Finals - The Literature Quiz - Quark 2017 at BITS Goa

The Literature Quiz
Carpe Dictum, Quark 2017
Ze Finale
Authors : Lucky Kaul and Harman Singh
February 4, 2017

Thanks
The Literary and Debating Club – BITS Goa, for asking me to do this in 8 days :P
BITS Goa Quiz Club, for thinking that I have at least an iota of capacity to ensure that this is a quiz where
All’s Well that End’s Well
For guinea pigging :
Shubhankar Bahl and Varun Rustagi from Delhi (and for help with wording of a few questions)
And…
Harman Singh from Bangalore, for contributing to a major part of the finals. 
Literature Quiz – Carpe Dictum Lucky Kaul February 4, 2017

The Deal
1 written round of 7 questions and another of 6 questions
2 Infinite Bounce/Pounce Rounds of 14 questions each.
Total 41 questions – Maximum of 435 points can be scored.
The First Infinite Bounce/Pounce round is courtesy Harman Singh, an alumnus of BITS Goa who
graduated in 2015. Much thanks! 
Any incidence of repeats is purely co-incidental.
Unless mentioned otherwise, all blanks in all questions are indicative.
A few questions, when required, are * marked and are quasi-lit questions – questions which
have mentions of literature but are more general in spirit. Think more general than core
literature in them.
All the best! 

You’ll get some right, and you won’t get some. C’est la vie.
- A random fellow contemplating about life
while listening to French Operas.

Winning Score – 205.
Runner-up Score – 187.5.

Written Round I
7 Questions
+10/0 for each, +10 bonus if all correct.
Theme – Words beginning with successive (or preceding) letters of the alphabet.
With questions having one part, the answer fits the theme.
With questions having multiple parts, I’ll mention the part that fits the theme.
Example – Lucky Kaul (or) Carpe Dictum 

1
This author has otherwise had a pretty diverse life.
After leaving the University of Cambridge, he travelled in continental Europe with his mother.
They moved to Weybridge, Surrey where he wrote all six of his novels. In 1914, he visited Egypt,
Germany and India, and in WW1, as a conscientious objector, volunteered for the International
Red Cross, and served in Alexandria, Egypt.
One of his works was written in 1921 when he summarised his visits to India in The Hill of Devi,
accounting his two visits between 1912-13 and in 1921, during which he worked as the private
secretary to Tukojirao III, the Maharaja of the state of Dewas Senior.
While The Hill of Devi was published in 1953, the author heavily drew from this book to write
another book a few years from 1921, which is what we know him best for.
Name the book and the author.
(The first and last name of the author together fit into the theme.)

2
All of us would have heard of Viserys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, who was killed by the Khal
Drogo after he poured a pot of molten gold on him.
The role of Viserys Targaryen is played by a Harry Lloyd, a British actor who cast in a few episodes
of Doctor Who and played Hawking’s fictional roommate in The Theory of Everything.
Once he got famous thanks to Game of Thrones, fans started researching about him and found
out that actually he is supposed to be pretty famous thanks to him being the great-great-
grandson of someone.
Who is Lloyd’s great-great grandfather, who’s surname is believed to have come from a
euphemism for _____ , and supposedly means a word used in exclamations of confusion?
(Eg – What the heck! , Instead, what the _______!)
Images follow.

3*
A lot of critical analyses of the use of literary devices in this 20th century “work” have been done,
because of the sheer brilliance with which it was written. Parts of its analysis include the usage of
–
-> Symbols – somethings that stand for or represent something abstract, such as an idea, quality,
concept, or condition – and this work surely presented its symbol by repeating itself in the same.
While the first part of it showed the dull side of the life, the other part showed its replacement
with an integrated bright future.
-> A brilliant usage of metaphors , one of them being “This momentous decree came as a great
beacon light of hope to millions of _____ _____who had been seared in the flames of withering
injustice” – the decree being a reference to a 19th century executive order pertaining to _____
_____.
What work? Who is its author?
(I want a specific answer for author. Eg – George W Bush and not just George Bush. This specifc
answer fits into the theme.)

4
.
Bill Gates’ review of this book in 2016 was the following –
“This book has nothing to do with _______<a field other than
literature>, but its title will make you look super smart if you’re
reading it on a train or plane. ______ ______ is a collection of five of
Wallace’s best essays on tennis, a sport I gave up in my Microsoft
days and am once again pursuing with a passion. You don’t have to
play or even watch tennis to love this book. The late author wielded
a pen as skillfully as Roger Federer wields a tennis racket. Here, as in
his other brilliant works, Wallace found mind-blowing ways of
bending language like a metal spoon.”
Give me the name of this book.

