THE THIEF’S STORY

THE ROOM ON
THE ROOF

Ruskin Bond

Reviewed by: Ananya Iyer

Main
characters

Mr. John Harrison
Somi
Meena Kapoor
Kishan Kapoor
Rusty
Mr. Kapoor
Ranbir

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Brief synopsis-

Room on the Roof is about an orphaned boy
named Rusty who has no real family after his
parents’ death. He is very lonely and sad and
even though he lives with his guardian (Mr. John
Harrison), he doesn’t feel at home. Rusty is going
through several emotions: he is confused,
obliged, helpless, lonely and sad. He is confused
because he is a young boy between the age of an
adult and child and doesn’t know who to follow or
what his future holds. He is obliged to follow the
orders and rules of his guardian and dares not
disobey him. He feels helpless because he knows
that if he disobeys Mr. John, he will get caned.
Rusty doesn’t have any real friends and he is so
very lonely in his guardian’s house.

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Even though Rusty is half-Indian, John doesn’t let
Rusty near the bazaar for a reason: John thinks
that Indians are very dirty and this story is written
just after the British had ruled over India, so he
must have felt more superior!

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One day, Rusty decides to get some fresh air and
takes a walk while his guardian was away in Delhi.
After walking through the forest, he stops in front
of the bazaar and his mind is arguing with his
instinct. His mind is saying, Don’t go! You will get
into trouble. But his instinct is saying, Go! You have
your own heart and mind. You don’t have to live
under rules all the time. Rusty chooses to follow his
instinct and steps into the bazaar.

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He has made a good choice. Up until now, Rusty
doesn’t have any hope or confidence but then he
meets a kind boy named Somi and makes friends
with him. Somi and his friends become Rusty’s
hope and confidence, and Somi and Ranbir are
really kind to Rusty. When Rusty returns home, he
finds that his guardian has returned early and gets
caned for going to the bazaar. The next day, he
goes to play Holi with Ranbir and once again gets
caned. Rusty now knows what he has to do. He
starts to live his own life and runs away from his
guardian’s house. Rusty finds Somi who supports
him a lot.

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Slowly, from a confused boy, Rusty turns into a
confident and independent young man! He gets a
job teaching English to a boy named Kishen, in
return for a tiny room on the roof and food. He
finds a loving and fun family, his independence,
and even finds his ‘first love’ in Kishen’s mother
Meena. The story takes a turn, when he loses all his
friends and his first love too. Now Rusty’s last
source of confidence and hope has gone away and
his lonely days return. Rusty spends his sad days
looking out at the window and once again, plans to
run away. He decides to go back to England but
before doing so, he wants to say a last goodbye to
his friends and finds Kishen who convinces him to
change his mind about returning to the UK.
Instead, the two walk away together to form their
own new world and life without worrying about
anything else.

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Thank You My favourite character is rusty and I
would give this book a 9 out of 10
rating!

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