Class 12 English - PUNJAB
Prose: The Interview
The chapter 'The Interview' is an excerpt from Christopher Silvester's introduction to 'Penguin Book of Interviews'. It explores the multifaceted nature of interviews as a medium of communication, art, and modern journalism. Through excerpts from an interview between Mukund Padmanabhan of The Hindu and the renowned author Umberto Eco, the chapter highlights how interviews can be both a source of truth and an intrusion on privacy. For Punjab (PSEB) Class 12 board exams, this chapter is crucial for testing reading comprehension, short-answer questions based on the text, and thematic understanding of media and literature.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
Nature and Impact of Interviews
Interviews have become a commonplace feature of journalism, with many viewing them with supreme satisfaction and others considering them an unwarranted intrusion into their lives.
Umberto Eco's Interstitial Spaces
Umberto Eco explains his secret to high productivity by utilizing 'interstitial spaces'—the empty pockets of time while waiting or moving between places—to write his academic and literary works.
The Success of The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco's novel 'The Name of the Rose' was a massive, unexpected bestseller dealing with medieval history, which baffled publishers who believed readers only want trash.
V.S. Naipaul and Lewis Carroll's Views
V.S. Naipaul feels that interviews wound people and rob them of a part of themselves, while Lewis Carroll had a horror of the interviewer and successfully avoided them.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In the Punjab (PSEB) Class 12 English board exams, this chapter typically carries around 3 to 6 marks. Common question types include short answer questions from the text, character traits of Umberto Eco, and questions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of interviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do some celebrities despise being interviewed?
Celebrities like V.S. Naipaul and Rudyard Kipling felt that interviews are an unwarranted intrusion into their personal lives and leave them wounded or robbed of their privacy.
What is Umberto Eco's theory of 'interstitial spaces'?
Eco believes that empty spaces in our daily routine—like waiting for someone or riding an elevator—provide valuable time that he utilizes to write his scholarly articles and books.
How did Umberto Eco manage to write so many scholarly articles alongside novels?
Eco pursued multiple academic and literary interests simultaneously, channeling his diverse passions into his work without separating his academic writings from his fictional novels.
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