The Eyes Have It
(L.A.Q)
1.“Can you tell me-did she keep her hair long or short?”- Who is the speaker? To whom he is speaking? Who is being referred to? Where did the person referred to get down? What was the answer the speaker received in context to his question? [ 1+1+1+1+2=6] [H.S.-2023]
Ans. The narrator in Ruskin Bond's short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ is the speaker of the above quoted line.
The narrator was speaking to the new fellow passenger who boarded on the train at Saharanpur.
The girl who was so far the co-passenger of the narrator was referred to here.
The new co-passenger replied in surprise that he could not call up how her hair was; what he noticed was her beautiful eyes. But unfortunate enough, those eyes were of no use to her as she was completely blind.
2. “The girl got up and began to collect her things.” – Who is the girl? When did she get up? Why did she collect her things? What had the speaker thought about the brief encounter he had with the girl? [1+1+1+3=6] [H.S.–2019 & 2022]
Ans. The “girl” in the above quoted extract is the co-passenger of the narrator in Ruskin Bond's short story The Eyes Have It.
The girl got up at the shrieking of the engine's whistles when the carriage wheels changed their sound and rhythm to pace it down near the Saharanpur station.
The girl got up and started collecting her things as she was to get down at Saharanpur station where her aunt would come to receive her.
No sooner had the girl left the train than the speaker started meditating over their brief encounter and thought that the girl would forget this brief meeting once she got down from the train. But the narrator would retain this memory for the rest of the journey and even sometimes after it.
3. “She was an interesting girl.”–Who said this,to whom, and when? What else did the person say? What reply did he get? [3+1+2=6] [H.S.-2018]
Ans. In Ruskin Bond's short story The Eyes Have It, the narrator remarked the above quoted extract to the new co-passenger who boarded on the train at Saharanpur.
The new fellow passenger said that he was not as an attractive travelling companion to him as was the former. In this regard, the narrator said that the girl who was her former co-passenger, was interesting.
The inquisitive narrator then asked the new passenger if the girl had kept her hair long or short.
The new passenger surprisingly replied that he did not notice her hair, what he found striking was her beautiful eyes which are of no use to her as she was completely blind.
4. “Then I made a mistake.” – What mistake did the speaker make? Why was it a mistake? What removed the speaker’s doubts? What did the speaker do then? [1+2+1+2=6] [H.S.–2017,2024]
Ans. The speaker in Ruskin Bond's short story “The Eyes Have It” made the mistake of asking the girl what it was outside.
The speaker considered this act of him a mistake because he was so far pretending to be a man of normal eyesight and tried to hide his blindness. Therefore, such a question is inappropriate for a person with normal eyesight.
When speaker apprehended that this might disclose his blindness to the girl, the girl told him in reply that why he did not look out of the window and see. This dispelled his doubts.
The speaker then moved along the birth and felt for the window ledge and faced the window making a pretence of studying the landscape.
5. “She would forget our brief encounter.” – Who said this about whom? What is the ‘brief encounter’ referred to here? Why did the speaker think so? [2+2+2=6] [H.S.–2016]
Ans. In Ruskin Bond's short story “The Eyes Have It”, the narrator said this about his fellow traveller, the girl who got down at Saharanpur.
On his way to Mussoorie, the narrator came across an “ interesting” girl who boarded the train at Rohana. Both of them had discussed about their respective destinations and expressed their idea that the autumnal beauty of Mussoorie in the month of October is best of all. In their conversation, the boy complimented that girl as “interesting” and in return he was regarded as “gallant” by the girl. But none of them disclosed their blindness to each other.
Human mind is prone to forget trivial things that can hardly make an impression on the mind. These short acquaintances are so common in our life that we can hardly keep those memories for a long time. Therefore, it is quite natural for the girl to forget their brief encounter.
6. “I am tired of people telling me I have a pretty face.”–Who said this,to whom,and when? What did the person reply? [1+1+2+2=6] [H.S. -2015,2020 & 2022]
Ans. The girl who got into the train at Rohana, in Ruskin Bond's short story “The Eyes Have It” said the above quoted line to the narrator of the story who was her Co-passenger.
