The Vivisector Quizzes

The Vivisector Quiz 1

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

Chandelier

Diamond ring

Mural

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

Dancer

Woman

Novelist

Wife
3 What reason does Hurtle give Mrs. Courtney for his departure from their house and family as a teenager?

He's returning to his biological family

He's leaving to become an artist

He's enlisting in the military

He's moving to Paris
4 Where does Hurtle move when he first leaves the Courtneys?

Sydney

New Zealand

Paris

Melbourne
5 Who is the person behind Duffield's secret patroness?

Rhoda

Caldicott

Mrs. Courtney

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

New York

London

Peru

Tahiti
7 Where does Hero want to bring Hurtle?

Casablanca

Perialos

Melbourne

Turkey
8 Who is Kathy Volkov's favorite musician?

Rachmaninoff

Mozart

Bach

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

Novelist

Sculptor

Playwright

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

Dad and Mother

Papa and Maman

Father and Mother Dear

Father and Maman
11 What job is Hurtle doing when he meets Nance Lightfoot?

Assisting a painter

Landscaping

Working in a department store

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

Begonia

Palm trees

Sunflowers

Lantana
13 What does Boo Hollingrake say has always been Rhoda's virtue?

A clear vision of the future

An ability to perceive everything around her

Secret creative genius

An awareness of the reasons for her hysteria
14 How many children did the Duffields have?

5

3

7

1
15 Who is Soso?

Kathy Volkov's piano teacher

Hero and Cosma's quasi-adopted daughter

Rhoda's landlady

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

Cars driving too fast

Kids playing ball

Cats

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 she failed Hurtle and Rhoda

She couldn't carry on without relationships with her children

She felt it wasn't worth living without the inessentials
18 Where do the Courtneys have a memorable holiday?

Tuscany

Monaco

St. Sebastian

St. Yves de Tregor
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?

Pythoness at Tripod

Girl in the Window

Nance Spreadeagle

Forms and Figures
21 What street does Duffield live most of his adult life on?

Chubb's Lane

Flint Street

Prince Way

Windsor Street
22 Who is Duffield's protégé?

Rhoda

Don Lethbridge

Cecil Cutbush

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

School headmaster

Gardener

Bus driver

Local councilman
24 What does Nance say is true of all men?

They are interested in art

They don't like talking about emotions

They're in love with themselves

They're always thinking about the future
25 Why did Caldicott vouch so much for Duffield?

He was in love with him

Someone told him he had to put his name behind him

He couldn't find anyone else

He faced financial pressures to find an ingenue

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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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