Graham Greene Trivia

1. What is the name of the central character of 'The Power and the Glory'?

From Quiz The Power and the Glory

Answer: He is nameless

Graham Greene has stated in interviews that this namelessness served several purposes. One of them was to make the priest be representative of all Roman Catholic priests, so that his perseverance in the face of adversity shows the indomitability of the faith. The character of the priest was drawn on several real priests Greene had encountered while travelling in Mexico to write 'The Lawless Roads', a non-fiction account of the government's efforts to abolish the Church as an institution, and the practice of the faith by individuals, which occurred in the 1920s and '30s. Another source was the Jesuit priest Miguel Pro, who had been executed in 1927 without a trial after spending several years surreptitiously performing the banned functions of a parish priest.

From Quiz The Third Man

Answer: Vienna

The novel is set in post second war Vienna which, like Berlin, has been divided between four occupying powers - Russia, Britain, France and America. Harry Lime has invited an author friend to visit him and write about the work Lime is doing with the resettlement of refugees. We also learn about the restrictions on travel which still exist, and that only a small amount of sterling can be brought to Austria (and can't be spent there anyway).

From Quiz Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"

Answer: First Indochina War ('46-'54)

The First Indochina War was between France and Vietnam. France wanted to regain its former colony. France controlled the South, but the communists of the Vietminh controlled the North. Indochina was the French colony including today's Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

From Quiz Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory"

Answer: His name isn't given

Search the entire book and you won't find a name for him. He is simply called the whiskey priest. Padre Jose was another priest who renounced his vows and took a wife to please the government. Juan was a young religious boy who was executed for his beliefs in similar ways to the whiskey priest. And Mr. Tench is just a crooked dentist.

From Quiz "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene

Answer: Pinkie

When talked about in the third person, he is called "the Boy." When addressed directly by another character, the name "Pinkie" is used.

From Quiz The Power and the Glory

Answer: Whiskey priest

Greene stated that he had heard that term used during his travels to research 'The Lawless Roads' in reference to a priest about whose behaviour stories were growing into legendary proportions. Both the original and the fictional character made efforts to encourage those they met to strive for being the best they could be, and carried out priestly duties to the best of their ability; their characters, however, were flawed, so that they are seen as humans struggling to live a spiritually justified life, and not heroic figures. The weaknesses of a whiskey priest generally include alcoholism, as the name suggests; other shortcomings may include indulgence in sexual relationships (not evil in themselves, but forbidden to the Roman Catholic priest who is following the vows made at ordination), gambling to excess, and other forms of self-indulgence. The figure in this book is the archetype.

From Quiz The Third Man

Answer: Rollo

Rollo Martins and Harry Lime have been friends since their schooldays, and Lime is rather a hero to Martins. On his arrival in Vienna, Martins is shocked to find that Lime hasn't turned up to meet him, so takes a taxi to Lime's flat. There, he receives the news that Lime has been killed in an accident, and that his funeral is due to take place at any moment.

From Quiz Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"

Answer: Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh was a communist. He was the leader of the Vietminh party, and became president and prime minister. He was still active during the second Indochina War against the USA.

From Quiz Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory"

Answer: Treason

The Mexican state of Tabasco has outlawed religion and even destroyed many churches.

From Quiz "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene

Answer: By Colleoni's men

He thinks that Colleoni's men killed Spicer when they were both jumped, but he does not know that Spicer managed to get away.

From Quiz The Third Man

Answer: Buck Dexter

Martins is something of a 'hack', churning out cheap paperbacks about the American west which sell well but earn him little cash. The book has a sub plot where Martins is confused with another, much more accomplished, author by the name of Benjamin Dexter which adds to his sense of not knowing what is happening or who he can trust. The other three options are all real authors of western novels.

From Quiz Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"

Answer: He was dead

Pyle is already dead in the first chapter, but a large part of the story tells what happened before. This technique is called starting "in media res": starting in the middle of the story.

From Quiz "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene

Answer: Roman Catholics

Pinkie's friends call him "Roman", and several references are made to the Catholic church's beliefs during the book.

