Evans Tries an O-level Important

Questions.
Short Answer Type Questions ( 30-40 words)

Qluestion.1.What kind of person was Evans? Why did he want to appear for the
O-level German examination?

Answer. Evans was a young prisoner who had tried to escape thrice from the prison.
For this reason, he was also known as ‘Evans the Break’. He seemed to be quite a
pleasant and astute person, but he was basically a kleptomaniac. His desire to sit for
the O-level German examination was only a plot to hoodwink the authorities and escape
from the prison.

Question.2.What were the contents of the small suitcase that McLeery carried?
Answer. The suitcase that McLeery carried had a sealed question paper envelope, a
yellow invigilation form, a special authentication card from the Examination Board, a
paper knife, a Bible, the current copy of the Church Times and a small semi-inflated
rubber ring.

Question.3.What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the
examination? ‘

Answer. The prison authorities had taken elaborate precautions to ensure the smooth
conduct of the examination. Evans’ cell was thoroughly frisked a night before. All sharp
edged objects like razor, scissors, etc., were taken away. Even the suitcase of the
invigilator was carefully checked and the prison officers kept a close watch on him
(Evans) throughout the process.

Question.4.How did the Governor react to the two phone calls he received in
quick succession?

Answer. The Governor had a sharp presence of mind and wanted to give Evans no
chance to escape. As a part of his multi-step elaborate precautions, he verified the first
phone call he received. However, he did not do so with (fie second call as he thought he
was being paranoid and that he had taken all possible precautions for the safe conduct
of the examination.

Question.5. How did the question paper and the correction slip help the prisoner
and the
Governor?
Answer. The purpose of the cleverly superimposed photocopied sheet on the question
paper and the correction slip was to finalise the details of the plan of escape. This
information had to reach Evans. It was also meant to make the authorities believe that
the wounded man was McLeery himself. The question paper and correction slip helped
the Governor to locate the place where Evans was hiding. Thus, the two clues helped
both the prisoner and the Governor.

Question.6. Why did Evans not take off his hat when Jackson ordered him to do
so?
Answer. Evans knew that the duplicate McLeery, who was to invigilate during the O-
level German examination, had short hair. So he cropped his hair to pass off as
McLeery later. The “bobble hat was an important part of the plan to conceal Evans”
cropped hair.

Question.7. How does McLeery explain the presence of a small semi-inflated

rubber ring? What
did it actually contain?
Answer. McLeery tells Jackson that he is suffering from haemorrhoids (piles) and the
ring helps him when he has to sit for a long time. In reality, the ring contained pig blood,
which Evans would splatter on his head and escape from the hospital as McLeery who
had been injured.

Question.8. What clues did the answer sheet of Evans provide to the Governor?
Answer. The index number 313 and the centre number 271 on the answer sheet
proved to be the clues for the Governor. Putting the two together and with the help of
the Ordnance Survey Map for Oxfordshire, he managed to catch Evans in the hotel.

Question.9. How did Evans outwit the Governor in the end?

Answer. Evans was recaptured by the Governor and handcuffed by a prison officer. He
was given farewell by the Governor, who thought he was sending Evans back to Oxford
jail. Ironically, it was not so. The prison officer, who was actually a friend of Evans in
disguise, took Evans to the police van and unlocked the handcuffs as soon as the
Governor was out of sight. Evans finally escaped to Newbury. Thus, Evans outwitted
the Governor and had the last laugh in this case.

Page No 70:

Question 1:

What kind of a person was Evans?

ANSWER:

Evans was a congenital kleptomaniac who was imprisoned in the Oxford Prison. He urged
the prison authority to allow him to take the examination for O-level in German as it would
help him gain some educational qualification. Although, a pleasant personality with no record
of violence, he had managed to escape thrice from the prison.

His intelligent and conspiring mind is the focus of the story. He managed to dodge everyone
with his foolproof plans. Even the Governor could not help appreciating his shrewd mind.

Page No 70:

Question 2:

What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?
ANSWER:

The Governor was suspicious of the true intentions of Evans in wanting to take the exams.
Fearing his fourth escape, the exam was ordered to be conducted inside the prison cell which
was installed with a microphone, to keep a check on this intelligent prisoner. His cell was
properly scrutinized by the prison staff who took away anything which could pose a threat in
the smooth conduct of the examination. On the day of exam, the prison staff was put on high
alert and special care was taken to promptly lock all doors and gates. Stephens was ordered
to keep an eye on the exam proceedings. Even the invigilator, a parson, was frisked
thoroughly before the examination.

Page No 70:

Question 1:

Should criminals in the prison be given the opportunity of learning and education?
ANSWER:

No one should be denied the right to education. If the criminals in prison are provided with
education and work skills, their life could turn towards a better and crime free future.
Education may help them to become responsible citizens. Thus, efforts should be put in to
provide opportunity of learning and education to even the criminals in prisons.
 Page No 77:

Question 1:

Will the exam now go as scheduled?

ANSWER:

Everything had been in order for the exam to start on its scheduled time, but the Governor,
still apprehensive, ordered a last minute change in plan. As another precautionary measure,
he ordered frisking the invigilator as well, before allowing him to carry out his assigned job.
This wasted some time and the exam started at 9:25am, ten minutes later than the scheduled
time.

Page No 81:

Question 1:

Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of relief?
ANSWER:

Evans was a shrewd man who allowed only a momentary sigh of relief to the Governor and
his staff. The exam was supposed to have ended peacefully, but when Stephens rechecked
Evans’s cell, he was stunned to see a profusely bleeding McLeery still in the cell. He
concluded that the man he had escorted to the gate was actually Evans.

