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| Chapter | 7. The Interview |
| Subject | English |
| Textbook | Flamingo, Prose |
| Class | Twelve |
| Author | Christopher Silvester |
| Category | NCERT Solutions for Class 12 |
The NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English are an excellent choice for students preparing for their board or any competitive exams. These solutions are made by expert teachers and faculties of English. Class 12 English Solutions, made by NCERTian, will help students understand the central theme of each chapter. They will strengthen your foundation in English and help you score good marks in the board examination. On this page, we have provided you with the Solutions of Flamingo Prose Chapter 7 – The Interview.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 7
The Interview Solutions
Think As You Read
Q1) What are some of the positive views on interviews?
Answer) Interview, in the 130 years of its existence, has become an inherent part of journalism. It is a useful means of communication that is, at times, considered to be an art, serving as a source of truth. Denis Brian has stated that in today’s world we get to know “our contemporaries” through their interviews.
Q2) Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?
Answer) Celebrity writers believe that interviews unduly interfere in their private lives. They regard themselves as victims of interviews. They claim that the interview in some way ‘diminishes’ them, just like some ancient cultures believed that a portrait of a person takes away his soul. Certain celebrities like V.S Naipaul have claimed that interviews leave them wounded, while others like Rudyard Kipling have referred to it as a crime and an immoral act.
Q3) What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
Answer) Some primitive cultures believed that photographing a person is no less than stealing his/her soul out of the body and rendering him incomplete and slighted.
Q4) What do you understand by the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe”?
Answer) The expression means having been strangulated. The interview is an assault on a person as it makes him/her so tense that he/she feels as good as being choked.
Q5) Who, in today’s world, is our chief source of information about personalities?
Answer) In modern times, the chief source of information on personalities is the interviewer who, through his power and influence, gathers information and provides us with the best possible information on the interviewees. He extracts everything significant through his questions for us.
Understanding the Text
Q1) Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.
Answer) Yes, Umberto Eco, in all possibilities, likes being interviewed. He felt just at ease with the interviewer and answered all the questions fully and patiently without showing any hurry. He stated his achievement in a very modest manner and explained his philosophical views and interest clearly. He let the interviewer enter the secret about his craft with a loud laugh. Also, he elaborated his approach which was unique. He was mannerly, warm and properly responsive as well.
Q2) How does Eco find the time to write so much?
Answer) While explaining his ability to catch up with so many things in such a short period of time, he says he works in between the empty spaces he refers to as “interstices.” He actively uses the time we normally waste while waiting for somebody or doing something likewise unproductive to finish his work.
Q3) What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?
Answer) Eco’s writings, in contrast to other academic writings, are not boring or tedious to read. His work takes a depersonalized and informal approach, which makes his style interesting and thus appealing. Instead of formal essays, he prefers to write creative and narrative pieces.
Q4) Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
Answer) Umberto Eco’s primary work was in academia, but he also wrote novels on occasion. He also stated that he attended academic conferences rather than meetings of Pen Clubs and writers. As a result, we can conclude that Umberto Eco saw himself first and foremost as an academic scholar.
Q5) What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?
Answer) Umberto Eco is perplexed as to why his novel, ‘The Name of the Rose,’ was such a huge success. Nobody, not even him or his publishers, expected him to reach such heights. Perhaps the book’s complex themes, such as metaphysics, theology, and medieval history, piqued the readers’ interest.
Talking About The Text
Discuss in pairs or small groups
Q1) 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?
Answer) The students can watch or read an interview of a politician or a bollywood actor. Some of the issues that can be discussed are:
- The celebrity and his/her life
- His/her work and the career
- The interviewer, his questions and his mood
- The way the celebrity answers the questions- his language, mood, gestures, body language
- The views and opinions of both the interviewer and the interviewee
Q2) The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television.
Answer) Each medium has positives and negatives – yet, television is the best medium – more enjoyable and attractive – visual medium allows us to observe the celebrity, his gestures, expressions and body language – helps connect better with the interview.
Q3) Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy.
Interviewers sometimes embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.
Answer) Interviewers want to present exclusive and intimate details about the famous person they are interviewing. Some interviewers focus on the public life and achievements of the individual only. They try to be objective in their approach as well as assessment. However, there are others who want to make their interviews more spicy and usually cross the thin limit of privacy of the individual. In their zeal to present good copy they embrass the famous person with the personal questions. Sometimes impact of such questions on famous person reveals his/her aversion as well as irritation at the silliness of the person. If they shout, they are accused of being rude and proud and if they keep mum thy are labeled as arrogant. In my opinion privacy of an individual must be respected.
Writing
If the interviewer Mukund Padmanabhan had not got the space in the newspaper to reproduce the interview verbatim, he may have been asked to produce a short report of the interview with the salient points.
Write this report for him.
[The teacher should be able to help the pupils in what to include and what can be omitted. We could also provide a short report of an interview as a sample.]
Answer)
A CHAT WITH UMBERTO ECO
By Mukund Padmanabhan
Delhi, 6 September
Umberto Eco, the renowned scholar and writer, in a short interview with The Hindu claimed to be an academician first and a novelist later. He is a professor at the University of Bologna in Italy. His works range from semiotics to literary interpretation, medieval aesthetics and finally to novels and children’s books. When asked about his wide-ranging works, he clarified his position saying “I am a professor who writes novels on Sundays”.
One is amazed by his ability to manage time. He revealed his secret theory of empty spaces or ‘interstices’, as he calls them. Eco explained his way of utilising every second, even the free ones between two different tasks.
All of Eco’s works including his academic publications have a personal touch to them. This is Eco’s unique style of writing which, he declared, began at the age of 22 when he was a research scholar. His inclination towards creative writing led him to novel-writing in his later years.
His detective novel The Name of the Rose has sold 10 million copies, but its success apparently did not surprise him. He stated that the success of the book proves that there are people who read difficult texts.
All in all, Eco turned out to be a dynamic personality who loves his work. His enthusiasm is apparent in the way he gave the replies to all the questions, without any apprehension or qualms.
Things To Do
Q1) Interview a person whom you admire either in school or your neighbourhood and record it in writing.
Answer) Think of a person whom you admire. He or she may be one of your teachers, your relatives, your role model or any elderly person in the family. Consider his or her profession or work and based on that prepare a questionnaire. Before the actual interview, remember to ask for permission and accordingly fix a date for the interview. During the interview, follow the questionnaire but you may ask any relevant questions that crop up during the course of the interview. Try to note down the important points.
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