THE HACK DRIVER
About the story:
The story is about the narrator - a junior assistant clerk - who is sent to a village New Mullion to serve summon to Oliver Lutkins who is a witness in a law case and has ignored all the previous summons. In New Mullion, the narrator meets Bill - the hack driver - who helps him in finding Oliver, but in vain. In the end, the narrator realizes that it was Bill who was Oliver Luatkins.
Summary:
Part 1: The narrator and his job
The narrator is a law graduate but is working as a junior assistant clerk in a law firm where his only job is to go and serve notices and summons to criminals in the shadowy corners of the city. He is beaten up by people for doing such things. He is so fed up that he thinks of leaving the job and going to his village where he would actually work as a lawyer.
Part 2: Visiting New Mullion and meeting Bill, the Hack Driver
Once, he is given the task of serving summon to Oliver Lutkins in countryside, New Mullion. He is happy to have this break from the regular shadowy city corners, but his expectations for country side fail when he sees the muddy, raw roads. However, he meets Bill, the hack driver who decides to help him in finding Oliver Lutkins.
Part 3: Search for Oliver Lutkins
In Oliver Lutkin's search, Bill takes the narrator to different places. He takes him to Fritz, then to Gustaff, then to Gray's barber shop, then Wade's Hill to enjoy the lunch, then to Oliver's mother. But everywhere they inquire, Oliver is not to be found.
Part 4: Contemplation of Life Philosophies
While relishing the lunch on Wade's hill watching the meadows and woods, Bill talks a lot about people in New Mullion, and the narrator is impressed by him and by the life of the people in New Mullion so much, that he feels that staying in a country side like this is better than struggling in cities. He feels that the life in New Mullion is honest and happy. He discovers a new way of life.
Part 5: Bill is Lutkins
The other day, the narrator is sent with a companion who knew Oliver and to his surprise, the narrator realizes that Bill, the hack driver, was Lutkins. When he serves Lutkins summon, Lutkins and his mother has the decency to invite the narrator for a coffee.
Characterization:
The
Narrator:
The narrator is a newly graduated lawyer, who wants to work as a lawyer, but he is given the post of Junior Assistant Clerk. Instead of working in the office (that is what clerks are supposed to do) he has to work like a private detective, going on searching for criminals in the shadowy corners of the city to serve summons. On some occasions, big men beat him. He feels like running away to his native village, where, at least, he would get to practice law. His happiness finds no bound when he is given the task to go to countryside to serve summon to Oliver Lutkins.
The narrator, an inexperienced person is not smart in his words and actions, and there he falls prey to the smartness of an experienced person like Bill, who takes him for a ride, in real and metaphorically as well. Bill, who is the actual Oliver Lutkins, fools him throughout the day. However, he is impressed by the knowledge, simplicity and warmth of Bill.
Bill aka
Oliver Lutkins:
Bill, who is the hack driver, is actually Oliver Lutkins. He is an old man who has experienced life and men like no other man in the village. He is good with his words and practicality. At a first glance, he realizes the innocence of the narrator. While searching Oliver in different shops, Bill is smart enough to tell narrator to stay outside and let himself handle the situation, so that the people would come to know that he is fooling the narrator. Bill know about people, about the lives more than anyone else. He talks a lot of his neighbours and entertains the narrator. He is decent enough to offer the narrator a cup of coffee.
QUESTION - ANSWERS:
1) 'I even considered fleeing to my hometown'. Why does the narrator say so?
2) How does the narrator describe the hack driver?
3) What different places does Bill take the narrator to? What are people's reactions when they are asked about Oliver Lutkins?
4) 'On that day, I came to know New Mullion better than I did the city.' What makes the narrator say so?
5) How has Bill created the image of Lutkin's mother? What was the narrator's actual experience of her?
6) The narrator was impressed with Bill. Make a list of sentences or instances that support this statement.
7) Did Bill aka Lutkins enjoy playing prank on the narrator? Why or why not?
8) How must the narrator have felt when he realized that Lutkins was the one who pranked on him?
