The Interview
Part I — Christopher Silvester
Part II — Interview with Umberto Eco by Mukund Padmanabhan
A. Very Short Answer Questions
1. Who wrote Part I of “The Interview”?
Answer: Part I was written by Christopher Silvester.
2. Who interviewed Umberto Eco in Part II?
Answer: Mukund Padmanabhan interviewed Umberto Eco.
3. For how long has the interview been a common form of journalism?
Answer: For more than a century.
4. What is an interview?
Answer: An interview is a conversation in which one person asks questions to obtain information, opinions or experiences from another person.
5. What is one positive view of interviews?
Answer: Interviews are considered a useful source of information and truth.
6. Why do many celebrities dislike interviews?
Answer: They regard interviews as an intrusion into their privacy.
7. What did V. S. Naipaul feel about interviews?
Answer: He felt that interviews could wound a person and cause the loss of a part of oneself.
8. Which writer had a great dislike of interviews?
Answer: Lewis Carroll.
9. Who described the interview as immoral or a crime?
Answer: Rudyard Kipling.
10. Who compared an interview to “thumbprints on his windpipe”?
Answer: Saul Bellow.
11. What does “thumbprints on his windpipe” suggest?
Answer: It suggests a feeling of pressure, suffocation and invasion caused by an interview.
12. What belief did some primitive cultures have about photographs?
Answer: They believed that a photograph could steal part of a person’s soul.
13. Who is one of our chief sources of information about famous personalities?
Answer: The interviewer.
14. Who was Umberto Eco?
Answer: He was an Italian scholar, university professor, semiotician and novelist.
15. What did Eco consider himself primarily?
Answer: An academic scholar and university professor.
16. What did Eco say about writing novels?
Answer: He said that he was a university professor who wrote novels on Sundays.
17. What are “interstices”?
Answer: They are small empty spaces or free intervals in daily life.
18. How did Eco use interstices?
Answer: He used them for writing and productive work.
19. What was special about Eco’s academic writing?
Answer: It was personal, playful and narrative rather than dry and impersonal.
20. At what stage of life did Eco begin writing novels?
Answer: He began writing novels comparatively late in life.
21. Which novel made Umberto Eco internationally famous?
Answer: The Name of the Rose.
22. What type of novel is The Name of the Rose?
Answer: It is a serious novel combining mystery, medieval history, philosophy and theology.
23. Did Eco know the exact reason for the novel’s great success?
Answer: No, he considered its huge success something of a mystery.
24. What common thread connected Eco’s different writings?
Answer: His ethical and philosophical interests.
25. What is the central subject of “The Interview”?
Answer: The nature, value, limitations and power of interviews.
B. Think as You Read
1. What are some positive views on interviews?
Answer:
Interviews are considered an important and useful form of communication. They provide direct information about the thoughts, experiences and personalities of well-known people. At their best, interviews can reveal truth, create vivid impressions of contemporary personalities and help readers understand them better.
2. Why do most celebrity writers dislike being interviewed?
Answer:
Many writers feel that interviews invade their private lives and reduce their dignity. They may feel exposed, misrepresented or psychologically uncomfortable. Writers such as V. S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling and Saul Bellow expressed strong dislike for the interview process.
3. What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
Answer:
Some primitive cultures believed that photographing a person meant taking away part of his or her soul. The comparison is used to suggest that some writers feel similarly violated by interviews.
4. What do you understand by the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe”?
Answer:
The expression conveys a sense of being choked, pressured or attacked. Saul Bellow used it to describe how uncomfortable and intrusive an interview could feel to him.
5. Who, in today’s world, is one of our chief sources of information about personalities?
Answer:
The interviewer is one of our chief sources of information about famous personalities because interviews bring us direct access to their ideas, opinions, experiences and character.
C. Understanding the Text
1. Do you think Umberto Eco liked being interviewed? Give reasons.
Answer:
Umberto Eco appears to have been comfortable with the interview. He answered Mukund Padmanabhan’s questions patiently and in detail. He openly explained his work habits, academic style, use of “interstices” and his views on his own success.
He also spoke in a relaxed, conversational and humorous manner. Unlike the writers mentioned in Part I, he showed no irritation or hostility towards the interviewer. Therefore, it can reasonably be said that Eco was at ease with the interview process.
