The Tattered Blanket – Class 11 English Unit 10 Exercise, Summary & Grammar Notes

Unit 10 The Old Blanket

Class 11 English Notes – Questions and Answers, Summary, Grammar

Summary of “The Tattered Blanket”

This relationship-based story of a mother and her son Gopi, is a delicate tale called The Tattered Blanket. Quietly and realistically written, the story explores how relationships are strained by the demands of contemporary living and materialism.

After five years, Gopi (a senior government servant in Delhi) returns to his native village (place in Kerala) for holiday. But he’s not there to express his love or concern for them; he’s there to discuss selling back his share of the property. His mother, senile from old age and dementia, does not know him.

Amma's memory is failing, but she still has a soft corner in her heart for Gopi. She thinks that he writes her letters every day. It keeps the illusion alive, thanks to Kamala, Gopi’s widowed sister who takes care of Amma to appease their mama. The funny part is that Gopi has never written her a letter.

Symbolism of the Tattered Blanket

Amma’s tattered blanket, Gopi’s gift to her years back, is all threadbare now. Without recognizing Gopi, she asks him to send her son a new red blanket. This blanket is symbolic. It represents the love and warmth she used to get (or wished she would get) from her son. You can't feel that warm anymore, and just like Gopi should be warm with affection, you lost the warmth.

Key Characters

Gopi

The protagonist—a government official, who estranges his family, especially his mother.

Amma

An aged and feeble mother struck by memory loss, but still sentimentally holding onto her son.

Kamala

Gopi’s elder sister, takes care of their mother and is knowing of Gopi’s real intentions.

Key Themes

• Neglect of Elderly Parent: Gopi’s no-show is yet another example of how adult children neglect their elderly parents in their hurry to get on in contemporary urban life and career.
• Emotional Disconnection: Gopi’s trip is for work and her mother is dying for some affection and love.
• Memory And Forgetfulness: Amma doesn't remember people, or events, but her emotional memory of her longing for her son remains.
• Irony: The mother who no longer knows her son because she is forgotten by her son.

Ending Message

It concludes with Kamala’s star turn question:

“But Gopi, don’t you remember your Amma?”

Gopi, citing Amma’s memory loss justifies his emotional absence. But the story throws this excuse back in his face — he’s even worse, because he has forgotten her in his heart, not only in memory.

Conclusion

The Tattered Blanket is a heartrending reminder that old folks desire love more than anything else. Emotionally, it’s easier to live 3,000 km than as an hour away. This is such a simple desire for a tattered blanket that Amma wants, but it is only symbolic for what she yearns for—her son’s love.