Updated on 08/06/2026
7. The Interview Part I & II (Christopher Silvester)
Main Points of the chapter:
Part I: Overview of Journalism & Interviewing:
This chapter has been put in two parts. The first part is about the use of interviews in journalism.
Since its invention just over 130 years ago, the interview has become a commonplace journalism technique. Today, almost every literate person has read an interview.
Some call it a punishable crime while others call it the highest source of truth.
It has become an extremely useful medium of communication.
Celebrities often see it as an intrusion into their private lives.
Part II: Interview of Umberto Eco:
The second part gives an extract of the interview Mukund Padmanabhan from ‘The Hindu’ with Umberto Eco, a professor at the University of Bologna, Italy.
In his interview, Mukund tries to tell Eco how he became a successful novelist.
Eco tells Mukund that he became a novelist because he liked narrating things.
Eco is a multi-faceted academician who writes scholarly essays, children’s books, literary criticism, and novels.
He considers himself a university professor first and a novelist on Sundays.
He wrote novels only in his empty spaces as on Sunday.
His novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ is world famous. About 10-15 million copies of it were sold.
It succeeded because it was published at the exact right time, blending metaphysics, theology, and medieval history into a gripping plot.
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
1. Who is the author of the story ‘The Interview’?
Ans. Christopher Silvester
2. What do many people believe about the interview?
Ans. It is a source of truth and it is an art
3. To which field is the interview related?
Ans. To Journalism
4. When was the interview, as a genre, invented?
Ans. About 130 years ago
5. Why do many celebrities hate the interview?
Ans. They think, it is an intrusion in their life
6. What did Rudyard Kipling think an interview to be?
Ans. A crime, an assault and a cowardly act
7. Which leader did HG Wells interview?
Ans. Joseph Stalin
8. Who interviewed Umberto Eco?
Ans. Mukund Padmanabhan
9. What kind of interests does Umberto Eco have?
Ans. Philosophical
10.What is the quality of Umberto Eco’s non-fictional writing?
Ans. Personal and peculiar
11.How many non-fiction books has Umberto Eco written?
Ans. Forty
12.How many novels has Umberto Eco written?
Ans. Five
13.When does Umberto Eco write novels?
Ans. On Sundays
14.What is the name of Umberto Eco’s famous book?
Ans. The Name of the Rose
15.What does Umberto Eco’s book ‘The Name of the Rose’ deal with?
Ans. Metaphysics, Theology and Medieval History
16.Who were puzzled by the success of the book ‘The Name of the Rose’?
Ans. Journalists and publishers
17.Who was Roland Barther?
Ans. A famous French essayist
18. How many copies of Umberto Eco's famous novel were sold globally?
Ans. Between 10 to 15 million copies.
Textual Questions
1. What are some of the positive views on interviews?
Ans. Some people think that it is the best form of journalism . It is the best source to bring the truth out. It is a kind of art. We can have the most vivid impression of a person through an interview.
2. Why do most celebrity writers despise being interviewed?
Ans. Most of them think that it is an unwanted intervision in their lives. They feel that it makes them feel small. Some of them also called it an immortal crime. They think it is a punishable crime.
3. What do you understand by the expression ‘thumbprints on his windpipe’?
Ans. It means to force somebody to act according to his wish. Saul Below was an American writer. He was himself interviewed on many occasions. But he did not like being interviewed. He thought it was an assault on man's privacy.
4. What does the writer say about the importance of the interview?
Ans. He says that the interview leaves the most vivid impressions on our mind. It is a supreme medium of communication. Over the years, many celebrities have been interviewed. They believe that the interview is a source of truth.
5. Who, in today's world, is our chief source of information about personalities?
Ans. In today's world, the interview has become an important part of journalism. The interview is about ideas and views given by famous personalities.
6. What did Lewis Carrol, Kipling and H.G.Wells think about the interview?
Ans. Lewis Carrol never consented to be interviewed. He took it as horror. Rudyard Kipling considered it a crime, an assault and a cowardly act. H.G. Wells took it as an 'interviewing ordeal'. Once he himself interviewed Joseph Stalin, the Russian leader.
7. What does Umberto Eco say about the success of his book 'The Name of the Rose'.
Ans. Umberto Eco says that he loved his novel 'The Name of the Rose'. He says that the success of a book is always a mystery. No one can predict it. The author has given an advance to publish 3000 copies. But in the end, it sold two-three million.
Q. 8 What makes Umberto Eco's academic writing style different from other scholars?
Ans. Traditional academic scholars usually write in a dry, boring, and highly formal manner. In contrast, Umberto Eco adopts an informal, playful, and narrative approach. Even his serious research essays read like a story, incorporating his personal journey and failures, making his non-fiction highly engaging.
Long Answer
1. What are the different views about the interview as a form of communication?
Ans. In today's world, the interview has become an important part of journalism. The interviews are ideas and views given by famous personalities. He says that the interview leaves the most vivid impressions on our mind. It is a supreme medium of communication. Over the years, many celebrities have been interviewed. They believe that the interview is a source of truth. Lewis Carrol never consented to be interviewed. He took it as horror. Rudyard Kipling considered it a crime, an assault and a cowardly act. H.G. Wells took it as an 'interviewing ordeal'. Once he himself interviewed Joseph Stalin, the Russian leader. The interview holds a position of power and influence.
Important Spellings
Christopher Silvester
Journalism (पत्रकारिता)
Intrusion (अवांछित दखल / घुसपैठ)
Immoral (अनैतिक)
Contemporaries (समकालीन लोग)
Thumbprints (अंगूठे के निशान)
Windpipe (श्वास नली)
Umberto Eco (मुख्य चरित्र का नाम)
Mukund Padmanabhan (साक्षात्कारकर्ता का नाम)
Interstices (समय के खाली छोटे अंतराल / अंतराल)
Semiotics (चिह्न विज्ञान / संकेतों का अध्ययन)
Philosophical (दार्शनिक)
Metaphysics (तत्वमीमांसा / दर्शनशास्त्र की शाखा)
Theology (धर्मशास्त्र)
Unprecedented (अभूतपूर्व / जो पहले कभी न हुआ हो)
Roland Barthes (फ्रांसीसी निबंधकार का नाम)
Ordeal (कठिन परीक्षा)
Strangulation (गला घोंटना / दम घुटने का अहसास)
Bologna (इटली की यूनिवर्सिटी का नाम जहां इको प्रोफेसर थे)