1. “Then I made a mistake.”-What mistake did the speaker make? Why was it a mistake? What removed the speaker’s doubt? What did the speaker do then? (HS 2017)
Ans: In Ruskin Bond’s short story “The Eyes Have It” the speaker made the mistake of asking the girl co-passenger about how the outside looked from the train compartment.
It was a mistake because the narrator was trying to hide his blindness from the girl, his co-passenger. Normally a sighted person who can see, do not ask such question to others. The narrator wondered if he would be able to prevent her from discovering his blindness after this question. So, logically it was a mistake.
The girl passenger did not find anything strange with the narrator’s question and asked him why he did not check it himself by looking out of the window. This question removed the narrator’s doubt that the girl has suspected his blindness.
The speaker then moved easily along the berth and felt for the window ledge and pretended of studying the landscape outside. He could hear the different sounds of the moving train and imagined telegraph posts flashing by.
2. “She would forget our brief encounter”-Who said this and about whom? What is the ‘brief encounter referred to here? Why did the speaker think this? (HS 2016)
Ans: The blind narrator in Ruskin Bond’s story “The Eyes Have It” said this about the girl, his co-passenger during the train journey from Rohana to Saharanpur.
The narrator met a girl during his train journey. She was a co-passenger in the same compartment. The narrator talked with her about many things for sometime and both agreed that October was the best time to visit Mussoorie. Then the girl got down at Saharanpur. The narrator’s short interaction with the girl is referred to as “brief encounter”.
Short meetings and interactions with strangers are quite natural during journeys. The girl in the story did not like long journey and wanted to left the train as early as possible. Besides, unlike the narrator she did not show any romantic feeling for him. So the narrator thought that this ‘brief encounter’ did not have any impact in her mind and she would forget this soon.
3. “I am tired of people telling me I have a pretty face.” Who said this, to whom and when? What did the person spoken to reply? (HS 2015)
Ans: The blind girl said this to the narrator, her co-passenger when she was going to Saharanpur by train.
In the middle of their journey, the narrator became quite daring and told the girl that she had an interesting face. Then the girl said that she was tired of people telling her about her pretty face.
The narrator expressed his assumption that she would have a pretty face. He also told that an interesting face could also be pretty.
4. “She was an interesting girl.” Who said this, to whom and when? What else did the person say? What reply did he get? (HS 2018)
Ans: The narrator said this to the new passenger who boarded the train compartment at Saharanpur after the girl had left.
The narrator said this when the newly boarded passenger commented that he was not as attractive a travelling companion as the one who had just left.
The narrator aslo enquired about the girl’s hair whether it was long or short.
In reply the new co-passenger said that it was the girl’s eyes that he noticed not her hair. She had beautiful eyes of no use. She was completely blind.
5. “The girl got up and began to collect her things.” Who is the girl? When did she get up? Why did she collect her things? What did the speaker think about the brief encounter he had with the girl? (HS 2019)
Ans: The girl was the co-passenger of the narrator in Ruskin Bond’s short story “The Eyes Have It”.
She got up to collect her things when the train slowed down before entering Saharanpur.
The girl got up to collect her things because the train was approaching her destination, Saharanpur.
The girl in the story did not like long journey and wanted to left the train as early as possible. Besides, unlike the narrator she did not show any romantic feeling for him. So the narrator thought that this ‘brief encounter’ did not have any impact in her mind and she would forget this soon.
6. Signify the title of the story “The Eyes Have It”.
Ans: Ruskin Bond’s short story “The Eyes Have it” is the story of two blind persons that takes place in a train compartment. The narrator of the story was completely blind but tried to hide her blindness when he interacted with the girl, his co-passenger on many things.The girl was also blind. From first to last they talked so skillfully that none of them suspected anything. The title is indicative that they have eyes though in reality they have not. People with good eye-sight often overlook what is in front of them. In the story, loss of vision was not a hindrance to them. They were completely aware of their surroundings. They have the sight of their inner eyes. The story has shown the blessing of vision from different perspectives. So the title of the story is enough suggestive, significant and appropriate.
