What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

What are some of the positive views on the interview?

In its highest form it is seen as a source of truth and an art, and as a supremely serviceable medium through which we form our most vivid impressions of contemporaries.

Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?

They see it as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives that somehow diminishes them, comparing it to having a part of themselves stolen.

What do you understand by the expression 'thumbprints on his windpipe'?

It is Saul Bellow's metaphor suggesting that interviews feel choking and intrusive, as if pressing on his throat and constraining him.

Who, according to Denis Brian, is our chief source of information about personalities today?

The interviewer, since almost everything of importance reaches us through one person asking questions of another, giving the interviewer great power.

Does Umberto Eco like being interviewed? Give reasons.

He seems patient and good-humoured, answering fully with stories and laughter, suggesting he does not mind interviews, though he prefers to be seen as an academic.

How does Eco find the time to write so much?

He works in the 'interstices' or empty spaces of time — for example writing an article while waiting for a visitor's lift to come up.

What was distinctive about Eco's academic writing style?

It had a playful, personal, narrative quality; he told the story of his research, including his trials and errors, instead of writing in a dry, depersonalised way.

Did Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic?

He considered himself primarily a university professor who happened to write novels on Sundays, identifying with the academic community.

What is the reason for the huge success of 'The Name of the Rose'?

Eco regards it as a mystery; he believes the timing was crucial and that readers, contrary to publishers' belief, do not always want easy reading experiences.

What is the central idea of the lesson 'The Interview'?

It explores the interview as a powerful communication genre with both critics and admirers, and illustrates it through Eco's thoughtful responses.

The Interview

Class 12 English · Flamingo · Chapter 7

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CBSE Class 12 · English Core

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The story in short

This lesson is in two parts, drawn from Christopher Silvester's introduction to 'The Penguin Book of Interviews'. Part I discusses the interview as a literary and journalistic form. Since its invention about 130 years ago, the interview has become a commonplace of journalism, yet opinions on it vary greatly. Some regard it, in its highest form, as a source of truth and even an art; others — usually celebrities who see themselves as its victims — despise it as an intrusion that diminishes them, like the primitive belief that a photograph steals one's soul. The author cites writers such as V.S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells and Saul Bellow, who variously condemned or disliked being interviewed (Bellow called interviews 'thumbprints on his windpipe'), while also noting that the interview is a supremely serviceable medium through which we form our most vivid impressions of contemporaries, giving the interviewer great power. Part II is an extract from Mukund Padmanabhan's interview of Umberto Eco, the Italian professor and scholar of semiotics who became world-famous with his novel 'The Name of the Rose'. Eco explains that despite his vast and varied output, he is always pursuing the same philosophical interests; he uses the 'empty spaces' or interstices of time to work, writes scholarly books in a narrative style, and considers himself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. He regards the huge success of his serious, difficult novel as a mystery that cannot be predicted.

The interview as a genrePower of the interviewerCelebrity attitudes to interviewsUmberto Eco's viewsScholarship and fiction

Characters & key ideas

The interviewThe journalistic form whose merits and methods the lesson examines.

Christopher SilvesterThe author who introduces the history and debate of the interview.

Thumbprints on the windpipeSaul Bellow's phrase for the intrusive feel of interviews.

Umberto EcoThe scholar and novelist interviewed in Part II.

The Name of the RoseEco's serious yet hugely successful novel.

IntersticesThe empty spaces of time in which Eco works.

Extra questions & answers (board-style)

Try one from this chapter

From whose work is Part I of "The Interview" taken?

Flashcards & interactive practice