Back to: Maharashtra Board Class 10th English Guide & Notes
Table of Contents
Narrator’s Encounter With Einstein
“The Night I met Einstein” by Jerome Weidman, revolves around the narrator’s encounter with Albert Einstein on an occasion in New York. After the dinner, the guests were treated to some classical music, particularly Bach. The narrator was not happy at all about the concert because he could not enjoy and understand the music which was being played.
He was confident and did not know his capability of understanding and appreciating classical music. He was tone-deaf and did not have any love for classical music. Einstein, who was fond of classical music and Bach, somewhere was able to understand that the narrator was not enjoying the concert. So, he asked the narrator whether he liked Bach because he could see that the narrator did not enjoy the piano concert and Bach was next in the lineup.
They Go to Upper Floor
Einstein engaged the narrator in the conversation and took him out of that room to an upper floor study. It was here that Einstein gave the narrator an all-new knowledge of music. The room had a gramophone in it and the narrator was asked about his favorite music. The narrator replied that he liked those songs that have words and the kind of music where he could follow the tune. He liked anything by Bing Crosby.
Einstein asked him to sing the song and then made him realize that he is not tone deaf. The narrator was still not believed what Einstein just said because he had already heard this song hundreds of times, so it did not prove anything.
Einstein did not give up and continued to justify himself by asking whether the narrator remember his first arithmetic lesson in school or not. In this way, Einstein made him understand that to know the higher level of music is like learning maths. One needs to learn addition and subtraction in order to do multiplication and division. Einstein then played The Trumpeter by McCormack and asked the narrator to sing back.
Narrator Sang
The narrator was able to sing back the lines to Einstein. In this way, Einstein helped the narrator to appreciate higher forms of music. After this, Weidman realized his strength and became confident. The narrator was also amazed that the great Einstein was paying complete attention to him so that he could learn something new. The narrator felt that he was the most important person in his world.
Einstein was really humble and polite. He took his precious time just to teach a man step by step how to like and acknowledge classical music. He then informed the narrator that he was ready to appreciate Bach and then they both went back to the crowded room where the guests were enjoying Bach. Now Weidman, the narrator, listened to Bach with full enthusiasm, and without hesitation, he clapped for it as he genuinely enjoyed the Bach.
Einstein – An Optimistic Person
In the end, the hostess came and apologized to Dr. Einstein for he missed so much. But surprisingly, Einstein said that he was busy with his young friend (the narrator) in the greatest activity of which a human being is capable. This shows how optimistic Dr. Einstein was and he believed in the beauty of helping the people who face problems in catching things fast. Einstein made the narrator see the beauty in classical music.
