Jane in the Jungle With a Twist Quiz

Answer: Of Mice and Men

While the time span of this classic is a mere four days, the story encompasses a lifetime worth of dreams of a better life, friendship, love, death, companionship and loneliness.
Lennie and George, the main characters in this Steinbeck classic, are two field laborers in the 1930s, struggling to get along as they rely on each other - complete each other - and strive to attain their dreams. The novel depicts a tragic world, where love often leads to death, and where freedom is little more than an illusion.
Published in 1937, the title 'Of Mice and Men' comes from a poem by Robert Burns.

Answer: Jane Eyre

Structured in two parts - Jane's childhood and adulthood - Jane is the structural link that holds the novel together. Narrated in the first person, Jane tells her story as if writing a letter to a friend. The themes of maturation, religion, equality and fantasy versus reality imbue the novel with a depth of emotional weight.

While the basic plot can be condensed to a few simple sentences - An orphaned Jane is sent away from her cold-hearted aunt's house, and spends several years at Lowood, a charity school. Old enough to seek a position, she secures one at Thornfield, proceeds to fall in love with the gruff and selfish Mr. Rochester. Over time, and after growing into her self-assurance and individuality, Jane finds happiness - the story is complex enough to inspire countless critiques and discussions. Charlotte Bronte published 'Jane Eyre' in 1847, under the pseudonym of Currer Bell.

Answer: Oliver Twist

'Oliver Twist' is set in early 1800s London and features the consequences of the Poor Law of 1814, the harsh conditions of the workhouses, the living conditions of the lower classes and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.
Oliver is the hero of the novel, an orphan who is subjected to numerous perils, disappointments and joys as his life is touched by others - and as he touches others' lives.
Originally available in monthly installments, 'Oliver Twist' was published from 1837 - 1839 in Bentley's Miscellany. Charles Dickens wrote more than a dozen novels, several plays and non-fiction books, and many short stories. His novels, however, were all initially published in serial format.

Answer: The Jungle

Spanning roughly five years, 'The Jungle' begins with Jurgis and Ona's marriage, and ends with a socialist election party where one celebrant proclaims 'Chicago will be ours!' The novel combines capitalism versus socialism, freedom versus confinement, humans as beasts, survival of the fittest, corruption and exploitation.
Published in 1906, and considered a 'muck-raking' novel, 'The Jungle' was written to draw attention to the more sordid aspects of life, the treatment of the lower class, the struggle for survival and hope for the future.

Answer: The Scarlet Letter

Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 'The Scarlet Letter' tells the story of Hester Prynne, her illegitimate daughter Pearl, the Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester's husband who disguises his identity by calling himself 'Chillingworth' and their life among the Puritans of Boston during the mid 1600s. The novel explores the concepts of sin, guilt, ambiguity, courage, dignity, repentance and hypocrisy.
While 1850's 'The Scarlet Letter' and 1851's 'The House of the Seven Gables' are perhaps Hawthorne's best known works, he wrote several other novels and numerous short stories.

Answer: For Whom the Bell Tolls

In late May, 1937, Robert Jordan lives more intensely than most people do in a lifetime. As an explosives expert working with the Loyalists, he learns about love and brotherhood as he fights with - and for - Pablo, Pilar, Maria, El Sordo and Anselmo during the second year of the Spanish Civil War. With vivid prose and a tense curt style, Ernest Hemingway explores not only the last four days of Jordan's life, but through flashbacks and interior monologues, broaches the concepts of bravery, duty, loyalty and hope. The title of 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' is taken from a passage in 'Meditation XVII' by the English poet John Donne.

Answer: The House of the Seven Gables

A Gothic novel, written in 1851, 'The House of the Seven Gables' is the tale of the Pyncheon family's pride and greed, and the sins of the past regretted, yet repeated, by the future generations. The old and decaying seven-gabled mansion, located in a New England town, is the setting for what will finally end a nearly 200 year old curse on their family - a love that will redeem all of them.

Answer: Tom Sawyer

An imaginative and free-spirited boy, Tom Sawyer rejects the restrictions of society, longs for freedom, and sometimes cannot see the fine line that separates reality from illusion. He does not, however, lose his sense of moral responsibility or ignore for long his own conscience. Throughout his adventures on and along the Mississippi River, he learns the lessons of sacrifice, generosity, friendship and love.
Published in 1876, 'Tom Sawyer' was written by Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), who was at one time a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River.

Answer: Animal Farm

The political message of 'Animal Farm' was inspired by the events of the Russian (Bolshevik) Revolution (1917 - 1921), when the Russian peasants overthrew the monarchy in favor of socialism. In the novel, George Orwell shows the animals' efforts to overthrow human dictatorship and to establish a community in which all contribute to the common gain. During the course of the story, Napoleon takes control and steers the farm animals towards communism, Snowball is branded a traitor, the farm becomes more dictatorship than anything else, and the animals are no longer equal - some are more equal than others. Published in 1945, 'Animal Farm' won a Retrospective Hugo Award in 1996.

Answer: Gone With the Wind

'Gone With the Wind' is the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a southern belle during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction period. A spoiled, headstrong and willful character, who wants what she cannot have and does not realize the worth of what she does have, Scarlett is forced to face reality, learn how to deal with adversity and loss, and stay strong enough to face another day. Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer prize for 'Gone With the Wind' in 1937. And, while she refused to write a sequel, her estate authorized Alexandra Ripley to do so, and 'Scarlett' was published in 1991.

The sequel garnered poor reviews, but it was a commercial success.