2. How did Eco find the time to write so much?
Answer:
Eco made productive use of what he called “interstices,” or small empty spaces in daily life. Instead of wasting such moments, he used them for writing or thinking.
He also explained that his apparently diverse works were connected by common philosophical and ethical interests. Because his ideas were interrelated, he could move from one kind of writing to another without beginning completely afresh each time.
3. What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?
Answer:
Eco’s academic writing was distinctive because it was personal, playful and narrative. Conventional academic writing is often formal and impersonal, but Eco liked to describe the process of research, including his mistakes, discoveries and changes of direction.
This storytelling quality made his scholarly writing lively and accessible.
4. Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
Answer:
Eco considered himself primarily an academic scholar. He identified himself as a university professor and attended academic conferences as part of his main profession.
He described novel-writing as a secondary activity and humorously said that he was a professor who wrote novels on Sundays.
5. What was the reason for the huge success of The Name of the Rose?
Answer:
Eco himself could not explain the exact reason. The novel was intellectually demanding and combined a detective story with medieval history, theology and philosophy.
Its publisher did not expect it to become a major bestseller, yet it achieved enormous popularity. Eco suggested that timing and the readers’ willingness to accept a difficult book may have contributed, but he ultimately regarded its success as a mystery.
D. Short Answer Questions
1. Why is the interview considered a powerful form of journalism?
Answer:
The interview allows direct access to the thoughts, experiences and personality of an individual. It can reveal information that ordinary reporting may not provide. For this reason, it has become one of the most influential tools of modern journalism.
2. Why did V. S. Naipaul dislike interviews?
Answer:
Naipaul felt that interviews could wound a person and that something of the self was lost in the process. He saw interviewing as a form of personal intrusion.
3. What was Lewis Carroll’s attitude towards interviews?
Answer:
Lewis Carroll had a strong horror of being interviewed and disliked publicity that invaded his private life.
4. What did Rudyard Kipling think of interviews?
Answer:
Kipling strongly condemned interviewing. He regarded it as an immoral and offensive intrusion comparable to an assault on a person’s private life.
5. Why does the chapter compare interviews with photography in primitive cultures?
Answer:
The comparison shows how some people feel that an interview takes away something personal from them, just as some primitive cultures believed that a photograph could steal part of a person’s soul.
6. What are “interstices” according to Eco?
Answer:
Interstices are the small gaps or unused moments between major activities, such as waiting for an elevator. Eco used these moments productively instead of wasting them.
7. How are Eco’s different works connected?
Answer:
Although he wrote on different subjects and in different forms, his works were linked by common philosophical, ethical and intellectual interests.
8. Why did Eco begin writing novels?
Answer:
Eco said that he began writing novels almost accidentally. His scholarly work already contained a strong narrative impulse, and fiction gave him another way to satisfy his taste for storytelling.
9. Why did Eco’s publisher underestimate The Name of the Rose?
Answer:
The novel was serious, intellectually demanding and set in the medieval period. The publisher assumed that only a limited number of readers would be interested in such a difficult book.
10. What does Eco’s success suggest about readers?
Answer:
It suggests that readers do not always want light or easy entertainment. Many readers are willing to engage with challenging and intellectually demanding literature.
E. Long Answer Questions
1. “The Interview” presents two contrasting views on interviewing. Discuss.
Answer:
The chapter presents both the positive and negative sides of the interview as a form of journalism.
On the negative side, several famous writers regarded interviews as intrusive and unpleasant. V. S. Naipaul felt that interviews wounded people. Lewis Carroll disliked interviewers intensely. Rudyard Kipling called interviewing immoral, while Saul Bellow compared the experience to “thumbprints on his windpipe.” These responses suggest that interviews can violate privacy and make individuals feel exposed or diminished.
On the positive side, interviews are considered powerful and useful means of communication. They provide direct information about public figures and create vivid impressions of their personalities. They may also reveal truth and help us understand the ideas of important contemporaries.
Part II demonstrates this positive potential. Umberto Eco answers questions openly and intelligently, and the interview helps readers understand his personality, academic work, writing habits and literary career.
