Nineteenth Century Literary Characters Trivia Quiz | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. My author said that no one would like me but herself. She was wrong. I like me. After all, I'm "handsome, clever, and rich", and I know the famous Mr. Knightley.

Answer: Emma Woodhouse

You like me; you really like me. I knew it all the time. Read more about me in Jane Austen's "Emma." Evelina is the heroine of Fanny Burney's novel, "Evelina". Burney was a major influence on Austen. Evangeline Bellefontaine is the heroine of Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline". Edina Monsoon is one of the characters in the Brit-com, "Absolutely Fabulous". Somehow I don't think Austen would have approved of Eddy or of her friend, Patsy.

2. I was so depressed that I considered suicide. Instead I ended up on some whaling ship with a crazy captain who kept jabbering about a white whale. Land never looked so good.

Answer: Ishmael

Read more about me in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick". Stephen, Fletcher and Valentine were all mutineers. Stephen led the fictional mutiny against Captain Queeg on the USS Caine. Fletcher was the leader of the real-life mutiny on the Bounty, and Valentine was one of the leaders of the British Channel Fleet mutiny in 1797.

3. I'm the best bad girl in all of English literature. I might take a few shortcuts, but I always get where I'm going, to the top. I'm sometimes vain, but always fair. Dorothy Parker said that I was her favorite character. Thanks, Dorothy.

Answer: Becky Sharp

You can see more of me in William Thackeray's "Vanity Fair". Junie Jones is a very famous fictional kindergarten student who may yet grow up to be another Becky Sharp. Becky Thatcher is Tom Sawyer's girlfriend. Jane Fairfax appears in Jane Austen's "Emma." Jane is presented obliquely through Emma's distorted, mistaken view of her. I barely noticed Jane the first time I read "Emma". Now I not only think she is almost as important as Emma in the novel, but I think Jane Fairfax is the Austen character who is most like Jane Austen herself.

4. I was a miser, but I was redeemed by the love of a child. Now I'm so famous that every sixth grader in the United States knows my name, even if some of the little rugrats curse George Eliot and me under their little munchkin breaths.

Answer: Silas Marner

If you haven't already been forced to read George Eliot's "Silas Marner", give it a try, just for me. Uncle Silas is the villain in Sheridan LeFanu's novel, "Uncle Silas". Silas Lapham is the title character of William Dean Howells' "The Rise of Silas Lapham". Silas House is a contemporary novelist who has just published "Clay's Quilt".

5. My friend Jim and I went on a rafting trip. You must know who I am. I'm only the title character in the Great American Novel.

Answer: Huckleberry Finn

Ernest Hemingway said that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn'". Tom Sawyer bends the rules, while Huck is a real rebel. Twain himself can't seem to decide whether he wants to be Tom or Huck. His Tom side is nostalgic for the good old days, while his Huck side is angry and unreconciled and knows that the good old days were never very good.

The official Mark Twain tourist industry at Hannibal has come down hard on Tom's side. They don't want to know Huck at all. Uncle Tom is Harriet Beecher Stowe's exemplary slave, and David Copperfield is Charles Dickens' fictional alter ego.

6. I fell hard for this preacher man, but, unfortunately, I was already married. Everything ended badly. I have to admit that I prefer the Demi Moore version of my story. The literary value is much lower, but I have a lot more fun.

Answer: Hester Prynne

Get a copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" to find out more about me. Victoria Woodhull was a real person. She ran for President before women were even allowed to vote, and she exposed the popular preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, as a hypocrite and a serial adulterer. Mattie is a character in Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome".

She falls in love with her cousin's husband, and tragedy ensues. Maggie is Stephen Crane's soiled dove in his novella, "Maggie, a Girl of the Streets".

7. I sold my wife to another man. OK, that was wrong, but why did that one action ruin the rest of my life? My author doesn't let anyone get away with anything.

Answer: Michael Henchard

See more about me in Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge". Billy Budd was the handsome sailor in Melville's "Billy Budd", yet another fateful tragedy. Jasper Milvain can be found in George Gissing's "New Grub Street", a story about the lower depths of the literary profession. Hard work and talent go unrewarded, while pandering and influence peddling win the day. Tom Buchanan is the self-indulgent, clueless rich guy in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby".

8. Things began to look bad when I discovered that my boyfriend had a crazy wife hidden away in the attic. But everything worked out ok in the end.

Answer: Jane Eyre

I can be found in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." Catherine Earnshaw, Nelly Dean, and Agnes Grey are all characters in other novels written by the Bronte sisters. Catherine and Nelly are in Emily's "Wuthering Heights", and Agnes Grey is the title character in Anne's "Agnes Grey".

9. I only wanted a little more porridge. Why did they make a big deal out of it? Being an orphan is tough, but my author understands. He had a rough childhood too.

Answer: Oliver Twist

Read about me in Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist". David, Tim and Philip, a.k.a. Pip, are from other Dickens novels.

10. I have a lot of nicknames, Hawkeye, Deerslayer, etc. But do you know my real name?

Answer: Natty Bumppo

I have a different nickname in each book James Fenimore Cooper wrote about me, except for the last one, when I was too old to care any more. Hiram is Ulysses Grant's real first name, which he dropped, supposedly because his initials spelled "hug". Arthur Dimmesdale is Hester Prynne's boyfriend in "The Scarlet Letter", and Facey Romford is a slightly disreputable fox-hunter in R.S. Surtees' "Mr. Facey Romford's Hounds".

Source: Author dinkytown

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Nineteenth Century Literary Characters Quiz

These are some of the most famous characters in nineteenth-century American and British literature. Do you recognize them?

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