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Tennessee Williams Trivia

Tennessee Williams Trivia Quizzes

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Thomas Lanier Williams III, better known as Tennessee Williams, is generally considered on of the leading American playwrights of the 20th century. He was responsible for a number of classic dramas, many of which have been adapted into memorable films, including "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and his first success, "The Glass Menagerie".
9 Tennessee Williams quizzes and 105 Tennessee Williams trivia questions.
1.
  Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I remember studying this for my A levels many years ago, and the nostalgia inspired me to write this quiz. Enjoy.
Average, 10 Qns, poshprice, Sep 10 08
Average
poshprice
829 plays
2.
  10 Questions about A Streetcar Named Desire    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is on Tennessee Williams' drama, "A Streetcar Named Desire".
Average, 10 Qns, bonanza22, Aug 10 05
Average
bonanza22
1352 plays
3.
  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof    
Multiple Choice
 25 Qns
I found it unbelievable that I could find no quizzes about this great American play, so I thought I'd put one together. All answers are based on the Dramatist Play Service, Inc. publication of the play.
Tough, 25 Qns, durikaj, Jun 07 20
Tough
durikaj
Jun 07 20
766 plays
4.
  Take this A Streetcar Named Desire Quiz    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is about Tennessee Williams's great tragic drama "A Streetcar Named Desire". Questions concern information about the play and plot details.
Average, 10 Qns, weloveum, Feb 14 04
Average
weloveum
1905 plays
5.
  Test yourself! A Streetcar Named Desire Quiz    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a quick quiz on the play "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. Enjoy!
Average, 10 Qns, Jacifan, Feb 28 20
Average
Jacifan
Feb 28 20
1964 plays
6.
  The Glass Menagerie    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a great play by a great American playwright, Tennessee Williams.
Average, 10 Qns, kknesh, Feb 14 04
Average
kknesh
2150 plays
7.
  Orpheus Descending    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is one of the great (and long!) plays of the 20th Century. Cliff Robertson played the lead role in the original production and Marlon Brando played the role in the film version. Enjoy!
Average, 10 Qns, Mr. Turkle, Dec 09 16
Average
Mr. Turkle
205 plays
8.
  "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof" on Screen   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
As many of us know, film adaptions can leave a lot of stuff out of the original. So, what came from the play by Tennessee Williams, and what came from the film?
Average, 10 Qns, kelby_lake, Feb 10 10
Average
kelby_lake
338 plays
9.
  Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie"    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Great book. I'm loving the unicorn symbolism!
Average, 10 Qns, mrsoliverwood, Mar 27 07
Average
mrsoliverwood
1417 plays
trivia question Quick Question
The woman who sold the flowers for the dead was of what nationality?

From Quiz "A Streetcar Named Desire"




Related Topics
  Plays [Literature] (58 quizzes)


Tennessee Williams Trivia Questions
1. The characters of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" are trapped in various ways and by a variety of people. What ultimately traps Maggie?

From Quiz Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"

Answer: Her love for Brick

Ultimately, Maggie is trapped by her love for her husband, Brick. Although she is held, somewhat, by the knowledge that she must play along with their "happy" marriage in order to gain a slice of Big Daddy's inheritance, it is actually her love for her husband and not money, that is her main motivation for staying.

2. One of Gooper and Mae's children throws ice cream at Maggie in the film. But what do they throw in the play?

From Quiz "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof" on Screen

Answer: Hot buttered biscuit

Maggie refers to their children as 'no-neck monsters' and as we see in the play and film, they really are brats.

3. Which famous musician gave Valentine Xavier his guitar?

From Quiz Orpheus Descending

Answer: Leadbelly

Leadbelly gave Xavier his guitar after a gig once. His guitar is signed by various guitar superstars.

4. Who is the first character onstage at the beginning of the play?

From Quiz Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Answer: Brick

At the beginning of Act 1 Brick is taking a shower. Maggie then enters to begin the main action of the scene.

5. How is Blanche related to Stella?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: they are sisters

Stella is Blanche's younger sister.

6. To arrive at Stella's house, Blanche first had to take the streetcar named Desire, then transfer to Cemeteries, then eventually get off where?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: Elysian Fields

Elysian Fields was the land of the dead in Greek mythology. Blanche's route is reflective of her life: she gave herself up to all kinds of desires, which caused her figurative death in her hometown. When she went to stay with Stella, she was in somewhat of an afterlife.

7. What is the family's last name?

From Quiz The Glass Menagerie

Answer: Wingfield

Amanda, Tom and Laura....the Wingfields.

8. Who celebrates a birthday during Act Two of the play?

From Quiz Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"

Answer: Big Daddy

Act Two of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" results in a birthday party for Big Daddy. Throughout the act the audience is gradually fed information on this occasion, which ends up being quite an uncomfortable affair, as Big Daddy doesn't seem to want to celebrate. All he seems intent on doing is finding out what is wrong with Brick, who is his favourite son.

9. Maggie recalls when a drunk spat tobacco juice at Susan McPheeters, the carnival queen, a few years previously. Which version of "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof" does this happen in?

From Quiz "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof" on Screen

Answer: The play

In the film, the drunk spits at Mae, who was a carnival queen in the play and film.

10. What is the name of the main female character in "Orpheus Descending"?

From Quiz Orpheus Descending

Answer: Lady

Lady's domineering husbund, Jabe Torrance, gave her this name. Therefore, everyone calls her Lady.

