The Hack Driver

Ans. The narrator first meets Bill at the station. He was very much impressed with Bill. He finds him to be friendly and cheerful. He finds Bill as a very helpful person as he offers to take him around in search of Lutkins in his hack. The narrator admires him when he goes looking for Lutkins on his behalf. Bill has a different view of the wonderful village charm. The narrator finds Bill to have a unique country wisdom. He admires him as a storyteller. He appreciates him a lot when Bill goes to every place to help him find Lutkins.

For the narrator, Bill is a friendly man who helps others generously. The narrator is impressed with Bill to such an extent that he decides to settle down in New Mullion to practice law. Thus, the narrator finds Bill as a kind, cheerful and a happy person.

Ans. Appearances are often deceptive is a very true saying. Things are not always what they seem to be. This can be very well seen in the story “The Hack Driver” as the narrator reaches the village New Mullion in the search of Oliver Lutkins. He meets a hack driver at the station. When the narrator tells the driver that he is searching for Oliver Lutkins, he warns him about Lutkins. He tells him that he can take him on a tour of the entire village in his hack in search of Lutkins. He tells the narrator about his experiences and about the village and its people.

The narrator believes everything that the driver tells him as he likes for his helpful and kind nature. He forgets all about Lutkins and enjoys the company of the driver. But, the next day he finds out that the hack driver was Oliver Lutkins himself. He realises that a simple and kind person was a trickster in reality. Thus, he understands that the person who looked so helpful and cheerful was so cunning. Thus, it is proved in the story that appearances can often be deceptive.

Ans. The hack driver i.e., Lutkins misguided the lawyer and was not right in befooling him and earning money by using unfair means. As Lutkins was aware of the fact that the narrator was a lawyer and the way he continues to befool him shows that he did not care for the law at all. Thus, the way Lutkins takes advantage of the trust and innocence of the narrator is completely wrong. Anyone can avoid such situation by keeping in mind that one should not believe in things as they are seen. Everyone should judge every action taken by the other person carefully before accepting it.

Instead of depending on others, we should carry out our enquiries ourselves. The narrator should have collected the information regarding how Oliver looks. He must have talked to more people rather than enjoying a whole day at the expense of the firm. He should not have hidden behind the hack driver but should have tried to talk once to the people they visited. Thus, the carelessness of the narrator resulted in his failure to serve the summons on Lutkins.

Ans. The lawyer was happy to go to New Mullion. He thought it must be a sweet and simple village. When he reached the village he was disappointed as the view was entirely different than he was expecting. The streets were rivers of mud, there were rows of wooden shops that were wither painted a sour brown or bare of any paint at all. But he was happy when he saw a delivery man at the station. He was the only agreeable sight for the narrator. He considered the man cheerful and a friendly fellow. He liked his openness, warmth and affection. He took his kindness to be real.

He asked the driver about Oliver Lutkins and was befooled by the hack driver and was taken around the village searching for Oliver. Lutkins was successful in making a fool of the narrator and also earned money from him. As Lutkins was required as the witness in the case the narrator was again sent back to the village. When he became aware of the fact that Bill was himself Oliver Lutkins the narrator was shocked and also hurt as he was befooled by the person he trusted and liked a lot.

Ans. The hack driver is Oliver Lutkins himself. He was a red-faced, forty-year-old man having cheerful and pleasant personality. When he came to know that the narrator did not identify Lutkins, he introduced himself as Bill. As per Bill Lutkins was a hard fellow to be caught. He was always up to something or the other. He was deeply interested in poker. Bull told that Oliver Lutkins never paid anybody a cent. When he came to know the purpose of the narrator’s visit he offered help in finding Lutkins at a charge of two dollars per hour. He was neither honest nor helpful.

He was rather clever. He charged him for the lunch hour and the food that he got from his wife. But he was creative, humorous and witty. He portrayed the people of New Mullion, in an entertaining and humorous manner reflecting his cheerful wisdom. Lutkins outwitted and outsmarted the narrator. Clever and cunning, Lutkins proved that the gullible narrator was just a novice before a seasoned crook like him.

Ans. The narrator was sent to New Mullion to serve summons to Lutkins. At the station, he met a cheerful hack driver who was Lutkins himself. The hack driver took advantage of the situation as the narrator had never met Lutkins before and could not identify him. He offered him all his help to find Lutkins. He took him to all the places where he could find Oliver Lutkins. He charged the narrator two dollars per hour for the ride. He took him to Fritz’s shop, Gustaff’s shop. Gray’s shop, the poolroom and Oliver’s mother’s farm but could not find Lutkins.

