The Interview By Christopher Silvester [English Core Class 12 CBSE] Flamingo
Summary
TLDRIn this interview, Christopher Sylvester explores the impact of interviews on celebrities and authors, with opinions ranging from invasion of privacy to a credible source of truth. Sylvester also discusses with Umberto Eco his writing process, embracing empty spaces and narrative style, and the unexpected success of 'The Name of the Rose', reflecting on the underestimated intelligence of readers.
Takeaways
- 📰 **Influential History**: Sylvester States has been a significant part of journalism for over 130 years.
- 🎨 **Art vs. Invasion**: Some view interviews as an art form, while others see them as an invasion of privacy.
- 🤔 **Celebrity Concerns**: Celebrities often feel unjustly treated by interviews, which they believe can diminish their dignity.
- 📸 **Primitive Beliefs**: Primitive cultures believe photographs can steal a soul, similarly, some believe interviews can take away a person's essence.
- 📚 **Literary Views**: Various authors like V.S. Naipaul, Louis Carroll, and Rudyard Kipling have expressed negative views about interviews.
- 😴 **Kipling's Aversion**: Rudyard Kipling found interviews repulsive and unpleasant, as noted by his wife, Caroline.
- 📖 **Twain's Irony**: Despite considering interviews a nightmare, Mark Twain gave several, including one to Sylvester.
- 🎭 **Bellows' Suffocation**: Noted playwright and novelist Saul Bellow felt suffocated by interviews.
- 🗣️ **Communication Tool**: Sylvester argues that interviews are a useful method of communication, despite the criticisms.
- 🌟 **Umberto Eco's Expertise**: Umberto Eco is introduced as a formidable scholar with a wide range of expertise.
- 📈 **Eco's Writing Process**: Eco's writing focuses on similar topics and he utilizes 'interstices' or empty spaces to expand his writing.
- 📝 **Unconventional Style**: Eco's writing style differs from mainstream academic writing, favoring a narrative approach over hypotheses or conclusions.
- 📚 **Academic vs. Novelist**: Eco acknowledges the broader reach he has as a novelist despite his academic background.
- 📖 **Readers' Complexity**: Eco believes readers appreciate complex ideas in literature, contrary to the narrow views of publishers and journalists.
- 🤷♂️ **Mystery of Success**: Eco remains puzzled by the success of 'The Name of the Rose', his masterpiece.
Q & A
What is the main perspective of Christopher Sylvester on interviews?
-Christopher Sylvester considers interviews as a useful method of communication despite acknowledging the various views of literary figures who see interviews as invasive or diminishing a person's dignity.
Why do some celebrities and primitive cultures view interviews negatively?
-Some celebrities and primitive cultures view interviews negatively because they believe interviews can be unjust, diminish a person's dignity, or take away the soul of the subject, similar to how a photograph is thought to do in some cultures.
What did V.S. Naipaul believe about interviews?
-V.S. Naipaul believed that interviews hurt the person being interviewed.
Why was Louis Carroll hesitant about giving interviews?
-Louis Carroll was hesitant about giving interviews due to his fear of interviewers and his belief that he would be celebrated unnecessarily.
What was Rudyard Kipling's opinion on interviews?
-Rudyard Kipling found interviews repulsive and unpleasant, as noted by his wife Caroline in her diary when an interviewer ruined their day.
What did Umberto Eco consider his writing to focus on?
-Umberto Eco's writing focused on similar topics, which made his writing process easier according to his own comment.
How does Umberto Eco define 'interstices' in the context of his writing?
-For Umberto Eco, 'interstices' or empty spaces refer to the time between different events, which he used productively to expand his writing output.
What was unique about Umberto Eco's academic writing style?
-Umberto Eco's academic writing style was unique in that he used a narrative approach, telling the story of his research rather than focusing on a hypothesis or a conclusion.
Why did Umberto Eco start writing novels later in life?
-Umberto Eco started writing novels after the age of 50 because he enjoyed using a narrative approach in his essays and only later applied this style to fiction.
How did Umberto Eco feel about being labeled as a novelist despite his academic works?
-Umberto Eco was bothered by the novelist tag despite having written noted academic works, but he acknowledged that he reached a broader audience as a novelist.
What was Umberto Eco's reaction to the success of 'The Name of the Rose'?
-Umberto Eco found the success of 'The Name of the Rose' a mystery and believed that it was publishers and journalists who were surprised by the readers' enjoyment of the complex novel.
What did Umberto Eco think about the readers of 'The Name of the Rose'?
-Umberto Eco believed that readers chose to read 'The Name of the Rose' for a complex reading experience, contrary to the narrow view held by publishers and journalists.
Outlines
🗣️ The Art and Criticism of Interviews
The first paragraph discusses the role of interviews in journalism and the varied perspectives on them. Christopher Sylvester states that interviews have been a part of journalism for over a century and are a common experience for literate individuals. However, opinions differ on interviews, with some considering them an art form and a source of truth, while others, including celebrities, view them as an invasion of privacy. Sylvester quotes literary figures such as V.S. Naipaul, Louis Carroll, and Rudyard Kipling, who express discomfort with interviews, suggesting they can be dehumanizing. Despite these views, Sylvester argues for the utility of interviews as a communication tool. The paragraph ends with Dennis Bryan's comment on the influence of interviewers.
