Minnesota Open Lit: It’s Literature, By Jingo!
PACKET NINE
1. This story was adapted into a 1942 Rita Hayworth musical entitled My Gal Sal, which was a song
written by the titular character. The titular character also wrote a song entitled “On the Banks of
the Wabash, Far Away,” the state song of Indiana. The story itself lovingly notes the titular
character’s self-destructive generosity and was included in the collection Twelve Men. FTP, name
this Theodore Dreiser work about his songwriting sibling, not written by Greg Gauthier.
ANSWER: “My Brother Paul”
2. A 1999 film imagined this work being performed by such fictional actors as “Frank Marvel” and
“Aldo Silvano.” Characters in this work include vagrant Harry Druggist and the villainous Mister
Mister and his Liberty Committee. First performed with actors speaking lines from the audience
to circumvent a federal order against production, FTP, name this Orson Welles-directed and Marc
Blitzstein-written musical that attacks the corruption in “Steeltown, USA.”
ANSWER: The Cradle Will Rock
3. A film adaptation of this work features Donald Sutherland as Christ, and clips of the film were
used in the music video for Metallica’s song “One.” The main character remembers his girlfriend
Kareen and his experiences using Morse code to talk with Bill Harper. His chief desire at the end
of this work is to join a “new Barnum” and be put on display as the “deadman-who-is-alive.”
FTP, name this work by Dalton Trumbo, an anti-war work about a severely disabled veteran.
ANSWER: Johnny Got His Gun
4. In one of this man’s works, the titular character acquires the elixir of immortality and the
Philosopher’s Stone, while another work is subtitled the New Man of Feeling and critiques
Rousseau’s views of education. Besides St. Leon and Fleetwood, he wrote a novel about
Ferdinando Falkland’s attempts to ruin the life of his personal secretary. FTP, name this author of
Caleb Williams, a promoter of utilitarianism, who is also the father of Mary Shelley.
ANSWER: William Godwin
5. The author of this work was influenced by a work he had previously translated, a novel about an
infant “saved” from Senegal and entitled Ourika. This work’s titular character frequently appears
at the Cobb and is also known as “Tragedy.” The film adaptation of this work used the framing
story of a film-within-a-film, and this novel famously ends with three potential endings. FTP,
name this work about the disgraced Sarah Woodruff, a postmodern romance by John Fowles.
ANSWER: The French Lieutenant’s Woman
6. Near the end of this work, the titular character imagines herself being taken by two birds to a
farmhouse where she meets three deceased characters. That character’s father once viewed the
brutal murder of logger Wesley Everest in Centralia and is himself killed at Guernica. The titular
character fails to earn the Akiva Award, but is comforted by the spirit of Jakob Daw. FTP, name
this Chaim Potok work about the daughter of radicals, who keeps an instrument on her door.
ANSWER: Davita’s Harp
7. The protagonist of this work is punished at one point by being forced to work in the bakery of
Nicodemus Frapp. Another character lives at such locales as Lady Grove and Crest Hill, due to
the profits made from his company Domestic Utilities. The protagonist eventually becomes a
battleship designer after previously stealing radioactive quap from Africa. FTP, name this H.G.
Wells work about George and Edward Ponderevo’s promotion of the titular patent medicine.
ANSWER: Tono-Bungay
8. The Jackie Chan film Miracles about a country boy who aids a poor flower seller is based on one
of this man’s short stories, as is a Shirley Temple film about a girl sent to live with a bookie.
Besides “Madame La Gimp” and “Little Miss Marker,” this man wrote about boxing and coined
the term “Cinderella Man” for James Braddock. FTP, name this author, who created Big Jule and
Nathan Detroit in a series of highly colloquial stories that inspired the musical Guys and Dolls.
ANSWER: Damon Runyon
9. Under the name “Wesley Winfield,” this character was played by Billy Gray in two Doris Day
musicals, On Moonlight Bay and By the Light of the Silvery Moon. Billy Hayes played this
character in a series of shorts with names like Hot Dog and Snakes Alive. This character once
took the identity of “notted” sleuth George B. Jasper, and his best friend is Sam Williams. FTP,
name this delightful young scamp who appears in a series of novels by Booth Tarkington.
