Important Question and Answers
Q. Why was the lawyer not happy with his job?
Ans. The lawyer was not happy with the job because he was made to deliver summons, instead of preparing legal briefs. For that task, he had to go to dirty and shadowy corners of the city. He also feared of being beaten up by the witnesses.
Q. Why was the narrator sent Lutkins back to New Mullion? Who went with him?
Ans. Lutkins was to be produced in the court in a witness the next day. The narrator had failed to serve summons on him. Therefore he was sent back to New Mullion. A man who had worked with Lutkins went with him.
Q. Who was Lutkins? Did the narrator serve the summons that day? Why?
Ans. Oliver Lutkins was a man from New Mullion who was to be served a summon to testify for a pending court case. The narrator, the lawyer who was assigned the task, was cleverly tricked by Lutkins who exploited the gullibility of former and helped him chase himself, thus subjecting him to ridicule by the village folk. No, the lawyer could not serve the summons that day for its obvious reason.
Q. What attitude did the lawyer have to the country life? How did his experience at New Mullion change it?
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?
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. Who was Oliver Lutkins? How did he try to fool the young lawyer?
Ans. Oliver Lutkins was a middle-aged person from New Mullion town. He was the prime witness in a law case. When the lawyer was sent to his town to serve the summons, he fooled him by befriending him as such a hack driver who was willing to help him. He takes him all around the town but they were unable to find Lutkins.
Q. What did the hack driver tell the narrator about Lutkin’s mother?
OR
What does Bill say about Lutkin’s mother?
Ans. The hack driver told the young lawyer that Lutkin’s mother was quite a terror. She was nine feet tall and four feet thick. She had the agility of a cat and could talk a lot. Oliver must be hiding behind his mother’s skirts.
Q. With what impression did the lawyer come back to the city?
Ans. At New Mullion, the lawyer was greatly impressed by the cheerfulness of Bill, the hack driver and his eagerness to help him in the task for which he had arrived there. Oblivious to the identity of the hack driver as Lutkins himself, he presumed the hospitality offered to him as the general attitude of the country folk. He was so impressed by the simplicity and forthcoming behaviour of Bill that he decided that he would settle at New Mullion.
Q. In life, people who easily trust others are sometimes made to look foolish. One should not be too trusting. Describe how Oliver Lutkins made a fool of the young lawyer.
Ans. The people who easily trust others are honest and simple-hearted. But they are also the people who are easily cheated. This is fully applicable to the young lawyer. Lutkins impressed the lawyer with his friendly manner. He led the lawyer to think that the people of the town were trustworthy. He also claimed to know most of the places where Lutkins could be found. He told lies about Lutkins and befooled the lawyer. He charged him with high price for the hack and food. He alerted Fritz and his mother not to reveal his identity to the lawyer. He even went to the railway station to see him off. On his second visit the lawyer learnt that the hack driver himself was Lutkins. Hence, one should not be too trusting.
Q. What does Bill say about Lutkin’s character to the narrator?
Ans. The Hack Driver is a story of gripping interest. It depicts a battle of wits between a country folk and a city born lawyer. In fact lawyer is the narrator himself. The narrator had failed to locate Lutkins, still he was excited about meeting a man like Bill. Bill was Lutkins himself. He exploited narrator’s simple nature. Bill gives funny picture of Oliver Lutkins. He says that Lutkins never pays a cent to anyone. He plays poker very much. He drove the narrator to the different places in his village. He pretended that he was looking for Lutkins when he was Lutkins himself in real life. Bill keeps the narrator out of sight and talks to the shopkeeper and even to his own mother.
Q. How many places did the hack driver take to the narrator to search Lutkins? Did they succeed in their search? Explain.
Ans. When the hack driver who was Oliver Lutkins himself, got the information that the lawyer had come New Mullion to serve a summon to him, he made a plan to befool the lawyer. He behaved very friendly towards the lawyer and won his faith. He himself offered his help to search Oliver Lutkins. The narrator hired his hack and went many places. First they went to Fritz’s shop. But they did not find Lutkins there. Then the hack driver took him to Gustaff’s barber shop. The hack driver entered the shop and asked Gustaff if he had seen Lutkins. At this Gustaff hesitated a little but then answered that he was there for a little ago. After this the hack driver took him to Gray’s shop. But even then Lutkins could not be found. There they came to know that Lutkins had left for poolroom. At last a friend of Lutkins informed them that he had gone to his mother’s farm. Thus they went to Lutkins’ house at last. There when the hack driver told his mother that the lawyer had to serve a summon to Lutkin, she went inside the kitchen and returned with an iron of an old stove. She ran after them. They ran away from there. Thus they could not succeed in their search.