The Interview

Q: According to the passage, which is NOT a reason given for why interviews are valued as a medium of communication?

They eliminate the need for written journalism entirely.. While the passage praises interviews' power and value, it never claims they eliminate written journalism; rather, it states interviews have become 'a commonplace' alongside other forms of journalism.

NCERT Class 12 · English Based on NCERT Class 12 English textbook · Free CBSE study kit

Chapter Notes

Understanding the Interview as a Genre

**Definition**: An interview is a structured conversation between an interviewer (who asks questions) and an interviewee (who answers), designed to extract information, opinions, and insights for publication in media. It has existed for over 130 years and has become a commonplace feature of journalism.

**Historical Context and Development:**

Invented approximately 130 years ago (from the essay's publication date, roughly 1859)

Evolved from a specialized journalistic tool to a universal medium of communication

Today, almost every literate person has read or encountered an interview

Several thousand celebrities have been interviewed repeatedly over the years

**Key Functions of the Interview:**

**Democratic function**: Makes information and personalities accessible to the general public

**Communication medium**: One person asking questions of another reaches large audiences

**Source of truth**: In its highest form, claimed to be a source of authentic information

**Art form**: Can be practiced as a sophisticated literary and journalistic art

Contrasting Perspectives: Two Viewpoints on Interviews

Positive Views on Interviews

**Claims made by interview advocates:**

The interview is "a source of truth" when practiced at its highest level

It functions as "an art" requiring skill and sensitivity

**Denis Brian's perspective**: "These days, more than at any other time, our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries are through interviews"

**Power and influence**: "The interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence"

Almost everything of importance reaches the public through interviews

**Reasons for popularity:**

Provides direct access to personalities' thoughts and opinions

More engaging than written texts or other media

Allows audiences to form personal impressions of public figures

Negative Views: Celebrities as Victims

**Critics' perspectives on interviews:**

**Intrusion into privacy**: Interviews are viewed as "unwarranted intrusion into private lives"

**Diminishing effect**: Some believe interviews somehow diminish or wound people

**Soul-stealing analogy**: Comparison to primitive cultures' belief that photographs steal one's soul

**V. S. Naipaul's view**: "Some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of themselves"

**Famous figures who despised interviews:**

1. **Lewis Carroll** (author of Alice in Wonderland):

Had "a just horror of the interviewer"

Never consented to be interviewed

Repelled acquaintances, interviewers, and autograph-seekers

Related stories of silencing such people with "much satisfaction and amusement"

2. **Rudyard Kipling** (poet and novelist):

Expressed the most condemnatory attitude toward interviewing

Called interviewing "immoral" and "a crime"

Compared it to "an offence against my person, as an assault"

Declared it "cowardly and vile"

Said "No respectable man would ask it, much less give it"

**Irony**: He himself had interviewed Mark Twain years earlier

3. **H. G. Wells** (science fiction novelist):

Referred to "the interviewing ordeal" in 1894

Despite criticizing it, was a fairly frequent interviewee

Later in life, interviewed Joseph Stalin

4. **Saul Bellow** (novelist and playwright):

Consented to be interviewed on several occasions

Described interviews as being like "thumbprints on his windpipe"

The phrase suggests violation, invasion, and strangulation of creative freedom

Part II: The Interview with Umberto Eco

About Umberto Eco

**Background and achievements:**

Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy

Scholar with formidable reputation before turning to fiction writing

Areas of expertise: semiotics (study of signs), literary interpretation, medieval aesthetics

Prolific writer: academic texts, essays, children's books, newspaper articles

**Major publication**: The Name of the Rose (1980)—sold more than 10 million copies, bringing him "intellectual superstardom"

Eco's Unified Philosophy Across Multiple Works

**Main argument**: Despite appearing to do many different things, Eco claims he is "always doing the same thing"

**Unifying themes across his work:**

**Philosophical and ethical interests**: Pursued through academic work, novels, and children's books

**Books for children**: Focus on non-violence and peace—same ethical concerns

**"Interstices" concept**: Empty spaces in life where productivity happens

Example: While waiting for an elevator to come from first to third floor, Eco writes articles

Demonstrates his ability to maximize even minimal time gaps

Uses metaphor of empty spaces in atoms and universe to explain his productivity

Eco's Distinctive Academic Writing Style

**Revolutionary approach to scholarly writing:**

**The turning point—age 22:**

When presenting his first doctoral dissertation in Italy, a professor criticized the traditional approach

Traditional method: scholars gather data → make false hypotheses → correct them → present conclusions

