The Interview
By - Christopher Silvester
By - Christopher Silvester
The chapter “The Interview”, written by Christopher Silvester, is an insightful exploration of the nature, purpose, and perception of interviews in the modern world. It is taken from "The Penguin Book of Interviews". The text not only presents the history and evolution of interviews but also highlights the differing opinions of writers and intellectuals regarding this practice. Silvester begins by describing how interviews have become an inseparable part of journalism over the last 130 years. In contemporary times, they are seen as a major source of truth, information, and first-hand experience. For the common public, interviews are an exciting way to connect directly with famous personalities. However, he also emphasizes that, although interviews are now considered an essential means of communication, they have not always been viewed positively.
The essay discusses the criticism faced by interviews. Many celebrated writers and thinkers have regarded them as an intrusion into personal lives. Some felt that interviews diminish a person’s originality or distort their true image. For example, writers like V. S. Naipaul and Lewis Carroll expressed strong dislike towards interviews. Carroll even referred to the practice as “a horrible invention of the modern age.” H. G. Wells considered interviewing an ordeal that left him feeling exploited. Thus, the text highlights the tension between the interviewer’s attempt to extract truth and the interviewee’s sense of being exposed or misrepresented.
Despite such criticism, Silvester stresses that interviews hold immense significance. They offer authentic material for biographies, provide valuable insights into personalities, and reveal dimensions that otherwise remain hidden. Through interviews, readers can witness the ideas, emotions, and struggles of great figures in their own words. The essay asserts that interviews often become a “transparent medium,” through which readers can access reality without filters.
The chapter further includes an extract from an interview with the famous writer "Umberto Eco", conducted by Mukund Padmanabhan of 'The Hindu'. This extract provides a practical example of how interviews function as a tool to explore a writer’s mind. Eco, best known for his novel "The Name of the Rose", shares his views on his work, his approach to writing, and the relationship between his scholarly and creative pursuits.
Eco explains that he does not consider himself a novelist in the traditional sense. He sees writing fiction as a secondary activity compared to his work in semiotics and philosophy. However, his novel gained him immense recognition. He mentions that his writing often emerges from philosophical ideas, and his fiction is deeply interlinked with his academic interests. Eco also reveals how he manages time by utilizing “empty spaces” in his daily routine, suggesting that time management, rather than abundance of free time, enables him to be productive.
Through this interview, readers gain insight into Eco’s personality, his humor, and his intellectual discipline. It highlights the power of interviews to reveal unique perspectives that may never appear in formal writings.
In conclusion, the chapter presents a balanced picture of interviews: while they can be invasive and uncomfortable, they are also a powerful medium to access truth, understand human nature, and preserve the thoughts of great minds. Silvester successfully portrays the interview as both a challenge and a gift of modern journalism, leaving readers to reflect on its dual role in society.
अध्याय “द इंटरव्यू”, क्रिस्टोफ़र सिल्वेस्टर द्वारा लिखा गया है, आधुनिक समय में इंटरव्यू की प्रकृति, उद्देश्य और लोगों की धारणाओं की व्याख्या करता है। यह पाठ "द पेंगुइन बुक ऑफ इंटरव्यूज" से लिया गया है। लेखक केवल इंटरव्यू के इतिहास और विकास पर ही नहीं रोशनी डालते, बल्कि यह भी बताते हैं कि विभिन्न लेखक और विचारक इसे किस दृष्टिकोण से देखते हैं।
सिल्वेस्टर बताते हैं कि पिछले 130 वर्षों में इंटरव्यू पत्रकारिता का अभिन्न हिस्सा बन गया है। आज के समय में इसे सत्य और जानकारी का महत्वपूर्ण स्रोत माना जाता है। आम जनता के लिए, इंटरव्यू एक ऐसा माध्यम है जिससे वे प्रसिद्ध हस्तियों से सीधे जुड़ सकते हैं। लेकिन लेखक यह भी बताते हैं कि इंटरव्यू को हमेशा सकारात्मक दृष्टि से नहीं देखा गया।
कई महान लेखक और विचारक इसे निजी जीवन में हस्तक्षेप मानते थे। उन्होंने महसूस किया कि इंटरव्यू व्यक्ति की वास्तविकता को कम कर देता है या उसका असली रूप प्रस्तुत नहीं करता। उदाहरण के लिए, लेखक वी. एस. नायपाल और लुईस कैरोल ने इंटरव्यू से घृणा जताई। कैरोल ने इसे “आधुनिक युग की एक भयानक खोज” कहा। एच. जी. वेल्स ने इसे एक ऐसा कार्य माना, जो उन्हें शोषित महसूस कराता था। इस तरह, अध्याय इंटरव्यू के दो पहलुओं को दर्शाता है: साक्षात्कारकर्ता की सच्चाई निकालने की कोशिश और साक्षात्कारकर्ता की असहजता।
सिल्वेस्टर के अनुसार, इंटरव्यू का महत्व बहुत बड़ा है। यह जीवनी लेखन के लिए प्रामाणिक सामग्री प्रदान करता है, व्यक्तित्व की गहरी समझ देता है और उन पहलुओं को उजागर करता है जो अन्यथा छिपे रहते हैं। इंटरव्यू के माध्यम से पाठक महान व्यक्तियों के विचारों और भावनाओं को उनके अपने शब्दों में जान सकते हैं।
अध्याय में प्रसिद्ध लेखक "अम्बर्टो इको " के एक साक्षात्कार का उदाहरण भी शामिल है, जिसे 'द हिन्दू' के मुकुंद पद्मनाभन ने लिया। इसमें इको अपने लेखन, दृष्टिकोण और दार्शनिक विचारों के बारे में बताते हैं। वे अपने आप को पारंपरिक उपन्यासकार नहीं मानते और फिक्शन लेखन को अपने शैक्षणिक कार्यों के बाद की गतिविधि मानते हैं। उनका कहना है कि उनके उपन्यास अक्सर दार्शनिक विचारों से जन्म लेते हैं और उनका लेखन और अकादमिक कार्य आपस में जुड़े हुए हैं।
इसके अलावा, इको यह भी बताते हैं कि वे अपने समय का उपयोग “खाली जगहों” के माध्यम से करते हैं, जो उनके उत्पादक होने में मदद करती हैं। इस साक्षात्कार के माध्यम से पाठक इको के व्यक्तित्व, हास्य और बौद्धिक अनुशासन को समझ सकते हैं।
अंत में, अध्याय इंटरव्यू के दोहरे पहलू को दिखाता है: यह कभी-कभी असहज और हस्तक्षेपकारी हो सकता है, लेकिन यह सच्चाई जानने, मानव स्वभाव को समझने और महान व्यक्तियों के विचारों को संरक्षित करने का एक शक्तिशाली माध्यम है। सिल्वेस्टर ने इंटरव्यू को आधुनिक पत्रकारिता का एक चुनौतीपूर्ण और मूल्यवान उपहार बताया है।
