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The Interview

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26 views5 pages

The Interview

Lesson

Uploaded by

mufaddalnalwala13
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE INTERVIEW

Think As you Read

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

Page No: 73

Understanding the Text

1. 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.

2. How does Eco find the time to write so much?

Answer
There are two factors that explain how Eco was able to write so much. In his
own words, the life of every person has exply spaces- periods with no
important jobs. He says that he did most of his writing during these free
intervals. Second, he explains that people wondered that he (Eco) had
written so much on various subjects. But the fact is that he was writing on
the same lines and same interests-peace, non-violence, etc. All his works
were linked with the thread of common interests. It saves his time and he
could write a lot in a short period of time. That was the secret behind Eco’s
prolific pen.

3. What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?

Answer

Umberto Eco's academic writing style is quite distinctive. It has a certain


playful and personal quality about it. It is a marked departure from a regular
academic style, which is usually depersonalised and often dry and boring.

4. Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic


scholar?
Umberto Eco considered himself an academic scholar first and a novelist
later. He makes his preference clear by saying, "I consider myself a
university professor who writes novels on Sundays". On week days he
attends academic conferences and does other scholarly, non-fictional work.
5. What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the
Rose?

Answer

'The Name of the Rose' is different sort of noveL It is quite serious noveL It
is a detective story at one leveL But it also probes into metaphysics theology
and medieval history. The reasons for the success of the book, however,
remain a mystery.

Talking about the Text

Discuss in pairs or small groups.

2. The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television.

Answer

The medium I like best for an interview is the television. It has both audio
and visual effect. It presents the interviewer and interviewee before the
audience in their true colours. Usually celebrities accuse the reporters of
misquoting them or misreporting them in the print media or the radio. This
is not possible when they are face-to-face on the television. Their lip
movement and body movement while replying to probing questions are
there for all to see. The recording of various expressions coming on the face
of the interviewee and his/her gestures and words are the additional
advantages that television holds over the print media or the radio. The print
media has dull, dry words alongside a picture whereas the radio tries to
create the atmosphere by skilful variation of the sound. Both expect a lot of
attention from the reader/audience.
3. Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy. Interviewers
sometimes embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.

Answer

Interviewers want to present exculsive and intimate details about the famous
person they are interviewing. Some interviewrs focus on the public life and
achievements of the individual only. They try to be objective in their
approach as well as assesment. 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 labelled as arrogant. In my opinion privacy of an
individual must be respected.

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