Short and Long Questions & Answers - Evans Tries an O-Level | English Class 12 PDF Download

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1: What is the summary of Evans tries an O-Level?
Ans: The story tells us about the successful escape of a prisoner from prison for the fourth time. Even though the Governor of the prison takes precautions to stop him from escaping, Evans’s plan goes successfully according to his plan.

Q2: What kind of a story is Evans Tries an O-Level?
Ans: It is a thriller that centres around the escape of a clever prisoner successfully for the fourth time.

Q3: Which writing technique has been used in Evans Tries an O-Level?
Ans: The red herring fallacy, deliberate or indeliberate presentation of irrelevant information along with relevant information to give false clues that hide the real objective of the story, has been used by Colin Dexter in his story ‘Evans Tries an O-Level’.

Q4: What kind of a person was Evans?
Ans: Evans was a ‘Kleptomaniac’ and had broken jail thrice. He was a master planner and was very sociable. He knew how to keep intimate contacts with people. In the words of the Governor, he was a pleasant sort of chap with no record of violence.

Q5: Do you think Evans’ statement, ‘I may surprise everybody,” has some special significance?
Ans: Evans seems to be telling his teacher that he may surprise everybody by doing well in the exam, but in reality it is a forewarning that he is going to jolt everybody by his master -minded perfect escape-plan.

Q6: Who were the two visitors Evans received in the morning of the day of his exam?
Ans: The two visitors --Mr. Jackson, the senior prison officer of the prison’s D Wing--   man called Stephens, who had been only recently recruited.

Q7: What made Evans clip his hair short?
Ans: Evans’ escape prison-- duplicate McLeery (invigilate during the O-level German exam) had short hair. In order to give a practical shape to their plan Evans’ hair had to look like McLeery’s, hence Evans clipped them short.

Q8: Why did the Governor instruct Jackson to search McLeery?
Ans: The  Governor asked  Jackson  to  search  McLeery,  the  invigilator, just  in  case  he  has  brought something unwittingly which might prove to be a weapon that Evans could use and try escaping from prison.

Q9: Why did Evans drape a blanket round his shoulder? What did Stephens think about it?
Ans: In between intervals of Stephens’ peeping into the cell, Evans was changing into the Parson’s dress to look like McLeery. So, in order to conceal his effort to keep them in place, Evans draped a blanket round his shoulder. Stephens was misled into believing that Evans was feeling cold.

Q10: In spite of strict vigilance, how did Evans’ friend manage to give the material for disguise in the cell?
Ans: Despite all vigilance, Evans’ friend disguised as McLeery, the invigilator, managed to smuggle the disguised material into the cell.   He came wearing two parson’s d resses with black fronts and collars. Apart from it he also brought an extra pair of spectacles. All this was passed on to Evans when Stephens’ vigilant eyes were away from the peep-hole.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1: What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?
Ans: Since Evans had already escaped from the jail on three earlier occasions, th ere was always a lurking fear that he might make another attempt to escape. Therefore all possible precautions were taken to see that the O-level German examination arranged in the prison did not provide him with any means of escape. The Governor personally monitored all security arrangements and heavily guarded the Recreation Block from where he expected the prisoner to make another break. Evans cell was thoroughly checked by Jackson to ward off the possibility of the presence of an incriminating material which might hamper the smooth conduct of the examination. His nail- scissors, nail-file and razor were taken away; and to keep a strict watch on the activities of the cell during the examination, the Governor got it bugged. A police officer Stephens was posted to keep a constant vigil on his activities. The invigilator, too was frisked to make sure that he carried no objectionable material with him.