Rohit Yadav
Read and Find Out
1. Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place?
Answer
The lawyer was sent to New Mullion to serve a summons on Oliver Lutkins, who was needed as a witness in a law case.
He had expected the place to be a sweet and simple country village.
2. Who befriends him? Where does he take him?
Answer
The lawyer was befriended by a delivery man who introduced himself as Bill. He told him that he knew Lutkins and would help the lawyer in finding him. He took him to all the places where Lutkins was seen or was known to hang out. He took the lawyer to Fritz’s shop, where Lutkins played a lot of poker; to Gustaff’s barber shop and then to Gray’s barber shop; to the poolroom and several other places before finally taking him to Oliver’s mother’s farm. However, Oliver Lutkins was not found.
3. What does he say about Lutkins?
Answer
Bill told the lawyer that Lutkins was a hard fellow to catch. He was always up to something or the other. He owed money to many people, including Bill, and had never even paid anybody a cent. He also said that Oliver played a lot of poker and was good at deceiving people.
1. What more does Bill say about Lutkins and his family?
Answer
Bill told the lawyer that he knew Lutkins’ mother. He said that she was a terror. He narrated an incident when he took a trunk to her once and she almost took his skin off because he did not treat it like a box of eggs. He also said that she was about nine feet tall and four feet thick. She was very quick and could talk a lot. He said that Oliver must have heard that somebody was chasing him and consequently, would have gone into hiding at his mother’s place.
2. Does the narrator serve the summons that day?
Answer
No. The narrator did not serve the summons that day.
3. Who is Lutkins?
Answer
The hack driver himself was Oliver Lutkins.
Think about It
1. When the lawyer reached New Mullion, did ‘Bill’ know that he was looking for Lutkins? When do you think Bill came up with his plan for fooling the lawyer?
Answer
Lutkins’s act of taking the lawyer for a ride clearly indicates that he is a very cunning person. It is his natural behavior to not disclose his true identity to unknown persons. Moreover, being a cheat as he is it seems his regular practice to dupe people who are newcomers.
2. Lutkins openly takes the lawyer all over the village. How is it that no one lets out the secret? (Hint: Notice that the hack driver asks the lawyer to keep out of sight behind him when they go into Fritz’s.)Can you find other such subtle ways in which Lutkins manipulates the tour?
Answer
Lutkin never allows the lawyer to the place where the imaginary Lutkins is supposed to be present at a given time. The way he weaves stories about Lutkin’s vagabond nature and the way he scares the lawyer about Lutkin’s mother are great tools applied by Bill.
3. Why do you think Lutkins’ neighbors were anxious to meet the lawyer?
Answer
Lutkin’s neighbors were not anxious to meet a person who could be easily duped. They wanted to enjoy the lawyer’s predicament.
4. After his first day’s experience with the hack driver the lawyer thinks of returning to New Mullion to practice law. Do you think he would have reconsidered this idea after his second visit?
Answer
After his first day’s experience with the hack driver, the lawyer had considered returning to New Mullion to practice law. However, he realized during his second visit that he had been literally taken for a ride by the hack driver (who himself was Lutkins). In this, Lutkins was helped by the townspeople. After becoming the laughingstock of the town, it is most likely that the lawyer would have reconsidered his initial idea of working there.
5. Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being taken for a ride?
Answer
The lawyer seems to be a simpleton and inexperienced person. He has yet to come to grips with the way the bad world functions. He could have done his homework better before going to the village. He could have taken a photograph of Lutkin if available. Before relying on Bill he could have cross-checked with other people as well. He could have avoided sending Bill alone to search Lutkin.
Talk About It
Question 1.
Do we come across persons like Lutkins only in fiction or do we encounter them in real life as well? You can give examples from fiction, or narrate an incident that you have read in the newspaper, or an incident from real life.
Persons like Lutkins are found in real life as well. They do not just appear in stories. They are very much real. Newspapers are full of reports of such tricksters. There is this famous con man in ‘David Copperfield’ written by Charles Dickens. His name is Uriah Heep. He traps a gullible, rich old man. The old man depends on him entirely. He takes advantage of his trust and takes all his money. He makes the old man addicted to alcohol. Then he forces the old man to marry his daughter to him.
Question 2.
Who is a ‘con man’, or a confidence trickster?
A ‘con man’ or a confidence trickster is a person who makes a fool out of other people. He wins their trust first and then, he gets from them whatever he wants.
