The Interview — Summary, Explanation & Word Meanings | CBSE Class 12 English (Flamingo Chapter 7)

Cl-12-Flamingo-book-Chp-7-The interview-Summary

CBSE Class 12 English Lesson 7 The Interview Summary, Line by Line Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from Flamingo Book

In the class 12 chapter 7 “The Interview” from the Flamingo book, Christopher Silvester elaborates upon the views of celebrities towards being interviewed. He says that although interviews are popular, many celebrities detest them. They term the interviews to be ordeals, and that they are victimised and the interviewers are criminals. However, certain celebrities like Umberto Eco are comfortable being interviewed and hold strikingly opposite views interviews.

 

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Question: What are the important key terms/keywords of The Interview Class 12?

Answer. The important key terms/keywords of The Interview Class 12 are:

  • Means of communication: Interviews are a serviceable means of communication in which one person gains knowledge about a person by asking questions. It is a notable method of knowing famous personalities. It is considered to be a source of truth and a way to understand celebrities and their ideas. Our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through interviews.
  • Unwarranted intrusion: The interviewee feels victimised by the unwarranted intrusion of the interviewer’s questions. V.S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells felt like they were being trapped and assaulted by interviews. The feeling is compared to their soul being trapped in a permanent photograph. Kipling described interviews as an immoral crime. Lewis Carroll hated being lionised and liked silencing people who came for his autographs, pictures, and interviews.
  • Power of the interviewer: The interviewer is described as having unprecedented power and influence over the interviewee. The interviewer could delve deeply into the interviewee’s personality and psyche with questions. The interviewer could also interpret the interviewee’s answers according to their wish, giving them control over their public image and reputation.
  • Interstices: Umberto Eco reveals the secret to being able to write over 40 literary pieces in the interview with Mukund Padmanabhan. He works during interstices, which are small, empty spaces of time where there is no activity being done.
  • Umberto Eco’s career: Umberto Eco is a professor at the University of Bologna, Italy and a writer of semiotics, nonfiction and fiction books. He has written over 40 books, the most famous and successful one being “The Name of the Rose”. He expresses his surprise at the novel’s success and how he had estimated only 3,000 copies would be sold, but he had sold over a million copies in the US.

 

The Interview Quick Overview

Detail Information
Story Title The Interview
Author Christopher Sylvester
Book Flamingo (CBSE Class 12 English)
Chapter 7
Narrator Writer
Setting –
Theme Views of different celebrity on interviews. Umberto Eco’s secret of multitasking and the secret of the immense success of his novel The Name of Rose.

Relation:

 

The Interview Summary Mind Map

Summary of The Interview

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Theme-based Questions from The Interview

 

Question: What is the significance of the interview process in the context of the story Class 12?

Ans. Interview is a significant and efficient way to learn a celebrity or personality’s inner thoughts, personal life, and psyche outside their professions. It is a means of communication in which the interviewer dives deep into the interviewee with some questions and follow-up questions. It is seen as a source of truth because it reveals the core ideology or beliefs of a person. Therefore, the personality uncovered by an interview is considered to be that famous person’s ‘truth’. Denis Brian describes interviews to be the most vivid impressions of  our contemporaries.

 

 

Question: As per the class 12 lesson “The Interview”, how are interviews intrusive? Why do most celebrities hate to be interviewed?

Ans. Interviews are intrusive because they are unwanted breaches of privacy. Because of the interviewer’s power, the answers can be misinterpreted, leading to a false depiction of the celebrity and even the tarnation of their success and reputation. Interviewees see themselves as victims, finding itnerviews to be traps for their soul, like the in some primitive cultures it is believed that if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person’s soul. V.S. Naipul described that the interviewees feel wounded by it and feel like they’ve lost a part of themselves by how their answers can be misinterpreted and simplified. Lewis Carroll hated being lionised and pushed away the people who approached him for interviews and autographs. There are some terrifying experiences with interviewers, like how Rudyard Kipling and his wife, Caroline were once destroyed by interviewers in Boston. He told the interviewers that he did not consent to being interviewed and described it as an assault and offence. H.G. Wells found interviews to be an ordeal. Saul Bellows compared the intrusion to his privacy as fingerprints on his windpipe, meaning that his experience was suffocating.