ANSWER: Penrod Schofield (accept either)
10. A 1935 film version of this work starred future “Pink Lady” Helen Gahagan as the titular
character. This work features Horace Holly and Leo Vincey, who, after following the instructions
off the Sherd of Amenartas, eventually discover a pillar of fire. One character in this work
believes Vincey to be the reincarnation of her lover Kallikrates. FTP, name this work which
introduced the immortal woman Ayesha, a serialized novel by H. Rider Haggard.
ANSWER: She: A History of Adventure
11. This work shares its name with a 1949 Robert Ryan film also known as The Woman on Pier 13.
One character in this work is based on the author of the book Leaving a Doll’s House, while
another character is a ditch digger turned radio performer named “Iron Rinn.” The villainess of
this piece is likely based on the author’s ex-wife, Claire Bloom, and is an actress named Eve
Frame. FTP, name this Philip Roth work where Eve reveals her husband’s socialist past.
ANSWER: I Married a Communist (accept The Woman on Pier 13 before mentioned, also
accept Beautiful But Dangerous until the end of the second line)
12. A villainous character in this work is the jailer Captain Grammel, who works for Governor
Essada, and is ultimately cut in half by the head villain for his incompetence. The main plot of
this work is the journey to the Temple of Pomojema in search of the Kaiburr crystal. Ending
when Luke departs Circarpous after severing Vader’s hand, FTP, identify this novel by Alan
Dean Foster, noted for being the very first “Expanded Universe” Star Wars publication.
ANSWER: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye
13. After graduating from Drake University, this author worked as a reporter to cover the murder of
John Hossack, which would inspire later works. This author penned the biography The Road to
the Temple about George Cram Cook, the founder of the Provincetown Players and her
husband.FTP, name this author best known for fictionalizing the Hossack murder as a case
involving a murdered canary in “A Jury of Her Peers” and in the one-act play “Trifles.”
ANSWER: Susan Glaspell
14. The protagonist of this work angrily muses on “this physical education nonsense” while at college
and shows her displeasure by destroying a hurdle. Later, the protagonist wins $1,000 for writing
an essay entitled “What the College Has Done for Me.” The protagonist eventually falls in love
with Principal Hugo Selig, much to the displeasure of her Orthodox father Moses. FTP, name this
novel about Sara Smolinsky, a Jewish coming-of-age novel by Anzia Yezierska.
ANSWER: Bread Givers
15. This man’s father created Safed the Sage, who whimsically pondered ethical questions in a
Congregationalist magazine. This man represented the so-called “Silk Stocking Seventeenth”
district of Manhattan in Congress, but his later Senate campaign was hampered by FDR lumping
this man together with Joe Martin and Hamilton Fish. FTP, name this man best known for
labeling Jesus Christ the Founder of Modern Business in the book The Man Nobody Knows.
ANSWER: Bruce Barton
16. This author shares his name with a character on The X-Files, a senator who occasionally aided
Mulder. In one of his works, Chris Nielsen dies and goes to a heaven-like place called
Summerland. His first story deals with a deformed child kept in the basement by his parents.
Besides “Born of Man and Woman” and What Dreams May Come, he wrote a book about Robert
Neville fighting futuristic vampires. FTP, name this author of I Am Legend.
ANSWER: Richard Matheson
17. Recurring characters in this series include three men with attaché cases, who appear at various
times to keep the titular location in order. Another character in this series was incorrectly called
Mark Miller for a number of chapters, while another character is sent home at 12:00 every day.
This series features a non-existent nineteenth floor run by Miss Zarves, while the primary teacher
is Miss Jewels. FTP, name this Louis Sachar series about a really, really tall school.
