Samuel Beckett

Study question Samuel Beckett

Facts about Samuel Beckett

➾ He insisted he was born on Good Friday, April 13, 1906, despite his birth certificate listing May 13.

➾ As a young man, he attended the Portora Royal School, which Oscar Wilde also attended.

➾ He once claimed to lack human feelings after rejecting the advances of James Joyce’s daughter.

➾ His study of Marcel Proust led him to conclude that habit was the “cancer of time”.

➾ In Paris in 1937, he was stabbed in the street by a man who had begged him for money.

➾ He visited his assailant in prison, who responded to Beckett’s inquiry about the attack with “Je ne sais pas, Monsieur” (“I do not know, Sir”).

➾ During World War II, he joined the underground movement in Paris to resist the Germans.

➾ After fleeing the occupied zone, he supported himself until liberation by working as an agricultural labourer.

➾ In 1958, he withdrew his plays from presentation in Ireland to protest the government’s censorship.

➾ His play Waiting for Godot was performed in 1957 for over 1,400 convicts at San Quentin penitentiary.

➾ After winning the 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature, he declined the trip to Stockholm and gave away the prize money.

Samuel Beckett MCQs

1. Where was Samuel Beckett born?

A. London, England
B. Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
C. Dublin, Ireland
D. Paris, France

C. Dublin, Ireland
He was born in Foxrock, a suburb of Dublin.

2. In what year was Samuel Beckett born?

A. 1926
B. 1906
C. 1898
D. 1913

B. 1906
He was born on April 13, 1906.

3. What was Samuel Beckett’s religious background?

A. Protestant
B. Catholic
C. Agnostic
D. Atheist

A. Protestant
He came from a middle-class Protestant background in predominantly Catholic Ireland.

4. Which university did Samuel Beckett attend for his undergraduate studies?

A. University College Dublin
B. Sorbonne University
C. Oxford University
D. Trinity College, Dublin

D. Trinity College, Dublin
He studied modern languages at Trinity from 1923 to 1927.

5. What were Samuel Beckett’s major subjects at Trinity College Dublin?

A. Philosophy and Literature
B. English and History
C. French and Italian
D. Drama and Classics

C. French and Italian
He excelled in modern languages, particularly French and Italian.

6. What was Samuel Beckett’s first job after graduating from Trinity College?

A. Lecturer in French literature in Dublin
B. Teacher of English in Paris
C. Writer for a Parisian newspaper
D. Quantity surveyor, like his father

B. Teacher of English in Paris
He worked as an exchange lecturer (lecteur d’anglais) at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris from 1928 to 1930.

7. In what year did Samuel Beckett first return to Ireland as a lecturer in French literature?

A. 1931
B. 1928
C. 1945
D. 1937

A. 1931
He returned to lecture at Trinity College but left after only four terms.

8. When did Samuel Beckett make Paris his permanent home?

A. 1926
B. 1945
C. 1937
D. 1932

C. 1937
After traveling and living briefly elsewhere, he settled permanently in Paris in 1937.

9. Why did Beckett find teaching uncongenial?

A. It interfered with his creative activities.
B. He found the students uninspiring.
C. He preferred to travel.
D. He was poorly paid.

A. It interfered with his creative activities.
He disliked the demands of academic life and felt it hindered his writing.

10. When did Beckett change from writing in English to writing in French?

A. Early 1930s
B. Late 1940s
C. Mid-1930s
D. Early 1950s

B. Late 1940s
After World War II, during a highly creative period, he made the deliberate switch to French.

11. What was a primary reason for Beckett’s rejection of Ireland as his homeland?

A. The cold weather
B. Lack of literary opportunities
C. Strict censorship by the Catholic clergy
D. Family disagreements

C. Strict censorship by the Catholic clergy
He found the cultural atmosphere in Ireland stifling and repressive.

12. Which other famous Irish expatriates offered similar explanations for finding Ireland uncongenial?

A. W.B. Yeats and Oscar Wilde
B. Sean O’Casey and James Joyce
C. George Bernard Shaw and Bram Stoker
D. Jonathan Swift and Brendan Behan

B. Sean O’Casey and James Joyce
Like Beckett, O’Casey and Joyce also left Ireland due to censorship and cultural constraints.