 

Question: In what way does the interviewer hold a position of unprecedented power and influence over the person interviewed? Answer in content to the class 12 lesson The Interview.

Ans. The interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence over the person interviewed. The interviewer is the one asking questions, so they have control what is being asked and what part of the interviewee is to be exposed. The interviewer may hold a personal opinion or bias towards the person which can shape the kind of questions that will be asked or the answers themselves. The answers can be misinterpreted, but because some consider interviews to be a source of truth, those misinterpretations can become the truth in the public eye. Therefore, the interviewer can mould how everyone sees the person, determining their future and reputation. The interviewer can reveal any part they wish, leading to an invasion of the person’s privacy. This amount of power and influence can lead to the people interviewed feeling victimised and diminished.

 

Question: As told by Umberto Eco in class 12 lesson, “The Interview”, what are interstices?

Ans. Interstices, as described by Umberto Eco, are small, empty spaces of time where there is no activity being done. Eco attributed his wide range of literary works to writing articles during the interstices. He revealed that while he was waiting for Mukund to arrive, there was a space of idleness which he filled by writing another article. Working during the interstices made him productive, making him appear to be multitasking at a fast speed.

 

Question: What is the central idea of the interview class 12?

Ans. Interviews are a serviceable means of communication in which one person gains knowledge about a person by asking questions. It is a notable way to learn about famous personalities. It is considered to be a source of truth and a way to understand celebrities and their ideas. Our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through interviews. The interviewee feels victimised by the unwarranted intrusion of the interviewer’s questions. V.S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells felt like they were being trapped and assaulted by interviews. The feeling is compared to their soul being trapped in a permanent photograph. Kipling described interviews as an immoral crime. Lewis Carroll hated being lionised and liked silencing people who came for his autographs, pictures, and interviews. The interviewer is described as having unprecedented power and influence over the interviewee. The interviewer could delve deeply into the interviewee’s personality and psyche with questions. The interviewer could also interpret the interviewee’s answers according to their wish, giving them control over their public image and reputation. Umberto Eco reveals the secret to being able to write over 40 literary pieces in the interview with Mukund Padmanabhan. He works during interstices, which are small, empty spaces of time where there is no activity being done. Umberto Eco is a professor at the University of Bologna, Italy and a writer of semiotics, nonfiction and fiction books. He has written over 40 books, the most famous and successful one being “The Name of the Rose”. He considers himself to be a scholar first before a novelist despite how everyone recognised him as a novelist more. He had a distinct writing style. The success of the novel puzzled journalists and publishers because it was a serious work. Umberto Eco humbly attributed the success of the novel to luck and mystery.

 

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The Interview Explanation

Part I 

Passage- Since its invention a little over 130 years ago, the interview has become a commonplace of journalism. Today, almost everybody who is literate will have read an interview at some point in their lives, while from the other point of view, several thousand celebrities have been interviewed over the years, some of them repeatedly.
Word Meanings:
Commonplace- not unusual; ordinary
Explanation of the Passage: Interview, an inevitable part of journalism was discovered over 130 years ago. These days, it is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, people who are educated are believed to have read an interview at one or other point in their lives and on the other hand, almost every celebrity has been interviewed more than once.

 

Question: In the class 12 chapter “The Interview”, what makes an interview a source of truth?

Passage- So it is hardly surprising that opinions of the interview — of its functions, methods and merits — vary considerably. Some might make quite extravagant claims for it as being, in its highest form, a source of truth, and, in its practice, an art. Others, usually celebrities who see themselves as its victims, might despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives, or feel that it somehow diminishes them, just as in some primitive cultures it is believed that if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person’s soul.
Word Meanings:
Extravagant- excessive or elaborate
Despise- hate, dislike
Unwarranted- not justified or authorised
Intrusion- the action of intruding; intervention
Primitive- ancient, olden
Explanation / Answer – Since it is very commonly used, it is not unbelievable that many people have conflicting views about the usage and advantages of an interview. Some people have elaborative claims about it’s goodness as they believe it to be a path towards knowing complete truth and consider it’s practice to be an art. If looked at from the interviewee’s point of view, it may look like an unwanted intervention in their personal  lives. It creates a picture in the minds of readers and viewers which according to an old saying, steals the original identity of the person. 

