Why did they do that? Trivia Quiz

Answer: To confirm for himself the king's guilt in killing Hamlet's father

The possibility of the king having committed this horrible crime came to Hamlet in a dream, brought by a ghost. He was obsessed by it and his own possible madness, therefore he wanted tangible confirmation. The play within the play, which acts out a similar scenario, brought great agitation to the king, thus giving Hamlet his evidence. "Hamlet" is Shakespeare's longest play, with 4,042 lines. If not edited down, a performance can last up to five hours.

Answer: He's seeking revenge, because the whale bit off one of his legs

Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" (1851) is the quintessential American novel. The universal themes of obsession and revenge are woven into a gripping and timeless tale of adventure and drama, using a whaling voyage as the setting. Melville goes into great detail about the science of whaling and life at sea, based partly on his personal experience, but the heart of the novel is Ahab's quest and what it says about human motivation and behavior colliding with larger forces.

The Starbucks coffee chain is named after Mr. Starbuck, chief mate on Ahab's ship, "The Pequod".

Answer: He was shot in the stomach by a crazy woman, and disappeared from baseball for years

Bernard Malamud's first novel, written in 1952, is about much more than baseball. Hobbs' late arrival to "the show" is due to his being shot in the stomach by an obsessed female fan, a stalker in today's parlance. Her motivation for this act seems to be deliberately left unclear by Malamud, but it keeps the reader guessing and greatly affects the choices made by Roy as the protagonist.

The incident is an obvious example of art imitating life, as a real-life ball player for the Philadelphia Phillies named Eddie Waitkus experienced the same fate in 1949 before making a successful comeback.

Answer: After Billy's suicide, he realized it was the only way to break her hold over the other inmates

Randall Patrick McMurphy, protagonist of Ken Kesey's brilliant, poignant and shocking novel about inmates in a mental institution, finally snaps and attacks the brutal and dictatorial nurse who oppresses the inmates throughout the story. However, he knows exactly what he's doing, and is aware of the probable tragic result awaiting him as the result of his actions.

He must "fight the power" to show his weaker buddies that they can recover their souls and be free. Kesey's persona as a leader of the 1960s counter culture, his own experimentation with psychoactive drugs, and his experience working nights at the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital (in California) all clearly inform this novel.

Answer: He sacrifices himself so his friend Darnay, falsely accused, can escape Paris

Charles Dickens' classic 1859 novel of love, intrigue, social upheaval, death and resurrection plays out against the backdrop of the French Revolution. Carton, the cynical English barrister, makes the ultimate sacrifice for Darnay, the former French aristocrat, who is married to Lucie, the woman Carton secretly has always loved. By thwarting the revenge of the obsessed French revolutionaries, Carton allows Darnay to escape back to England and presumably live happily ever after with Lucie and their daughter. For his information source on Paris at the time of the novel, Dickens drew heavily on Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle's "The French Revolution: A History", published in 1837.

Answer: His best friend Gene shakes the branch he's standing on

Fowles sets the novel at a boarding school at the time of World War II, and in it explores the rites of passage of adolescent boys and the choices they make regarding self and country. The boys form a secret society with an initiation rite which involves jumping off a tree into a creek. Gene causes the fall because of his intense rivalry with Finny, whose easy athleticism he secretly envies. Finny refuses to believe what Gene did, but years later the truth is revealed and eventually Gene is forgiven.

The novel was published in 1959.

Answer: He is tortured and finally broken by a government agent in room 101.

"1984" is a cautionary tale about the insidious power of the state. Winston, the regular nebbisch who is hiding his subversive individuality and belief in real love, sells out because the state torture apparatus is inevitable. They know his deepest fears and ruthlessly use them against him in the climactic scene. I won't spoil it further for future readers.

The novel is perhaps more relevant than ever as technology continues to erode privacy and totalitarian regimes proliferate.

Answer: She's bored, so she follows a rabbit with a pocketwatch

The first line of Lewis Carroll's iconic children's fantasy tale is: "Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and having nothing to do." At this point the rabbit scurries by, worriedly looking at its watch and muttering. Alice follows it down the rabbit hole, and the adventure is on. Lewis Carroll was the pen name for Charles Dodgson, born 1832 in Cheshire, England. "Alice in Wonderland", written in 1865 for the daughter of a friend, was an immediate sensation and remains one of the most famous and popular English language children's stories ever written.

Answer: Jean Valjean's undeniable resurrection as a humane and decent man destroys Javert's world view

It is the wrenching and devastating psychological turmoil confronting the inspector which causes him to end his life. In one of the key scenes, Javert has been captured by the rebels and will be put to death. Valjean, now with the rebels, arranges to guard the prisoner, then mercifully frees him, even though Javert has ruthlessly pursued him (Valjean) for years, trying to re-imprison him for stealing a loaf of bread years before when he was starving. Frenchman Victor Hugo's 1862 historical novel is one of the most powerful and enduring works of the 19th century.

It has been produced for the stage in at least 42 countries, performed countless times, and been adapted for the big screen at least five times, including a much-ballyhooed 2012 filming of the musical, starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.

Answer: He commands them to do it so he can hear the beautiful sirens' song and not be lured to his death

The song of the sirens is so irresistibly beautiful that any man who hears it must follow it and be lured to their island and never escape. The goddess Circe has warned Odysseus in advance of this peril, so he has his men plug their ears with wax, then bind him so he can experience the song.

Although he struggles mightily and begs them to untie him, they follow orders and sail on until the danger is past. The captain is a true music lover.