NCERT Solutions Class 12 English Vistas Chapter Evan Tries an O Level

Question

NCERT Solutions Class 12, English, Vistas (Supplementary Reader), Chapter "Evan Tries an O-Level"

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Answer 1

NCERT Solutions Class 12, English, Vistas (Supplementary Reader), Chapter "Evan Tries an O-Level"

Read and Find Out

1. What kind of a person was Evans?

Solution:

Evans was a young, clever prisoner. He had escaped thrice from the prison for which he was known ‘Evans the Break’. He was not a violent sort of a person. He was quite a pleasant person and was a star at the Christmas concert.

2. What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?

Solution:

For smooth conduct of the examination, various precautionary measures were taken. All sharp instruments like razor nail scissors were removed. The Governor, senior prison officer Jackson and officer Stephen were put on duty. A special invigilator was arranged. A microphone was fitted in the prison cell where the examination was to be conducted.

3. Will the exam now go as scheduled?

Solution:

Everything had been in order for the exam to start on its scheduled time, but the Governor, still apprehensive, ordered a last minute change in plan. As another precautionary measure, he ordered frisking the invigilator as well, before allowing him to carry out his assigned job. This wasted some time and the exam started at 9:25am, ten minutes later than the scheduled time.

4. Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of relief?

Solution:

The Governor and his staff thought that the examination was over without posing any problem. But they were proved wrong because Evans had dodged them. Stephens closed the door of the cell of Evans and accompanied McLeery upto the main gate. After seeing McLeery off, Stephens wanted to take just one last look at Evans. When he opened the peephole of Evans’ cell, he saw in Evans’ chair a man from whose head blood was oozing.

Stephens shouted wildly for Jackson which was heard by McLeery. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and held it to his bleeding head. By the time Jackson had arrived and sent Stephens to ring the police and the ambulance. McLeery who was in fact Evans said not to worry about the ambulance as he was alright.

He said to get the police as he knew where Evans had gone. He took the German question paper and grasped it tightly in his bloodstained hand. He wanted to contact the Governor to tell him where Evans had gone. So the search for Evans began and their sigh of relief was for a few moments only. They could not identify Evans, who was impersonating as McLeery.

5. Will the injured McLeery be able to help the prison officers track Evans?

Solution:

Immediately after it was known that Evans had escaped sirens were sounding, prison officers were giving orders and phones were ringing everywhere. McLeery, with Jackson and Stephens supporting him on either side, was greeted by the Governor. McLeery who was in fact Evans asked if they had called the police.

He was told that they were on the way. McLeery opened the German question paper and asked the Governor to examine it. The Governor saw that a photocopied sheet had been carefully and cleverly superimposed over the last page of the question paper. The text was in German. Detective Superintendent Carter came and saluted the Governor. Turning to McLeery he said who had hit him. McLeery

while breathing heavily said, “Elsfield Way, officer! I know where Evans ”. The Governor said to Carter to take McLeery with him as he was the only one who seemed to know what had happened. Carter opened the back door and helped McLeery ihside and the car moved speedily.

The Governor reading from the text said that from Elsfield Way drive to the Headington round about. In the text ‘Neugraben’ was written but there was no place with that name. The Governor thought that it must be Newbury. McLeery told that he had spotted Evans driving off along Elsfield Way. They had got the number of the car and given chase immediately, but had lost him at the Headington roundabout.

He said that Evans must have speedily gone back to the city. The Governor felt that Evans was on his way to Newbury. Evans McLeery impersonating was taken to hospital by Carter. Carter told the Governor that McLeery was in Redcliff now. The Governor rang the Redcliff a few minutes later and was told that they had sent an ambulance, but when they got there McLeery had gone. So the injured McLeery instead of helping the police, misled them. Nobody could judge that he was actually Evans himself.

6. Will the clues left behind on the question paper, put Evans back in prison again?

Solution:

Evans escaped from the prison with the help of a clever, infallible plan. Certain clues were left behind by the shrewd fugitive which was a “careless” act according to the Governor. There was a superimposed question paper with directions to the supposed plan. However, it was soon seen that all of it was fake and part of the plan to misguide the officials.

But the little German the Governor knew and the 'correction slip' did help them to track him down.

7. Where did Evans go?

Solution:

When Evans entered his hotel room, he found the Governor. He was entrapped and he felt that he was beaten. The Governor asked Evans how he managed to plan all this as he have had no visitors and received no lettem. Evans replied that he had got lots of friends, for example his German teacher. They reached the reception desk and the Governor asked if everything was ready.

The blonde receptionist replied that the van was out in the front. A silent prison officer handcuffed the recaptured Evans, and together the two men sat awkwardly into the back seat of the prison van. The Governor told Evans to see him soon. Evans told the Governor that his German was very good but he knew any more of these modern languages. The Governor said not very well and asked why he was saying so.