 

Question: In the class 12 lesson, The Interview, why did Lewis Carroll have a horror of the interview?

Passage – S. Naipaul ‘feels that some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of themselves,’ Lewis Carroll, the creator of Alice in Wonderland, was said to have had ‘a just horror of the interviewer’ and he never consented to be interviewed — It was his horror of being lionized which made him thus repel would be acquaintances, interviewers, and the persistent petitioners for his autograph and he would afterwards relate the stories of his success in silencing all such people with much satisfaction and amusement.
[S. Naipaul- Known as a cosmopolitan writer. In his travel books and in his documentary works he presents his impressions of the country of his ancestors that is India. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.] Word Meanings:
Lionized- give a lot of public attention and approval
Repel- drive or force back
Persistent – continuous
Petitioners- a person who asks for something
Amusement- the provision or enjoyment of entertainment
Explanation / Answer – Many famous personalities have a bad impression in their minds about interviews. The cosmopolitan writer, V. S. Naipaul feels that a bad interview has the tendency of leaving them wounded for life. The creator of Alice in Wonderland never consented to be interviewed as he was too scared of the interviewer.  He feared that a lot of attention would be drawn towards him and thus, he remained away from those who knew him – those who wanted to either interview him or get an autograph of his. He would narrate tales of his success at avoiding such requests with satisfaction and enjoyment.

 

Question: In The Interview from class 12, what does Caroline write in her diary on 14 October 1892?

Passage – Rudyard Kipling expressed an even more condemnatory attitude towards the interviewer. His wife, Caroline, writes in her diary for 14 October 1892 that their day was ‘wrecked by two reporters from Boston’. She reports her husband as saying to the reporters, “Why do I refuse to be interviewed? Because it is immoral! It is a crime, just as much of a crime as an offence against my person, as an assault, and just as much merits punishment. It is cowardly and vile. No respectable man would ask it, much less give it,” Yet Kipling had himself perpetrated such an ‘assault’ on Mark Twain only a few years before.
[Rudyard Kipling- A prolific writer who was known as the poet of the common soldier. Kipling’s Jungle Book which is a story of Kimball O’ Hara and his adventures in the Himalayas is considered as a children’s classic all over the world. ] Word Meanings:
Condemnatory- expressing strong disapproval
Wrecked- destroyed or severely damaged
Assault- make a physical attack on
Vile- extremely unpleasant
Perpetrated- commited; performed
Explanation / Answer – Rudyard Kipling was strongly against the idea of getting interviewed. His wife recorded one such incident in her diary when their day in Boston was ruined by two reporters. She also made an account of why her husband refused to appear for an interview. According to him, interviews are immortal and he calls interviewing a ‘crime’ which should attract punishment just as any other crime. It is an extremely unpleasant experience and no man with self-respect would ask or consent to it. Ironically, Kipling once carried on such ‘assault’ on Mark Twain some years earlier.

 

Question: What do Saul Bellow and Denis Brian say about the interview in the class 12 lesson “The Interview”?

Passage – H.G. Wells in an interview in 1894 referred to ‘the interviewing ordeal’, but was a fairly frequent interviewee and forty years later found himself interviewing Joseph Stalin. Saul Bellow, who has consented to be interviewed on several occasions, nevertheless once described interviews as being like thumbprints on his windpipe. Yet despite the drawbacks of the interview, it is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. “These days, more than at any other time, our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through interviews,” Denis Brian has written. “Almost everything of moment reaches us through one man asking questions of another. Because of this, the interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence.”
[H.G. Wells- An English novelist, journalist, sociologist and historian he is known for his works of science fiction. Wells best known books are The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. ] [Joseph Stalin- A great Russian revolutionary and an active political organiser. ] [Saul Bellow- A playwright as well as a novelist, Bellow’s works were influenced widely by World War II. Among his most famous characters are Augie March and Moses. He published short stories translated from Yiddish. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976.] Word Meanings:
Ordeal- a very unpleasant and prolonged experience
Serviceable – fulfilling its function adequately; usable
Vivid- producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
Contemporaries- a person or thing living or existing at the same time as another.
Unprecedented- never done or known before
Explanation / Answer – The famous English novelist and journalist, H.G.Wells said that an interview was an unpleasant experience but forty years later, he interviewed the Russian revolutionary, Joseph Stalin. Another writer, Saul Bellow commented that an interview seemed to be like fingertips on his windpipe which means that he felt choked and suffocated when he sat for one. Despite the drawbacks, an interview seemed to fulfil its purpose of communicating with the audience.According to Denis Brian, an interview gives us the most clear impression of the people of our times. The set up of one man, the interviewer asking questions from the other, the interviewee gives him power and influence. 
 