From Quiz The Third Man

Answer: Callaghan

Calloway sees Martins at the cemetery and strikes up an acquaintance without initially telling Martins that he is a police officer and had been investigating Harry Lime. Martins becomes drunk and mistakes his name, maybe deliberately to annoy him, although he does refer to him as Callaghan later in the book as well. At this stage, both men believe Lime to be dead and Calloway has accepted his death as an accident. The book is told from Calloway's point of view, based on his personal observations and details given to him by Martins.

From Quiz Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"

Answer: restaurant

It's the place where Fowler meets Wilkins. He uses this for his alibi. The Continental is a hotel, and The House of Five Hundred Girls a brothel.

From Quiz Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory"

Answer: Concepcion

This is where he keeps his stash of wine and also where the book starts.

From Quiz "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene

Answer: Hale

Hale seems to know that he is doomed from the very beginning. The consequences of Hale's death haunt Pinkie for the rest of the book.

From Quiz Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory"

Answer: Brigitta

Five years prior to the story, the priest gets drunk and hooks up with Maria. Coral is just a nice girl he meets during his period as a fugitive.

From Quiz "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene

Answer: Ida

Pinkie tries to keep Rose from telling what she knows to Ida, and Ida's determination to prove him guilty keeps him worried throughout the story.

From Quiz The Power and the Glory

Answer: Takes hostages, and kills them if they do not reveal the priest's location

The Chief of Police in the region is thoroughly corrupt, and happy to accept bribes and ignore the law. The lieutenant, however, is philosophically committed to destroying the Church, as a corruptor of the minds and spirits of those with who it comes into contact. He has a vision of a secular socialist state in which all citizens will be equal, and in which the wealthy landowners (including, of course, the Church) will have been forced to give up their privileges. Although this sounds like a noble goal, his methods are distinctly brutal. This character, nameless as his quarry, is thought to have been based on the real-life Tomás Garrido Canabal, who was governor of the state of Tabasco (1920-1924; 1931-1934).

From Quiz Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"

Answer: He was drowned in mud

He has a wound in the chest, but Vigot says that didn't cause his death. Fowler is the one who identifies the corpse.

From Quiz Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory"

Answer: Morse Code

The series of long and short taps described by Coral is Morse Code.

From Quiz "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene

Answer: He doesn't drink

At the beginning of the story he is also celibate, doesn't smoke, and is much younger than his friends.

From Quiz The Third Man

Answer: Actress

Martins first sees Anna at the cemetery, when he notices her weeping over Lime's (apparent) death. When Martins begins to suspect that Lime has been murdered, Anna is one of the people he tracks down. Martins soon convinces himself that he is in love with her. Anna's feelings are much more ambiguous, not least because she is living in fear of the Russians and at risk of being arrested as an illegal immigrant. She is working as an actress, although she is described as being not very good at the job.

From Quiz Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"

Answer: Quatre Cent Vingt-et-un

It's a game where you have to throw a one, a two and a four in as few attempts as possible. It gives an idea of the everyday atmosphere far away from the front.

From Quiz Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory"

Answer: "La Martir Eterna" (Latin)

The whiskey priest left this book at the dentist's house. The fact that it is written in Latin and that it is a religious book led Mr. Tench to hide it in his oven.

From Quiz "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene

Answer: "Dr. Faustus" by Christopher Marlowe

The line Prewitt quotes when Pinkie goes to see him is: "Why, this is Hell, nor are we out of it."

From Quiz The Power and the Glory

Answer: Padre José's wife

The lieutenant's decision to allow this, despite his rabid anti-church feelings, was a sign that he was not entirely ruled by his obsession, and was willing to provide some comfort to a man whom he had come to respect. Although Padre José has been defrocked, the Church would have allowed him to hear confession in a case where the man was dying, and the priest was pleased to have the chance to make his final confession before death. Padre José's wife, however, adamantly refused to allow him to do it - and he had become so dependent on her since their marriage (which destroyed his sense of self-respect) that he did not have the will to stand up to her.

From Quiz Graham Greene: "The Quiet American"

Answer: Fowler was married

Miss Hei wants her sister to marry and have children. Fowler is a bad candidate because he's married to Helen, and she doesn't want to divorce.

From Quiz Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory"

Answer: Gideon

The whiskey priest disliked the Gideon Bible because he felt that it was too earthly and our focus should be in the heavens.

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