Great Books Quiz
BROCK UNIVERSITY, CANADA
  1. In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein:
    • Was the Frankenstein family German? YES / NO
    • Could Victor Frankenstein's creature speak? YES / NO
    • Was there a character named Igor who assisted Frankenstein in the laboratory? YES / NO
    • Did Frankenstein have a bride? YES / NO
    • Did Frankenstein's creature have a bride? YES / NO
    • Was the creature eventually killed? YES / NO

  2. Click on the pictures below to indicate who wrote The Communist Manifesto.

  3. Which of the following is NOT one of the classical Laws of Thought?
  4. Who had a loyal companion named Sancho?
  5. Here is a detail from Raphael's painting The School of Athens, showing Aristotle and Plato. Since he created this work almost 2000 years after the deaths of these Greek philosophers, Raphael could only guess at their appearances. However, there are clues in the painting to help identify them. Examine the image carefully. Who is who? How many clues can you find?

    Click here to enlarge the image.
    [Note: Enlarged image is 65K in size and may require more time than usual to download.]

  6. Which of the following 19th-century novelists were women?
    Jane Austen
    (1775-1817)
    was arguably the most
    influential 19th-century
    woman novelist.

  7. Famous Openings. Name the books which begin with the following words. Name each author.
    [For the correct answers, click the blue button before each quotation.]
    "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
    "I sing of arms and of the man..."
    "If music be the food of love, play on."
    "The whole of Gaul is divided into three parts."
    "All human beings by nature desire to know."
    "It was a dark and stormy night."
    "Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote the droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote."
    "One morning, Gregor Samsa awoke from troubling dreams to find himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."

  8. In Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov, what were the names of Fyodor Karamazov's sons?
    Fyodor
    Mikhailovich
    Dostoevsky
    (1821-1881)

  9. Divine Controversies.
    Identify the following great works.
    [For the correct answers, click the blue buttons.]     		Detail from
    Michelangelo's Creation of Man
    Click here to enlarge.
    The author of this epic poem says that his purpose is to "justify the ways of God to men."
    In this work, the warrior Arjuna hesitates on the verge of battle to engage in a lengthy discussion with his charioteer, Krishna, concerning the nature of human and divine existence.
    The author of this medieval essay defines God as "that than which nothing greater can be conceived" and reasons that such a being must be understood to exist in reality.
    This holy book begins by praising God, "the Lord of the Worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful" and "Master of the Day of Judgment."
    The protagonist of this 19th-century work proclaims the death of God, saying, "Away with such a God! Better to have no god; better to choose one's own destiny; better to be a fool; better to be a god oneself!"
    In this work, God sternly rebukes a tormented human being who asks why he must suffer. "Who is this," demands God, "that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"

  10. The Bard. Did William Shakespeare write . . . ?
    • "It was Greek to me." YES / NO
    • "Thereby hangs a tale." YES / NO
    • "All the world's a stage." YES / NO
    • "To thine own self be true." YES / NO
    • "April is the cruellest month." YES / NO
    • "Speak low, if you speak love." YES / NO
    • "A plague o' both your houses!" YES / NO
    • "My candle burns at both ends." YES / NO
    • "She walks in beauty, like the night." YES / NO
    • "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" YES / NO
    • "A little learning is a dang'rous thing." YES / NO
    • "The better part of valour is discretion." YES / NO
    • "It is a wise father that knows his own child." YES / NO
    • "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." YES / NO
    • "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink." YES / NO
    • "All our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death." YES / NO

    Wm. Shakespeare
    (1564-1616)
This page is: http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~tmulligan/taro/quiz.html
Great Books/Liberal Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1