1. Who wrote the chapter “The Interview”?
a) Christopher Silvester ✔️
b) Umberto Eco
c) V.S. Naipaul
d) Mukund Padmanabhan
2. From which book is the chapter “The Interview” taken?
a) The Hindu
b) The Penguin Book of Interviews ✔️
c) The Times Magazine
d) The Name of the Rose
3. Since how many years has the interview become a common feature of journalism?
a) 50 years
b) 80 years
c) 130 years ✔️
d) 200 years
4. Which writer called the interview “an unwarranted intrusion into a person’s life”?
a) Rudyard Kipling
b) Lewis Carroll ✔️
c) H. G. Wells
d) Umberto Eco
5. Who considered interviews to be “a horrible invention of modern times”?
a) Lewis Carroll ✔️
b) V. S. Naipaul
c) H. G. Wells
d) James Joyce
6. Which Indian journalist interviewed Umberto Eco in the chapter?
a) Arun Shourie
b) Mukund Padmanabhan ✔️
c) Khushwant Singh
d) R. K. Narayan
7. What is Umberto Eco’s most famous novel?
a) The Alchemist
b) The Guide
c) The Name of the Rose ✔️
d) Pride and Prejudice
8. What field did Umberto Eco mainly work in apart from writing novels?
a) Physics
b) Semiotics ✔️
c) Astronomy
d) Psychology
9. According to Eco, how does he manage to write despite a busy schedule?
a) By working at night
b) By hiring assistants
c) By utilizing empty spaces of time ✔️
d) By ignoring academic work
10. What is the central idea of the chapter “The Interview”?
a) Interviews are always harmful
b) Interviews are only for celebrities
c) Interviews are both a source of truth and an intrusion ✔️
d) Interviews are unnecessary in journalism
Q.1 What are some of the positive views on interviews ?
Ans : In the 130 years of its existence, Interview has become a commonplace of journalism. It is useful means of communication, a source of truth and an art. Denis Brian has told that in today's world we get to know "our contemporaries" through their interviews.
Q.2 Why do most celebrity writers despises being interviewed ?
Ans : In the chapter "The Interview" most celebrity writers despise being interviewed because they consider it as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives and they feel that it somehow diminishes them.
Q.3 What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed ?
Ans : Some primitive cultures believed that if one takes photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person's soul.
Q.4 What do you understand by the expression "thumbprints on his windpipe ?
Ans : Thumbprints on his windpipe means to choke somebody by applying pressure on his throat. Saul bellow uses this expression to refer to the pressure felt by a celebrity while giving an interview.
Q.5 Who in today's world, is our chief source of information about personalities ?
Ans : In today's world, interview is our chief source of information about personalities because it provides us with the best possible information on the interviewees.
Q.6 Who is Umberto Eco ?
Ans : Umberto Eco is a professor at the university of Bologna in Italy. A great scholar. He writes novels on sunday. He is known for his ideas on semiotics ( the study of signs) literary interpretation ans medieval aesthetics before he turned to writing fiction, children's book, articles etc.
Q.1 Give the character sketch of Umberto Eco.
Ans : Introduction : The present question has been taken from the chapter "The Interview" written by Christopher Silvester. It is taken from the introduction to the penguin book of interviews.
Character sketch of Umberto Eco :
1 Umberto Eco is a professor at the university of Bologna in Italy.
2 He is a great scholar.
3 is known for his ideas on semiotics ( the study of signs ) literary interpretation before he turned to writing fiction, literary fiction, children's book, essays, academic texts, newspaper articles etc.
4 Umberto Eco wishes to bring slight change in the world by imparting knowledge through his scholarly works and novels.
5 During the interview, he explained that the empty spaces available to us throughout our day can be used by people to do some work.
6 He used an example from his life, where he had said that if he waits for lift of someone, he utilizes that time and writes an article in that amount of time.
7 He wants to get recognized as an scholar who writes novels on sundays and not as a novelist.
8 Umberto Eco is polite since he answered all the questions with utmost honesty and patience. The conversation reveals that he was interested in the interview.
9 Umberto Eco's academic writing style is narrative.
10 He wrote a novel "The Name of the Rose" which is a very serious novel. The novel has sold between 10 to 15 million copies.