Estimated Reading Time: 19 min
Finnegans Wake MCQs
1. Where does the narrative’s cycle of recirculation bring the reader back?
A. River Liffey and the sea
B. Dublin Castle and the Walls
C. Howth Castle and Environs
D. North Armorica’s shores
2. What historical figure is mentioned fighting a “penisolate war” early in the novel?
A. Sir Tristram
B. Saint Patrick
C. Malachus Micgranes
D. Sir Lancelot
3. What natural process is symbolised by the phrase: “Phall if you but will, rise you must”?
A. Sexual desire
B. The cycle of life and death
C. Architectural destruction
D. Political revolution
4. What is offered as a potential cause of the “tragoady thundersday” and “municipal sin business”?
A. A collupsus of his back promises
B. A massive flood from the river
C. A betrayal by his sons
D. A foreign invasion
5. What is the symbolic name of the first man mentioned who is “to bare arms and a name”?
A. Mister Funn
B. Mister Finnagain
C. Wassaily Booslaeugh
D. Malachus Micgranes
6. What is the definition Stephen Dedalus gives for History, quoted in the novel?
A. A long, sad meandertale
B. A book of all ages
C. A glorious past
D. A nightmare from which I am trying to awake
7. How many multiple meanings must every word be “bound over” to carry in the “Book of Doublends Jined”?
A. Three or four
B. Seventy-two
C. Three score and ten
D. One hundred and eleven
8. What is the supposed origin of the paper on which documents are written?
A. Imported from China
B. Made of hides and hints and misses in prints
C. Produced from linen rags
D. Papyrus from the Nile
9. What structure is mentioned that seems to have its cardinal points running north-south and west-east?
A. The city map of Dublin
B. The ruled barriers of writing
C. The old holmsted here
D. The Martello tower
10. Who is the “ginger cordial” offered to in Ulysses?
A. Stephen Dedalus
B. Leopold Bloom
C. Ben Dollard
D. Haines
11. What is Shem the Penman’s residence referred to as due to its filth?
A. The Martello tower
B. The Haunted Inkbottle
C. The Dirty Dustheap
D. The Black House of Shame
12. What two substances did Shem use to create his “indelible ink”?
A. Tea and soot
B. Blood and gallic acid
C. Iron ore and stercus proprium (his own dung)
D. Wine and tears
13. What is the writer’s “squidself” said to do as he writes his history upon his own body?
A. It became visible
B. It waned chagreenold and doriangrayer
C. It multiplied indefinitely
D. It turned into pure light
14. Who is Justius addressing when he uses the imperative “Stand forth, Nayman of Noland”?
A. His brother Mercuis
B. Shem Macadamson
C. Buck Mulligan
D. HCE
15. What name is given to the river/wife who comes running with tidings at the end of the chapter?
A. Heloise
B. Anna Livia
C. Issy
D. Isolde
16. What sound accompanies the final question/remark from the river (Anna Livia)?
A. A clap of thunder
B. A roaring lion
C. Quoiquoiquoiquoiquoiquoiquoiq!
D. Silence
17. The first episode in Part II is called “The Mime of Mick, Nick and the Maggies.” Who are the Maggies?
A. Girl Scouts from St. Bride’s Finishing Establishment
B. Barmaids from the Diddlem Club
C. Mourners at the wake
D. The wives of the four Evangelists
18. Who is Glugg, the “bold bad bleak boy,” divorced into disgrace court by?
A. His father, HCE
B. The Floras (the Maggies)
C. His twin brother, Shaun
D. The Customers
19. Izod’s sister reflection, who approaches her in loveliness, is compared to what?
A. A rainbow
B. The cloud of the opal
C. A mirror
D. A painted portrait
20. In the “Finnstown” section, what animal part is HCE compared to as he “lays dormont”?
A. A hippopotamus
B. Kippers on a griddle, hopping round his middle
C. A long-haired bear
D. A buffalo
21. What happens to the “two mounds” (the giants’ hills) mentioned early in the text?
A. They are destroyed by a flood
B. They are playing Wharton’s Folly
C. They grow into towers
D. They hide treasure
22. Which two twin-like figures are introduced for comparison and contrast in the teaching session?
A. Adam and Eve
B. Burrus and Caseous
C. Tristram and Isolde
D. Mutt and Jute
23. Which twin, Burrus or Caseous, is described as the “genuine prime” and “mildest of milkstoffs”?
A. Caseous
B. Burrus
C. Neither
D. They are identical
24. The story of Burrus and Caseous competing for “her misstery” involves implicating which third, elusive man?
A. Michael
B. Antonius
C. Magravius
D. Sulla
25. What did the four conspirators (Mamalujo) do while squatting round the air register?
A. Write a gospel
B. Play cards
C. Community singing
D. Argue loudly
26. What does Shaun the Post carry that leads to his description as a “pillarbox”?
A. A huge chain envelope filled with litterish fragments
B. A massive sword
C. A tree branch
D. A box of milkstoffs
27. Shaun suggests that to overcome Shem’s language, a singer should forget her “temporal diaphragm” and attack the roulade with what?
