- Author
- Tissa Abeysekera (also spelt Abeysekara), Sri Lankan film director and writer
- Genre
- Short novel told by a first-person narrator looking back on his childhood
- Setting
- Depanama and Wijerama, Sri Lanka, in an earlier, slower-paced era
- Main characters
- The narrator, his dog Tony, his mother and father
- Key idea
- The deep bond between a boy and his dog, and the pain of parting
About the author
Tissa Abeysekera is best known in Sri Lanka as a film director and screenwriter. That background shapes this novel. As the original LitHelp notes point out, one of the first things you notice is how visual it is: like a film, its moments create powerful pictures of a bygone era, of nature, and of colourful people.
The narrator himself is an adult film-maker looking back on his boyhood, which suggests the story grows out of the writer's own memories. When you write about the novel, refer to "the narrator", not to the author, unless the question asks about the writer.
Background
The story is set in a gentler, earlier period of Sri Lankan life. The original notes describe a time when people's lives were "unsophisticated and slow paced":
- Families carried ration books, the Salaka Poth or Hal Poth, which were as important as national identity cards are today.
- Buses were not crowded and did not run in a hurry.
- Suburban Sri Lanka was full of awe-inspiring trees and waterways.
- People welcomed strangers into their houses.
Against this background, the family faces financial hardship and has to move to a smaller, more restricted home. This move is what separates the boy from his dog and sets the story in motion.
Bringing Tony Home is one of the three prescribed novels, with "The Prince and the Pauper" and "Vendor of Sweets". In the exam, novels appear in Part I, Section B (a passage with four questions, 10 marks) and Part II, Fiction (an essay, 15 marks).
Setting
- Depanama: the family's home for about seven years, where the narrator grew up with Tony. It stands for the happy, secure days of childhood.
- Wijerama: the family's new, more modest home after their circumstances change. Tony is not allowed to come.
- The road between them: the bus journey of the move, and later the long walk home that the boy makes with Tony.
- The adult narrator's present: the grown-up film-maker remembering his childhood. Sights and sounds in the present bring back memories of Tony.
Plot
The novel is structured in three parts. As the original notes explain, they move between different periods of the narrator's life, and this shifting, fragmented structure mirrors the changes in his world.
- Life at DepanamaThe narrator and Tony have lived together at Depanama for about seven years. Their friendship is gentle, loyal and peaceful.
- Hard times and the moveBecause of the family's difficult economic situation, they must leave Depanama for a smaller home at Wijerama. Tony cannot go with them.
- The painful partingWhen the family boards the bus, Tony tries to get in too. The conductor shouts at the dog, and the boy is sad and angry. Unable to bear it, he avoids looking at Tony.
- A secret vowThe boy vows to himself that he will bring Tony home.
- Return to DepanamaHe goes back to Depanama to collect the family's new ration books, planning to fulfil his secret vow at the same time.
- The joyful reunionAt the entrance to Mrs Jayasinghe's property, Tony comes crashing in with a sharp, excited bark: the scene of the 2016 exam passage. The dog shows his loyalty and joy "in its own canine manner".
- Bringing Tony homeThe boy walks the long way back to Wijerama instead of taking the bus, because he is afraid of losing Tony. He ties Tony to his short buckle (belt) to keep him safe.
- Tony at WijeramaTony stays at the boy's side as he does all the jobs his mother gives him.
- Tony leavesWhile the boy lies in bed with a fever, fast asleep, Tony runs away from the home. The boy's pain at this second parting is deep.
- MemoryThe adult narrator still remembers Tony. Even the sound of a train can bring back the cry of a chained dog. Years later, when he meets another dog like Tony, he feeds it and then runs away, still unable to face a parting.
Characters
Minor characters appear in particular scenes. The bus conductor shouts at Tony when the family leaves. Mrs Jayasinghe and Uncle Ronald are present at the reunion scene at Depanama.
Themes
- The human–animal bondThe central theme: the sincere, faithful affection between a boy and his dog, shown in Tony's ecstatic welcome and the boy's determination to bring him home.
- Loyalty and loveTony's devotion and the boy's secret vow show love that keeps its promises.
- Parting and lossNeither the boy nor the dog knows how to end their seven-year friendship. The novel suggests that, as human beings, we are still unable to deal with partings.
- Poverty and changeThe family's economic hardship forces the move that breaks up the boy's happy world.
- Parents and childrenA kind, sensitive mother and a distant father; the boy learns to live amid these opposite tendencies.