13. In what year did Beckett withdraw his plays from the Dublin International Theater Festival in protest?

A. 1953
B. 1958
C. 1969
D. 1945

B. 1958
He protested the Dublin Archbishop’s refusal to allow works by Joyce and O’Casey to be staged.

14. What was the initial critical reaction to “Waiting for Godot”?

A. It was an instant masterpiece.
B. It was labelled “the strange little play in which ‘nothing happens’.”
C. It was controversial and banned.
D. It was largely ignored.

B. It was labelled “the strange little play in which ‘nothing happens’.”
Its unconventional structure and lack of traditional plot initially baffled many critics.

15. What was Samuel Beckett’s father’s profession?

A. Teacher
B. Quantity surveyor
C. Writer
D. Nurse

B. Quantity surveyor
His father, William Frank Beckett, worked in the construction business.

16. What school did Beckett attend, which Oscar Wilde also attended?

A. Trinity College Dublin
B. St. Patrick’s Cathedral Grammar School
C. Eton College
D. Portora Royal School in Enniskillen

D. Portora Royal School in Enniskillen
He attended this boarding school in Northern Ireland from age 14.

17. What did Beckett famously say about his own disposition?

A. “I was born to write.”
B. “I had little talent for happiness.”
C. “Life is a struggle.”
D. “The stage is my true home.”

B. “I had little talent for happiness.”
This quote reflects the often bleak and melancholic tone found in his life and work.

18. Which famous writer did Beckett meet and admire in Paris in 1926?

A. Marcel Proust
B. James Joyce
C. René Descartes
D. Jean Anouilh

B. James Joyce
He became part of Joyce’s circle during his time as a lecturer in Paris and was deeply influenced by him.

19. What was the title of Beckett’s prize-winning poem from 1927?

A. “Echo’s Bones”
B. “Murphy”
C. “Eleutheria”
D. “Whoroscope”

D. “Whoroscope”
This complex poem, focusing on René Descartes, won a small literary prize.

20. What did Beckett’s study of Proust lead him to believe was the “cancer of time”?

A. Love
B. Habit
C. Memory
D. Waiting

B. Habit
In his essay Proust (1931), he explored how habit dulls perception and the experience of time.

21. What happened to Beckett shortly after he moved permanently to Paris?

A. He published his first major novel.
B. He met his future wife.
C. He was stabbed in the street.
D. He joined the French Resistance.

C. He was stabbed in the street.
In early 1938, he was nearly killed after being stabbed by a pimp. James Joyce helped arrange his medical care.

22. What movement did Beckett join in Paris during World War II?

A. The Surrealist movement
B. The Irish Red Cross
C. The underground resistance movement
D. The Free French forces

C. The underground resistance movement
He worked as a courier for the French Resistance until his cell was betrayed.

23. When was Beckett forced to flee to the unoccupied zone of France?

A. 1939
B. 1942
C. 1944
D. 1945

B. 1942
After his Resistance group was compromised, he and Suzanne Deschevaux-Dumesnil fled Paris.

24. What role did Beckett take on for the Irish Red Cross in 1945?

A. Agricultural laborer
B. Interpreter in a military hospital
C. Teacher
D. Playwright-in-residence

B. Interpreter in a military hospital
After the liberation of France, he briefly worked at an Irish Red Cross hospital in Saint-Lô.

25. What award did Beckett receive in 1945 for his resistance work?

A. The Legion of Honour
B. The Nobel Prize
C. The Croix de Guerre
D. The Order of Merit

C. The Croix de Guerre
The French government awarded him this military decoration for his bravery during the war.

26. Which of the following was NOT one of Beckett’s pinnacle novels?

A. Molloy
B. The Unnamable
C. Malone Dies
D. Murphy

D. Murphy
Murphy (1938) was his first published novel, written in English, preceding the famous French trilogy (Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable).

