2020 - Notes - Evans Tries An O-Level
2020 - Notes - Evans Tries An O-Level
2020 - Notes - Evans Tries An O-Level
Evans was a young, clever prisoner. He had escaped thrice from the prison for
which he was known ‘Evans the Break’. He was not a violent sort of a person. He
was quite a pleasant person and was a star at the Christmas concert.
2. What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the examination?
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.
4. Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of relief?
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 1 of 18
5. Will the injured McLeery be able to help the prison officers track Evans?
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.
6. Will the clues left behind on the question paper, put Evans back in prison again?
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.
After deceiving the police intelligently, Evans went to the hotel Golden Lion
located in Chipping Norton.
1. Reflecting on the story, what did you feel about Evans’ having the last laugh?
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 2 of 18
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?
Evans was a smart and perceptive criminal. He hadassessed the weaknesses of the
jail officers successfully. Stephen was new recruit to the prison set up. When he
saw the injured Mcleery in the cell he was so overwhelmed that he did not even
check who he really was and neither did anyone else. It did not occur to anyone to
question how there could there be two persons – one in the cell and the other who
had been escorted out by Stephens. It was for this very reason that friends of
Evans, who, posing as the Governor on the phone, have directed Stephens that he
himself should escort the parson out, when the exam is finished. The Governor and
his officers, in effect actually lead Evans out of the prison. The question paper is
left behind to mislead the Governor. This shows that Evans the criminal had
enough time to study the behavior patterns of the jail officers and plan their
strategy well.
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”?
The Governor took all the precautions to make sure that Evans should not have any
chance to escape from the prison. He even tracked and arrested him at the Golden
Lion after his sensational escape from the prison. But his overconfidence once
again proved that he was no match for the clever and crafty Evans.
The Governor after finding the clues from the question paper tracked Evans at the
Golden Lion. When Evans entered the room he was shocked to see the Governor.
Evans offered no resistance and was arrested. The gullible Governor gloated over
his success and said goodbye to him. Evans was handcuffed and made to sit in the
police van. The Governor did not take care to check the identity of the driver, the
van and the officer. A little more vigilance could have averted the escape of the
criminal. If theGovernor had accompanied Evans to the prison cell with full police
arrangements the criminal would not have escaped.This act of negligence proved
that he was “just another good-for-a-giggle gullible governor that was all”.
Page 3 of 18
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?
5. Do you agree that between crime and punishment it is mainly a battle of wits?
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 STORY
1. Evans is a prisoner in H.M prison, Oxford.
2. He is popularly known as ‘Evans the Break’.
3. He ran away from prison three times.
4. Now he is studying O –level German in prison. He is the only student.
i. He desires to appear for the Board Examination.
ii. The governor has conceded to his request.
5. All arrangements for the smooth conduct of the examination have been made
Since Evans is known for his clever planning to escape from jail.
Page 4 of 18
6. The Governor takes no chanceàhe makes sure Evans has no communication
with anybody outside the jail.
7. But Evans has a couple of cunning friends to help him.
i. Even the German teacher is one of his friends.
8. Since Evans is the only studentà they together have been planning the
escape.
9. The invigilator, McLeery, is overpowered and one of Evans’ friends and
impersonates him.
10.He has worn two clerical collars, two black fronts. He had brought in a false
beard and pigs blood.
11.The examination is in progress.
12. But on the question paper they have superimposed all the instructions for
the escape.
13.When the exam is over, McLeery is seen off at the main gate.
14.But inside the cell McLeery is lying sprawled, covered in blood.
15.It is presumed Evans impersonated McLeery and has escaped after hitting
McLeery on the head.
16.But later it is discovered Evans impersonated an injured McLeery.
17.He tricks everybody Evans reached the Golden Lion Hotel.
18.The Governor is able to grab him there.
19.But Evans’ cunning friends arrest friends and drive him to freedom. Once
again they are able to fool the governor.
Evans wants to take the O-Level Examination.:-
James Roderick Evans is the full name of the prisoner in Oxford prison.
He has been taking special classes in German while in prison.
He is the only student.
Now he desires to appear for the O-Level Board Examination in
German.
Governor conceded to his request.
The Board has agreed to send an invigilator to the prison to
conduct the examination in Evans’ cell.
Precautions:-
He Governor takes no chances. He fears that Evans might overpower
the invigilator and try to escape.
Thinking he might conceal something in his cell and he asks a senior
prison officer, Mr. Jackson to search Evans’ cell thoroughly.
