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Peter Benchley Trivia Quizzes

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Later in his life, Peter Benchley regretted the sensationalist fearsome portrayal of sharks in the works for which he is best known ('Jaws' springs to mind), and became an advocate for marine conservation.
3 Peter Benchley quizzes and 30 Peter Benchley trivia questions.
1.
  The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
It's fair to say that many baby boomers have seen the 1975 movie "Jaws". How many have actually read Peter Benchley's book from which the movie screenplay was adapted? Increase your geekiness and catch the movie-only people out with this quiz.
Average, 10 Qns, 1nn1, Apr 30 24
Average
1nn1 gold member
Apr 30 24
203 plays
2.
  "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz will compare the story of "Jaws", the book by Peter Benchley, and the movie. Big spoilers ahead if you haven't read the book!
Tough, 10 Qns, Skyflyerjen, Jun 20 20
Tough
Skyflyerjen
Jun 20 20
236 plays
3.
  "Jaws": The Novel    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Have you read the novel that inspired the 1975 Blockbuster film "Jaws"? Do you remember much about it? Take this quiz and find out. The novel was written by Peter Benchley.
Difficult, 10 Qns, garfield2710, Jun 20 20
Difficult
garfield2710
Jun 20 20
645 plays
Related Topics
  Thrillers [Literature] (5 quizzes)


Peter Benchley Trivia Questions

1. In "Jaws" the movie (1975) the shark is a mechanical model called Bruce. How is the shark portrayed in the Mr Benchley's 1974 novel?

From Quiz
The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: An efficient killing machine

Peter Benchley wanted to write a novel about a shark after learning a Great White had been caught off Long Island. (Incidentally, the book was set in a Long Island seaside town, but the movie was set on an island in New England). The shark is portrayed as an efficient killing machine, not an evil monster. His shark commanded respect, not just fear. Some of the description is almost flawless prose: "The great fish moved silently through the water, propelled by short sweeps of its crescent tail. The mouth was open just enough to permit a rush of water over the gills. There was little other motion: an occasional correction of the apparently aimless course by the slight raising or lowering of a pectoral fin-as a bird changes direction by dipping one wing and lifting the other. The eyes were sightless in the black, and the other senses transmitted nothing extraordinary to the small, primitive brain...it survived only by moving".

2. In the movie, Chief Brody had two sons. How many children did he have in the book?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: Three

In the movie, Sean and Michael are fairly well-represented. The Chief plays around with them and Michael is seen playing in his small boat. In the book, Chief Brody actually has three sons. They aren't mentioned often, but one of his sons lost his cat due to a threat from the mafia.

3. What was the name of the first girl who got eaten by the great white?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: Christine Watkins

In the novel she was on a vacation with her boyfriend. In the film she was a college student visiting the town.

4. The police chief Brody is portrayed in the movie as an ex-New York City cop (with a fear of water) of Amity, a summer coastal town. How is he portrayed in the book?

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: He is a local

There is quite a difference between the book Brody and the movie Brody. While they are both the police chief of a small seaside resort town called Amity, Brody in the book is not a likeable character. Perhaps this is one area in which the movie is better. It gives him a back story and, with his fear of water, he steps on a boat to hunt a shark, telling everyone he is going fishing. This is where he endears himself to viewers. Readers have no such sympathetic loyalty.

5. What was the name of the 65 year old who was killed?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: Morris Cater

He was killed on the same day as Alex Kitner. His death was altered from the movie.

6. Matt Hooper, the shark scientist played by Richard Dreyfuss in the movie, is quite charming (a bit like Richard Dreyfus himself). How is he portrayed in the book?

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: A nasty Ivy League narcissist

In the novel Hooper is glib, arrogant and obnoxious. He is particularly young. He flaunts his family's wealth. He does not get along with either Chief Brody or Captain Quint. While they are on the boat, Brody tries to strangle him. As a reader we take a dislike to him. There are two major events that occur subsequently in the book that make it clear why we are supposed to feel like this.

