Evans Tries an O-Level- Colin Dexter

1. What kind of a person was Evans?

Answer:Evans was a ‘kleptomaniac’ and had broken jail thrice. He was a rather quiet and
non-violent person. He had a great presence of mind and was admired for his quick-witted
intelligence. In the words of the governor, he was a pleasant sort of chap with no record of
violence.
2.  Who visited Evans on the morning of the Examination? What did they visit him for?

Answer:  Mr Jackson and Mr Stephens visited Evans. Jackson was the senior prison officer
on D Wing and Stephens was a burly, surly-looking, new recruit. They visited him to ensure
that he did not retain any potential weapon with him. Mr Stephens was asked to take away
the razor after Evans had shaved himself.
3. What did the Governor’s questioning of Stephens reveal?
Answer:  It was Stephens who had taken ‘Evans’ to the main gate of the prison. Stephens
claimed that he had acted as he had been told by the Governor on phone at about twenty
past eleven, just before the paper was over. The Governor said that he had not rung him. He
had used the telephone at that time, unsuccessfully, to get through to the Examinations
Board.
4. What sort of hair did Evans have? How then did he impersonate McLeery?
Answer: Evans had long, wavy hair, whereas the hair of McLeery had been amateurishly
clipped pretty closely to the scalp. Jackson had pinched Evans’ scissors. So, he had to cut
his hair short with the only equipment that was left with him, the razor. Then he kept his head
covered with a bobble hat to prevent detection.

5. Jackson had thoroughly searched Evans’ cell for two hours the previous evening.
How then was Evans able to disguise himself as a parson?
Answer: Evans had really nothing hidden in the cell. It was McLeery who had worn two black
fronts and two collars. Evidently, Evans put on one set of these. He used the blanket to
cover his act. Thus, the parson suddenly seemed to have grown slimmer when he left the
Oxford Prison.
6. What two purposes did the correction slip serve? Which of them did Evans
consider more important?
Answer: The correction slip provided Evans the name of the hotel where he would escape
to. Secondly, it revealed to his confidants the exact time the exam had started. The really
important thing for Evans was that the phone rang just three minutes before the exam
finished. Thus, he was able to get the prison officers out of the way for a couple of minutes.
7. What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?
Evans had already escaped from jail on three earlier occasions, so there was always a
lurking fear that he might make another attempt to escape. Therefore, all possible
precautions were taken to see that the O-level German examination arranged in the prison
did not provide him with any means of escape. The Governor personally monitored all
security arrangements and heavily guarded the Recreation Block from where he expected
the prisoner to make another break. Evans’ cell was thoroughly checked by Jackson to ward
off the possibility of the presence of an incriminating material which might have hampered
the smooth conduct of the examination. His nail-scissors, nail-file and razor were taken
away; and to keep a strict watch on the activities of the cell during the examination, the
Governor installed a device in the cell so that he could overhear the conversations or any
other sound generated in the cell. The prison officer, Stephens, was posted to keep a
constant vigil on his activities. The invigilator too was frisked to make sure that he carried no
objectionable material with him.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

1. What different queries does the Secretary of the Examinations Board make from the
Governor before conducting the examination for Evans and why?
2. Who do you think made a call regarding a correction in the question paper? What did it
really want to convey or find out?
3. How did the Governor manage to reach Evans in the hotel?
4. Who was Carter? What did the Governor ask him to do?
5. What impression do you form of ‘Evans the Break’?
6. Comment on the ending of the story, ‘Evans Tries An O-Level’.
7. How far do you agree with the observation: “He was just another good-for-a-giggle,gullible
governor, that was all”?
8. Do you think the title ‘Evans Tries an O-Level’ is appropriate? Give reasons in support
ofyour answer.
9. Who do you think is the driver of the van who eventually takes Evans to freedom?

Theme
This story depicts a clash of wit between a criminal and the law enforcing authorities in which
the prisoner, Evans befools the jail authorities and manages to escape from the prison. If the
government and law enforcing officials are vigilant, crime can be detected and criminals can
be booked. But criminals like Evans can hoodwink the authorities and escape punishment as
long as the officials are slow and lack alertness and wit.

Character Sketch of Evans

Evans is a ‘congenital kleptomaniac’ and is known as ‘Evans the Break’. He is adept in

planning and is an excellent manipulator. His entire plan is well thought-out and each step is
calculated. Apart from being skilled at what he does, Evans is a keen observer too. It is due
to his intelligence, presence of mind and quick-wit that he succeeds in escaping from the
prison house in the van which also had Carter in it. Evans is a skilled actor and understands
human psychology very well. He knew that the jail authorities would never think that it was
Evans who stayed back and it wasMcLeery who walked out of the prison. He acted so
proficiently that nobody doubted him. He was a genius, as finally, in spite of being arrested
by the Governor, he was able to escape because of his friends,who disguised as police
officers and helped him out in the final escape.

Character Sketch of Governor

The Governor of H.M. Prison is a very intelligent and vigilant person but at times he
overestimates himself. He is overcautious in Evans’ case but is too much dependent on his
staff and makes hasty conclusions. He is full of ideas and many times his hunches prove
true but he never investigates them. Though he is always conscious of Evans’ cleverness,
he fails to understand Evans’ psyche.
His conjectures help Evans in his plans. He does not cross-examine the identity of the
wounded man and is led on. However, he is intelligent and analytical. He is able to put two
and two together and locate the Golden Lion hotel and reach Evans. But as usual, in his zeal
to look efficient, he does not check the identity of the prison officers. This results in the
escape of Evans.

Character Sketch of Jackson

Jackson is a senior prison officer. Like the H. M. Prison Governor, he is very alert and
enthusiastic about his duty. He is very keen and serious, and being senior is efficient at
giving instructions and orders to his subordinate Stephens. Though he looks stern, he is soft
at heart and is gullible. He allows Evans to keep his hat on and doesn’t doubt him. He is so
excited that he fails to notice small but important details. He is careless not to check
McLeery thoroughly and so failed to note two cloaks, two beards and two collars that
McLeery was wearing. He was so casual about his duty that he didn’t even bother to go and
check Evans after the exam was over.

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