Martyr! Quizzes

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Martyr! Quiz for Chapters 1–10

1 What does Cyrus seek at the beginning of the novel?
Relief from illness

Sobriety before he relapses

A reason not to believe in God

A sign from God
2 What is Cyrus playing at in his job as a medical actor?
Martyring himself

Dying

Altruism

Better pay
3 Who does Cyrus roleplay at work?
Other doctors

Non medical professionals

Patients or their family members

Only dying patients
4 Who does not approve of Cyrus's job?
Zee

Ali

Orkideh

Sad James
5 What does Cyrus suffer from in sobriety?
Bulimia

Withdrawal

Ambivalence and antipathy

Missing his father
6 What organ does Cyrus ask a medical student about?
A doom organ

Heart

Liver

A hate organ
7 How does Cyrus refer to sobriety while sharing at an AA meeting?
A personal martyrdom

The divine sign he was waiting for

Hell

Nothing in every direction
8 Which of the following themes does this quote relate to: "'Recovery is made of words, and words have all these rules. How can anything so limited touch something as big as whatever the fuck a ‘Higher Power’ is? How can it get rid of the big ball of rot inside me?'"
Queer Love

Insomnia

Political Turmoil

The Failure of Language
9 Why does Gabe criticize Cyrus for seeking a definition of a higher power in Islam?
Because Cyrus wasn't born yesterday.

Because the Bible is more accessible in the Midwest.

Because Cyrus is a poet, not a religious scholar.

Because Cyrus is "the most American kid" that Gabe knows.
10 What surprises Cyrus about Gabe, his sponsor?
That Gabe is a womanizer

That Gabe slept with hundreds of men

Gabe relapsed without telling Cyrus

That Gabe is a sex addict
11 What does Cyrus profess to wanting?
To die an insignificant death.

To live fruitfully and earn lots of money.

To matter, to make great art that people think matters, and for his death to matter.

To die a painless death.
12 What does Cyrus claim to be uncertain of?
Zee's feelings for him

The fact that his mother died

Everything including gravity

Gabe's recovery
13 What has Cyrus struggled to do since a young age?
Stay sober

Sleep

Be pessimistic

Be realistic
14 Which of Cyrus's parents wanted to have him in the first place?
Both

Roya

Ali

Neither
15 Which of the following does Ali not bring with him to the US?
A wedding photo

Sketches that Roya made

His military boots

Roya's pearl brooch
16 Growing up, how did Ali frame Cyrus's Iranian heritage?
That he should never privately think about his past

That he should proudly share about his culture with others

To announce his Iranianness was to "invite violence, harm"

That he should celebrate his heritage by writing poetry
17 What activity soothes Cyrus and helps him sleep?
Imagining conversations between his heroes and his friends or family

Getting sober

Exercising during the day

Meditation
18 What did Arash do to Roya when they were younger?
Help her study

Protect her from bullies

Urinate on her

Push her into a fountain
19 Zee tells Sad James that Cyrus has plastered their apartment with what?
Posters of famous poets

The printed faces of martyrs

Hand-drawn notes and charts figuring out his mother's identity

Nothing—he has stripped the walls
20 What do Cyrus's friends talk him into doing?
Running for Congress

Getting a full-time job

Flying to New York to speak with the dying artist, Orkideh

Recommitting to AA meetings
21 What is revealed in the chapter from Zee's perspective?
He actually secretly resents Cyrus

He is in love with Cyrus

He wishes Cyrus would stop whining

He himself is an addict
22 What does Orkideh encourage visitors to speak to her about?
Anything

God

Topics only related to death

Love and light
23 What concept does Orkideh introduce to Cyrus?
Angels of Death

God's Living Martyrs

18th Century European Art

Earth Martyrs
24 Where did Ali Shams work?
A private farm

An industrial chicken farm

An electronics store in Iran

Home Depot
25 According to Cyrus, everything in his life is contaminated by what?
Pre-Industrial Revolution fantasies

Being chosen by God

Late capitalism

Sobriety

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