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The Interview
- Christopher Sylvester
Introduction:
The Interview is an excerpt from Christopher Sylvester's introduction to the
Penguin book of interviews, an anthology from 1859 to the present day. The
chapter brings out the utility of interview as a medium of communication. The
chapter as it appears in this textbook has 2 parts. The first part comprises
different people's views about interviews and the second part reproduces an
actual interview of Umberto Eco taken by Mukund Padmanabhan from The
Hindu.
summary (part 1)
Interview – a genre that has a history of over 130 years - evokes different
responses in different minds regarding its uses, modes and manners. Till date
thousands of celebrities have been interviewed. Every literate person is familiar
with it and many view it as an art that brings out the real truth helping one to get
a perfect inside of the personality of the interviewee.
Many celebrities detest (dislike) the interview and see it as an encroachment on
their privacy and an act that depreciates (lose value) them. V.S Naipaul is of the
view that interview has an injuring effect and during its course one loses a part of
oneself. Lewis Carroll, the author of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was another celebrity
who shunned interviews for the fear of being projected as larger than life. His
vehement (strong) refusal for interviews led him in keeping his fans,
acquaintances (familiar and known people) and interviewers at an arm's length.
This gave him a great satisfaction as well as amusement. later on, he would
narrate such experiences with great relish.
Rudyard Kipling also viewed interview as something derogatory (having low
opinion) and always refused to grant one. However, he himself had once
interviewed Mark Twain. Kipling neither held the interviewer in good esteem
(respect) nor did he considered it to be respectable for the interviewee. His wife
quotes him condemning it as ‘immoral’ ‘an offence’ ‘a crime’ and ‘something vile
(unpleasant) and cowardly’. He even felt that the whole process merited
(deserved) punishment.
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Though Saul Bellow saw interview as an ordeal (unpleasant experience). He was

interviewed several times and he himself conducted Joseph Stalin interview. He
felt suffocated by interviews and viewed them as ‘thumb prints on his windpipe’.
In spite of its demerits interview is a very good medium of communication. Denis
Brian described interview as an expressive medium which gives the interviewer a
very momentous (of great importance and singnificance) position.
Part 2
The second part of the chapter is an excerpt from an interview of Professor
Umberto Eco who apart from being an authority on semiotics ( the study of signs)
is a renowned (famous) and brilliant scholar from the University of Bologna, Italy.
An author of wide-ranging literature comprising fiction, academic texts, essays,
children's books and newspaper articles, he stormed the world with his novel ‘The
Name of the Rose’ which sold more than 10 million copies.
interviewed by Mukund Padmanabhan from The Hindu Umberto Eco very humbly
spell the secret behind his varied and staggeringly voluminous works. When
Mukund asks for Eco’s response to David lodge’s (an English novelist) remark that
how one man can do all the things that Umberto Eco did, Eco brushes aside the
compliment. He very modestly says that it was a fallacious (based on a false idea)
impression about him. He reveals that his works are in fact repetition of the same
philosophical ideas expressed via different genres. Next he elaborates how he
utilizes even the briefest gaps between two different pieces of work that result in
his producing unimaginably large amount of scholarly pieces. He calls these gaps
‘interstices’. Working during these interstices make him work wonders.
Mukund, then asks about his inimitable and playful style which is the poles apart
from the dull and drab style that the Scholars adopt for writing academic works.
In his answer to this question that if this informal narrative style comes to him
spontaneously or is a result of conscious effort, Eco tells Mukund how he learnt
this secret at the age of 22. When he submitted his first doctoral dissertation his
professor was impressed with the interesting story of his research which rather
than just enlisting the conclusions included all his trials and errors that helped him
reach the completion of his thesis. By way of complimenting him, the professor
got his research work published as a book. That clinched (finally get or win
something) the issue of the style. Since then Umberto says, he never deviated
from this narrative style which eventually made him a novelist quite late at the
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age of 50. Roland Barthes, an essayist friend of Umberto Eco died a frustrated
man with the unfulfilled wish of becoming a creative writer. Umberto says, he
never had this frustration as even his research work had the creative flavor.
