Chapter 8 The Hack Driver

Class 10 English Chapter 8 The Hack Driver Questions and answers

Page No 47:

Question 1:

Why is the
lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place?

Answer:

The
lawyer was sent to New Mullion to serve
summons on Oliver Lutkins, who was needed as a witness in a law case.

He
had expected the place to be a sweet and simple country village.

Page No 47:

Question 2:

Who
befriends him? Where does he take him?

Answer:

The
lawyer was befriended by a delivery man who
introduced himself as Bill. He told him that he knew Lutkins and
would help the lawyer in finding him. He took him to all the places
where Lutkins was seen or was known to hang out. He took the lawyer
to Fritz’s shop, where Lutkins played a lot of poker; to
Gustaff’s barber shop and then to Gray’s barber shop; to
the poolroom and several other places before finally taking him to
Oliver’s mother’s farm. However, Oliver Lutkins was not
found.

Page No 47:

Question 3:

What
does he say about Lutkins?

Answer:

Bill
told the lawyer that Lutkins was a hard fellow to catch.
He was always up to something or the other. He owed money to many
people, including Bill, and had never even paid anybody a cent. He
also said that Oliver played a lot of poker and was good at deceiving
people.

 

Page No 50:

Question 1:

What
more does Bill say about Lutkins and his
family?

Answer:

Bill
told the lawyer that he knew Lutkins’ mother. He
said that she was a terror. He narrated an incident when he took a
trunk to her once and she almost took his skin off because he did not
treat it like a box of eggs. He also said that she was about nine
feet tall and four feet thick. She was very quick and could talk a
lot. He said that Oliver must have heard that somebody was chasing
him and consequently, would have gone into hiding at his mother’s
place.

Page No 50:

Question 2:

Does
the narrator serve the summons that day?

Answer:

No.
The narrator did not serve the summons that
day.

Page No 50:

Question 3:

Who
is Lutkins?

Answer:

The
hack driver himself was Oliver Lutkins.

 

Page No 53:

Question 1:

When
the lawyer reached New Mullion,
did ‘Bill’ know that he was looking for Lutkins? When do
you think Bill came up with his plan for fooling the lawyer?

Answer:

It
is more likely
that Oliver made the plan to fool the lawyer right after he came to
know from the latter that he was looking for a man named Oliver
Lutkins. Oliver knew that he was needed as a witness in a law case.
So it is entirely possible that he was prepared for such a situation.
It was a matter of chance that the lawyer ran into Oliver himself.

Page No 53:

Question 2:

Lutkins
openly takes the lawyer all over the village. How is it that no one
lets out the secret? (Hint: Notice that the hack driver asks the
lawyer to keep out of sight behind him when they go into Fritz’s.)
Can you find other such subtle ways in
which Lutkins manipulates the tour?

Answer:

Lutkins
was always the first to enter the places
where he took the lawyer. He prevented the lawyer from directly
talking with the people at these places. In this manner he would take
them into his confidence. This is probably the reason why no one let
out the secret. After they did not find Lutkins at Fritz’s,
they went to Gustaff’s barber shop, where again he went in
first and the lawyer lingered at the door. Before going to Lutkins’
mother’s house, he gave a terrifying description of Lutkins’
mother and urged the lawyer to let him try and talk to her. Again,
Lutkins was the one who went up to her first. The lawyer was only
standing back and listening. He told her everything about the lawyer
and why he had come, which was a sufficient clue for her to
understand what was going on. It should also be noted that at the
station, he had asked the lawyer if he was in a hurry to find
Lutkins. The lawyer told him that he had to catch the afternoon train
back to the city. This perhaps helped him concretise his plan to take
the lawyer around the town till it was time for him to catch the
train back to the city. In this way, he always kept ahead of the
lawyer and managed to manipulate the entire tour.

Page No 53:

Question 3:

Why
do you think Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the
lawyer?

Answer:

Lutkins
took the lawyer all across New
Mullion in search of Lutkins himself. He successfully fooled the
lawyer—an educated man of the city. During this process of
deception, almost all the people in the town got to see the lawyer.
This episode would have become the talking point of the town.
According to Lutkins, his neighbours were the only people in town who
had missed seeing the lawyer and hence, wanted to meet the lawyer.

Page No 53:

Question 4:

After
his first day’s experience with the hack driver the lawyer
thinks of returning
to New Mullion to practise law. Do you think he would have
reconsidered this idea after his second visit?

Answer:

After
his first day’s experience with the
hack driver, the lawyer had considered returning to New Mullion to
practise law. However, he realised during his second visit that he
had been literally taken for a ride by the hack driver (who himself
was Lutkins). In this, Lutkins was helped by the townspeople. After
becoming the laughing stock of the town, it is most likely that the
lawyer would have reconsidered his initial idea of working there.

Page No 53:

Question 5:

Do
you think the lawyer was gullible?
How could he have avoided being taken for a ride?

Answer:

It
can be said that the lawyer was gullible.
He could have avoided being taken for a ride if he had noticed what
the hack driver was doing. The hack driver was the one who did all
the talking and the lawyer remained a mere spectator. The lawyer
could have taken control of the proceedings by asking the hack driver
to step aside and by doing his work himself. Instead, he allowed the
hack driver to take control of the situation. The lawyer was too
impressed by the hack driver’s pleasant and friendly
personality, and was thus ignorant of what was actually taking place.

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