The Vivisector Quizzes

The Vivisector Quiz 1

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

Chandelier

Mural

Diamond ring
2 What is Rhoda's fate as predicted by the Planchette?
Woman

Wife

Novelist

Dancer
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 enlisting in the military

He's returning to his biological family

He's leaving to become an artist
4 Where does Hurtle move when he first leaves the Courtneys?
Sydney

New Zealand

Melbourne

Paris
5 Who is the person behind Duffield's secret patroness?
Mrs. Courtney

Caldicott

Boo Hollingrake

Rhoda
6 Where was Boo Hollingrake living in the years before she returned to Australia?
Peru

Tahiti

New York

London
7 Where does Hero want to bring Hurtle?
Melbourne

Turkey

Casablanca

Perialos
8 Who is Kathy Volkov's favorite musician?
Lizst

Rachmaninoff

Bach

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

Playwright

Novelist

Musician
10 What do Mr. and Mrs. Courtney want Hurtle to call them?
Father and Maman

Father and Mother Dear

Dad and Mother

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

Assisting a painter

Dishwashing

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

Lantana

Begonia

Sunflowers
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

1

5

3
15 Who is Soso?
Kathy Volkov's piano teacher

Hurtle's child

Rhoda's landlady

Hero and Cosma's quasi-adopted daughter
16 What is Rhoda yelling at when Hurtle encounters her after many years have passed?
Cars driving too fast

Cats

The moon

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 felt she failed Hurtle and Rhoda

She couldn't face her failure to end vivisection

She couldn't carry on without relationships with her children
18 Where do the Courtneys have a memorable holiday?
St. Sebastian

St. Yves de Tregor

Monaco

Tuscany
19 Who was Hurtle and Rhoda's governess?
Miss Leighton

Miss Gibbons

Miss Tyndall

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

Forms and Figures

Girl in the Window

Pythoness at Tripod
21 What street does Duffield live most of his adult life on?
Chubb's Lane

Prince Way

Flint Street

Windsor Street
22 Who is Duffield's protégé?
Rhoda

Don Lethbridge

Sam Weinstock

Cecil Cutbush
23 What is Cecil Cutbush's former job?
Local councilman

Bus driver

School headmaster

Gardener
24 What does Nance say is true of all men?
They're always thinking about the future

They are interested in art

They don't like talking about emotions

They're in love with themselves
25 Why did Caldicott vouch so much for Duffield?
He couldn't find anyone else

Someone told him he had to put his name behind him

He faced financial pressures to find an ingenue

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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