 

Part II

“I am a professor who writes novels on Sundays” – Umberto Eco 

Question: In the lesson, “The Interview”, what does David Lodge feel about Umberto Eco?

Passage – The following is an extract from an interview of Umberto Eco. The interviewer is Mukund Padmanabhan from The Hindu. Umberto Eco, a professor at the University of Bologna in Italy had already acquired a formidable reputation as a scholar for his ideas on semiotics (the study of signs), literary interpretation, and medieval aesthetics before he turned to writing fiction. Literary fiction, academic texts, essays, children’s books, newspaper articles— his written output is staggeringly large and wide-ranging, In 1980, he acquired the equivalent of intellectual superstardom with the publication of The Name of the Rose, which sold more than 10 million copies.
Mukund: The English novelist and academic David Lodge once remarked, “I can’t understand how one man can do all the things he [Eco] does.”
Word Meanings:
Formidable- inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense or capable
Medieval- relating to the Middle Ages
Aesthetics- a branch of philosophy that deals with nature and appreciation of beauty
Staggeringly- to an astonishing or shocking degree
Explanation / Answer – The following is a part of an interview of the Italian novelist named, Umberto Eco. He said that he wrote novels on Sundays. Mukund Padmanabhan from The Hindu newspaper interviewed him. Umberto Eco was a professor at the University of Bologna, Italy at that time. He was famous for his thoughts on semiotics, interpretation of writings and the beauty of the middle ages. Later, he turned to write fiction. He wrote a variety of literature – fiction, academic texts, essays, books for children and articles for newspapers. He rose to fame in the year 1980 when his book titled ‘The Name of the Rose’ became a bestseller.
The interviewer begins by praising Umberto Eco and quoting the words of David Lodge where he mentioned that it is out of his capacity to understand how one person (here, Umberto Eco) could be good at so many things. 

 

Question: What does Umberto Eco mean by the concept of interstices in the class 12 chapter “The Interview”?

Passage – Umberto Eco: Maybe I give the impression of doing many things. But in the end, I am convinced I am always doing the same thing.
Mukund: Which is?
Umberto Eco: Aah, now that is more difficult to explain. I have some philosophical interests and I pursue them through my academic work and my novels. Even my books for children are about non-violence and peace…you see, the same bunch of ethical, philosophical interests. And then I have a secret. Did you know what will happen if you eliminate the empty spaces from the universe, eliminate the empty spaces in all the atoms? The universe will become as big as my fist. Similarly, we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives. I call them interstices. Say you are coming over to my place. You are in an elevator and while you are coming up, I am waiting for you. This is an interstice, an empty space. I work in empty spaces. While waiting for your elevator to come up from the first to the third floor, I have already written an article! (Laughs).
Word Meanings:
Philosophical- relating or devoted to the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.
Pursue – follow
Ethical – relating to moral principles
Eliminate – remove
Fist – a person’s hand when the fingers are bent in towards the palm and held there tightly, typically in order to strike a blow or grasp something.
Interstices – space, gap
Elevator – a lift
Explanation / Answer – Umberto replied by specifying that maybe it  looked like he did a multiple distinct tasks, but according to him, he was always doing the same thing.
Mukund curiously asked him about the ‘same thing’ that Eco found himself doing.
He found it difficult to put it into words but began by saying that he had specific philosophical interests that he continually sought to pursue through his academic works and novels. Talking about his books for children, they all talked about non-violence and peace, which were again based on ethics. Then, he talked about his secret – that he worked in empty spaces of time. He called them interstices. According to him, these empty spaces were very crucial. If you removed the empty spaces from the atoms or from the universe, the universe would be very compact, just as big as his fist. So, if he was expecting someone over, that is, someone was coming to his house and the guest took the elevator from the ground floor to his flat on the third floor, as Umberto waited for the guest – that time was an interstice and he used that interstice to write an article. That is how he worked in such empty spaces of time which many people waste by sitting idle and waiting!  