Jackson after 2 hours reported that nothing is hidden there.
Evans’ nail-file and nail-scissors are also taken away.
Page 5 of 18
Only razor blade to shave himself.
The governor has got a microphone fitted in the cell so he can hear
every sound or every word made in the cell.
After his shave the blade is also taken away.
Evans:-
He is a pleasant young man. He has not done any violence.
He has been part of Christmas concerts.
He is good at imitation.
He is a kleptomaniac. He has a couple of friends who help him.
On the morning of the exams two prison officers, Jackson and Stephens,
visit him.
Page 6 of 18
Evans did not try to escape from the recreational block, where it was made
easier to escape.
Now there are two more locked doors between Evans’ cell and the yard. The
wall of the yard is very high.
McLeery is searched:-
The governor is worried and fears for McLeery that McLeery might have
brought with him anything that Evans might use to hit McLeery.
So he instructs Jackson to have McLeery searched.
Jackson frisks McLeery and passes his hands over the envelope.
There is a paper knife that Jackson thinks could be used as a weapon. He
decides to keep it with himself.
McLeery has a semi-inflated rubber ring Jackson wants to know what it is
for , McLeery tells him that he suffers from hemorrhoids. He uses it sit on
Jackson lets him keep it.
Later it proves to be a mistake.
It contains pig’s blood.
Exam Starts:-
McLeery tells Evans to write the name of the paper -021-1 and
the index number 313, and the centre number 271.
Evans objects Stephensàpresence inside the cell.
Says he cannot concentrate while Stephens standing over him.
The governor hears this on the microphone He thinks Evans’ request is not
unjust or dangerous.
He tells Jackson to get Stephens out of the cell.
But has to keep a watch through the peep hole.
Correction of the Question Paper:-
A little lateràThe Governor receives a call from the examination board.
They tell the Governor there is a correction in the question paper.
Jackson receives the instructions and passes it on to McLeery.
McLeery announced to Evans the error in the question paper.
The word ‘goldene’ should be corrected to ‘goldenen’.
The governor suspects it could be fake call.
It provided the name of the hotel Golden Lion to Evans, and his
friends knew when exactly the examination started.
Page 8 of 18
the man who has left was Evans.
Makes a hue and cry.
He is mistaken. In fact, McLeery has left. Evans is still in the cell. He is
impersonating McLeery.
Page 10 of 18
Evans tells him that his German teacher was not from the
technical college.
He was Evans’ friend. They together had been planning the
escape.
Reflecting on the story, what did you feel about Evans’ having the last
laugh?
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.
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?
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
Page 11 of 18
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.
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”?
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”.
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
Page 12 of 18
he caught him in the hotel. Thus, he was not cruel or stern with Evans, and
regrettably, took him leniently.
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.
Governor: Gullible fool, a greater moron than Jackson, hasty in his approach and
actions, fails to verify credentials of tutor, has great regard for Evans' intelligence
and presence of mind.
Page 13 of 18
· Invigilator frisked.
Facts overlooked
· German tutor-antecedents left unverified.
· Private tuition, bobble hat, assistant secretary (examination) and not the
secretary gave the call for correction slip but no eyebrows were raised.
· Stephens taken out of the cell.
· Stephens notices a thinner Mcleery but does nothing about it.
· Blanket allowed to Evans.
· Governor drops Evans outside hotel and he moves away in another vehicle
thus giving a second chance on the same day for him to escape.
1. Who was James Roderick Evans? Why was he put in the Oxford Prison?
Evans was a smart young man who had a number of amazing skills to fool anyone
and escape any prison. He had a gang of friends who used to make money by
imitating other people. Because of his smartness in breaking prisons, Evans was
sent to the Oxford prison that was thought to be the most secure prison in England.
5. Why was Evans particular about keeping his hat on his head during his
Page 14 of 18
exam?
Evans wore a bobble hat at the time of his examination. When he was asked to
remove that, Evans pleaded to let stay it because he believed it was his lucky
charm. In facthe had hidden some of the makeup materials in his hat which was the reason
he didn't want to remove it.
8. What was the intention behind the call from the Examinations Board?
It was one of Evans' friends who made the call from the Examination Board. This call was
primarily meant for confirming the beginning time of the exam in order to
calculate the end of the exam. The equally important reason behind this call was to
misguide the Governor into Hotel Golden Lion to arrest Evans from there and
thereby to make the escape altogether safer.
9. The Governor's pride in his little knowledge in German was of great help for
Evans to escape. Explain.