5
Despite X showing little patience in this review of James Joyce’s Ulysses –
"I have read 200 pages [of Ulysses] so far”, and reports that X has been "amused, stimulated,
charmed interested ... to the end of the Cemetery scene. “As "Hades" gives way to "Aeolus,"
however, and the novel of character and private sensibility yields to a farrago of styles, X is
"puzzled, bored, irritated, & disillusioned”. Ulysses becomes for X the "illiterate, underbred book
... of a self taught working man,“
Yet it is believed that X certainly seems to have employed some of the devices and methods that
Joyce introduced in Ulysses. Contrary to the normal course of a novel, both Ulysses and Y take
place in the course of a single day. In both works we dart in and out of the consciousness of
many characters, but reside primarily within two in each. In Ulysses these are Stephen and
Leopold and in Y they are Clarissa Y and Septimus Smith .
Give me X and Y. (X fits into the theme.)

6
Following is a brief summary of Leo Tolstoy’s, God Sees The Truth, But Waits -
One day, a certain Ivan Aksionov decides to start a business venture, but his wife pleads for him not to
go because of a nightmare she had the previous night. Aksionov doesn't consider his wife's dream and
leaves for the fair.
Later in the story, while traveling to the fair, Aksionov is stopped by some policemen. They explain a
merchant was just murdered and robbed, and then they search Aksionov's bag. They find a bloody
knife, and despite Aksionov's claims that he is not the murderer, he is sentenced and sent to Siberia.
After his trial flogging, his wife can finally visit him, and she sees that Aksionov's hair has begun to go
gray from the stress.
Aksionov spends twenty-six years in Siberia, and, resigned to his fate, he dedicates his life to God. He
becomes a mediator of sorts in the prison, and he is well respected by the other prisoners and also
guards alike.
The life and heroics of Aksionov that follow and form the rest of the story, inspired an author of the
20th century to write a collection of novellas, one of which was later adapted into a film.
Name the author and the film. (The full name of the film fits into the theme.)

7
In 2004, columnist Jonathan Yardley made an attempt to compare two novels – a mid-20th
century novel X to a mid-19th century novel Y whose author was Z. He said –
It is no exaggeration to say that X is the 20th century's Y The parallels between the two books are
obvious. Y is governess to a wealthy girl; the unnamed narrator of X is companion to a wealthy
older woman. Both women are mousy in appearance and beleaguered by self-doubt. Both come
into the employ of brooding, mysterious men in their forties -- Edward _________ and Maxim __
______ -- and both fall in love with them. Both men harbor dreadful secrets: Y learns _________’s
on the eve of their wedding, the protagonist of X learns __ ______’s after three months of
marriage. The majestic country mansions owned by both men burn to the ground. Happy endings
are achieved, but at a high price.
Give me X for 2.5, Y for 2.5, and Z for another 5 points.
(Z fits the theme.)

Exchange

1
This author has otherwise had a pretty diverse life.
After leaving the University of Cambridge, he travelled in continental Europe with his mother. They
moved to Weybridge, Surrey where he wrote all six of his novels. In 1914, he visited Egypt, Germany
and India, and in WW1, as a conscientious objector, volunteered for the International Red Cross, and
served in Alexandria, Egypt.
One of his works was written in 1921 when he summarised his visits to India in The Hill of Devi,
accounting his two visits between 1912-13 and in 1921, during which he worked as the private
secretary to Tukojirao III, the Maharaja of the state of Dewas Senior.
While The Hill of Devi was published in 1953, the author heavily drew from this book to write another
book a few years from 1921, which is what we know him best for.
(First and last name of the author fits into the theme.)

Edward Morgan Forster
A Passage to India

2
All of us would have heard of Viserys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, who was killed by the Khal
Drogo after he poured a pot of molten gold on him.
The role of Viserys Targaryen is played by a Harry Lloyd, a British actor who cast in a few episodes
of Doctor Who and played Hawking’s fictional roommate in The Theory of Everything.
Once he got famous thanks to Game of Thrones, fans started researching about him and found
out that actually he is supposed to be pretty famous thanks to him being the great-great-
grandson of someone.
Who is Lloyd’s great-great grandfather, who’s surname is believed to have come from a
euphemism for _____ , and supposedly means a word used in exclamations of confusion?
Images follow.
(Eg – What the heck! , Instead, what the _______!)

