Summary of The Lost Doll

The Lost Doll

Main Characters of the Story :

• Rosa Soto: ( Mother )
• Roberto Soto: ( Father )
• Carmen: Elder daughter
• Evangelina: Younger daughter (Evangelina is the reincarnation of Carmen)

Short Introduction: The Lost Doll is a story of  reincarnation. Reincarnation is belief that the spirit or soul of a dead person returns to life in another's body. In simple English we can call it to be 'rebirth '.  In this story Evangelina is the reincarnation (rebirth ) of Carmen. Carmen dies first, and then she takes birth as Evangelina in the same family. This tells us why Evangelina 'remembers' being sick, and why she knows where the lost doll was hidden.

(Does Reincarnation mean soul exiting from one door and entering from another door ?)

 Short Summary : 

This is a story of incarnation. The main characters of this story are Roberto Soto, Rosa Soto, and their two daughters: Carmen and Evangelina.

Carmen was their first child. The little girl was very bright, kind and loving. Every body in the village loved her much.

She was sickly from birth and  died when she turned four. 

Rosa and Roberto were very sad at the death of the child because at the time of Carmen's birth doctors had said that Rosa wouldn't be mother the second time.

One day Rosa collected Carmen's clothes, shoes, playthings etc. and gave them to the priest from another village to distribute them among children. The only thing she didn't get was the doll which Carmen used to love most. She searched for it everywhere, but it was not found.

 Later, in the evening, when Roberto came to know it, he didn't like it because he wanted to save those things for their second child. Rosa started to weep again and reminded him of what the doctor had said. But Roberto had a deep faith on the mercy of God.

Exactly after one year Carmen had died, Rosa gave birth to her second baby girl. The priest named the second child Evangelina because her birth was a good news for the family.

Evangelina was a healthy child, but in other respects  she was exactly like Carmen. Sometimes Rosa used to say that God took her ill child, cured her and returned her as Evangelina. The only one thing that troubled Rosa was that form time to time Evangelina used to talk about the events of Carmen's life.

One day Rosa's sister came to her. She asked Rosa about Carmen's lost doll. Evangelina replied that she knew where the doll was. She even took her mother under a tree in the court-yard and said that the doll was buried there. 

Although Rosa didn't believe it, at Evangelina's insistence, she dug there and surprisingly the doll came out from there. 

Evangelina further said that she was very ill . The priest was called. He put his hand on her forehead and she slept. Then a very nice man came and woke her up and started to take her with him. It was he who had helped her to bury the doll under the ground.

In this way there is no doubt that Evangelina was the reincarnation of Carmen.

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Detailed Summary :

1. Carmen Family : Carmen was the only child of Roberto and Rosa Soto. She was a cute lovely girl. But she was sickly from her birth. When she turned four, she died.

2. Rosa's Grief : Naturally, the parents were very shocked. The mother was more shocked because at the time of Carmen's birth, the doctor had said that Rosa wouldn't be mother second time. The clothes and toys of Carmen used to give her more trouble , so one day she collected them all and gave them to priest of another village. But she couldn't find the doll which Carmen liked the most
. 

3. Evangelina's Birth : Exactly after one year, Rosa gave birth to another baby girl. The priest named her Evangelina. The meaning of Evangelina is " good news " . The birth of the girl was a good news for the parents, it was the most suitable name for the child.

4. Similarities and Differences between the Two Sisters : Evangelina started to grow up. The more she grew, the more she looked like Carmen. Both the sisters were exactly alike.  The only difference was that Carmen was sickly right from her birth, but Evangelina was a healthy child. Some times Evangelina used to talk about her past life, but her mother did not like it.

5. Evangelina Remembers the Doll : One day Rosa's sister came to meet her. Both sisters were talking. Her sister asked Rosa about the lost doll of Carmen. But  before Rosa could give the answer, Evangelina came there. She said that she knew where the doll was because she had put it. It was buried under the tree in the backyard.

6. The Doll Found : She asked her mother to come with her and to dig it there. Rosa didn't believe it. But Evangelina insisted. Then Rosa's sister asked her to go with the child. Evangelina took her mother near the tree and asked her to dig at a particular point. Rosa started to dig at the place. Surprisingly, the doll came out from there.

[The Doll was Found]

7. Evangelina Remembers Her Past : Her aunt asked Evangelina what more she remembered. Evangelina said that once she was very sick. Her father called the priest. He put his hands on her forehead and she fell asleep. Then a real nice man came and woke her up and started to take her with him. She had the doll with her that time. The man said that she could not take the doll with her where she was going. He even helped her to bury the doll there.

8. Conclusion : In this way we can say that symbolically the doll was Carmen. Carmen died, the doll was lost, Carmen returned and the doll also returned back.

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Some Important Questions-Answers : 

Question 1. Do you think Evangelina was a good name for the second child ?

