Evans Tries an O’ Level (Colin Dexter)

 

Evans Tries an O’ Level

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Q1. What kind of a person was Evans?

Answer: Evans was exceptionally cunning, crafty and elusive. He escaped under the nose of officials and security. He was known as “Evans the Break” among the prison officers because he had escaped from the prison thrice. He looked scruffy and unshaven with a heavy Scottish accent. He appeared in the O-level German examination as a part of a well planned strategy to fool the prison staff.

Q2. What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?

Answer: Tight security arrangements and probable arrangements were made for the smooth conduct of the examination. Senior prison officer Jackson, Officer Stephen and the Governor himself worked round the clock. A person from St Mary Mags was to invigilate. The Secretary accepted the unusual request of the Governor to conduct the examination in the Evan’s cell.

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Q3. Will the exam now go as scheduled?

Answer: The two hour examination was to start at 9:15 am, but it got a little late in the underway. All the more the examination was interrupted at 9:40 am to inform about a correction slip which was not placed beforehand.

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Q4. Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of relief?

Answer: The Governor and his staff initially had a sigh of relief when they announced, ‘Stop writing please’ at 11:25 am as the examination was now over. But their relief did not stay for long when they found that Evans had made a fool out of them again and escaped in a disguised manner under their nose.

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Q5. Will the injured McLeery be able to help the prison officers track Evans?

Answer The injured McLeery in no way helped the prison officers to track Evans because he was Evans himself disguised as McLeery. He rather confused the staffs by directing them to Elsfield way to track Evans so that he could escape from there web.

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Q6. Will the clues left behind on the question paper, put Evans back in prison again?

Answer The clue of the six figure reference 313/271 on the question paper was enough to trace Evans. He was traced in the hotel room and was being taken to the prison but finally he escaped in the prison van.

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Q7. Where did Evans go?

Answer After escaping from the prison, Evans enjoyed a stroll at Chipping Norton. From there, he decided to return to the Golden Lion. He collected the keys from the hotel reception and walked up to his room where he was shocked and frozen to find the Governor sitting on the narrow bed.

Reading with Insight

Q1. Reflecting on the story, what do you feel about Evans’ having the last laugh?

Answer: From the beginning of the story, we feel that the prison authorities are not taking any chances with Evans. Evans, on the other hand, is leaving no stone unturned to make a fool out of them.

The authorities do not bother to check the antecedents of the German teacher at first. Secondly, although they bug the cell, take away anything which could be a potential weapon for Evans including his nail-scissors, nail file and shaving accessories, he manages to outsmart them. The reason he gives for putting on his hat will not point a finger against him. He manages to get Stephens out of the cell and avoid his prying eyes at regular intervals.

He manages to evade the officers and gives them a slip by impersonating McLeery. The trick he uses to splatter blood on his head is interesting. It takes a while for the officers to realise that Evans is actually in the cell and has escaped from the hospital. Evans frustrates and flusters the officers who finally catch him at the hotel but this is a part of a greater conspiracy. Gullible as the Governor is, he thinks that he has nabbed “Mr clever-clever Evans” but Evans manages to escape right under his nose. Then, the officer in the prison van is also an accomplice of Evans and he is successful in dodging the Governor yet again.

Thus, the officers are reduced to a bunch of ‘good-for-a-giggle’ officers who are outwitted by the scheming Evans and his clever friends at every step.

Q2. 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 Evans has the insight to judge others characters and this is what he does with officers in the prison. He knows that Jackson has a soft corner and thus, he takes his advantage by concealing his cropped hair with the hat. The Governor is also befooled by Evans. For once even the Governor starts thinking that he is “dead keen to get some sort of a qualification.” Going by the events in then story we can say that Evans is a plotter who knows the moves of authorities too well.