The Governor had acquired a little bit of German earlier and was proud of that. On
seeing the correction sheet and faintly recognizing the hidden message that would
help him to trace the escaped Evans, he became over enthusiastic and decided to
track the prisoner with the assistance of another officer. Later when he trapped
Evans so ‘smartly,’ the Governor forgot all caution and went high in the sky of his
pride and that gave Evans a great opportunity to escape.
10. What had 'Mc Leery' brought with him to the prison to help Evans' escape?
Evans’ friend dressed up like Mc Leery had brought some very useful
Page 15 of 18
articles for Evans’ escape. He had worn an extra clerical collar and a clerical front.
In his bag he had carried a semi inflated rubber tube filled with blood. He had also
carried a paper scissors even though it was frisked by the prison authorities.
11. Why did Evans ask for a blanket while writing the exam?
As part of his escape plan, Evans had to dress up him as Mc Leery, the invigilator.
To cut his long hair and to dress up, Evans wanted a hiding. Moreover, he had
hidden part of the invigilator’s costume under the blanket.
12. How did Stephens feel when he was asked to accompany Mc Leery out of the
prison?
Stephens was a new officer at the Oxford Prison and was naturally apprehensive
about his duties. He was already glad that he was in charge of the invigilator and
the examinee. When he was asked by the Governor to accompany the invigilator
out of the prison, Stephens felt greatly flattered and proud of himself.
13. When did the Governor realize that the invigilator was fake?
The Governor had initially assumed that it was Evans who had run out of the
prison after hitting the invigilator. But later, when he made call to the Radcliffe
Hospital where detective Carter had admitted the invigilator, he was informed that
the hospital had not admitted the invigilator. More confused, the Governor made
another call to the invigilator’s residence and confirmed that the parson who had to
come as the invigilator had been tied and gagged in his room and the one came as
the invigilator was Evan’s accomplice.
14. Why did Evans want the Governor arrest him at Hotel Golden Lion?
Evans’ plan had been one very intelligently crafted. He wanted to make sure that
his plan had to amaze everyone and the very smart Governor also had to be
overtaken. To do this he wanted the Governor arrest him with his ‘own smartness’
and feel ‘elated, proud and over confident and consequently less careful about
keeping Evans under high security.
15. Evans was 'visibly shaken' when he saw the Governor in his room in the hotel.
Why was he shaken?
It was part of the escape plan that the Governor had to come to the Golden Lion
Hotel to arrest Evans from there and take him to the prison. The purpose was to
make the Governor believe that he was really intelligent and efficient and thereby
let his confidence go loose. It was because of this that Evans pretended that he was
really caught.
Page 16 of 18
6. Why is the Governor called ‘good for a giggle Governor?’
The Governor was in a way intelligent and smart. Though a little late, he was
successful in tracing Evans in the Hotel Golden Lion and in arresting him. But
little did he know that it was Evans who wanted the Governor to arrest him. Evans
raised the Governor’s confidence level sky high and let him fall from such a height of
pride. When he caught Evans, the Governor thought that he was the most intelligent
prison governor in the world and drove to the prison dreaming of the praises and
ranks he would be given for his efficiency as a Governor. But in the prison he
would know how he was made fool by Evans and the world would only giggle at
him.
17. Do you think that the Governor was really intelligent? Support your answer
with instances.
The Governor was a very intelligent officer but his overconfidence was his weak
point. The instances of his intelligence can be seen at various places of the story.
He didn’t believe that Evans was genuinely interested in learning German when he
noticed that Evans didn’t understand the basic German expression, “Guten
Gluck.” He was doubtful when the call came from the Examination Board and
made a return call to confirm if the call really came from the Board. It was his intelligence that
thought of frisking the invigilator and found the rubber tube. It was he who
discovered the secret message regarding the assault on the invigilator
superimposed at the back of the question paper. Soon he found out that the real
McLeery had never come to the prison and that it was Evans who had escaped
from the prison as the injured invigilator. The Governor deserves praises for
tracing Evan to Hotel Golden Lion at Chipping Norton and arresting him.
Page 17 of 18
Evans’ escape in a wonderful way.
20. Can you imagine what had happened when the Governor reached the prison?
While driving to the prison the Governor thought that he was the most efficient
and intelligent prison governor in the world. He was very confident, overwhelmed
with gratification and was therefore least cautious. But there was the worst
news awaiting him in the prison that Evans and his friends had escaped by fooling
and disgracing him. He would also realize that he too was one among the idiots
like Stephens and Jackson
Page 18 of 18