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

Green

Red

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

Herakles

Geryon's brother

Geryon

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

Oil Painting

Photography

Writing

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

Fear

Eros

Flight

Captivity
5 What is Herakles’ hometown?

Miami

Lima

Buenos Aires

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

Deconstructionism

Religion

Distance

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

Sappho

Emily Dickinson

Stesichoros

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

Life to Death

Innocence to Cynicism

Fear to Wonder

Uncertainty to Certainty
9 What is Geryon’s favorite question?

Why did Herakles kill Geryon?

What is time made of?

What do I think?

What is freedom?
10 What is a palinode?

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

A meaningless platitude

A preface or introduction

A paradox
11 What does proemium mean?

Premiere or first time

Premium or high-quality

Preface or introduction

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

14; 22

18; 22

12; 20
13 Who or what does Herakles attempt to liberate in Buenos Aires?

A painted carousel tiger

Himself

Ancash

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

Dismissive; frustrated

Gentle; understanding

Generous; loving

Angry; prideful
15 What is Herakles and Geryon’s song?

Blue

Tempo

Joy to the World

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

South American volcanoes

Soundscapes

Seismic activity

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?

A German term for human existence

Mocha

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

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?

light, of little weight

eagle

blue

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?

Sex

Blood

Desire

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?

He is motivated by a desire for self-expression

Digital photography hasn’t been invented yet

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?

Blue

Red

Black

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

Ancash; thwarting Geryon and Herakles’ relationship

Geryon’s brother; sexual terror and nightmares

Herakles; sexual frustration

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

Helen blinded him when he liberated her

Helen blinded him because he blasphemed her

Hera struck him blind for his impiety

He was always a blind man
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 ______.”

Heartbrokenness

Mourning

Loneliness

Wrong love

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