The Vivisector Quizzes

The Vivisector Quiz 1

1 What object inspires Hurtle when he first visits the Courtneys house?

Mural

Diamond ring

Urn

Chandelier
2 What is Rhoda's fate as predicted by the Planchette?

Wife

Novelist

Dancer

Woman
3 What reason does Hurtle give Mrs. Courtney for his departure from their house and family as a teenager?

He's moving to Paris

He's returning to his biological family

He's leaving to become an artist

He's enlisting in the military
4 Where does Hurtle move when he first leaves the Courtneys?

Paris

Sydney

New Zealand

Melbourne
5 Who is the person behind Duffield's secret patroness?

Caldicott

Boo Hollingrake

Rhoda

Mrs. Courtney
6 Where was Boo Hollingrake living in the years before she returned to Australia?

London

Peru

Tahiti

New York
7 Where does Hero want to bring Hurtle?

Casablanca

Perialos

Melbourne

Turkey
8 Who is Kathy Volkov's favorite musician?

Bach

Rachmaninoff

Lizst

Mozart
9 What kind of aspiring artist does Hurtle encounter when he goes to Mumbelong with Mr. Courtney?

Sculptor

Novelist

Musician

Playwright
10 What do Mr. and Mrs. Courtney want Hurtle to call them?

Dad and Mother

Papa and Maman

Father and Mother Dear

Father and Maman
11 What job is Hurtle doing when he meets Nance Lightfoot?

Dishwashing

Assisting a painter

Landscaping

Working in a department store
12 What plant does Duffield continuously point out seeing in the novel?

Begonia

Sunflowers

Lantana

Palm trees
13 What does Boo Hollingrake say has always been Rhoda's virtue?

An awareness of the reasons for her hysteria

Secret creative genius

An ability to perceive everything around her

A clear vision of the future
14 How many children did the Duffields have?

7

5

1

3
15 Who is Soso?

Rhoda's landlady

Kathy Volkov's piano teacher

Hero and Cosma's quasi-adopted daughter

Hurtle's child
16 What is Rhoda yelling at when Hurtle encounters her after many years have passed?

The moon

Cars driving too fast

Cats

Kids playing ball
17 What does Rhoda say was the reason for Maman's death?

She felt it wasn't worth living without the inessentials

She couldn't face her failure to end vivisection

She couldn't carry on without relationships with her children

She felt she failed Hurtle and Rhoda
18 Where do the Courtneys have a memorable holiday?

Monaco

St. Yves de Tregor

Tuscany

St. Sebastian
19 Who was Hurtle and Rhoda's governess?

Miss Tyndall

Miss Leighton

Miss Gibbons

Miss Nixon
20 What is the name of Hurtle's painting of Rhoda?

Nance Spreadeagle

Pythoness at Tripod

Girl in the Window

Forms and Figures
21 What street does Duffield live most of his adult life on?

Windsor Street

Chubb's Lane

Prince Way

Flint Street
22 Who is Duffield's protégé?

Cecil Cutbush

Don Lethbridge

Rhoda

Sam Weinstock
23 What is Cecil Cutbush's former job?

Local councilman

School headmaster

Bus driver

Gardener
24 What does Nance say is true of all men?

They're in love with themselves

They're always thinking about the future

They don't like talking about emotions

They are interested in art
25 Why did Caldicott vouch so much for Duffield?

Someone told him he had to put his name behind him

He faced financial pressures to find an ingenue

He couldn't find anyone else

He was in love with him

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Study Guide for The Vivisector

The Vivisector study guide contains a biography of Patrick White, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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