Novel writing came to Eco accidentally. Having nothing to do one day he started
trying his hand at novel writing and stormed the world with ‘The Name of the
Rose’ a detective novel which despite delving into metaphysics, theology and
medieval history, drew millions of readers.
Most people know Eco as a novelist but it does not please him as he identifies
himself with the academic community and he enjoys attending academic
conferences rather than attending meetings of pen clubs and writers. However,
fiction draws him an audience that is scholarly works can never draw. Umberto
has only 5 novels to his credit and over 40 non- fictional works. On being asked if
the tumultuous success of ‘The Name of the Rose’ surprised him. Umberto Eco
friendly says that it did not puzzle him much but it was far beyond the
expectations of the journalists and publishers as they had never imagined that so
many people could be drawn to serious reading. Umberto, however, has his own
logic. He feels that just as he himself turns to light television programs like ‘Miami
vice’ and ‘Emergency Room’ after dinner, everybody likes brief spells of light
reading every now and then. As such serious reading also interests the readers.
The pre- medieval period that his book deals with could also have been
instrumental in giving it a huge success. Umberto, however, feels its success is a
mystery. Had it been published a decade earlier or later it might not have seen
such as encouraging response.

Theme
The chapter is a reflection on both the commendable and the condemnatory
aspects of the interview. Apart from being a record of varied views on this genre
the chapter also contains an excerpt from an interview with the scholarly
celebrity. The thematic concern of the writer thus remains to engage the reader
on interview as an art which he tries to elucidate (make clear) with excerpt of an
actual interview.

Textual questions
Q:1 What are the some of the positive views on interviews ?
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Ans: Interview is a genre that became a common place of journalism within 13 to

14 decades of its invention. It is an art that brings out true and vivid delineation
(description) of interviewee. it is an extremely useful medium of communication.

Q: 2 Why do most celebrity despise (dislike) being interviewed ?

Ans: Most of the celebrities shuns (leaves) interviews as they believe that
interviews leave a disparaging (belittle the value) effect on their personalities.
They also consider them to be an encroachment on their privacy. Writers like V.S.
Naipaul feel being wounded by interviews and losing a part of themselves.
Rudyard Kipling condemns (criticizes) them an immoral, an offence, a crime and
something vile (extremely unpleasant) and cowardly. Saul Bellow feels a sense of
suffocation during the course of interviews.
Q:3 What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed ?
Ans: Some primitive cultures view photography with a great sense of
apprehension (fear). They do not like to get themselves photographed as they
have a fallacious (wrong) belief that it would rob them of their very soul.
Q: 4 What do you understand by the expression ‘thumbprints on his windpipe’?
Ans: Saul bellow compares interview with ‘thumbprints on the windpipe’. It is an
expression which reveals how uneasy and suffocated the celebrity felt during the
course of an interview. The interviewee fees as though the pressure is being
exerted on his windpipe ( throat ) by the interviewer as if he is being strangulated
( feel suffocation due to pressing of throat).
Q:5 Who, in today's world is our chief source of information about personalities
?
Ans : Ever since the invention of interview, the medium of communication has
been our chief source of information about great personalities and celebrities.
What biographies and auto-biographies reveal in long and voluminous books,
interviews convey in far lesser time and with far greater vividness (clarity).
Q:6 Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your
opinion.
Ans: Any celebrity having a dislike for interviews would not answer the questions
of the interviewer in a spirited manner in which Eco answered the questions
posed by Mukund Padmanabhan. Eco’s readiness to answer all questions
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humbly, truthfully. Sincerely, patiently and in great detail shows that he likes
being interviewed and does not mind sharing his experiences with the world.
Q:7 How does Eco find the time to write so much ?
Ans: Eco believes in catching time by the forelock. He takes care of the minutes
and his hours take care of themselves. The ‘interstices’ i.e. the gap or space
between any two pieces of work which is usually ignored by most of us, are well
utilised by him. Hence, he finds time to write so much.
