A Happy Death MCQs
1. What time of day was it when Patrice Mersault approached Zagreus’s villa?
A. Noon
B. Ten in the morning
C. Late afternoon
D. Early evening
2. What was Patrice Mersault carrying as he walked toward the villa?
A. A bag of groceries
B. A satchel of books
C. A suitcase
D. A map
3. What type of flowers were noted in the square near Zagreus’ villa?
A. Roses
B. Tulips
C. Geraniums
D. Lilies
4. Where was Zagreus sitting when Mersault entered the room?
A. By the window
B. In an armchair by the fire
C. At a desk
D. In bed
5. What physical condition defined Zagreus?
A. Blindness
B. Deafness
C. Cripple (stumps of legs)
D. Muteness
6. What book title did Mersault read upside down on Zagreus’s blanket?
A. The Outsider
B. The Stranger
C. The Courtier
D. The Plague
7. Who wrote the book Zagreus was reading?
A. Albert Camus
B. Jean-Paul Sartre
C. Baltasar Gracian
D. Fyodor Dostoevsky
8. What was used to wrap the packets of bills inside the strongbox?
A. Cloth
B. Newspaper
C. Foil
D. Brown paper
9. How did Mersault position the revolver before opening Zagreus’s letter?
A. On the table
B. Under his left arm
C. In his pocket
D. On the blanket
10. What did Zagreus’ handwritten note say he was doing away with?
A. A miserable life
B. Only half a man
C. All his suffering
D. His possessions
11. What did Zagreus ask Mersault to use the leftover money for?
A. To fund an orphanage
B. To improve conditions for men in death row
C. To help the poor
D. To buy books
12. What action did Mersault take with the revolver immediately after the shot?
A. Threw it in the fire
B. Thrust it into Zagreus’s right hand
C. Placed it on the chest
D. Put it in his suitcase
13. What sound signaled the butcher driving away?
A. A car door slamming
B. A shrill horn sound
C. A loud engine noise
D. A dog barking
14. After leaving the villa, what did Mersault do when he reached his room?
A. Counted the money
B. Wrote a letter
C. Lay down on his bed and slept
D. Cleaned the revolver
15. What fragrance mixed with the smell of tar in the harbor?
A. Seaweed
B. Dusty fragrance of wheat sacks
C. Diesel fuel
D. Fish
16. What material was the stevedore’s broken arm wound dripping blood onto?
A. Wood planks
B. Scorching stones
C. Dock rail
D. Cement pavement
17. Who was Emmanuel?
A. A stevedore
B. Mersault’s supervisor
C. One of the clerks
D. The restaurant owner’s son
18. What activity caused Emmanuel to start singing?
A. Eating
B. Running
C. Swimming
D. Working
19. What physical characteristic of Mersault was noted as curiously young and vigorous?
A. His hands
B. His body
C. His face
D. His walk
20. What was the restaurant owner’s name?
A. Emmanuel
B. Langlois
C. Celeste
D. Rene
21. What did Celeste say he would do if he made a million francs?
A. Buy a big city house
B. Buy a cabin on the beach and stick a flag in his navel
C. Quit working entirely
D. Travel the world
22. What battle did Emmanuel start telling Celeste he had fought?
A. Battle of Algiers
B. Battle of the Marne
C. Battle of Verdun
D. Battle of Britain
23. Who was Rene?
A. Celeste’s son
B. A gas company worker
C. The barrelmaker
D. A salesman
24. What ailment was Rene suffering from?
A. Liver trouble
B. TB (tuberculosis)
C. Diabetes
D. Rheumatism
25. Where was Mersault’s apartment located?
A. Above a bakery
B. Above a horse butcher’s
C. Near the docks
D. In the center of town
26. What was written on the sign Mersault read from his balcony?
A. Fresh Meat Daily
B. To Man’s Noblest Conquest
C. Butcher Shop
D. Finest Cuts
27. What disease had afflicted Mersault’s mother?
A. Cancer
B. Heart failure
C. Terrible swelling disease (aggravated by diabetes)
D. Pneumonia
28. How long did Mersault’s mother’s suffering last before she died?
A. One year
B. Five years
C. Ten years
D. Twenty years
29. What item of furniture did Mersault keep in his mother’s room (besides the wardrobe and dressing table)?
A. The old brass bed
