The Paper Nautilus Quizzes

The Paper Nautilus Quiz 1

1 Authorities' hopes are shaped by
nautili

devils

mercenaries

poets
2 Who is entrapped by teatime fame?
Mercenaries

Authorities

Writers

Poets
3 Commuters are described as
friendly

dull

authoritative

comfortable
4 The shell is
opulent

thin

broken

heavy
5 The souvenir of hope is
perishable

comfortable

raw

authoritative
6 The outside is
glossy white

gray

pink

dull white
7 The inner surface is
dull

glossy

matte

ragged
8 When does the nautilus guard her eggs?
Day and night

Never

Day

Night
9 What does she not do until the eggs hatch?
Speak

Sleep

Eat

Move
10 How many arms does she have?
2

8

10

4
11 What fish is she compared to?
A clownfish

A catfish

A devilfish

A piranha
12 What does she do for the eggs?
Hides them

Separates them

Ignores them

Crushes them
13 She refers to her eggs as
babies

spheres

packages

freight
14 What Greek hero does the poet mention?
Hercules

Paris

Ajax

Achilles
15 What does the crab do to Hercules?
Kills him

Inspires him

Devours him

Hinders him
16 When the eggs are freed,
they die

they make their own shells

they leave the shell intact

they break the shell
17 What creature's nest does the poet mention?
Wasp

Bee

Rat

Bird
18 The chiton-folds are compared to
the wasp nest

the glossy sea

the Parthenon horse

Hercules and his labor
19 What is "the only fortress / strong enough to trust to"?
The sea

Mother

Love

Family
20 The mother's love is
nurturing

intense

obsessive

all of these
21 The nautilus makes her shell for
the commuters

the eggs

the authorities

the crab
22 What best describes the nautilus?
Morose

Indifferent

Dedicated

Reserved
23 The shell is depicted as
fragile

heavy

capacious

ragged
24 The following are themes of the poem except
the sea

maternal love

religion

endurance
25 The eggs
resist against their mother's love

do not break the shell

are watched intensively

never hatch

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Study Guide for The Paper Nautilus

The Paper Nautilus study guide contains a biography of Marianne Moore, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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