Q:8 How is Umberto Eco style of writing non fictional scholarly work different
from the regular academic style?
Or
what is distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style?
Ans: Regular academic style is depersonalized, dull, drab and boring. In contrast,
Umberto Eco has an absolutely informal, playful style with the narrative aspect.
He tells the story of his research with all trials and errors. This gives his research
work the quality of creative writing. It makes an informative as well as an
interesting piece to read.
Q:9 Did Umberto Eco like to be identified as a novelist ? Support your answer.
Or
Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist or an academic scholar?
Ans: Though as compared to his scholarly works, Umberto Eco’s fiction made him
reach a much larger audience, the professor referred as being referred to as an
academic scholar. He participates in academic conferences not in writers’
meetings. He identifies himself more with the academic community and turns to
fiction only when he is not pursuing some scholarly work.
Q:10 What is the reason for the huge success of the novel ‘The Name of the
Rose’?
Ans: The reason behind the success of ‘The Name of the Rose’ cannot be
pinpointed as Umberto Eco himself calls its success a mystery. Probably this
detective story, delving into (do detailed research) metaphysics (he area of
philosophy that deals with the nature of existence, truth and knowledge),
theology (religion) and medieval history interested the readers as it was written
at the most appropriated time appropriate time when the readers both
understood and enjoyed it in spite of it being on a difficult subject.
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Additional questions
Q:1 Why do people's views on interviews different from those of that
celebrities?
Ans: Most people find interview to be a convenient medium of communication as
it lays bare (open) the innermost thought of the celebrity very truthfully and
sincerely. It also leaves a vivid impression on one's mind. However, some
celebrities detest (dislike) it as it is an ordeal for them and it encroaches upon
their privacy.
Q:2 What grudge (complain) did Lewis Carroll have against interview ?
Ans: Having a morbid horror of interviews and the interviewers Lewis Carroll
never consented to grant one. He hated to be treated as a celebrity and he felt a
great satisfaction and amusement on succeeding in evading (escape or avoid by
trick) interviewers and autograph – seekers.
Q:3 what was odd about Rudyard Kipling interviewing Mark Twain?
Ans: Rudyard Kipling had a very condemnatory (criticizing )attitude towards
interviews and interviewers. He considered it to be ‘immoral, ‘a crime’, ‘an
assault’ on the interviewee, yet, ironically, he himself had interviewed Mark
Twain a few years back.
Q:4 What are the drawbacks of an interview ?
Ans: Interview is an encroachment upon individual’s privacy. Most of the times it
is an ordeal for the celebrity. At times it is condemned for its diminishing effect; at
times it is dreaded (to be afraid of) because it ‘lionizes’ (giving lot of attention
and treating as a celebrity) the subject. Sometimes it ‘wounds’ or at other times
it robs one of a part of oneself.
Q: 5 Why is interview a supremely serviceable medium of communication
despite its drawbacks ?
Ans: Despite all its drawbacks interview is a serviceable medium of
communication as it gives a peep into the mind of a celebrity. The revelations
made through this medium are truthful, sincere and vivid and they help us to
understand the working of a creative mind.
Q:6 What are the Denis Brian’s views about interviews and the interviewers?
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Ans: Denis Brian defines interview as a medium that leaves behind the most vivid
impression about the celebrity being interviewed. He holds the interviewer in
high esteem as he sees him holding a position of great power and influence.
Q:7 Umberto Eco’s staggeringly large and wide-ranging work puzzles everybody.
What does the scholar have to say about it ?
Ans: Very modestly, Umberto Eco says that it is a fallacious (false) impression that
he does many things. In fact he has a few philosophical ideas and he keeps on
pursuing the same ones in different works. However, he shares the secret of
accomplishing (completing something successfully) so much of work by revealing
that he utilizes time gaps between different pieces of work.