Thus, the chapter does not present the interview as simply good or bad. Its value depends on the interviewer’s sensitivity, purpose and respect for the person being interviewed.
2. Describe Umberto Eco’s academic and literary career as revealed in the interview.
Answer:
Umberto Eco was first and foremost an academic scholar. His work involved university teaching, scholarship and academic conferences. His intellectual interests included semiotics, philosophy, medieval studies and literary interpretation.
His academic writing was unusual because it was not dry or impersonal. He liked to present research as a story, including the stages of discovery, uncertainty, mistakes and correction.
Eco began writing novels relatively late. He regarded fiction as something that emerged almost accidentally from his taste for narration. Despite this, his novel The Name of the Rose became an extraordinary international success.
Even after becoming famous as a novelist, Eco continued to identify himself primarily as a university professor. This combination of serious scholarship and popular fiction made him a unique intellectual figure.
3. How does Eco manage to be such a prolific writer?
Answer:
Eco’s productivity came from discipline and his unusual use of time. He believed that life contains many “interstices,” or small intervals between major activities. While most people waste these moments, Eco used them for thinking and writing.
Another reason for his productivity was the unity of his interests. His academic writing, essays and novels were not completely separate activities. They grew from a common set of philosophical and ethical concerns.
Thus, careful use of time and continuity of ideas enabled Eco to produce an impressive amount of work.
4. Explain the importance of “interstices” in Eco’s working method.
Answer:
“Interstices” are the small empty spaces in everyday life—moments spent waiting or moving between activities.
Eco believed that these intervals could become valuable working time. He gave the example of waiting for an elevator. Instead of considering such moments useless, he used them to think, read or write.
His concept of interstices shows that productivity does not always require long uninterrupted hours. Careful use of small amounts of time can add up to a great deal of work.
5. Why is Umberto Eco an interesting interview subject?
Answer:
Eco is interesting because he combines several identities. He is a serious academic, teacher, thinker and internationally successful novelist.
He speaks openly about his unusual academic style, his writing habits, his use of interstices and the unexpected success of his novel. His humour and modesty also make the conversation engaging.
The interview therefore reveals not only his achievements but also the thinking process behind them.
6. Why was The Name of the Rose an unusual bestseller?
Answer:
The Name of the Rose was not a conventional popular novel. It was set in the medieval world and contained demanding elements of theology, history, philosophy and detective fiction.
Because of its complexity, even Eco’s publisher did not expect a large readership. Yet the novel became an international bestseller.
Its success challenged the assumption that readers only want simple entertainment. It showed that a difficult book can also appeal to a wide audience when its story and ideas engage them.
F. Talking About the Text
1. Which medium is best for interviews—print, radio or television?
Answer:
Television can be especially effective because it combines sound and image. Viewers hear the interviewee’s actual words while also observing facial expressions, gestures and reactions.
However, print allows answers to be read carefully and reflected upon, while radio gives special importance to voice and tone. The best medium therefore depends on the purpose of the interview.
2. Should the privacy of celebrities be respected during interviews?
Answer:
Yes. Public figures have a right to personal privacy. Interviewers may legitimately ask about professional work, ideas and issues of public interest, but unnecessary intrusion into private matters can become disrespectful.
A good interview balances public curiosity with dignity, sensitivity and ethical responsibility.
3. How can an interview improve our understanding of a famous person?
Answer:
A good interview reveals not only achievements but also attitudes, motivations, habits and values. The questions asked and the way the subject responds help readers or viewers understand the person beyond a public image.
G. Important Additional Questions
1. Who are some writers mentioned as disliking interviews?
Answer: V. S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling and Saul Bellow.
2. What does Denis Brian say about interviews?
Answer: He regards the interview as an important means through which we gain vivid impressions of contemporary personalities.
3. Why can interviews be called a “source of truth”?
Answer: Because they allow a person to express views and experiences directly in response to questions.
4. Why can interviews also be dangerous or unfair?
Answer: Questions may be intrusive, answers may be taken out of context, and the interviewee’s privacy may be violated.
5. What did Eco mean when he said he was a professor who wrote novels on Sundays?
Answer: He meant that he regarded academic work as his primary profession and novel-writing as a secondary activity.
