The Midnight Visitor ( 2 Mark & 8 Mark Questions)

                                        The Midnight Visitor

1.Why did Fowler want to meet Ausable? Why was he disappointed?

Ans : Fowler was a young romantic writer. He loved adventure and thrill. He was always interested in knowing the lives of secret agents. He wanted to meet Ausable who was on a secret assignment. He was a little disappointed when he found nothing mysterious and romantic in Ausable. Ausable, in fact, was a fat, ordinary person.

2. What was someone expected to bring to Ausable’s room?

Ans : Ausable expected to get a very important report about missiles, which was to be delivered to him after midnight.

3. How did Max enter the room? Why did he do so?

Ans : Max entered Ausable’s room through the main door, using a pass key. He wanted to take the important report from Ausable. Therefore, he decided to give a shock to Ausable. He thought it would be easy to overpower Ausable by giving him a shock.

4. Was there a balcony outside the window? Give instances from the text in support of your answer.

Ans : There was no balcony outside the window. The following lines show that there was no balcony:

‘‘And then as he dropped, he screamed once shrilly.’’

‘‘But what about the man on the balcony?” Fowler asked ‘‘No’’ said Ausable, “he won’t ever return.’’ Thus, we know that the man had died after jumping from the 6th floor.

5. Why did Ausable ask Fowler to cheer up?

Ans : Ausable knew that Fowler wanted to see something mysterious and romantic. Ausable asked him to cheer up as he was going to receive an important report concerning some new missiles. Many people had risked their lives. Therefore, there could be some drama in his room.

6. What story did Ausable fabricate about the balcony?

Ans :He told Fowler that the balcony in his room had become a nuisance for him. He told him that his room used to be the part of a large unit and through the balcony any one could come to his room as the adjoining room was empty.

7. How do you know that Ausable was a clever secret agent?

Ans : Ausable was really a clever secret agent as is evident from the story. He told a false story about the existence of a non-existent balcony. Knowing very well that the waiter was knocking at the door, he told him about the police.

8. “He was the most trusting person I had ever met,’ remarked Hari Singh. Hari Singh took undue advantage of Anil’s trust. Do you think trusting a servant blindly, like Anil, is wise or do we need to be careful?

Ans : Hari Singh is justified in saying that Anil was the most trusting person he had ever met. But he took undue advantage of his trust. He was a thief and could not be expected to be honest with Anil. Anil had a blind faith in human nature. He employed him just out of sympathy and compassion for him. He trusted him and ignored his misdeed. He handed over all the financial transactions without verification. He was so sympathetic towards Hari Singh that he did not ask him to leave the job when he was unable to cook. He trusted a stranger and gave him every chance to improve. When Hari Singh stole money and came back, Anil knew his act but said nothing. He knew he was guilty but rather gave him a fifty rupee note. I think such a blind faith in a stranger is not prudent, one should be kind but not careless.

9. Hari Singh decided to return the stolen money to Anil. It shows that everyone has some inner conscience and cherished values which they do not put in practice. Do you agree? Was it the awakening of his conscience that made him return the money?

Ans : Hari Singh’s conscience pricked him. He had a guilty conscience. He didn’t want to hurt him. Hari stole money because of his compulsive habit, but now he wanted to reform himself. He wanted to become a reputed member of the society. He vowed never to repeat the mistake again. It shows that everyone has inner conscience. We have cherished values which become dormant when we do not put them to practice or our circumstances don’t allow them to be put to practice. Yes, it was the awakening of Hari Singh’s conscience that made him return the stolen money.

10. Love is the basic human value that can transform evil into goodness. How did this value of Anilchanged Hari Singh?

Ans : Love and sympathy are positive qualities. If we have love and sympathy for a person, that person will try to win our trust and confidence. He will curb his baser instincts and try to prove worthy of our confidence in him. It was the love of Anil that transformed Hari Singh. He treated him kindly, reposed his faith in him and Hari Singh became an honest man. Hari Singh was tempted once. He ran away with money. But when he recalled the faith, love, compassion and kindness of Anil, his heart changed. He decided to come back and return the stolen money. Anil knew that Hari Singh had stolen money. He could have handed him over to the police but he showed sympathy and kindness. This transformed Hari Singh. He gave up stealing and decided to become a good person.