27. What was the title of Samuel Beckett’s first play?

A. Waiting for Godot
B. Eleutheria
C. Endgame
D. Krapp’s Last Tape

B. Eleutheria
Written in 1947 but published posthumously, Eleutheria (Freedom) predates Godot.

28. When did “Waiting for Godot” premiere, launching Beckett to world fame?

A. 1949
B. January 5, 1953
C. April 3, 1957
D. 1961

B. January 5, 1953
Its Paris premiere was a landmark event in 20th-century theatre.

29. How many performances did “Waiting for Godot” run for at the Theatre de Babylone?

A. Four hundred
B. Two hundred
C. Three hundred
D. One hundred

A. Four hundred
Its surprisingly long initial run indicated its powerful impact on audiences.

30. Which American dramatist said “Waiting for Godot” would make it easier for others to write freely?

A. Tennessee Williams
B. William Saroyan
C. Arthur Miller
D. Thornton Wilder

B. William Saroyan
Saroyan recognized the play’s liberating effect on theatrical conventions.

31. In what unique setting was “Waiting for Godot” performed for convicts in 1957?

A. A mental asylum
B. The San Quentin penitentiary
C. A remote desert camp
D. An army barracks

B. The San Quentin penitentiary
This famous performance demonstrated the play’s unexpected resonance with marginalized audiences.

32. Why did Beckett believe writing in French was more disciplined?

A. It was his native language.
B. It forced him to use the language more wisely.
C. It allowed him to reach a wider audience.
D. He enjoyed the challenge.

B. It forced him to use the language more wisely.
He felt writing in a non-native language helped him avoid stylistic excess and focus on essentials.

33. What prestigious award did Samuel Beckett receive in 1969?

A. The Pulitzer Prize
B. The Booker Prize
C. The Nobel Prize for Literature
D. The Tony Award

C. The Nobel Prize for Literature
He was awarded the Nobel for his significant contributions to literature.

34. What did Beckett remark about each word he wrote late in his life?

A. They were a testament to his struggle.
B. They were echoes of the human condition.
C. They seemed “an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.”
D. They were insufficient to express true meaning.

C. They seemed “an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.”
This quote reflects his late minimalist style and preoccupation with silence and failure.

35. When did Samuel Beckett die?

A. 1957
B. 1969
C. 1989
D. 1992

C. 1989
He died on December 22, 1989, in Paris.

36. What did Samuel Beckett do with his Nobel Prize money?

A. He invested it in new theatre productions.
B. He used it to fund his travels.
C. He gave it away.
D. He kept it for his retirement.

C. He gave it away.
Known for his generosity and dislike of fame, he quietly donated the prize money, mostly to fellow artists.

37. Why did Beckett decline to go to Stockholm to accept his Nobel Prize?

A. He was too ill to travel.
B. He preferred to remain anonymous.
C. To avoid the public speech.
D. He had a prior engagement.

C. To avoid the public speech.
His intense aversion to publicity and public speaking led him to send his publisher, Jérôme Lindon, instead.

38. Which French author did Beckett write essays about before the war?

A. Albert Camus
B. Jean-Paul Sartre
C. Marcel Proust
D. André Gide

C. Marcel Proust
His critical study Proust (1931) was an early significant publication.

39. What was the subject of Beckett’s 1938 novel “Murphy”?

A. A man waiting for an unknown entity.
B. An Irishman in London escaping to a life of contemplation.
C. A woman struggling with existential dread.
D. A poet’s journey through European capitals.

B. An Irishman in London escaping to a life of contemplation.
The novel follows the titular character’s attempts to withdraw from the world into his own mind.