Charles Dickens

3*
A lot of critical analyses of the use of literary devices in this 20th century “work” have been done,
because of the sheer brilliance with which this “work” was written. Parts of its analysis include
the usage of –
-> Symbols – somethings that stand for or represent something abstract, such as an idea, quality,
concept, or condition” – and the “work” surely presented its symbol by repeating itself in the
same. While the first part of it showed the dull side of the life, the other part showed its
replacement with an integrated bright future.
-> A brilliant usage of metaphors , one of them being “This momentous decree came as a great
beacon light of hope to millions of _____ _____who had been seared in the flames of withering
injustice” – the decree being a reference to a 19th century executive order pertaining to _____
_____.
Which “work”? Who is its author?
(I want a specific answer for author. Eg – George W Bush and not just George Bush. This specifc
answer fits into the theme.)

The “I Have A Dream” Speech - Authored by Martin Luther King Junior!
(Blanks = Negro Slaves) (MLKJ is reverse of JKLM)
19th century order - Emancipation Proclamation, which essentially freed 3
million slaves in South USA

5
Despite X showing little patience in this review of James Joyce’s Ulysses–
"I have read 200 pages [of Ulysses] so far”, and reports that X has been "amused, stimulated,
charmed interested ... to the end of the Cemetery scene. “As "Hades" gives way to "Aeolus,"
however, and the novel of character and private sensibility yields to a farrago of styles, X is
"puzzled, bored, irritated, & disillusioned”. Ulysses becomes for X the "illiterate, underbred book
... of a self taught working man,“
Yet it is believed that X certainly seems to have employed some of the devices and methods that
Joyce introduced in Ulysses. Contrary to the normal course of a novel, both Ulysses and Y take
place in the course of a single day. In both works we dart in and out of the consciousness of
many characters, but reside primarily within two in each. In Ulysses these are Stephen and
Leopold and in Y they are Clarissa Y and Septimus Smith .
Give me X and Y. (X fits into the theme.)

X – Virginia Woolf
Y – Mrs Dalloway

6
Following is a brief summary of Leo Tolstoy’s, God Sees The Truth, But Waits -
One day, a certain Ivan Aksionov decides to start a business venture, but his wife pleads for him not to
go because of a nightmare she had the previous night. Aksionov doesn't consider his wife's dream and
leaves for the fair.
Later in the story, while traveling to the fair, Aksionov is stopped by some policemen. They explain a
merchant was just murdered and robbed, and then they search Aksionov's bag. They find a bloody
knife, and despite Aksionov's claims that he is not the murderer, he is sentenced and sent to a
prison Siberia. After his trial flogging, his wife can finally visit him, and she sees that Aksionov's hair
has begun to go gray from the stress.
Aksionov spends twenty-six years in Siberia, and, resigned to his fate, he dedicates his life to God. He
becomes a mediator of sorts in the prison, and he is well respected by the other prisoners and also
guards alike.
The life and heroics of Aksionov that follow and form the rest of the story, inspired an author of the
20th century to write a collection of novellas, one of which was later adapted into a film.
Name the author and the film. (The full name of the film fits into the theme.)

Stephen King
The Shawshank Redemption
(TSR is reverse of RST)

7
In 2004, columnist Jonathan Yardley made an attempt to compare two novels – a mid-20th
century novel X to a mid-19th century novel Y whose author was Z. He said –
It is no exaggeration to say that X is the 20th century's Y The parallels between the two books are
obvious. Y is governess to a wealthy girl; the unnamed narrator of X is companion to a wealthy
older woman. Both women are mousy in appearance and beleaguered by self-doubt. Both come
into the employ of brooding, mysterious men in their forties -- Edward _________ and Maxim __
______ -- and both fall in love with them. Both men harbor dreadful secrets: Y learns _________’s
on the eve of their wedding, the protagonist of X learns __ ______’s after three months of
marriage. The majestic country mansions owned by both men burn to the ground. Happy endings
are achieved, but at a high price.
Give me X for 2.5, Y for 2.5 and Z for another 5 points.
(Z fits the theme.)

X – Rebecca (by Daphne du Maurier)
Y – Jane Eyre
Z – Charlotte Bronte

Infinite Bounce/Pounce I
14 questions.
+10/0 on direct, +10/-10 on pounce.
On pounce, I need all parts.
Round courtesy : Harman Singh. Thanks! 
Literature Quiz – Carpe Dictum Harman Singh February 4, 2017

8
Identify the tweeter, the red and the blue blanks.

Credits to Gaurav Setty from Delhi for all
safety slides.

Tweeter – Neil Gaiman
Red – Good Omens
Blue – Terry Pratchett

9
Listen to the audio, and identify the speaker, the book being referenced and its author.
<Audio Removed>
Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrPsqw02VFU

Benedict Cumberbatch
Metamorphosis by Kafka

10
This is a track titled Double Trouble from the soundtrack of Harry Potter and The Prisoner of
Azkaban, composed by the legendary John Williams. The lyrics in the track are taken directly
from an iconic scene in English literature.
Identify the original source as well as the scene.
Audio follows.
<Audio removed>
Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2o607VS52Y

Macbeth
Words are spoken by the three witches.