A. A whispered sigh
B. A swift colpo di glottide (stroke of the throat)
C. A mournful echo
D. A loud clap
28. Who is the “lovely little virgin” whose portrait, The Very Picture of a Needlesswoman, is found?
A. Issy
B. Margareena (Marge)
C. Anna Livia
D. Mrs Clifton
29. What is the fundamental difference between the Burrus (honest) and Caseous (shifty) types?
A. Burrus loves wine, Caseous loves tea.
B. Burrus is passive, Caseous is active.
C. Burrus has defensive fideism, Caseous is a caviller.
D. Burrus is a lord, Caseous is a peasant.
30. What literary/historical figure does Professor MacHugh compare Stephen to, citing his bitterness?
A. Socrates
B. Aristotle
C. Antisthenes
D. Shakespeare
31. What animal symbolizes the Jute in the conversation between Mutt and Jute?
A. A dog
B. A Viking (Viceking)
C. A thunderstruck thing
D. A bison
32. What common, everyday object, if studied, might reveal great information, according to the text?
A. A stamped addressed envelope
B. A water closet
C. A cracked looking glass
D. A stone on the road
33. What is the fate of the “huge outlander” (HCE) after his sin?
A. He is banished to the continent.
B. He is tried by many tribunals, both sentenced and acquitted.
C. He commits suícide.
D. He is instantly forgiven.
34. Who is the “man in possession” that Buck Mulligan refers to when speaking of Shakespeare’s second-best bed?
A. Ann Hathaway
B. Stephen Dedalus
C. William Shakespeare
D. Lord Byron
35. What is the ultimate meaning of the phrase “Finight mens midinfinite true” in the context of the tree?
A. Finite man in mid-infinite truth
B. Man is finished and defeated
C. The fight for man is infinite
D. Final measurement is the truth
36. In the metaphor of the two brothers, who is the one representing the writer, Shem?
A. The one who cleans the boots
B. The one who has “illegible clergimanths”
C. The one who carries the post
D. The one who sings beautifully
37. What are the names of the two “vestals” (old women) mentioned in the parable?
A. Kitty Ricketts and Zoe Higgins
B. Anne Kearns and Florence MacCabe
C. Anne Kearns and oe Higgins
D. Elsebett and Marryetta Gunning
38. What symbolic meaning is attached to the phrase “Japhet in search of a father”?
A. The hero’s political quest
B. The son seeking the paternity of Hamlet
C. The eternal nature of questions
D. The cracked lookingglass of a servant
39. What did the “gentleman of fashion” Philip Beaufoy write?
A. Ulysses
B. Matcham’s Masterstroke
C. Sweets of Sin
D. The Master Master
40. What action, connected to his shame, does HCE perform when he is rescued from the lilypond?
A. He starts singing.
B. He takes a piece of wood from a workman.
C. He smashes a chandelier.
D. He cries for his mother.
41. What is the setting of the “Mookse and the Gripes” fable?
A. Near the Martello tower
B. Near the river Liffey
C. Under the bannistars (balustrade)
D. In a bog
42. What animal does the Gripes (Shem figure) compare himself to when talking about the Mookse?
A. A dog
B. A goat of MacHammud’s
C. A bird
D. A snake
43. The “four masses” (Matt, Mark, Luke, John) read a letter and try to regulate their “reves by incubation.” What does this mean?
A. They regulate their lives by incubation.
B. They try to decipher their dreams for meaning.
C. They read the letter to the dead man.
D. They argue about its authorship.
44. What does the “thundercloud periwig” and “lightning bug aflash from afinger” symbolize in the father’s appearance?
A. His great wealth
B. His power and anger
C. His old age
D. His foolishness
45. What is the significance of the number 1132 in the context of Dublin history?
A. It marks the date of the Fall.
B. It is associated with various floods and historical events.
C. It is the date of the book’s first publication.
D. It is the address of the Wake house.
46. Which character is described as a “twelve stone hoovier” (heavier) in his body?
A. Shaun
B. HCE (Humphrey)
C. Shem
D. Issy
47. What is the name of the road mentioned in the last part of the novel, which goes “round and round to meet where terms begin”?
A. The Vico road
B. The Highway
C. The Long Lane
D. The Mabbot’s Ma
48. What literary device is Shem accused of using extensively in his writing?
A. Rhyme
B. Masculine monosyllables of the same numerical mus
C. Simple, clear language
D. Short, direct sentences
49. What is the linguistic challenge posed by the word “Talis,” according to the lecturer?
A. It has too many consonants.
B. It is a word often abused by many passims.
C. It cannot be translated.
D. It is always used in Spanish.
50. What happened to the elm tree that was beside the Annar (River)?
A. It was burned for firewood.
B. It was struck by lightning.
C. The river split it.
D. It was the consecrated maypole in all the reignladen history.
Brief Overview
Finnegans Wake is a novel by James Joyce that blends the reality of life with the dream world. It was published in 1939 and is considered Joyce’s experimental masterpiece.
The novel immediately returns readers to Howth Castle and Environs. The story centers on a large figure who has suffered a great fall. This figure is known as the “huge outlander”. He is often called Here Comes Everybody (HCE).
The novel suggests his fall came after an improper act. He was accused of behaving wrongly toward two maidservants.
His wife is represented by the river, Anna Livia. She is always running with tidings. The couple has twin sons. One son is known as the writer, or Shem the Penman. He is mocked as a dirty outcast. Shem’s brother, Shaun, is the postman and the favorite. Shaun is considered handsome and moral. The book contains many conflicting documents and letters.
HCE is sleeping through the whole story. He is constantly being tried, both sentenced and acquitted, for his alleged sins.
The whole book is a complex dream. It moves in cycles, meaning that everything that ends will return. The river at the end runs to the sea, promising eternal return.
