Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Answer the following in 125-150 words:
What made the American publisher think that the novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’ won’t sell well in America? What actually happened? What was the secret of its success?
Solution
The American publisher thought that the novel The Name of the Rose won't sell in America because it was a country where nobody had seen a cathedral or studied Latin. Also, a lot of books had been written on medieval past far before him but they were not huge successes.
The novel, however, sold two or three million copies in the U.S.
Umberto Eco rightly pointed out that the success is a mystery. It is not possible to know the exact reason behind a book’s success or failure; one can only make wild guesses. Perhaps the time in history when it was written proved favourable for its success. According to Mukund, the novel’s setting in the medieval past might have contributed to its success even though many novels on the same topic have failed to get as much success.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Answer the following in 125-150 words:
What made the American publisher think that the novel, ‘The Name of the Rose’ won’t sell well in America? What actually happened? What was the secret of its success?
What are some of the positive views on interviews?
Why do most celebrity wnters despise being interviewed?
What is the belief in some primitive cultures about being photographed?
Who, in today's world, is our chief source of information about personalities?
Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed? Give reasons for your opinion.
How does Eco find the time to write so much?
What was distinctive about Eco's academic writing style?
Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first or an academic scholar?
What is the reason for the huge success of the novel, The Name of the Rose?
Discuss in pairs or small groups.
Talk about any interview that you have watched on television or read in a newspaper. How did it add to your understanding of the celebrity, the interviewer and the field of the celebrity?
Discuss in pairs or small groups.
The medium you like best for an interview, print, radio, or television .
Discuss in pairs or small groups.
Every famous person has a right to his or her privacy Interviewers sometimes embarrass celebrities with very personal questions.
Read the given extract to attempt the questions with reference to context.
| Some might make quite extravagant claims for it as being, in its highest form, a source of truth, and, in its practice, an art. Others, usually celebrities who see themselves as its victims, might despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives, or feel that it somehow diminishes them, just as in some primitive cultures it is believed that if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person’s soul. |
(i) What is the most likely reason some people consider the practice of interview to be an art? (1)
This could be because it requires-
- fluency of words.
- sensitive and careful handling.
- creativity and imagination.
- probing and focusing on details.
(ii) Rewrite the sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with its inference. (1)
Celebrities feel that an interview diminishes them.
(iii) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below. (1)
(1) Celebrities don’t consent to be interviewed.
(2) Interviews intrude the privacy of celebrities.
- (1) Can be inferred from the extract but (2) cannot.
- (1) cannot be inferred from the extract but (2) can.
- (1) is true but (2) is false.
- (2) is the reason for (1).
(iv) Rationalise, to support the given opinion: (1)
To say that an interview, in its highest form, is a source of truth, is an extravagant claim.
(v) Replace the underlined word with its antonym from the extract. (1)
Some celebrities hate the idea of having to give an interview because it makes them feel like supporters.
(vi) The author’s views on interview, in the extract, can best be described as statements based on ______. (1)
- facts
- hypothesis
- beliefs
- superstitions
Answer the following question in about 40-50 words.
Umberto Eco, with reference to "The Name of the Rose" says, “I think if I had written The Name of the Rose ten years earlier or ten years later, it wouldn’t have been the same.” What could he have meant?
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
| Similarly, we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives. I call them interstices. Say you are coming over to my place. You are in an elevator and while you are coming up, I am waiting for you. This is an interstice, an empty space. I work in empty spaces. While waiting for your elevator to come up from the first to the third floor, I have already written an article! |
- Umberto Eco was ______. (1)
- a professor of semiotics, an author
- an interviewer, a novelist
- a journalist, a professor
- a publisher, an author
- Rationalise, to support the given statement: (1)
Similarly, we have a lot of empty spaces in our lives. - Rewrite the sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with its inference: (1)
I call them interstices. - On the basis of the extract, study the two statements, I and II given below: (1)
I. Umberto Eco works even in the spare time between activities.
II. Umberto Eco does not like to be interviewed.
Choose the most appropriate option:- I can be inferred from the extract, but II cannot.
- I cannot be inferred from the extract, but II can.
- I and II are true.
- II is the reason for I.
- Replace the underlined word with its antonym from the extract. (1)
Umberto Eco does not like to waste time. He writes an article while he is proceeding to the elevator. - Umberto Eco's views on his manner of work, are based on ______. (1)
- facts
- an interview
- his blog
- hypothesis
