CBSE Class 12 English The Interview Worksheet Set A

GIST OF THE LESSON: PART I

• Interview has become a commonplace of journalism. Opinions on the functions, methods and merits of Interview vary considerably.
• Some claim it to be the highest form, a source of truth and in its practice an art.
• Some despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into lives, which diminishes their personality.
o V.S. Naipaul feels that 'some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of them selves'.
o Lewis Carroll never consented to be interviewed for he believed it to be 'a just horror of the interviewer'.
o Rudyard Kipling considered it 'immoral, a crime, an assault that merits punishment'.
o H.G. Wells referred interviewing to be an 'ordeal'.
o Saul Bellow describes it 'like thumbprints on his windpipe'.
· Despite the drawbacks interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication.
Interviews are the most vivid impression of our contemporaries and the interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence.
PART II
• An extract from an interview of Umberto Eco interviewed by Mukund Padmanabhan.
• Umberto Eco was a professor with a formidable reputation as a scholar for his ideas on Semiotics, literary interpretation and medieval aesthetics before he turned into writing literary fiction. He attained intellectual superstardom with his publication 'The Name of the Rose'.
• In the interview Eco shares his idea of empty spaces in our lives just as they exist in an atom, which he calls Interstices. He says that he makes use of these empty spaces to work.
• Eco's essays were scholarly and narrative. He likes to be identified more as a university professor who writes novels.
• Eco's 'The Name of the Rose, a serious novel, which delves into metaphysics, theology and medieval history, enjoyed a mass audience. It dealt with medieval past. He feels that the novel wouldnt have been so well received had it been written ten years earlier or later.

Question. Mukund Padmanabhan mentions that much like his novels, Umberto Eco’s “scholarly work has a certain playful and personal quality about it.” To what is this attributed?
(a) Eco thought regular academic style was depersonalised, dry and boring.
(b) Eco presented his first Doctoral dissertation in Italy in this style.
(c) Eco realized that scholarly books should tell the story of the research.
(d) Eco identified himself with the academic and scholarly community.

Answer: C

Question. Umberto Eco mentioned that he was not puzzled by the tremendous mass popularity of his novel, The Name of the Rose. What does this tell you about Umberto Eco?
(a) He believes he understands readership trends well, and writes accordingly to ensure mass appeal.
(b) He elevates himself above publishers and journalists who were surprised by the success of the book.
(c) He respects and understands that there are variations in people’s reading choices and experiences.
(d) He feels that the success of a book is a mystery, and there was no point pondering over it.

Answer: C

Question. According to Christopher Silvester, the interview can be “in its highest form, a source of truth”. Choose the option that does NOT enable this?
(a) An interview allows for discovery of new knowledge about the interviewee and/ or the subject being discussed.
(b) An interview enables the interviewer to probe deeply, seek clarifications, and confirm understandings.
(c) An interview represents an opportunity to open doors to experiences that may not otherwise find a voice.
(d) An interview requires the interviewer to have in-depth prior knowledge of the interviewee and the subject.

Answer: D

Question. Column A below describes Rudyard Kipling’s views on interviews. Column B provides fictional descriptions of some of Kipling’s works if they were about interviews and interviewers. Choose the option that correctly matches interview attributes given in Column A to the works in Column B:
Column A  Column B 
1. immoral (i) ‘The Mark of the Beast’ – An illicit tale of unforgivable offences against man and society.
2. cowardly (ii) ‘The Jungle Book’ – A journey into the corrupt jungle of information where conscience and principles do not exist.
3. vile (iii) ‘The Light that Failed’ – A story of audacious truth being left in the dark alleys of craven scandal and misrepresentation. 
4. criminal (iv) ‘The Man Who Would be King’ – A saga of evil depravity of a man who ruled over heroes and became a villain.
(a) 1 – (i); 2 – (ii); 3 – (iii); 4 – (iv)
(b) 1 – (ii); 2 – (iii); 3 – (iv); 4 – (i)
(c) 1 – (iii); 2 – (iv); 3 – (i); 4 – (ii)
(d) 1 – (iv); 2 – (i); 3 – (ii); 4 – (iii)

Answer: B

Extract Based Questions:

A. Maybe I give the impression of doing many things. But in the end, I am convinced I am always doing the same thing… And then I have a secret. Did you know what will happen if you eliminate the empty spaces from the universe, eliminate the empty spaces in all the atoms? The universe will become as big as my fist. Similarly, we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives. I call them interstices. Say you are coming over to my place. You are in an elevator and while you are coming up, I am waiting for you. This is an interstice, an empty space. I work in empty spaces.

Question. Based on your reading of Part I of ‘The Interview’, which one of the following may NOT be an appropriate title to the above extract?
(a) The Empty Spaces of Umberto Eco
(b) Big Exposé: Eco’s Secret Revealed!
(c) “I am always doing the same thing”: Eco’s Echoes
(d) Umberto Eco, Mr. Prolific!

