for her value of devotion
towards him. He willingly changed school and tried to adjust to the new environment. His
mother valued memories and knew the significance of the letters and pictures of her late
husband. She risked her life to recover these things and thus displayed the value of
courage. She possessed emotional strength and hence quickly brought back normalcy to
Zan’s life by sending him to school the next day after the re incident. Zan admired her
because of her positive values both as a mother and as a human being. That is why he
rushed after her to save her from the fire, without worrying about his own safety, because
he did not want to lose her at any cost.

3. Describe the author’s experience at school after the fire tragedy.
The author had just joined a new school. He was facing problems adjusting to the new
school. Just after a couple of days his house caught fire. His school bag, clothes and
shoes had burnt in fire. The next day he went to school. He was moving around the
school like a wanderer. Everything appeared strange. He did not know what was going to
happen to him. He walked to his old house after school and was shocked to see the
damage. The only things not destroyed were the documents and other personal items
that his mother had heroically managed to rescue. The next day when he went to school;
he found a strange atmosphere all around. People were getting together all around him.
They had collected money for him and arranged school supplies and clothing for him.
This changed his vision for life once again. He felt relieved and thought things were
going well for him. He also made new friends.

Answers to Textbook questions

1. What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is his mother’s reaction?
What does she do?
One Sunday afternoon, the author noticed a strange smell. Then he saw smoke pouring
in through the seams of the ceiling and filling the room very quickly. They could barely
see anything. His mother reacted promptly and the two of them ran out into the front
yard .By the time they ran out into the front yard, the roof was already engulfed in flames
and was spreading very quickly.
His mother ran back into the house.
She brought out a small metal box full of important documents. She again ran back to
bring her husband’s pictures and letters.

2. Why does he break down in tears after the fire?
After the fire, he broke down into tears because it suddenly struck him that he was
suffering a big loss. He realized that his cat could not be seen anywhere. The cat and the
author were emotionally attached to each other Then, everything hit him at once − the
new school, the fire, and his cat. That was when he broke down and cried.
The tears were an emotional outburst of a teenager who was struggling with adjustment
issues.

3. Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his
fear and insecurity?
The author is deeply embarrassed the next day in school because when the fire broke
out, he was still wearing the dress he had worn to church that morning but he had no
shoes as he had lost them in the fire. So he had to borrow some tennis shoes from his
aunt. He was totally embarrassed by everything. The clothes he was wearing looked
weird, he had no books or homework, and his backpack was gone.
Words used in the lesson that show his fear and insecurity are “...outcast and geek...”, “...like a zombie.”,
His fear and insecurity is shown by the words: “Was I destined to be an outcast and geek
all my life?”.
...wanted to curl up and die, ‘Everything felt surreal’,
All the security...had all been ripped away”.

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?
The way the cat behaves with the author shows the bonding between them. She lies over
his papers while he is doing homework, purring loudly, occasionally swatting at his pen
for entertainment’s sake. He missed her terribly after losing her and would go over after
school to watch the clearing of debris with the hope of finding her somewhere. When
she was restored back to Zan, the cat purred as happily as the author felt elated to get
her back. Even the woman who rescued the cat knew that she was loved and sorely
missed.
The cat escaped the fire and ran far out of fear.
A lady who brought her back tried the telephone number written on her collar to find its
owner. As the telephone of author’s home was nonfunctional after fire so it can be
assumed that the lady must have made efforts to search for them to return the cat.

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?
After the loss of all his belongings in the fire that ravaged his house, Zan, the narrator,
started feeling depressed and embarrassed. At this time, the friendly and helpful actions
of his schoolmates changed his understanding of life and people, and comforted him
emotionally. His schoolmates took up a collection and bought him school supplies,
notebooks, and all kinds of clothes. Those who had never spoken to him before came up
to him and introduced themselves. Many invited him to their houses. Their genuine
concern touched Zan. He felt relieved and began to believe that everything would be
okay. He stopped focusing on his feelings of insecurity and opened up to all the
wonderful people around him. The company of his new friends and sharing joys with
them made his loneliness vanish and reconnected him to life.

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?
Zan’s cat was brought back home after more than a month of absence. She had run
away due to fear of fire and could not be brought back early as her collar had those
phone numbers that had got disconnected and instruments destroyed due to the fire.
Zan too was back to his normal cheerful life. His absence was emotional unlike the
physical absence of his cat. Zan says that he is also back since he wants to point out the
return of his faith in the goodness of life. He had drifted away from joys of friendship
and comfort of familiarity on moving to a new school. By the time his cat returned, his
gratitude for life had also returned in the company of new friends.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q 1 Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow.

(a) He held on to me while other fire fighters ran into the house. He knew that I wasn’t

acting very logically and that if he were to let go, I’d run. He was right.

“It’s all right, they’ll get her, he said.

i. Who held on to whom and why?

One of the firefighters held on to Zan because he tried to run after his mother

who had gone inside their burning house.

ii. Who is referred to as ‘her’? Why had she gone inside the house?

‘Her’ is being referred to as Zan’s mother who had run into the house the second

time to get her husband’s pictures and letters.

iii. ’He was right’. Why?

