The Autobiography of Red Quizzes

The Autobiography of Red Quiz 1

1 What color does Herakles dream of Geryon being, proving he doesn’t know Geryon at all?

Red

Yellow

Green

Blue
2 Whose emotional failure does the empty fruit bowl signify?

Geryon's brother

Geryon's mother

Geryon

Herakles
3 Which artistic medium was not a mode of expression for Geryon’s autobiography?

Photography

Oil Painting

Writing

Sculpture
4 What is the “theme” of Geryon’s street art in Herakles’ words?

Fear

Captivity

Eros

Flight
5 What is Herakles’ hometown?

Lima

Buenos Aires

Hades

Miami
6 What is the main topic of conversation between the philosopher Lazer and Geryon?

Deconstructionism

Distance

Truth

Religion
7 Which poet’s work is not influential for Autobiography of Red?

Gertrude Stein

Emily Dickinson

Sappho

Stesichoros
8 Which transition does Geryon try to capture in his photograph “If He Sleep He Shall Do Well”?

Life to Death

Innocence to Cynicism

Fear to Wonder

Uncertainty to Certainty
9 What is Geryon’s favorite question?

Why did Herakles kill Geryon?

What is freedom?

What is time made of?

What do I think?
10 What is a palinode?

A meaningless platitude

A preface or introduction

A “counter song”: saying the opposite of what you said before

A paradox
11 What does proemium mean?

Premiere or first time

Preface or introduction

Premium or high-quality

Process
12 At what age does Geryon fall in love with Herakles, and at what age do they encounter each other again in Buenos Aires?

12; 20

18; 22

14; 28

14; 22
13 Who or what does Herakles attempt to liberate in Buenos Aires?

Himself

Ancash

Geryon

A painted carousel tiger
14 What best describes Herakles’ attitude towards Geryon’s emotionality during sex?

Dismissive; frustrated

Gentle; understanding

Angry; prideful

Generous; loving
15 What is Herakles and Geryon’s song?

Tempo

La Cumparsita

Joy to the World

Blue
16 What is Herakles and Ancash’s documentary ostensibly about?

South American volcanoes

Soundscapes

Emily Dickinson

Seismic activity
17 What is the meaning of “Mitwelt” in “Café Mitwelt,” where Geryon writes postcards from Buenos Aires with scraps of Heidegger on them?

A German term for human existence

Faithless

A German term for an individual's social or cultural environment

Mocha
18 Which answer to the question “What is time made of?” does the yellowbeard NOT give Geryon?

It is an abstraction

Nothing

It is a meaning that we impose upon motion

The fourth dimension of reality, where the other three dimensions are spatial
19 What is Ancash’s answer when Geryon asks him what his name means?

He doesn’t have a chance to answer

eagle

blue

light, of little weight
20 What is the image of “a poppy in a breeze” NOT associated with in Autobiography of Red?

Blood

Sex

Desire

Death
21 Which is NOT an assumption we can make from the detail that Geryon is packing “six boxes of DX 100 color film” for his trip to Buenos Aires?

Digital photography hasn’t been invented yet

Color is an indispensable part of how Geryon sees the world

He is motivated by a desire for self-expression

He expects to be taking all of his photos outside
22 Which color is repeatedly associated with Herakles in Geryon’s perception?

Blue

Gold

Red

Black
23 Who is the “incubus” in this story, and what are they associated with?

Herakles; sexual frustration

Geryon; his monstrousness

Ancash; thwarting Geryon and Herakles’ relationship

Geryon’s brother; sexual terror and nightmares
24 Which of these conflicting narratives about Stesichoros’ blindness ISN'T offered as a possibility?

He was always a blind man

Helen blinded him when he liberated her

Helen blinded him because he blasphemed her

Hera struck him blind for his impiety
25 Fill in the blank of this oft-quoted sentence about Geryon’s heartbreak: “Geryon’s/whole body formed one arch of a cry—upcast to that custom, the human custom/of ______.”

Mourning

Loneliness

Heartbrokenness

Wrong love

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