Traveling Through "The Phantom Tollbooth" Quiz

Answer: by thinking

"At 8 o'clock we get up, and then we spend from 8 to 9 daydreaming. From 9 to 9:30 we take our early midmorning nap. From 9:30 to 10:30 we dawdle and delay. From 10:30 to 11:30 we take our late early morning nap. From 11:30 to 12:00 we bide our time and then eat lunch..."

In the story, Milo (the main character) finds himself thinking as little as possible and ends up in a location based on not thinking at all. The doldrums are defined as a state of sluggish lack of thinking and inaction. It makes sense that thinking would get you out of the doldrums.

"The Phantom Tollbooth" (1961) was written by Norton Juster (1929-2021) and is considered a modern classic of children's literature. In his long life, he was both an author and an architect.

Answer: Tock

Tock goes tick-tick-tick and is named Tock. The illustrations in the book portray Tock as a large dog of indeterminate breed. His most distinctive feature is a large watch or clock face on his side - he is a watchdog. He is able to use human language and in many ways is smarter than Milo, or at least more knowledgeable. In some ways, though, he is rather doglike, like when he asks if he can ride in Milo's car and announces that he likes car rides.

Although he is not encountered in the story, Tock's brother is his opposite. His name is Tick, but he goes tock-tock-tock.

Answer: Rhyme and Reason

Rhyme and Reason are the younger adopted sisters of King Azaz and the Mathemagician. They sort of serve as the "Maguffin" of the book. The quest to rescue them from the Castle in the Air drives the plot of the story. Apart from that, the Princesses do not have any significance to the story, though they are generally more pleasant than their brothers in the few scenes where they appear.

Answer: Why Not

The city of Dictionopolis is under the rule of King Azaz. Milo's "Why Not" summarizes his character at the beginning of the story with its connotation of indifference.

The illustrations for "The Phantom Tollbooth" were drawn by Jules Pfeiffer (1929-2025), who was also the housemate of Norman Juster. In addition to being an illustrator and an author, he was also a cartoonist.

Answer: The Dreadful Rauw

He perished in the great silence epidemic of 1712. The DYNNE is a genie who collects noises for Dr. Discord. Dr. Discord is a scientist who collects unpleasant sounds. Though he collects unpleasant sounds, he's not particularly unpleasant himself.

Answer: By Jumping

The answer repeats the common phrase "jumping to conclusions". This refers to the practice about quickly making decisions based on faulty assumptions. Juster's book includes a number of literal description of common phrases.

Answer: Dodecahedron

Milo and the others meet a Dodecahedron (a twelve-sided shape) to assist them in finding the way. The dodecahedron is surprised that the others aren't named after the shape they are.

Interestingly, I had assumed a dodecahedron was basically shaped like a soccer ball (football). To my surprise, I found that that shape is called a truncated icosahedron.

Answer: Magic staff

Milo had to transport grain over with tweezers. Tock had to move water from a bucket to a well with an eye dropper. Finally the humbug had to dig a hole with a needle. Milo is able to use the magic staff (essentially a writing implement) to calculate how long these jobs will take and finds they will take a very long time.

These impossible tasks illustrate an important point: you should work hard, but towards a meaningful goal. Rescuing the princesses is a meaningful goal and the Terrible Trivium's tasks are not.

Answer: That it was impossible

"...but if we've told you then, you might not have gone and as you've discovered, so many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible."

This phrase occurs at the end of the story after Rhyme and Reason have been reunited with their older brothers. This would seem to be one of the themes of the story.

Answer: No

The original author of the quiz said "This was the best book ever!" This might be true, but Milo had such an exciting time in the Land of Wisdom, he made a shocking discovery. When he planned to return, he discovered the Tollbooth was gone! Because he had discovered his love of learning and now fully engaged with the world, he no longer needed the Tollbooth.