Theme of the Story A Face in the Dark
The story has an eerie theme which is basically to bring a horryifying effect. In the story, Ruskin Bond narrates the experience of Mr. Oliver who was an Anglo-Indian teacher in a public school in Simla. While going from Simla to his school late in the evening, he came across a boy who sat crying in a pine woods and when he lifted his face it had no features, no eyes, no mouth, nothing at all. He ran towards his school and he saw a watchman moving with a lantern. While talking with the watchman, Oliver told about the boy with no face. As soon as the watchman lifted his lantern up to his face to ask Oliver if his face was like this, Oliver was horrified to see his face which was exactly like the boy.
Through this story the author asserts that even people powerful and non-believers of evil spirits go blank when confronted by strange and horrible situations. The author brings to us a truth that how rational a person may be, there is an element of superstition in his mental make up. Sometimes, due to fear, anxiety or loneliness, man is forced to imagine such strange things.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers