Previous Years’ Board Questions
Q. How did the hack driver befool the lawyer? (2015)
Ans. Lutkins pretended to be Bill Magnuson because he did not want to receive the summons and he did not want to be witness in the case. Moreover, the young, gullible lawyer seemed an easy target to befool. It was an opportunity, which Lutkins did not want to miss. Lutkins, pretending to be Bill Magnuson, was able to befool the lawyer since the latter had no idea what Lutkins looked like. Lutkins took the lawyer all over the town acting as if he had taken up the responsibility of catching Lutkins himself.
Q. How could the lawyer have avoided being taken for a ride? (AI 2015)
Ans. The young lawyer could have avoided being taken for a ride if he had been little more careful and smarter. He should have taken the lead in the investigation. Alternatively, he should have crosschecked Bill’s information.
Q. Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? (2015)
Ans. The lawyer was sent to New Mullions to serve summons on a man named Oliver Lutkins. The man was needed as a witness in a law case, he had ignored all the previous letters sent by the lawyer’s firm and hadn’t showed up.
Q. What did the hack driver tell narrator about Lutkins’ mother? (2014)
Ans. The hack driver told the narrator that Lutkins’ mother was a real terror. He described her as a large and hefty lady with a fierce temper. He also said Lutkins’ mother was quick as a cat.
Q. What attitude did the lawyer have to the country life? How did his experience at New Mullion change it? (2013)
Ans. The lawyer was under the impression that away from the hustle and bustle of city life, the people in the country led a pleasant, simple, honest, helpful and peaceful life. But his experience in New Mullion with the smart hack driver, who himself was Oliver Lutkins—who humiliated and befooled him with his clever tricks and quick thinking, made the lawyer change his overview towards the country life.
Q. Who befriended the narrator when he went to New Mullion? Where did he take him? (2013)
Ans. The hack driver who himself was Oliver Lutkins, befriended the narrator when he went to New Mullion for locating Lutkins against whom he had a summon. They went to Bieneke, Gustaffson’s, Gray barber’s shop and finally to Lutkin’s house. In this way, the hack driver took the lawyer all around the village to search for Lutkins
Q. Why did Lutkins pretend to be Bill Magnuson? How did he befool the lawyer? (2013)
Ans. Lutkins pretended to be Bill Magnuson because he did not want to receive the summons and he did not want to be witness in the case. Moreover, the young, gullible lawyer seemed an easy target to befool. It was an opportunity, which Lutkins did not want to miss. Lutkins, pretending to be Bill Magnuson, was able to befool the lawyer since the latter had no idea what Lutkins looked like. Lutkins took the lawyer all over the town acting as if he had taken up the responsibility of catching Lutkins himself.
Q. How did Lutkin’s mother receive the narrator? (2012)
Ans. The narrator was not well received by Lutkins’ mother. She was quite disrespectful towards narrator and Bill Magnuson. She shouted at them and threatened to burn them with stove iron and marched them out of her house.
Q. What was the lawyer’s first impression of Lutkins? Why did he change his opinion about him later on? (2012)
Ans. The Lawyer’s first impression of Lutkins, who was pretending to be Bill Magnuson at that moment, was a positive one. He found the man to be a friendly, kind, helpful and cheerful person. Later, when he learnt the truth, he felt duped by Lutkins.
Q. How did the people at the law firm receive the narrator? (2011)
Ans. The people at the law firm were quite upset with the narrator for failing to deliver the summon to Lutkins. The chief of the law firm almost murdered him and said that the narrator was fit for digging ditches. The narrator was sent back to New Mullion next morning along with a man who had worked with Lutkins so that it was easier to locate and catch hold of Oliver Lutkins.
Q. Do you think Lutkins was right in befooling the lawyer and earning money by using unfair means? What precautions should one take to avoid a situation like the one in which the lawyer was placed? (2014)
Ans. No, Lutkins was not right in befooling the lawyer and earning money by using unfair means. Oliver Lutkins took undue advantage of the lawyer’s gullibility and took him around the village chasing himself. He not only charged him for the service and food he provided to the young lawyer but also subjected him to immense ridicule. This shows that Lutkins neither cared or feared the law, nor did he worry about the grave repercussions of disobeying it.
To avoid a situation like the one in which the lawyer was placed, one should not believe in things as they seem. One should take everything seen or said with a pinch of salt and not accept it blindly. Instead of depending on others, one should carry one’s own enquiries/investigation. The lawyer’s mistake was that he let Lutkins do the talking and he himself hid behind him. This made befooling the lawyer an easier job for Lutkins.
Q. What does Bill say about Lutkins’ character to the narrator? (2011)
Ans. About Lutkins’ character, Bill said that Lutkins was a dishonest man, who was a hard fellow to catch; he was always up to something or the other. Lutkins played a lot of poker and never wanted to part with his. Bill said Lutkins owed him and many others a lot of money. Bill further told the lawyer that Lutkins was good at deceiving people. It seemed to the lawyer that Bill had some amount of respect for the corrupt and crafty Oliver Lutkins. Instead, of being upset or angry with him, Bill thought that Lutkins was ‘not really bad’, but a very interesting character.