**Eco's method**: Told the story of his research, including trials and errors

Professor recognized this was valuable and published the dissertation as a book

**Characteristics of Eco's academic style:**

**Narrative aspect**: Essays contain storytelling elements rather than dry, impersonal argumentation

**Personalized approach**: Includes the researcher's journey, not just conclusions

**Conversational tone**: Makes scholarship accessible and engaging

Marked departure from conventional academic depersonalization and dryness

**Consequence on his fiction writing:**

Started writing novels late—around age 50

"By accident"—had nothing to do one day and began

Novels satisfied his taste for narration that was already present in his essays

**Comparison to Roland Barthes**: Eco's friend was frustrated being an essayist and wanted to write novels but died before doing so; Eco never felt this frustration

Eco's Identity: Academic vs. Novelist

Central Tension

**Eco's self-perception:**

"I am a professor who writes novels on Sundays"

**Primary identity**: University professor, not novelist

Participates in academic conferences, not writers' clubs

Identifies with the academic community

**Public perception vs. reality:**

Most people know Eco only as "the novelist" (author of The Name of the Rose)

This bothers him significantly

Has written 5 novels versus over 40 scholarly works of non-fiction

The one novel became more famous than decades of academic research

**Pragmatic acceptance:**

Acknowledges that novels reach larger audiences than academic work

Cannot expect one million readers for semiotics texts

Novels provide access to wider public understanding

The Phenomenal Success of The Name of the Rose

The Novel's Complexity

**Multiple layers of meaning:**

**Surface level**: Detective yarn (mystery novel)

**Deeper levels**: Explores metaphysics, theology, medieval history

Yet achieved enormous mass audience appeal

Public Perception vs. Reality

**The publishers' miscalculation:**

American publisher expected to sell only 3,000 copies

Reasoning: America has few cathedrals and little Latin study

**Actual result**: Sold 2-3 million copies in the U.S.

Total sales: 10-15 million copies worldwide

**Why journalists and publishers were puzzled:**

They believed general readers prefer "trash" and avoid difficult reading

Assumed complex topics with theological and medieval content would appeal only to specialists

Eco's Counter-argument

**The reality of reader preferences:**

Of 6 billion people on Earth, 10-15 million copies represents only a small percentage

These readers specifically seek difficult, complex reading experiences

People enjoy varying types of content: Eco himself watches Miami Vice and Emergency Room after dinner

Not everyone wants easy experiences all the time, but not constant difficulty either

The Mystery of Success

**Eco's honest assessment:**

"The success of the book is a mystery. Nobody can predict it."

Multiple factors could have contributed:

Medieval history period resonance

Timing of publication

Cultural readiness

**Counterfactual**: If published 10 years earlier or later, might not have achieved same success

Success is unpredictable and partly accidental

Discourse Features: Linkers and Signallers

Discourse Linkers

**Definition**: Words and phrases that connect utterances and maintain continuity in conversation

**Types of linking:**

1. **Reference pronouns**: 'that', 'this', 'which'

Example: "I am convinced I am always doing the same thing." / "Which is?"

"Aah, now that is more difficult to explain."

2. **Repetition of words**: Echoing previous speakers' language

Example: Mukund asks about "waiting for your elevator" → Eco responds "While waiting for your elevator"

Interviewer: "Novels probably satisfied my taste for narration" → Mukund: "Talking about novels"

3. **Anaphoric reference**: Referring back to previously mentioned ideas

Example: "at least more than 20 of them..." → "Over 40."

**Function of linkers in interviews:**

Maintain coherence and flow of conversation

Show that interviewer has understood previous response

Create logical progression of ideas

Essential in structured conversations like interviews

Discourse Signallers

**Definition**: Phrases that prepare listeners for shifts in topic or direction of conversation

**Examples from the text:**

"Which brings me to my next question..."

"But let me tell you another story..."

"Talking about novels, from being a famous academic..."

**Function of signallers:**

Signal topic shifts explicitly

Prepare listener's mind for new direction

Maintain smooth flow despite topic changes

Without them, conversation feels disjointed and confusing

**Importance**: Critical in interviews to guide audience through different threads of discussion and prevent jarring transitions

Transfer from Interview to Report Writing

**Context**: If Mukund Padmanabhan lacked newspaper space, he would write a report instead of reproducing the interview verbatim

**Key differences:**

**Interview**: Preserves direct speech, dialogue, personality, spontaneity

**Report**: Summarizes salient points, uses indirect speech, eliminates redundancy, presents condensed information

**What to include in a report:**

Main ideas and arguments presented

Key biographical information

Significant quotes (selective use)

Themes and patterns

**What to omit:**

Repeated points

Tangential anecdotes

Filler words and hesitations

Conversational pleasantries

**Exam tip**: Understand the difference between preserving interview content verbatim versus synthesizing it into report format—a common writing task in CBSE exams

Essay's Central Thesis

**Main argument**: The interview is simultaneously criticized by celebrities as invasive and celebrated by communication theorists as democratic, accessible, and powerful. Yet despite legitimate concerns about privacy and the discomfort it causes public figures, the interview has become indispensable for understanding contemporary personalities and events. The success and utility of interviews depend on the interviewer's skill, sensitivity, and the interviewee's willingness to engage authentically—as demonstrated by Eco's thoughtful responses that illuminate both his work and his philosophy.