40. Which of Beckett’s novels was not published until 1953?

A. Molloy
B. Malone Dies
C. Watt
D. The Unnamable

C. Watt
Written in English during the war while hiding in Roussillon, Watt had difficulty finding a publisher.

41. Who was Suzanne Deschevaux-Dumesnil?

A. His literary agent
B. His translator
C. His lifelong companion and later wife
D. His sister

C. His lifelong companion and later wife
She fled Paris with Beckett during the war and they married in 1961.

42. Beckett’s philosophical influences included Dante, Joyce, and whom?

A. Friedrich Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer
B. René Descartes and Arnold Geulincx
C. Plato and Aristotle
D. Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz

B. René Descartes and Arnold Geulincx
His interest in Cartesian dualism and occasionalism is evident in his work.

43. What is a fundamental misconception about Beckett’s work?

A. That it is overly intellectual.
B. That it is concerned primarily with the sordid side of human existence.
C. That it is too optimistic.
D. That it is difficult to understand.

B. That it is concerned primarily with the sordid side of human existence.
Critics argue that beyond the bleakness, his work contains compassion, resilience, and dark humor.

44. The trilogy of novels (Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable) raises the problem of what?

A. The identity of society
B. The identity of God
C. The identity of the human self
D. The identity of language

C. The identity of the human self
These novels relentlessly explore the instability and elusiveness of personal identity.

45. Which of Beckett’s plays contains only 121 words?

A. Rockaby
B. Acts Without Words
C. Eh Joe!
D. Come and Go

D. Come and Go
This exemplifies his later move towards extreme minimalism in theatre.

46. When did Beckett’s second masterpiece, “Endgame,” premiere?

A. 1961
B. 1967
C. January 5, 1953
D. April 3, 1957

D. April 3, 1957
Fin de partie (Endgame) premiered (in French) at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

47. Where did “Waiting for Godot” first premiere?

A. Abbey Theatre in Dublin
B. Theatre de Babylone in Paris
C. Royal Court Theatre in London
D. San Quentin penitentiary

B. Theatre de Babylone in Paris
The play’s world premiere took place in this small Parisian theatre.

48. At what age did Beckett write an essay defending James Joyce?

A. 20
B. 30
C. 23
D. 25

C. 23
His essay “Dante… Bruno. Vico.. Joyce” appeared in the collection Our Exagmination Round His Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress in 1929.

49. What languages did Beckett primarily write in during the 1930s and 1940s?

A. English
B. German
C. French
D. Italian

A. English
His early works like Murphy, Watt, and Echo’s Bones were written in English before his major shift to French.

50. At what age did Beckett enroll at Portora Royal School?

A. 12
B. 16
C. 14
D. 10

C. 14
He began attending the boarding school in 1920.

Malone Dies MCQs

1. What is Malone’s main desire regarding his death?

A. Dying quietly
B. Dying dramatically
C. Dying enthusiastically
D. Dying quickly now

A. Dying quietly.
Malone wishes to die quietly and tepidly, without hurrying events or working himself up into a state.

2. What holiday does Malone think he will likely not survive to see this year?

A. Christmas Day
B. Saint Patrick’s Day
C. The Assumption
D. Valentine’s Day

C. The Assumption.
Malone believes he will not survive the Transfiguration nor the Assumption, which are religious rejoicings.

3. What is the nature of the stories Malone decides to tell himself?

A. Beautiful and lively
B. Ugly and feverish
C. Calm and lifeless
D. Long and complicated

C. Calm and lifeless.
Malone determines his new stories will be calm, almost lifeless, without any ugliness, beauty, or fever in them.

4. What does Malone primarily plan to create before his death?

A. A masterpiece
B. An inventory
C. A set of laws
D. A memoir

B. An inventory.
He plans to draw up an inventory of his possessions at the very last moment, if time allows.

5. How many main stories does Malone settle on telling himself?

A. Two stories
B. Three stories
C. Four stories
D. Five stories

B. Three stories.
Malone initially planned four, but decided to combine the man and woman stories, settling on three total.

