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Quiz about The first Karl May Quiz
Quiz about The first Karl May Quiz

The first Karl May Quiz


Karl May is a German author who mainly wrote adventure stories. His books are translated into many languages and are read by people of all ages. The main focus of this quiz will be on Karl May`s biography and the novels that take place in the USA.

A multiple-choice quiz by Chris1013. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Chris1013
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
148,062
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
10 / 15
Plays
184
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Question 1 of 15
1. When was Karl May born? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. What did Karl May suffer from as a child? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. One of his most famous characters is a Native American chief named Winnetou. To which tribe did he belong? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. Winnetou`s blood brother and his companion in most adventures is Old Shatterhand, who is originally from Germany. What is Old Shatterhand`s real name? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. In the novels that take place in the Arabic region, the main character is called Kara Ben Nemsi. On his adventures he has a sidekick with a very long name. Which of the following is NOT a part of his name? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. What do Old Shatterhand and Kara Ben Nemsi have in common? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. Winnetou had a younger sister.


Question 8 of 15
8. Winnetou and Old Shatterhand have two beautiful black stallions, which are very fast and very clever. What is the name of Winnetou`s horse?

Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. Did Karl May ever go to jail?


Question 10 of 15
10. How many times did Karl May get married? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. When did Karl May first travel to the USA? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. There are many films which are based on Karl May´s novels. Which French actor portrays Winnetou in the films? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. How did Old Shatterhand get his name? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. Does Winnetou get married in any of the books?


Question 15 of 15
15. On which continent do NONE of Karl May`s books take place? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. When was Karl May born?

Answer: 25 February 1842

He was born in a town called Ernstthal in Saxony, Germany. This town is now called Hohenstein-Ernstthal. The house in which he was born is now the Karl-May-Museum, and it is open to the public. On 30 March 1912 Karl May died in Radebeul.
2. What did Karl May suffer from as a child?

Answer: blindness

He was blind until he was four years old. It was probably caused by malnutrition.
3. One of his most famous characters is a Native American chief named Winnetou. To which tribe did he belong?

Answer: Apache

Winnetou is accepted by most tribes as a leader, because he is very noble and he always helps the good guys. He is very skilled at shooting, fighting, riding, etc.
4. Winnetou`s blood brother and his companion in most adventures is Old Shatterhand, who is originally from Germany. What is Old Shatterhand`s real name?

Answer: Karl May

Karl May claimed that he really was Old Shatterhand and had actually done all the things he talked about in his books. Sam Hawkens, Will Parker and Dick Stone are all characters from Karl May`s books.
5. In the novels that take place in the Arabic region, the main character is called Kara Ben Nemsi. On his adventures he has a sidekick with a very long name. Which of the following is NOT a part of his name?

Answer: Mahedsch of Mossul

"Hadschi" indicates that a muslim has been on the Hadsch (a religious pilgrimage to Mekka). "Ben" means that he is the son of somebody, and "Ibn" means he is the grandson of somebody. So his name means: Hadschi Halef Omar, son of Hadschi Abul Abbas, grandson of Hadschi Dawud al Gossarah. For obvious reasons he is just called Halef (he loves to say his full name though!).

The Mahedsch of Mossul is the bad guy in one of the books.
6. What do Old Shatterhand and Kara Ben Nemsi have in common?

Answer: They are the same person

They are both alter egos of Karl May, and as I mentioned before, Karl May claimed that everything he wrote about was true!
7. Winnetou had a younger sister.

Answer: True

Her name was Nscho-Tschi (Beautiful Day), but she gets killed (along with her father). Winnetou and Old Shatterhand chase the murderer until they can catch and punish him. It takes them three books to do so! During the chase they have heaps of other adventures, too, so don`t worry: it doesn`t get boring.
8. Winnetou and Old Shatterhand have two beautiful black stallions, which are very fast and very clever. What is the name of Winnetou`s horse?

Answer: Iltschi

Intschu-tschuna is the name of Winnetou`s father. Rih is Kara Ben Nemsi`s horse. Hatatitla (Thunder) is Old Shatterhand`s horse. Iltschi means "Wind" in the Apache language. (Well, at least that´s what Karl May says. He gives lots of translations of names or sentences in various languages.

But actually I doubt that he is using the real languages. Does anybody know where he got the names/ sentences from? Did he have reliable sources or did he just make them up? Please let me know! Thanks!)
9. Did Karl May ever go to jail?

Answer: Yes

In fact he was in jail several times (usually for burglary). It is very likely that he created Winnetou and Old Shatterhand while he was in jail.
10. How many times did Karl May get married?

Answer: twice

His first marriage was with Emma Pollmer (1880). A couple of weeks after their divorce (1903), he married his neighbour and friend Klara Plöhn, who had been a widow for two years.
11. When did Karl May first travel to the USA?

Answer: 1908

He wrote most of his books before he ever left Europe. He went to the Arabic region for the first time in 1899 and to the USA in 1908. Nevertheless he was able to give detailed discriptions about those (and other) regions. He had good resources and a very vivid imagination.
12. There are many films which are based on Karl May´s novels. Which French actor portrays Winnetou in the films?

Answer: Pierre Brice

Even today Pierre Brice is mainly known for this role. The movies were shot in the 1960s in Germany and Yugoslavia. Old Shatterhand and Kara Ben Nemsi were both portrayed by Lex Barker - which makes sense, since they are the same person. (By the way: I know that Van Damme is not French!)
13. How did Old Shatterhand get his name?

Answer: He can knock out a man with just one hit

Old Shatterhand is a very religious and peaceful man. He only kills his enemies if he really has to. Usually he just knocks them out with his fist (remember: the books are fiction!), ties them up and then thinks of a way to punish them.
14. Does Winnetou get married in any of the books?

Answer: No

In the second "Winnetou" book we are told that he once was in love with a girl, but she ended up marrying Old Firehand. However, in the movie "Winnetou 2", he does marry the girl, but she gets killed at the end of the movie. When you know both - the books and the movies - you will notice that the directors changed many things.
15. On which continent do NONE of Karl May`s books take place?

Answer: Australia

There are a number of books that take place in Germany (mainly in Karl May`s home region Saxony). Other locations include Arabia, Egypt,China and South America. Thanks for taking my quiz. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have never read a Karl May book before, then go ahead and do so!
Source: Author Chris1013

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