- Memory and nostalgiaThe past is "embedded deep in our psyche". A single image, thought or sound, like a train's cry, can unleash it.
- A vanished way of lifeRation books, unhurried buses, trees, waterways and hospitality: a gentle, peaceful past era of Sri Lanka.
Literary techniques
| Technique | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| First-person retrospective narration | The adult narrator remembers his boyhood | Intimate and personal; mixes a child's feelings with an adult's understanding |
| Flashback and memory | Present-day sights and sounds bring back the past | Shows how strongly childhood experiences stay with us |
| Fragmented, three-part structure | The story moves between periods of the narrator's life | Mirrors the breaks and changes in his world |
| Cinematic, visual imagery | Tony "crashing through" the scene at Mrs Jayasinghe's | Scenes play like moments from a film; reflects the author's film background |
| Auditory imagery | "the sharp clipped aristocratic bark"; the train echoed by a dog's cry | Sounds trigger emotion and memory |
| Humour | The custard pudding, the dessert spoon and Uncle Ronald's accordion in the reunion scene | Lightens the story and shows the comic chaos of Tony's joy |
| Contrast | Joy of reunion against the pain of parting | Moves the reader from pain to joy and back to suffering |
| Pathos | Tony leaves while the boy lies ill with fever | Arouses deep sympathy for the boy |
| Symbolism | The bus, the buckle, the chained dog's cry | Separation, holding on, and the longing to be free |
Passage questions (Part I, Section B)
Section B gives a passage from a novel with four questions: (i) identification of the situation, 2 marks; (ii) comprehension, 2 marks; (iii) application, explaining words or expressions, 2 marks; (iv) critical evaluation, 4 marks. Total 10 marks.
"And then came the bark; the sharp clipped aristocratic bark, and with it came Tony, crashing through Mrs Jayasinghe with the custard pudding in the dessert cup held delicately in one hand and the dessert spoon suspended somewhere between my mouth and her ample bosom, and uncle Ronald opening and closing the folds of the accordion in an arc just below his chin."
- What is the situation given in the passage? Where does it take place? 2
- Why was Tony excited? 2
- Write the meanings of the following words: (a) delicately (b) suspended 2
- What does this passage reveal about the relationship between Tony and the narrator? 4
Show answers (based on the 2016 marking scheme)
(i) This is the reunion of the narrator with his dog Tony, when the narrator returns to Depanama to collect the new ration books (and to fulfil his secret vow of taking Tony back). It takes place at the entrance to Mrs Jayasinghe's property.
(ii) Tony was excited because he suddenly met the narrator again after a period of separation.
(iii) (a) delicately: carefully, lightly, gently. (b) suspended: hanging, held loosely in the air.
(iv) The passage reveals a loving, caring, close and genuine relationship. Tony's sharp bark and the way he comes "crashing" into the scene show his overwhelming joy at seeing the narrator again: he ignores everyone and everything else. The narrator remembers every detail of the moment, which shows how much the reunion meant to him. Their bond is affectionate and intimate.
Answer briefly. These recall questions check that you know the plot.
- Why did the narrator's family have to leave Depanama?
- What happened when Tony tried to follow the family onto the bus?
- What promise did the boy make to himself?
- For what practical reason did the boy return to Depanama?
- Why did the boy walk back to Wijerama instead of taking the bus?
- How did he make sure Tony stayed with him on the journey?
- When and how did Tony finally leave?
- What does the adult narrator do when he meets a dog like Tony many years later? What does this show?
Show answers
- Because of the family's difficult economic situation, they had to move to a smaller, more modest home at Wijerama.
- The conductor shouted at the dog. The boy felt sad and angry and avoided looking at Tony.
- He secretly vowed that he would bring Tony home.
- To collect the family's new ration books.
- He was afraid that he would lose Tony.
- He tied Tony to his short buckle (belt).
- Tony ran away from home while the boy was in bed with a fever, fast asleep.
- He feeds the dog and then runs away. It shows that even as an adult he cannot face a parting, and that his memory of Tony is still painful.
Essay questions (Part II, Fiction)
Content 7 · Organisation 4 · Language 4. Refer to specific events in the novel and quote where you can.
"Above all, Bringing Tony Home represents the human-animal bond and the relationships between people and their pets." Comment on this statement. 15
Points the 2016 marking scheme looks for
- Tony has been living for about seven years in Depanama with the narrator.
- When they leave Depanama, Tony follows them and tries to get into the bus; the conductor shouts at the dog and the boy becomes sad and angry.
- The narrator vows to himself to take Tony home.