6. Which philosophical term does Malone reject when describing his impending death?

A. Earnestness
B. Contentment
C. Enthusiasm
D. Repayment

C. Enthusiasm.
Malone states he shall be tepid and die without enthusiasm, unlike his past fits of impatience.

7. What is the location of Malone’s room described as not being?

A. An ordinary house
B. A private room
C. A hospital
D. A vault

C. A hospital.
Malone is certain his room is not in a hospital or a madhouse, based on the sounds he hears.

8. What natural element is sometimes heard by Malone, but not visible?

A. The forests
B. The sea
C. The hills
D. The grass

B. The sea.
Malone states he hears the sea when it is high tide, but he cannot see it from his window.

9. What objects represent the “poles” of Malone’s existence in the room?

A. Bed and window
B. Stick and pencil
C. Dish and pot
D. Soup and blanket

C. Dish and pot.
Malone states that the dish for food and the pot for excretion are the defining poles of his existence.

10. How does Malone refer to the old woman who used to attend to him?

A. Old woman
B. Goodness
C. Charity
D. All of these

D. All of these.
Malone refers to her as an old woman and speculates her actions could be out of charity or goodness.

11. What item of his does Malone use to move objects around his room?

A. His stick
B. His arm
C. His foot
D. His tongue

A. His stick.
Malone uses his long stick, which has a hook, to rummage in his possessions and draw the table to him.

12. What does Malone feel is the best position for his body?

A. Lying prone
B. Lying supine
C. Sitting upright
D. Standing still

B. Lying supine.
Malone feels best, or least bony, when lying on his back, which he identifies as supine.

13. What character trait defines the initial subject of Malone’s first story?

A. His great age
B. His precociousness
C. His melancholy
D. His generosity

B. His precociousness.
The man (Saposcat) is introduced as a precocious boy, though not good at formal lessons.

14. What did Saposcat prefer regarding mathematics?

A. Abstract calculations
B. Mental arithmetic
C. Concrete numbers
D. Geometry lessons

C. Concrete numbers.
Sapo liked sums, but only those involving the manipulation of concrete numbers, not the way they were taught.

15. What profession did Saposcat’s parents prefer for him?

A. A salesman
B. A lawyer
C. A surgeon
D. A doctor

D. A doctor.
His parents hoped he would be a doctor by preference, so he could look after them when he was old.

16. What specific bird’s flight did Sapo particularly love to observe?

A. The vulture
B. The sparrow
C. The hawk
D. The seagull

C. The hawk.
Although Sapo confused most birds, he loved and could distinguish the hawk’s flight and poise.

17. What physical feature of Sapo was noted for being like a gull’s?

A. His pale eyes
B. His thick wrists
C. His round head
D. His short legs

A. His pale eyes.
Sapo gazed straight before him with eyes that were pale and unwavering, like those of a gull.

18. What does Malone call his lifelong “disease”?

A. Insomnia
B. Earnestness
C. Apathy
D. Vertigo

B. Earnestness.
Malone reflects that being trapped in “earnestness” (seriousness) has been his disease since birth.

19. What object did Sapo hide under a stone during his walks?

A. His gifts
B. His money
C. His books
D. His pipe

C. His books.
Once Sapo was clear of town during the summer holidays, he hid his school books under a stone.

20. What item was Malone surprised to find among his possessions during his rummaging?

A. A zinc ring
B. A pipe bowl
C. A button-boot
D. A long stick

B. A pipe bowl.
Malone found a pipe bowl, though he did not recall ever having smoked from a tobacco pipe.

21. What did Malone notice about the state of his floor and walls?

A. They were darkening
B. They were whitening
C. They were peeling
D. They were sparkling

B. They were whitening.
While retrieving his pencil, Malone noticed that the floor and all the walls had visibly blanched or whitened.

22. What image came to Malone’s mind when the floor started whitening?

A. A bright sun
B. Gleaming bones
C. New paper-hangings
D. A freshly painted wall

B. Gleaming bones.
When Malone opened his eyes and saw the walls whitening, he saw a shimmering “as of bones”.

23. What crime was Big Lambert highly regarded for doing?

A. Horse theft
B. Mules slaughtering
C. Pig bleeding
D. Chicken stealing

C. Pig bleeding.
Big Lambert was “highly thought of as a bleeder and disjointer of pigs” in December and January.

24. What happened to the rabbit Mrs. Lambert brought in for supper?

A. It escaped
B. It was sold
C. It died of fright
D. It struggled hard

C. It died of fright.
Malone noted that some rabbits die before they are struck, suffering death from sheer fright.

25. What unsettling activity was implied to be present among the Lambert family?

A. Theft
B. Incest
C. Violence
D. Drug use

B. Incest.
Malone states clearly that incest was “in the air” between the father/daughter and brother/sister (Edmund/Lizzy).