 

Question: What is the uniqueness in Eco’s academic writing style? What is the advantage of writing novels according to Umberto Eco?

Passage – Mukund: Not everyone can do that of course. Your non-fictional writing, your scholarly work has a certain playful and personal quality about it. It is a marked departure from a regular academic style — which is invariably depersonalised and often dry and boring. Have you consciously adopted an informal approach or is it something that just came naturally to you?
Umberto Eco: When I presented my first Doctoral dissertation in Italy, one of the Professors said, “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. You, on the contrary, told the story of your research. Even including your trials and errors.” At the same time, he recognised I was right and went on to publish my dissertation as a book, which meant he appreciated it. At that point, at the age of 22, I understood scholarly books should be written the way I had done — by telling the story of the research. This is why my essays always have a narrative aspect. And this is why probably I started writing narratives [novels] so late — at the age of 50, more or less. I remember that my dear friend Roland Barthes was always frustrated that he was an essayist and not a novelist. He wanted to do creative writing one day or another but he died before he could do so. I never felt this kind of frustration. I started writing novels by accident. I had nothing to do one day and so I started. Novels probably satisfied my taste for narration.
Word Meanings:
Dissertation- a long essay on a particular subject, especially one written for a university degree or diploma
Hypotheses – theory
Frustration – the feeling of being upset or annoyed as a result of being unable to change or achieve something
Narration – the action or process of narrating a story
Explanation / Answer – Mukund mentioned that what he did was undoubtedly unique. His scholarly articles were very different from the usual academic style. The usual academic style lacked personal touch and was dry and boring. On the other hand, Umberto’s writings had a certain playful and personal touch. He asked Eco that did he intentionally adopt an informal way of writing or was he being natural.
Umberto narrated his story from his time in Italy where a Professor told that his thesis was way different from others. He had told his story along with including the trials and errors that happened during his research. Others, on the other hand made false assumptions, corrected them and put conclusions. This was the reason why the professor even published his thesis as a book. At the age of 22, he realised that his way of writing was the correct way and that his why his essays were always in the narrative tone. Probably, this was also the reason why he started writing novels at the age of 50. On the contrary, his friend Roland Barthes always wanted to be a novelist along with being an essayist. Unfortunately, he died before he could do it. While for Eco, it happened by accident but novel writing satisfied his hunger for narration.

 

Question: In the class 12 chapter “The Interview”, why did Umberto Eco prefer himself to be called an academician than a novelist?

Passage- Mukund: Talking about novels, from being a famous academic you went on to becoming spectacularly famous after the publication of The Name of the Rose. You’ve written five novels against many more scholarly works of non-fiction, at least more than 20 of them…
Umberto Eco: Over 40.
Mukund: Over 40! Among them a seminal piece of work on semiotics. But ask most people about Umberto Eco and they will say, “Oh, he’s the novelist.” Does that bother you?
Umberto Eco: Yes. Because I consider myself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. It’s not a joke. I participate in academic conferences and not meetings of Pen Clubs and writers. I identify myself with the academic community. But okay, if they [most people] have read only the novels… (laughs and shrugs). I know that by writing novels, I reach a larger audience. I cannot expect to have one million readers with stuff on semiotics.
Word Meanings:
Seminal- influential
Explanation / Answer – Pointing out his novels, Mukund mentioned that he became astoundingly famous after the publication of The Name of the Rose. From a famous academic, he went on to become a famous novelist though he had written many more scholarly works (20) than novels (5).
Umberto Eco corrected that he had written over 40 non-fiction pieces.
Amazed at hearing about Eco’s over 40 scholarly articles, one of which was on the study of signs (semiotics), he asked if he was at all bothered when people remembered him as the famous novelist.
Umberto Eco replied to Mukund by accepting that yes, it did bother him being identified as a novelist. Umberto, on the other hand, identified himself with the academic community because he considered himself a university professor who wrote novels only on Sundays. He also attended academic conferences as opposed to Pen clubs and writer’s meetings. But on the other hand, Eco accepted that he was well-aware that by writing novels, he was reaching a wider audience because one million people would not obviously be interested in stuff on semiotics.

