On the Face of It…..

an analysis

Derry Mr. Lamb

 Face disfigured by acid
 Altered his personality and outlook on life
 Assumes people are afraid to look at his ugly
face
 That people avoid him or pretend they haven’t
noticed the disfigurement
 Has become pessimistic, defiant, passive
aggressive, withdrawn
 Feels alienated, avoids interacting with
people, lonely
 Lost a leg in war
 Unique outlook on life
 Leaves his gate always open
(symbolic)
 Everyone is welcome into his home
 Considers everyone to be his friend;
even those he passes by in the street
 Optimistic, amiable, accepts life as it
comes
On the Face of It…..an analysis
Derry
 Hates it when people pity him; believes their
sympathy is a pretense
 And their advice is hollow ( an eye-wash)
 Assumes his parents love him only because
they have to
 Believes his parents also feel that he will not
be able to succeed in life given his
disfigurement
 Considers the story “ Beauty and the Beast’ to
be baloney since no girl in her senses is going
to love him
Mr. Lamb
 Tell Derry not to be obsessed with his face
 There is so much beauty in the world to look at and
enjoy
 Tells Derry that hatred will hurt him more than the
acid has
 That he has 2 eyes, 2arms, 2 legs and a brain and if
he puts his mind to it he can do better than others
 asks him to snap out of his self pity
 That whatever has to happen in life will happen and
Derry shouldn’t be unduly afraid of the unknown
 If blind people were to be only with other blind
people, the deaf with other deaf people and so on it
would be a horrible world
Mr. Lamb’s unique perspective on life…
 Interested in everyone and everything
 There’s is nothing that God made that doesn’t interest him
 Grows a weed garden; there is no difference between a flowering plant and a weed since both embody
life
 Buzzing of bees is music to his ears and calls it ‘ humming’
 Ignores his tin leg, doesn’t obsess over his disability; doesn’t mind when kids call him “Lamey-
Lamb”
 In spite of his disability he has taught himself to climb a ladder and pluck crab apples ( self- sufficient,
doesn’t depend on others)
 According to him people may look similar but each person is different, unique
 He is not fond of curtains- they shut things out; shut things in
 Tells Derry not to believe everything he hears
 Tells Derry to listen, to watch, to observe and to think things for himself
 Tells Derry he is always welcome since what is his (Mr. Lamb’s) is everybody’s
Analysis of the title of the play
 The phrase “ On the Face of It” means what something seems to be or appears to be
 Synonyms for the phrase include: apparently, seemingly, outwardly
 The playwright wants to convey that people can be quite different from what we
think of them or what they appear to be
 Never judge a book by its cover
 For eg: On the face of it, Mr. Lamb appears to be an eccentric, lame fellow who lives
by himself in a big house and who is avoided by others.
 In reality, he is a kind, friendly, generous, observant man who has a positive ,
optimistic outlook on life
 Similarly Derry comes across as pessimistic, defiant, withdrawn and angry but he is
like any other normal teenager who longs for love and acceptance
Analysis of the title contd……
 There is nothing wrong with either Derry or Lamb
 What is wrong is the way people look at them
 Moral: we need to view others removing our glasses of prejudice, hatred, dislike and
hearsay.
 We need to stop being critical and judgmental of others and accept people for who they are
 It’s the inner beauty / goodness of a person that matters … not how she or he looks
 On the face of it differently abled people may look different but they are just like any of us
and need our empathy and understanding
 The title is also apt since one of the main characters in the play is a 14 year old boy whose
face has been disfigured by acid and whose emotional and psychological problems stem
from this tragedy