"The Pickwick Papers", Chapters 47-57 Quiz

Answer: To see that Winkle and Arabella Allen are married

As you may have noted, Winkle and Miss Allen are already married while Pickwick is residing in the prison, and in fact their plight is one of the factors that breaks Pickwick's stubborn vow to stay in the Fleet. Once he is out, Pickwick and Sam are off to win over the two angry young men, Mr. Sawyer and Mr. Allen.

The mission, following that, is to convince Winkle, Sr. of Arabella Allen's virtues.

Answer: Ben's Aunt

Of course Arabella and Winkle are terribly afraid of these two young fellows, so they send Pickwick and Sam Weller off to relay the news. Just prior to their arrival, however, Ben Allen's aunt comes with the distressing news of Arabella's marriage. Ben's and Bob's reactions are so violent that it causes the auntie to pass out. Sam Weller's quote, upon seeing her on the floor, is priceless. "Here's a wenerable old lady a lyin' on the carpet waitin' for dissection, or galwinism, or some other rewivin' and scientific inwention." Ha! Pickwick finally reveals the identity of Ben's new brother-in-law, and convinces Ben and Bob to accept this reality.

Answer: The bagman

This time the bagman tells a tall tale about his uncle that he of course claims is absolutely true! His uncle encounters a ghost chaise and falls in love with a beautiful woman all in one evening, waking the next day with only the memories of his ghostly visits the night before. He vows to never marry again, having vowed himself to the specter of a woman.

Answer: Sandwich

Both Bob Sawyer and Sam Weller are holding enormous sandwiches in their hands, and they also have exchanged hats. The drunken Sawyer is creating quite a scene while straddled atop the chaise cart, much to the delight of Mr. Weller. Mr. Pickwick is initially annoyed by the attention being called to the cart, but soon he joins in the bacchanalia after a few drinks of the milk-punch!

Answer: Birmingham

On the way, not only do Pickwick, Bob Sawyer and Ben Allen get rather inebriated, they also dine once or twice. They arrive at Birmingham a bit out of sorts, probably not the best presentation for the elder Winkle to behold.

Answer: No

Winkle Sr. instead dismisses Mr. Pickwick disapprovingly, leaving poor Pickwick to assume that the old chap is hard-hearted and unsympathetic to his son. Pickwick resolves to help young Winkle in case his father writes his son off.

Answer: Slurk

Mr. Slurk, the editor of the Eatanswill Gazette, wields a carpet-bag while Pott grabs a fireplace shovel. On the verge of inflicting serious injury upon each other, their brawl is cut short by a quick-thinking Sam Weller, who wraps a meal-sack over Pott's head. Soon subdued, they return to their rooms to lick their wounds and formulate the next slanderous articles in their tabloid newspapers.

Answer: Mrs. Weller

Sadly, in chapter 52 Sam Weller learns of the passing of his mother-in-law in a virtually unreadable missive from his dear father. In the end, the elder Weller is rather broken up over the death of his poor wife, despite her connections with the insidious Mr. Stiggins. We only know the value of those around us when they're gone!

Answer: Mr. Stiggins

Poor Mr. Stiggins! Attempting to take advantage of the death of Mrs. Weller, he insinuates himself into the good graces of Tony Weller, or so he thinks. Not only does Tony Weller refuse to contribute to Mr. Stiggins' favorite cause, himself, he gives him a good battering. I would venture to guess that in the end, only his ego was truly damaged in this attack, despite the relish with which Tony Weller physically assaults poor Stiggins. We know for certain that he won't be returning to the Weller household anytime soon!

Answer: Liverpool

Pickwick sets up a situation for Jingle in Liverpool, and Job Trotter faithfully follows, mirroring the faith that Sam Weller has for Pickwick. In the end we discover that both Jingle and Trotter make good on their word to turn over a new leaf, hence validating Pickwick's faith in these former rogues. Dickens was forever an optimist, I believe.

Answer: Joe

The Wardles' servant boy Joe seems to love three things: sleep, food, and the beautiful Mary. He admires her to no end, but is fortunately distracted by the lovely steak set before him on the dinner table. The boy has his priorities of course!

Answer: Pickwick announces his interest in hiring Tony Weller as a private coachman

Tony Weller practically forces his entire savings onto Pickwick, who is loathe to become responsible for Mr. Weller's fortune. He eventually accepts it under threat! Tony Weller is pleased to hear of his son's interest in Mary, after all, she isn't a 'widder'. Finally, we discover Mr. Weller's intention to retire from his regular trade, so he certainly won't be serving as Pickwick's coachman!

Answer: Yes

Indeed, everything works out well for the Winkles, with the elder Winkle turning out to be a charming fellow who favors his excellent new daughter-in-law.

Answer: False

Mr. Tracy Tupman does not wed, though he continues to admire the older women of his neighborhood. It seems that he remains faithful in his mind to the lovely spinster Rachael Wardle. This certainly does not prohibit him from flirting, however...

Answer: 2

'Two sturdy little boys' are the output of this humble couple. I suppose you could say that they all live happily ever after. I hope that you were happy with this series of quizzes on this marvelous tome by Charles Dickens, I had a good time creating the quizzes...thanks for your participation!