Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?
Celebrities who see themselves as a victims, might despised the interview as an unwarranted intrusion in their lives, or feels that it is diminishing them, it is just like in some primitive cultures it was believed that if anyone takes photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person’s soul. V.S. Naipaul ‘feels that some people are wounded by interviews and loses a part of themselves’.
Who, in today’s world, is our chief source of information about personalities?
What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
What do you understand by the expression “thumbprints on his windpipe”?
Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.
What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?
How does Eco find the time to write so much?
Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
What are some of the positive views on interviews?
What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?
What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
What is the “misadventure” that William Douglas speaks about?
From where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap?
Strike out what is not true in the following.
a. Rajkumar Shukla was
(i) a sharecropper.
(ii) a politician.
(iii) delegate.
(iv) a landlord.
b. Rajkumar Shukla was
(i) poor.
(ii) physically strong.
(iii) illiterate.
What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?
Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?
What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface?
The author has used gentle humour to point out human foibles. Pick out instances of this to show how this serves to make the piece interesting.
How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie’s father?
Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” What could this mean?
(There could be more than one answer.)
Who was The Boss of Gemini Studios?
Why was the Moral Rearmament Army welcomed at the Studios?
What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?
What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
What does The God that Failed refer to?
How did Franz’s feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?