Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission Schools Barrackpore · Ruskin Bond has spent his childhood in Jamnagar and Shimla. His father died when he was only 10 years old. Then he moved to

THE EYES HAVE IT

About the author

Ruskin Bond is an Indian writer of English. He is a very popular writer. He has a

special power to observe human beings very minutely. In his stories we get the

chance to go into the depth of the characters. He is especially sympathetic to the

physically and mentally challenged persons.

Ruskin Bond was born on 19th century 1934. The name of his mother was Edith

Clerk and the name of his father was of Aubrey Bond. When Ruskin Bond was

only 4 years old, his mother left his father and married a Punjabi Hindu Mr Hori.

Ruskin Bond has spent his childhood in Jamnagar and Shimla. His father died

when he was only 10 years old. Then he moved to Dehradun and started to live

with his grandmother. Ruskin Bond completed his school education at Bishop

Cotton school in Shimla. He went to England and in London he started to write his

first novel “The Room on the Roof”. He had a special love for Mussoorie which

was a town of panoramic natural beauty in the Himalayan foothills. Ruskin Bond is

creative and powerful writer. He has composed many short stories essays novels

and Children‟s books.

Summary of the story “The Eyes Have It”

The tale is about a meeting between strangers on a train. The journey brings together two

people (who are blind) into close proximity and casual conversation. They both try to pretend

that they are sighted unaware of each other’s disability

The man was already aboard when the girl stepped on the train at Rohana. She was escorted by

her parents who advised her to not talk to strangers. As she entered she did not even notice the

narrator who was pretending to be sighted.

He gradually found enough courage to start a conversation. She was going till Saharanpur where

she would be received by her aunt. She enquired the same from the narrator who told her about

his visit to Dehradun and Mussoorie. She sighed as she also loved the hilly tracts of Mussoorie in

October. The narrator described the beauty of the hills, rain and flowers as the conversation

continued. Pretending to be sighted, he asked the girl to describe the scene outside the train.

She quickly retorted that he should have to look outside himself. He praised her by claiming that

her face was interesting. She smiled at the words as she was bored by the usual compliments

about her pretty looks.She claimed that she did not like long train journeys and was glad that her

station was arriving soon. The narrator, however, was heartbroken as he wanted the journey with

the girl to never end.

Soon the station arrived and as the girl prepared to exit, the narrator had a whiff of the fragrance

she was wearing. He was intoxicated and perversely tried to touch her hair, but the girl said her

goodbye and disembarked before he could. The new passenger entered and the narrator sat back

in his seat, heartbroken and disappointed.

Dejected, the narrator pushed himself toward the window again. The new passenger was a male

and he did not realize the narrator‟s lack of vision, much like the girl. He broke the ice and

offered his consolation for not being as pretty as the last passenger (the girl). The narrator stuck

to his assessment and called her interesting. He asked about her hair but the man said he did not

notice her hair. However, the man dedicated another compliment to her by saying that she was

very pretty with beautiful eyes, even though she was blind. This revelation surprised the narrator

who thought about the futility of his attempts to hide his blindness in front of another blind

person

Objective-type questions

1. Who is the author of the story ―The Eyes Have It‖?

Ans: The author of the story “The Eyes Have It” is Ruskin Bond.

2. What do people with good eyesight fail to see?

Ans: People with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them.

3. Who came to see the girl off?

Ans: The couple who came to see the girl off was most probably her parents.

4.Where is Rohana?

Ans: Rohana Station where the girl gets down is in Uttar Pradesh.

5. How did the narrator know that the little girl wore slippers?

Ans: The narrator came to know that the little girl wore slippers from the way they slapped

against her heels.

6. In which month did the girl wish to visit Mussoorie?

Ans: The girl wished to visit Mussoorie in the month of October.

7. What do the people who cannot see take in?

Ans: The people who cannot see have to take in only those essential things that are registered on

their remaining senses.

8. How can one celebrate night in the hills?

Ans: According to the narrator one can celebrate night with a little Brandy in front of a logfire In

The hills.

9. Whose voice startled the girl?

Ans: The voice of the narrator startled the girl.

10. Who would receive the girl at the destination?

Ans: The girl‟s aunt would receive the girl at the destination.

11. Where will the girl get off?

Ans: The girl will get off at Saharanpur.

12. Whose voice was heard near the carriage door?

Ans: A high pitched voice of the girl‟s aunt was heard near the carriage door.

13. What made the narrator feel troubled and lonely?

Ans: The thought of laughter at the remark of the girl made the narrator feel troubled and lonely.

14. Why were the beautiful eyes of the girl useless?

Ans: The beautiful eyes of the girl were useless because the girl was totally blind.

15. Who broke into the reverie of the narrator?

Ans: The new passenger broke into the reverie of the narrator?

16. What did the new passenger notice in the girl?

Ans: The new passenger noticed that the girl had beautiful eyes but they were totally blind.

17. What, according to the narrator, is the best time to visit the hills?

Ans: According to the narrator, October is the best time to visit the hills.

18. What did the narrator first like in the girl?

Ans: The narrator first liked the sound of the voice of the girl and even the sound of a slippers.

19. Why did the author’s voice startled the girl?

Ans: The author‟s Voice started the girl because the girl did not know that there was another co-

passenger in her compartment.

20. From Dehra, Where did Ruskin Bond going ?

Ans: Ruskin Bond was going to Mussoorie..

21. What instructions did girl’s mother give her? Ans: The girl‟s mother gave the girl detailed instructions as to where to keep her things, when

not to lean out of the windows, and how to avoid speaking to strangers.

