The Butler – Quiz |

The Butler – 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 Home near the Sea
Short Story by Kamala Das. An Indian woman tells a fellow beggar how her husband, a lazy drunkard, lost a secure job and caused them to be evicted from their hut. The listener brings her to tears by poetically providing encouragement and comparing her to the goddess Lakshmi.
The Son from America
Short Story by Isaac Singer. An old Polish couple eke out a meager existence following their traditional way of life. Hidden away in their hut is a small fortune, saved from money sent by their son in America. His offer of further help for them and the village are rejected.
Bread
Quick Read by Margaret Atwood. A story in which bread is used as a metaphor to illustrate a range of themes associated with starvation and suffering. Sadly, it concludes with the inference that most unaffected people prefer to turn a blind eye to such things.
Jeremiah’s Song
Young Adult Story by W. D. Myers. A nine-year-old boy and an older friend are enthralled by his dying grandfather’s stories, which the old man refers to as the “songs of my people”. The boy’s friend puts some of the stories to music, potentially enabling them to live on.
In the Garden of the North American Martyrs
Short Story by Tobias Wolff. At an interview for a position in a prestigious college, a history professor learns that she is a token female candidate with no chance of success. Part of the application process is a lecture, where she finds her own voice for the first time.
The House on Mango Street / Those Who Don’t / Alicia and I Talking…
Three Vignettes by Sandra Cisneros. Each deals with an aspect of "place". A Mexican-American family moves to a new neighborhood that most outsiders consider dangerous. Their small house is special because they own it. A year later, the protagonist wonders why the new house still doesn’t feel like "home".
The Great Rat Hunt
Grade 7-8 Story by Laurence Yep. A young boy with severe asthma feels left out when he can’t join in family ball games. Everything changes after they notice signs of a rat in their apartment. The father borrows a gun and invites his sons to join him in a hunt.
With the Photographer
Quick Read by Stephen Leacock. A professional photographer humiliates a customer during his sitting by criticizing and trying to manipulate every aspect of his facial features and posture. Later, when the customer views the developed product, his face has been so digitally altered as to be unrecognizable.
The Jogi’s Punishment
Indian Folktale. A story involving a famed holy man who turns out to be not very holy after all, a selfish rajah who wants to keep the holy man’s talents and blessings all for himself, and an overly curious princess who causes trouble for everyone by visiting the holy man.
The New Constitution / Naya Qanun
Short Story by Saadat Hasan Manto. Over several days an illiterate tongawala [coachman] overhears customers talking about a new “India Act”, which he misinterprets to be a new constitution that will free India from British rule. He hates the British, and acting on the “news” lands him in jail.
The Fence
Short Story by Hamsad Rangkuti. A poor family fence their house after an experience with vagrants who took shelter under their eaves during a rainstorm. Things don't go as expected when, thinking the fence had been put up to protect something of value, they later return to rob the house.
Hudden and Dudden and Donald O’Neary
Irish Folktale. Two well-off but foolish farmers will do anything to get their hands on a small piece of barren land between their farms. The story begins with them deciding to poison the poor landowner’s faithful cow. Things escalate from there, with three people dying and the landowner becoming rich.
The Elephant Vanishes
Short Story by Haruki Murakami. An old elephant mysteriously vanishes despite being securely shackled in its locked enclosure. The protagonist, used to unity and balance in his life, is so disoriented by what he saw on the night of the disappearance that he is unable to make important decisions.
Dr Heidegger’s Experiment
Short Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. An ageing scientist invites four friends to participate in an experiment ostensibly designed to test the efficacy of waters from the famed fountain of youth. It is probable that the experiment had a different thesis, which is proved by the behavior of the guests.