 

Question: Why were the journalists and publishers in the lesson, “The Interview”, puzzled at the success of Umberto’s novel The Name of the Rose?

Passage – Mukund: Which brings me to my next question. The Name of the Rose is a very serious novel. It’s a detective yarn at one level but it also delves into metaphysics, theology, and medieval history. Yet it enjoyed a huge mass audience. Were you puzzled at all by this?
Umberto Eco: No. Journalists are puzzled. And sometimes publishers. And this is because journalists and publishers believe that people like trash and don’t like difficult reading experiences. Consider there are six billion people on this planet. The Name of the Rose sold between 10 and 15 million copies. So in a way I reached only a small percentage of readers. But it is exactly these kinds of readers who don’t want easy experiences. Or at least don’t always want this. I myself, at 9 pm after dinner, watch television and want to see either ‘Miami Vice’ or ‘Emergency Room’. I enjoy it and I need it. But not all day.
Explanation / Answer – Mukund changed the topic and mentioned that The Name of the Rose was a very serious novel and still it managed to attract a large audience. It dealt with detective stuff and also metaphysics, theology and medieval history. He asked Umberto if he was at all surprised by his success.
Umberto replied that he was not at all surprised. The only people who were surprised were journalists and publishers. This was because it was commonly believed that people liked easy-reading experiences and trash while the truth was that through his novel, he reached that small percentage of the population who liked challenging reading experiences. He understood this because he himself yearned to watch shows like ‘Miami Vice’ or ‘Emergency Room’ after dinner but not all day long.

 

Question: In the class 12 lesson, The Interview, what is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?

Passage – Mukund: Could the huge success of the novel have anything to do with the fact that it dealt with a period of medieval history that…
Umberto Eco: That’s possible. But let me tell you another story, because I often tell stories like a Chinese wise man. My American publisher said while she loved my book, she didn’t expect to sell more than 3,000 copies in a country where nobody has seen a cathedral or studies Latin. So I was given an advance for 3,000 copies, but in the end it sold two or three million in the U.S. A lot of books have been written about the medieval past far before mine. I think the success of the book is a mystery. Nobody can predict it. I think if I had written The Name of the Rose ten years earlier or ten years later, it wouldn’t have been the same. Why it worked at that time is a mystery.
Explanation / Answer – He asked Umberto about the possibility of success of the novel having to do something with its association with medieval history.
Umberto did not negate the possibility as he began to tell a story, which he thought that he did like a Chinese wise old man. He mentioned that his American publisher expected not to sell more than 3,000 copies as in a country like hers, no one had ever seen a cathedral or studied Latin language. To their surprise, they ended up selling around two or three million copies. Umberto considered the success of his book a mystery. Had it been written ten years earlier or later, the situation would have been different. 

 

The Interview Video Explanation Part 1  

 

 

The Interview Video Explanation Part 2

 

 

The Interview FAQs

Question: Who is the narrator of The Interview?

Ans. The first part of the lesson The Interview is written by Christopher Sylvester. The second part of the lesson is an interview of Umberto Eco taken by Mukund Padmanabhan.

Question: What is the theme of the class 12 story The Interview?

Ans. The central message of the story The Interview is that interviews are an important communication tool of journalism. However, many celebrities who are interviewed, consider an interview to be a criminal act. The consider the interviewer to be a criminal who steals their soul and they consider interviews to be immoral and horific. In the second part the message is about time management to do multi-tasking and Umberto’s views on the success of his novel.

Question: Who is Umberto Eco in the lesson The Interview?

Ans. Umberto Eco is a professor at the University of Bologna, Italy. He is famous for his views on Semiotics. He is a writer too and he acquired the equivalent of intellectual superstardom with the publication of The Name of the Rose, which sold more than 10 million copies.

Question: How does Umberto manage to do so much?

Ans. Umberto identifies small intervals of time between two tasks as ‘interstices’. He utilizes these interstices to accomplish a lot. 

Question: What is the story The Interview about?

Ans. The story ‘The Interview’ has two parts. Part 1 of The Interview is about interviews as a means of communication and the opinions of various celebrities on being interviewed. The part 2 of the lesson comprises of an interview of academician-writer Umberto Eco taken by Mukund Padmanabhan.
 