‘He’, the firefighter, was right because Zan would have certainly run into the

burning house after his mother and would have thus endangered his life too if

the firefighter had not held him.

iv. Give the antonym of – ‘logically’.

illogically

(b) She was never far from me. I had rescued her when she was a kitten, and somehow

she knew that I was the one responsible for giving her ‘the good life’.

i. Who is ‘I’ in these lines? Whom had he rescued?

‘I’ in these lines is the author, Zan. He had rescued a red tabby cat when she was

still a kitten.

ii. What does the speaker mean by ‘good life’?

‘Good life’, according to the speaker, Zan, means a life where the pet cat was fed

well, pampered, and taken care of in every way.

iii. How did ‘she’ know that the speaker was the one responsible for giving her ‘a good

life’?

The red tabby cat, knew that Zan was responsible for giving her a good life

because he was took care of her. He even allowed her to lie over his papers and

swat at his pen while he did homework.

iv. Give the antonym of – ‘rescued’

abandoned

(c) Everyone in high school, including my teachers, was aware of my plight. I was

embarrassed as if somehow I were responsible. What a way to start at a new school!

This was not the kind of attention I was looking for.

i. Who is the speaker of these lines and what was his plight?

The speaker is Zan and his plight was that his house had been burnt down in the

fire. All his belongings – his clothes, his books, his backpack – everything had

been destroyed.

ii. Why was he embarrassed?

He was embarrassed because he held himself responsible for his shabby

appearance at school. He felt his clothes looked weird, he was wearing borrowed

shoes, he had no books nor a backpack like other students.

iii. Why didn’t he want that kind of attention?

He had been a head of his class with good grades in junior high and was loved by

his teachers. Now, in high school he felt isolated because it was a bigger school

and also because his closest friends were sent to a different high school. But he

didn’t want to draw attention to himself, by looking as he was.

iv. Find the synonym of – ‘difficulty’.

plight

(d) Regardless, I had to go. We piled into the car with just the clothes on our backs and a

few of the fireman’s blankets, and made our way to my grandparents’ house to spend

the night.

i. Who does ‘we’ stand for?

‘We’ stands for Zan and his mother.

ii. Where did the speaker have to go and why?

The speaker is Zan and he had to go to his grandparent’s house since his house

had been burnt down and was unsafe to stay in even after the firefighters had

doused the fire.

iii. Regardless, I had to go”. Why does the speaker say this?

The speaker, Zan, says this because he had to go without his cat because it could

not be found. They couldn’t stay in the place because it had burnt down.

iv. Give the meaning of ‘piled’.

a disorganized manner

Q 2 Answer each of the following questions in 30-40 words each.

(a) Why does the narrator say, “I was suffering loss, big time”?

The author was already feeling lost because he had to move from his old school

to a new and bigger school. He missed his teachers and friends. And now, he had

lost his house and all his belongings to the fire. He couldn’t find his cat whom

he loved dearly.

(b) Why did Zan’s mother run back into the house the second time?

Or

“I knew what she was after.” Why does Zan make this observation?

Zan’s mother risked her life the second time when she rushed in again to get her

husband’s pictures and letters which were the only things she had to remember

him by Zan’s father who had died when Zan was young. Zan knew that these

memories of her husband were extremely precious for her and she did not want

them to go up in flames.

(c) Why did Zan feel awkward and isolated during his first year of high school?

Zan’s position during his first year of high school as the junior most class made

him feel awkward. The big size of the new school and separation from his closest

friends made him feel isolated.

(d) Why did the narrator go over to his burnt house even though they had rented an

apartment nearby?

The narrator went over to his burnt house even though they had rented an

apartment nearby because he hoped that his cat would be found somewhere. He

would watch the clearing away of the debris expecting to see his cat.

Q 3 Answer each of the following questions in 100-150 words each.

(a) The cat and the author are very fond of each other. How has this been shown in the

story?

The way the cat behaves with the author shows the bonding between them. She

lies over his papers while he is doing homework, purring loudly, occasionally

swatting at his pen for entertainment’s sake.

He missed her terribly after losing her during the fire and would go over after

school to watch the clearing of debris with the hope of finding her somewhere.

When she was restored back to Zan, the cat purred as happily as the author felt

elated to get her back. Even the woman who rescued the cat knew that she was

loved and sorely missed.

The cat escaped the fire and ran far out of fear. A lady who brought her back

tried the telephone number written on her collar to find its owner. As the

telephone of author’s home was nonfunctional after fire so it can be assumed

that the lady must have made efforts to search for them to return the cat.

(b) Describe the author’s experience at school after the fire tragedy.

The author had just joined a new school. He was facing problems adjusting in

the new school. Just after a couple of days his house caught fire. His school bag,

clothes and shoes had burnt in fire. The next day he went to school. He was

moving around the school like a wanderer. Everything appeared strange. He did

not know what was going to happen him. He walked to his old house after

school and was shocked to see the damage. The only things not destroyed were

the documents and other personal items that his mother had heroically managed

to rescue.

The next day when he went to school; he found a strange atmosphere all

around. People were getting together all around him. They had collected money

for him and arranged school supplies and clothing for him. This changed his

vision for life once again. He felt relieved and thought things were going well for

him. He also made new friends.