Q:8 What does Umberto Eco mean by ‘interstices’
Ans: The dictionary meaning of ‘interstices’ is a ‘crevice’ or a ‘crack’ or a ‘gap’. By
‘interstices’ Umberto Eco means removing all empty spaces to make the universe
and our lives very compact. It can be done by utilising every moment including
the ones that we waste in between two different pieces of work, to lend intensity
to our lives.
Q:9 How does Umberto Eco utilizes interstices ?
Ans: Umberto Eco uses ‘interstices’ to plan and sketch out whatever work he is to
take up next. This helps him to do a lot of work within the same time giving the
impression of being a prolific (doing a lot) person.
Q:10 Bring about Umberto Eco humility and modesty as evident in ‘the
interview’.
Ans: In spite of the unparalleled intellectual Stardom that Umberto Eco acquired,
he talks about his achievements in all modesty (with humbleness). He attributes
(gives credit to) the spectacular fame of ‘The Name of the Rose’ to people's
capability of appreciating difficult reading experiences. With regards to his ability
to do so many things, he feels that it is a fallacious impression. In fact, he clarifies
that he is always pursuing same philosophic and ethical (moral) ideas but in
different works and forms that gives the impression of variance.
Q:11 How did Umberto Eco get to adopt an informal approach and a playful
personal style in writing scholarly work ?
Ans: While presenting his first Doctoral Dissertation Eco also gave along the entire
story of his research including all his trials and errors. One of his professors not
only approved of this style but also published the dissertation as a book. This
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encouraged the then 22 years old young Umberto Eco and thus he stuck to this
style even after.
Q:12 Why did Roland Barthes a dear friend of Umberto Eco die a frustrated
man? Why did Umberto Eco never feel that frustration ?
Ans: Roland Barthes was an essayist. His scholarly essays did not satisfy him fully.
He yearned (desired) to do some creative writing. Unfortunately, he died before
tasting success as a creative writer of fiction. Umberto Eco, on the other hand,
had no such problem as his scholarly work also had a narrative aspect. This never
lets him experience any frustration about creativity even when not writing fiction.
Q:13 Explain: ‘ I started writing novels by accident’.
Ans : Umberto Eco basically an academic scholar produced ‘staggeringly large and
wide-ranging’ scholarly works and till the age of 50 he did not have even a single
novel to his credit. One day having nothing to do, he started writing a novel. Thus,
he took to novel writing accidentally.
Q: 14 How did Umberto Eco become spectacularly famous ?
Ans: Umberto Eco had a good reputation for himself in the field of semiotics (the
study of signs). The scholarly works that he produced were ‘staggeringly large and
wide-ranging’. However, his spectacular fame came to him with his novel ‘The
Name of the Rose’ which stormed the world and sold more than 10 million copies.
Q:15 Why did the spectacular success of ‘The Name of the Rose’ puzzle the
journals and the publishers?
Ans: ‘The Name of the Rose’ in spite of being a detective story delve into
metaphysics, theology and medieval history. The journalists and publishers did
not have much faith in people's capacity for appreciating such a difficult reading
experience. Hence, they did not expect a very encouraging response to the book.
Q: 16 How do Umberto Eco idea about people’s taste for reading differ From
that of the journalist ?
Ans: The journalists believe that people like trash and they shirk difficult reading
experiences. Umberto Eco’s views about readers differ as he believes that the one
might be drawn towards fresh now and then, one does not always look for easy
reading experiences. At times, books with serious themes are also enjoyed by the
readers.
Q:17 What sort of television programmes does Umberto Eco watch after dinner
and why?
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Ans: After dinner Umberto Eco watches light television programs that do not tax
(strain) his mind. Wishing to relax after a hard day’s work he watches either
‘Miami vice’ or ‘Emergency Room’. However, such programs do not catch his
interest all the time so he devotes his day hours to serious work.
Long questions
Q:1 Are the different celebrities in 'The Interview' justified in condemning
interviews?
