CH 7

FORGETTING

Written By
ROBERT LYND
 P.K.TE STI NG :-

Ques 1 :- What do you mean by forgetting ?

Ques 2 :- Why do people forget ?
Ques 3 :- What are the causes of forgetting things ?
Ques 4 :- How can we overcome from forgetting
problem ?
Ques 5 :- Tell me your personal experience about
forgetting ?
Ques 6 :- What type of things people mostly forget?
Ques 7 :- What type of things people don’t mostly
forget ?
Ques:- What does this picture show us?
Explain it.
Illust rativ e Aids: -
1. Blackboard
2. Chalk
3. Duster
4. Pointer

Specific A ids:-
1. Lesson Plan
2. Computer
3. Flash Cards
4. Ling Phones
MAIN OBJECTIVES :-
1. To increase the vocabulary of the
students
2. To use such type of words that a child can
easily understand
3. To pronounce the difficult words in
phonetics way.
4. To increase the communication skills of
the student.
5. To develop the reading, writing, listening
and speaking skills.
 for·get (fər-gĕt', fôr-)

v., -got (-gŏt'), -got·ten (-gŏt'n) or

-got, - get·ting, -gets.
v.tr.
1.To be unable to remember (something).
2.To treat with thoughtless inattention; neglect: forget
one's family.
3.To leave behind unintentionally.
4.To fail to mention.
5.
a.To banish from one's thoughts: forget a disgrace.
b.Informal. To disregard on purpose. Usually used in the
imperative: Oh, forget it. I refuse to go!
v.intr.
d.To cease remembering: Let's forgive and forget.
e.To fail or neglect to become aware at the proper or
specified moment: forgot about my dental appointment.
idiom:
forget (oneself)
To lose one's reserve, temper, or self-restraint.
 
 FOR GE TTIN G
IN TROD UCTION
In this essay, Lynd tells us about an interesting fact
of human life. Modern man remembers a lot of
things. But still he is absent-minded about many.
Only a few of us remember to take the medicine
that our doctor advises us to take. We are forgetful
in the matter of posting letters. We leave little
things like books, umbrellas and walking sticks in
trams and taxis. Young persons and sportsmen
are very absent-minded because they live in the
world of imagination. The writer says that a good
memory is not really a sign of a great intellect.
 COMPLETE SUMMARY
The number of articles lost by railway travelers may give us the idea that man is
very forgetful. But the fact is that man has a wonderful memory. Modern man
remembers even telephone nos. He remembers the addresses of his friends,
dates of good wines, appointments for lunch and dinner, the names of actors
and actresses, cricketers and footballers, murderers and dacoits, the name of
hotels where tasteless food was once served of him.

Again in his daily life also, man remembers almost everything that he should
remember. No man forgets a single item of his clothing when dressing up in the
morning. Nobody forgets to shut the front door when leaving the house. And
nobody forgets to switch off the lights before going to bed. Thus throughout the
day, every man remembers to do the right thing at the right moment.
Yet there are some matters in which human memory is not very good. There
are many people who forget to take medicine at fixed hours. Generally, a
medicine is taken before or after meals. Therefore, the meal itself should
remind them that they have to take the medicine at fixed hour. The author is
very fond of buying medicines. But after buying medicines, he forgets to take
them at regular intervals. There is no wonder that chemist become rich by
selling medicines, which people forget to use.
Most of the people are forgetful in the matter of posting letters. The author seldom
gives his letters to others for posting. He himself is quite forgetful in the matter. If
someone gives him a letter, he keeps on holding it in his hand lest he should
forget to post it. After some time he feels tired of holding the letter in his hand and
he puts it into his pocket. Then he forgets it completely. He forgets to post even
those letters which he himself writes.

People often leave their walking sticks, books and umbrellas in trains and taxis.
The author is quite forgetful in these matters. He likes to carry a walking stick in
his hand while going out to visit a friend. But he often forgets it either in the train
or at his friend’s house. He does not have the courage to carry an umbrellas while
going out, because he is sure of losing it on the way.