11
In early 2016, six months after the show had been greenlit, it was announced that Ricky Whittle
had been cast in the role of ___ Moon. Fans rejoiced, as Whittle’s appearance was in keeping
with the racially ambiguous description provided in the book.
In particular it was noted that the book seemed to go out of its way to state that ______’s
ancestors could be either Native American or African American, and his skin is ‘coffee and
cream’ in colour. With that wide a playing field, it was surprising Hollywood hadn’t gone the
whitewashing way (think Jason Mamoa).
FITB. (First blank is not indicative while second blank is.)

Shadow, from American Gods

12
A is the spoken language, which is described as having free word order and many levels of
center-embedded clauses.
B, the written language, unlike its spoken counterpart, has such complex structure that a single
semantic symbol cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence.
Identify A and B. Order matters.

A - Heptopod A
B - Heptopod B
Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, the basis for Arrival
Literature Quiz – Carpe Dictum February 4, 2017

13
Following his party’s poor showing in the 1928 elections, X believed his loss was due to the
public’s misunderstanding of his ideas, and sought to correct this by retiring from the public eye
and writing what is today known simply as Zweites Buch, an effort that aimed to expand on the
ideas presented in Y, and focused more on foreign policy.
Only two copies of the original were made, and both remained hidden for several decades. The
book is still unedited, and a half-decent translation was only made available in 2003.
Identify X and Y

X – Mein Kampf
Y – Adolf Hitler

14
X owes its publication to the discovery of a smeared carbon copy of the manuscript by the late
author’s mother, who then persisted in her efforts to get several publishers to read it. The
publisher who eventually gave in and reluctantly began to read had this to say:
“In this case I read on. And on. First with the sinking feeling that it was not bad enough to quit,
then with a prickle of interest, then a growing excitement, and finally an incredulity: surely it was
not possible that it was so good.”
The title is taken from a line from a Jonathan Swift essay: “When a true genius appears in the
world, you may know him by this sign, that the ____s are all in _________ against him.”
Identify X.

15
According to its author Mohsin Hamid, the technique used in Reluctant Fundamentalist is
formally experimental. According to one commentator, because of this technique:
“...maybe we the readers are the ones who jump to conclusions; maybe the book is intended as a
Rorschach to reflect back our unconscious assumptions. In our not knowing lies the novel's
suspense... Hamid literally leaves us at the end in a kind of alley, the story suddenly suspended;
it's even possible that some act of violence might occur.”
Name the technique used in the novel.
Exact term is required.
If you weren’t in ICSE, sorry.

Dramatic Monologue

16
X frequently uses the phrase, "__ __ ___" in his book Y, as a refrain when events of death, dying
and mortality occur, as a narrative transition to another subject, as a memento mori, as comic
relief, and to explain the unexplained. It appears 106 times in the book.
It is said to be notable "not for its unique wording so much as for how much emotion — and
dismissal of emotion — it packs into three simple, world-weary words that simultaneously
accept and dismiss everything."
Give me the phrase.

So It Goes.

17
The celebrated original cover art of X depicts disembodied eyes and a mouth over a blue skyline,
with images of naked women reflected in the irises. A little-known artist named Francis Cugat
was commissioned to illustrate the book while Y was in the midst of writing it. The cover was
completed before the novel; Y was so enamored with it that he told his publisher he had
"written it into" the novel.
This remark has led to the interpretation that the eyes are reminiscent of those of fictional
optometrist Dr. T. J. Eckleburg (depicted on a faded commercial billboard near George Wilson's
auto repair shop) which Y described as "blue and gigantic – their retinas are one yard high. They
look out of no face, but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a
non-existent nose."
ID X and Y

X – The Great Gatsby
Y – F Scott Fitzgerald
Literature Quiz – Carpe Dictum Harman SIngh February 4, 2017

18
Set in 1962, fifteen years after an alternative ending to World War II, X concerns intrigues
between the victorious Axis Powers—primarily, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany—as they rule
over the former United States, as well as daily life under the resulting totalitarian rule
It features a "novel within the novel" titled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, comprising an alternate
history within this alternate history wherein the Allies defeat the Axis (though in a manner
distinct from the actual historical outcome).
Why is X back in the public eye?