11. If you had been Anil, what would you have done with Hari Singh? Do you think thieves can be transformed through love and compassion?

Ans : I would have also forgiven Hari Singh. Hari Singh was no doubt a thief, but by coming back and returning the money, he had proved that he wanted to lead a respectable life. He was trying to change his habits. Secondly, even his master was really guilty of inviting his temptation by being careless. Therefore, the question of punishing him did not arise. A man should always be given a chance to improve. That is why there are rehabilitation centres in prisons too. Nobody wants to become a criminal. Everyone is a victim of circumstances. In my opinion if one is given a chance and good environment, one can be transformed. Love, sympathy and right opportunity can transform the thieves too. Everyone wants to lead a life full of respect and dignity.

12.Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or, are there such people in real life? Do you think presence of such people can free the society from day-to-day crime?

Ans : People like Anil and Hari Singh are the real characters. There are hundreds of thieves like Hari Singh who master the art of stealing from a very young age and win the trust and confidence of their employers. Then they rob them of their wealth and leave cities one after the other. In the same way, people like Anil are also real who are very generous and have faith even in the strangers. I agree that if there are people like Anil who have a positive approach to life, there will be less crime in our society. He transformed a thief by his love, sympathy and compassion for him. If he had handed him over to the police, Hari Singh would have become a hardcore criminal and a threat to society.

13. Ausable has the ability to think quickly, act calmly and wisely in a situation of danger and surprise. These are some values and skills that save us from danger. How did Ausable use the above skills in the story, ‘The Midnight visitor’?

Ans : Ausable wins over a very critical situation by his sheer presence of mind without using any physical force. He was a quick witted secret agent. He made Max believe that he was scared on finding him inside his room with a pistol in his hand. He befooled him about the balcony, knowing very well that there was no balcony in that room. He fabricated a story about the arrival of the report and the police. When there was a knock at the door, he convinced Max that it was police. Max got scared and jumped into the non-existent balcony to death. This is how Ausable proved that presence of mind is more powerful than physical force. Ausable had the qualities of being calm, quiet and wise in a dangerous situation. These are the values that one can practise in adversity. Ausable overpowered Max because of these qualities.

14. What is superior, physical strength or intelligence in a difficult situation? Which one of these values and skills would you stress upon? Why? Elaborate with reference to the story, ‘The Midnight Visitor’.

Ans : Physical strength and intelligence both have their own importance. These are complementary to each other. Intelligence without physical ability is useless and vice versa. But out of the two intelligence is superior. Use of physical strength may lead to violence and bloodshed but use of intelligence saves one without any bloodshed or violence. In the story ‘The Midnight Visitor’ Ausable wins over a very critical situation by his presence of mind without using physical force. He got rid of

another secret agent Max with his intelligence. He proved that presence of mind is more powerful than physical force. I would stress upon more on intelligence but will not ignore physical strength at the same time.

15.How does Ausable convince Max that there is a balcony in his room? How does his intelligence and presence of mind help him?

Ans : Ausable had realised that Max had no idea about the balcony in his house. He quickly thought of a plan. When the bearer came to the room and knocked at the door, Ausable fabricated a story to convince Max about the balcony. The moment Max realised the danger, he jumped on to the balcony; which turned out to be fatal. The way Ausable complained about the existence of the balcony which had created a nuisance earlier also, Max could not think it to be wrong and willingly jumped to his death. Ausable was an intelligent secret agent. He could think quickly. He knew that Max was scared and he used his ignorance and foolishness in his own favour. His intelligence and presence of mind helped him in a dangerous and critical situation.

16. Max was a cunning spy but his carelessness and foolishness proved fatal for him. Do you agree? How do casual carelessness and foolishness spoil our life?

Ans :

Max was no doubt a careless and foolish person who could be termed as a blot on the image of a secret agent. Max was on an important mission to procure a vital report regarding some new missiles. So it becomes obvious that the person assigned such task should be witty and a perfect planner but Max did not take any pain to inspect the hotel or Ausable’s room in advance. Max fell into the trap of false story and jumped onto a non-existent balcony, which eventually cost him his life.

No doubt Max was also equally clever but he had a flaw in his personality. He trusted his rival without the application of his mind. He fell victim to his carelessness and foolishness. Yes, our carelessness and foolishness may prove fatal.

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