MCQs
Question 1.
Who was Oliver Lutkins?
(a) Fritz
(b) Gustaff
(c) Bill
(d) Gray
Answer
(c) Bill
Question 2.
From where did they get lunch?
(a) Community meal
(b) Bill’s home
(c) cafe
(d) restaraunt
Answer
(b) Bill’s home
Question 3.
According to Bill, Oliver owed him fifty cents for a game of ___
(a) chess
(b) poker
(c) horse race
(d) all of them
Answer
(b) poker
Question 4.
The summons for Lutkins were for what case?
(a) theft
(b) murder
(c) cheating
(d) as a witness
Answer
(d) as a witness
Question 5.
What vehicle did Bill have?
(a) Autorickshaw
(b) cab
(c) hack
(d) cart
Answer
(c) hack
Question 6.
How many times did he have to visit New Mullions?
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 4
(d) 5
Answer
(b) 2
Question 7.
Was he able to serve the summon to Lutkins?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) maybe
(d) None of the above
Answer
(b) no
Question 8.
What did Oliver’s mother have in her hand while she ran after them?
(a) a pistol
(b) a knife
(c) an iron rod
(d) None of the above
Answer
(c) an iron rod
Question 9.
Where did they go for lunch?
(a) Wade’s hill
(b) Bill’s home
(c) Oliver’s home
(d) Oliver’s mother’s farm
Answer
(a) Wade’s hill
Question 10.
Where did they go after visiting Swede’s shop?
(a) Gray’s barber shop
(b) Gustaff’s barber shop
(c) poolroom
(d) his mother’s farm
Answer
(a) Gray’s barber shop
Question 11.
“Bill seemed to _____ Lutkins’ talent for dishonesty. ”
(a) dislike
(b) hate
(c) criticize
(d) admire
Answer
(d) admire
Question 12.
What was the only pleasant sight?
(a) delivery man
(b) the weather
(c) raw shops
(d) None of the above
Answer
(a) delivery man
Question 13.
How did he travel to New Mullions?
(a) Car
(b) Train
(c) Rickshaw
(d) Bus
Answer
(b) Train
Question 14.
What did he hate?
(a) unpleasant work
(b) the side of the city it revealed to him
(c) both of these
(d) None of the above
Answer
(c) both of these
Question 15.
What job did he get after doing his graduation?
(a) partner in a law firm
(b) lawyer
(c) senior associate
(d) junior assistant clerk
Answer
(d) junior assistant clerk
Question 16.
Who is the writer of the story ‘The Hack Driver’?
(a) Guy de Maupassant
(b) Sinclair Lewis
(c) K.A. Abbas
(d) Claire Boiko
Answer
(b) Sinclair Lewis
Question 17.
Was the narrator successful in serving a summons on Lutkins on his second visit?
(a) yes
(b) no
(c) maybe
(d) may not be
Answer
(a) yes
Question 18.
Why was the narrator ordered back to New Mullion once again?
(a) to arrest Lutkins
(b) to serve the summons on him
(c) to live permanently in New Mullion
(d) all of the above
Answer
(b) to serve the summons on him
Question 19.
Oliver’s mother rushes after the narrator in her hand.
(a) an iron rod
(b) a gun
(c) a stick
(d) a stone
Answer
(a) an iron rod
Question 20.
Who gave himself a false name ‘Bill’?
(a) the narrator
(b) Oliver Lutkins
(c) Fritz
(d) Gustaff
Answer
(b) Oliver Lutkins
Question 21.
Who was the Hack Driver actually?
(a) Fritz
(b) Gustaff
(c) Oliver Lutkins
(d) Gray
Answer
(c) Oliver Lutkins
Question 22.
How was the delivery man to the narrator?
(a) friendly
(b) haughty
(c) indifferent
(d) cold
Answer
(a) friendly
Question 23.
The narrator went to New Mullion by :
(a) bus
(b) train
(c) plane
(d) hack
Answer
(b) train
Question 24.
The narrator was sent to New Mullion to serve a summons on:
(a) Fritz
(b) Gustaff
(c) Oliver Lutkins
(d) Oliver Lutkins’ mother
Answer
(c) Oliver Lutkins
Question 25.
What job was assigned to the narrator in the law firm?
(a) serve summons
(b) prepare legal briefs
(c) fight cases
(d) all of the above
Answer
(a) serve summons
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings