Book Title Tableau - Foods Trivia Quiz

Answer: Peach

"James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl was published in 1961. It is a children's fantasy novel that follows the adventures of James Henry Trotter, an orphan who escapes his miserable life with his cruel aunts by entering a magical, enormous peach. There he meets oversized insect characters including a grasshopper, a centipede, a spider, and others.

In this book, the word "peach" refers literally to the fruit, though it is transformed into a giant, magical version that serves as a home and flying vehicle.

Answer: Grapes

"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck was published in 1939. It tells the story of the Joad family, who are forced to leave their farm in Oklahoma during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. They travel to California hoping to find work and stability, but instead face low wages, poor living conditions, and discrimination.

The word "grapes" in the title does not literally refer to the fruit. Instead, it is used to represent the anger and injustice building up among the poor and oppressed, a reference drawn from the phrase "the grapes of wrath" in "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." That phrase itself comes from the Bible, specifically Revelation 14:19-20, which describes grapes being gathered and crushed in "the great winepress of God's wrath."

Answer: Meatballs

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett, and illustrated by her (former) husband Ron Barrett, was published in 1978. The story is told as a tall tale by a grandfather to his grandchildren about a town called Chewandswallow, where food falls from the sky three times a day instead of regular weather. At first, the townspeople enjoy the arrangement, but eventually the food storms become too large and dangerous, forcing them to leave their town and live elsewhere.

The "meatballs" that appear in the book are exaggerated in size and are a part of the unusual weather.

Answer: Cherry

"The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov was first performed in 1904. It is a play about Lyuba Ranevskaya and her family, who return to their estate in Russia that is about to be sold to pay off debts. The estate's large cherry orchard is beloved by the family, but a businessman named Lopakhin buys the land and plans to cut down the orchard to build summer cottages, a clash between old aristocratic traditions and the rise of a new social order.

The cherry trees are actual fruit trees, but the orchard serves as a larger symbol of the family's past and a fading way of life in Russia.

Answer: Eggs

"Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss was published in 1960. It tells the story of Sam-I-Am, who persistently encourages another character to try the dish of green eggs and ham. The other character refuses again and again, no matter the location or situation, until he finally agrees to taste it and discovers that he actually likes it.

In the book, the eggs are an imaginary form of fried eggs with green yolks. They are served with ham.

Answer: Tortilla

"Tortilla Flat" by John Steinbeck was published in 1935. The novel is set in Monterey, California, after World War I and follows a group of paisano friends, including Danny, who inherits two houses. The men live together in one of the houses, spending their time sharing wine, seeking food, and drifting through other less legal activities.

"Tortilla Flat" itself is the name of the neighborhood where the story takes place, so it's not a food per se. However, Spanish and Mexican naming traditions have often leaned toward naming (or at the very least nicknaming) neighborhoods after food.

Answer: Chocolate

"The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier was published in 1974. The novel takes place at a Catholic boys' high school where students are pressured to participate in a fundraiser selling chocolates. Jerry Renault, a freshman, refuses to sell them after being influenced by a secret student society and his own decision to resist.

The "chocolate" in the title refers to the chocolate being sold in the book. There is enormous pressure to sell as much chocolate as possible.

Answer: Tomatoes

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg was published in 1987. The novel tells the story of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, who run the Whistle Stop Cafe in Alabama during the 1920s and 1930s. Ninny Threadgoode later recalls their experiences, which include their struggles in the South and a mysterious disappearance. She shares these stories with Evelyn Couch in the 1980s.

Fried green tomatoes are a Southern dish and a specialty of the cafe, though they don't play a particularly large role in the book. They mostly offer a stand-in for the culture and community in which the book takes place.

Answer: Cabbages

"Cabbages and Kings" by O. Henry was published in 1904. It is a series of interconnected short stories set in the fictional Central American town of Coralio, where American expatriates and local citizens become entangled in schemes involving politics, business, and a missing president. The book is also known for coining the term "banana republic" to describe unstable nations exploited for their resources.

In this collection, the word "cabbages" in the title does not directly refer to the food; instead, the phrase comes from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter" and is used to suggest a mix of both ordinary and important matters.

Answer: Orange

"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess was published in 1962. The novel follows Alex, a teenager who leads a gang that commits violent crimes, until he is arrested and subjected to an experimental treatment meant to condition him against violence.

The origin of the word "orange" in the title has been infamously debated, even given multiple explanations by Burgess himself. One explanation given by him says the word is included in a phrase believed to refer to strangeness or queerness, while another explanation stated that it came from the Malay word "orang," meaning "man." A separate explanation found within the author's own essay states, "this title would be appropriate for a story about the application of Pavlovian or mechanical laws to an organism which, like a fruit, was capable of colour and sweetness." It all feels a bit like Burgess was pulling our collective legs.