Poem 8 - A House Is Not A Home

The story – A House Is Not A Home, portrays the thin line variation that exists between a house and a home. The difference between a house and a home is – a house is a building where people reside, whereas a home is a place where a family lives and shares the bond of love, happiness and togetherness. The narrator of the story buys a new house when his previous house gets destroyed by fire. It is here when he realises that a home is a place, which is built with love and affection of his family members. The narrator then concludes that love and affection are essential components which make a home.

Summary 

The story – A House Is Not A Home, centres around the character Zan. Zan was sad when he had to change schools and enrol in a new high school. At the new school, he missed his old friends, more so because he was also a junior here. Zan often visited his old school because he missed being there. He would reminisce about the time he spent and how he enjoyed being a senior at his former school. On top of this incident, his house suddenly caught fire on a Sunday afternoon. He and his family lost all of their possessions in this fire, except a few photos and papers that belonged to Zan’s father. Zan lost everything that he had. He was not even left with a pair of shoes to wear. Zan’s cat also vanished after the fire incident.

All of these incidents that took place one after the other made Zan feel depressed, and he did not want to attend school anymore. He realised that he and his family had to restart their lives. Zan also understood that he did not have enough time to get over this feeling of sadness, which had accumulated inside him.

His family had to buy a new house and clothes and all the necessary amenities that they required to start a new life. However, they did not have the money to buy all of these things. They lost their cash, credit cards and their identity proofs in the fire, which led them to borrow money from Zan’s grandparents.

Zan soon started going to school again, and he was surprised to find a table full of books, clothes, stationery items, etc. which were collected and given to him by his classmates. They understood what he was going through and were trying to help him. This gesture touched Zan, and he felt overwhelmed by it. Soon he made friends at his present school. He was no longer depressed and realised that life was amazing. His house was getting rebuilt, which made him feel that the same thing was happening in his life too.

His cat that had run away was returned to him by a kind woman, and Zan realised that his life was becoming whole again and that life should not centre around material things, but it should centre around love and affection.

To know more about this story, refer to NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Moments Chapter 8. It is equipped with a summary of the lesson and a detailed explanation. A House Is Not A Home Question Answer Class 9 have also been given in this book.