6. What feature of Eco’s academic writing anticipated his fiction?
Answer: His academic writing already had a strong narrative or storytelling quality.
7. What is Eco’s attitude towards his own achievements?
Answer: He speaks about them with modesty and humour rather than self-importance.
8. What does the success of The Name of the Rose prove about difficult books?
Answer: It proves that intellectually demanding books can also attract a large readership.
9. How does Part II connect with Part I?
Answer: Part I debates the value and problems of interviewing, while Part II provides an actual interview that demonstrates its positive possibilities.
10. What is the central theme of “The Interview”?
Answer: The chapter explores both the power and the limitations of the interview as a means of understanding public personalities.
H. Summary of “The Interview”
“The Interview” has two parts.
Part I, by Christopher Silvester, examines the interview as a form of journalism. Interviews have become extremely important because they give the public direct information about famous personalities. Supporters regard them as useful sources of truth and vivid impressions of contemporary people.
However, many writers strongly dislike interviews. V. S. Naipaul believes that interviews wound people. Lewis Carroll disliked the idea of being interviewed, Rudyard Kipling condemned it, and Saul Bellow compared the experience to pressure on his windpipe. Their reactions show that interviews can feel invasive.
Part II consists of Mukund Padmanabhan’s interview with Umberto Eco. Eco explains that he uses “interstices,” or small empty spaces in daily life, to write. He also describes his academic style as personal and narrative.
Although internationally famous as a novelist, Eco considers himself primarily a university professor. He says that he writes novels on Sundays. His novel The Name of the Rose became an unexpected bestseller despite being intellectually demanding.
Together, the two parts show that interviews can be both intrusive and highly valuable, depending on how they are conducted.
