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Quiz about Literary Suicides
Quiz about Literary Suicides

Literary Suicides Trivia Quiz


Many brilliant writers have chosen to end their own lives. I will provide the method of choice, and details of their work; can you name the author? (Extra clues will be provided for less well known writers).

A multiple-choice quiz by alexicon. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
alexicon
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
244,990
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
6381
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: quizzer74 (8/10), kickaha49 (10/10), ChrisUSMC (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. This well-traveled Hungarian revealed his disenchantment with Communism in the 1940 novel "Darkness at Noon." Long suffering from leukemia and Parkinson's, he took a drug overdose in 1983. Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This American poet composed "Lady Lazarus", in which she recounts previous suicide attempts:
"I am only thirty.
And like the cat I have nine times to die.
This is number three."
In 1963, she fatally gassed herself.
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This celebrated American novelist and short-story writer penned "Hills Like White Elephants" and "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." He shot himself in the head in 1961. Need a few more hints? Think bullfighting, alcohol, and the character Santiago. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. This British playwright, author of "Crave" and "Blasted," initially faced critical condemnation for the extreme violence common in her plays. She hanged herself in 1999. (Hint: This Citizen may have been fond of rosebuds). Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. This American poet, who battled depression throughout her life, wrote "Wanting to Die" and "The Truth the Dead Know." In 1974, she died of carbon monoxide poisoning in her garage. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. This prolific American writer is best known for "Call of the Wild." His death in 1916 has sometimes been rumoured a suicide by morphine overdose, though this is by no means proven. His official cause of death was uremia. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This Auschwitz survivor, born in Italy, wrote of his experiences in "If This is a Man." He died after falling several stories from his apartment landing in 1987; most conclude that this was a deliberate suicide rather than accident. His given name means "first." Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. This British Romantic poet is widely believed to have composed "The Rowley Poems" (which at the time of publication had purportedly been written by one Thomas Rowley in the 15th century). He ingested arsenic in his attic in 1770, and died penniless at only 17. One might assume from his surname that he enjoyed conversation. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. This gonzo journalist wrote "The Rum Diaries" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He shot himself in the head in 2005. Several months later, his ashes were fired from a cannon while Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" played. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. This British novelist, author of "Mrs. Dalloway" and "To the Lighthouse," drowned herself in a river in 1941. Nicole Kidman donned a prosthetic nose to play her in a 2002 film. Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Nov 05 2024 : quizzer74: 8/10
Nov 01 2024 : kickaha49: 10/10
Oct 28 2024 : ChrisUSMC: 8/10
Oct 28 2024 : shorthumbz: 9/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This well-traveled Hungarian revealed his disenchantment with Communism in the 1940 novel "Darkness at Noon." Long suffering from leukemia and Parkinson's, he took a drug overdose in 1983.

Answer: Arthur Koestler

Koestler was politically active throughout his life, embracing at different times Communism, anti-Communism, anti-Nazism, Zionism and euthanasia. A few years prior to his death he became the Vice-President of a voluntary euthanasia advocacy society in England. His suicide was committed jointly with his third wife, Cynthia.
2. This American poet composed "Lady Lazarus", in which she recounts previous suicide attempts: "I am only thirty. And like the cat I have nine times to die. This is number three." In 1963, she fatally gassed herself.

Answer: Sylvia Plath

Plath was married to another celebrated poet, Ted Hughes. Their relationship was dramatized in the 2003 film "Sylvia," starring Daniel Craig and Gwyneth Paltrow.
3. This celebrated American novelist and short-story writer penned "Hills Like White Elephants" and "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." He shot himself in the head in 1961. Need a few more hints? Think bullfighting, alcohol, and the character Santiago.

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Several other Hemingways committed suicide, including Ernest's father, two siblings, and his granddaughter.
4. This British playwright, author of "Crave" and "Blasted," initially faced critical condemnation for the extreme violence common in her plays. She hanged herself in 1999. (Hint: This Citizen may have been fond of rosebuds).

Answer: Sarah Kane

Kane wrote "Crave" under the pseudonym Marie Kelvedon, to ensure critics would evaluate the play on its own merits, rather than Kane's reputation. Today she is widely acclaimed.
5. This American poet, who battled depression throughout her life, wrote "Wanting to Die" and "The Truth the Dead Know." In 1974, she died of carbon monoxide poisoning in her garage.

Answer: Anne Sexton

Sexton chose to take up poetry based on a suggestion by her therapist. She was friends with Sylvia Plath, after attending a workshop with her.
6. This prolific American writer is best known for "Call of the Wild." His death in 1916 has sometimes been rumoured a suicide by morphine overdose, though this is by no means proven. His official cause of death was uremia.

Answer: Jack London

London led a varied and colourful life, and spent a month in jail for vagrancy in 1894. He worked as a sailor, at a cannery, and as an oyster pirate, and caught scurvy during the Klondike Gold Rush.
7. This Auschwitz survivor, born in Italy, wrote of his experiences in "If This is a Man." He died after falling several stories from his apartment landing in 1987; most conclude that this was a deliberate suicide rather than accident. His given name means "first."

Answer: Primo Levi

According to the Levi Wikipedia entry, " [magician] David Blaine has Primo Levi's concentration camp number, 174517, from Auschwitz tattooed on his left forearm."
8. This British Romantic poet is widely believed to have composed "The Rowley Poems" (which at the time of publication had purportedly been written by one Thomas Rowley in the 15th century). He ingested arsenic in his attic in 1770, and died penniless at only 17. One might assume from his surname that he enjoyed conversation.

Answer: Thomas Chatterton

Chatterton's fame increased after his death, when his contributions were recognized by such greats as Coleridge, Wordsworth and Keats.
9. This gonzo journalist wrote "The Rum Diaries" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He shot himself in the head in 2005. Several months later, his ashes were fired from a cannon while Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" played.

Answer: Hunter S. Thompson

Thompson narrowly lost the race for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado in 1970. His platform included drug decriminalization, and renaming Aspen "Fat City."
10. This British novelist, author of "Mrs. Dalloway" and "To the Lighthouse," drowned herself in a river in 1941. Nicole Kidman donned a prosthetic nose to play her in a 2002 film.

Answer: Virginia Woolf

Woolf reportedly had an enduring lesbian affair with writer Vita Sackville-West. The movie was "The Hours," and earned Kidman a Best Actress Oscar.
Source: Author alexicon

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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