SHORT QUESTIONS ON "THE EYES HAVE IT" BY RUSKIN BOND

SHORT QUESTIONS 

ON 

THE EYES HAVE IT 

BY 

RUSKIN BOND

1. Where was this prose published?

 This prose was published in “Contemporary Indian English Stories”.

2. Where does the story start?

 This story starts in a train compartment at Rohana railway station.

3. Who came to see off the blind girl and where?

 A couple, probably the blind girl’s parents came to see off the blind girl at Rohana rail station.

4. Where was the girl going? Who would receive the girl there?

 The girl was going to Saharanpur. Her aunt would receive the girl there.

5. Why were the parents very anxious about the girl?

 The girl was totally blind and she was travelling alone to Saharanpur. So her parents were very anxious about her comfort.

6. What instructions did her mother give to the blind girl?

 Her mother instructed the girl to keep her things at right place, not to lean out of the window and to avoid speaking with strangers. 

7. “They called their goodbyes”—Who called their goodbyes and to whom?

 Probably the girl’s parents called their goodbyes to their blind daughter.

8. Who was the only co-passenger of the girl?

 The blind narrator was the only co-passenger of the girlf.

9. To what was the narrator’s eyes sensitive?

 The narrator’s eyes were sensitive only to light and darkness.

10. How did the narrator come to know that the girl wore slipper?

 The narrator came to know that the girl wore slipper from the way the slippers slapped against the girl’s heel.

11. “Are you going all the way to Dehra?”—Who said this and to whom?

 The blind narrator said this to his only girl co-passenger who was blind.

12. Why did the girl get startled?

 The girl was blind and she did not know if anyone was there in the compartment. But suddenly the narrator asked her destination and it startled the girl.

13. What often happens to the eye sighted people?

 According to the narrator, the eye-sighted man often fails to see what is right in front of them because he or she has too much to see.

14. “I did not see you either”—Who was the speaker? Whom did she not see and why?

 Here the speaker was the blind girl. She did not see her blind companion in the train because the girl was totally blind.

15. Who are formidable creatures according to the narrator?

 Aunts are usually formidable creatures according to the narrator.

16. Where was the narrator going?

 The narrator was going to Dehra and then to Mussoorie.

17. What was the perfect time to visit Mussoorie and why?

 October is the best time to visit Mussoorie because at that time the hills remains covered with wild dahlia, the roads remains deserted and the sun seems pleasant.

18. Which flower tree covers the hill in October?

 In October, the hills remain covered with wild dahlias.

19. “Had she noticed already that I could not see?”—Who is the speaker? Bring out the context?

 Here the speaker was the narrator. When he asked her girl co-passenger about the about side of the train, the girl remained silent to that question. It made the narrator think if the girl had notice what he could not see.

20. How did the narrator pretend to observe the outside of the train?

 He pretended to observe the landscape outside the train facing outside. He also remarked that the trees seemed to be moving and they seemed to be standing still. Then he could hear the panting of engine, rumble of the wheels.

21. “That always happens”—Who is the speaker? What always happens?

 Here in the story “The Eyes Have it”, the speaker is the blind girl.

 When her co-passenger informs her that the trees seem to be moving backward and the train seems to be standing still during their travelling in a train, the girl passenger says the quoted line.

22. “You have an interesting face”—Who made the comment? Who had an interesting face? Was it a safe remark and why? How did the girl react to it?

 Here in the story “The Eyes Have It”, the blind narrator said this.

 His girl co-passenger had an interesting face according to the narrator.

 The narrator thought that it was a safe remark because few girls could resist flattery about her beauty.

 To this comment, the girl laughed clearly and pleasantly in ringing tone and told that it was nice to her to hear such compliment.

23. “Well, an interesting face can also be pretty”—Who said this? Bring out the context.

 Here in the story “The Eyes Have It”, the blind narrator said this to his girl co-passenger.

 The narrator said that the girl had an interesting face but the girl informed him that all said she had a pretty face. For this reason, the narrator said that a face could be both pretty and interesting.

24. Why did the girl passenger call the narrator a gallant young man?

 The girl was stranger to the narrator. But the narrator was flattering on the girl and he also made gallant comment. So, the girl called him a gallant young man.

25. When did the narrator try to laugh? Why did he not able to laugh?

 When the girl co-passenger complimented the narrator by saying that he was a gallant young man, the narrator tried to laugh.

 Then he did not able to laugh because the thought of laughter made him lonely and embarrassed.

26. How was the voice of the girl?

 The voice of the girl had the sparkle of a mountain stream.

27. How long would the girl and the narrator remember the encounter/ meeting?

 According to the narrator, the girl would forget the encounter as soon as she left the train. But the narrator would remember it for the rest of the journey even for some time after the journey.

28. How was the hair of the girl?

 The blind narrator wondered if the girl’s hair was in bun or plaited or it was probably hanging loose over shoulder or it might be cut short.

29. Which sounds could be heard when the train entered the Saharanpur station?

 When the train entered the Saharanpur station, the shouting of vendors and porters could be heard. Then a high-pitched female voice was heard.

30. “Goodbye”—Who said this and to whom and when?

 Here in the story “The Eyes Have It”, the blind girl said this to the blind narrator.

 When the train reached the girl’s destination Saharanpur and before getting off the train, the girl passenger bade the narrator goodbye.

31. What was tantalising the narrator?

 The perfume of the girl’s hair was tantalising the narrator.

32. What lingered where the girl was standing before?

 The perfume of the girl’s hair lingered there where the girl was standing before.

33. Why was there some confusion in the door-way of the train compartment?

 When the blind girl was getting off the compartment, probably she collided with a new passenger who was entering the compartment. So, there was some confusion in the doorway.

34. Why did the new passenger stammer an apology and to whom and why?

 The new passenger stammered an apology to the blind girl because probably both of them collided with each other in the train compartment doorway.

35. “I had a game to play”—Who said this and what was his game to play?

 The narrator said this within his mind. To hide his blindness from others was his game to play.

36. What would be a fascinating game for the narrator?

 Guessing what was going on outside the train would be a fascination for the narrator.

37. Who broke into the narrator’s reverie?

 The new passenger who entered the compartment at Saharanpur station, broke into the narrator’s reverie.

38. “You must be disappointed”—Who said this and to whom and why?

 The new passenger who entered the compartment at Saharanpur station, said this to the narrator because according to the new passenger, being a male passenger, he was not nearly as attractive as the girl who had just left the compartment.

39. What sounded puzzled to the new passenger?

 The narrator asked the new passenger nothing but about the hair of the previous girl co-passenger and it sounded puzzled to the new passenger.

40. How did the new passenger describe the girl’s eyes?

 According to the new passenger, the girl’s eyes were beautiful but they were of no use as she was completely blind.