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?
Blue

Green

Yellow

Red
2 Whose emotional failure does the empty fruit bowl signify?
Geryon's brother

Geryon's mother

Herakles

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

Oil Painting

Photography

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

Eros

Flight

Captivity
5 What is Herakles’ hometown?
Lima

Miami

Hades

Buenos Aires
6 What is the main topic of conversation between the philosopher Lazer and Geryon?
Religion

Truth

Deconstructionism

Distance
7 Which poet’s work is not influential for Autobiography of Red?
Gertrude Stein

Sappho

Emily Dickinson

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

Life to Death

Uncertainty to Certainty

Innocence to Cynicism
9 What is Geryon’s favorite question?
What is freedom?

What is time made of?

Why did Herakles kill Geryon?

What do I think?
10 What is a palinode?
A paradox

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

A meaningless platitude

A preface or introduction
11 What does proemium mean?
Preface or introduction

Premium or high-quality

Premiere or first time

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; 22

12; 20

18; 22

14; 28
13 Who or what does Herakles attempt to liberate in Buenos Aires?
A painted carousel tiger

Ancash

Himself

Geryon
14 What best describes Herakles’ attitude towards Geryon’s emotionality during sex?
Gentle; understanding

Generous; loving

Dismissive; frustrated

Angry; prideful
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?
Seismic activity

Soundscapes

Emily Dickinson

South American volcanoes
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

A German term for human existence

Faithless
18 Which answer to the question “What is time made of?” does the yellowbeard NOT give Geryon?
It is a meaning that we impose upon motion

Nothing

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

It is an abstraction
19 What is Ancash’s answer when Geryon asks him what his name means?
blue

light, of little weight

eagle

He doesn’t have a chance to answer
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?
Color is an indispensable part of how Geryon sees the world

Digital photography hasn’t been invented yet

He expects to be taking all of his photos outside

He is motivated by a desire for self-expression
22 Which color is repeatedly associated with Herakles in Geryon’s perception?
Gold

Black

Blue

Red
23 Who is the “incubus” in this story, and what are they associated with?
Geryon’s brother; sexual terror and nightmares

Geryon; his monstrousness

Ancash; thwarting Geryon and Herakles’ relationship

Herakles; sexual frustration
24 Which of these conflicting narratives about Stesichoros’ blindness ISN'T offered as a possibility?
Hera struck him blind for his impiety

He was always a blind man

Helen blinded him when he liberated her

Helen blinded him because he blasphemed her
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 ______.”
Mourning

Heartbrokenness

Loneliness

Wrong love

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