Characters and Their Jobs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Blacksmith

Joe Gargery, a blacksmith, appears in 'Great Expectations', written by Charles Dickens and published in novel form in 1861 after being released in instalments, as was common for the author's works. The novel follows the life of an orphan named Pip (Philip Pirrip), who struggles to win the affections of Estella and become a gentleman.

Joe Gargery is Pip's brother-in-law, married to Pip's older sister, depicted as bad-tempered and shrewish although she does take care of Pip as he is growing up. Joe, by contrast, is always kind and gentle with Pip and is his father figure until Pip leaves to go to London to pursue his dreams. Joe works as a blacksmith and has hopes of Pip joining him in the business. When Pip's sister dies, Dickens gives Joe a happy ending by marrying him to Biddy, a much nicer character with whom he has two children.

Answer: Detective

Alexander McCall Smith created the character of Precious Ramotswe, who made her first appearance in the 'No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' in 1998. The book was a success and McCall Smith has written many others in the series, set in Botswana in Africa.

Mma Precious Ramotswe (Mma is an honorific) uses the inheritance she receives from her father to move to Botswana's capital, Gaborone, where she sets up a detective agency. While her focus is on solving crimes, she takes the approach of learning as much as possible about the clients who come to her for help. She reasons that knowing as much as possible about those seeking her help is likely to assist her in determining what happened. The books introduce us to the other people in Ramotswe's life as well, forming well rounded characters,

Answer: Pirate

Ben Gunn appears in 'Treasure Island', and was a member of Captain Flint's crew of pirates on the ship called the 'Hispaniola'. He has been marooned on the island for three years and is rediscovered by the hero of the story, Jim Hawkins, when the ship returns there. Gunn forms an alliance with Jim and escapes the island, leaving his former crewmates marooned instead.

The novel, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, was first published in 1883 and created a word picture of pirates which is still recognisable in modern depictions of them.

Answer: Valet

Bunter is the manservant to Lord Peter Wimsey, the gentleman detective created by Dorothy L Sayers. Bunter is described as having performed a similar role during wartime, as a batman to Lord Peter during the First World War.

Bunter also assists in detective work, particularly those tasks which require some undercover work which Wimsey himself could not undertake. The pair appear in several books, including the 1923 book 'Whose Body?' and 'The Nine Tailors' from 1934.

Answer: Secretary

Miss Felicity Lemon is the frighteningly efficient secretary to Hercule Poirot in the stories created by Agatha Christie. She appears in four novels, 'Hickory Dickory Dock' (1955), 'Dead Man's Folly' (1956), 'Third Girl' (1966) and 'Elephants Can Remember' (1972). Miss Lemon is also mentioned in novellas and several short stories also featuring Poirot.

She is described as an unattractive middle-aged woman, but is someone Poirot takes seriously - if she draws his attention to something, he has learned that it is likely to be important. Miss Lemon has a wide range of knowledge and is described as making only two mistakes during her employment, and those only due to being distracted by a family matter.

Answer: Miner

Walter Morel features in D H Lawrence's 1913 novel 'Sons and Lovers'. He is married to a wife (Gertrude) who realises too late that she has been blinded by passion and has married someone she considers lower in status than she is. Instead, she turns her suffocating love on her sons, firstly William and then Paul, after William's death.

Paul Morel is the main focus of the novel as he tries to find love with two different women. However, he is unable to break free of his mother and is left alone when she dies.

Answer: Chocolatier

We leave the UK again for this question, as Vianne is the heroine of Joanne Harris's novel 'Chocolat', published in 1999 and set in France. Vianne arrives in a village to set up a shop selling chocolate. She is a single parent of a daughter, aged six.

The timing of the shop opening is during Lent, a time of abstinence in the Christian calendar. The shop is located opposite the church too, causing problems with the Priest, Reynaud, and many of his congregation. The story introduces other outsiders in a group of travellers who arrive by boat to the village. Vianne welcomes them while most of the villagers, led by Reynaud, ostracise them. Reynaud becomes so incensed by the shop, he breaks in to vandalise the stock, but finds the lure of the chocolate too much and gorges himself instead.

Answer: Doctor

Watson is the man who assists Sherlock Holmes and records the mysteries the two of them have solved. The characters were created by Arthur Conan Doyle and appeared for the first time in 'A Study in Scarlet', from 1887.

Watson is a medical doctor who was injured while serving in Afghanistan and is introduced to Holmes by a friend. Holmes is looking for someone to share his lodgings at the famous 221B Baker Street, and decides Watson will be an acceptable room mate. The pair embark on various adventures together, with Watson taking on the task of writing about the crimes they solve together.

Answer: Teacher

Dating from 1961, 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' is a novel by Muriel Spark. It tells the story of Jean Brodie, a teacher in a girls' school, her unsatisfactory love life and the group of six girls she singles out for personal tuition - 'the Brodie set'.

When the novel starts, the six girls are aged ten and the novel follows them throughout their schooldays and into adult life. Jean herself teaches the girls using unconventional means and topics, which brings her into conflict with the headmistress, Miss Mackay. Miss Brodie falls in love with a married teacher, but doesn't pursue this due to his marriage and Catholic religion, instead having an affair with another male teacher which leads nowhere. As the girls mature, one of them in particular gives Miss Mackay enough ammunition to ruin Brodie's career by accusing her of promoting fascism.

Answer: Shepherd

Gabriel Oak is one of the characters from Thomas Hardy's novel 'Far From the Madding Crowd', which came out in novel form in 1874. The story of Bathsheba Everdene and her three suitors is one of Hardy's best loved books.

Gabriel loves Bathsheba faithfully, but their paths diverge dramatically when he loses his flock (a young sheepdog drives them over a cliff), ruining him financially, while she becomes a wealthy land owner. As a joke, she sends a Valentine card to an older neighbour, William Boldwood, who misunderstands the gesture and becomes enamoured of Bathsheba. She marries a soldier, Frank Troy, who disappears from her life before coming back and causing tragedy for himself and Boldwood. Bathsheba eventually realises that Gabriel is the only man who truly loves and understands her, giving the novel one of the few happy endings in a Hardy novel.