Descriptive type questions

1. ―Then I made a mistake.‖ – What mistake did the narrator do? How did

the girl react to it?

AnsThe narrator in Ruskin Bond‟s short story, „The Eyes Have It‟ thought he had made the

mistake.The narrator was blind. He was playing a guessing game. He was behabing with the girl

as if he was not blind. He wanted to hide his blindness from her. In course of the conversation

the narrator asked the girl how the outside looked like. Then he thought the girl would easily

understand that he could not see. He felt that it was a mistake to ask a foolish question like that.

But girl could not realise that the narrator was blind. Her next question removed narrator‟s doubt.

But she also did not disclose tha t she was blind. She came casually asked him to look ouside. So

in fact there was no mistake on his part.The girl immediately helped him to get rid of his doubt.

She asked him to look out of the window.

2. ―You have an interesting face‖- Who said this and to whom? how did the

person spoken to react? How did the speaker mend or correct his or her

comment?

Ans: The narrator of “The Eyes Have It” by Ruskin Bond is the speaker here.

Narrator said this to the girl co-passenger in the train compartment.

Then the narrator intended to flatter the girl co-passenger with this remark. He wanted to

discover the girl‟s looks, but he could not because he was completely blind. during the train

journey the narrator told the girl that she had an interesting face. Hearing this remark the girl

reacted with a clear ringing laugh. She also told the narrator that she was used to hear the

compliment „pretty‟, now the word “interesting” was attractive.

Thus, the narrator came to know that the girl really had a pretty face. He mended his comment

saying that an interesting face could also be a pretty one.

3. “She would forget our brief encounter”-- Whom said this and about whom?

What is the brief encounter referred to here? Why did the speaker think so?

Ans: In Ruskin Bond's 'The Eyes Have It', the narrator said "She would forget our brief encounter" and

here 'She' is referred to the girl companion.

The brief encounter means t he light hearted conversation between the girl and the narrator. The

narrator met a girl in his train compartment when he was at Rohana. They started talking and the

narrator was attracted to the girl. He flirted too. This was the encounter.

The narrator was so impressed by the girl that he wanted to listening the voices of the girl. The girl told

him that she would get off at Saharanpur. He might have a lot to say but he couldn't. She departed

leaving behind the narrator spellbound by her sweet voice . At this stage being away from the girl, the

narrator felt that the girl would forgets him from leaving. So he describes the encounter as brief that she

would forget.

4.”She is completely blind” – Explain the irony of the given line.

Ans: Ruskin Bond's "The Eyes Have It" is full of irony. The blind narrator thought the girl to be

sighted but she was blind too. The discovery of her blindness comes as an ironical twist at the

end of the story. When the girl entered the compartment, the narrator considered her to be with

normal eyesight He wanted to conceal his blindness. He even praised the girl's face and

described the beauty of Mussoorie as he had seen it on his own. The blind narrator came to

know that the girl, too, was blind only after she had gone. She had beautiful eyes but of no use.

This situation of revelation made the short story really interesting.

5.”She had beautiful eyes. But they were of no use to her” – Whose eyes are

referred to here? Why were the eyes ‘of no use’ to her? Explain the irony of

situation.

Ans:- In the story The Eyes Have It the eyes of the narrator’s co-passenger is referred to here.

The eyes were not useful to her because she was completely blind at that time.

The man who entered the compartment after the girl departure informed him that the girl had

beautiful eyes. But those eyes were of no use because she was completely blind. The narrator

was taken aback because he had thought that the girl was sighted.

After the girls’ entry the narrator thought she had normal eyesight. So he wanted to conceal his

blindness in every possible way. Through the eyes of the new passenger the narrator

discovered that the girl was completely blind. Because of this irony of situation, the story moves

from deception to discovery that his efforts to hide blindness had been unnecessary.

6. Describe how the girl left the train? What was the impact of her departure

on the narrator? Ans:-The train approached Saharanpur. The girl began to collect her things. When the train drew

into the station a female voice shouted near the carriage door. The girl bade goodbye and left.

The narrator realized that he was charmed by the girl very much. He wondered if she had kept

her hair in bun or it was plaited or it was kept loose. It should be short. The narrator was lost in

dream. The girl was standing close to him. The perfume from her hair was tantalising. He wanted

to raise his hand and touch her hair. She moved away. Only the perfume lingered where she

stood.

7.‖ The Man who entered the compartment broke into my reverie‖—what is

Reverie? Whose reverie is being spoken? What impact did the the reverie

have on the person?

Ans : A Reverie is a daydream. in the present context, reverie could be concerned with the

narrators day dream of having eye sight and understanding having everything happening around

him. He was enjoying that sort of guessing

The Reverie of the narrator is talking about.

The Reverie came to an end as the new passenger entered the compartment and apologized for

not being so attractive a travelling companion as a girl.

8.‖I am not nearly as attractive as a travelling companion as the one who just

left ―—who this and to whom? Describe the companion who had just left?

What was the response the person spoken to?

Ans: The new co passenger of the narrator said this to Ruskin Bond‟s story the Eyes Have It”

The girl who had travelled with the narrator from Rohana to Saharanpur just left. She had an

interesting face and an attractive voice. Her love for hills shows her taste for scenic beauty. She

had perfumed her hair. Her eyes were beautiful and blind.

The humorous speech of the new traveler joined the narrator out of the reverie and evoked a

surprising response. He wanted to know who had just left had her hair long or short.

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