Literary Change-A-Letter Trivia Quiz

Answer: To Bill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" was her only novel, and some skeptics believe that it was instead written by Lee's friend Truman Capote. Either way, the novel is a powerful tale of racism and social differences in the South that Lee probably experienced in her childhood.

The story is told from the point of view of Scout Finch, a young girl growing up in Maycomb County, Alabama. Scout's father Atticus is chosen to defend accused rapist Tom Robinson in court. Although Tom is clearly shown to be innocent, the jury convicts him because he is a black man. One of "To Kill a Mockingbird"'s main themes is the loss of innocence, which is exemplified in the novel's title. Atticus explains to Scout that it's a sin to shoot a mockingbird, a bird that sings and has done no crime.

Answer: Their Eyes Were Watching Cod

"Their Eyes Were Watching God", Hurston's most famous novel, follows Janie Crawford, a Southern black woman searching for a successful marriage. Janie marries Logan Killicks, an older farmer who originally dotes on her but begins to treat her more harshly as time goes on. One day, a younger man, Joe Starks, happens by the farm and flirts with Janie.

They eventually elope and move to Eatonville, Florida, where Joe becomes mayor. Joe stifles Janie's dreams, and she eventually fights back, causing their marriage to fall apart.

After Joe dies, Janie begins dating a younger man named Tea Cake, whom she marries. They move to the Everglades and form a happy life; however, a rabid dog bites Tea Cake in the middle of a hurricane. Janie kills him to save her own life, and returns to Eatonville, where the city gossips about her. Eventually, Janie feels peace with herself.

Answer: The Din Drum

"The Tin Drum" is the first novel of Grass' "Danzig" trilogy and follows Oscar Mazerath, a gifted child who wills himself not to grow up after seeing the corruption of the adult world. For his third birthday, Oskar receives a tin drum for his birthday, and it becomes his prized possession. Throughout his troubled life, the drum brings Oskar his only solace, and he is disappointed as others grow up around him. Oskar confesses guilt to the murder of a woman he loved and is sentenced to an insane asylum, where he writes "The Tin Drum" as his memoirs.

Answer: The Pet and the Pendulum

"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a classic Poe short story, filled with suspense, mystery, and horrific details. The narrator is placed in front of a group of judges during the Spanish Inquisition and is found guilty of an unspecified crime. He is placed in a cell with an enormous pit in its center, with death certain to any who fell into the hole.

The narrator loses consciousness and awakens strapped to a board. A scythe-like pendulum attached to the ceiling is swinging back and forth and gradually coming down, so that it will eventually kill him.

He attracts rats to eat through the ropes and manages to escape inches before death; however, the walls begin to glow red-hot and move inward, so that the narrator is forced to nearly fall into the pit.

At the last second, the narrator is rescued by the French army and escapes with his life.

Answer: Fur Town

"Our Town" is Thornton Wilder's most famous work, but it shares characteristics with his other plays, such as "The Skin of Our Teeth" in that planted audience members and a Stage Manager make the work more interactive to viewers. The play takes place in the town of Grover's Corners in 1901.

The plot centers around George Gibbs and Emily Webb, who fall in love and marry. Emily dies in childbirth and returns to the past so that she can observe the average day in Grover's Corners. She remarks upon the beauty of life, which the living take for granted.

Answer: Gong of Solomon

"Song of Solomon" is a novel about identity and racism and was based on Morrison's own experiences. Milkman is a cruel young man who lacks empathy and compassion for others. Milkman and his friend Guitar Bains attempt to rob Milkman's aunt Pilate when they hear that Pilate has millions of dollars in gold hidden away.

The gold doesn't exist, but the two find a skeleton, that of Milkman's grandfather Macon Dead. Milkman and Guitar go to Pennsylvania to try and located the gold, but realize that the promised millions do not exist.

Instead, Milkman learns about his family and its history. Macon's father was an African named Solomon, who escaped from slavery by flying back to Africa. Milkman's gleanings give him purpose and allow him to be a more compassionate person.

