Guests of the Nation – General Understanding Quiz

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Approximate Reading Times

Quick Read: under 5 minutes
Short Story: 5 to 30 minutes
Novelette: 30 to 90 minutes
Novella: 1.5 to 2.5 hours

A Village After Dark
Short Story by Kazuo Ishiguro. A filthy, feeble old man dressed in rags returns to a village he left many years ago to “make amends”. We aren’t told what for, but older villagers are uneasy about his return while to the younger generation he is a cult-like hero.
The Beast in the Jungle
Novella by Henry James. A man is obsessed with the feeling that misfortune of some kind will come into his life “like a beast in the jungle”. He shares the premonition with a female acquaintance, who agrees to “watch his back”. This constant fear of the beast destroys both lives.
A Cup of Tea
Short Story by Katherine Mansfield. The desire for a “cup of tea” symbolizes the one similarity (womanhood) between a poor, desperate and “astonishingly pretty” young beggar and a rich, entitled and “not exactly beautiful” middle-aged socialite. The socialite’s insecurity about her appearance prevents her from helping the girl.

Blackberry Winter
Novelette by Robert Penn Warren. A nine-year-old boy is affected for life when a menacing-looking tramp with a large switchblade in his pocket, carrying a mysterious newspaper-wrapped package, visits his family farm. The stranger’s visit and other events of the day shatter the impressionable lad’s ordered view of the world.
Nadia the Willful
Grade 5-6 Story by Sue Alexander. When a Bedouin boy is lost in the desert, his father (the tribal sheik) decrees that none of his people speak the boy’s name. Nadia, his willful daughter, finds that the only way she can cope is to talk about their happy times together.
The Father
Quick Read by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. A prideful peasant visits a priest about his son on three occasions, each time seeking to elevate his status in the community. The tragic death of his son leaves the man devasted and humbled, bringing about a major change in his outlook on life.
The Slump
Quick Read by John Updike. A professional baseball player tries to analyze why he is no longer hitting the ball as well as he used to. He identifies that the problem is psychological, and concludes that it is because he has lost his passion for the game

Fountains in the Rain
Short Story by Yukio Mishima. An arrogant young man courts, seduces and sleeps with a woman. He has no feelings for her, and does so purely for the “pleasure” of seeing the reaction when he says to a woman for the first time, “It’s time to break it off!”
Girl
Quick Read by Jamaica Kincaid. An Antiguan mother provides what she believes to be essential ‘life advice’ to her maturing daughter. This ranges from tips for young girls (how to cook, sew, sweep, etc.) to things older girls should know (how to love a man, bring on a miscarriage, etc.).
In the Penal Colony
Novelette by Franz Kafka. A psychopathic officer on an isolated prison island acts as judge, jury and executioner. Central to the story is a gruesome torture machine that seems to know its time has come and chooses to self-destruct along with the only person left who cares about it.