From the list of articles lost in trains, the author has found that young men are
more forgetful than the serious-minded people as a large number of footballs and
cricket-bats were forgotten in the trains. It seems that when the sportsmen are
returning after playing a match, they are deeply lost in the thoughts of the match.
They are lost in a world of imagination. So while getting down from the train, they
forget their footballs and cricket-bats in the compartment.
The anglers too are very forgetful. It is because they invent a large number of lies
about the size and number of fish caught by them. When they are busy in telling
these lies to others, they forget all about their finishing rods. They leave these
fishing rods in the train.
The persons with weak memories, often feel superior to those who have strong
memories. They argue that men with great memories are seldom men of great
intelligence. They quote many cases of children who had great memories and yet
had no intelligence at all. But Lynd feels that the writers and the great composers
of music have excellent memories. Poets have better memories than the stock-
brokers. Statesmen seem to possess very bad memories. They often accuse
each other of giving wrong details in their speeches of books. Yet the poets have
both a good memory and a keen intellect in them.
Good memory is very commonly found in people. So we consider a person who
does not have it, a strange person. The author narrates a story. A man went out
with his baby in the perambulator. The weather was very fine and sunny. So he
felt tempted to enjoy a glass of beer in a public-house. He left the perambulator
(pram) on the road and went into the bar. After taking a glass of beer, he came
out of the bar forgetting all about his baby. By chance, his wife passed that side.
When she saw the baby, she was shocked and angry at her husband’s strange
behavior. She thought of teaching him a lesson. She brought the baby and the
perambulator home. She was sure that her husband would be terrified at losing
the baby and would look pale and bloodless.
But to her surprise, the husband walked into the house in a cheerful
mood. He had not yet remembered the baby and the perambulator. He
greeted his wife very joyfully and inquired of her what dishes she had
cooked for lunch. The author feels that very few people below the rank
of a philosopher would be as forgetful as this man. However, he is of
the opinion that most of us are born with very efficient memories. If it
were not so, families could not have survived in great modern cities.
 DIFFICULT WORD MEANINGS
WORDS MEANINGS
1. Articles Things
2. Absent-Mindedness Forgetfulness
3. Statistical Of Facts
4. Moral Giants Big Moralists
5. Destination Final Stage Of The Journey
6. Delinquent Defaulter
7. Ought Should Have
8. Exploits Heroic Deeds
9. Unadventurous Dull
10. Occurs Takes Place
11. Embarrassing Disturbing
12. Anglers Who catches fishes for fun
13. Prosaic Dull, Commonplace
14. Pillar-Box Mail Box
15. Feats Deeds
WORDS MEANINGS
16. Magnificent Grand
17. Reluctant Unwilling
18. Potions Liquid Medicines
19. Genius Intelligent Person
21. Saloon Bar Beer Bar
22. Public House Bar
23. Vexation Worry
24. Efficient Good
25. Quivering Trembling
26. Pause Stop
27. Perambulator A Baby Pram
28. Inaccurate Incorrect
29. Composers Of Music Musicians
30. Anticipating Hoping
31. Mediocre Something Average
32. Fallible Likely To Go Wrong
34. Make Out Prepare
35. Grimmest Jawed Harshest Jawed
Short Answer type ques tions :-

Ques 1 :- What,according to the author, is more astonishing –

the absent-mindedness or the efficiency of the human mind ?
Ans :- The efficiency of the human mind is more astonishing.

Ques 2 :- What are the amazing achievements of human

memory?
Ans :- The modern man remembers telephone nos, addresses of his friends,
dates of good wines, appointments for dinners, names of actors and actresses,
players, murderers and lots of routine matters.

Ques 3 :- Which big failure of memory does the author point

out ?
Ans :- The author points out the big failure of the people in the matter of taking the
medicines at regular intervals, posting letters and forgetting articles in the train.

Ques 4 :- Which failure of the memory is the commonest ?