19
X explained the title of the novel in his 1999 essay In the Beginning... was the Command Line as
his term for a particular software failure mode on the early Apple Macintosh computer. X wrote
about the Macintosh that
"When the computer crashed and wrote gibberish into the bitmap, the result was something that
looked vaguely like static on a broken television — a ‘____ _____’ ".
FITB

20
X began writing the book in 2009, researching related material so that it would be as realistic as
possible and based on existing technology. He studied orbital mechanics, astronomy, and the
history of manned spaceflight, and has said he knows the exact date of each day in the book.
Having been rebuffed by literary agents in the past, X decided to put the book online one
chapter at a time for free. At the request of fans, he made an Amazon Kindle version available at
99 cents (the minimum allowable price he could set). The Kindle edition rose to the top of
Amazon's list of best-selling science-fiction titles, where it sold 35,000 copies in three months,
more than had been previously downloaded free.
Identify X, or the book for part points.

21
Stephen Fry’s book The Stars’ Tennis Balls contains various allusions to X, the book it
is based on. I just want X, but guess all the blanks to be proud of yourself.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Scores

Written Round II
6 questions
+10 for each correct, +10 bonus if all correct.
Theme – Literary works/people having connections with prisons.

22
Following are extracts from a page that immediately follows the preface of which book, believed
to have been written completely from memory, without any notes from elsewhere?
TO ______
Dates are not very attractive things. And yet they help in putting things in their right place, so that
we may have an ordered sequence in our minds. A long list of dates is a most depressing affair. I
have arranged some important dates in a different form, as you will see.
Of course, the idea will be very, very rough. This chronology is meant to be used for reference
purposes. Having finished with it I now feel that I could have made a better one! But this will have
to do for the present. It represents a few days’ hard work.

23
In January 2016, a research paper by the Biblical Archaeology Society tried to understand why
_____________ were given to Jesus – the explanation for which included –
It’s possible that ____________________ were meant to save Jesus from arthritis. These items were
to honour a king or deity in the ancient world: gold as a precious metal, frankincense as perfume or
incense, and myrrh as anointing oil.
The Book of Isaiah, when describing Jerusalem’s glorious restoration, tells of nations and kings who
will come and “bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord”.
Scholars think that they were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself—gold
representing his kingship, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring of his
death and embalming.
a) What is being talked about?
b) If you can figure out part a), tell me who is the literary figure associated with it?
(Blank is not indicative)

24
“The Pipe Bomb” was a blog that existed during the stay of an author X who spent 13 months in
FCI Danbury , a minimum-security prison in Danbury, USA, for admitting to money laundering and
drug trafficking.
The blog essentially houses a collection of experiences of X when she was staying in the prison –
including recipes to make a prison cheesecake and a book wishlist.
Her experiences that were documented in the blog till March 4, 2005 are what gave rise to her
best-selling book a few years later, which has also made its way into pop culture.
While this blog stopped posting anything after her release, how does it show its viewers that it
is technically still alive?

25
____ ___ _______ is a 1993 non-fictional work by Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman catholic nun. It
gives an account of her days as spiritual adviser to two convicted murderers on death row. After
dealing with these two, she was convinced that death penalty was morally wrong and began
speaking about against capital punishment. This book was adapted into a film of the same name
in 1995 starring Sean Penn.
The title of this book comes from a phrase used for such prisoners in the US during 1960s and
1970s – essentially used to designate a man condemned to death. Another theory behind the
origin of this phrase is that it probably was a warning to other staff and prisoners since a man on
death row really had nothing to lose.
Give me the title.

26
A Prison Diary is a series of three books
of diaries written by Jeffrey Archer during his
time in prisons following his convictions
for perjury and perverting the course of
justice.
The three books of his diaries are titled as –
Volume 1 - Belmarsh : Hell
Volume 2 – Wayland : Purgatory
Volume 3 - North Sea Camp: Heaven
While the source for the first part of each of
these titles is obviously the prisons Archer’s
been in, what’s the source for the second
part of each of these titles?

27*
Norman Mailer was an American playwright and author with enough connections with prisons.
One of them included him being the receiver of the letters in Jack Abbott’s In The Belly of the
Beast, in which Abbott narrates his experiences in what Abbott saw a brutal and unjust prison
system.
His more famous contribution to prison literature was the Pulitzer Prize winning novel The
Executioner’s Song, which was based almost entirely on interviews based on the prisoner’s family
and friends. The book focuses on the events leading up to the murders and the trial and
execution of X, including full documentation of X's court appearances and his decision to demand
his execution rather than to continue the appeals process – thus becoming the first prisoner in
the United States to be executed after the reinstatement of death penalty in 1976.
Who was this prisoner?
His words just before his execution are known to us in a different form. How?

