The Lost Doll

Summary

The lost doll is the story laid on the background of South America. Carmen was the daughter of Roberto and Rosa. She was beautiful, bright, and loving. But she was sick from the day of her birth. When she reached the age of four, her condition became worse and she died. Her body was taken to the cemetery in the small wooden coffin.

After a few days, Rosa collected all the clothes and playthings of Carmen and gave a priest who had come from the next village down the valley. Because the doctor had told that she wouldn’t have any children but Roberto had still hoped to get another baby again. He asked about the doll to Rosa which she used to play with her friends. Rosa replied that she had not given that doll.

On the anniversary of the death of Carmen, Rosa gave birth to another baby girl. The name was kept, Evangelina. She was healthy. When Evangelina reached almost four she said that she had been sick for a long time ago. And she had a doll with a red dress and blue eyes. Rosa’s sister also had come from Bogotá. Both sisters were surprised when they listened to Evangelina talking about the lost doll. She added that she had been sick before and a priest had prayed with his hand on her hand then Evangelina fell asleep.

But a nice man woke up her and told him to leave the doll and he took her with him and he helped her to put her doll under the ground. When they dug up the place showed by the girl, they found the doll. When Evangelina told her past, Rosa couldn’t say anything. This is a story about reincarnation. Reincarnation is when the soul or spirit of one body is reborn in another body. Evangelina is the reincarnation of Carmen. This explains why Evangelina “remembers” being sick and why she knows where the lost doll was hidden.

Important Questions and Answers:

Q. 1. Summaries the story “The Lost Doll”.

Ans: See the summary above for the complete answer.

Q. 2. How were Carmen and Evangelina alike and different?

Or

In what ways Mariya Del Carmen and Evangelina alike?

Ans: There were more similarities between Carmen and Evangelina. But they have some dissimilarity too.  When Evangelina grew, she looked more and more like Carmen. Her actions and characters were also like that of her sister Carmen. Seeing this similarity, the priest told that good healed Carmen and sent back in the earth in the form of Evangelina. The difference between them was that Carmen was sick but Evangelina was healthy.

Q. 3. What evidences are there in the story to show that the Soto family was poor?

Ans: There is some evidence that the Soto family was poor. When Roberto knew that Rosa had given away Carmen’s Playthings and clothes, he became unhappy. He wanted to save them because he was hopeful they would have another child. They searched for the beautiful little doll in the house and even in the village. Similarly, Roberto’s rough hands also suggest that he was poor. They lived in the village and Roberto Worked in the field. These are the additional proofs.

Q. 4. Make a Comparison between Roberto and Rosa Soto?

Ans: Roberto and |Rosa Soto Are the parents of Carmen and Evangelina. Rosa is a loving and kind mother. she does not have any belief in supernatural elements. She believes in the version of the doctor. due to her belief in modern science, she has given all the belongings of little carmen to the neighboring village priest. And Roberto believes in god and supernatural and he had still hope of having a child even doctor have declared that they will not have any child. In this story, Roberto s an optimistic character who believes in God, reincarnation, etc.

Q. 5. Why did they name the new baby Evangelina?

Ans: They named the new baby Evangelina because it meant good news. The birth of Evangelina was good news not only for the family members but also to the society. When Rosa Soto gave birth to the Carmen the doctor suggested them that Rosa Soto could not give birth to another child but after a year of Carmen’s death Rosa gave birth to another child in this context, it was the matter of happy news that’s why they named the new baby Evangelina.

Q. 6. Where did they finally find the lost doll?

Ans: They finally found the lost doll under a big tree in the backyard of the house. It became possible to find it out only because of the help of Evangelina herself because she told her mother and aunt that she knew the lost doll and took them there and asked her mother to dig under it and it was found there in good condition.

Q. 7. Who, did Evangelina say, helped her put it there?

Ans: Evangelina said that there was a young man who saw her with the doll in her hand and that young man told her that it was not necessary for her and he buried it with this own hand under that tree. The man did not have even the spade. It shows that this man was the angel of death.

Q. 8. Rosa said to her husband “False hope is not good.” When does the hope become false?

Ans: Hope becomes false when there is no possibility to fulfill it. As the doctor had told them earlier that she could not bear anymore baby than Carmen, Rosa didn’t want to wish for the impossible thing that she could give birth to another child.

Q.9. Why did Roberto want to save Carmen’s things?

Ans: Roberto wanted to save Carmen’s things because he still had hope that they would have another child and Carmen’s things could be useful for that child.

Q.10. What could be the reasons for attending Carmen’s funeral by almost everyone?

Ans: Almost everyone in the village attended Carmen’s funeral because she was a bright, kind, and loving child and loved by all people.

Q.11. Why did Rosa say that there was no reason to save Carmen’s things?

Ans: Rosa said that there was no reason to save them because after she gave birth to Carmen the doctor suggested that she couldn’t give birth to another child.

Questions for Practice:

1. Why did Roberto want to save Carmen’s things?
2. Write your opinion about Carmen in brief.
3. Do you believe “The Lost Doll” is a story of reincarnation? How was it possible for Evangelina to lead her parents to the site where the lost doll was buried?
4. Rosa said to her husband. “False hope is not good”. When does hope become false? How can we know when hope is false?