The narrator, while conversing with the girl, complimented her as “interesting” and the girl was impressed by it as according to the narrator, “few girls can resist flattery”. In this context the girl said the above line as she is frequently complimented as pretty which makes her tired.
Throughout the journey, the narrator in his mind's eye tried to imagine the girl as he was blind. To conceal his blindness, he made a safe compliment to the girl by saying her “interesting”.But when he is confirmed by the girl that she is pretty, the narrator, in reply, said that an interesting face could also be pretty.
7. What were the eyes of the narrator sensitive to? How are blind people different from people with eyesight? Why does the narrator feel that people with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them? [2+2+2=6]
Ans. The eyes of the narrator in Ruskin Bond's short story “The Eyes Have It” were sensitive only to light and darkness as he was totally blind.
According to the narrator, it often happens that people with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them, whereas people either totally blind or partially blind have to take in only the essentials, whatever registers tellingly on their remaining senses, so comparatively they can sense and focus more on things right in front of them or is in vicinity to them.
The narrator said that the people with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them supposedly because they have too much to take in.
8. “She had beautiful eyes. But they were of no use to her” – Whose eyes are referred to here? Why were the eyes ‘of no use’ to her? Explain the irony of the situation. [1+2+3=6]
Ans. In the above quoted remark the eyes of the girl are referred to in Ruskin Bond's short story The Eyes Have It.
Despite possessing two beautiful eyes, the eyes were of no use to the girl because she was totally blind. Therefore those beautiful eyes literally can not capture the beauty.
Throughout the course of the narrator's acquaintance and conversation with the girl, the former deliberately tried to conceal his blindness from the latter. In some moments he was almost about to reveal his blindness but gradually fixed up the situation. The narrator was reluctant to reveal his blindness to the girl and was trying to pursue an engaging conversation. But, towards the end of the story a third passenger came and made the above quoted remark, telling the narrator of the girl's blindness. This heightened the irony of the situation because the narrator pretended not be blind before a girl who herself is blind, but the narrator failed to realise it.
9. What was the destination of the narrator in the story The Eyes Have It? What description of his destination did he give? How could he give such a description despite being blind?[1+ 2+2=6]
Ans. The narrator, in Ruskin Bond's short story “The Eyes Have It” was going to Dehra and then to Mussoorie.
The narrator described the autumnal beauty of the hills that are covered with wild Dahlias. Nature gets delighted with the warmth of the “delicious” sun. Since most tourists left by this time, this renders the road deserted and the landscape is steeped in silence. One can indulge in brandy by sitting beside a log fire and in reflective thoughts.
The narrator, though was totally blind but as he himself said, the blind people had to take in the essentials which registers most tellingly on their remaining senses, therefore with the assistance of his other senses he could visualize the calm grandeur of the October beauty of the hills through his mind's eyes.
10.“Oh, how lucky you are.” Who is the speaker here? Who is “you” referred to? Why is the person spoken to being called “lucky”? [1+1+4=6]
Ans. The girl, the co-passenger of the Narrator in Ruskin Bond's Short story “The Eyes Have It”, is the speaker here.
The ‘you’ referred to here is the narrator whom the girl considered to be “lucky”.
The girl considered the narrator to be lucky because the latter was going to Dehra and then to Mussoorie to enjoy the calm, serene and the wild beauty of nature's splendour in the hills. The narrator would be able to take the delight of the autumnal beauty of the hilly landscape and its meditative mood. Whereas the girl was about to meet her aunt. So, she can not be able to breathe in delight at the beauty of hills. Therefore, she considered the narrator to be “lucky”.
11. “... she thought me a romantic fool” Who might be thought a romantic fool? When and why did the speaker doubt so? [1+2+3=6]
Ans. The narrator in Ruskin Bond's short story “The Eyes Have It” might be thought a “romantic fool”.
While conversing with his fellow passenger, the girl, the narrator vividly described the autumnal beauty of the hilly landscape in the month of October filled with the wild Dahlias, steep in silence and calm solitude. He also described the privilege of enjoying brandy by sitting beside a log fire on a deserted night. His description had an air of romanticism.
But this description leads the girl to be silent for a while. The narrator tried to figure out the cause of her silence. So he thought that the girl might have thought him to be a romantic fool to give such an aesthetic description of nature with such enthusiasm.
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