Summary and Explanation of The Little Girl (Character Sketch and Quick Revision Notes)
Character Sketches from The Little Girl
Kezia: She is like a normal little girl. She is afraid of her father as we all do. She almost hated her father. But, later She realized her father loved her and he care about her.
Kezia‟s Father: He is a strict Man. But, he loves and cares for her daughter. He made Kezia feel better, when she was getting nightmares.
Kezia‟s Mother: She is also strict as Kezia‘s father She wanted Kezia to follow orders of her father. She used to tell Kezia, If you wanted to be good girl, she need to follow orders of her father.
Kezia Grandmother: She is an old humble lady. She took care of Kezia when she was scolded and bitten by her father. She wanted Kezia to have good relationship with her father. She always used to encourage Kezia to talk to her father, to give him surprise gifts.
Summary of the The Little Girl
Kezia was a little girl, who lived with her mother, her father and her grandmother. She was afraid of her father and used to avoid him. She used to feel relieved on seeing her father go to his office. Kezia was so afraid of her father, she stuttered in front of him. He appeared to her as harsh, rude, and critical. Her grandmother wanted her to understand her parents better, and would ask her to go to the drawing room to chat with her parents. But she found them indifferent towards her.
One day grandmother suggested that she should prepare a pin cushion for her father's birthday. Kezia stitched the three sides of the pin cushion casing. Now she wanted to stuff it with something. In her mother's room on the bed table she found many sheets of fine paper. She tore them off into small pieces and filled the pin cushion and stitched the fourth side. By mistake she had used the very papers which contained her father's very important speech for the Port Authority. Though she accepted her mistake and tried to explain the reasons behind it, her father was too angry to listen to anything and punished her with a ruler on her palms. She failed to understand the punishment met out to her when she had already accepted her mistake. Bitterly she said," What did God make fathers for?
One evening she saw Mr. McDonalds, playing with his 5 children, laughing and enjoying with them. This convinced Kezia that all fathers are not alike. Some are loving and caring like. Mr. McDonald and some are cruel like her father.
But soon her attitude towards her father also changed. One day, her mother had to be taken to the hospital and her grandmother accompanied her. Kezia was left alone in the house with the cook. The day was fine. But night was a different issue. She woke up in the middle of the night screaming as she had a horrible nightmare. She was weeping out of fear. When she opened her eyes, she saw her father beside her bed. He carried her to his bedroom, and made her warm and comfortable on his bed. Father told her to rub her feet with his legs and set them warm. She felt very safe and comfortable with him.
It was now she realized that her father was not all that of a giant. That he loved and cared for her in his own way. That he had to work the whole day to provide for his family and was too tired by the evening to play with her.
One day grandmother suggested that she should prepare a pin cushion for her father's birthday. Kezia stitched the three sides of the pin cushion casing. Now she wanted to stuff it with something. In her mother's room on the bed table she found many sheets of fine paper. She tore them off into small pieces and filled the pin cushion and stitched the fourth side. By mistake she had used the very papers which contained her father's very important speech for the Port Authority. Though she accepted her mistake and tried to explain the reasons behind it, her father was too angry to listen to anything and punished her with a ruler on her palms. She failed to understand the punishment met out to her when she had already accepted her mistake. Bitterly she said," What did God make fathers for?
One evening she saw Mr. McDonalds, playing with his 5 children, laughing and enjoying with them. This convinced Kezia that all fathers are not alike. Some are loving and caring like. Mr. McDonald and some are cruel like her father.
But soon her attitude towards her father also changed. One day, her mother had to be taken to the hospital and her grandmother accompanied her. Kezia was left alone in the house with the cook. The day was fine. But night was a different issue. She woke up in the middle of the night screaming as she had a horrible nightmare. She was weeping out of fear. When she opened her eyes, she saw her father beside her bed. He carried her to his bedroom, and made her warm and comfortable on his bed. Father told her to rub her feet with his legs and set them warm. She felt very safe and comfortable with him.
It was now she realized that her father was not all that of a giant. That he loved and cared for her in his own way. That he had to work the whole day to provide for his family and was too tired by the evening to play with her.
Quick Revision Notes
- Kezia is a little girl who grows in the presence of her loving grandma’s care.
- Kezia has formal relations with mother and father. She is afraid of her strict father so she stammered while talking to him. She thought him to be giant sized.
- On Sundays, Grandma sent her to spend time with parents but Kezia found her father lay down on the sofa to relax and mother busy in reading.
- One day grandma, suggested her to prepare a gift for father’s birthday.
- Kezia prepared a pin cushion with a beautiful yellow silk cloth. For that, she needed scrap to fill it.
- She took some papers from father’s room and store them up to stuff them in the pincushion. It was the father’s important speech for the Port Authority.
- When Kezia was questioned, she admitted her act. Father beat Kezia with a ruler and she cried bitterly. She clung to grandma who consoled her.
- Next door neighbour Mr Macdonald plays with his children in the evening. After watching him, Kezia concludes that all fathers are not like hers.
- One day, her mother got admitted to the hospital, she was alone at home under the care of the cook. Old nightmare haunted her – a butcher with a knife in his hand. She was too much afraid of it.
- Father came to her room hugged her, carried her to his room to comfort her.
- She realised that he was not so bad, but he was too busy to express his love. That night, she felt her father had a big heart.