Answer: The death of Carmen was more shocking for the Soto family because at the time of Carmen's birth, doctors had said Rosa wouldn't be mother for the second. But, it was only a miracle that Rosa gave birth to Evangelina. Her birth was a good news for the Soto family. The meaning of Evangelina is 'good news'. In this way we can say that Evangelina was a very good and suitable name for the new baby. 

Question 2. Why do think, Rosa gave Carmen's things to someone from another village? Why didn't she give them to a neighbor or the priest in her own village ? 

Answer: The death of her only child had a great shock on Rosa. Carmen's clothes and playthings were scattered all over the rooms. The sight of those things used to give a mental pain to Rosa. They used to remind her of Carmen all the more. So one day she collected all Carmen's all clothes and playthings and gave them to the priest of another village. She didn't give them a neighbour 

or priest in her own village because other children would have used them which would have given more trouble to her.

Question 3. Write a paragraph about the similarity between the lost doll and Carmen herself. 

Answer : Carmen had a doll which she liked the most. When Rosa collected all Carmen's clothes and play things, she didn't find the doll. There are lots of similarities between the doll and Carmen. Carmen was as beautiful as the doll. After Carmen died, the doll was missing. After the death , Carmen was buried and similarly the doll was also buried. After , Carmen returned back as Evangelina. In the same way, the doll also returned back.

In this way we can say that there were not only similarities between the two, rather, Carmen was the doll, and the doll was Carmen.

Question 4. Why did Roberto want to save Carmen's things? Why did Rosa say that there was no reason to save them ?

Answer : The clothes and playthings used to give Rosa a mental pain. So one day she collected them all and gave them to priest from another village. Later when Roberto knew it, he didn't like the idea. He wanted to save them for their next child. Rosa said that there was no reason to save them because doctors had said that Rosa wouldn't be mother for the second time.

Question 5. Rosa said to her husband ,"  False hope isn't good ". When does hope become false ? How can we know when hope is false ?

Answer : Although doctors had said that Rosa wouldn't be mother for the second time , Roberto wanted to save Carmen's things for their second child. He was hopeful about it. Rosa said that it was a false hope there was no basis for such hope. A hope is false if we are hoping for some impossible thing without any ground for it.

Question 6. Do you think Evangelina was a good name for the new baby ? Explain.

Answer : After carmen's death the Soto family was very sad. At the birth of Carmen, doctors had said that Rosa wouldn't be mother second time.

In this situation the birth of the second child was a good news for the family. Evangelina means 'good news'. So her name was very good and suitable for her.

Question 7. Why do you think Roberto thought of Carmen's doll when he looked out the window to the backyard ?

Answer : Carmen often used to play at that place, and the most important reason is that the doll was buried there. This made him think about the doll and her daughter when he looked out the window to the backyard.

Question 8. What made them finally forget about the lost doll ?

Answer : After one year of Carmen's death, Rosa gave birth to another female baby. They were extremely glad at it. Now there was no need of a doll for them, because they had a living doll now.

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Essay-Type Question

Question 1. Tell about an experience with a strange dream.

Or

Write about a strange dream which you have ever experienced.

Answer: It is an event of years back. I was in B.A. first year. My exams were about to start, and I was worried. I had won University scholarship that year . If I could not secure 65% marks, my scholarship wouldn't continue next year. Even in my dreams, either I found myself studying, or with a news paper in my hand showing me failed. 

It was night before my English paper, and I was worried. I went to bed at 11.30. But I could not sleep. I kept thinking about what things would be asked, and I did not know when I had fallen asleep. 

Soon I started to dream. I found my room suddenly illuminated by a divine light. There I found an old man with white hair and white beard. He signaled me to follow him.

Following him, we reached in a strange room. There he showed me a printed piece of paper. My God !! It was my English paper!! 

I tried to read it. But hardly I could read the first question, the old man disappeared, and I leapt behind him. I was restless. But suddenly I woke up, it was only a dream. 

A big surprise was waiting me the next morning. The very first question was the one which old man had shown me in my dream. I thanked my unknown benefactor. My paper was good that day. 

[ taking my test]

Question 2: Some people think all dreams have special meanings. What do you think? Tell about it, using examples if you can.

Answer: Dreams have always been mystery to people. Scientists have not been able to solve it. Although they have got some success, but they haven't been able to solve the mystery.

Some people define dreams as letting out our suppressed desires. Some connect them with unfulfilled desires. Some people, however, think dreams have some special meanings, giving some future indications. I also believe the same. 

Here I want to present an example of how a dream gave future hint. 

My friend Bhaskar belongs to an orthodox Hindu family. His father spends a lot of time in pujas and other different rituals. The family is vegetarian.

Once the old man had to go Kathmandu. He even had booked his seat for the next morning. But that night he dreamt that he was eating boiled eggs. He woke up with a startle. He started to think about it deeply. At last, he came to the conclusion that the dream was a hint of some undesirable event. He cancelled his journey. 

That evening we knew that the bus, by which he was to go, had met with an accident, taking lives of many people.

From then on, I started to believe that dreams have special meanings.

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