7. What's the big difference in the movie and the book regarding the death of the little boy Alex?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: Not much, actually

There are such slight differences in the death of little Alex in the book and the movie. In both instances, his mother begrudgingly lets him go swimming for a short time. Alex rode on his little toy and the shark saw him. He was killed by it and Mrs. Kintner slapped Chief Brody in both cases. She was upset to hear that there had already been one attack already, yet the beaches had remained open.

8. What did Hooper do that made Brody ticked off at him?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: He cheated with Brody's wife.

Hooper did make fun of Quint, but this didn't make Brody mad. It was the fact that Hooper cheated with the Chief's wife.

9. Ellen Brody is perhaps the character that has the biggest difference between the book and movie version. What event causes the reader to dislike her intently?

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: She has an affair with Hooper

In the movie, Ellen Brody is a loving mother and wife. The look on actress Lorraine Gary's face when she sees how her husband interacts with their four year old son in the opening scenes is priceless. Yet in the book, she is a hard nosed New York socialite who holidayed in Amity every summer and fell for the local Police Chief. She becomes bitter at the quiet life and wants to go back to NYC. She has an affair with Matt Hooper, in seedy motels around Amity. None of these three characters, in the book, are likeable.

10. In total, how many people (besides the shark) were killed in this novel?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: 6

Chrissy was killed in the beginning, Morris and Alex were killed later. Ben Gardner was later killed trying to catch the fish. Hooper was killed trying to get scientific pictures of the shark. Quint drowned after getting his foot caught in a harpoon rope.

11. Quint is an old salty that owns a fishing boat which is commissioned with its captain to find the shark who has been attacking holiday goers. What is the name of the boat?

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: Orca

Quint is portrayed as being mean in the novel. He illegally uses dolphins as shark bait; he eviscerates a young shark and watches it consume its own body when trailed in the water to attract larger sharks. In the movie you dislike him, but then get to respect him. In the novel you just dislike him, full stop.

12. What was the name of Quint's boat in the novel?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: Orca

Just like the movie, the boat the men hunted the shark on was called "Orca". Chief Brody, Hooper, and Quint used the boat every day. Hooper would throw chum out to lure the shark, while Brody mostly was just bored and read a book. Unlike the movie, the men would return home at the end of each day as opposed to staying out in the ocean at night.

13. How did Hooper die?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: He tried to get pictures of the shark while in a cage, and was devoured.

Hooper went in the cage to both take pictures of the shark, and poison him. But the shark rammed the cage and killed him.

14. Quint gives a stirring monologue about how he was in the water after his boat was destroyed by the Japanese in WWII. This extensive speech explains why he wanted to catch the shark. In which medium was this monologue made? (Be very careful!)

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: Movie Only

The monologue from the movie screenplay is "Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, chief. It was comin' back, from the island of Tinian to Laytee, just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen footer. You know how you know that when you're in the water, chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know... was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's... kinda like ol' squares in battle like a, you see on a calendar, like the battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark comes to the nearest man and that man, he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces. Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, boson's mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He's a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb". This is one of the greatest monologues in movie history. It defines Quint. It explains why he wants to catch the shark. It makes the audience respect him, even if they don't like him. In the book there is a backstory of sorts, but it does not reach these lofty heights. The book drew Quint, but the movie made him a richer character.

15. In the movie, Ellen and her husband Brody seem to get along just fine. But what about the novel? What was their relationship like?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: Ellen was mostly unhappy

Ellen married Brody, and essentially left her old life behind. But at times she missed those days of feeling spoiled and rich. When Matt Hooper arrived, she felt that he represented the good old days. She arranged an affair with him. Hooper had a crush on her when he was younger so he didn't object much. Afterwards, Ellen dismissed Hooper and felt more at peace, for now.

16. How did Quint die?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: He drowned, after he got his leg caught in a harpoon rope.

In the novel, Quint drowned. In the movie, Quint was eaten.