Does the author himself suffer from it ?
Ans :- The commonest form of failure is forgetfulness in the matter of posting
letters. The author himself suffers from this.
Ques 5 :- Does the author accuse himself or excuse himself as
regards articles in trains and taxis ?
Ans :- He doesn’t accuse himself much about leaving articles in taxis and trains. He
remembers books but forgets a walking stick. He always leaves an umbrella in a taxi or
in a train.
Ques 6 :- Which class of people is the worst in this regard ?
Ans :- The Young people are the worst in this regard. Sportsmen, anglers, stock-
brokers and statesmen are the worst in this matter.
Ques 7 :- What relation does the author show between memory
and intelligence ? Or Is good memory a sign of intelligence ?
Ans :- The author shows that there is no relationship between memory and
intelligence. A forgetful man is not without intelligence. Forgetfulness is a sign of a
noble mind and sublime thoughts.
Questions on Characters, Incidents and Theme
Ques 1 :- Narrate briefly in words of your own Robert Lynd’s views on
the absent-mindedness of people ?
Ans :- Modern man has a very good memory. In his daily life he remembers many
things but he is also very forgetful.No man forgets a single item of his dress. Nobody
forgets to shut the front door when leaving the house. And nobody forgets to switch off
the lights before going to bed. Forgetfulness is very common in the matter of taking
medicines at regular intervals.
A large number of people forget their walking sticks, books and umbrellas in trains and
taxis. The author also leaves his walking stick somewhere on the way. So he doesn’t
carry an umbrella only for fear of losing it.
Ques 2 :- What,according to Robert Lynd,are the advantages of
forgetfulness?
Ans :- Forgetfulness has its own advantages. It makes a man happy. It enables him
to reach the object of his greater interest. The moment of forgetfulness is the moment
of great joy. An object of joy lives in imagination. He achieves this object when he
forgets articles of daily use.
Forgetfulness relieves man of the pain of hard life. Failures and disappointments make
man unhappy. Absent-mindedness makes him forget everything about the unhappy
state of his life.
Absent-mindedness enables man to make the best of life. He forgets ordinary things.
Poets and philosophers are generally forgetful of ordinary things. Therefore, they are
able to create something new and original. They enjoy life better than those who have
strong memories.
Ques 3 :- Write a note on the theme of the essay ‘Forgetting‘
by Robert Lynd.
Ans :- The modern man has a wonderful memory in the daily matters of
his life but he is also forgetful in several things. Only a few of us remember
to take the medicine suggested by the doctor. Most of us forget to post our
letters. Sportsmen generally forget their footballs and cricket bats. Anglers
forget their fishing rods. Absent-mindedness is a real virtue. The absent-
minded man makes the best of life.
A good memory is also necessary for man. A man with a poor memory is
regarded as a fool. He gives the example of a father who forget his baby
outside a public house. The author thinks that a good memory is also
essential for a happy family life.
Ques 4 :- How do you value efficient memory ?
Ans :- An efficient memory is a gift given to man by God. It is by the help
of our memory that we remember so many things in the world.
People value memory in different ways. Some say that the absent-minded
man is making the best of life. The writer is of the view that great writers
and great composers of music have been men with exceptional powers of
memory. The golden rule about memory is that we should remember
necessary things and forget unnecessary things. Ordinarily good memory
is quite common. A man who does not have a good memory is considered
eccentric. Philosophers are generally absent-minded.
Ques 5 :- What categories of people,according to Robert
Lynd,are the most absent- minded?
Ans :- Robert Lynd gives a list of people who are generally absent-minded.
First, he talk about sportsmen. They, while returning from the games, have
their imaginations filled with the dreams of the playing field. So they do not
remember such small things as bats and balls. Anglers returning home are
inventing grand lies of being late and are lost in the dreams of their imaginary
achievements. So they forget their fishing rods. Writers and music composers
have very good powers of memory. On the other hand, stock-brokers and
statesmen have very bad memories. That is why the description of the same
event by two statesmen differs and the facts in their autobiographies and
speeches are so often challenged.

Ques 6 :- How does the author show that the absent-minded

man is often a man who is making the best of life?
Ans :- The writer Robert Lynd says that the absent-minded people are
generally imaginative and intelligent persons. They remain so much lost in
their dreams. They remain so mush lost in their dreams that they often forget
the objects of reality. Sportsmen totally lose themselves in the visions of the
playing field. So they do not remember such small things as bats and balls.
Anglers returning home get busy in inventing lies for being late. They are
generally lost in the dreams of imaginary achievements. They forget the
fishing rod in reality. The loss of ordinary things of reality, because their minds
are full of more glorious things.
Ques 7 :- What does the writer say about the working of
human memory in the matter of taking medicine ?
Ans :- Robert Lynd says that human memory works imperfectly in the
matter of taking medicines prescribed by the doctor. Only a very highly
disciplined and methodical man can remember to take his medicine in time.
It is indeed very surprising. A medicine is something that should be taken
regularly. Generally, one is supposed to take the medicine before, during or
after the meals. So the meal itself should be a reminder of it. But only a very
few persons take their medicine regularly. Some psychologists say that we
forget to take them at the fixed time because we generally don’t like
medicines. The writer himself is a life-long taker of medicines. Even then he
is quite forgetful about taking medicines regularly.

Ques 8 :- What, according to the author, is more astonishing –

the absent-mindedness or the efficiency of human memory ?
Ans :- The author thinks that the efficiency of human memory is more
astonishing than absent-mindedness. People forget their walking sticks,
books and umbrellas in trains and taxis. People forget to take prescribed
medicines. Many of us forget to post letters. Sportsmen and anglers forget
their essential things like balls, bats and fishing rods.
But the author wonders at the efficiency of the human memory. The modern
man remembers many things. He remembers telephone numbers, addresses
of his friends and appointments for lunch and dinner. His memory is crowded
with the names of actors and actresses, cricketers and footballers and
murderers. Nobody forgets a single item of clothing when dressing in the
morning. Nobody forgets to shut the front door while leaving the house. The
ordinary man seldom forgets to switch off the light before going to sleep. All
this is astonishing.