B. The dining room table
C. The rocking chair
D. The sewing machine
30. What fragrance sometimes rose into Mersault’s room on summer nights from the yard?
A. Jasmine
B. Orange blossoms
C. Tar and coffee
D. Mint
31. How many pigeonholes covered the walls of Mersault’s office room?
A. 100
B. 414
C. 500
D. Too many to count
32. Who was the supervisor Mersault avoided in the office?
A. Celeste
B. Emmanuel
C. Monsieur Langlois
D. Madame Herbillon
33. What object on Mersault’s desk showed a religious procession in Newfoundland?
A. A photograph
B. A painting
C. A bright-colored calendar
D. A newspaper clipping
34. After eating dinner on Saturday, what activity did Mersault engage in before going to sleep?
A. Reading
B. Smoking
C. Doing chores
D. Writing
35. What advertisement did Mersault cut out and paste into his booklet on Sunday?
A. For a car
B. For a travel agency
C. For Kruschen Salts
D. For a new suit
36. Which group of people came first in the Sunday afternoon procession Mersault observed from his balcony?
A. Young men with red ties
B. Families with children in sailor suits
C. Soccer fans
D. Older people heading to cafes
37. Why did Mersault initially like being with Marthe in public?
A. She was quiet and reserved
B. She displayed her beauty, giving him a wonderful sense of ease/elegance
C. She paid for their expenses
D. She admired him greatly
38. What made Mersault feel rage and humiliation in the theater lobby?
A. Marthe ignoring him
B. Marthe talking too loud
C. Seeing his own face reflected in the mirrors
D. Marthe greeting a former lover
39. What did Marthe’s face resemble with her golden eyes and made-up lips?
A. A movie star
B. A painted goddess
C. A flower
D. A childhood memory
40. What term did Mersault often use to address Marthe after making love?
A. Darling
B. Sweetheart
C. Image
D. Angel
41. What was Marthe’s profession?
A. Waitress
B. Secretary
C. Dancer
D. Housekeeper
42. What physical attribute of Mersault did Marthe notice in strangers or film actors?
A. His smile
B. His gestures
C. His height
D. His self-conscious litheness
43. Approximately how many lovers did Marthe tell Mersault she had had?
A. Two or three
B. Maybe ten
C. Too many to count
D. Only one
44. Which former lover of Marthe did Mersault know?
A. Zagreus
B. Emmanuel
C. Rene
D. Celeste
45. How did Marthe describe Zagreus to Mersault?
A. A miserable man
B. The first one, nice, educated, a character
C. A poor, lonely cripple
D. A bitter intellectual
46. What did Zagreus say about seeing a good body that Marthe relayed to Mersault?
A. It makes him sad
B. It helps him breathe
C. It makes him angry
D. It makes him jealous
47. Who were the “little grinds” Marthe mentioned?
A. Young girls from the neighborhood
B. Students in Tunis (Rose and Claire)
C. Mersault’s coworkers
D. Other hostesses
48. According to Mersault, at his and Marthe’s age, what do people do instead of loving each other?
A. They deceive each other
B. They please each other
C. They tolerate each other
D. They marry each other
49. What did Mersault initially say annoyed him about Zagreus?
A. His boyish laugh
B. His talking too much
C. His arrogance
D. That he was a “half-portion” who bragged
50. What object in Zagreus’s room was described as having a withdrawn face?
A. A portrait of his father
B. The Khmer Buddha on the desk
C. An old clock
D. A statue of an angel
51. How did Mersault respond when Zagreus noted he looked tired?
A. Yes, I don’t know what to do.
B. I’m fine.
C. The trip exhausted me.
D. The weather is depressing.
52. According to Zagreus, how does a man always judge himself?
A. By his wealth
B. By his social standing
C. By the balance between body needs and mind demands
D. By his relationships
53. What did Mersault say his ‘one duty’ was, according to Zagreus, due to his healthy body?
A. To work hard
B. To live and be happy
C. To help others
D. To reflect deeply