 

The Interview Summary in Hindi

यह पाठ पत्रकारिता के एक सामान्य स्थान के रूप में इंटरव्यू के परिचय के साथ शुरू होता है जो बोहोत साल पहले का है | लेखक के अनुसार, यह बहुत आश्चर्य की बात नहीं है कि इंटरव्यू के उपयोग के बारे में लोगों की बहुत अलग राय है।
कुछ इसे अपने उच्चतम रूप में सोचते हैं जबकि कुछ लोग इंटरव्यू को बर्दाश्त नहीं कर सकते।
इंटरव्यू एक स्थायी छाप छोड़ता है और एक पुरानी कहावत के अनुसार, जब किसी निश्चित व्यक्ति के बारे में धारणा बनाई जाती है, तो उसकी आत्मा की मूल पहचान चोरी हो जाती है। कई प्रसिद्ध हस्तियों, लेखकों और कलाकारों को इंटरव्यू की आलोचना करते हुए सुना गया है।
रुडयार्ड किपलिंग की पत्नी ने अपनी डायरी में लिखा कि कैसे बोस्टन में उनके दिन को दो पत्रकारों ने बर्बाद कर दिया। किपलिंग इंटरव्यू को एक हमले के रूप में मानते हैं, एक ऐसा अपराध जिसके लिए सजा दी जानी चाहिए।
उनका मानना ​​​​है कि एक सम्मानित व्यक्ति कभी नहीं पूछेगा या इंटरव्यू नहीं देगा।
ये मुकुंद (द हिंदू अखबार से) और इटली में बोलोग्ना विश्वविद्यालय के प्रोफेसर अम्बर्टो इको के बीच इंटरव्यू का एक अंश है, जिन्होंने कथा लेखन की ओर रुख करने से पहले से ही अपने लाक्षणिकता (संकेतों का अध्ययन), साहित्यिक व्याख्या, और मध्यकालीन सौंदर्यशास्त्र के विचारों के लिए एक स्कॉलर के रूप में शानदार प्रतिष्ठा हासिल कर ली थी।
इंटरव्यू उनके उपन्यास, द नेम ऑफ द रोज़ की सफलता के इर्द-गिर्द घूमता है, जिसकी दस मिलियन से अधिक प्रतियां बाजार में बिकीं हुई थी।
इन्टर्व्यूअर उनसे यह पूछकर शुरू करता है कि कैसे अम्बर्टो इतने सारे अलग-अलग काम करने का प्रबंधन करता है जिसके लिए वह यह कहकर जवाब देता है कि वह वही काम कर रहा है। वह आगे औचित्य और उल्लेख करते हैं कि बच्चों के बारे में उनकी किताबें शांति और अहिंसा के बारे में बात करती हैं जो अंत में उनकी फिलॉसोफी में रुचि को दर्शाती हैं।
अम्बर्टो खुद को एक अकादमिक स्कॉलर के रूप में पहचानता है जो सप्ताह के दौरान अकादमिक सम्मेलनों में भाग लेता है और रविवार को उपन्यास लिखता है।
इससे उसे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता कि दूसरे उसकी पहचान एक उपन्यासकार के रूप में करते हैं न कि एक स्कॉलर के रूप में, क्योंकि वह जानता है कि लाखों लोगों तक विद्वानों का काम करना मुश्किल है। उनका मानना ​​​​है कि लोगो के जीवन में एक रिक्त स्थान होते हैं, जैसे परमाणुओं और ब्रह्मांड में रिक्त स्थान होते हैं।
वह उन्हें अंतर्मुखी कहते हैं और उनके अधिकांश उत्पादक कार्य उसी समय के दौरान किए जाते हैं। अपने उपन्यास के बारे में बात करते हुए उन्होंने उल्लेख किया कि यह आसानी से पढ़ा जाने वाला नहीं है। तत्वमीमांसा, धर्मशास्त्र और मध्ययुगीन इतिहास के साथ इसका एक जासूसी पहलू भी है।
साथ ही, उनका मानना ​​है कि अगर उपन्यास दस साल पहले या बाद में लिखा गया होता, तो उसे इतनी बड़ी सफलता नहीं मिलती। इस प्रकार, उम्बर्तो की सफलता का कारण अभी भी एक रहस्य बना हुआ है।

 

 

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