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A Michener Miscellany Trivia Quiz

I was a bit shocked to find so few quizzes about one of my favorite authors, James A. Michener. It's impossible to do this author justice in a single quiz, but here are some questions that might remind folks of a few of his high points.

A multiple-choice quiz by havan_ironoak. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
havan_ironoak

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
398,243

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
171

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The first and last chapters of Michener's novel "The Source" are called "The Tell." So TELL me what profession the main characters of those chapters follow. Ya dig? Hint

Paid informants

Professional gamblers

Archaeologists

Folk singers

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Chapter 7 of "The Source" is called "In the Gymnasium", and ends up with a character being killed. Why? Hint

accidentally in the pankration

for reversing his circumcision

for throwing a wrestling match

as a human sacrifice

3. The 1974 novel "Centennial" was used as the basis for a popular twelve-part television miniseries, but even 12 hours doesn't cover as much ground as Michener usually does. In Chapter 3, "The Inhabitants," which inhabitant does Michener start with? Hint

a buffalo

an Anasazi squaw

a diplodocus dinosaur

a buffalo soldier

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. One conceit of "Centennial" (published around the time of the country's bicentennial) is that it's set in the town of Centennial, "settled" during the country's 100th birthday. What state was this town in? Hint

California

Washington

Florida

Colorado

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Chapter 6 of "Centennial", "The Wagon and the Elephant", centers on Levi Zendt and his migration from Pennsylvania. Where was he originally headed? Hint

to Oregon

to the California goldfields

to Salt Lake City

to any place where he could found a new Amish community

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Question 6 of 10

6. Michener's 1959 novel "Hawaii" starts with the formation of the islands, and chapter 2 sees the islands populated by Tahitian emigres. Chapter 3, "From the Farm of Bitterness", brings the Hales and the Whipples to the islands. From where? Hint

New England

Taiwan

Holland

San Francisco

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Much of the conflict in "Hawaii" comes from the clash between the missionaries and the native ruler of the Islands. Who might that be? Hint

the alii nui

the grand pooba

the mikado

the itzcoatl

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. In Michener's 1988 novel "Alaska", the novel starts with the collision of the tectonic plates; with what does it end? Hint

The running of the first Iditerod dog race

The Japanese being driven out of Alaska during WWII

Alaska applying for statehood

The cleanup following the Exxon Valdez

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Michener's first novel (the 1947 Pulitzer Prize winner) was actually a group of short stories that was later adapted into a musical. What was the novel called? Hint

Anna and the King of Siam

Tales of the South Pacific

Spoon River Anthology

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. I've run out of questions, but not out of Michener books. Why for the letter C alone, all of these but one were written by Michener. Can you spot the one he DIDN'T write? Hint

Caravans

Chesapeake

Caribbean

Capricorn

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first and last chapters of Michener's novel "The Source" are called "The Tell." So TELL me what profession the main characters of those chapters follow. Ya dig?

Answer: Archaeologists

"The Source", an historical 1965 novel by James A. Michener, uses the plot device of archaeologists digging through a "tell" as a framework for telling us stories about the history of the Jewish people. Each level they excavate leads to another story.

2. Chapter 7 of "The Source" is called "In the Gymnasium", and ends up with a character being killed. Why?

Answer: for reversing his circumcision

"In the Gymnasium" deals with Jewish life under the Seleucid Empire, during which athletes competed naked, as in the Olympic games. The character in question, a gifted athlete, had the painful reversal procedure done to "fit in" with the other competitors, but his own people didn't take it well.

Answer: a diplodocus dinosaur

Michener typically concentrates on a place starting in pre-history and adding layers of detail so that by the end the reader feels that he understands the characters' motivations because he knew their parents and grand grand parents. Likewise with the geography.

Answer: Colorado

Centennial is a look at the American west, but also at Colorado from the dinosaur fossils found there, the trappers, the buffalo hunters, through the Sand Creek Massacre, through the rancher vs. sheepmen conflicts, up to the (then) present day (circa 1975).

5. Chapter 6 of "Centennial", "The Wagon and the Elephant", centers on Levi Zendt and his migration from Pennsylvania. Where was he originally headed?

Answer: to Oregon

Michener uses this character to point out that many of those who began the trek on the "Oregon Trail" settled elsewhere along the way. Zendt was just a farmer looking for a decent place to farm.

Answer: New England

Michener's character Reverend Abner Hale was based on real-life missionary Hiram Bingham. Missionaries from New England were instrumental in "civilizing" the indigenous people of Hawaii (and bringing diseases which killed a great many of them). Most of the original missionary families remained, and their descendants became the wealthy elite of the islands.

There is an island saying that the "Missionaries came to Hawaii to do good, and they did very well indeed."

7. Much of the conflict in "Hawaii" comes from the clash between the missionaries and the native ruler of the Islands. Who might that be?

Answer: the alii nui

Michener depicts Hawaii as a matriarchal society with the alii nui as the queen figure. The Kanaka ma'oli (ancient Hawaiian) had an extended family structure where the 'head of household' was the matriarch. The man was considered the authority in farming, fishing, hunting, and warring. But in all else the female ruled.

8. In Michener's 1988 novel "Alaska", the novel starts with the collision of the tectonic plates; with what does it end?

Answer: Alaska applying for statehood

Although Michener published "Alaska" in 1988, he never touched upon the Iditarod, which started in 1973 but which hadn't gained the notoriety it has now. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in 1989, by which time the novel was already out. I've often wondered if he would have included it had it happened earlier.

9. Michener's first novel (the 1947 Pulitzer Prize winner) was actually a group of short stories that was later adapted into a musical. What was the novel called?

Answer: Tales of the South Pacific

"Tales of the South Pacific", with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein, became the musical "South Pacific" which covered much of, but certainly not all of, the material that Michener had in the book. If you liked the musical and ever wanted to know more about any of the characters, I highly recommend the book.

At around 350 pages its's half the size of most Michener novels.

10. I've run out of questions, but not out of Michener books. Why for the letter C alone, all of these but one were written by Michener. Can you spot the one he DIDN'T write?

Answer: Capricorn

"Chesapeake" covers several families living around the bay between 1583 and 1978. "Caribbean" covers the Caribbean area from the time of the Arawak Indians through 1990. "Caravans" is a bit unlike the others, in that the protagonist, Mark Miller, is stationed in Kabul at the American embassy and learns about the region and its people without quite so much of an historical build-up.

Source: Author havan_ironoak

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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