54. What realization did Mersault have regarding the future while speaking to Zagreus?
A. He was meant for mediocrity
B. He would be the experiment of his life, not make an experiment out of it
C. He needed to travel
D. He would return to school
55. What prevented Mersault from achieving the life he desired, according to him?
A. His lack of money
B. His job/eight hours a day at the office
C. Marthe
D. His sickness
56. What did Zagreus say was stúpid, false, and cowardly regarding happiness?
A. Believing happiness is easy
B. Thinking money isn’t necessary for happiness
C. Ignoring one’s body
D. Being touchy
57. According to Zagreus, what is having money primarily equated to?
A. Power
B. Fame
C. Time
D. Security
58. How much money had Zagreus accumulated by the age of twenty-five?
A. Several hundred thousand francs
B. Nearly two million francs
C. Five million crowns
D. Enough for a small house
59. What accident immediately followed Zagreus making his fortune?
A. He lost his wealth
B. The accident that took off his legs
C. He was arrested
D. He became ill
60. What items lay on top of the safe in Zagreus’s chest?
A. A gold watch and a key
B. A white envelope and a large black revolver
C. Bills and a letter
D. Baltasar Gracian’s book
61. What did Zagreus do to calm the fever of his cheeks during his ritual?
A. Drank cold tea
B. Pressed and rolled his forehead against the cold steel of the gun
C. Smoked a cigarette
D. Looked out the window
62. What did Zagreus lick and stick his tongue into during his ritual?
A. The brass trays
B. The book cover
C. The gun barrel
D. The safe lock
63. Zagreus measured the misery and cruelty of civilization by the stúpid axiom:
A. Money is time
B. Happy nations have no history
C. A body deserves its ideal
D. Idleness is fatal
64. When Mersault held out his hand to Zagreus at the end of the visit, how did Zagreus respond?
A. Shook it warmly
B. Shook his head and laughed too loud
C. Refused the gesture
D. Asked for help
65. What final advice did Zagreus give Mersault?
A. Don’t take anything seriously except happiness
B. Find a new job
C. Get married soon
D. Travel the world
66. What was the name of the barrelmaker who rented rooms from Mersault?
A. Zagreus
B. Emmanuel
C. Cardona
D. Celeste
67. What was Cardona doing when Mersault went into his apartment?
A. Reading
B. Sobbing like a child
C. Cleaning
D. Arguing with his dog
68. What was the picture at Cardona’s feet?
A. His sister
B. His former lover
C. An old woman (his mother)
D. His dog
69. What two physical impairments did Cardona suffer from?
A. Blind and crippléd
B. Deaf and half-dúmb
C. Crippléd and mute
D. Deaf and blind
70. What did Cardona’s sister say his affection for their mother was often proven by?
A. Buying her gifts
B. Caring for her constantly
C. Teasing her with abuse of priests and the Church
D. Cleaning the house
71. Cardona preferred frequenting cafes because they were a refuge against what?
A. Poverty
B. Violence
C. The terrors of solitude and vague aspirations
D. Hunger
72. Why did Mersault feel powerless when confronting Cardona’s pain?
A. He was too sick
B. He felt respect for that animal pain
C. He hated Cardona
D. He didn’t know what to say
73. What realization did Mersault have while sitting in Cardona’s room?
A. That he missed his mother
B. That his rebellion was the only authentic thing in him
C. That he needed a woman
D. That he was also poor
74. What did Mersault do the morning after visiting Cardona?
A. Killed Zagreus
B. Went to the office
C. Visited Marthe
D. Left Algiers
75. What reason did Mersault give others for leaving Algiers?
A. To escape the police
B. To visit family
C. To go to France for a rest
D. To start a new career
76. Where did Marthe’s letter of farewell from Mersault reach her?
A. Algiers
B. Marseilles
C. Lyons
D. Prague
77. What detail did Marthe mention about Zagreus’s burial?
A. It was sparsely attended
B. It was a sad affair
