Notes: lesson 7 - FLAMINGO

Part I: A Reflection on Interviews by Christopher Silvester

This part provides a broad overview of interviews as a journalistic tool and their impact on both the
interviewee and the public. Silvester discusses the following key points:

The Evolution of the Interview: Interviews have become a common method of obtaining and
disseminating information. They have been used to influence public opinion and can shape
how the interviewee is perceived.
Perspectives on Interviews: Interviews are seen differently by different people. Some
consider them an intrusion into their private lives, while others view them as an opportunity
to communicate their ideas to a larger audience.
Impact on Interviewees: Interviews can often be stressful or even traumatic for the
interviewee, as they might involve probing into personal areas or bringing up uncomfortable
topics.
Importance of the Interview: Despite the controversies surrounding them, interviews remain
a vital means of getting firsthand information from notable personalities.

Part II: An Interview with Umberto Eco

The second part of the chapter presents an interview with Umberto Eco, a renowned Italian
writer, academic, and semiotician. The interview, conducted by Mukund Padmanabhan, offers
insights into Eco's writing process, his views on being labelled a novelist, and his approach to
intellectual work.

Key points from Umberto Eco's interview:

Multiple Identities: Eco explains that he doesn’t see himself strictly as a novelist. He
considers himself primarily an academic who writes novels on weekends. This reflects his
diverse interests and how he manages to juggle different roles in his life.
Eco's Writing Style: He discusses his penchant for writing scholarly works and novels
simultaneously. His novels are often deeply intellectual, filled with references to
philosophy, history, and semiotics.
'The Name of the Rose': Eco talks about the unexpected success of his novel "The Name
of the Rose." Initially, he didn’t expect it to be a bestseller because of its complex
narrative and dense intellectual content.
Intertextuality: Eco mentions that his works often contain intertextual references,
meaning they are filled with allusions to other texts. He believes that readers derive
pleasure from recognizing these references.
The Role of Chance: Eco attributes some of his success to chance, including the timing of
the publication of his novels and the cultural climate in which they were received.

Themes in "The Interview

"The Power of the Interview: The chapter emphasizes the power dynamics involved in
interviews, where the interviewer has control over how the interviewee is presented to the
public.
Privacy vs. Public Life: It explores the tension between the private life of individuals and their
public persona, especially in the case of celebrities or public figures.
 Intellectual Identity: Through Eco’s interview, the chapter delves into the complexities of
intellectual identity, showing how someone can be multifaceted and refuse to be
pigeonholed into a single category.

Important Questions

Q1. Discuss the significance of interviews as a tool of communication, based on Christopher

Silvester’s essay.

This question requires you to explore the evolution of interviews, their impact, and the various
perspectives people hold about them.

Q2. How does Umberto Eco’s perspective on writing challenge conventional views about
authorship?

Here, you would analyze Eco’s self-perception as an academic rather than just a novelist and his
views on the unexpected success of his works.

Q3. What does Umberto Eco mean by 'intertextuality,' and how does it manifest in his novels?

This question would involve explaining the concept of intertextuality and providing examples from
Eco’s works.

Q4. How does ‘The Interview’ reflect the complex relationship between a public figure and their
private life?

Discuss how the interview as a form can blur the boundaries between public and private life,
sometimes intruding into personal spaces.

Conclusion

"The Interview" chapter offers a nuanced view of interviews as both a powerful tool for information
and a potential invasion of privacy. Through Silvester’s analysis and Eco’s personal experiences,
readers are encouraged to think critically about the ethics and impact of interviews in shaping public
opinion and constructing personal narratives.

"The Interview" by Christopher Silvester, several literary devices are used to convey ideas and add
depth to the text.

Here are some key literary devices that you might encounter:

1. Anecdote: The text uses short, amusing, or interesting stories about real incidents or people
to illustrate points. These anecdotes help to engage the reader and make the content more
relatable.
2. Irony: Irony is often employed to highlight the contrast between appearances and reality. For
example, the chapter may discuss the gap between the public image of celebrities and their
true personalities, which can be an example of situational irony.
3. Metaphor: The author uses metaphors to draw comparisons between unrelated things,
providing a deeper understanding of the subject. For instance, the process of interviewing
might be metaphorically compared to a performance or a test.
4. Allusion: The text may reference historical figures, literary works, or other cultural elements,
which helps to create a connection with the reader's prior knowledge.
5. Rhetorical Questions: The use of rhetorical questions helps to provoke thought in the reader
without expecting an actual response, often highlighting the underlying issues discussed in
the text.
6. Juxtaposition: This device is used to place contrasting ideas close together, such as the
juxtaposition of the interviewer's intentions versus the interviewee's reality, to emphasize
differences and contradictions.
7. Satire: The author may use satire to criticize or mock certain aspects of the interview process
or the media industry, often highlighting its flaws or absurdities.