11. What did the children throw at Maggie at the dinner table, causing her to go up to her bedroom?

From Quiz Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Answer: Hot buttered biscuit

Maggie refers to the children as "No-neck monsters" several times in Act 1.

12. What is the name of Blanche's dead husband?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: Allan

When Blanche is telling Mitch all about the events surrounding her husband's death, she says, "Allan! Allan! The Grey boy! He'd stuck the revolver into his mouth, and fired...". Allan had been a homosexual, and Blanche knew this. One night while they were on a dance floor, Blanche confronted Allan. He ran away from her and killed himself. Since then Blanche hears music in her head, that always ends with a gunshot.

13. Which famous novel does Amanda Wingfield refer to in her telephone conversation?

From Quiz Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie"

Answer: Gone With The Wind

She is trying to sell a woman's magazine and mentions the story which is said to be the next "Gone With The Wind".

14. What does Blanche tell Mitch her name means?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: White woods

Blanche tells Mitch that since the translation of "Blanche DuBois" is "white woods", he can remember her by thinking about an orchard in the spring. This is an example of Blanche portraying herself to Mitch in a way that doesn't represent the way she actually is.

15. Where does Tom work?

From Quiz The Glass Menagerie

Answer: Shoe factory

He writes poems on the backs of shoe boxes.

16. What is Brick's drug of choice?

From Quiz Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"

Answer: Alcohol

Brick and Big Daddy are alike in many ways. Both are honest and forthright men, locked in unhappy marriages, seeking an escape, which Brick does through liquor. During Act Two, Big Daddy reveals the rarely revealed "parent" within him. His only concern is for his son's welfare: "If you don't like Maggie, get rid of Maggie." He offers blunt, but reasonable advice, but as this scene progresses, Big Daddy realises the extent of Brick's alcoholism, when Brick mentions the need for the "click" he gets in his head.

17. How does Skipper die in the film?

From Quiz "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof" on Screen

Answer: Commits suicide by jumping out of the window

In the play, Skipper became an alcoholic because of how he felt about Brick, and died from alcoholism. Brick blames himself for not helping his friend.

18. What is the nickname of Valentine Xavier?

From Quiz Orpheus Descending

Answer: Snakeskin

Valentine earned his nickname from the snakeskin jacket that he wears wherever he goes.

19. Who are the two sons of Big Daddy and Ida Pollitt?

From Quiz Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Answer: Gooper and Brick

Gooper is older by eight years.

20. Who is older, Stella or Blanche?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: Blanche

Stella is now married, and allows her older sister to live with them.

21. Mitch points out to Blanche that she never goes out with him on what afternoon?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: Sunday

Sunday is a day of purity and piety, which sharply contrast with the characteristics of Blanche. She is a woman of sin who considers herself unworthy to go out on a day reserved for spirituality. In the same conversation, Mitch also tells Blanche that he has never seen her in the light. This is purposeful on the part of Blanche as she does not want to reveal to him her true self.

22. What organization does Amanda belong to?

From Quiz The Glass Menagerie

Answer: D.A.R.

She leaves her meetings when she finds out that Laura is skipping school.

23. As a childless woman, Maggie is intensely jealous of Mae's reproductive abilities. What reproduction-related insult does Maggie use to describe Mae?

From Quiz Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"

Answer: Monster of fertility

Brick's brother, Gooper, and his wife Mae, have five children, with a sixth on the way. When Maggie enters the stage, she complains fiercely about these 'no-necked monsters', and continues to whine and joke about her poor nieces and nephews throughout the entire play.

24. What is the organisation that Jabe, Sheriff Talbot, Pee Wee and Dog are associated with?

From Quiz Orpheus Descending

Answer: The Ku Klux Klan

Jabe is the head of the local section of the Ku Klux Klan. Sheriff Talbot is his second in line and is running the show while Jabe is bed-ridden. Pee Wee and Dog are the local toughs who do the dirty work.

25. Several of the characters in the play speak on the phone with Miss Sally. Who is Miss Sally?

From Quiz Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Answer: Big Daddy's sister

According to Big Daddy (in Act 2), Miss Sally is his "old maid sister."

26. What does Stanley throw through the window on poker night?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: Radio

During Stanley's poker night, Stella turns the radio on, much to Stanley's displeasure. He tells her to turn it off, which she does. Later, while she is in the bathroom, Blanche turns the radio on. Stanley then comes charging into the bedroom and throws the radio through the window.

27. What is Jim's nickname for Tom?

From Quiz Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie"

Answer: Shakespeare

This is because he has seen him writing poems on shoebox lids.

28. What does Blanche think of Stanley?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: she thinks he's a madman

Blanche is frightened of Stanley. She thinks he's crazy, almost like an animal, and that Stella was crazy for marrying him.

29. What song does Blanche sing while Stella and Stanley discuss the truths that Blanche has been hiding?

From Quiz A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer: "It's Only a Paper Moon"

While Stanley tells Stella about Blanche's past in Laurel and the things Blanche made up and embellished, Blanche sings the song "It's Only a Paper Moon". There is much irony in this because the song is about the world being phony and make-believe, just as Blanche's world is.

30. What is the name of the business college where Laura attends?

From Quiz The Glass Menagerie

Answer: Rubicam's

Laura gets sick and throws up in class. She never goes back.

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