Measures were taken to recapture Evans with the help of the bleeding McLeery, who was
later sent off to a hospital for treatment. However, soon it was exposed that this ‘bleeding
McLeery’ was the real Evans. Finally, when the Governor traced Evans and ordered him to
be taken back to the prison with a prison officer in the official van, another conspiracy
unfolded. Evans fled again, as the prison officer and the van were part of his back-up plan.
His flawless plans left everyone perplexed and troubled.
 Page No 84:

Question 1:

Will the injured McLeery be able to help the prison officers track Evans?
ANSWER:

Injured McLeery, showcasing his knowledge of German, reveals the supposed plan of Evans
through the superimposed question paper. He proposes to guide the officials to the
whereabouts of Evans. However, this is later revealed to be a part of the Evans plan to flee
to safety, as it was Evans himself who was disguised as the injured McLeery. It can be, thus,
noticed that the disguised McLeery’s help to the officials was fake as it was just a part of
Evans’s escape plan.

Page No 85:

Question 1:

Will the clues left behind on the question paper, put Evans back in prison again?
ANSWER:

Evans escaped from the prison with the help of a clever, infallible plan. Certain clues were
left behind by the shrewd fugitive which was a “careless” act according to the Governor. There
was a superimposed question paper with directions to the supposed plan. However, it was
soon seen that all of it was fake and part of the plan to misguide the officials.

But the little German the Governor knew and the 'correction slip' did help them to track him
down.
Page No 86:

Question 1:

Where did Evans go?

ANSWER:

After deceiving the police intelligently, Evans went to the hotel Golden Lion located in
Chipping Norton.

Page No 92:

Question 1:

Reflecting on the story, what did you feel about Evans’ having the last laugh?
ANSWER:

Evans smartly devised and executed the plan of his escape. He managed to fool everyone
till the end of the story. He left fake clues to misguide the officials chasing him. Even as the
Governor heaved a sigh of relief after nabbing him in the Golden Lion hotel, Evans was
secretly cooking and executing another path of escape. The prison officer and the van used
by the Governor for transferring Evans back to the prison were forged. The Governor was
happy that ultimately he was able to track him down using his intelligence and knowledge of
German. However, Evans had planned a step ahead. With his successful escape, Evans
definitely had a well earned last laugh.

Page No 92:

Question 2:

When Stephens comes back to the cell he jumps to a conclusion and the whole
machinery blindly goes by his assumption without even checking the identity of the
injured ‘McLeery’. Does this show how hasty conjectures can prevent one from seeing
the obvious? How is the criminal able to predict such negligence?
ANSWER:

On his return, Stephens saw McLerry bleeding profusely in the cell. Presuming the man he
had escorted to the gate to be Evans and not McLeery, he raised an alarm. None of the official
staff tried to verify whether this McLeery was the real one. As the bleeding McLeery offered
to help the police to track Evans, nobody questioned how he knew the plan. Later, when the
Governor nabbed Evans and sent him back to jail with the prison officers, he did not notice
that this officer was unknown to him. It was soon unearthed that the officers were Evan’s own
men who helped him escape again. Thus, it is definite that the gullible officials made
speculations in a jiffy which amounted to their subsequent negligence.

On the contrary, a plotting criminal makes a foolproof plan taking care of the intricacies and
does not make hasty assumptions. He has back-up plans ready. Also, a criminal's mind is
observant enough to predict any possible negligence on the part of the officials. Evans too
must have easily observed these during his stay in the prison, and planned accordingly.

Page No 92:

Question 3:

What could the Governor have done to securely bring back Evans to the prison when
he caught him at the Golden Lion? Does that final act of foolishness really prove that
“he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor, that was all”?
ANSWER:

At the Golden Lion when the Governor arrested Evans, he should have been extra cautious
in sending him back to the jail. If he knew the whereabouts of Evan, he should have taken
along more police officials. Also, considering the fact that Evans had successfully fooled them
earlier, he should not have taken chances by sending him in a van with just a couple of police
officers whom, apparently, he did not know. As a result, Evans easily escaped once again.
Ideally, the Governor should have escorted Evans himself. Thus, this final act of foolishness
really proved that “he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible governor, that was all”.

Page No 92:

Question 4:

While we condemn the crime, we are sympathetic to the criminal. Is this the reason
why prison staff often develops a soft corner for those in custody?
ANSWER:

‘Crime’ and ‘criminals’ are usually considered synonymous. However, our perception
changes when we see a criminal suffering or serving his punishment. This is what happens
with the prison staff. Noticing a criminal suffer in the prison, they unwittingly develop a soft
corner for him in their hearts. They look at him as a human being and not as a mere criminal.
They start noticing and appreciating their mental capabilities rather than just remembering
their crime.

In the story, Jackson lets Evans keep his hat after knowing that he considered it to be his
lucky charm. Evans knew of the emotional side of Jackson and so hit it directly through his
talk about “lucky charm”, and managed to fool the stern and practical officer. Even the
Governor could not help noticing his intelligence when he caught him in the hotel. Thus, he
was not cruel or stern with Evans, and regrettably, took him leniently.

Page No 92:

Question 5:

Do you agree that between crime and punishment it is mainly a battle of wits?
ANSWER:

In every battle the stronger side wins; and this strength could be physical or mental. However,
after reading the story we can conclude that between crime and punishment, it is mainly a
battle of wits. The side which outsmarts the other wins. It is not always that a criminal gets
punished. In the given story, although well trained, the police officials were easily fooled by
the clever Evans, who managed to escape from right under their nose.

(The above answer is only a sample provided for students' reference. It is strongly
recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)