The Recurring Dream Summary and Important Questions

The Recurring Dream

The Recurring Dream Summary:

The Recurring dream is a supernatural story taken from London, England. While describing a mysterious dream of a young lady, this story hints at the possible connection between dreams and real-life situations.

Kimberly Clark, who lives and works in London, is a normal lady of 25. Though she is beautiful, has many friends and a good position in her office she has a problem with a mysterious dream. Her dream is mysterious because the person and the place that she dreams of are totally unknown to her. Her dream is mysterious also because it is a recurring dream.

When Kim dreams, she finds herself standing on a country road, from where she sees a lane with a white fence and hedge on either side. Following the lane, she climbs up a hill and reaches to a white cottage on the top. She enters the cottage and sees a small old man with white hair and a white beard, sleeping in a bed. When she goes closer to him he wakes up and sits on his bed as she tries to speak to him. She suddenly wakes up and finds herself in her own bed in London.

Kim dreams of the same person and place almost every night. When she cannot bear it any longer she shares her problem with her roommate, Janet Wilson. Janet advises Kim to go to the farm of her parents in the countryside so that she can get rid of her troublesome dream.

On Saturday morning both of them set out for the farm in Janet’s car. When the car turns on to the country road Kim sees the place exactly similar to one of her dream. She asks Janet to stop the car. Getting down the car, she stands on the country road as she always does in her dream. Following the lane, she goes up to the cottage on the hill and knocks at the door the same old man who used to appear in the dream of Kim, opens the door.

When both of them see each other they get startled, shocked and surprised. Kim finds nothing to talk to the old man and starts talking about the “FOR SALE” sign which was not in her dream. The old man says to her that the house is for sale but she won’t buy it because it is haunted by a ghost at night. When Kim asked who the ghost is then the old man replies she herself was the ghost.

Understanding:

The story deals with the frequent apparition of a ghost in the cottage of an old man. The events as such cannot take place in real life and they are beyond the explanation of scientific laws and principles. Therefore, The Recurring Dream is a supernatural story.

Some Important Questions And Answers From The Recurring Dream:

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

Answer. Human life is a bundle of desires. Whatever we desire to have cannot be achieved in real life because of economic and social limitations. Those unfulfilled desires are deeply rooted in the unconscious layer of the human brain. These desires are just like water in a dam seeking an outlet. The dream is one of the media through which the repressed desires of people surface out. The things which cannot be achieved in real life are realized by the dreamer in the form of a dream. When the desires become too strong to be suppressed, they cause people to have a recurring dream.

Thus, unfulfilled and repressed desires are the reason that causes people to have recurring dreams.

Some few more reasons to have a recurring dream are pointed below:

• Some dreams are related to our repressed desires.
• Some dreams are related to the physical condition of the dreamer.
• Some dreams forecast the events that might happen in the near future.
• Some dreams are related to the injuries that happened in the mind.

Question. Why do you think Kim has this dream?

Answer. Kim has this dream because of her repressed desires to get love from her grandfather and to live in a beautiful house in peaceful countryside. Kimberly Clarke is a young lady of 25 living and working in the crowded and congested city of London. She might have been tired of living in such a city and might have a strong desire to live in a beautiful house in a peaceful environment. She cannot achieve what she desires because of her job and busy schedule.

This desire of Kim has been deeply rooted in her unconscious mind. Moreover, the story doesn’t describe anything about her grandfather. So, she seems to have been deprived of the love and care of her grandfather and longs (desires) for the same.

Hence, both of her desire to live in a beautiful house and to get the love and care of her grandfather condensed into a single dream of a beautiful house with an old man in it. Thus the repressed and unfulfilled desire of Kim causes her to have this dream.

Question. Describe the old man that Kim sees in her dream.

Answer. Kimberly Clark has an unusual dream. She always has the same dream that is recurring.

When she has the dream, she sees herself in a country road. Following the road up in the hill, there’s a house. She goes there following the lane up to the cottage and knocks the door. And an old man opens the door who she sees in her dream

The old man is very old and with white hair and a beard. He seems to be tired and is sleeping in the bed.

Question. Why does Janet want to take Kim to her parent’s farm for a few days?

Answer. Janet wants to take Kimberly-Clark to her countryside for a few days so that she can have relief from the troublesome recurring dreams. Kim is in real trouble, though she looks like a normal woman of 25 she is not so. She is unusually tired by the recurring dream. The mysterious recurring dream haunts Kim regularly. She sees that there is no way to get rescue from the dream. Janet thinks the peaceful environment of the countryside will help Kimberly Clark to be refreshed and get relief from the dream so she wants to take Kim to the countryside.

Question. Describe the man Kim sees in the house.

Answer. Kimberly Clark is a young beautiful lady of 25 from London. Though she is beautiful, has many friends and a good job she has a problem of a recurring dream. She has a mysterious dream that comes every day to her. In the dream, she sees a country lane and a small house at the end of the lane. When she approaches the house and enters the house she sees an old man with white hair and beard. The old man with white hair and beard seems to be lying on the bed. When Kim tries to speak with the old man in her dream, she suddenly wakes up in her apartment in London.

Some Important Questions From “The Recurring Dream” From Examination Point Of View”

Short Questions:

  • Why does Janet want to take Kim to her parent’s farm for a few days?
  • How does Janet help her friend Kim when she was troubled by the ghost in her dream?
  • What do you think is the reason some people have recurring dreams?
  • What is Kim’s recurring dream about? Discuss it in brief.
  • Describe the man Kim sees in the house.
  • What does the little old man do when he sees Kim at the door?
  • Why do some people have recurring dreams? Give your opinion.

Long Questions:

  • Summarise the story of “The Recurring Dream” in your own words.
  • What sort of dream does Kimberly have every night? Describe it briefly.
  • Describe the mysterious dream Kimberly Clark has.
  • Summarise the story “The Recurring Dream.”
  • Write about an interesting dream you saw recently. What is the special meaning of your dream?
  • Do dreams have any connection to our real life? Discuss your personal view also relate to the story “The Recurring Dream.”
  • Write about your dream that you have seen recently.

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THE NIGHTMARE LIFE WITHOUT FUEL
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OOPS! HOW’S THAT AGAIN?
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THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN
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IN BED
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