Evans said that he just happen to notice that same O-level Italian classes were coming up next September. The Governor said that perhaps he won’t be with them next September.

As the prison van turned right from Chipping Norton on to the Oxford road, the silent prison officer unlocked the handcuffs and learned forward towards the driver. He informed the driver to drive fast. He said that it won’t take them long to find out. The driver asked where they should go. Evans suggested, “What about Newbury” ?

Answer 2

Reading with Insight

1. Reflecting on the story, what did you feel about Evans’ having the last laugh?

Solution:

Evans smartly devised and executed the plan of his escape. He managed to fool everyone till the end of the story. He left fake clues to misguide the officials chasing him. Even as the Governor heaved a sigh of relief after nabbing him in the Golden Lion hotel, Evans was secretly cooking and executing another path of escape. The prison officer and the van used by the Governor for transferring Evans back to the prison were forged. The Governor was happy that ultimately he was able to track him down using his intelligence and knowledge of German. However, Evans had planned a step ahead. With his successful escape, Evans definitely had a well earned last laugh.

2. When Stephens comes back to the cell he jumps to a conclusion and the whole machinery blindly goes by his assumption without even checking the identity of the injured ‘McLeery’ Does this show how hasty conjectures can prevent one from seeing the obvious? How is the criminal able to predict such negligence?

Solution:

Conjecture is an opinion or idea that is not based on definite knowledge and is formed by guessing. This is what Stephens did when he came back to the cell after seeing off McLeery. He just wanted to have a look at Evans. But he was shocked to find an injured man with the blood oozing from his head covering his face. As . the injured man was in a clergyman’s dress, Stephens thought that Evans had escaped after injuring McLeery. And all the officers and the Governor himself blindly followed this assumption of Stephens.

They started taking action on this theory and the hunt for Evans began. Nobody tried to check the identity of the injured “McLeery” who, in fact, was Evans himself. So they were desperately looking for Evans whereas all the time he had been with them. This shows that if we form opinions without basing these on definite knowledge and jump to the conclusions hostily, we tend to ignore what is so obvious. Evans was a very clever criminal who was aware of this weakness, which is so common in human beings. And he made full use of it to his own advantage.

3. What could the Governor have done to securely bring back Evans to the prison when he caught him at the Golden Lion? Does that final act of foolishness really prove that “he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor, that was all”?

Solution:

Evans, after a gentle stroll round the centre of Chipping Norton, decided to return to the hotel Golden Lion to sleep early. He unlocked his bedroom door and closed it quitely behind him. He stood frozen as he saw the Governor sitting on the narrow bed of his room.

As the Governor saw Evans looking around the room, the Governor said quietly that it was not worth trying anything. He told Evans that he had got men all round the place including the blonde girl at reception. Evans held his head between his hands and said that it was due to the correction slip. Evans knew that he was beaten but gradually he relaxed.

He told the Governor that because of the correction slip he knew the name of the hotel and the exact time the exam started. They walked to the reception desk. The Governor asked the pretty blonde receptionist if everything was ready. She told him that the van was in the front. Then a silent prison officer handcuffed the recaptured Evans. And together they sat into the back seat of the prison van.

But the silent prison officer and the people sitting in the van were in fact the companions of Evans. Thus once again Evans over situated the Governor despite his being extraordinarily vigilant. Just as he did not check up thoroughly about the German teacher, he did not do so with the silent police officer also. Had he done so Evans would not have escaped and could not have befooled the Governor once again.

4. While we condemn the crime, we are sympathetic to the criminal. Is this the reason why prison staff often develops a soft corner for those in custody?

Solution:

‘Crime’ and ‘criminals’ are usually considered synonymous. However, our perception changes when we see a criminal suffering or serving his punishment. This is what happens with the prison staff. Noticing a criminal suffer in the prison, they unwittingly develop a soft corner for him in their hearts. They look at him as a human being and not as a mere criminal. They start noticing and appreciating their mental capabilities rather than just remembering their crime.
In the story, Jackson lets Evans keep his hat after knowing that he considered it to be his lucky charm. Evans knew of the emotional side of Jackson and so hit it directly through his talk about “lucky charm”, and managed to fool the stern and practical officer. Even the Governor could not help noticing his intelligence when he caught him in the hotel. Thus, he was not cruel or stern with Evans, and regrettably, took him leniently.

5. Do you agree that between crime and punishment it is mainly a battle of wits?

Solution:

In every battle the stronger side wins; and this strength could be physical or mental. However, after reading the story we can conclude that between crime and punishment, it is mainly a battle of wits. The side which outsmarts the other wins. It is not always that a criminal gets punished. In the given story, although well trained, the police officials were easily fooled by the clever Evans, who managed to escape from right under their nose.