Glimpses of World History, a book which is a
compilation of 196 letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru
to his daughter, Indira , when he was in prison.

23
In January 2016, a research paper by the Biblical Archaeology Society tried to understand why
_____________ were given to Jesus – the explanation for which included –
It’s possible that ____________________ were meant to save Jesus from arthritis. These items
were to honour a king or deity in the ancient world: gold as a precious metal, frankincense as
perfume or incense, and myrrh as anointing oil.
The Book of Isaiah, when describing Jerusalem’s glorious restoration, tells of nations and kings
who will come and “bring gold and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord”.
Scholars think that they were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself—
gold representing his kingship, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring
of his death and embalming.
a) What is being talked about?
b) If you can figure out part a), tell me who is the literary figure associated with it?

a) The Gifts of The Magi
b) O. Henry/William Sydney Porter, who served
three years in jail for embezzlement of funds in
Texas.

24
“The Pipe Bomb” was a blog that existed during the stay of an author X who spent 13 months in
FCI Danbury , a minimum-security prison in Danbury, USA, for admitting to money laundering and
drug trafficking.
The blog essentially houses a collection of experiences of X when she was staying in the prison –
including recipes to make a prison cheesecake and a book wishlist.
Her experiences that were documented in the blog till March 4, 2005 are what gave rise to her
best-selling book a few years later, which has also made its way into pop culture.
(For brownie points) While this blog stopped posting anything after her release, how does it
show its viewers that it is technically still alive?

Orange is the New Black : My Year in a
Woman’s Prison by Piper Kerman

The blog does a negative countdown of
her days left to be released from prison!

25
____ ___ _______ is a 1993 non-fictional work by Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman catholic nun. It
gives an account of her days as spiritual adviser to two convicted murderers on death row. After
dealing with these two, she was convinced that death penalty was morally wrong and began
speaking about against capital punishment. This book was adapted into a film of the same name
in 1995 starring Sean Penn.
The title of this book comes from a phrase used for such prisoners in the US during the 1960s and
1970s – essentially used to designate a man condemned to death. Another theory behind the
origin of this phrase is that it probably was a warning to other staff and prisoners since a man on
death row really had nothing to lose.
Give me the title.

Dead Man Walking.

Dante’s Divine Comedy
Part 1 – Hell – Inferno
Part 2 – Purgatory – Purgatorio
Part 3 – Heaven - Paradiso

Gary Gilmore

His last words were, ironically, Let’s Do It,
which , according to a Dan Weiden , was his
inspiration behind the genesis of Nike’s
tagline, Just Do It.

Infinite Bounce/Pounce - II
14 questions.
+10/0 on direct, +10/-10 on pounce.
On pounce, I need all parts.

28
You might have come across this novel called Gadsby, written in 1939 by an Ernest Vincent
Wright. When I stumbled upon it, I found it pretty difficult to digest whatever I read about it.
And why not, because for Wright himself, it was a pretty difficult novel to write. Because of a
certain choice that he made while writing this novel, he had to improvise on his way of writing,
which included using Dr. and P.S. but not Mr., and not talking of any numbers between 6 and 30.
What choice did Wright make?

29
While the medicine Y is believed to have many roots that might lead to its name, yet, according
to X, Y is based on an actual product that goes by the name of Herceptin (trastumuzab).
Another obvious observation goes that the name of Y could be derived from the Greek word for
“finger”, to which X had to say, “I was using it in the bone sense. I imagined that the people
marketing Y imagined it as having these little fingers that go in and kill cancer cells.”
Y could also have got its name due to the Greek war formation that you’ll see in the next slide.
What is Y?
Where would you have most famously heard of it?
Image follows.

Y – Phalanxifor
The cancer controlling drug in TFIOS

30
In August 2012, a Latin teacher by the name of Ellen was trying to analyse a few Latin phrases
used at a well known institution from the literary world. In an attempt to do so, she tried to
analyse the true meaning of one of them, which went as follows –
So, what really is a ________?
Essentially, a ________ in ancient Rome was a rich, powerful man who would defend his clients in
lawsuits, assist them in business transactions, find them plum jobs, and pay them a small daily
allowance in exchange for certain services. The client’s role was to visit their ________ house each
morning, ready to take on whatever errands or assignments the ________ commanded, and to
provide an escort for him when he went out into the city.
In that time, to ______<another word> a ________ was to hope for your boss to bribe a judge if
you got sued, or at least defend you in court as your lawyer and bribe the jury.
Which two word Latin-sounding phrase was Ellen trying to analyse here?

