Literary Allusions of the 20th Century Quiz

Answer: Orwellian

The storylines of classics from '1984' to 'Animal Farm' best exemplify the 'Orwellian', or totalitarian, themes of George Orwell (1903-1950). Perhaps the most notable example of an Orwellian society is the presence of the always unseen surveillance entity called 'Big Brother' from '1984', published in 1949.

Answer: A 'Peyton Place'

From the 1956 book of the same name by Grace Metalious, as well as the subsequent hit movie (starring Lana Turner) and U.S. TV series (with Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal), it forever cast a dark shadow on America's conception of small-town life. The TV series also starred Leslie Nielsen, Lee Grant and George McCready.

Answer: The Peter Principle

From the series of books by Lawrence J. Peter which were first published in 1970. Among his more famous listings include Ulysses S. Grant, who went from heroics on the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War to two scandal-ridden terms of office as President.

Answer: Lennie

Lennie Small, a character in Steinbeck's 1937 novel 'Of Mice and Men', is looking for a place to call his own, along with his friend George Milton. George is smaller, but smart, so Lennie protects him, but Lennie has been cursed with not knowing his own strength and winds up killing the boss's wife in George's defense.

The two have been depicted in book, on stage, in film and even cartoons as the short, cynical smart guy and the lumbering dimwit (George and Junior, Ren and Stimpy, etc.).

Answer: A 'Catch-22'

In the story first published in 1961, John Yossarian is on a bomber station on an island off Italy, with a fanatical officer bent on killing his men for the greater glory of his own career. When Yossarian acts insane for the purpose of being sent home, he finds a regulation that countermands his attempt ... a 'catch-22'.

Answer: A 'Blackboard Jungle'

The 1954 book became a hit movie the following year with Glenn Ford, Sidney Poitier and a young Vic Morrow. The film also made a hit of Bill Haley's 'Rock Around The Clock', which helped kick off the 'rock and roll' era. Hunter later wrote a series of successful hard-boiled detective novels under the name Ed McBain. He died July 6, 2005.

Answer: Blanche DuBois

The lead character in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' proved to be a hit for actress Vivien Leigh, who played opposite Kim Hunter and Marlon Brando in the 1951 film version of the play, which first debuted in 1948. 'Maggie the Cat' was a character in 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof', Laura appeared in 'The Glass Menagerie' and Maxine was in 'Night of the Iguana'.

Answer: Tobacco Road

Erskine Caldwell's controversial 1932 novel about Georgia hillbilly sharecroppers became one of the most successful Broadway shows in history, running for over eight years (granted, the play, written solely for laughs by Jack Kirkland, was a far cry from Caldwell's book).

It set the stage for more rustic humor, exemplified by everything from the 'Lum n' Abner' radio series to the 'Ma and Pa Kettle' films to the U.S. TV shows, 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Hee Haw'.

Answer: Franz Kafka

The term 'Kafkaesque' takes on many meanings, but most deal with scenarios not unlike Kafka's stories, such as 'Metamorphosis' and 'The Trial'. The majority of Kafka's works were published after the author himself died, many of them unfinished. They were eventually prepared for the public by his friend and literary executor, Max Brod.

Answer: Walter Mitty

Based on James Thurber's 1939 story 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty', the name quickly took on a life of its own. You can see him in all forms, from Charles Shulz's character 'Snoopy' (re-enacting his days as a WWI flying ace) to Bill Watterson's 'Calvin and Hobbes'. The story was made into a hit movie in 1947 with Danny Kaye in the title role.