Answer: The Turn of the Shrew

Katherina is the title character in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". She is a sassy, stubborn woman whom no man wants to marry; however, her father refuses to let anyone marry Bianca, her beautiful younger sister, until Katherina finds a husband. Petruchio comes to Padua where the play takes place and marries Katherina for her enormous dowry, and he begins to "tame" her after learning about the woman's nasty habits. By acting even pettier and more obnoxiously in front of his wife, Katherina realizes how ridiculous she looks and turns into a perfect angel.

Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" is a ghost story. A young governess becomes the guardian of two children and writes a manuscript about her experiences. She sees a man looking at her from a tower and notices the children are acting strangely. Eventually, the events lead her to go insane.

Answer: The Scarlet Litter

"The Scarlet Letter" remains one of the seminal works of American literature and is Hawthorne at his greatest. Hester Prynne is put on trial in Puritan New England for committing adultery. As punishment, she is forced to wear the letter "A" on her bosom, embroidered and bright red. Her husband, who has finally reached America and was ready to reunite with her, is the physician Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth becomes the personal aide to Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who we learn was Hester's adulterous partner, and the doctor begins to torture the minister's health. Eventually, Dimmesdale's guilt is displayed after a passionate sermon when he and Hester attempt to escape over the ocean. Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne are eventually buried together in a grave shaped like an "A".

The Christian allegory to the story of Adam and Eve is completely evident in Hawthorne's masterpiece. The adultery is compared to original sin, and Pearl, Hester and Arthur's daughter, is constantly alluded to as a devil.

Answer: The Major of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy based "The Mayor of Casterbridge" on Dorchester, Dorset; Hardy's childhood home is located in the town.

"The Mayor of Casterbridge" is another novel about guilt, this time of merchant Michael Henchard. After getting drunk, Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter to a sailor for five guineas. Henchard realizes what he has done too late and cannot find his wife in the morning. Eighteen years later, husband and wife reunite, and they decide to court and remarry so that their daughter will not learn the truth. Henchard's employee Farfrae falls in love with Henchard's daughter, and Henchard fires Farfrae in fury. Lucetta, a woman with whom Henchard had been involved after his wife's disappearance, comes to marry Henchard, but dies shortly thereafter. The sailor returns to Casterbridge and tells Henchard's daughter the truth about her parents. She leaves Henchard and decides to marry Farfrae. Henchard asks in his will to be forgotten.

Answer: Gone With the Wink

"Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful..." So begins Margaret Mitchell's only work, "Gone With the Wind". The novel is centered around the rich and spoiled Scarlett O'Hara, owner of the Tara plantation. Scarlett is willful and stubborn, and she is not willing to give up her plantation at any costs.

Her search to find love is a well-remembered one, after Hollywood turned the story into one of the most famous movies of all time. Scarlett's third husband, Rhett Butler, leaves her at the end of the novel after realizing that he no longer loved her; however, his parting words in the novel are "My dear, I don't give..." rather than the movie's "Frankly, my dear, I don't give".

Answer: Remembrance of Things Last

"Remembrance of Things Past" is Marcel Proust's crowning achievement. The novel consists of seven separate volumes, each tremendously long, making the text one of the longest classics ever written. The seven volumes are entitled "Swann's Way", "Within a Budding Grove", "The Guermantes Way", "Cities of the Plain", "The Captive", "The Fugitive", and "The Past Recaptured". Major themes of the work include the nature of art, music, and memory.

Answer: The Mall of the Wild

Jack London's "Call of the Wild" shows the remarkable transformation of Buck, a tame California dog, into a wild wolf. Buck is abducted by a greedy gardener and sold to work as a sled dog to prospectors in the Yukon hoping to make a fortune in gold. Buck refuses to be broken and eventually adapts to the tough lifestyle. Because of his size, he is able to dominate over the smaller husky dogs, and he eventually defeats rival Spitz in battle. Conditions get worse for Buck after he is sold to a group of incompetent owners who can't afford to feed the dogs. Buck is acquired from the group by John Thornton, a kind man who enjoys camping and hunting. Buck learns the feel of a master once more, but his time in the forest leads him to lust for the call of the wild. Buck leaves Thornton and joins a wild wolf pack.