C. They had to use pillows to wedge his body into the coffin
D. It was delayed due to the investigation
78. Where did Mersault travel to after leaving Lyons?
A. Marseilles
B. Vienna
C. Genoa
D. Prague
79. In what language did Mersault initially speak to the hotel clerk in Prague?
A. English
B. German
C. French
D. Czech
80. What was the cheapest room rate offered at the Prague hotel?
A. 30 crowns
B. 25 crowns
C. 18 crowns
D. 14 crowns
81. What lay on the “sickening carpet” in Mersault’s hotel room?
A. Old books
B. Yellow flowers against a gray background
C. Broken glass
D. Dust clots
82. Why did Mersault pay the old porter 14 crowns?
A. For room tax
B. For the cost of a taxi the porter took
C. For storage fees
D. For the porter’s service
83. What strong, pungent odor assaulted Mersault in the dark Prague streets?
A. Tar and oil
B. Flowers and decay
C. Vinegar and cucumbers
D. Burning wood
84. What item was on the man’s buttonhole who sat across from Mersault in the restaurant cellar?
A. A flower
B. A red star
C. A military pin
D. A gold cross
85. What realization did Mersault have about the accordionist in the restaurant?
A. He was very old
B. He was blind
C. He was Zagreus’ brother
D. He was singing in French
86. What feeling overwhelmed Mersault upon seeing the dead man in the street in Prague?
A. Terror
B. Contemplation and innocence
C. Shame
D. Confusion
87. What burst from Mersault’s eyes as he thought of cities, sunlight, and women in his room?
A. Vomit
B. Sweat
C. Tears
D. Blood
88. What did Mersault look at on the white plaque inside the train compartment?
A. Advertisements
B. The destination
C. Warnings in three languages not to lean out
D. The train schedule
89. What did Mersault see flying over the vast Silesian plain?
A. White gulls
B. Black birds with glistening wings
C. Military planes
D. Pigeons
90. In Vienna, what luxury did Mersault prefer strolling through along the Ring?
A. The museums
B. The shopwindows and elegant women
C. St. Stephen’s Cathedral
D. The dancehalls
91. What image filled Mersault with a “strange mixture of bitterness and delight” in Vienna?
A. The River Danube
B. The sight of the poor
C. The futile caracole of stone horses in the sunset
D. The opulent palaces
92. What food did Mersault mention eating a lot of in Vienna?
A. Sausage and beer
B. Soft-boiled eggs and thick cream
C. Bread and cheese
D. Fruits and vegetables
93. What did Mersault accidentally leave in Helen’s shoe?
A. A five-hundred shilling note instead of a hundred
B. A cigarette
C. A note of apology
D. A hundred shilling note
94. What did Rose, Claire, and Catherine call their apartment in Algiers?
A. The House of the Lost
B. The House of the Three Students
C. The Algiers Retreat
D. The Home of Happiness
95. Why did Mersault choose to return to Algiers by way of Genoa?
A. To see Marthe
B. He was poisoned by solitude and needed friendship/confidence
C. To invest his money
D. To buy a boat
96. What did Mersault realize he must create during his crossing to Algiers?
A. A new identity
B. His happiness and his justification
C. A new relationship
D. A map of his travels
97. What had attached Mersault to Marthe, in his final analysis on the ship?
A. True love
B. Physical attraction
C. Vanity and power
D. Shared grief
98. What power did Mersault realize he possessed, akin to children and geniuses, regarding Zagreus?
A. The power to forget
B. The power to create
C. The power of lucidity
D. The power of wealth
99. What do Patrice and Catherine eat for breakfast on the terrace?
A. Eggs and bacon
B. Salted tomatoes, potato salad, honey, and fruit
C. Coffee and bread
D. Cereals
100. What was the nickname for Patrice among his friends?
A. The Traveler
B. The Philosopher
C. The Boy
D. The Silent One
101. What does Catherine do with her bathing suit to get a tan?
A. Takes it off completely
B. Pulls it down to her hips
C. Covers it with a towel
