Is the punishment given to Nicholas in The Lumber Room fair? Justify your answer.(A model answer to the question number 9 in the O/L English Literature Model Paper).
The lumber-room” was written by a British novelist Hector Munro who is known as one of the best short story writers. In his childhood he was brought up by his grandmother and aunts, one of whom became a prototype for his short story the lumber room. In this story, the author satirizes the unsympathetic methods of upbringing.
In “The Lumber Room", Nicholas is punished in a number of ways for his supposed transgressions. However, as impartial observers, we can see that her punishments are not fair.
During breakfast, Nicholas refuses to eat his milk and bread because there is a frog in it. As he describes the frog in great detail, he is scolded for being obstinate. When the adults realize the frog really exists and it is of Nicholas' own doing, they become angry. His self-appointed aunt hastily plans a trip to Jagborough for the other children, but Nicholas is excluded from the trip. In this way, the aunt tries to give him a mental punishment as, according to her, he would suffer mentally for being unable to participate in the trip because of his misdemeaner. However, Nicholos turns this into an opportunity to enter the lumber room. The punishment is not fair either because the aunt judges the child by adult standards and she fails to give some allowance for his imaginative tricks and childhood pranks, reflecting typical Victorian attitude towards children.
While the others are away, the aunt forbids Nicholas from entering the gooseberry garden, which is filled with delightful fruits and plants. Nicholas pretends to want access to the garden. This punishment is meaningless to him because he does not want to go into the garden. It becomes more of a trial for the aunt who spends her whole afternoon patrolling the outer walls of the garden so Nicholas cannot gain entry.
While the aunt is preoccupied, he executes his plan to enter the lumber room, which is filled with tapestries, artwork, and books. He enjoys the delights in the room when he is supposed to be punished for being “in disgrace.”
Although the aunt aimed to punish Nicholas, she is the one who is ultimately penalized by his actions. She fell into the water tank and had to be rescued. On the other hand, Nicholas had a satisfying day exploring the contents of the lumber room.
According to the foregoing discussion, I can say that Nicholos should not have been punished in the way he was. After all, he didn't commit any serious offence to warrant such a punishment. In fact, her punishment is out of proportion to the offence. She has simply failed to understand the nature of children. It also betrays her lack of imagination. Thus the author takes some satisfaction in punishing the aunt herself, making her punishment boomerang on herself.