Expecto Patronum (To expect a
patron/guardian)

31*
“In remembrance of the friendly relations between Obama and Modi as World Leaders, that
ended on the 20th day of January, 2017”
As we all know, in October 2014, PM Modi paid a visit to Barack Obama at the White House,
where he went on to invite Obama to attend the Republic Day Ceremony in 2015.
According to a tweet by Narendra Modi soon after his meet, Obama “presented me a very
valuable gift that I will cherish forever” – which it was indeed, as reading it reminded him of a
fellow citizen from his country who, many years ago, made his mark at The World’s Columbian
Exposition, which was held in the United States.
Who was this citizen? What exactly did Obama gift Modi?

Swami Vivekananda.
Columbian Exposition was basically a World Fair held in 1893
to celebrate 400 years of Columbus’ expeditions in 1492

A rare book of the World Congress of Religions
,containing a paper written by Vivekananda.

32
In 2013, the County Heritage Museum of ___________ , a small town in USA, was sued by a plaintiff,
because , according to the plaintiff, “The museum is stealing and profiting from my ideas.” The
Museum is otherwise a good source of tourism for the town thanks to the plaintiff’s iconic work, but
as per the plaintiff it was now stealing other ideas from the same work.
According to the lawsuit, “Historical facts belong to the world, but fiction and trademarks are
protected by law.” According to the plaintiff, the museum garnered nearly $500,000 from selling
“___________” related merchandise ranging from T-shirts to tote bags to packages of “___________
Lemonade Mix.“
This came as a shock to the 6,500 people of the town because the plaintiff is someone otherwise
known to be very silent and one who lives very discreetly.
Who was the plaintiff, who made it big in the news in July 2015 after not appearing in the limelight
for almost half a century?
What iconic work from the world of literature contributed to tourism for this County Museum?
Image follows.
(The first blank differs from the next two blanks, however both are of 11 letters)

Harper Lee.
The Image is what many believe to be the
setting in which Atticus Finch participated in
the lawsuit in TKAM, thus becoming a popular
tourist spot.

33
The sport was first developed at a bridge located in Ashdown Forest in England. Built in 1907 and
originally called Posingford Bridge, it is considered to be the bridge in which author X and his son
(who also went on to gain fame thanks to his dad), first played the game. Today, this sport has
annual championships held at Day’s Lock on River Thames since 1984.
It is a simple sport which may be played on any bridge over running water; each player drops
a stick on the upstream side of a bridge and the one whose stick first appears on the
downstream side is the winner.
The simplicity of this sport, got people to notice the bridge in Ashdown. Thanks to public support,
it was rebuilt in the 1970s and the son went on to reopen the bridge , christening its name after
the sport.
Which sport is this, that was invented by X for his son and later came into prominence after it
being mentioned in X’s work? Image follows.

Poohsticks

34*
You’ll see two images from Tintin in Tibet. The first image is an edited version of the original image
as officials from a certain entity having a worldwide presence had issues with it.
Which entity? Why the issues?
Images follow.

Air India
Could have affected its reputation due to
presence of its old logo in first slide
The logo of the aircraft on the second image was made to
resemble the old logo of Air India (the archer). The first
image initially had the same logo – to which Air India
expressed its views that showing an Air India plane crash
would have affected its reputation , and this after Air India
had helped Herge with research to publish Tintin In Tibet.
However, Herge still maintained the VT , which is the code
for Indian aircraft.

35
In a September 2011 interview in Calcutta with X, X had the following to say regarding a certain
query –
“They are from the Indus Valley script. It is a pictorial script. To me, the first means Man, the
second, The Uniter of Nations, the third, Man of Knowledge and the fourth, Warrior. I have
changed the fifth a bit, added two lines at the bottom, which I interpret as the third eye. Put
together, this is how I would write _____ using the Indus Valley script.”
What query was X giving an answer to?

What did the symbols used at the end of
every chapter in the Shiva Trilogy signify?

36
X - subtitled A History of Adventure—is a novel by H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925), first serialised in The
Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887. The story is a first-person narrative that follows
the journey of Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey to a lost kingdom in the African interior. There
they encounter a primitive race of natives and a mysterious white queen named Ayesha who reigns as
the all-powerful “X”
Y is a 2014 novel by Harriet Lane’s sinister thriller about two North London female frenemies – Nina
and Emma. Unbeknown to Emma, their histories are intertwined deep in the past — but although Nina
recognises Emma from the outset, she makes no mention of the connection. Nina goes on to bear a
grudge against Emma which really remains unexplained till the last of the chapters.
Z is a collaborative novel by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy , which is the story of Ryan "Wes" Wesley
and James "Jamie" Canning, and how secrets can ruin a friendship but also turn it into something
much more. They met at Hockey camp and only saw each other for just a few weeks out of the year for
most of their adolescence. They lose their friendship over sexual uncertainty when they were aged 18
but reunite towards the end of the novel.
Identify X,Y and Z. What specifically connects all these novels?
(Any two of X,Y or Z – 5 points. All 3 – 10 points. Connect – 5 points)