D. Switches to a bikini
102. What did the inhabitants call their house?
A. The House of Solitude
B. The House above the World
C. The House of the Sun
D. The House of Joy
103. The world was viewed by the inhabitants of the house as what kind of entity?
A. A personage
B. An enemy
C. A backdrop
D. A silent observer
104. What animal instinct was attributed to Catherine?
A. For hunting
B. For what is essential
C. For cleanliness
D. For travel
105. What was Rose’s escape into the world?
A. Reading
B. Writing
C. Cats (Gula and Cali)
D. Cooking
106. Which cat was described as perpetually offended, slender, and delicate?
A. Cali
B. Gula
C. Rose
D. Catherine
107. What did Claire often recommend adding to recipes, even if inappropriate?
A. Pepper
B. Fresh, thick cream
C. Salt
D. Wine
108. What were Rose and Claire students in Tunis referred to as by Marthe?
A. The intellectuals
B. The idealists
C. The little grinds
D. The little kittens
109. What was Eliane (the first guest) known as by Mersault?
A. The Pragmatist
B. The Idealist
C. The Pessimist
D. The Intellectual
110. What occupation did Noel (the second guest) hold?
A. Lawyer
B. Student
C. Sculptor
D. Broker
111. What taste did Claire playfully announce the bouillabaisse had?
A. Too salty
B. Too spicy
C. Burned onion
D. Too creamy
112. Who did Rose pretend to marry Noel off to during the lunch discussion?
A. Catherine
B. Eliane
C. Herself
D. Claire
113. Who was Lucienne Raynal?
A. A secretary Mersault met at a friend’s house
B. A model
C. An Algiers socialite
D. Claire’s sister
114. What physical feature of Lucienne’s delighted Mersault due to its hint of “mindless beauty”?
A. Her small straight nose
B. Her blond hair
C. Her smooth, curving belly
D. Her silence and closed expression
115. What did Claire say that life must do if you trust it on good days?
A. Answer you
B. Leave you alone
C. Test you
D. Bring you money
116. Where did Mersault decide to buy a little house?
A. In Algiers
B. Near Tipasa ruins (Chenoua)
C. In Marseilles
D. In Vienna
117. What business did Mersault invest in to justify his independent life?
A. Real estate
B. German pharmaceuticals
C. Shipping
D. The cafe business
118. What was Lucienne’s job before Mersault suggested she quit?
A. Secretary for a coal company
B. Teacher
C. Hostess
D. Nurse
119. What item did Lucienne buy for skimming over the blue sea?
A. A speedboat
B. A white yacht
C. An orange canoe
D. A surfboard
120. What did Mersault say was the risk of staying at the House above the World?
A. The risk of getting bored
B. The risk of losing his money
C. The risk of being loved
D. The risk of forgetting his purpose
121. What did Catherine encourage Mersault to do before he left?
A. Take good care of himself
B. Write often
C. Return soon
D. Find a new job
122. What features of the landscape were visible in the framed view between the two pines in the garden?
A. The mountains only
B. The curve of the beach
C. The main highway
D. The whole town
123. Who was Perez?
A. The pool player
B. The local doctor
C. The fisherman with one arm
D. The cafe owner
124. What was the name of the village doctor?
A. Morales
B. Bingues
C. Cardona
D. Bernard
125. How long after Mersault invited Lucienne to Chenoua did she begin to bore him?
A. A week
B. Within two days
C. A month
D. Immediately
126. What truth did Mersault share with Lucienne about memory and love?
A. Great love lasts forever
B. Everything is forgotten, even a great love
C. Only unhappy passions are remembered
D. Memory fades with age
127. When Mersault visited his old neighborhood, who was renting his apartment?
A. A cafe runner
B. Cardona
C. Marthe
D. Monsieur Langlois
128. What paradox about loving people did Mersault realize after meeting Marthe again?
A. That they were always unfair to him
B. That he loved them only for their beauty
C. That we deceive ourselves twice (first to advantage, then disadvantage)
D. That he shouldn’t have left her