MCQs — 10 Questions with Answers

Q1. Based on the passage, which of the following best describes why some celebrities despise interviews?

A. They believe interviews are intrusions that diminish their identity, similar to beliefs that photography steals one's soul. ✓
B. They think interviews are too time-consuming and interfere with their professional work.
C. They have had negative experiences with specific journalists from Private Eye.
D. They believe interviews make them more famous than they wish to be.

Answer: A — The passage explicitly compares celebrity fear to primitive beliefs about photography stealing one's soul and states celebrities see interviews as unwanted intrusions that diminish them.

Q2. What is the primary contradiction in Rudyard Kipling's attitude towards interviews as presented in the text?

A. He refused interviews but consented to be interviewed by H.G. Wells.
B. He called interviews immoral and criminal assault, yet had interviewed Mark Twain himself years before. ✓
C. He believed interviews were cowardly but encouraged other writers to give interviews.
D. He wrote about interviews positively in his novels but refused them in real life.

Answer: B — Kipling condemned interviews as 'immoral crime' and 'assault' to Boston reporters, but the passage reveals he had perpetrated this same 'assault' on Mark Twain only years earlier, exposing his hypocrisy.

Q3. According to Denis Brian, what makes the interviewer's position one of 'unprecedented power and influence'?

A. Because most people cannot write or read interviews independently.
B. Because almost everything of moment reaches the public through interviews, making the interviewer a gatekeeper of information. ✓
C. Because celebrities have no choice but to consent to interviews.
D. Because interviews are the only form of journalism available to the public.

Answer: B — Brian explicitly states that because almost everything of moment reaches people through interviews, the interviewer controls what public understands about events and personalities.

Q4. What does Saul Bellow's metaphor 'thumbprints on his windpipe' suggest about the effect of interviews on celebrities?

A. Interviews are pleasant and leave a positive mark.
B. Interviews create lasting, suffocating marks that compress and constrain one's sense of identity. ✓
C. Interviews are as brief as a thumbprint and easily forgotten.
D. Interviews are violent acts that physically harm the person.

Answer: B — The metaphor of thumbprints on one's windpipe suggests compression, breathlessness, and lasting marks—indicating interviews leave suffocating psychological impressions on a person's identity.

Q5. Why did Umberto Eco's professor appreciate his doctoral dissertation despite its unconventional narrative style?

A. It was shorter than traditional dissertations.
B. The professor recognized that telling the story of research, including trials and errors, was a valid and valuable scholarly approach. ✓
C. The professor published it to make it more famous than other dissertations.
D. It was the first dissertation the professor had ever read.

Answer: B — Eco's professor initially noted the unconventional narrative approach but recognized it was right and published it as a book, validating the approach of showing the research process rather than just conclusions.

Q6. Which statement best explains how Eco manages to be productive across multiple genres and forms of writing?

A. He works twelve hours a day without any breaks or distractions.
B. He employs a team of assistants to write for him in different styles.
C. He uses 'interstices'—empty spaces in daily life—to work on projects, claiming he can write articles while waiting for an elevator. ✓
D. He focuses exclusively on one genre each year rather than working on multiple projects simultaneously.

Answer: C — Eco explicitly explains that he eliminates empty spaces in his life (interstices) by using waiting time productively, writing articles during elevator rides and other gaps in the day.

Q7. According to the passage, which is NOT a reason given for why interviews are valued as a medium of communication?

A. They are a source of truth in their highest form.
B. They function as an art form in journalistic practice.
C. They are the primary way people form impressions of contemporaries.
D. They eliminate the need for written journalism entirely. ✓

Answer: D — While the passage praises interviews' power and value, it never claims they eliminate written journalism; rather, it states interviews have become 'a commonplace' alongside other forms of journalism.

Q8. The passage presents both a positive and negative view of interviews. Which statement best represents the core tension between these views?

A. Some people believe interviews are artistic while others think journalism is unimportant.
B. Celebrities want interviews but journalists refuse to conduct them.
C. Interviews are valued as democratic access to truth (positive) versus intrusions into privacy and identity (negative). ✓
D. Interviews have existed for 130 years but only recently became controversial.

Answer: C — The passage contrasts scholars who value interviews as sources of truth and democratic communication with celebrities who see them as intrusive violations of privacy and autonomy.