The story, undoubtedly proves that hasty conjectures can prevent one from seeing the obvious. This is because they affect our ability to think clearly and logically. This is the reason why, perhaps, nobody questions that how there could be two parsons; one in the cell and the other who has been escorted by Stephens out of the prison premises. The entire machinery including the Governor, is shocked to see ‘McLeery’ in a pool of blood. In this utter confusion, all hell breaks loose. The Governor tells Carter, the detective Superintendent to take ‘McLeery’ (actually it is Evans) along with him because he is the only one who knows what is going on. Evans escapes from the hospital. The question paper is left behind deliberately to mislead the Governor and him.

When the Governor comes face to face with Evans, he escapes right under his nose. Evans is a perfect plotter and a manipulator who expected such a reaction from the these ‘good-for-a-giggle’ officers. He had monitored their behaviour for a long time and knew that they would panic under the circumstances. Thus, Evans rightly predicted their moves.

Q3. What could the Governor have done to securely bring back Evans to prison when he caught him at the Golden Lion? Does the final act of foolishness really prove that ‘‘he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullibe governor, that was all’’?

Answer: Since the beginning, the Governor was apprehensive about Evans. Evans had been a habitual jail breaker and the Governor knew from the start how sharp Evans was; courtesy his past escapades. Although he had taken all precautions for the successful conduct of the examination, Evans played his game successfully since the very beginning. The Governor felt that Evans should be given a chance to study. Evans took advantage of the emotional side of the Governor by planting his accomplice in disguise of the German teacher.

Evans built up the whole strategy step by step and outwitted the prison authorities including the Governor. He had such a psychological insight into his opponents that even when he was finally caught at the Golden Lion, he was confident that he will handle the situation deftly.

On the Governor’s part, he committed a grave blunder when after rearresting Evans he handed him over to the ‘silent prison officer’. He should have verified his credentials or handed such a sharp criminal like Evans to a capable and known officer. The Governor should have checked the people in the van because it is obvious from the developments in the story that they were not reliable people. For instance, as soon as the Governor is out of sight, the prison officer unlocks Evans’s handcuffs and the driver asks for instructions regarding the direction to go. Thus, we can say that the Governor himself is responsible for the final escape of Evans and proves rightly that, “he was just another good-for-a-giggle, gullible Governor, that was all”.

Q4. While we condemn the crime, we are sympathetic to the criminal. Is this the reason why prison staff often develop a soft corner for those in custody?

Answer: Yes, it is a fact that although we hate crime but we have a soft corner for the criminal. This is the case with Evans also. Although the Governor is conversant with his past record and escapades, he does not want to deprive Evans of an opportunity to learn. Similarly, the author describes the relationship between Evans and Jackson as that of ‘warm enemies’. Jackson is kind-hearted and that’s the reason why he allows Evans to wear his hat during the exam as the latter said that it was his good luck charm.

Evans’s tender heart and his affectionate side is seen and appreciated by the staff. He is an active participant in Christmas plays, is good at imitating people but not known to be violent. Even the Governor does not like to believe that Evans is planning to escape once again.

From Evans’s example, it is seen that even the prison authorities do not like to treat the prisoners harshly. With time even they develop a liking and a rapport with them.

Q5. Do you agree that between crime and punishment it is mainly a battle of wits? Answer Yes, there is a fierce battle of wits between crime and punishment. The one who outdo’s the another wins the battle hands down. Evans and the prison authorities are incessantly involved in a battle of wits. It’s a neck to neck race where finally, Evans and his accomplices steal the show. Meticulous planners, they foresee and predict things. They are even able to know beforehand how their opponents will react in a particular situation. For example, Evans knows that Jackson has a soft corner for him and takes full advantage of the situation by getting permission to keep his hat on. The Governor and Evans particularly leave no stone unturned in proving each other their superior. The Governor takes utmost precautions to render Evan’s manoeuvres ineffective like bugging the cell during the examination, figuring the hotel out but in this particular instance it is Evans and his friends who call the shots. The authorities are, indeed reduced to a bunch of ‘good-for-a-giggle’ officers.