The Literary World (Characters Quiz)

Question: Which character from Greek mythology figures in the title of Frankenstein?

Answer: Mary Shelley’s novel is called Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus. In mythology, Prometheus was a Greek who stole fire from the gods.

Question: Who was the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta?

Answer: Helen was the wife of King Menelaus. She ran away with the Trojan prince Paris, which led to the outbreak of the Trojan War.

Question: In what book do we find the characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee?

Answer: The characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee make their appearance in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass. They first appeared, however, in a poem written a century earlier.

Question: Who was the Greek goddess of peace?

Answer: Eirene was the goddess of peace. Her name is the Greek word for "peace." In English, the name is usually spelled "Irene."

Question: What is the name of Paul Bunyan’s ox?

Answer: Babe the Blue Ox is the companion of the mythological giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan. According to legend, the American Great Lakes were created by Bunyan as a watering hole for Babe.

Question: What is the name of Beowulf’s archenemy?

Answer: The Old English epic Beowulf, which was probably written in the 8th century, describes the deeds of a prince named Beowulf. His greatest victory is over a murderous monster named Grendel.

Question: Which fictional character is the creation of Hugh Lofting?

Answer: Hugh Lofting’s The Story of Dr. Dolittle (1920) concerns a physician who has a special gift for communicating with animals.

Question: Which of these was not one of the sisters in Little Women?

Answer: Four sisters figure in Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.

Question: What is the name of the villainous computer in Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey series?

Answer: HAL 9000, a fictional computer featured in several of Arthur C. Clarke’s works, is an artificial intelligence who begins to work against his makers—even plotting to kill them!

Question: Which epic depicts the wanderings of Odysseus after the Trojan War?

Answer: The Odyssey, attributed to the Greek poet Homer, chronicles Odysseus’s many years of travel before he can come home from the Trojan War.