Picturing American Literature Trivia Quiz

The photo points you towards 'The Bluest Eye', the first published novel by Toni Morrison. It came out in 1970 and the title refers to the longing of Pecola, an African American girl, to look different. She has constantly been told she is ugly, and blue eyes represent beauty to her. The story is actually narrated by a different character who develops a hatred for white people rather than longing to be like them.

Toni Morrisons' other works include 'Song of Solomon' (1977) and 'Beloved' (1987).

Hemingway wrote 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' in 1940, although the bell in the photo appears to be stationary rather than tolling. The novel is set during the Spanish Civil War with the main character being an American volunteer who is experienced in demolition work. His target is a bridge. Hemingway took his title from a poem by John Donne - it begins 'No man is an island' and the words used by Hemingway appear in the final lines.

Other works by Ernest Hemingway are 'The Sun Also Rises' (1926) and 'The Old Man and the Sea' (1952).

It may not be instantly recognisable, but the photo is of a mockingbird. If you work that out, there's only one possible author, which is Harper Lee. The story of Atticus Finch, his children and Finch's decision to defend a black man is told in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. The book was published in 1960.

The novel became famous, especially as a quiz question, because the author published nothing else until 2015 when 'Go Set a Watchman' appeared. A posthumous collection of Lee's early works and short stories appeared in 2025 under the title 'The Land of Sweet Forever'.

This literal clue of a black cat should have made you think of Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote the short story of that name, published in 1843. In typical Poe fashion, the story is rather grim with the main character, an alcoholic, being haunted by the ill-treatment, and then killing of his cat. The events which follow lead to even more horror.

Poe was a prolific poet, as well as writing other short stories such as 'The Fall of the House of Usher' (1839). The one poem of his which most people could name is 'The Raven', written in 1845, and memorable for its refrain of 'Nevermore'.

This depiction of a bleak and wild landscape should have helped you to identify Jack London as the author. The specific book it was meant to illustrate is 'The Call of the Wild', published in 1903 and set in the Yukon during the years of the Gold Rush. The story is about Buck, a dog who is stolen from California, where he lived as a pet, and ends up as a sled dog in Canada. Buck eventually ends up as the leader of a wolf pack.

Another of London's books, 'White Fang' from 1906, tells almost the opposite story about a wolf-dog hybrid becoming domesticated. Away from the wilderness, London also wrote 'The Sea-Wolf', dating from 1904 - in this case the wolf is a cruel man.

This dramatic fire could have been started by Charlie McGee, the heroine of Stephen King's novel 'Firestarter'. This 1980 horror mixed with sci/fi book features a father and daughter (Charlie) who are on the run from a mysterious government agency. The father has been experimented on and gained 'mind control' powers as a result. Charlie's mother, now murdered, was also the subject of these experiments and Charlie has inherited the power of pyrokinesis - the ability to start fires with her mind. She uses fires to devastating effect as the novel progresses.

This is, of course, only one of King's numerous horror stores. Others are 'Carrie' (1974), 'Cujo' (1981) and 'Needful Things' (1991) - 'Firestarter' was easier to illustrate.

This pictorial clue is possibly the most obvious in the quiz, illustrating John Steinbeck's 1939 novel 'The Grapes of Wrath'. Set in the years of the American Depression, the story of the Joad family and their departure from the dustbowl of Oklahoma in the hopes of a better life in California has remained popular ever since.

Steinbeck's other novels include 'Tortilla Flat' (1935), 'Of Mice and Men' (1937) and 'East of Eden' (1952).

The photo is a clue to the title of a short novel, classed as a novella, 'The Turn of the Screw' which was written by Henry James and published in 1898. The title refers to the sense of increasing suspense - a literal 'tightening of the screw'. The plot involves a governess who is caring for two orphaned children. She becomes convinced that she can see ghosts, although the story never makes it explicit whether there was any reality to her beliefs.

Henry James was American born, into a wealthy family so became a well-travelled man spending time in Europe as well as in the United States. He lived in Britain for many years and died in London. Other works by him are 'Washington Square' (1880) and 'The Wings of the Dove' (1902).

There' no need to try and work out exactly what the picture depicts, as it's just the colour that matters. The novel hinted at is Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple', which first appeared in 1982 and which won the Pulitzer Prize the following year. The story of an African American girl named Celie is grim, with episodes of physical and sexual violence and has been the subject of censorship due to its content.

Walker has written many other novels as well as poetry and short stories. Among her other books are 'The Temple of My Familiar' (1989) and 'Possessing the Secret of Joy', which expands the story of one of the characters from 'The Color Purple'.

The photo clue is not exactly the same as the title of Hawthorne's novel intended, but it does represent 'The Scarlet Letter', the novel published in 1850. The story is set in the seventeenth century, in a Puritan community, where a young woman is publicly humiliated for bearing a child out of wedlock. She is forced to wear a scarlet letter 'A', for adultery, for the rest of her life.

Other novels by Hawthorne are 'The House of the Seven Gables' (1851) and 'The Blithedale Romance' (1852), and he also published several short story collections.