- The reunion shows the human–animal bond, and Tony's faithfulness and ecstasy "in its own canine manner".
- Tony was at his side as the narrator performed all the duties his mother assigned him.
- On the journey from Wijerama he walked without getting on the bus, fearing he would lose Tony.
- Tying the animal to his short buckle shows his care for him.
- Tony leaves home when the boy is in bed with fever, which increases the boy's pathos.
- He remembers Tony on many occasions; the deep attachment remains even after he becomes an adult.
- The sound of the train is echoed by the cry of the dog: "…to yap yap yap from somewhere but now it was nothing mischievous or joyous; it was the plaintive cry of a chained dog trying desperately to be free".
- The story moves from pain to joy and from joy to suffering.
- The adult narrator's nostalgic feelings for his childhood pet.
Show model answer
Tissa Abeysekera's "Bringing Tony Home" is told by an adult narrator looking back on his childhood, and at its heart is his relationship with his dog Tony. Although the novel also explores poverty, family life and memory, I agree that above all it represents the bond between a human being and an animal.
The bond is built over time. The narrator and Tony have lived together at Depanama for about seven years, and their relationship is gentle, peaceful and sincere. That is why the family's move, forced by economic hardship, is so painful. When they leave, Tony tries to follow them onto the bus, and the conductor shouts at him. The boy is sad and angry, and he cannot even look at his dog. Instead, he makes a secret vow to bring Tony home.
The strength of the bond is clearest in the reunion. When the boy returns to Depanama to collect the new ration books, Tony greets him with "the sharp clipped aristocratic bark" and comes "crashing" into the scene, ignoring Mrs Jayasinghe, her custard pudding and Uncle Ronald's accordion. Tony expresses his faithfulness and ecstasy in his own canine way, and the comic chaos of the scene shows how completely the dog's joy overflows.
The boy's love is just as strong. On the way back to Wijerama he refuses to take the bus because he fears losing Tony, and instead walks the whole way, with the dog tied to his short buckle. At Wijerama, Tony stays at his side as he carries out the duties his mother gives him. Their companionship is simple, loyal and complete.
Yet the novel also shows the pain such a bond can bring. Tony runs away while the boy lies in bed with a fever, and this second parting fills the story with pathos. Even as an adult, the narrator cannot forget his dog. A train's sound becomes "the plaintive cry of a chained dog trying desperately to be free", and years later, when he meets a dog like Tony, he feeds it and then runs away, still unable to face a parting.
The novel does touch on other relationships, between the boy and his kind mother and distant father, and between people and their changing country. However, these are seen through the boy's relationship with Tony. The story moves from pain to joy and back to suffering, and every turn is measured by the bond between a boy and his dog. In this sense, the statement is true: above all, "Bringing Tony Home" is a moving portrayal of the love between people and their pets.
"Bringing Tony Home shows that human beings are still unable to deal with partings." Discuss. 15
Show answer plan
- Introduction: parting is a recurring experience in the novel, for both the boy and the dog.
- The first parting: at the bus, the boy avoids eye contact with Tony; the conductor's shouting; his sadness and anger.
- The vow: he refuses to accept the parting and plans to bring Tony back.
- Tony's own parting: he leaves while the boy is fast asleep with fever, so even the dog "does not know how to part".
- Adulthood: he feeds a dog like Tony and then runs away; the train's sound brings back the cry of a chained dog.
- Wider meaning: the family's departure from Depanama is also a parting from a way of life, and the adult's nostalgia shows the past never really leaves us.
- Conclusion: the novel places human and animal on "equal grounds"; neither can face goodbye.
Discuss how the visual, film-like quality of the writing makes "Bringing Tony Home" memorable. 15
Show answer plan
- Introduction: the author is a film director; the novel's moments "evoke powerful visuals".
- The reunion scene: sound (the bark), movement ("crashing through"), and comic detail (the custard pudding, the spoon, the accordion) that plays like a film shot.
- Images of a bygone era: ration books, unhurried buses, trees and waterways.
- Sound as memory: the train echoed by a dog's cry.
- Structure: three parts that cut between periods of life, like scenes in a film.
- Conclusion: the visual writing makes the emotions vivid and lasting for the reader.
- Telling the whole story instead of answering the question. Select the events that support your argument.
- Forgetting the adult narrator. The story is a memory, and the adult's feelings matter as much as the boy's.
- Writing only about the boy. Show Tony's side of the bond too: his loyalty, his joy and his leaving.
- Mixing up the places: the family moves from Depanama to Wijerama.