129. What food did Perez prepare for Mersault after fishing?
A. Grilled fish
B. Cuttlefish in a hot sauce (stewed in their own ink)
C. Fried sardines
D. Octopus salad
130. Mersault believed he had acquired independence by using money as what?
A. A shield
B. A weapon
C. An investment
D. A distraction
131. The rhythm of Mersault’s days at Chenoua was organized by the passage from what to what?
A. Morning to night
B. Sun to sun
C. Sea to mountain
D. Effort to rest
132. Who was the wealthy Spanish landowner in the village known as the King of Spain?
A. Bernard
B. Perez
C. Bingues
D. Morales
133. What did Morales install in his Greek-style house that amused Bernard and Mersault?
A. A gold bathtub
B. An elevator
C. A secret garden
D. A private theater
134. When asked if he was happy on the mountain climb, what did Mersault say mattered most for happiness?
A. Money and time
B. The will to happiness (a kind of enormous, ever-present consciousness)
C. Love and connection
D. Solitude and freedom
135. What did Mersault confess he had to acquire to perfect a life in happiness?
A. More patience
B. Unintelligence (a minimum of ignorance)
C. Better health
D. A stronger will
136. What smell permeated the path as Mersault walked home after the girls left, signaling the end of the season?
A. Salt and tar
B. Carobs (smell of love/bitter almonds)
C. Pine needles
D. Wet stone
137. How did Mersault experience killing Zagreus when he reflected on it later?
A. With profound regret
B. In the innocence of his heart
C. As a great crime
D. As an unavoidable chore
138. What illness confined Mersault to his room in January?
A. Grippe
B. Diabetes
C. Pleurisy
D. Fever
139. During his convalescence walk, what did Mersault realize was born of his patient self-abandonment?
A. A desire for revenge
B. A great melancholy
C. The peace that filled him
D. A return to his past
140. When Mersault swam in the moonlight, what did he feel the icy current was like?
A. A dangerous chill
B. The love of some god of clear and impassioned exultation
C. A return to childhood
D. A sign of death
141. What substance did Mersault spit up during his physical decline that tasted like blood?
A. Water
B. Bile
C. Phlegm
D. Saliva
142. What was Mersault’s greatest fear during his sickness?
A. Dying alone
B. Dying in unconsciousness (in a coma)
C. Leaving Lucienne
D. Losing his money
143. What realization dissolved Mersault’s fear of death just before he lost consciousness the first night of fever?
A. The certainty of a next life
B. The memory of Marthe
C. A tremendous chord of tenderness and hope at dawn
D. Bernard’s injection
144. What did Bernard give Mersault to swallow if he felt weak again?
A. Penicillin
B. Adrenalin
C. Morphine
D. Cough syrup
145. What sight in the sky did Mersault recall his mother telling him were the souls of the dead going to paradise?
A. The stars
B. The red clouds
C. The golden sunrise
D. The moon
146. Mersault realized that being afraid of death meant being afraid of what?
A. God
B. Life
C. Suffering
D. Solitude
147. What did Mersault say defined his happiness in living and dying?
A. That he had traveled far
B. That he had married Lucienne
C. That he had created his life with consciousness and courage
D. That he had inherited money
148. What feeling united Mersault and Zagreus in their final moments?
A. Shared regret
B. A heavy approach of tears, mingled taste of life and death
C. Mutual forgiveness
D. Shared physical pain
149. What physical sensation indicated to Mersault his body’s continued complicity with life, even while failing?
A. A coughing fit
B. A shudder at Lucienne’s touch
C. The ache in his limbs
D. His irregular breathing
150. What happened in Mersault’s final second of consciousness?
A. He spoke to Lucienne
B. He felt a stone approach his throat and returned to the truth of the motionless worlds
C. He coughed violently
D. He thanked life