I. MCQs — 20
1. Who wrote Part I of “The Interview”?
A) Christopher Silvester
B) Mukund Padmanabhan
C) Umberto Eco
D) Denis Brian
Answer: A) Christopher Silvester
2. Who interviewed Umberto Eco?
A) Saul Bellow
B) Mukund Padmanabhan
C) V. S. Naipaul
D) Rudyard Kipling
Answer: B) Mukund Padmanabhan
3. What did some primitive cultures believe a photograph could steal?
A) A person’s memory
B) A person’s name
C) A person’s soul
D) A person’s shadow
Answer: C) A person’s soul
4. Who used the phrase “thumbprints on his windpipe”?
A) Lewis Carroll
B) Denis Brian
C) Umberto Eco
D) Saul Bellow
Answer: D) Saul Bellow
5. Interviews are often regarded positively as—
A) a source of truth
B) a form of fiction
C) private entertainment
D) a type of advertisement
Answer: A) a source of truth
6. Why do many celebrity writers dislike interviews?
A) They dislike newspapers
B) They see them as intrusive
C) They cannot answer questions
D) They dislike journalists personally
Answer: B) They see them as intrusive
7. What was Umberto Eco primarily?
A) A film director
B) A journalist
C) A university professor
D) A politician
Answer: C) A university professor
8. What are “interstices”?
A) Academic books
B) Difficult novels
C) Interview techniques
D) Empty spaces in time
Answer: D) Empty spaces in time
9. Eco used interstices mainly for—
A) writing and productive work
B) sleeping
C) travelling
D) entertainment
Answer: A) writing and productive work
10. Eco’s academic writing was—
A) completely impersonal
B) playful and personal
C) only technical
D) extremely brief
Answer: B) playful and personal
11. Which novel made Eco internationally famous?
A) The Encounter
B) The God That Failed
C) The Name of the Rose
D) War and Peace
Answer: C) The Name of the Rose
12. Eco described himself as—
A) a novelist who sometimes taught
B) a full-time journalist
C) a professional interviewer
D) a professor who wrote novels on Sundays
Answer: D) a professor who wrote novels on Sundays
13. Who strongly condemned interviewing as immoral?
A) Rudyard Kipling
B) Umberto Eco
C) Mukund Padmanabhan
D) Denis Brian
Answer: A) Rudyard Kipling
14. Which writer felt interviews could wound a person?
A) Lewis Carroll
B) V. S. Naipaul
C) Saul Bellow
D) Eco
Answer: B) V. S. Naipaul
15. The Name of the Rose combines mystery with—
A) sports and science
B) travel and romance
C) medieval history, theology and philosophy
D) politics alone
Answer: C) medieval history, theology and philosophy
16. Why was the success of The Name of the Rose surprising?
A) It was never published
B) Eco disliked it
C) It was written for children
D) It was serious and intellectually demanding
Answer: D) It was serious and intellectually demanding
17. Eco’s many works were connected by—
A) common philosophical interests
B) the same characters
C) the same publisher
D) one historical period only
Answer: A) common philosophical interests
18. What does Part II mainly demonstrate?
A) Why all writers hate interviews
B) The positive potential of an interview
C) How to write a novel
D) How journalism should be avoided
Answer: B) The positive potential of an interview
19. What is one important quality of a good interview?
A) Aggressive questioning only
B) Personal gossip
C) Respectful and meaningful communication
D) Very short answers
Answer: C) Respectful and meaningful communication
20. The central concern of the chapter is—
A) novel-writing only
B) academic research only
C) celebrity culture only
D) the nature and value of interviews
Answer: D) the nature and value of interviews
Teacher Generate Question Answer
The Interview
THINK AS YOU READ
1. What are some positive views on interviews?
Ans: Interviews have become an important part of journalism over the last 130 years. They are a useful way of communication and often help reveal the truth about a person. Through interviews people can learn about the thoughts, ideas and experiences of famous personalities. Denis Brian also says that interviews help us know our contemporaries better.
2. Why do most celebrity writers dislike interviews?
Ans: Many famous writers dislike interviews because they feel that interviews interfere with their private lives. They believe interviews reduce their dignity and expose their personal thoughts unnecessarily. Writers like V. S. Naipaul felt that interviews left them hurt, while Rudyard Kipling even called interviews immoral and intrusive.
3. What is the belief in some primitive cultures about photographs?
Ans: In some primitive cultures people believed that taking a photograph of a person was like stealing his or her soul. They thought that the person would lose a part of their spirit and become incomplete.
4. What does the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe” mean?
Ans: The expression suggests a feeling of being strangled or choked. It means that an interview can make a person feel uncomfortable and pressured, as if someone is choking them with difficult questions.
5. Who is the main source of information about famous personalities today?
Ans: In the modern world, interviewers are the main source of information about famous personalities. Through interviews they collect important details about a person’s life, achievements and thoughts and present them to the public.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
1. Do you think Umberto Eco liked being interviewed? Give reasons.
Ans: Yes, Umberto Eco appeared comfortable with interviews. During the conversation he answered questions calmly and patiently. He spoke modestly about his achievements and openly explained his ideas and writing methods. His friendly and relaxed attitude shows that he did not mind being interviewed.
2. How did Eco find time to write so much?
Ans: Eco explained that everyone’s life has empty spaces or free moments. He used these free intervals to write. Another reason was that most of his writings were connected to similar themes and interests. Because of this connection, he could easily work on different writings without wasting much time.
3. What was special about Eco’s academic writing style?
Ans: Eco’s academic writing style was unique because it was lively, personal and playful. Unlike traditional academic writing, which is often serious and impersonal, his writing was interesting and engaging for readers.
4. Did Eco consider himself primarily a novelist or a scholar?
Ans: Eco considered himself primarily an academic scholar. He described himself as a university professor who wrote novels only on Sundays. His main work involved teaching, attending conferences and writing academic texts.
5. Why was The Name of the Rose so successful?
Ans: The Name of the Rose became very popular because it combined different elements such as detective fiction, philosophy, theology and medieval history. This mixture made the novel interesting and unique. However, the exact reason for its huge success still remains uncertain.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT
1. Which medium do you prefer for interviews: print, radio or television?
Ans: Television is the most effective medium for interviews because it includes both sound and visuals. The audience can see the expressions, gestures and reactions of the interviewee while listening to their answers. This makes the interview more engaging and reliable compared to print or radio.
2. Should celebrities’ privacy be respected in interviews?
Ans: Yes, the privacy of famous personalities should be respected. While interviews help people learn about their achievements and ideas, asking too many personal questions can make them uncomfortable. Interviewers should focus mainly on professional achievements and maintain respect for the individual’s private life.
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