Memorable Quotes, Memorable Books Quiz

Answer: Don Quixote

This line is plucked from Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote", published in two parts in 1605 and 1615. Regarded by many as the first modern novel, it follows Alonso Quixano, a gentleman so enamored by chivalric stories that he puts on a battered suit of armor, climbs atop his trusty nag Rocinante, and transforms himself into super-knight Don Quixote. All knights need a quest, and as such he heads out to fix the world's problems, most of which exist only in his imagination.

Joined by his ever-practical sidekick Sancho Panza, Don Quixote's adventures wobble between the ridiculous and the endearing. The famous episode where he attacks windmills, convinced they're enemy giants, has become the universal symbol for enthusiastically missing the point, a reminder that sometimes, fighting imaginary foes is a lot easier than dealing with another urgent email.

Answer: The Great Gatsby

This line appears in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby". Published in 1925, "Gatsby" is his classic story about wealth, illusion, and desire in 1920s America. The speaker here is Jordan Baker, a professional golfer and friend of Daisy Buchanan, who delivers this paradox with the casual wit that seem to dominate Fitzgerald's social interactions.

Fitzgerald's parties, like those hosted by Jay Gatsby, are famously lavish affairs, overflowing with music, champagne, and strangers. Jordan's observation points to the strange anonymity of such crowds. Surrounded by people, one can vanish into the background and speak freely. It's a good tip for real life, too.

Answer: Slaughterhouse Five

This line comes from Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five", his subtly and darkly humorous antiwar novel published in 1961 which blends satire, science fiction, and autobiography (although probably not the part with the Tralfamadorians). The story follows our hero Billy Pilgrim, an optometrist turned reluctant soldier, who becomes "unstuck in time", experiencing his strange life in a nonlinear jumble. The phrase "So it goes" recurs throughout the novel, appearing whenever death or destruction is mentioned, pointing out the inevitability of mortality with perhaps a dash of Camusian absurdity thrown in.

In this passage, Vonnegut brings a biblical reference into the story, retelling the tale of Lot's wife from Genesis. His sympathetic take, admiring her for her very human act of looking back, demonstrates some of the novel's central themes, particularly the tug-of-war between accepting life's sheer randomness and our very human need to remember and mourn.

Answer: All Quiet on the Western Front

Well, that's grim, and it comes from a very grim novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque, published back in 1928. The story follows Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier, as he gets a front-row seat to the horrors of World War I. This quote highlights the dark talents you pick up at the front: skills you definitely don't learn in class, but have to figure out fast if you want to stay alive.

Remarque's novel doesn't sugarcoat war. Instead of turning soldiers into heroes, it shows just how exhausting and heartbreaking fighting can be. The advice here, about lighting a fire with wet wood or where to use a bayonet, is practical in the bleakest way, because surviving in the trenches means having to do things you never imagined.

Answer: Catch-22

From the grim, straight to the absurd. Joseph Heller's "Catch-22", published in 1961 is a satirical war novel set during World War II, following U.S. Army Air Force bombardier Yossarian as he tries, usually unsuccessfully, to avoid flying dangerous combat missions.

The term "Catch-22" has since entered the language to mean a no-win situation, where the rules are designed to trap you no matter what choice you make. A good example might be needing experience to get a job, but needing a job to get experience. (Hopefully, that didn't hit too close to home for you.)

The title "catch" dictates that Orr is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly combat missions, but asking to be grounded proves he's sane... and therefore ineligible to be grounded.

It's up to the reader to decide if maybe Orr isn't the sanest character in the book.

Answer: The Grapes of Wrath

This quote comes from John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel chronicling the struggles of the Joad family during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Forced off their Oklahoma farm by drought and economic hardship, the Joads join thousands of "Okies" traveling west to California in search of work and a better life. Instead, they find exploitation, prejudice, cruel conditions, and bitter competition for all-too-scarce jobs.

The sentiment in this passage reflects one of Steinbeck's central themes of the book: solidarity among the dispossessed. Over and over, the novel shows those with the least giving the most, sharing food, shelter, and comfort with strangers. Steinbeck's sympathetic portrayal of migrant laborers was controversial in its day... praised by some as a searing social commentary and condemned by others as dangerously political. It's reputation hasn't changed much since.

Answer: Moby Dick

This quote comes from Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick", his sprawling and at times philosophical tale of whaling, obsession, and the elusive white whale first published in 1851. It's spoken by Ishmael, the novel's narrator, as he contemplates sharing a bed with Queequeg, a tattooed harpooner from the South Seas.

Despite Queequeg's reputation as a cannibal, Ishmael judges his companion by his character rather than his reputation, deciding that sobriety and decency trump pious hypocrisy.

Answer: Frankenstein

Well, somebody's cranky. This powerful quote is from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (1818), a groundbreaking novel often credited as one of the earliest works of science fiction. Spoken by The Creature, Victor Frankenstein's tragic and misunderstood creation, it demonstrates the complex mix of emotions that drive much of the story: a desperate need for acceptance paired with intense bitterness.

"Frankenstein" digs into themes of humanity, isolation, and the consequences of playing God. The Creature's poignant self-awareness and fluctuating emotions reveals the struggle to reconcile its own nature with a world that fears and rejects it, and is much more powerful than many film interpretations of an inarticulate bumbling monster afraid of fire.

Answer: Flowers for Algernon

This quote is from "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, first published as a short story in 1959 and expanded into a novel in 1966. The book is presented as a series of progress reports written by Charlie Gordon, a man with an intellectual disability who undergoes an experimental surgery to dramatically increase his intelligence. The "maze" in the passage cleverly refers both to the literal mazes run by the laboratory mouse Algernon, who underwent the same procedure, and to the figurative maze of... well, just being human.

The novel explores deep questions about intelligence, self-awareness, and what it actually means to be human. As Charlie's mental abilities grow, he gains new insights but also painful awareness of prejudice, loneliness, the fragility of relationships, and his lack of preparedness for those situations.

Answer: Wuthering Heights

This famous line comes to us from Emily Brontė's "Wuthering Heights" published in 1847, a novel that is moodier than a Yorkshire winter and twice as dramatic. Catherine Earnshaw, who spends much of her time brooding and pining on the blustery moors, says this about Heathcliff, the original bad boy with a penchant for sulking. Catherine isn't dabbling in casual romance here; she's speaking of a connection so intense, it could probably blow the roof off the titular house if given half a chance.

Often cited today as one of literature's most impassioned declarations of love, Brontė's only novel was initially met with confusion and hostility. Critics couldn't decide whether her characters were tragic or simply in desperate need of a hobby. (In truth, the criticism was much harsher, with characters described as immoral or even grotesque.) Today, though, it's a classic, revered for its psychological depth and refusal to sugarcoat the perils of grand, doomed affection. Catherine's words sum up a relationship that's less like a gentle breeze and more like a tsunami.