When the narrator was hungry he very cleverly convinced him to get the lunch packed which was made by his wife and charged him half a dollar for it. The narrator was impressed by the warm affection, kind and helpful nature of Bill. He liked his entertaining and humourous manner reflecting his cheerful wisdom. The narrator was so much impressed and influenced by the affection and kindness of the hack driver that he wanted to live in New Mullion and continue his law practice there. Thus, first of the narrator didn’t help him to find Oliver Lutkins but he was happy to meet Bill. He learnt from him to stay happy and cheerful.

Ans. The narrator was a fresh graduate from a university. He was a junior assistant clerk in a magnificent law firm. His work was not to prepare legal briefs but to serve the summons. The narrator did not like his job as he had to visit many dirty and shadowy corners of the city. On several occasions, he was beaten up by self-confident and strong people when he went to serve them the summons. He even considered fleeing to his hometown. He got very happy when he was asked to go to New Mullion. He loved natural beauty. The narrator was highly gullible.

He was so much impressed with Bill that he became totally dependent on him. He failed to keep his mission a secret to himself. By disclosing that he had come to serve a summons on Oliver Lutkins, he gave the clever Bill enough time to confuse and mislead him. He was easily taken for a ride by the hack driver. After his first visit, he didn’t mind his failure but planned to come to New Mullion again to start his legal practice there. He was a simple-hearted man. He could not see the trick of the Hackman behind his friendly behaviour. But he was a man of self-respect. His feelings were hurt when Lutkins and his mother laughed at him as he was a bright boy of seven years.

Ans. The lawyer or the narrator is outwitted and deceived due to his gullibility. When Lutkins’ got to know that the lawyer is not aware of who is Oliver Lutkins, he took advantage of the situation. Lutkins knew how to confuse and misdirect the narrator’s search for him. He befriends the lawyer convincing him that he is the only person in New Mullion who can help him in finding out Oliver Lutkins. The lawyer very easily believes the hack driver and becomes a soft target of cunning Lutkins. He allows giving Lutkins all the space and time the he needed to plan out and scheme things. The lawyer told his secret mission to the hack driver and did as he asked him to do.

He took him to all the places in the village telling him that Oliver can be found there and only went himself to enquire about Lutkins. The lawyer became just a willing puppet in Lutkin’s hands. Lutkins was not a crook and fraud but an honest man full of human values for the lawyer. The lawyer didn’t enquire even once at any place about Oliver Lutkins and kept believing whatever Bill told him. When the lawyer served summons, Lutkins and his mother laughed as if he were a seven-year-old boy. At the end the lawyer is befooled and is not able to find Lutkins.

Ans. On his first visit, in spite of his efforts the lawyer failed to find Oliver Lutkins. The gullible lawyer failed in his mission as he was not able to know that Bill himself was Oliver Lutkins. At every stage, he was misdirected and confused. The cunning hack driver never allowed him to question and meet the people directly. He always kept him behind him. Only on his second visit, he succeeded in his mission. The Chief sent a man with him. That man had worked with Lutkins. At the station, when the lawyer introduced Bill, his companion told that Bill was no one else but Oliver Lutkins himself.

In this way, the lawyer was able to serve a summon on Oliver Lutkins. When the summons was served, Oliver Lutkins and his mother laughed at the lawyer. They laughed as if he were a bright seven-year-old boy. And this was exactly what he proved.

Ans. The hack driver told the narrator that Lutkins’ mother was a terror. He told him that she was about nine feet tall and four feet thick. He narrates the incident that once he had taken a trunk for her at her farmhouse. She almost had taken his skin off as he had not treated the trunk like a box of eggs. He said to him that she was as quick as a cat. If she had heard from anywhere that someone had been looking for her son, she would have been more dangerous. When they reached at Oliver’s mother’s farm Bill courageously asked the lady that they are looking for Lutkins.

The lady said that Lutkins is not present in the farm and she doesn’t have any idea where he was. Bill told him authoritatively that the narrator is from the court and has legal orders to search the property for Oliver Lutkins. The lady went towards the kitchen and took the iron and marched towards Bill and the narrator and told them that they can search property if they want to get burnt. Both Bill and the narrator left the farm due to terror of the lady. But they were able to search the farm, stable and barn but couldn’t find Oliver Lutkins.