26. What comparison did Big Lambert use regarding the mule’s eyes?

A. Like a stone
B. Like a prayer
C. Like a flower
D. Like a woman

B. Like a prayer.
When describing the mule he bought, Lambert said the look in its eye was “like a prayer” to him.

27. What did Mrs. Lambert do with the two heaps of sorted lentils?

A. Cooked them
B. Threw them out
C. Swept them together
D. Stared at them

C. Swept them together.
Mrs. Lambert suddenly swept the two sorted heaps of lentils together with a furious gesture.

28. What character did Jackson try to teach the phrase “Nihil in intellectu” to?

A. A dog
B. A parrot
C. A cat
D. A young boy

B. A parrot.
Jackson, Malone’s acquaintance, owned a pink and grey parrot that he was trying to teach the Latin phrase to.

29. What comparison did Malone make regarding the structure of his room?

A. A wooden box
B. A coffin
C. A large basement
D. A solid bone skull

D. A solid bone skull.
Malone sometimes feels he is in a head and that the six enclosing planes are made of solid bone.

30. What did Malone notice about the light in his room?

A. It was golden
B. It was brilliant
C. It was leaden
D. It was flickering

C. It was leaden.
The light in his room is a leaden grey, making no shadow, unlike the sparkling light outside.

31. What brand was the pencil Malone always used, pointed at both ends?

A. A Faber
B. A Venus
C. A Bic
D. A Jupiter

B. A Venus.
Malone describes the short, five-faced pencil he uses as a Venus, pointed at both ends.

32. What physical characteristic of Macmann’s greatcoat was most notable?

A. Its small size
B. Its frayed fringe
C. Its grey color
D. Its tight fit

B. Its frayed fringe.
The greatcoat sweeps the ground and terminates in a fringe, and is extensively frayed at the sleeves.

33. What material was the collar of Macmann’s greatcoat made of?

A. Wool or silk
B. Leather or felt
C. Velvet or shag
D. Cotton or canvas

C. Velvet or shag.
The collar of Macmann’s coat, which had remained intact, was made of velvet or perhaps shag.

34. What was Macmann’s hat attached to?

A. His head
B. A tree
C. His coat
D. A rope

C. His coat.
The hat, too small and cracked, was attached to the topmost button of the coat by a string.

35. What color predominated in Macmann’s greatcoat?

A. Brown
B. Black
C. Green
D. Buff

C. Green.
Malone notes that all that can be said about the coat’s color is that “green predominates,” perhaps cab green.

36. Why did Macmann have to rise on the fifth day when sitting on the bench?

A. To escape
B. To find shelter
C. To acquire food
D. To flee people

C. To acquire food.
Macmann lacked the means to store enough food, so on the fifth day, he had to rise to eat.

37. What did Macmann do after forty-five minutes of heavy, cold, perpendicular rain?

A. Continued walking
B. Turned onto his back
C. Found shelter
D. Started singing

B. Turned onto his back.
After reproaching himself for stopping, Macmann changed position, turning over onto his back.

38. What condition did Macmann wish upon himself as an ideal?

A. Continuous motion
B. General paralysis
C. Constant thirst
D. Sudden death

B. General paralysis.
Malone wishes Macmann might find “a general paralysis” in a place impermeable to weather and noise.

39. What kind of movement did Macmann adopt to advance across the plain?

A. Crawling slowly
B. Rolling constantly
C. Running quickly
D. Walking crookedly

B. Rolling constantly.
Macmann adopted a rolling movement, advancing regularly across the plain, realizing he was mobile.

