The Union Buries Its Dead Quizzes

The Union Buries Its Dead Quiz: The Union Buries Its Dead

1 What is the mood of the opening few lines of the story?
Sardonic

Relaxed and jovial

Tense

Somber
2 How do the men pass the time while waiting for the funeral procession to begin?
Taking naps

Boating on the billabong

Drinking and joking around at the pub

Waiting on side of the road
3 How did the young man die?
He was killed by a rearing horse.

He drowned while trying to swim horses across the billabong.

He drank too much alcohol.

He drowned while taking a leisurely swim.
4 Why did the ranks of the funeral party diminish so much?
Many of them were anti-union and didn't want to attend a union man's funeral.

Many of them decided the deceased's memory would be better honored by remaining at the pub.

Many of them realized the deceased was Catholic and decided not to attend the funeral.

Many of them were too drunk to continue on.
5 Why did the deceased man have a funeral in town if he was a stranger?
His mother once lived in the town.

He was the same religion as most of the members of the town.

It was custom in the town to provide funerals even for strangers.

He was a member of the union.
6 What is the setting of the story?
A town called Bourke in the rural Australian outback

A rural town in England

The city of Sydney, Australia

A suburb called Bourke just outside Sydney, Australia
7 What is the town's response to the funeral procession?
Pubs close respectfully and men take off their hats as the procession passes.

Pubs remain open defiantly.

They throw a party and get in drunk in honor of the man's life.

No one stops, simply going about their business as usual.
8 How does the narrator describe the day of the funeral?
Chilly

Extremely hot and dusty

Extremely hot, tropical, and rainy

Windy
9 What is the conversation like among the men on the way to the funeral?
They wonder who the dead was.

They speak reverently of the dead.

They make grim jokes.

They are completely silent.
10 What might the narrator's walking companion mean when he says "over yonder"?
In the afterlife

In the city of Sydney

At the union office

Inside the coffin
11 About how many men end up accompanying the hearse on the way to the funeral?
5 or so

The entire town

14-15

30
12 What makes the narrator realize the dead man in the coffin is the same as the one he met on the river the day before?
He inquires at the union office.

A drunk tells him about the incident at the pub and he connects the dots.

His walking companion tells him on the way to the funeral.

He realizes when he reads the name of the deceased on the coffin as it is lowered into the ground.
13 What do the men suggest they may have done differently the day before if they knew the man on the river was about to die?
Ask his name

Speak longer to him and pay more attention to him

Invite him back for a drink

Help him across the river
14 How does a man in the procession refer to the priest?
As a shearer

As a woman

As a drunk

As the Devil
15 What does the sprinkling of holy water do to the coffin, in the narrator's opinion?
It makes the coffin appear more grand.

It sanctifies the coffin.

It makes the whole event seem surreal.

It makes it appear shabbier than before.
16 Why does the narrator disapprove of the publican's actions?
He thinks them disrespectful of the dead man.

He thinks they makes a mockery of the whole event.

He thinks them unnecessary.

He thinks the priest's hat is ugly.
17 What does the narrator assume are the motivations of the publican?
To impress the men gathered at the funeral

To demonstrate his wealth

To show his reverence for the dead

To show his reverence for the church
18 Why is the narrator relieved when the coffin is lowered into the grave?
He was afraid it would rain.

He wanted the funeral to be over and done with.

He was afraid one of the drunk men would vomit on it.

He had been afraid it wouldn't fit.
19 How does the narrator feel about the sound of the dirt clods falling on the coffin?
He thinks the sound doesn't matter much, and that it sounds like dirt falling on any wooden box anywhere.

He finds the sound melancholic and sentimental.

He thinks it is shameful that the grave-diggers chose such heavy soil for the task.

He worries that others might take offense.
20 What is a possible reason the narrator might list some of the things "left out" from the description of the funeral?
In order to depict the funeral with as much detail as possible

To romanticize the funeral

To comment on the lack of sentimentality present at the funeral

To show that the town went to every expense possible for the funeral
21 How do most of the men find out the dead man's name?
By seeing it at the funeral

By passing his union card around

From the police report

From the priest's speech
22 What is the twist at the end of the story?
The man is named James Tyson.

James Tyson wasn't the man's real name.

A Sydney newspaper was at the funeral to report on the death.

The dead man's loved ones had been looking for him for weeks.
23 What river did the man drown in?
The Pacific

The Darling

The Yarra

The Mississippi
24 Why does the narrator say he will not be of use to a loved one of the deceased man?
He has already forgotten the man's real name.

The only thing found in the man's belongings was a union card.

The narrator only spoke with the man briefly when he was alive.

The man did not leave behind a fortune.
25 What is the tone of the story's conclusion?
Hope

Dry resignation

Calm contentment

Sorrow

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Lawson's uses of language to portray ideas about Australian identity and culture

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