Summary of On the Face of It - Susan Hill

ON THE FACE OF IT

                                 - Susan Hill

Scene one

Lonely Derry avoids people
Fourteen-year-old Derry, in an attempt to hide from the hustle-bustle and yet unfriendly world, jumps over the wall to Mr. Lamb’s garden. Unaware of Mr. Lamb’s presence, Derry stumbles upon him and is dumbfounded as he expected the house as well the garden to be unoccupied. Derry has a distorted face, a side of which was burnt by acid, and this crushed his self-confidence. Unconcerned about the way he looked, Mr. Lamb easily starts a conversation with the boy.
The friendly Mr. Lamb
Mr. Lamb, even without knowing him or his name, considers Derry as a friend.  The play highlights how he kept the gate of the garden always open, welcoming everyone. His house did not have any curtains as he did not like “shutting things out, shutting things in”. While talking to Derry, he said, “what’s mine is anybody’s” which depicts that he did not mind sharing. The old man liked to sit in his garden, read books and talk to visitors, though this was not always reciprocated in the same tone.
Initially, Derry feels like fleeing away from Mr Lamb’s presence as fast as he could but Mr Lamb’s interactive speech makes him blurt out the reason for his agony.
“Lamey-Lamb”
Words like discrimination and inequality do not appear in his dictionary. Unlike others, he considers weeds equivalent to flowers and grows them in his garden. He considers “the light and darkness” alike. Though kids made fun of him and called him Lamey-Lamb, yet they came back to him to get ‘apples and pears’ and toffees.
Emotionless pity torments Derry
On the contrary, Derry has been shown to be affected by what people thought of him. He seems to be withdrawn and discomforted if anybody attempts to get closer to him. He reveals that he thought people were afraid of him and that they called him a “poor boy” or the “ugliest thing seen.” His words, “It ate my face up. It ate me up” shows his inferiority complex. As a result, he tries to avoid companionship and live in harmony with his loneness.
Derry feels that even his mom is forced to kiss him out of compulsion. He has started looking down upon his own self. Considering what all he had gone through, he concludes that to stay with other people like him will be a better option.
Mr Lamb counsels Derry
Mr Lamb does not agree with Derry when he talks ill of himself. He makes him realize that outer appearance does not matter at all. It is the inner self that must be beautiful. He asks the boy to stop believing and listening to what others say. Mr. Lamb tries his best to make him understand that anything can be achieved, if we willed. Derry considers Mr. Lamb to be a peculiar person since he talked about things no one ever did. Thus, he starts liking their talk.
Derry promises to return
The much impressed boy offers to help the old man in collecting the apples but first he needs to inform his mom about his whereabouts. However, after the boy leaves for home, Mr. Lamb’s signs of loneliness surface. He becomes doubtful of the boy’s return as he knows that once people left him, they never returned.

Scene two

Derry’s mother opposes his meeting “Lamey-Lamb”
As expected, Derry’s mother does not favour his returning to the old man. At home, a changed Derry, speaks what he learned from Mr. Lamb. When his mother says that she had heard unpleasant things about the man, Derry asks her not to believe everything she heard, which is what the old man had taught him.
Derry’s new found zest for life
Mr. Lamb has left such an impact on Derry that no one else had. An altered Derry says that not looking good and having a burnt face “isn’t important,” rather what one feels, sees, hears and thinks is what actually matters. He tells her he wants to enjoy life, read books and help Mr Lamb make honey and jelly.
Stepping into the shoes of his new life, he barges out of the house against his mother’s wishes.

Scene three

Mr Lamb’s demise
However, before Derry reached the garden, Lamb falls off the ladder and dies. He probably slipped from the top because of his tin legs. Derry is shocked and keeps weeping for long.
A small meeting with an optimistic and cheerful Mr Lamb has changed Derry’s perspective about life. He is now a hopeful and confident boy who has learnt to respect life.