The Vivisector Quizzes

The Vivisector Quiz 1

1 What object inspires Hurtle when he first visits the Courtneys house?
Mural

Diamond ring

Urn

Chandelier
2 What is Rhoda's fate as predicted by the Planchette?
Novelist

Dancer

Woman

Wife
3 What reason does Hurtle give Mrs. Courtney for his departure from their house and family as a teenager?
He's moving to Paris

He's returning to his biological family

He's enlisting in the military

He's leaving to become an artist
4 Where does Hurtle move when he first leaves the Courtneys?
Melbourne

Paris

New Zealand

Sydney
5 Who is the person behind Duffield's secret patroness?
Mrs. Courtney

Rhoda

Caldicott

Boo Hollingrake
6 Where was Boo Hollingrake living in the years before she returned to Australia?
Tahiti

Peru

New York

London
7 Where does Hero want to bring Hurtle?
Melbourne

Turkey

Casablanca

Perialos
8 Who is Kathy Volkov's favorite musician?
Bach

Rachmaninoff

Mozart

Lizst
9 What kind of aspiring artist does Hurtle encounter when he goes to Mumbelong with Mr. Courtney?
Sculptor

Novelist

Playwright

Musician
10 What do Mr. and Mrs. Courtney want Hurtle to call them?
Papa and Maman

Dad and Mother

Father and Maman

Father and Mother Dear
11 What job is Hurtle doing when he meets Nance Lightfoot?
Landscaping

Assisting a painter

Working in a department store

Dishwashing
12 What plant does Duffield continuously point out seeing in the novel?
Begonia

Lantana

Palm trees

Sunflowers
13 What does Boo Hollingrake say has always been Rhoda's virtue?
An awareness of the reasons for her hysteria

An ability to perceive everything around her

Secret creative genius

A clear vision of the future
14 How many children did the Duffields have?
7

1

3

5
15 Who is Soso?
Rhoda's landlady

Kathy Volkov's piano teacher

Hero and Cosma's quasi-adopted daughter

Hurtle's child
16 What is Rhoda yelling at when Hurtle encounters her after many years have passed?
Cats

Cars driving too fast

Kids playing ball

The moon
17 What does Rhoda say was the reason for Maman's death?
She couldn't face her failure to end vivisection

She felt it wasn't worth living without the inessentials

She couldn't carry on without relationships with her children

She felt she failed Hurtle and Rhoda
18 Where do the Courtneys have a memorable holiday?
Tuscany

Monaco

St. Yves de Tregor

St. Sebastian
19 Who was Hurtle and Rhoda's governess?
Miss Nixon

Miss Tyndall

Miss Leighton

Miss Gibbons
20 What is the name of Hurtle's painting of Rhoda?
Forms and Figures

Girl in the Window

Nance Spreadeagle

Pythoness at Tripod
21 What street does Duffield live most of his adult life on?
Prince Way

Chubb's Lane

Windsor Street

Flint Street
22 Who is Duffield's protégé?
Don Lethbridge

Rhoda

Cecil Cutbush

Sam Weinstock
23 What is Cecil Cutbush's former job?
Bus driver

School headmaster

Local councilman

Gardener
24 What does Nance say is true of all men?
They don't like talking about emotions

They're in love with themselves

They are interested in art

They're always thinking about the future
25 Why did Caldicott vouch so much for Duffield?
He faced financial pressures to find an ingenue

He was in love with him

He couldn't find anyone else

Someone told him he had to put his name behind him

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Study Guide for The Vivisector

The Vivisector study guide contains a biography of Patrick White, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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