First Lines and Fun Facts: 20th Century Classics Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of a mysterious millionaire, his lavish lifestyle, and his romantic pursuits of Daisy Buchanan during the Jazz Age on Long Island? It begins with the line, "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since."

Answer: The Great Gatsby

That advice was, 'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'

The story is told by Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate and World War I veteran who rents a modest house next door to the lavish mansion of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws regular and extravagant parties in attempts to recreate the past, prove his importance, and attract his beloved Daisy, who lives just across the bay.

When it was first published, 'The Great Gatsby' received generally favorable reviews but sold poorly compared to Fitzgerald's other novels. It wasn't until years after Fitzgerald's death that it gained recognition as one of the great American novels, saved from obscurity in large part by the fact that it was given to American servicemen overseas during World War II.

2. What 1939 novel by John Steinbeck tells the story of the Joad family, tenant farmers who journey from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression in search of work and a little dignity? It's opening line is, "To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth."

Answer: The Grapes of Wrath

'The Grapes of Wrath' tells the story of the Joads as they are forced off their land by the Dust Bowl and the debts they have racked up. They pack into a beat-up truck and head west along Route 66, only to find that California is not the promised land for which they had hoped. Jobs are scarce, wages are low, and migrant families are treated with suspicion or outright hostility. The novel combines chapters telling the personal story of the Joads, with other chapters giving a broader view of the economic and social forces hurting workers during the era.

The book was a sensation when it was published. It won the Pulitzer Prize, helped Steinbeck earn the Nobel Prize later in life, and was also immediately controversial. It was banned and even burned in some places, particularly in California, where agricultural interests didn't quite appreciate how they were portrayed. However, among many critics and readers, including first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, it was hailed as sympathetic account of injustices and human survival.

The final scene remains probably one of the most discussed and haunting endings in American literature. Love the ending or hate the ending, you won't forget the ending.

3. What 1942 novel by Albert Camus begins with the chilling lines, "Mother died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know", and tells the story of a detached and emotionally indifferent man named Meursault who commits a random murder and struggles to find meaning in a world that seems to have no purpose?

Answer: The Stranger

'The Stranger' opens with one of the more famous lines in modern literature. From the start, Meursault's emotional detachment is clear. He drifts through life, uninterested in social norms or expectations. Then, almost without reason, he shoots and kills an unnamed Arab man on a beach. The second half of the novel focuses on his trial, where the justice system seems more concerned with his failure to grieve properly than with the crime itself.

Often treated as a cornerstone of existentialist or absurdist literature, the novel deals with alienation, the meaninglessness of life, and the human tendency to impose structure where none exists. As for Camus, he rejected the label of 'existentialist', preferring to describe his philosophy as one of the absurd: our search for meaning in a universe that offers none.

4. What 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger tells the story of a disaffected teenager named Holden Caulfield who wanders around New York City after being expelled from prep school? Its first line introduces us to the character of Holden Caulfield: "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

Answer: The Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield has become one of literature's most iconic narrators, known for his sarcasm, sensitivity, and deep disillusionment with the adult world. After getting kicked out of Pencey Prep, Holden doesn't go home right away. Instead, he drifts around New York City, avoiding responsibility and trying to connect with people in ways that generally fall flat. He's obsessed with the idea of protecting innocence, especially that of his younger sister, Phoebe. The title refers to a misheard line from a Robert Burns poem ('Comin' Thro' the Rye'), which Holden imagines as a job catching children before they fall off a cliff.

When it was first released, the book drew both praise and outrage. It was seen as ground-breaking for its honest voice and depiction of teenage alienation, but also controversial for its language and prickly themes. Over the years, it became a kind of touchstone for young readers who saw themselves in Caulfield's restless confusion and distrust of anything 'phony.' Salinger, meanwhile, became famously reclusive and never published another full-length novel.

5. What 1954 novel by William Golding tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who find themselves stranded on a deserted island and gradually descend into savagery? The first line is, "The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon."

Answer: Lord of the Flies

William Golding wrote 'Lord of the Flies' in part as a deliberate rebuttal to 'The Coral Island' (1857) by R.M. Ballantyne, a Victorian adventure novel in which British boys stranded on an island maintain civilized behavior, like all good British boys do. Golding, who served in the Royal Navy during World War II, didn't think much of this idealized view, which flew in the face of his wartime experiences where he witnessed humanity's capacity for savagery.