Answer: B

Question. “I work in empty spaces”. Choose the option that most accurately captures Eco’s idea of empty spaces.
(i) management of time (ii) organization of space
(iii) philosophical inclination (iv) command of thought
(a) Options (i) and (ii)
(b) Options (iii) and (iv)
(c) Options (i) and (iii)
(d) Options (ii) and (iv)

Answer: C

Question. Read the questions given below. Imagine they were interjections raised by the interviewer based on the above extract. Choose the option that correctly describes the given questions.
(i) If you are “always doing the same thing”, isn’t your work lacking in originality?
(ii) Could you elaborate on these larger ethical, philosophical interests that inform your work?
(iii) All writing happens in empty spaces. In fact, why don’t I tell you all about my experiences?
(a) (i) is not relevant; (ii) is appropriate; and (iii) is unnecessary
(b) (i) is appropriate; (ii) is repetitive; and (iii) is useful information
(c) (i) is inappropriate; (ii) is relevant; and (iii) is not relevant
(d) (i) is unnecessary; (ii) is intrusive; and (iii) is extrapolatory

Answer: C

Question. Umberto Eco states that ‘empty spaces’ actually fill spaces, and without them the universe would be the size of the human fist. He also goes on to say that it is in an interstice such as waiting, which the dictionary defines as a time for pause, that he works. That is, passive waiting is essentially active writing time.
Choose the literary device that best describes what Eco does with the concepts of ‘empty spaces’ and ‘waiting’.
(a) juxtaposition
(b) irony
(c) oxymoron
(d) symbolism

Answer: B

B. Saul Bellow, who has consented to be interviewed on several occasions, nevertheless once described interviews as being like thumbprints on his windpipe. Yet despite the drawbacks of the interview, it is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. “These days, more than at any other time, our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through interviews,” Denis Brian has written. “Almost everything of moment reaches us through one man asking questions of another. Because of this, the interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence.”

Question. Denis Brian states that the interviewer occupies a position of power and influence as ___________
(a) everything reaches us through one man asking questions of another.
(b) the interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication.
(c) our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through interviews.
(d) interviews are like thumbprints on the interviewee’s windpipe.

Answer: A

Question. The use of the word “serviceable” implies that interviews are _________
(a) significant.
(b) powerful.
(c) advanced.
(d) useful.

Answer: D

Question. How would you describe Denis Brian’s opinion on interviews? Choose the most appropriate option.
(i) appeasing (ii) utilitarian (iii) approving (iv) praising
(a) Options (i) and (ii)
(b) Options (iii) and (iv)
(c) Options (ii) and (iii)
(d) Options (i) and (iv)

Answer: C

Question. According to Saul Bellow, interviews are like thumbprints on his windpipe. What emotion might best describe such an image?
(a) sadness
(b) frustration
(c) pain
(d) fear

Answer: C

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Question. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?
Answer: Most celebrity writers despise being interviewed as they consider it as an undesirable intrusion into their personal lives. Some viewed it an immoral and offensive activity.
Some others feel it would 'diminish' them.

Question. How is Umberto Eco's non-fictional writing style different from academic writing style?
Answer: Umberto Eco's non-fictional writing style has a certain playful, narrative and personal quality about it whereas his academic writing is depersonalized and often dry and boring.

LONG ANSWER QUESTION

Question. 'Interviews an unwarranted intrusion in the lives of others'. Elucidate with reference to The Interview.
Answer: Interviews are common feature in Journalism - Most celebrities consider them as an unnecessary intrusion in their lives -a horror of the interview', - an ordeal', -thumbprints on windpipe'- interview is a supremely serviceable medium of communication- the most vivid impression of our contemporaries -the interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence.

               Very Short Questions

Q.1)        What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?

Q.2)        What do you understand by the expression “thumb-prints on his windpipe”?

Q.3)        Who, in today’s world, is our chief source of information about personalities?

Q.4)        List some of the positive views on interviews.

Q.5)        Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed.       

               Short Questions

Q.6)        What are some of the positive views on interviews?

Q.7)       Answer the following questions:-

(1)        The medium you like best for an interview-print, radio or television.

(2)        Who was Mukund Padmanabhan? Why did he meet Umberto Eco?

Q.8)       Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.

Q.9)       Answer the following questions:-

(1)         How do people differ in their opinions about, the Interview?

(2)         Recount how some of the celebrities despised the interview. (any two)

Q.10)      Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?

               Long Questions

Q.11)      Talk about any interview that you have watched on television or read in a newspaper. How did it add to your understanding of the celebrity, the interviewer and the field of the celebrity?

Q.12)       Answer the following questions:-

(1)          Did Umberto Eco consider himself as a novelist first or an academic scholar?

(2)           What do you think about Umberto Eco? Does he like being interviewed? Give reason in support of your answer from the text ‘The Interview’?

Q.13)      Interview a person whom you admire either in school or your neighbourhood and record it in writing.

Q.14)      We have both positive and negative views on interviews. Comment.

Q.15)      How could Umberto Eco become a successful novelist despite being an academician?

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