Rain When I Die Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jay Gatsby

Jay Gatsby, of F. Scott Fitzgerald's great American novel "The Great Gatsby" (1925), died in his swimming pool when he was shot by George Wilson. Gatsby was in love with Daisy Buchanan, whose husband Tom was having an affair with Myrtle Wilson, married to George. Myrtle was killed when she was hit by Gatsby's car, which Daisy was driving at the time. Tom told George that it was Gatsby's car and George, tortured with grief and believing Gatsby to be Myrtle's killer, went to Gatsby's house, found him in the pool and shot him. George also took his own life.

Answer: Beth

Sweet Beth March, loved by all her family, was the sister who died in the second volume of "Little Women", which was originally published under the title "Good Wives" in 1869. It was later published together with the first volume collectively as "Little Women" in 1880. In the first volume, Beth battled scarlet fever, and though she recovered, she was never the same and gradually became weaker and more fragile. A few years later, she passed away peacefully at home with her family after being lovingly cared for by her sister Jo. It was not ever said what the direct cause of Beth's death was; it can be assumed it was indirectly caused by ongoing complications of the scarlet fever.

In one online review of "Little Women" that I read, a blogger put forth the idea that Beth "died of Authorial Intent", that the character of Beth was in the book simply for the purposes of dying. From the beginning, Beth was a perfect, angelic character who was very dutiful to her family and loved by all. While her sisters talked and dreamt of their futures and their prospects for marriage, there were never any future plans discussed for Beth, as if she were destined from her first appearance to be a character who would die at a young age.

Answer: The Lovely Bones

In 2002's "The Lovely Bones", 14 year old Susie Salmon never returned home from school one day. On her way, her neighbour George Harvey lured her into an underground den he had built in a cornfield. In the den, he raped and killed Susie. Her remains were put into a safe and eventually thrown into a sinkhole.

In the novel, Susie watched her family from a heaven-like place and followed the investigation surrounding her death. Her family suffered, with her father becoming obsessed with finding her killer and her mother having an affair and leaving the family. Harvey was never arrested and charged for the murder, and it was revealed that he'd killed several other girls as well, but he did eventually meet his own death in the end of the book.

Answer: The Outsiders

"The Outsiders" (1967) was about a group of boys known as the Greasers and the conflict between them and a rival group of more well-off kids known as the Socs. After Greaser Johnny killed one of the Socs, Bob, when he and narrator Ponyboy were attacked by the Socs, Johnny and Pony went into hiding in an abandoned church.

After a while, just before they were about to go home, a group of school kids went into the church and a fire broke out. Johnny was badly injured rescuing the kids when a burning beam fell on him, breaking his back. Johnny later died in the hospital.

Answer: The Final Problem

"The Final Problem" was first published in 1893 and included in the 1894 volume of stories "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes". The sleuth's author intended to kill him off in this story, but, following pressure from fans, revived him. Thank goodness his death in "The Final Problem" was vague and non-definitive.

In the story, Sherlock took on his greatest rival, Professor Moriarty and had a struggle with him at the Reichenbach Falls. When Dr. Watson arrived later, he found two sets of footprints leading up to gorge and none returning, and it was assumed that both Holmes and Moriarty fell to their deaths.

Answer: Lord of the Flies

Piggy was a character in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" (1954). In the novel, a group of school boys were stranded on an island and made a society for themselves. It did not go very well. In the midst of a confrontation at Castle Rock on the island, Roger dropped a boulder from overhead and Piggy was killed.

The conch shell, a symbol of order and civilized society, was also destroyed in this moment. Simon, another boy, was also killed by his fellow island dwellers during the course of the book.

Answer: The Da Vinci Code

In "The Da Vinci Code" (2003) Jacques Saunière was a curator at the Louvre museum in Paris. He was killed in the Louvre nearby several notable works of art. The novel's protagonist, symbology expert Robert Langdon, was brought in to see his body, ostensibly because there were symbols that he could help the police interpret, but actually because Saunière had written on the ground before his death "P.S. Find Robert Langdon".

The police naturally thought Saunière was identifying his killer in this message, but it was actually a plea to Saunière's cryptographer granddaughter Sophie (who he called Princesse Sophie - P.S.) to find Langdon so that he could help her unravel the mystery of the 'Holy Grail'. Saunière was the head of an organization that protected the Holy Grail, and as he was dying, he knew he had to pass on the secret to Sophie.

Answer: Perfume

"Perfume" (or "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer") (1985) is hands down the weirdest book I've ever read. In it, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was born without a scent, a small thing but one that made him an outcast in society. His sense of smell, however, was second to none. Because of this, he became an apprentice to a perfume-maker in Paris.

In this capacity, Grenouille made it his mission to create a perfume that smelled of the wonderful (to his nose) scent of young virgin girls. To this end, he killed many young girls in order to capture their scent. Laure, a beautiful young red head, had the scent that Grenouille loved the most. After killing her, Grenouille was arrested and sentenced to be executed. On the day of his execution, however, he wore the perfume that he created from the young virgins, and the townspeople became intoxicated by the scent and let Grenouille free. Later on, he wore the scent again and this time met his own grisly end - he was attacked and devoured by a group of citizens in a fit of 'passion' after they smelled his perfume.

Answer: Mrs. Dubose

This was a small side plot in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1960). Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose was a neighbour of the Finch family, whom Jem and Scout didn't like because they thought she was very mean. One day, after she made a racist comment in regards to Atticus Finch's client Tom Robinson (who also died in the book), Jem angrily destroyed the camellia flowers in Mrs. Dubose's garden.

As a punishment, Jem had to read to her every day, until an alarm sounded, allowing him to go home. The time before the alarm sounded grew each day; unbeknownst to Jem, he was reading to her to distract her as she increased the time until her next morphine dosage, until she finally overcame the addiction and passed away shortly after.

Answer: Hamlet

Ophelia was Hamlet's (possible) love interest in "Hamlet" (c. 1601), the tragedy about a Danish prince trying to avenge his father's death. Ophelia descended into madness after Hamlet killed her father Polonius, when Polonius was hidden away where Hamlet had a private discussion with mother. Ophelia's own death occurred off-stage, with Hamlet's mother Gertrude announcing in Act 4, Scene 7 that Ophelia had climbed a tree and the branch broke out from under her, sending her falling into the brook below where she drowned.

It was speculated that the death was actually a suicide, but Ophelia's brother Laertes adamantly argued that it was not.