FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about A Michener Miscellany
Quiz about A Michener Miscellany

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.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Literature Trivia
  6. »
  7. Authors L-P
  8. »
  9. James Michener

Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
398,243
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
171
- -
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


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


Question 3 of 10
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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




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.
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?

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.
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?

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.
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?

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.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
12/21/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us