Answer: Night in August

Faulkner's "Light in August" is a complex work with several plots that tie together. Lena Grove, a pregnant young woman, comes to Jefferson, Mississippi to find Lucas Burch, the father of her unborn child. The town is in an uproar over the murder of Joanna Burden and the fire that has destroyed her home.

A man named Joe Brown comes forward and claims that Joe Christmas, a half-black man, was responsible for Burden's murder, and that the two were secret lovers. Both claims end up being true. Lena finds a place to live with a man named Byron Bunch; Byron realizes that Lucas Burch and Joe Brown are one person, but he doesn't tell Lena. Bunch goes to Reverend Hightower to ask for an alibi proving that Christmas is innocent, but Hightower refuses. Christmas runs away from his captors to Hightower's house, where he is killed by a racist captain. Hightower claims falsely that Christmas was with him the night of the murder in a desperate attempt to save the man's life, but it fails. Hightower feels redeemed and soon dies. Lena leaves Jefferson in search of Lucas, who had left when he saw her face.

Answer: Done

Frank Herbert's "Dune" was published in 1965 and was an instantaneous success. It won the 1966 Hugo Award and the first ever Nebula Award, and it is often considered the greatest science fiction novel of all time. The protagonist is Paul Atreides, whose family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis, the center of the universe's spice trade.

Herbert followed "Dune" up with several sequels, and the novel also inspired a film adaptation, and two television miniseries.

Answer: The Pound and the Fury

"The Sound and the Fury" is one of Faulkner's most difficult novels to read, primarily because the first section is narrated by Benjy Compson, a mentally disabled adult. The novel is about the Compson family, a prominent family that has seen its wealth vanish after the Civil War. Quentin, the oldest son, is overly emotional; Caddy, the only daughter, is compassionate and vibrant; Jason is unkind and difficult; and Benjy is the "idiot" of the family. Quentin attends Harvard University after the family sells off a portion of its land, but when he hears that Caddy has become pregnant out of wedlock, he drowns himself in the Charles River.

The Compsons disown Caddy but take in her new daughter. Jason concocts a plan to siphon away Caddy's payments for childcare to the family.

The daughter becomes a rebellious and promiscuous girl, and she eventually runs away from Jason after stealing thousands of dollars from him. Jason chases after her, and the Compson cook Dilsey takes Benjy and the rest of the family to church.

Answer: The Plaque

Although Albert Camus constantly insisted that he was not an existentialist, his two major works, "The Stranger" and "The Plague" are both highly representative of the genre. "The Plague" takes place in Oran, Algeria, which is thrown into hysterics after hordes of rats die in the streets one day.

Although the rats are cremated systematically, incidences of a strange fever begin to spread through the city. Dr. Rieux and his colleague Castel realize that the fever is really the bubonic plague, and urge the public and authorities to quarantine the sick. Quarantines are put into place too late, the city faces a widespread epidemic.

Although panic and despair lead to hundreds of deaths, the Oran citizens begin to work together to stop the disease.

It eventually disappears, having killed randomly and widely, absurdly and destructively.

Answer: The Court of Monte Cristo

"The Count of Monte Cristo" centers around protagonist Edmond Dantes, a soon-to-be captain who is engaged to the beautiful Mercedes. Three friends of Dantes, jealous of his success, write a letter accusing him of treason, and Dantes is arrested on his wedding day for alleged crimes.

Although the deputy prosecutor Villefort realizes that Dantes is innocent, he discovers that Dantes had carried a letter from Napoleon in exile to Villefort's father. If word got out of his father's treason, Villefort would be greatly affected, so he sentences Dantes to life in prison at the Chateau d'If.

In prison, Dantes meets Abbe Faria, who tells him that a treasure is hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. Dantes escapes from prison by hiding in Faria's shroud after his friend dies, and swimming away from the prison. Dantes finds the treasure and sets out to revenge himself on those who wronged him.

Answer: Slack Boy

"Black Boy" is Richard Wright's autobiography about growing up in the Jim Crow South in the early twentieth century. Little Richard faced extremely difficult conditions, with violence everywhere. Wright succeeded in merely surviving, and he became fond of reading and writing early in life to the surprise of everyone.