17. Larry Vaughan and Harry Meadows play key roles in the novels. What are their respective occupations?

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: Amity mayor and local newspaper editor

Larry Vaughn is the Amity town mayor. He overrules Chief Brody when Brody wants to close the beaches. The novel goes into some detail about the town depending on income from the tourists in summer and it has extensive details about the mayor's Mafia connections (ie debts) and why he is desperate to keep the tourists in town. Harry Meadows is the amity local newspaper editor. In conjunction with the mayor, he covers up the shark attacks. Both these roles are major ones in the novel but are only drawn sketchily in the movie.

18. Why didn't Hooper and Quint get along in the book?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: Hooper objected to Quint's methods

Quint made fun of Hooper at times, much to Brody's enjoyment. But the thing Hooper objected to most of all was Quint's aggression toward sea life. Quint thought of sharks as dumb fish that were predictable. He also had the fetus of a baby dolphin and grinned while telling Hooper about it. Hooper was an ichthyologist and hated the way Quint went about his hunt. In the movie, this is done mostly to a comedic effect, whereas in the novel, it's more of a tension-builder.

19. How did the shark die?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: It died from massive blood loss.

In the movie, Brody caused it to explode. In the novel, after days of fighting the men, it died from exhaustion and massive blood loss.

20. A big difference in the two stories is the way Brody and Hooper acted together. In the novel, what did Brody do to Hooper?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: He strangled him

From the moment Brody met Hooper, he didn't like him. He sized up the younger man and unconsciously decided he would win in a fight due to experience. As the novel progressed, Hooper essentially hinted that he'd slept with Brody's wife. In a fit of rage, Brody strangled the younger man. Quint laughed at the fight. Despite his feelings toward Hooper, Brody did want to save him when the younger man was attacked.

21. What book did Brody bring to read on the shark hunting trip?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: The Deadly Virgin

He borrowed it from Hendricks.

22. In the movie the shark kills Quint. How does he die in the novel?

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: A coiled rope from a harpoon snags his foot and the shark drags him under

There is something ironic in the ways Quint dies. You know he is going to die as he has no life jacket on the stricken boat. However, his death is very similar to how Captain Ahab dies on the Pequod in "Moby Dick". It seems quite fitting for Quint to die in this manner.

23. Looking just at the book, who survived the hunt against the great white?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: Just Chief Brody

In the movie, Hooper and Brody ended up surviving and swimming back to shore together; Quint got devoured by an aggressive attack by the great white shark. In the novel, Hooper never made it out of the cage alive. The great white tore him in two. Also, Quint was not killed by the shark, but rather by drowning. His foot got tangled with the rope attached to the great white and he ended up being dragged overboard. Brody barely made it out alive in the book.

24. Why did Vaughn want the beaches opened, so badly?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: He owed tons of money to the Mafia.

For Vaughn, the shark came at the wrong place, wrong time.

25. Giving a shark an oxygen tank then firing a gun at the tank is an implausible way to kill a shark. How does the shark die in the novel?

From Quiz The Magic of Peter Benchley's "Jaws"

Answer: He dies from his injuries, and sinks, before he can grab Brody

The implausibility of a shark exploding because of a pierced air tank (the TV Show "Myth Busters" debunked this theory) spoils a good movie where the novel shark dying from its injuries is anti-climactic, except it does spare Brody, who is the sole survivor (but no hero). He paddled back to Amity after the boat had sunk.

26. What was unusual about the death of the shark in the novel?

From Quiz "Jaws": the Movie vs the Book

Answer: It didn't sink, it didn't float

The shark weighed several tons. When it succumbed to the shots and the harpoons the men had been shooting at it, Brody watched it. It rolled, but it didn't sink all of the way, despite its weight. It had barrels attached to it, so it was stuck in a way. It was almost a poetic image: the massive great white sideways in the water, with the lifeless body of Quint attached to it by the rope, a few feet above it.

27. What happened to Vaughn by the end of the novel?

From Quiz "Jaws": The Novel

Answer: He skipped town.

He left town with his wife, in order to escape from the Mafia.

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