ANSWER: Wayside School (accept anything with that title, including Sideways Stories from
Wayside School)
18. A minor character in this book is television personality Buster Friendly, who appears on the air
23 hours a day and attacks the philosophy of Wilbur Mercer. Another character is opera singer
Luba Luft, who is killed by Phil Resch in an elevator. At the end of this work, the protagonist
discovers an apparently live toad, which turns out to be robotic. Featuring Rick Deckard’s
hunting of Nexus-6 androids, FTP, name this Philip K. Dick work that inspired Blade Runner.
ANSWER: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (do not accept Blade Runner)
19. One of this character’s acquaintances says things like “Bless my vest buttons!” and is named
Wakefield Damon. In a series of 1980’s books, this character was aided by an American Indian
named Benjamin Franklin Walking Eagle, and this man was also aided by a black valet and a
South American prince named Rad and Koku. First appearing in [This Character] and His
Motorcycle, FTP, name this creation of Edward Stratemeyer, a genius boy inventor.
ANSWER: Tom Swift (accept either, accept Tom Swift Jr.)
20. A film by Gisaburo Sugii featured this character in a 1974 musical where he has a dog named
Crosby. Brian Henson made a 2001 miniseries starring Matthew Modine, which painted this man
as a deceitful thief. Played by Lou Costello in a 1952 film and by Mickey Mouse in a Fun and
Fancy Free segment which pitted him against Willie, FTP, name this guy who stole a harp and a
hen from a big dude who said “Fee fi fo fum” when he smelt this character.
ANSWER: Jack (accept Jack Robinson—either part)
21. One of this man’s works describes the alcohol-fueled goings-on at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in
Washington, D.C., while another features a teen computer hacker named Ian Restil. In one of his
works, Darrin Davis rats on his parents for their drug possession, a work harshly attacked by
D.A.R.E. Eventually dismissed after revelations about “ Hack Heaven” and other stories, FTP,
name this New Republic journalist fired in 1998 after being caught fabricating articles.
ANSWER: Stephen Glass
22. One character in this work is Gilbertson Montrose, a movie scenarist, while another is the
wealthy Gus Eisman, who is also known as the “Button King.” One of the main characters hails
from Little Rock and was once put on trial for shooting her boss. Ending with that character
marrying the pious Henry Spoffard, FTP, identify this comic Anita Loos novel about Lorelei Lee,
later followed by a sequel entitled But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.
ANSWER: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
23. This man formed the conservative Patrick Henry League in 1958. One of his works is about
Rhysling, a blind songwriter who writes the titular verse before dying, while another work
introduced the acronym “TANSTAAFL” or “There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.”
Besides “The Green Hills of Earth” and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, he is best known for
creating Martian-raised Valentine Michael Smith. FTP, name this author of the science-fiction
classic Stranger in a Strange Land.
ANSWER: Robert Heinlein
24. Under the alias “Jay Scotland,” this man wrote such potboilers as I, Barbarian and Sir Scoundrel.
He wrote the novelization of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and one of his more recent books
tells the story of railroad tycoon Sam Driver. Besides The Gods of Newport, he is better known
for a eight-novel series beginning with The Bastard that described the Kent family and another
book about the Hazard and Main families. FTP, name this author of North and South.
ANSWER: John Jakes
25. He is not Ken Saro-Wiwa, but his first novel is entitled On a Darkling Plain, while other works
include The Losers and The Valley. In 1969, this man wrote a biography of Elmyr de Hory, an art
forger, and appeared in the documentary about de Hory filmed by Orson Welles, F for Fake. This
man was played by Richard Gere in a 2005 film entitled The Hoax about his most famous work.
FTP, name this man who wrote a fraudulent biography of Howard Hughes.
ANSWER: Clifford Irving
26. A 1973 book by Philip Jose Farmer about this man’s “other log” posits that he is actually part of
the alien Eridani race. This character’s great-grandson appears in a 1963 Three Stooges film,
while a 2004 film presents this man as the rival of Baron Kelvin. Preferring his shaving water at
86 degrees Fahrenheit, he is thought to be a bank robber by Detective Fix. FTP, name this
member of the Reform Club, the protagonist of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days.
ANSWER: Phileas Fogg (accept either, also accept either form of Phineas Fogg)