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Fictional Characters 2
Abraham Van Helsing is the arch enemy of Count Dracula.

Fictional Characters 2

Fictional characters feel gripping when their choices matter. This quiz looks at what drives them, from hidden desires to clashing loyalties, and how those forces shape unforgettable stories.

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Fascinating Fact:

Strong characters usually have clear motivations, such as a desire for power, love, freedom or justice, which drive the plot forward.

In Specialist Books, this quiz looks at fictional characters whose goals and inner drives push a story onward. You’ll consider how their decisions, risks and loyalties shape the plots they inhabit.

  • Protagonist: The main character a story follows, whose goals and choices drive most of the action.
  • Antagonist: A character or force that challenges the protagonist and creates conflict.
  • Motivation: The reasons, needs or desires that explain why a character behaves in a particular way.
What does motivation mean for a fictional character?

A character’s motivation is what they want or fear and why. It explains the choices they make, from small everyday actions to big, life-changing decisions in the story.

How do authors show a character’s motivation without saying it directly?

Authors hint at motivation through thoughts, dialogue, body language and repeated patterns of behaviour. Readers can infer what a character wants by watching what they choose and what they avoid.

Why are strong motivations important in stories?

Strong motivations give characters clear aims, raise the stakes and make conflicts believable. This keeps readers engaged because they understand what is at risk for each major character.

1 .
How did Daisy Ashford describe Mr Salteena in the opening sentence of her 1919 novel The Young Visiters?
An elderly man of 42
An elderly man of 52
An elderly man of 62
An elderly man of 72
She was only nine when she wrote it and it is full of spelling mistakes
2 .
What is the name of the former preacher who features in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath?
Jim Carmody
Jim Carson
Jim Cassidy
Jim Casy
He's killed by vigilantes while leading a fruit-pickers' strike
3 .
What is the name of the sadistic head chef in the Mervyn Peake novel Titus Groan?
Swallow
Swatter
Sweater
Swelter
Titus Groan is the first novel in the Gormenghast series
4 .
In Bram Stoker's Dracula, what is the first name of the vampire hunter Van Helsing?
Aaron
Abraham
Amos
Azariah
Van Helsing has been played in film by many actors including Peter Cushing, Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins and David Suchet
5 .
What is the name of the title character in Anthony Trollope's 1855 novel The Warden?
Septimus Harding
Septimus Henning
Septimus Holding
Septimus Hosking
This was first of Trollope's Barchester novels
6 .
In the Helen Fielding novel Bridget Jones's Diary, what is the name of Bridget's boss?
Daniel Clary
Daniel Clavering
Daniel Cleary
Daniel Cleaver
In the films Cleaver is played by Hugh Grant
7 .
What is the name of the title character in J M Synge's play The Playboy of the Western World?
Christy Magee
Christy Mahon
Christy Molloy
Christy Moore
Christy Moore is an Irish folk singer
8 .
In J D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, what is the first name of Holden Caulfield's little sister?
Judy
Monica
Phoebe
Rachel
The novel recounts Holden Caulfield's week in New York City following his expulsion from Pencey Prep
9 .
In George Eliot's Middlemarch, what is the surname of the sisters Dorothea and Celia?
Brand
Brent
Bright
Brooke
Middlemarch has the subtitle A Study of Provincial Life
10 .
In the Dickens novel Bleak House, what is the name of the character who is always sponging off John Jarndyce?
Harold Grimpole
Harold Primpole
Harold Skimpole
Harold Wimpole
Skimpole is irresponsible and selfish, though he sees himself as "a child" who doesn't understand human relationships

 

Author:  Tony Rennick (Art and Literature Critic)

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