The Interview

1. What are some of the positive views on interviews?

Ans: Interviews are useful means of communication. Almost everybody who is literate reads
an interview once in their life. It is a source of truth. In practice, it is an art and varies in its
function, methods and merits.
2. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?
Ans: Most of the celebrity writers despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into their
lives or feel that it somehow diminishes them. They consider themselves as a victim of an
interview.
3. What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
Ans: In many primitive cultures, being photographed is thought to be equivalent to stealing
his/her soul and leaving his/her existence incomplete.
4. What do you understand by the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe”?
Ans: Celebrity writer Saul Bellow who was interviewed on several occasions expressed it as
‘Thumbprints on his windpipe’ which means having been muffled. He considers it as an
assault on his personality because it creates too much tension.
5. Who, in today’s world, is our chief source of information about personalities?
Ans: In today’s world, the interview has become commonplace in journalism. It is seen as a
highly advantageous means of communication. Several thousand celebrities have been
interviewed. Through the interview, we got complete and true information. By interacting
with other people, we got to know about their experiences, views and feelings.
Understanding The Text
1. Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.
Ans: Yes, Umberto Eco likes being interviewed. The reasons for my answer are:
 He answered all the questions fully and patiently without showing any hurry or
nervousness.
 He considers his achievement very modest. He expresses his philosophical interest
clearly.
 He tells the secret about his work.
 He elaborated his approach which was unique.
 He does not show any sort of dislike for being interviewed.
2. How does Eco find the time to write so much?
Ans: Eco said in life every person has empty spaces and periods with no important jobs. He
said that he did most of his writing in his free interests. He explained his working style. He
said when he waits for someone to come from the first floor to the second, he does not sit
idle, rather he works and writes.
3. What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?
Ans: Eco's academic writing style was quite distinctive. His non-fictional writing, scholarly
work had a certain playful and personal quality about them. It was a marked departure from a
regular academic style which generally is invariably depersonalized and often dry and boring.
4. Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
Ans: Umberto Eco saw himself as an academic first and a novelist second. He said he
considers himself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. On weekdays he
attends academic conferences and does not meet writers or Pen club.
5. What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?
Ans: 'The Name of the Rose' is a very unique novel with a mystery plot but it also dips its toe
into metaphysics, theology, as well as medieval history. It is popular among a large group of
readers. Though the actual reason behind its success is still not revealed.
Talking about the Text
1. Discuss in pairs or small groups:
(i) 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?
Ans: I recently watched the exclusive interview of Neeraj Chopra, the sole gold medalist in
Javelin throw from India in Tokyo, 2020 Olympics on a popular news channel. In the
interview, he expressed his happiness over the win. His expressions and words told the joy of
winning a gold medal in the largest sports event in the world. He expressed his gratitude
towards the coaches and the training programmes he attended for his preparations. He
humbly expressed his gratitude to all Indians and his peers whose hard work was his
motivation.
The interviewer asked questions related to his preparations for the big stage and about his
future goals.
The interview summed up to me as presenting a highly achieved athlete also as a
hardworking humble human who brought so much joy to his fellow countrymen. The
interview especially gives future Indian athletes the confidence to achieve heights.
(ii) The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television.
The medium I like best for an interview is television. The reasons behind such choice are:
 It is both audio-visual mediums.
 It shows whole functions, methods, and merits.
 The visual effects and sound effects are soothing to the eyes and ears.
 The way questions are put in front of celebrities and the way they try to give a positive
response in every possible way is interesting.
 Most of the celebrities criticize the interviews saying the interviewers misinterpret their
words but on television, it is not possible as what they are saying is understandable.
(iii) Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy. Interviewers sometimes
embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.
Ans: Sometimes, interviews try to expose private aspects of the lives of famous people they
are interviewing as exclusive news. The purpose was to get to such news first and spread it
through their media as quickly as possible. The celebrities remain under tremendous scrutiny
by them and often get interrogated in the interview.
Often interviewers' questions can open their personal and/or professional life towards
disastrous notions. Sometimes providing a response to offensive questions label them as
rebels or while not giving any response signifies as arrogant or guilty. In my opinion, no
matter if the person is a celebrity or a commoner, privacy should be respected.
Writing
1. 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.)
Ans: Umberto Eco, A Scholarly novelist
(By Mukund Padmanabhan, Interviewer)
I was fortunate enough to interview Umberto Eco, an accomplished novelist and a professor
at the University of Bologna, Italy. He was well known for his scholarly works on Semiotics,
literary analysis and medieval aesthetics. His literary works include fictional stories,
academic articles, essays, newspaper articles and children’s stories.
A depersonalized and mere casual approach in his writing marks his work different from
others. This makes his writing style engaging and more appealing. His writings depict the
stories of his research instead of being formal and monotonous.
He explained to me how he is able to consume his idle time into writing. The time we
generally waste in idleness, he calls them ‘interstices’, He uses such time to complete his
works.
Despite his literary fame, Umberto Eco continues to refer to himself as a "university
professor who writes novels on Sundays." He generously said that he has published over 40
scholarly articles and attended numerous academic conferences.
When I asked him about the cause of the success of the novel ‘The Name of the Rose’, he
said that it is still a puzzle to him. Neither he nor his publishers were able to predict its
success.
His demeanour was lively and he enthusiastically answered all my questions. He even
revealed his private schedules and working process.