Although Richard moved up north, racism still existed in Chicago. During the Great Depression, Richard joined the Communist Party, but he realized that it was the same as any other political group and left.

He remained determined to communicate to the world through his writing.

Answer: A Farewell to Arts

Ernest Hemingway served as an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I. His experiences during the war inspired the character of Frederic Henry in "A Farewell to Arms". Henry falls in love with Catherine Barkley, an English nurse, upon returning to the front as an ambulance driver.

Henry is wounded on the battlefield, and Catherine is transferred to Milan to care for him. They become deeply passionate for each other. Catherine tells Henry that she is pregnant and Henry is returned to the front.

After a close call, Henry escapes from the war effort and returns to Catherine, and they row to neutral Switzerland together. Catherine goes into labor with their baby son, but both mother and son die in childbirth. Henry, crushed, finds it impossible to say goodbye.

Answer: Prude and Prejudice

Jane Austen's classic "Pride and Prejudice" might be better off with the new title: a prude is someone who is overconcerned with public behavior and decorum, which is a fairly good description of Mr. Darcy, the male protagonist of the novel. The story centers around the Bennett family, whose overbearing mother desperately tries to make matches for her five children.

When Jane, the eldest, is courted by rich Charles Bingley, Elizabeth becomes acquainted with Darcy, a seemingly grumpy man who is too proud and too prejudiced to admit his feelings for her.

In the end, of course, they eventually fall for each other, and Jane and Mr. Bingley also marry. The younger children have less successful marriages.

Answer: The Old Van and the Sea

"The Old Man and the Sea" is a Hemingway novella about Santiago the Cuban fisherman. After months of bad luck, Santiago is deemed a failure by the community, and even Santiago's friend Manolin has been forced to ignore the old man. Santiago travels far out to sea and manages to hook a gigantic fish. They engage in a three-day struggle, which Santiago eventually wins. The fish's blood attracts mako sharks in the water, and the enormous creature is eventually completely eaten, and only the skeleton remains. Upon returning to mainland, Santiago falls into deep sleep while the village marvels at his achievement.

Hemingway often likens Santiago to a Christ figure. Both of them turn their defeats into triumphs, as Christ saved the world from its sins, and Santiago is proud of his great achievements though they yielded nothing.

Answer: The Bell War

Sylvia Plath was mentally unstable throughout her life, and "The Bell Jar" is her fictionalized autobiography. The story is told through the eyes of Esther Greenwood, a college graduate and journalist who is trying to find herself in the world. Esther attempts to lose her virginity, which she believes would allow her to achieve identity, but she cannot find an answer to her questions.

She begins to fall apart mentally and physically, and electroshock therapy makes her even less sane. After a number of suicide attempts, Esther wakes up in the hospital, where properly administered therapy begins to help her recovery. Esther manages to lose her virginity and improves slowly.

She intends to leave the hospital and return to college, but she realizes that her madness, which is likened to a "bell jar" could recur at any time.

Answer: The Canterbury Taxes

"The Canterbury Tales" is by far Chaucer's most famous work, although reading it in its original Middle English is a daunting task. The story is simple: a group of 29 pilgrims traveling to Thomas a Becket's shrine meet at the Tabard Inn and agree to tell stories to pass the time on their pilgrimage. Some of the stories are moral, some are funny, and others are plainly ridiculous!

Answer: Way and Peace

"War and Peace" is Tolstoy's masterpiece. The novel depicts nineteenth-century Russia, which had been invaded by Napoleon in 1812. The upper-and-middle class Russians must adapt to the war, and some are forced to enlist or try to destroy Napoleon. Family trouble stirs, and love begins to bring lonely hearts together.

At the end of the novel, Pierre Bezukhov marries Natasha Rostova, and Mary Bolkonskaya marries Nicholas Rostov.

Answer: The Raze of the Lock

Pope's mock-epic "The Rape of the Lock" can only be described with that term. The poem is written in the same format as ancient Greek epics like the "Iliad", yet the plot is intentionally ridiculous. Belinda's loss of a lock of hair is compared of the theft of Helen of Troy. The formal structure of the poem, coupled with the sheer idiocy of the plot, makes the epic an entertaining read.