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Contemporary Short Story Characters

Test your knowledge of contemporary short story characters and their defining traits.

15 Questions Published
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Questions

Question 1 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Tell-Tale Heart', the unnamed narrator is characterized by his:

  1. Obsession with cleanliness
  2. Guilt-ridden conscience
  3. Irrational fear of the dark
  4. Compulsive need for control
Question 2 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Lottery', Shirley Jackson portrays Tessie Hutchinson as:

  1. A defiant rebel against tradition
  2. A devoted wife and mother
  3. A victim of societal conformity
  4. A cunning manipulator of the lottery system
Question 3 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which character in 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find' embodies the theme of moral ambiguity:

  1. The grandmother
  2. The Misfit
  3. Bailey
  4. John Wesley
Question 4 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'Hills Like White Elephants', Hemingway's use of dialogue reveals the unspoken conflict between:

  1. A married couple on vacation
  2. A doctor and his patient
  3. Two strangers at a bar
  4. A father and his daughter
Question 5 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Yellow Wallpaper', Charlotte Perkins Gilman explores the mental state of:

  1. A young artist struggling with creative block
  2. A woman confined to her room due to illness
  3. A housewife overwhelmed by domestic responsibilities
  4. A patient undergoing experimental treatment
Question 6 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'Cathedral', Raymond Carver's protagonist, Robert, initially views the blind man as:

  1. A burden and an inconvenience
  2. A source of pity and sympathy
  3. A fascinating subject for observation
  4. A potential friend and teacher
Question 7 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Things They Carried', Tim O'Brien's soldiers are haunted by the memories of:

  1. Their lost loved ones
  2. The horrors of war
  3. Their own mistakes and regrets
  4. The uncertainty of their future
Question 8 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Joy Luck Club', Amy Tan explores the complex relationship between:

  1. Mothers and daughters
  2. Friends and family
  3. Strangers and acquaintances
  4. Teachers and students
Question 9 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'Like Water for Chocolate', Laura Esquivel uses magical realism to portray the story of:

  1. A young woman's forbidden love
  2. A family's culinary traditions
  3. A town's political struggles
  4. A woman's spiritual journey
Question 10 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao', Junot Díaz creates a protagonist who is:

  1. A Dominican-American struggling with identity
  2. A baseball player with a promising career
  3. A political activist fighting for social justice
  4. A writer grappling with his family's history
Question 11 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The God of Small Things', Arundhati Roy's characters are affected by the:

  1. Social and political turmoil of India
  2. Harsh realities of poverty and inequality
  3. Consequences of forbidden love
  4. Struggle for independence and self-discovery
Question 12 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Kite Runner', Khaled Hosseini explores the complex relationship between:

  1. A father and son
  2. Two brothers
  3. A master and servant
  4. A teacher and student
Question 13 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Namesake', Jhumpa Lahiri's protagonist, Gogol Ganguli, struggles with:

  1. His cultural identity as a Bengali-American
  2. The expectations of his traditional family
  3. The search for his own unique identity
  4. The pressures of academic success
Question 14 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian', Sherman Alexie's protagonist, Junior, faces:

  1. The challenges of growing up on a Native American reservation
  2. The struggles of poverty and discrimination
  3. The pressures of fitting in at a predominantly white school
  4. The search for his place in the world
Question 15 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

In 'The Tiger's Wife', Téa Obreht's protagonist, Natalia, embarks on a journey to find:

  1. Her missing husband
  2. The truth about her family's past
  3. A cure for her mysterious illness
  4. A sense of belonging and purpose
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