The Eyes Have It writer Ruskin Bond brief questions and answers for Class XII

1. "She would forget our brief encounter" – Who said this and about to whom? What is the 'brief encounter' referred to here? Why did the speaker think so?                                                1+1+2+2

Ans. In Ruskin Bond’s short story, ‘The Eyes Have It’ the narrator said this to the girl who got off at Saharanpur.

          In the time of train journey the narrator met a girl in his compartment. He liked the sound of her voice and became interested in her. They were talking freely. While they were in the middle of their conversation he praised her face by saying that she had an ‘interesting face’. Thus the train arrived the girl’s destination. Their conversation was called the brief encounter.

      Although the narrator had fascination for the girl, he did not know how the girl would look upon their brief encounter. The narrator was prepared to accompany her for long time. The girl was pleased that it was a short journey. So the narrator thought the girl would forget their brief encounter as soon as she would get down.

2. "Few girls can resist flattery.’ Who made this observation? What was the flattery? Comment on the generalized observation. 7+2+3
Or—“You have an interesting face.”—Who said this and to whom did she/he say? How did the person spoken to react? How did the speaker mend his/her comment?

Ans. In Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ the narrator made this observation. He tried to flatter the girl who attended him as a co-passenger from Rohana.

The narrator remarked that the girl had an interesting face. This very saying seemed to be a flattery.

         The narrator was travelling in a solitary train compartment to Dehra and then Mussoorie. At Rohana a girl got in. The narrator started conversation with the girl. In middle of conversation the narrator suddenly praised the girl for her interesting face. As he was blind, he had no chance of knowing her looks. But he dared to flatter the girl as he thought almost every girl likes flattery. The girl did so with a clear, ringing laugh.

2. "I'm tired of people telling me I have a pretty face." Who said this, to whom and when? What did the reply?

Ans. From the short story, ‘The Eyes Have It’ we come to know that the girl said this to the narrator.

         In the time of the conversation with the girl, the narrator praised the girls interesting face. The girl accepted his appreciation with a clear, ringing laugh. She told him that she was tired of hearing that she had a pretty face. Knowing that the girl had a pretty face the narrator immediately replied that an interesting face could also be pretty. The girl said that he as a very gallant young man. The narrator tried to laugh for the girl because he always maintained a grave mood. The girl liked his promptness.

3. “The thought of laughter only made me feel troubled and lone.” –Who experienced so ? What does this statement suggest about the character ?

Ans.   2   +   But the thought made him uneasy. Perhaps the pain of blindness made him such a lonely, troubled and serious man.

·         “Didn’t you notice?” –Who said this and to whom? What was the context?
·         Or—“She had beautiful eyes, but they were of no use to her” –Who said this and to whom? Whose eyes are mentioned here? Why were the eyes useless to her? Bring out the irony of the situation.

Ans. In the short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ the new passenger said this to the narrator.

          Here the eyes of the girl are mentioned.

         The narrator asked the new passenger about the hairstyle of the girl. The new passenger said that he had not noticed her hairstyle but he had only noticed the eyes of the girl. She had beautiful eyes-but they were of no use to her. She was completely blind.

The narrator thought that she had a normal eyesight. So he wanted to conceal his blindness in every possible way. But at the end of the story the narrator came to know from the new passenger that the girl was completely blind. It was the irony situation of the story moves from deception to discovery.

·         “The man who had entered the compartment broke into me reverie.” –Whose reverie is mentioned here? What was the reverie about? How did it come to an end?

Ans. In the short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ we come to know that the narrator’s reverie is mentioned here.

         The word ‘reverie’ means daydream. Here reverie could be concerned with the narrator’s lingering over the brief encounter with the girl who had just departed from the train. The narrator enjoyed the brief conversation with her.

         The reverie came to an end as the new passenger entered the compartment and apologized for not being so attractive a travelling companion as the girl.