📚 Umberto Eco: A Multifaceted Intellectual
The second paragraph introduces Umberto Eco as a scholar with a wide range of expertise and a diverse literary career spanning academic texts, essays, fiction, newspaper articles, and children's books. Eco gained fame with the publication of 'The Name of the Rose' in 1980. The interview explores his writing process, which focuses on similar topics and utilizes 'interstices' or empty spaces between events to expand his work. Eco's writing style is noted for its narrative approach, differing from traditional academic writing. He began writing novels later in life, at the age of 50. Eco discusses his reception as a novelist versus an academic and his surprise at the broad appeal of 'The Name of the Rose,' which dealt with complex themes. He attributes the novel's success to readers' desire for a rich reading experience, contrary to the narrow views of publishers and journalists.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Interview
💡Literary figures
💡Truth
💡Privacy
💡Umberto Eco
💡Interstices
💡Academic writing
💡Narrative Approach
💡The Name of the Rose
💡Readers
💡Novelist
Highlights
Christopher Sylvester has been a key figure in journalism for over 130 years.
Some people view interviews as an art form and a source of truth, while others see them as an invasion of privacy.
Celebrities often feel that interviews are unjust and diminish their dignity.
V.S. Naipaul, author of 'A House for Mr Biswas', believes interviews hurt the person being interviewed.
Lewis Carroll avoided interviews due to fear and a belief in unnecessary celebration.
Rudyard Kipling found interviews repulsive and unpleasant.
Kipling's wife, Caroline, noted in her diary how an interviewer once ruined their day.
Sylvester found it ironic that he had interviewed Mark Twain, who also considered interviews a nightmare.
H.G. Wells gave several interviews but privately thought of them as a nightmare.
Saul Bellow felt suffocated by interviews.
Sylvester believes interviews are a useful method of communication despite the views of the quoted writers.
Dennis Brian believed in the significant influence of the interviewer.
Umberto Eco is introduced as a formidable scholar with a wide range of expertise.
Eco's literary career spans academic texts, essays, fiction, newspaper articles, and children's books.
Eco's 'The Name of the Rose' brought him intellectual superstardom in 1980.
Eco's writing focuses on similar topics, making his process easier.
Eco uses 'interstices' or empty spaces between events to expand his writing output.
Eco's unconventional thesis submission style was appreciated for its narrative approach.
Eco began writing novels later in life, after the age of 50.
Eco is bothered by the 'novelist' tag despite his academic works.
Eco believes readers enjoy complex ideas in 'The Name of the Rose'.
The success of 'The Name of the Rose' remains a mystery to Eco.
Transcripts
foreign
here is a summary of part 1 of the
interview by Christopher Sylvester
to Sylvester States has been an integral
part of Journalism for the last 130
years any literate person would have
read an interview at some point or the
other
while some people claim that an
interview is an art form and a credible
source of Truth celebrities often
consider it as an invasion of their
privacy
[Music]
this might be because these celebrities
feel that interviews often treat them
unjustly
some primitive cultures believe that a
photograph takes away the soul of its
subject similarly some believe that an
interview diminishes a person's dignity
now Sylvester quotes different literary
figures who agree with this View
via sniper author of a house for Mr
biswas believes that an interview hurts
the person being interviewed
famous children's book author Louis
Carroll never consented to interviews
because of his fear of interviewers he
also believed he would be celebrated
unnecessarily
the jungle book author Rudyard Kipling
went one step further he stated that he
found that this form repulsive and
unpleasant
in her diary entry Kipling's wife
Caroline notes how an interviewer once
ruined their day
however Sylvester considered it ironic
that he had interviewed Mark Twain
like Kipling Wells also considered the
interview to be a nightmare
though he gave several interviews during
his life he had also interviewed Joseph
Stalin
finally Sylvester outlines noted
playwright and novelist Saul Bellows
opinion
Bello said that he felt suffocated by
interviews
although Sylvester quotes these writers
he believes that the interview is a
useful method of communication
the essay ends with a comment by Dennis
Bryan who believed in
as such the influence of the interviewer
[Music]
here is a summary of part 2 of the
chapter the interview
padmanabhan introduces Umberto Echo as a
formidable scholar with expertise in a
wide range of academic subjects
echo's remarkable literary career has
spanned academic texts essays fictions
newspaper articles and children's books
he attained intellectual superstardom
with the publication of the name of the
Rose in 1980.
began the interview by quoting author
and critic David Lodge on echo's writing
output
Echo commented that his writing focused
on one thing similar topics which makes
his writing process easier
he also made use interesthesis or empty
spaces to expand his writing output for
Echo empty spaces are the time between
different events
as an illustration Echo uses the example
of the current meeting while waiting for
padmanabhan to come over and interview
him Echo used the time productively to
write an article
padmanabhan then talks about echo's
writing style which is different from
mainstream academic writing
echo in response narrates the story of
his thesis submission
during the presentation one of his
professors commented on his
unconventional style of research that is
telling the story of his research rather
than focusing on a hypothesis or a
conclusion
Echo enjoyed using A Narrative Approach
To His essays because of this he only
started writing novels after the age of
50.
then asked whether Echo was bothered by
the novelist tag despite having written
noted academic works
Echo replied yes but even though he
considered himself an academic
practically he knew he reached a broader
audience as a novelist
padmanabhan Then Came To echo's
Masterpiece he asked whether Echo was
surprised by his reader's enjoyment of
the name of the Rose which dealt with
complex ideas of religion philosophy and
medieval history
Echo replied that it was only Publishers
and journalists who were surprised
because of their narrow view of the
reading public
he believed the readers read his novel
because they wanted a complex reading
experience
finally padmanabhan asks Echo to comment
on the success of the name of the Rose
Echo replies that he still finds the
novel's success a mystery
foreign
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