The Eyes Have It (By Ruskin Bond)

About the passage

Read to understand

A. Answer these questions with reference to the context.

1. ‘“Yes, October is the best time.”’

         a)   Who said this and to whom?

Ans. The narrator said this to the girl.

         b)   Why did the speaker say this?

Ans.  The narrator said this because in October the weather is good, the dahlias are in full bloom, the place is quiet and peaceful because most of the tourists have left.

         c)   What is October the best time for?

Ans. October is the best time for visiting Mussoorie.

2. ‘But her next question removed my doubts.’

         a)   Who does ‘her’ refer to?

Ans. ‘Her’ refers to the girl.

         b)   What ‘doubts’ does the narrator have?

Ans. The narrator had doubts whether she had noticed that he could not see.

         c)   What was the ‘question’ and how did it remove his doubts?

Ans. Her question was, ‘Why don’t you look out of the window?’ This question removed his doubts because she would not have asked him to ‘look out of the window’ if she had known he could not see.

B. Mark these statements as (T) for true or (F) for false.

1. There were only three people in the compartment. F

2. The girl was travelling to Mussoorie. F

3. The narrator knew there were many animals in the forest near Dehra. F

4. The girl didn’t like to be told that she had a pretty face. T

5. She liked short train journeys. T

C. Answer these questions.

1. How did the girl’s parents show their concern for her?

Ans. The girl’s parents were very anxious about her comfort and they gave the girl detailed instructions as to where to keep her things, when not to lean out of the windows, and how to avoid speaking to strangers.

2. Why was she startled when the narrator spoke?

Ans. She was startled because she thought she was the only one in the train compartment.

3. What voices did the narrator hear when the train entered the Saharanpur station?

Ans. The narrator heard the shouting of porters and vendors, and a high pitched female voice near the carriage door which he guessed belonged to the girl’s aunt who had come to pick her up from the station.

4. Why did the narrator remain silent when the next fellow traveller came into the compartment?

Ans. The narrator remained silent when the next fellow traveller came into the compartment because he was busy in daydreaming.

5. What did the new passanger assume from the narrator’s silence?

Ans. The narrator's silence made the new passenger assume that he might be sad to learn that the girl was blind.

6. What did the second man notice about the girl?

Ans. The second man noticed that she was attractive, her eyes were beautiful but she was completely blind.

7. Why was the second man puzzled when he was asked if the girl’s hair was long or short?

Ans. The second man was puzzled because he thought the narrator would have noticed her hair; he didn’t realize that the narrator was blind, too.

Discuss and write

1. What do you think the narrator means by saying ‘Once again I had a game to play?

Ans. By saying ‘once again I had a game to play’ the narrator means that he had to pretend he could see while it was not obvious to the others that he was blind. Also, it became a guessing game for him too.

2. Why do you think the narrator wanted to keep his blindness a secret?

Ans. The narrator wanted to keep his blindness a secret because he was probably embarrassed by his condition.

3. Do you think the title of the story is appropriate? Why?

Ans. The title of the story is appropriate because our eyes are one of the most fascinating parts of the body and they are the first feature to be noticed in a human face.