The Recurring Dream : Summary and Important Questions Answers

The Recurring Dream

(The Recurring Dream)

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What is a recurring dream?

A recurring dream is a dream that repeats more than once. Such a dream repeatedly comes back to a person. 

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Main Characters of the Story :

1. Kim : the central character
2. Janet : Kim's friend and room-mate
3. An old man

In this story both Kim and the old man see each other in their recurring dreams.

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Short Summary :

This is a story about a mysterious recurring dream which haunts Kim, the main character of this story.

Kim was a young girl of 25 years . She was a normal young girl working in a large company in London, where she used to live with her room partner Janet.

She used to have a recurring dream . In her dream she used to be on a country road where she used to find a lane with a white fence and a hedge on each side. 

At the end of the lane, on the top of a hill she used to find a small white cottage with green shutters.  Inside it, in one of the rooms she used to find a little old man with white hair and white beards  sleeping in a bed. 

Every time she tried to talk to him, she used to get up and find herself in her own room.  

One day she told her problem to Janet. She suggested Kim to spend a few days at a peaceful place, because she thought that the dream was due to Kim's busy life style in London. So it was fixed that they would go to Janet's parent's farm for a few days.

The next weekend they left for Janet's farm house .Janet was driving the car. 

In one of the turns, Kim saw the same place of her dream. She made Janet stop and started to walk up the hill. 

Finally she got up the top of the hill and surprisingly the same small white cottage with green shutters was there. The only difference was that now there was a sign "For sale" was hanging there.

She knocked at the door, and another surprise was waiting her. The same little old man opened the door. Not only Kim, but now the old man was also surprised to see her. He immediately closed the door. 

She asked him to open the door and said she wanted to buy the house. 

The old man replied that she couldn't buy it because it was haunted. Kim asked who haunted the house. 

The old man opened the door a little, peeped out and replied that it was she herself. He again closed the door immediately.

In this way we find that actually there were two recurring dreams in this story. If Kim used to see the old man in her dream every night, the old man also used to have a recurring dream of her every night.

This was the reason that both were greatly surprised at seeing each other in real life.

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Detailed Summary : (Pointwise breakdown of the story)

1. Introduction: The Recurring Dream is a supernatural Story. It is based on a dream which haunts the main character of the story, Kimberly Clark,  every night. 

Kim was a young woman of twenty five. She lived and worked in the busy city of London. She had a problem. She used to have a strange, mysterious dream every night about an old man whom she had never seen and about a place where she had never gone. 

2. What was the dream?:   In her dream, she used to find herself on a country road. After walking sometime she used to come near a lane with a white fence and green bushes on each side. She used to walk up and up the hill and on the top of it she used to find a little, white cottage with green shutters. She would go in the house . In one of the rooms she would find a little, old man with white hair and a white beard. Every time she wanted to talk to the old man , she would wake up and find  herself in her own bed.

3. Janet's suggestion:  She was very worried by the dream. So she shared the problem with her roommate, Janet. Janet said that it was due to living in the busy city and also due to tension of her work. Her suggestion was that Kim should spend some time in a peaceful place and the dream would not trouble her. It was arranged that the  next weekend they would go to Janet's parents' farm house. 

4. On the way to Janet's Farm House: As  per their plan, the next Saturday, both of them started for the farm house. Janet was driving the car, and Kim was sitting peacefully on the back seat.  As the car came out of the city, Kim closed her eyes in relax.

5. Dream or Reality ? :  Suddenly after some time, she saw the same country road as that of her dream. She made Janet stop the car and started to walk through the road. It was exactly the same. The same lane, the same fences. Finally she reached at the top of the hill.
 

6. The Big Surprise: Again, another surprise was that the same little house was there. But there was a difference. This time there was a notice there that the house was for sale. She knocked at the door. The biggest surprise was that the same old man opened the door.

On the other hand, he was also greatly surprised to see her. He closed the door immediately he saw Kim.

7. Kim Talks to the Man : Is Kim a Ghost ? : Kim knocked again requesting the man to open the door .  She said that she wanted to buy the house.
The man replied that she could not buy the house because it was haunted by a ghost. Kim asked who the ghost was. The old man opened the door a little and said that she was the ghost and immediately closed the door.

8. Conclusion : In this way we can say that there were two recurring dreams . If Kim saw the old man in her dream every night , the old man also saw Kim every night in his dream.

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Questions Answers:

1. Where is the house in Kimberly's dream ?

Answer: In her dream she finds herself on a country road. There she finds a lane and a white fence and a hedge on each side. At the end of the lane, on the top of a little hill, there is the house.

2. Describe the lane and the house. Describe the old man Kim sees in the house.

Answer: In her dream, Kim used to find herself on a country road. After some time she used to come to the foot of a hill and from there she used to walk up hill through a lane. 

It was a narrow lane with white fences and green bushes at both the sides. Finally, at the top of the hill she used to find the house. It was in fact a small, white cottage with green shutters.
In one of the rooms there, she used to find a little man with white hair and a white beard.

3.Where does Janet want to take Kim and why?

Answer: When Kim is troubled by the dream much, Kim shares her problem with Janet. Janet thinks that it was because of the busy life of London. She thinks that if Kim got some some mental peace, such dream would vanish away. So, she wants to take Kim to her parents' farm house for a few days because it is so peaceful there.

4. What do you think is the reason some people have recurring dreams?

Answer: Many reasons can be given for recurring dreams. It differs from person to person. 

Sometimes if a worry hunts, people may have such dreams. Other reasons might be some unfulfilled desire, work overload, stress, etc. 

Sometimes some such dreams even might give hints of some upcoming events.

5. Why did the little old man close the door when he saw Kim?

Answer : In fact there are two recurring dreams in the story. 

If Kim used to have the dream of the old man, the old man also used to see Kim in his dream every night. So when he opened the door and saw Kim, he was afraid. He thought Kim was the ghost. So he immediately closed the door.

6. Why do you think Kim has this dream ?

Answer : Dreams are interpreted in different ways. 

Here we may argue that perhaps Kim had some associations with the man or with the place. Perhaps it was a relation of her previous life. In this life she had some reminiscences of her previous birth which used to draw her to the place of the old man.

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Essay-Type Questions

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 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 belong 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 had even 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.

After this event, I started to believe that dreams have special meanings.

(Your comments and feedbacks are most desirable)

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