THE BOY COMES HOME

A. A. Milne

Question # 1 Discuss the title of the play?

A. A. Milne, was a journalist, and became the editor of Punch at the age of twenty four. !n the outbrea" of war in #$#% he entered the Army. &n his leisure time he used to write lighthearted comic one act plays. 'he present one act comedy is named 'he (oy )omes *ome. 'he title refers to a boy who has come bac" to his home after some years. 'his boy happens to be a young (ritish soldier called Philip, who has been fighting in +rance. *e is a young promising boy with a strong and pleasant personality. *e is twenty three years old and has learnt a lot from his e,perience in the war. *is personality has become mature and he is unruffled by any sort of situation. *is reaction to different situations and characters is -uite impressi.e and self assured. *e comes home to find himself in a conflict with his guardian/s strict personality and his unbending rules at home. 'he whole action re.ol.es around the way in which he handles the discussion with his uncle. Amusingly this discussion goes on as much in reality as in the dream of uncle 0ames. 1ncle 0ames/s insecurity and sense of incapability before a young man compel him enough that he readily accedes to the demands of his nephew.

Question # 2 Discuss the brea"fast episode?

Philip gets up late in the morning because he has just come home the pre.ious night. *e calls the parlour maid Marry and as"s her to bring brea"fast for him. Marry tells him that the brea"fast has been cleared away an hour before. Philip says that he "nows it that/s why he has called her. *e gi.es orders for two eggs and ham and coffee not tea2 Marry hesitates and says she doesn/t "now what Mrs. *iggins will say. Marry tells him that brea"fast at sharp eight is still the rule of this home as it had been before he went to war. Philip smilingly says that he has been doing a lot of silly things before going to war. Marry goes and Aunt 3mily comes in. 4he is a subdued lady who ne.er asserts her self. 4he tal"s to Philip on general topics. Marry comes in again and says to aunt 3mily that Mrs. *iggins wants to see her. Philip at once inter.enes and as"s Marry to tell Mrs. *iggins to come there. Aunt 3mily hesitates and says, & don/t "now what Mrs. *iggins will say. Philip pleasantly says that he wants to "now once and for all, what will she say. An e,tremely aggressi.e lady comes in and tal"s in a domineering style to Philip and tells him that she will not ma"e any brea"fast after 5 o/cloc". Philip tal"s to her in an authoritati.e style and tells her to ma"e brea"fast. !n that she demands that she should be gi.en a notice for introduction of a new rule in the home. Philip gi.es her wages to her instead of a notice and tells her that she may go at once. 'his pro.es a successful strategy and she is much intimidated. At last she says, if it/s only a bit of brea"fast, & don/t say but what & mightn/t get it, if as"ed decent. 'his episode sets the tone of the whole play because it indicates the strength of Philip/s personality. And it further shows that nobody will be able to ma"e him agree to his or her wishes.

Question # 3 Describe the dream of 1ncle 0ames?

Philip comes bac" to his uncle/s home after a period of four years. 'here he is recei.ed by the strict practices of his uncle/s irrational rules. Philip/s father has died and 1ncle 0ames is his guardian. !n the .ery first morning after his arri.al uncle 0ames wants to discuss Philip/s future with him. 1ncle is an old fashioned man and he holds orthodo, .iews about treating young "ids. *e thin"s that he can dictate Philip to do whate.er he wants. *e is a short statured man with an unimpressi.e physical appearance but he has closed himself in the cocoon of se.erity. *is inner wea"ness collides with his outward se.erity and this conflict induces him to dream a strange thing. *is unconscious fear and insecurity ma"e him .iew Philip as a rude and bullying boy who tries to get his demands fulfilled on the point of gun. *is dream is full of .iolence and threats. *e sees himself completely subjugated before the terrori6ation and use of weapons by his insolent nephew. *e dreams Philip as a headstrong and impertinent guy who can go to any limit. 'he dream is so forceful that uncle 0ames is unable to "now that it isn/t reality but only a dream. 1ncle is badly influenced by the dream and when Philip tal"s to him in reality he beha.es in .ery "ind and considerate way to a.oid the menacing situation of his dream. 1ncle 0ames/s conscious and unconscious blend together to constitute his dream and then it directs his conse-uent real attitude.

Question # 4 7hat was the main conflict of the play?

'he play re.ol.es around the two main characters, uncle 0ames and Philip. 'hey represent different ages and different generations. 'heir ways of thin"ing and outloo" about life are at cross purposes. 'heir assessment and their moti.es are different. 'he main conflict in the play is the future profession of the boy, Philip, who has recently left the army and is free now. 'he boy is energetic and is ready to do anything while uncle is orthodo, and wants to lead the boy by nose. 'he boy and uncle both want to ha.e their own will in this matter. 'he boy wants to ha.e a bold decision and wants to become an architect while his uncle li"es to follow the same beaten path and offers him to join his business. *ere starts a heated and .iolent dispute... 'he boy uses the power of weapon while uncle proposes to use the power of purse. 'he boy threatens and bluffs his uncle. *e uses re.ol.er and bombs to assert his point and finally he manages to ma"e his uncle listen to his point of .iew too. 4ubse-uently uncle assents to boy/s desire and the boy subscribes to his uncle/s wish. 'he whole dream is infact a psychological study of a middle aged man who goes through a conflict in his own mind. *is unconscious ma"es him ha.e a dream that wea"ens him and he yields before the boy.

