Evans Tries an O-Level

by

Colin Dexter

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Jackson is the senior prison officer at Oxford Prison, which is overseen by the Governor. A World War II veteran, Jackson stands “ramrod straight” and displays his war medals on his jacket pocket. He and Evans are “warm enemies,” frequently exchanging gruff but good-natured insults. Jackson refers to Evans as “Einstein,” poking fun at his bizarre (and possibly suspect) interest in O-level German, but also wishes him well on the exam, saying, “Good luck, old son.” He does feel a slight twinge of empathy for Evans, seen especially when he bends to Evans’s heartfelt (and theatrical) story about needing to wear his grubby hat for good luck—Jackson had told Evans to take it off for the exam, but Evans secretly needs the hat to disguise his new haircut, and, more importantly, his plans to impersonate the proctor to break out of prison.

Jackson Quotes in Evans Tries an O-Level

The Evans Tries an O-Level quotes below are all either spoken by Jackson or refer to Jackson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Intelligence and Deception Theme Icon
).
Evans Tries an O-Level Quotes

“Me ‘at? Huh!” Evans put his right hand lovingly on top of the filthy woollen, and smiled sadly. “D’you know, Mr Jackson, it’s the only thing that’s ever brought me any sort o’ luck in life. Kind o’ lucky charm, if you know what I mean. And today I thought—well, with me exam and all that…”

Buried somewhere in Jackson was a tiny core of compassion; and Evans knew it.

“Just this once, then, Shirley Temple.” (If there was one thing that Jackson genuinely loathed about Evans it was his long, wavy hair.)

Related Characters: James Evans (speaker), Jackson (speaker)
Related Symbols: Evans’s Hat
Page Number: 73-74
Explanation and Analysis:

“And which one of you two morons was it who took Evans for a nice little walk to the main gates and waved him bye-bye?”

“It was me, sir,” stammered Stephens. “Just like you told me, sir. I could have sworn—”

“What? Just like I told you, you say? What the hell—?”

“When you rang, sir, and told me to—”

“When was that?” The Governor’s voice was a whiplash now.

“You know, sir. About twenty past eleven just before—”

“You blithering idiot, man! It wasn’t me who rang you. Don’t you realise—” But what was the use? He had used the telephone at that time, but only to try (unsuccessfully, once more) to get through to the Examinations Board.

Related Characters: The Governor (speaker), Stephens (speaker), James Evans, Jackson
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis:
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Jackson Quotes in Evans Tries an O-Level

The Evans Tries an O-Level quotes below are all either spoken by Jackson or refer to Jackson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Intelligence and Deception Theme Icon
).
Evans Tries an O-Level Quotes

“Me ‘at? Huh!” Evans put his right hand lovingly on top of the filthy woollen, and smiled sadly. “D’you know, Mr Jackson, it’s the only thing that’s ever brought me any sort o’ luck in life. Kind o’ lucky charm, if you know what I mean. And today I thought—well, with me exam and all that…”

Buried somewhere in Jackson was a tiny core of compassion; and Evans knew it.

“Just this once, then, Shirley Temple.” (If there was one thing that Jackson genuinely loathed about Evans it was his long, wavy hair.)

Related Characters: James Evans (speaker), Jackson (speaker)
Related Symbols: Evans’s Hat
Page Number: 73-74
Explanation and Analysis:

“And which one of you two morons was it who took Evans for a nice little walk to the main gates and waved him bye-bye?”

“It was me, sir,” stammered Stephens. “Just like you told me, sir. I could have sworn—”

“What? Just like I told you, you say? What the hell—?”

“When you rang, sir, and told me to—”

“When was that?” The Governor’s voice was a whiplash now.

“You know, sir. About twenty past eleven just before—”

“You blithering idiot, man! It wasn’t me who rang you. Don’t you realise—” But what was the use? He had used the telephone at that time, but only to try (unsuccessfully, once more) to get through to the Examinations Board.

Related Characters: The Governor (speaker), Stephens (speaker), James Evans, Jackson
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis: