The Hack Driver class 10 question answer | kjv class 10 The Hack Driver auestion answers | NCERT Solution

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Question 1. Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place?

Answer: The lawyer was sent to New Mullion to serve a summons on Oliver Lutkins, who was needed as a witness in a law case.

He first thinks that the place must be a sweet and simple country village.

Question 2. Who befriends a lawyer? Where does he take him?

Ans: A friendly hack driver named Bill Magnuson befriends the lawyer at the station. Bill offers to help him find Lutkins and takes him to various places where Lutkins is known to hang out, like a shop, barber shops, a poolroom, and finally, Lutkins’ mother’s farm. However, they do not find Lutkins anywhere.

Question 3. What does Bill say about Lutkins?

Ans: Bill told the lawyer that Lutkins was difficult to find because he was always busy. He said Lutkins owed money to many people, including himself, and was good at deceiving others, especially while playing poker.

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Question 1. What more does Bill say about Lutkins and his family?

Ans: Bill told the lawyer that Lutkins’ mother was a terrifying woman. He recalled an incident where she got angry at him for not handling a trunk carefully. He described her as tall, bulky, quick, and talkative. Bill also suggested that Lutkins might be hiding at his mother’s place if he knew someone was looking for him.

Question 2. Does the narrator serve the summons that day?
Answer: No, the narrator could not serve the summons that day.

Question 3. Who is Lutkins?
Answer: The hack driver himself is Lutkins but pretends to be Bill Magnuson. He tricks the lawyer to avoid the summons to be a witness in a case.

Think About It (Page 53)

Question 1. When the lawyer reached New Mullion, did ‘Bill’ know that he was looking for Lutkins? When do you think ‘Bill’ came up with his plan for fooling the lawyer?

Ans: No, Bill didn’t initially know that the lawyer was looking for him. He likely came up with the plan to fool the lawyer after learning that the lawyer was searching for Lutkins. Bill knew he was needed as a witness but didn’t want to testify.

Question 2. Lutkins openly takes the lawyer all over the village. How is it that no one lets out the secret? (Hint: Notice that the hack driver asks the lawyer to keep out of sight behind him when they go into Fritz’s.) Can you find other such subtle ways in which Lutkins manipulates the tour?

Ans: Lutkins makes sure the lawyer never reaches the places where the “imaginary” Lutkins is supposed to be. He distracts the lawyer with stories about Lutkins’ wandering habits and scares him with tales about Lutkins’ mother. Throughout the tour, Lutkins doesn’t let the lawyer ask questions; instead, he pretends to ask about Lutkins himself, knowing the villagers are in on the joke. The villagers play along, helping Lutkins fool the lawyer.

Question 3. Why do you think Lufkin’s neighbors were anxious to meet the lawyer?
Answer: Lutkins’ neighbors were eager to meet the lawyer because they had heard how Lutkins had tricked him, even though they hadn’t seen it themselves. They wanted to see the man who had been so easily fooled.

Question 4. After his first day’s experience with the hack driver, the lawyer thinks of returning to New Mullion to practice law. Do you think he would have reconsidered this idea after his second visit?
Answer: No, absolutely not. After knowing how Lutkins had made a fool of him, he would never return to New Mullion to practice law.

Question 5. Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being taken for a ride? CBSE 2015
Answer: Yes, the lawyer was gullible. He believed every word of what Oliver Lutkins said. He should have asked about Lutkins from other villagers. Instead, he depended completely on the hack driver.

Talk About It (Page 53)

Question 1. Do we come across persons like Lutkins only in fiction or do we encounter them in real life as well? You can give examples from fiction, or narrate an incident that you have read in the newspaper, or an incident from real life.
Answer: People like Lutkins exist in real life too, not just in stories. Many tricksters are reported in newspapers. A famous example from fiction is Uriah Heep in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. He deceives a trusting, wealthy old man by taking all his money, making him addicted to alcohol, and eventually forcing the old man to marry his daughter to him.

Question 2. Who is a ‘con man’, or a confidence trickster?
Answer: A ‘con man’ or a confidence trickster is a person who makes a fool out of other people. He wins their trust first and then, he gets from them whatever he wants.