Question # 5 7hat where the e,pectations of the uncle about boy?

1ncle 0ames is the guardian of Philip and he tries to dictate him in his decision about his future. 1ncle 0ames is an old fashioned man and he does not let others to ha.e their say. *is ser.ants and his wife all ha.e completely gi.en in to his commands. 'hat/s why he e,pects Philip to beha.e in the

same way. 'he boy is .ery strong and decisi.e person and he cannot be led by nose. 4o his uncle/s e,pectations about him are baseless. 'his is the fact that he "nows unconsciously because in his dream he sees Philip as a rude and .iolent boy but infact the boy is not li"e this. *is uncle dreams him as a stubborn and haughty man but in reality he at once agrees to his uncle/s suggestion. 4o the e,pectations of uncle 0ames are flimsy and baseless and they all pro.e to be wrong. All these e,pectations basically show his own mental tangles and frailties. *e bullies Philip to enter into his business and thin"s that he will refuse. 'hen he dreams him to be a .iolent rogue. (ut infact Philip is not according to any of his anticipations and he pro.es to be a sensible boy with proper manners.

Question # 6 Draw the character s"etches of8 1ncle 0ames Philip

UNCLE AMES
1ncle 0ames is a .ery successful businessman who has been ma"ing pots of money e.en in the wartime. *e is not physically an impressi.e man. *e has a straggly grey beard that doesn/t hide a chin of any great power9 but he has a se.erity that passes for strength with the wea". *e is orthodo, and strict in his rules. *e has decided times for meals e.en, and nobody can get anything to eat after the appointed times. Due to this rule Philip has to face a lot of trouble at his .ery first morning in his home. 1ncle 0ames is irrational to some e,tent as he says that Philip should be punctual e.en in his home. *e doesn/t gi.e much credit to Philip for ha.ing fought a war for his country but in the same breath he says that he himself has done a lot for his country by suffering the shortage of potatoes. Moreo.er he ta"es the credit of gi.ing his nephew to the nation. *e critici6es the legislation that has imposed ta, on e,cess profits in business. *e further boasts that his jam business also has ser.ed the poor men in trenches though he isn/t ready to gi.e any ac"nowledgment to the poor man, Philip who has personally been in trenches. *e .ery meanly proposes to use the power of purse to subdue his nephew. *e doesn/t want to gi.e free hand to his nephew in deciding upon his future career. *e spea"s to him in a haughty way and tries to assert his authority. &n spite of his outward se.erity he is an insecure man inside. *e unconsciously thin"s that his time is o.er and the members of new generation can/t be stopped from ha.ing their own way. 'he dreams are a secret opening into the unconscious9 they re.eal the true worth of a man in terms of his aspirations, his fears and his strong points. 1ncle 0ames dreams about his discussion with Philip and re.eals his insecure feelings. *e is afraid of being bullied physically and this is what he shows through his dreams. *e e,periences a strong sense of fear and is completely cowed down by this unconscious fear. *is attitude goes through a re.olutionary change after the dream. *e beha.es in a .ery appropriate and considerate way to Philip. *e as"s him if wants to be an architect or anything of that sort but Philip isn/t interested. *e doesn/t want to wear a uniform again and that/s it. 4o uncle 0ames is a .ery amusing character that can be seen anywhere in modern society. *e is an unforgettable figure who represents different shades of a man/s personality.

!H"L"!

Philip is the hero of this play. *e has recently come bac" from the war front. *e is a well built young man of twenty three with a pleasant asserti.e personality. *is parents ha.e died and he li.es with his uncle 0ames. *is relations with his uncle ha.e always been problematic though. *e is a boy of pleasant manners9 he treats Marry and his aunt in a polite way. *e tells his aunt that she has always been his darling and he tal"s to her about his e,periences in Army. *e has strong ability to ta"e a decision in any crisis. 7hen he is denied brea"fast he -uic"ly responds and handles the situation in a commanding way. *e is not confused or worried. *e simply decides to dismiss the coo" who is not ready to wor". *e is not .indicti.e either because when Mrs. *iggins is ready to ma"e the brea"fast, he doesn/t create any problem and repeats his order of brea"fast. *is personality has two facets9 one is his real personality while the other has been concocted by his uncle/s imagination. &n his uncle/s dream he appears to be an insolent boy who doesn/t recogni6e any authority. *e brea"s the rules and doesn/t care about his elders. *e wants to be an architect and can defend his intension with many arguments. *e compels his uncle forcefully to agree with his demands. *e points a loaded re.ol.er at his defenseless uncle and frightens him to an e,tent that uncle 0ames goes on his "nees, as"ing for mercy. *e e.en produces a bomb out of his poc"et and threatens to throw it on his uncle if he is not reasonable in his attitude. *e settles the dispute through power. (ut this is not his true personality &n reality his uncle finds him much sensible. *e only wants not to salute someone or wear a uniform otherwise he is ready to do any thing. 'he haughty and boorish Philip is only a bogey created by his uncle/s imagination. 'he reality is completely otherwise. !.erall Philip/s character is strong and con.incing. &t wins at the end because he represents the ad.ancing time that always wins.