40. What definition did Malone adopt to determine which possessions were truly his?

A. Those he loved
B. Those he could find
C. Those he bought
D. Those he needed

B. Those he could find.
Malone decided that only things whose whereabouts he knew well enough to lay hold of were truly his.

41. What image was depicted on Malone’s photograph that he treasured?

A. His mother
B. A church
C. An ass
D. A young girl

C. An ass.
The photograph was not of Malone, but of an ass taken close up at the edge of the ocean.

42. What physical incident immediately followed Malone’s strange visitor?

A. A painful itch
B. A sense of peace
C. A violent blow
D. A loss of memory

C. A violent blow.
Malone states he felt a “violent blow on the head” after the visitor had perhaps been there some time.

43. What piece of clothing worn by the visitor shocked Malone?

A. His black coat
B. His white shirt
C. His brown boots
D. His block-hat

C. His brown boots.
The visitor was wearing brown boots copiously caked with fresh mud, which gave Malone a shock.

44. What object was Moll wearing as earrings?

A. Gold hoops
B. Ivory crucifixes
C. Silver bells
D. Red beads

B. Ivory crucifixes.
Moll was described as wearing two long ivory crucifixes as earrings, which swayed wildly.

45. What metaphor did Macmann use for love in the short rhymes he composed for Moll?

A. A soft blanket
B. A burning flame
C. A lethal glue
D. A rising tide

C. A lethal glue.
Macmann’s poems exalted love, regarding it as a kind of “lethal glue,” common in mystic texts.

46. What was the name of the asylum Macmann awoke in?

A. House of the Dead
B. House of Saint Jude
C. House of Saint John
D. House of Saint John of God

D. House of Saint John of God.
Macmann was admitted to the House of Saint John of God and given the number one hundred and sixty-six.

47. What object did Lemuel use to strike himself, often on the head?

A. A knife
B. A stick
C. A hammer
D. A pipe

C. A hammer.
Lemuel used a hammer, which he produced from his inner pocket, to strike himself, especially on the head.

48. What was the defining difference between an ‘excursion soup’ and a ‘house soup’?

A. Excursion soup was thicker
B. House soup was hotter
C. Excursion soup had bacon
D. House soup was smaller

C. Excursion soup had bacon.
Excursion soup was liquid like the common house soup, but contained a piece of fat bacon for strength.

49. Who organized the excursion for Lemuel’s group to the islands?

A. Moll
B. Lady Pedal
C. The Director
D. The Saxon

B. Lady Pedal.
Lady Pedal, a wealthy woman devoted to doing good, organized the outing to the islands for the inmates.

50. What happened immediately before Malone declared, “That is the end of me. I shall say I no more”?

A. He heard a choir
B. He felt himself swelling
C. He recovered his stick
D. He saw the window break

B. He felt himself swelling.
Malone reports feeling himself swelling and his chest moving, perceiving himself being given “birth to into death”.

Brief Overview

Malone Dies is a novel by Samuel Beckett, first published in French as Malone meurt in 1951. It is a key work of absurdist literature. The novel centers on themes of existence, memory, and the interplay between reality and fiction as a man approaches death.

The novel is about an old man named Malone who is alone in his room, waiting to die soon. He resolves to be neutral and inert while he waits. To pass the time and distract himself from his impending death, Malone decides to tell himself stories that are calm and almost without life.

His first story is about a boy named Sapo. Sapo is a strange child with poor parents. Malone soon finds the process of telling this story difficult and tedious, as his own reality keeps bleeding into the narrative.

Malone then starts a tale about Macmann, another old man. Macmann is sent to an asylum called Saint John of God. An old woman named Moll takes care of Macmann. They develop a strange closeness and become lovers, finding “sombre gratification.” Moll soon becomes ill and dies.

Macmann’s new keeper is Lemuel, a cruel and violent man. Lemuel forces Macmann and other inmates on a boat trip. On an island, Lemuel murders two innocent sailors with a hatchet.

The book ends as Macmann and the others drift away in the boat in the dark. At this exact moment, Malone notes that his body is swelling. His narration stops wholly and suddenly, as he feels he is being “birth[ed] into death.”