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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Updike, John
Hamlet. Updike sets an incredibly high standard for himself in presuming to write a prequel to Shakespeare's most widely read and praised play, Hamlet.
3. The three parts of the book are unique in that each part adheres to a separate naming convention for the "dramatis personae."
Gertrude . Updike writes his book from the point of view of Hamlet's mother, scripting a version that is quite sympathetic to Gertrude.
| In part one of "Gertrude and Claudius" the reader learns of Gerutha's jealousy of Rorik's courtiers. This implies that she has a Electra Complex. True or False? | Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike
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True. Named after the sister of Orestes in Greek mythology, the Electra complex deals with a daughter's obsession with her father.
True. A rather funny incident in the book!
bird. She identifies with the theme of imprisonment of various birds throughout the novel.
Italian. It is indeed Italian. The servant to whom Fengon speaks Italian is the one who later betrays him.
Byzantium. Fengon receives the poison from a lady in Byzantium. "Just as the cross holds both the agony of death and the promise of eternal life, so the juice of hebona combines the essences of yew and henbane, with other ingredients inmical to the blood's humors. Introduced in the mouth or ear, it produces an instant curdling, a violent brother to creeping leprosy. Death is quick, though terrible to behold, and certain."
snake. Fengon identifies with snakes because of his subtle use of poison and deception to accomplish his ends.
Pennsylvania. John Updike was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1932. Perhaps he inherited his literary talent from his mother, who was a part-time writer. Updike's father worked as a math teacher.
| From which college did John Updike graduate? | John Updike
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Harvard. John Updike graduated from Harvard summa cum laude in 1954, majoring in English. While attending Harvard, he was president of the college's "Harvard Lampoon" magazine.
| For which noted magazine did John Updike write several articles? | John Updike
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The New Yorker. John Updike wrote articles in the "The New Yorker" on a full-time basis for about two years. He also contributed essays and furnished literary reviews for the magazine.
| Which famous baseball player's final game was the subject of a John Updike essay? | John Updike
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Ted Williams. John Updike wrote an essay about The Splendid Splinter entitled, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu." In the article, Updike described Ted Williams' final at bat as follows: "He ran as he always ran out home runs- hurriedly, unsmiling, head down, as if our praise were a storm of rain to get out of."
| What is the title of John Updike's first full-length novel? | John Updike
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The Poorhouse Fair. "The Poorhouse Fair", published in 1959, takes place in a public home for the aging. The characters engage in philosophical conversations about such topics as growing old, death, and religion. "Of the Farm" appeared in 1965, "Marry Me" was published in 1977, and "Gertrude and Claudius" came out in 2002.
| Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom is the protagonist of John Updike's novel "Rabbit, Run." In which sport did Rabbit excel during his high school days? | John Updike
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basketball. Rabbit Angstrom was an all-star basketball player for his Mt. Judge, PA, high school team, setting numerous scoring records. However, as an adult, Rabbit cannot recapture the glory years of his youth. In "Rabbit, Run" he is 26 years old and selling kitchen gadgets. Unhappily married, he decides to flee from his wife.
| What is the setting for John Updike's novel "Rabbit, Run"? | John Updike
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suburban Pennsylvania. "Rabbit, Run" takes place near Brewer, Pennsylvania. Rabbit Angstrom, the main character, feels trapped in his small town environment and seeks to run away from his marital responsibilities.
| Which U.S. president was the subject of a play by John Updike? | John Updike
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James Buchanan. "Buchanan Dying" was a play by John Updike about James Buchanan, the U.S. president from 1857 to 1861. The play takes place during the final days of Buchanan's life.
| Which 1987 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Susan Sarandon was loosely based on a novel by John Updike? | John Updike
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The Witches of Eastwick. "The Witches of Eastwick", published in 1984, concerns the lives of three women living in a small Rhode Island town. All three females are witches in search of the perfect man, when Darryl Van Horne, a devilish character, arrives in town to seduce them. Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer co-starred with Nicholson and Sarandon in the film version of the novel.
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