WBCHSE Class 12th THE EYES HAVE IT by RUSKIN BOND || Broad Notes || Textual Question Answers || Short Questions & Answers || Broad type Questions || Exam Oriented Questions & Answers || 2023 English Suggestive Notes 

1. Comment on the ending of the story ‘The Eyes Have It’.*

Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ is an outstanding example of situational irony. The narrator wanted to hide his blindness from the girl , his first co-passenger in every possible way. So he made conversation with her tactfully. But he was unaware of the fact that the girl was also playing the same game with him. When the girl got down from the train at Saharanpur and another passenger entered into the compartment, the twist in the story got revealed. The narrator came to know that the girl with whom he was playing the game of deception was completely blind. Ruskin Bond travels through the world of the blind with subtle sympathy in ‘The Eyes Have It’.

2. ‘The man who had entered the compartment broke into my reverie’.-Whose reverie is referred to here ? What was the reverie about ? How was the reverie broken ? (1+3+2)*

The reverie of the blind narrator in Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ is referred to here.

The reverie was about the brief  meeting with the girl who boarded the train at Rohana. The narrator was daydreaming about his short and sweet interaction with the girl and how they exchange views on various topics like the beauty of the hills in October, the view of the landscape from the train's window, etc. The narrator felt that the brief meeting would stay with him for a long time.

The male passenger who boarded the train at Saharanpur broke into the narrator’s reverie by saying that the narrator must be disappointed as he was not as attractive a travelling companion as the one who just left.

3. ‘She was an interesting girl’-Who said this to whom and when ? What else did the narrator ask ? What reply did he get ?*

The narrator of Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ said this to his second co-passenger, a man who boarded the train at Saharanpur. When the man told the narrator that he was not nearly as attractive a travelling companion as the one who had just left, the narrator said the above quoted line.

The narrator asked his second fellow passenger if he could tell him whether the girl, who got down from the train a few minutes back, kept her hair long or short.

Hearing the question, the second fellow-traveller got puzzled. He replied that he did not remember the length of the girl’s hair since it did not catch his attention. He said that he noticed the beautiful eyes of the girl. The twist in the tale got revealed when the man told the narrator that the girl’s eyes were of no use to her as she was completely blind.

4. ‘She thought me a romantic fool’- Who might be thought a romantic ‘fool’ ? When and why did the speaker doubt so ?

The narrator in Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ felt that he might be thought of as a romantic fool.

When the speaker told the girl, his fellow traveller, that after Dehra he will be going to Mussoorie, the girl expressed her desire to visit the hills. Hearing that the speaker became nostalgic and gave a vivid description of the beauty of the hills during the month of October. During the course of the speaker’s description of the beauty of the hills, the girl remained silent. This made the speaker wonder whether his words had touched her or if she thought him a romantic fool.

5. “She had beautiful eyes, but they were of no use to her”-Who said this and to whom ? Whose eyes are spoken about here ? Why were they useless to her ? Bring out the irony of the situation here ?*

In Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It’ the second co-passenger said this to the narrator.

The eyes of the first co-passenger of the narrator are spoken about here.

The man who entered the compartment after the girl’s departure informed the narrator that the girl’s eyes were very beautiful. But those eyes were of no use because she was completely blind. The narrator was astonished at this because he thought that the girl was able to see.

An irony is felt in the gap between appearance and reality. The passenger understood that the girl was blind but he did not notice the narrator’s blindness. The girl and the narrator pretended to be physically normal. Besides, the girl had beautiful eyes but could not see. There also lies the irony.

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