Ans: Celebrities like V.S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Saul bellow and H
G Wells have expressed strong dislike for the interviews. They go to the extent of
calling them 'immoral ' 'a crime' 'an assault' and the like. There is no denying the
fact that the interviews in some way encroach upon their privacy and at times
project them to be shorter than their stature and at other times lionize them. In
spite of these drawbacks there is no justification in condemning (it is not right to
criticize) interviews outright. After all interviews give us an insight into the
personalities of the celebrities. They bring out truth and they inspire the masses
(public). The fan- following of the celebrities gets pleasure and satisfaction in
having a glimpse of their heroes' inner selves from such close quarters. Interviews
leave behind indelible (which cannot be deleted) and vivid (clear) Impressions
and they are undoubtedly 'a supremely serviceable medium of communication'.
Hence, they do not deserve to be condemned altogether.
Q:2 Give a pen- portrait of Umberto Eco on the basis of chapter 'The interview'.
Ans: Umberto Eco is a professor at the University of Bologna in Italy, who apart
from being an authority on semiotics (the study of signs ) is a reputed novelist. His
scholarly works comprise academic texts, essays, children's books and
newspapers articles. The range and volume of his written output is mind -
boggling. In spite of having achieved such intellectual stardom, Eco is a very
humble and modest scholar. Far from boasting and bragging about his
achievements, he brushes aside compliments and makes himself look very
ordinary. He shares his experiences with others readily and talks about the
utilisation of the 'interstices' as the secret of his success. Eco's arguments are very
logical and a subtle wit and playfulness is evident in his conversation all through. 'I
am a professor who writes novels on Sundays' and 'I give impression of doing
many things' are good examples of his spirited style.
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Q: 3 Though Eco identified himself with the academic community, his taste for
narration was there right from the beginning and it sustained itself throughout.
Comment.
Ans: Despite getting spectacular fame as a novelist Eco always associated himself
with academic community. His non- fictional work occupied him for the first 50
years of his life. However, right from the beginning his taste for the narrative was
evident even in his scholarly writings. When he submitted his first Doctoral
Dissertation, his professor was impressed with his playful and personal style
which was far from dull, drab and depersonalized and traditional manner of
writing research. The narrative aspect of his dissertation was complemented
(praised) and it was published too. Ever since that time Eco sustained his style
and told the details of the story of his research in his essays too. He used this style
for the first time in a novel that he wrote at the age of 50. This novel 'The Name
of the Rose' stormed the world and to the utter surprise of the publishers and
journalists, drew mass audience. His engrossing narration thus grew from his
initial scholarly pursuits and made way to his fictional works, too.
Q: 4 How far does Mukund Padmanabhan impress you as an interviewer ? Do
you consider his interview with Umberto Eco a success?
Ans: Padmanabhan's interview with Umberto Eco gives evidence of his
capabilities as a successful interviewer. Neither does he encroach upon Eco's
privacy and embarrass him with personal questions nor does he stand between
the celebrity and the readers. He poses brief, well-worded and suggestive
questions which draw out responses that all fans had wanted to know. With every
question the interviewer withdraws to the background leaving the interviewee in
the limelight. The questions posed by him cover all those aspects of Eco's work
and personality that interest his readers. Every question draws out and elaborate
answer which, apart from being informative is also very inspirational. Nowhere
does the interviewer appear to be an ordeal for the interviewee. It is short, crisp
and sounds very informal - qualities that make Mukund an impressive
interviewer.
Q: 5 What idea do you form about 'The Name of the Rose' from the chapter
'The interview' ?
Ans : It was Umberto Eco's taste for the narrative that made this academic scholar
produce a fictional work. 'The Name of the Rose' when he was over 50. Based on
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a detective plot, it delves into metaphysics, theology and medieval history which
obviously makes it a difficult reading experience. Hence, when Eco took the book
to the publisher, she liked it but she did not expect to find much favour with the
readers. So initially Eco was given an advance for 3000 copies only. But once the
book was out, it stormed the literary world and surprised everyone. Though,
somewhat a heavy reading experience, the book attracted mass audience and Eco
came to be known all over the world as a novelist rather than an academic
scholar. Although Eco is more comfortable with the identity as a scholar but it was
this book that connected him to a much larger audience.