THE EYES HAVE IT

                      THE EYES HAVE IT  

                 Ruskin Bond(May19,1934)

1. "Yes, October is the best time."- From where is the above line taken? Who is the speaker? What is the best time? Why is October the best time?

Or

Briefly describe the scene of Mussoorie in October.

The above line is taken from Ruskin Bond's short story " The Eye Have It".

Here the speaker is the blind narrator.

October is the best time. In October, Mussoorie is covered with gentle beauty. Wild dahlias are found in the hills. The roads remain quiet as all the tourists leave the hills. The sunshine is pleasant. At night one can sit in front of a logfire and enjoy a little brandy. This description of the hills made both of them nostalgic.

2. "Then I made a mistake"- who is the speaker ? What mistake did the speaker make? Was there really any mistake? What removed the speaker's doubt?

Here the speaker is the narrator of the short story, 'The Eyes Have It".

Actually the narrator was a blind person. He wanted to hide his blindness from the girl co-passenger. But unfortunately he asked the girl how the outside looked like. The speaker was afraid that the girl might discover that he could not see.

I think there was not any mistake because the girl was blind. So she didn't understand that the narrator was also blind. The girl didn't disclose that she was blind.

The girl asked the narrator to look out of the window. It was then that the narrator's doubt was removed.

3. "Few girls can resist flattery"- who said it? Why did the speaker say so? What reaction did he get from the girl?

The narrator of the short story 'The Eyes Have It' said it.

The speaker thought that his remark about the girl co-passenger was a proof of his boldness. The speaker also realised that his remark was safe.The narrator knew that false praise could make many girls happy.

The girl accepted his remark with a clear, ringing laugh. Next she told the blind narrator that she was tired of hearing this same compliment. But the word 'interesting' instead of beautiful was new to the girl. The girl also aked the narrator why he was so serious.

4." The man who had entered the compartment broke into my reverie."-

Whose reverie is referred to here? What was the reverie about? How was it broken?

In the short story of Ruskin Bond 'The Eyes Have It', the blind narrator's reverie is referred to here.

The author had a brief conversation with the girl who got on the train from Rohana. The short but sweet exchange of views between the writer and the girl about the beauty of the mountains in the month of October and the scene of the landscape outside the window had become a daydream for the narrator.

The male co-passenger from Saharanpur told the writer that he would be disappointed to hear that he was not as attractive and charming as his predecessor. After hearing this word, the narrator's daydream was shattered.

5. "She would forget our brief encounter"- Who said this and about whom? What is the brief encounter referred to here? Why did the author feel so?

In the story, 'The Eyes Have It' the blind narrator said so about his girl co-passenger. 

Here the brief encounter is referred to the passionate conversation between the narrator and the girl co-passenger about the beauty of the mountains in October and the description of the scene outside of the train.

The girl was relieved to hear that her station was coming soon and the narrator was ready to sit with her in the train at any length of time. The narrator felt that the importance of this journey was not very important to her. And this kind of different emotion helped the writer to feel about that.

6. "She was completely blind. Didn't you notice? " Who said to whom? When was this said? Discuss about the irony of the line.

In the stroy 'The Eyes Have It', the second co-passenger said it to the narrator.

The writer asked a fellow passenger from Saharanpur who got on the train, How was the girl's hair? Was she leaving her hair open? Or the her hair was cut short? The man replied that he did not notice the girl's hair but he saw her eyes which were very beautiful but she was completely blind so those eyes would be of no use to her.

Throughout his journey, the narrator pretended not to be blind with the girl, and at the end, when he realized by the second passenger that the girl was also blind, he felt that he had made a cruel mockery of himself.