Though rejected by several publishers at first, the novel eventually found its audience and became one of the defining works of postwar English literature. The conch shell, Piggy's glasses, and the titular 'Lord of the Flies' have all become iconic symbols among fans and in literary circles. In the end, it's not a story of children acting badly; it's a story about something darker that may be lurking deep within us all.

6. What 1960 novel by Harper Lee is told by a young girl named Scout growing up in a racially divided Alabama town while her father defends a Black man accused of sexually assaulting a white woman? Scout begins her narration with, "When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow."

Answer: To Kill a Mockingbird

The story is narrated by Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch, whose childhood observations of her Depression-era Alabama town show us both its kindness and its deeply-rooted racism. Central to the plot is the trial of Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, a case reflecting the racial injustices of the Jim Crow South. Scout's father, Atticus Finch, defends Robinson, becoming an enduring, if sometimes debated, symbol of courage.

7. What 1961 darkly humorous book by Joseph Heller tells the story of a World War II bombardier named Yossarian who tries to escape the insanity of war and military bureaucracy? It begins intriguingly with the lines, "It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain, he fell madly in love with him."

Answer: Catch-22

At the center of 'Catch-22' is the notorious paradox: a soldier has to be insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he requests to be removed for being insane, that proves he's actually sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved, at which point he continues to fly, proving his insanity once again.

This circular logic, Catch-22, traps soldiers in endless combat, satirizing the dehumanizing absurdity of war. 'That's some catch'.

8. "They're out there" begins this 1962 novel by Ken Kesey. What classic tells the story of a rebellious man named Randle McMurphy who fakes insanity to get out of prison and ends up challenging the crushing authority of a mental hospital?

Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Told through the eyes of a sympathetic, if very unwell, Native American mental patient named Chief Bromden, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is, among other things, a sharp criticism of institutional control and a celebration of the individual. When McMurphy arrives on the ward, it doesn't take him long to realize that Nurse Ratched rules with a quiet, bureaucratic cruelty.

She maintains control not through violence but through shame and fear. McMurphy, with his loud voice and refusal to be broken, becomes a symbol of resistance, both inspiring to others and inherently dangerous to the system.

9. What 1982 novel by Alice Walker tells the story of Celie, a poor African American woman in the early 20th-century South who finds her voice after years of hardship and abuse? It begins, "You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy."

Answer: The Color Purple

Told through a series of letters, first to God and later to her long lost sister, 'The Color Purple' chronicles Celie's life as she endures poverty, racism, and abuse from nearly every man in her life.

For much of the novel, Celie is silenced and stripped of any real control over her life. But through the support of other women, particularly the fiercely independent Shug Avery and the assertive Sofia, she begins to reclaim her identity, her sexuality, and her power.

Alice Walker made history when the book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award, making her the first Black woman to receive either honor for fiction. In 1985, a movie-version of the book was released, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, and Margaret Avery. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it was nominated for ten Academy Awards, but failed to take home any trophies.

10. What 1987 novel by Toni Morrison tells the story of a formerly enslaved woman named Sethe who is haunted, both by the past and, more literally, by the ghost of her baby? It begins with a description of the haunting: "124 was spiteful. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children."

Answer: Beloved

'Beloved' is inspired by the true story of Margaret Garner, an escaped slave. In the novel, Sethe lives in a house on the outskirts of Cincinnati with her daughter Denver, trying to build a life after escaping from a brutal plantation known as Sweet Home. But the house is haunted by the spirit of her dead baby, an unsettling presence that becomes even more unsettling when a mysterious young woman appears, calling herself Beloved. Her arrival forces Sethe and the others to confront memories they'd rather leave buried.

The novel explores the deep scars of slavery, not just the physical brutality but the erasure of identity, family, and self-worth. It doesn't shy away from the horror but also captures the deep bonds of love, especially between mothers and children. The writing is lyrical, sometimes dreamlike, and often devastating. Morrison described it not as a ghost story, but as a history that won't stay buried.

When the novel was released, it was both celebrated and banned. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and contributed to Morrison's Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. It is now considered one of the most important American novels of the twentieth century.

Source: Author JJHorner

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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I'll give you the year, the author, a brief plot summary, and the first line of a 20th century classic. Simply select the title. From mental institutions to random executions, here are ten classics from the century that brought you sliced bread.

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