These literary devices help to enhance the narrative and make the themes and messages in "The
Interview" more impactful and thought-provoking for the readers.

Extract based:

1. Saul bellow, who has consented to be interviewed----------------unprecedented power and

influence.”

a) The fact that Saul Bellow ‘consented’ to be interviewed can lead to a few possible inferences.
(Ans--- willingness to engage , interest in communication, availability and accessibility, control
over the narrative. )

b) Complete the sentence appropriately. Saul Bellow uses the phrase “thumbprints on the
windpipe”, as a metaphor to emphasize _____________ (Ans--- them as suffocating and
oppressive)

c) Select the option that best displays the appropriate reason/s why according to Denis Brian,
the interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence.

i. Interviews offer an insightful and accurate depiction of our peers.

ii. Interviews are a supremely serviceable medium of communication.

iii. Interviews contribute to the preservation of oral history and cultural narratives.

iv. Interviews elevate the status of the interviewee to that of a celebrity.

A. 1 and 5

B. 2, 3 and 4

C. Only 1

D. 1 and 3

d) Select the option that DOES NOT correspond with that an interview is “a supremely
serviceable medium of communication”.

A. Highly effective B. A tool for training C. Versatile D. Impactful

e) Complete the sentence with One word only. The phrase “everything of moment “, refers to
things or events that are_________ (Ans----significant / noteworthy/ important)
 f) State one merit of the inclusion of the excerpt in Silvester’s Introduction to the Penguin Book
of Interviews. (Ans: provides readers with an insightful perspective on the role of interviews and
their effects as a medium of communication which might include mention in the book.)

2. Umberto Eco: When I ---------or less.

a. select Which one of the following, captures the essence of the extract.

i.
Umberto Eco’s reflection on his thesis and chosen Approach “.
ii.
“Unveiling the Academic Odyssey: A Glimpse into Umberto Eco’s Voyage for Scholarly
Supremacy”.
b. Complete the following with the correct option.
The statement “Scholars learn a lot of a certain subject, then they make a lot of false hypotheses,
then they correct them and at the end, they put the conclusions”, can be seen as capturing
___________.
a. An introduction to scholarly research.

b. A presentation outline for a scholarly project.

c. A process of scholarly inquiry

d. A reference exercise to build on the scholastic points

c. FIB: The fact that Eco reflects on this experience and acknowledges the professor’s impact on
his approach, implies a sense of ______, towards the professor’s insights and support.(Ans---
gratitude/appreciation/thankfulness)

d. Select the term that can best describe Eco, at the age of 22, based on the given descriptions.

1. Amateur: Someone who engages in an activity or pursuit for pleasure or personal

interest, typically without formal training for professional expertise.
2. Novice: Someone who is new or inexperienced in a particular field, activity, or skill but is
actively learning or acquiring knowledge.
3. Greenhorn: Someone who is inexperienced, and lacks knowledge or understanding in a
specific area.

e. Why, according to Umberto Eco, did he start writing narratives at a later age?

A. He wanted to experiment with a different form of storytelling.

B. He was focused on academic writing and research earlier in his career.
C. He needed more life experience to enrich his storytelling.
D. He believed scholarly books should precede narrative writing.

f. What is the significance of the professor’s response to Umberto Eco’s dissertation?

(Ans:--- a)recognition and validation of Eco’s work.

b) motivated Eco and influenced his approach to scholarly writing.)
SAQ-----

1. How can we reconcile Rudyard Kipling’s strong condemnation of interviews as immoral and a
crime, with his own history of conducting interviews, such as the one with Mark Twain?

2. Denis Brian’s statement about interviews being the primary medium for our impressions of
contemporaries, relates to the power and influence held by interviewers. Support this inference.

LAQ-----
1. Examine in detail, the thought behind asking the following question to Umberto Eco?

Mukund: Which brings me to my next-----you puzzled at all by this?

2. How does the excerpt from Christopher Silvester’s introduction to the Penguin Book of
Interviews, An Anthology from 1859 to the Present Day, in Part I, serve as a perfect forerunner to
the Part II interview, with Umberto Eco?