X – She, Y – Her ,Z – Him.
Novels written with titles which are personal pronouns

37
A few attempts were made to identify the only character mentioned in an 18th century work of
literature. The following were identified as probables –
Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080–1118) Henry I's consort, who between 1110 and 1118 was
responsible for the building of the series of bridges that carried the London-Colchester road
across the River Lea and its side streams between Bow and Stratford.
Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223–91), consort of Henry III who had custody of the bridge revenues
from 1269 to about 1281.
A member of the Leigh family of Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, who have a family story that a
human sacrifice lies under the building.
Which character? Which work of literature?

“My Fair Lady” in London Bridge is Falling
Down

38*
Sheridan Simove is a British author who is known for creating novelty products, such as the
Control-A-Woman remote control.
Another product of his was launched in 2011. Costing 4.69 pounds, it outperformed Harry Potter
and The Da Vinci Code when it came to sales on Amazon and also gained immediate popularity
among British students who started scribbling on the pages of the book.
Simove remarks that the book he came up with was a result of 39 years of research and he
wanted his findings to be known to the world.
According to the preface of the book, For millennia, humans have marvelled at the difference
between men and women. It's widely known that the female gender is far superior to men in most
areas - emotionally, cognitively and socially. But, to date, the complex secrets of a man's mind
have eluded science. Professor Simove beautifully reveals a man's mind as an open book and the
result unlocks an age old secret....
What exactly was the subject of this book? (or) Give me its title/Cook Up one.
People who bought the book discovered a very startling revelation on reading it. What?

What Every MAN Thinks About Apart From SEX
The book has 200 blank pages!

39
An interesting article that I came across recently tries a shot at explaining an aspect of X’s works –
During WW1, X volunteered as a nurse in a hospital in Torquay but it was suggested she might
enjoy working in the pharmacy. The work was skilled and carried a high degree of responsibility – it
was essential to ensure the correct dosage was delivered. The role therefore required further
training and X had to pass a number of exams before she could take on the work of dispenser. She
set about studying both theoretical and practical aspects of chemistry.
Given that she knew nothing about ballistics, she used her considerable knowledge of chemistry
and the fact that was constantly surrounded by ______. She had to look no further than the
medicine cabinet, garden shed or the garden itself to find a ready supply of dangerous compounds,
including ricin.
Her extensive knowledge of chemistry earned as a result of her experiences as a nurse is thus
used as a base by the article writer to explain what aspect of her works?

Why Agatha Christie made extensive use
of poisons in her plots

40
In a Times of India interview that took place in July 2010, the director of a film Z had the
following answers to a varied set of questions regarding his use of a 19th century novel X by
author Y to make Z –
……that is the reason I picked X for adaptation. With X, you don’t know if X’s right or wrong. X’s a
very grey character, and that makes X interesting. As a filmmaker, I dwell on ‘the grey’ and for me,
X or Y is a woman with shades of grey. You will hate her at one moment, but love her in the next.
You can’t find out if she’s evil, manipulative or a genuine and nice person. She is strong and yet a
bit lost, not knowing what she wants from life.
……Another thing that worked in favour of X was its theme - match-making, which is very
prevalent in our society, especially in India; people here are obsessed with marriages. Till a girl
gets married, her family, relatives, friends, everyone hounds her.
Identify X, Y and Z.

X – Emma
Y – Jane Austen
Z - Aisha

14
Tsujiki is a locality in central Tokyo. Literally meaning “reclaimed land”, it claims its fame because
of being the world’s biggest market for a certain product.
This market was earlier located in Nihonbashi. But after the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, it
was shifted to Tsujiki and now operates there.
After Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 Olympics, there were plans to shift this market to
Toyusu as a traffic artery was planned to cut through Tsujiki. Traders, however, resented to
shifting to the new location because of it being polluted.
An article was written regarding the same by The Economist on Jan 7 2016 where in it covers the
above issue after the year’s first auction of a heavy specimen of the product took place on
January 5.
As a tribute to the existence of the market at Tsujiki for many years and the product it deals in,
what did The Economist title its article as, borrowing it from one of the books of a late 20th
century book series? Image follows.

So long and thanks for all the fish!
See you next year! 

Finals - The Literature Quiz - Quark 2017 at BITS Goa

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Finals - The Literature Quiz - Quark 2017 at BITS Goa