Ques 9 :- Who, according to Robert Lynd, are the most

forgetful people and why ?
Ans :- The young and not the adult often forget things. Sportsmen have
worse memories than ordinary men. They often forget their footballs and
cricket balls. Anglers are said to be very forgetful. They forget their fishing
rods. They are very imaginative people. They are inventing grand lies on their
way home. Poets, writers and philosophers fail to post letters. They have
souls above such things. The author comes to the conclusion that an absent-
minded man is a man who making the best of life. His mind is full of more
glorious things. His mind does not get bogged down in the ordinary and
routine affairs of life.
Ques 10 :- “ It is efficiency rather than the inefficiency of
human memory that compels my wonders”. What arguments
does the author give to establish this idea ?
Ans :- Men are forgetful in several things of daily life. They forget their
walking sticks, umbrellas, books and magazines in buses and trains. But this
is also a fact that the efficiency of human memory is wonderful. A modern
man remembers lots of things. He remembers telephone numbers and
addresses of his friends. He also remembers the dates of good wines,
appointments for lunch and dinner, names of actor, actresses and criminals.
He also doesn’t forget the names of hotels and places he might have visited
long ago. In his day-to-day life, he remembers everything worth
remembering. He doesn’t forget a single item of his dress or to shut the door
of the house before leaving the house. An ordinary man remembers to
switch off the lights before going to bed. Thus we can say that his memory is
remarkable.
Ques 11 :- What does Robers Lynd say about posting letters ?
Ans :- Robert Lynd says that a common form of forgetfulness is in the
matter of posting letters. He himself does not trust anyone in the posting of
an important letter. He puts the person on his oath before asking him to post
a letter. The writer himself is very forgetful in posting letters. If he wants to
post the letter box before he remembers that he has to post this letter. Then
he gets tired of holding the letter in his hand. He puts the letter in his pocket
and forgets all about it. It remains there for a long time. It comes out of his
pocket only after the sender comes to know that the letter has not reached
its destination. He asks the writer about it. It may be said that his
forgetfulness is due to a lack of interest in the letters of others. This may not
be correct. The writer forgets to post some of his own personal letters.
Ques 12 :- Write in your own words the story of the absent-minded
father in the lesson ‘Forgetting’ ?
Ans :- The writer gives us a interesting account of an absent-minded father. Once
this father took his baby out in a pram. He stopped at a public house. He went in to
have a glass of beer. He left the baby outside in the pram. He spent some time in
drinking beer. After some time, his wife happened to pass that way. She felt hurt on
realizing that her husband was not there.
She brought the baby home. She decided to teach her husband a lesson. She
thought that her husband would be a worried man. When he would return home, she
would tell him that the baby had been stolen by some one. But when he returned
home, he was very cheerful. He asked her what she had cooked for lunch. He did not
talk at all about the baby. He had forgotten all about the child that he had taken along
with him in the pram. It was the finest example of absent-mindedness.
Ques 13 :- Describe the relations between memory and
intelligence ?
Ans :- There is no definite relation between memory and intelligence. Men
with very good memories may have poor intelligence. Some children have
wonderful memories, but no intelligence at all. Lynd believes that the great
writers and the great composers of music have been men with very good
memories.
The writer is of the opinion that poets have better memories that stock-
brokers. On the other hand, statesmen seem to have extraordinarily bad
memories. If two statesmen recall the same event, their accounts will be
different. This is why the facts in the autobiographies and speeches of
statesmen are challenged.

Ques 14 :- What does Robert Lynd say about leaving articles in

trains and taxis ?
Ans :- Passengers usually leave a number of articles in trains and taxis. This
fact shows the absent-mindedness of people. The writer is very careful about
leaving things in trains. He rarely leaves any article in the trains. He
remembers everything except books and walking sticks. He finds it difficult or
impossible to keep walking sticks.
Ques 15 :- “ The institution of the family survives because most
of us are born with prosaically efficient memories.” Explain
this remark by Robert Lynd in the essay ‘ Forgetting ‘ ?

Ans :- Robert Lynd says that forgetfulness is something rare. It is not

common among people. Ordinary people have efficient and good memories.
Only great thinkers and philosophers are absent-minded. Some professors are
absent-minded. Absent-mindedness is a sign of a healthy memory. The
common man does not forget his baby, wife and family.

The writer gives us an example of an absent-minded father. He took his baby

out in a pram (perambulator) on a sunny morning. On the way he stopped for a
glass of beer in a public house. He forget all about the baby in the pram. A little
later, his wife came there for shopping. She was shocked to see the baby in
the pram. She carried away the baby in the pram. She expected that her
husband would come back home with a pale face and trembling lips and give
The news that the baby had been stolen. But the husband came home smiling.
He asked his wife what she had prepared for lunch. He had completely
forgotten that he had taken the baby out with him. Such absent-mindedness is
very rare, otherwise the institution of the family could not go on.
Made By :- Meenakshi Bindra
Computer Faculty
Govt. Sen Sec School
Katra Sufaid
Amritsar