Q9. How does Umberto Eco's approach to scholarly writing differ from the 'regular academic style' mentioned by the interviewer?

A. Eco uses longer sentences and more complex vocabulary than other scholars.
B. Eco employs a personalized, narrative approach that includes the research process, whereas regular academic style is depersonalized and dry. ✓
C. Eco writes fewer pages but covers more content than traditional scholars.
D. Eco refuses to include conclusions in his scholarly work, focusing only on research methods.

Answer: B — Eco explicitly states his approach involves 'telling the story of your research' including trials and errors, in contrast to regular academic style that is invariably depersonalized and often dry.

Q10. What can be inferred about the relationship between Lewis Carroll's refusal to be interviewed and the primitive cultural belief mentioned in the passage?

A. Carroll lived in a primitive culture and believed the same things about photography.
B. Carroll's horror of interviews was based on a literal belief that interviews steal one's soul like photography in primitive cultures.
C. Carroll used the primitive belief as a metaphor to explain his genuine fear that interviews would violate and diminish his identity. ✓
D. Carroll believed primitive cultures were correct in their fears but thought interviews were different from photography.

Answer: C — The passage draws a comparison between primitive beliefs about photography stealing souls and Carroll's fear of interviews as intrusions; Carroll's reluctance mirrors this metaphorical fear of losing oneself to public exposure.

Flashcards

What is Christopher Silvester's main argument about interviews in modern journalism?

Interviews have become the primary medium through which people form impressions of contemporaries, giving interviewers unprecedented power and influence over public perception.

Why did Lewis Carroll refuse to be interviewed?

He had a horror of being lionized and saw interviews as an unwarranted intrusion that allowed people to steal his soul, similar to primitive beliefs about photography.

What did Rudyard Kipling call interviews and why?

Kipling called interviews 'immoral crime' equivalent to assault on a person, though he had himself interviewed Mark Twain years earlier, revealing his own hypocrisy.

Explain Saul Bellow's metaphor 'thumbprints on his windpipe'.

The metaphor suggests that interviews leave lasting, suffocating marks on a person's identity, compressing and constraining their sense of self after public exposure.

What does Denis Brian claim about interviews and contemporary knowledge?

Almost everything of moment reaches people through interviews, making the interviewer's position one of unprecedented power in shaping public understanding of events and personalities.

What was Umberto Eco's realization at age 22 about scholarly writing?

After his professor appreciated his narrative doctoral dissertation that included trials and errors, Eco understood that scholarly books should tell the story of research rather than just conclusions.

How does Umberto Eco explain his prolific output across multiple genres?

He argues he pursues the same philosophical and ethical interests through different mediums—novels, academic work, essays, and children's books all explore non-violence and peace.

What are 'interstices' according to Umberto Eco?

Interstices are empty spaces in daily life (like waiting for an elevator) that Eco uses productively to write articles, eliminating wasted time similar to how eliminating empty spaces compresses the universe.

Why did Roland Barthes feel frustration according to the interview?

Barthes was frustrated that he was an essayist and not a novelist, wanting to do creative writing but dying before achieving that goal, unlike Eco who began novels at age 50.

What two contrasting perspectives on interviews are presented in Part I?

Some view interviews as a source of truth and art form; others, especially celebrities, see them as unwanted intrusions that violate privacy and diminish personal identity.

Important Board Questions

According to Christopher Silvester, what two opposing views of interviews are presented in Part I of the text? Provide one example for each view from the passage. [2 marks]

Identify the positive view (interviews as truth/art) and negative view (interviews as intrusion/victimhood). Use examples from Lewis Carroll, Kipling, or Bellow for support; ensure you quote or reference the passage directly.

Explain how Rudyard Kipling's condemnation of interviews reveals a contradiction in his own position. What does this contradiction suggest about the nature of interviews in the passage? [5 marks]

Point out that Kipling called interviews 'immoral crime' and 'assault' to Boston reporters but had interviewed Mark Twain years before. Analyse what this hypocrisy reveals about the interview's dual nature as both powerful medium and inescapable practice; consider whether the interviewer or interviewee holds more power in this contradiction.

Analyse Umberto Eco's philosophy of productivity and scholarly writing as presented in the interview. How does his approach to 'interstices' relate to his view that he is 'always doing the same thing' across different genres? [6 marks]

Explain 'interstices' as empty spaces used productively for writing. Connect this to Eco's claim that novels, essays, academic work, and children's books all pursue the same philosophical interests in non-violence and peace. Discuss how eliminating wasted time mirrors eliminating empty space from the universe—how does this metaphor reflect his unified intellectual purpose across seemingly disparate works?

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