The Autobiography of Red Quizzes

The Autobiography of Red Quiz 1

1 What color does Herakles dream of Geryon being, proving he doesn’t know Geryon at all?

Yellow

Blue

Red

Green
2 Whose emotional failure does the empty fruit bowl signify?

Herakles

Geryon

Geryon's mother

Geryon's brother
3 Which artistic medium was not a mode of expression for Geryon’s autobiography?

Photography

Oil Painting

Sculpture

Writing
4 What is the “theme” of Geryon’s street art in Herakles’ words?

Fear

Flight

Captivity

Eros
5 What is Herakles’ hometown?

Buenos Aires

Miami

Hades

Lima
6 What is the main topic of conversation between the philosopher Lazer and Geryon?

Truth

Religion

Distance

Deconstructionism
7 Which poet’s work is not influential for Autobiography of Red?

Stesichoros

Emily Dickinson

Sappho

Gertrude Stein
8 Which transition does Geryon try to capture in his photograph “If He Sleep He Shall Do Well”?

Uncertainty to Certainty

Innocence to Cynicism

Fear to Wonder

Life to Death
9 What is Geryon’s favorite question?

What is freedom?

Why did Herakles kill Geryon?

What do I think?

What is time made of?
10 What is a palinode?

A meaningless platitude

A “counter song”: saying the opposite of what you said before

A preface or introduction

A paradox
11 What does proemium mean?

Premiere or first time

Preface or introduction

Premium or high-quality

Process
12 At what age does Geryon fall in love with Herakles, and at what age do they encounter each other again in Buenos Aires?

14; 28

12; 20

14; 22

18; 22
13 Who or what does Herakles attempt to liberate in Buenos Aires?

Ancash

Himself

Geryon

A painted carousel tiger
14 What best describes Herakles’ attitude towards Geryon’s emotionality during sex?

Generous; loving

Dismissive; frustrated

Angry; prideful

Gentle; understanding
15 What is Herakles and Geryon’s song?

La Cumparsita

Blue

Joy to the World

Tempo
16 What is Herakles and Ancash’s documentary ostensibly about?

Soundscapes

Seismic activity

South American volcanoes

Emily Dickinson
17 What is the meaning of “Mitwelt” in “Café Mitwelt,” where Geryon writes postcards from Buenos Aires with scraps of Heidegger on them?

Mocha

A German term for an individual's social or cultural environment

Faithless

A German term for human existence
18 Which answer to the question “What is time made of?” does the yellowbeard NOT give Geryon?

The fourth dimension of reality, where the other three dimensions are spatial

It is a meaning that we impose upon motion

It is an abstraction

Nothing
19 What is Ancash’s answer when Geryon asks him what his name means?

He doesn’t have a chance to answer

blue

light, of little weight

eagle
20 What is the image of “a poppy in a breeze” NOT associated with in Autobiography of Red?

Desire

Blood

Sex

Death
21 Which is NOT an assumption we can make from the detail that Geryon is packing “six boxes of DX 100 color film” for his trip to Buenos Aires?

Digital photography hasn’t been invented yet

He is motivated by a desire for self-expression

He expects to be taking all of his photos outside

Color is an indispensable part of how Geryon sees the world
22 Which color is repeatedly associated with Herakles in Geryon’s perception?

Black

Gold

Red

Blue
23 Who is the “incubus” in this story, and what are they associated with?

Geryon’s brother; sexual terror and nightmares

Ancash; thwarting Geryon and Herakles’ relationship

Herakles; sexual frustration

Geryon; his monstrousness
24 Which of these conflicting narratives about Stesichoros’ blindness ISN'T offered as a possibility?

He was always a blind man

Helen blinded him when he liberated her

Helen blinded him because he blasphemed her

Hera struck him blind for his impiety
25 Fill in the blank of this oft-quoted sentence about Geryon’s heartbreak: “Geryon’s/whole body formed one arch of a cry—upcast to that custom, the human custom/of ______.”

Loneliness

Wrong love

Mourning

Heartbrokenness

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