East of Eden, Chapter 30 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What news does the letter from the Connecticut law firm bring Adam?

   • That the ranch in the Salinas Valley has been sold off
   • That his father's estate in Connecticut has at last been settled
   • Correct answer: That his brother Charles has died and left a large fortune
   • That his wife has filed for a legal separation in Salinas

   The letter reports that Charles died of a lung ailment and then reveals a fortune well in excess of one hundred thousand dollars.

   Read the passage
2. 2

   Question 2. Why does Adam put the letter away without telling Lee and the boys the rest of it?

   • Because the postmaster interrupts him to complain about cars
   • Correct answer: Because he reaches the terms of the will and needs to think alone
   • Because Cal keeps interrupting to ask how much money there is
   • Because Aron begins to cry over the uncle he only just learned he had

   Once he reads that the fortune is to be split with his wife, Adam folds the letter away and feels he must be alone to absorb it.

   Read the passage
3. 3

   Question 3. What does Cal stake in his bet with Aron?

   • The deer's-leg whistle he carries
   • Their father's borrowed pocketknife
   • His turn at the wheel of the Ford
   • Correct answer: His own taw, against Aron's whistle

   Cal bets his taw against Aron's deer's-leg whistle that the boys will be sent to bed right after supper.

   Read the passage
4. 4

   Question 4. How does Cal make certain that Aron will not tell on him?

   • Correct answer: He threatens to accuse Aron of stealing their father's knife
   • He reminds Aron that Abra would never speak to him again
   • He offers to let Aron ride in the front seat of the Ford
   • He promises to share whatever money their uncle left

   Cal makes clear the knife will go missing the next day, and Aron realizes he has no way to defend himself.

   Read the passage
5. 5

   Question 5. What wounds Cal during the scene in the wagon shed?

   • Correct answer: Aron asks him why he does all the tricky, sneaky things
   • Lee catches him pretending to drive and scolds him for it
   • Adam finds out about the bet and takes the whistle away
   • Aron refuses to climb into the parked Ford with him

   The question makes Cal's own planning seem mean and dirty to him, and he understands that his brother has found him out.

   Read the passage
6. 6

   Question 6. According to Lee, why does Adam already know what he will do about the money?

   • Because Charles left instructions in a second private letter
   • Because his wife has already written to claim her share
   • Because the lawyers have left him no legal alternative
   • Correct answer: Because his training will decide it before his thinking can

   Lee tells Adam his course is drawn and that, faced with two sets of morals, he will follow his training.

   Read the passage
7. 7

   Question 7. How does Lee end his argument with Adam?

   • He agrees to write out the reply to the lawyers himself
   • Correct answer: He delivers a cheerful obscenity and walks out the front door
   • He threatens to leave the ranch before the week is over
   • He takes back everything he has said and apologizes

   Lee pushes himself upright, smiles at Adam, says his two-word verdict amiably, and closes the door behind him.

   Read the passage
8. 8

   Question 8. What lie does Cal tell Aron at the end of the chapter?

   • That he heard nothing at all through the hall door
   • That their uncle left each of them a share of the money
   • Correct answer: That their father is sending a wreath to their mother
   • That their father is planning to sell the new Ford

   Cal invents an enormous wreath of carnations shipped by train and packed in ice, hiding what he actually overheard.

   Read the passage
9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in Chapter 30?

   • Adam receives a letter reporting his brother Charles's death.

     Happened

     At the King City post office Adam gets a letter from Bellows and Harvey reporting that Charles died of a lung ailment.

   • Cal bets his taw against Aron's deer's-leg whistle.

     Happened

     In the wagon shed Cal bets his taw against Aron's deer's-leg whistle that they will be sent to bed right after supper.

   • Adam reads the boys the full contents of the lawyers' letter.

     Didn't happen

     Adam says only that Charles is dead, then folds the letter into his inside pocket without telling the boys about the will.

   • Lee shows Adam a photograph of Cathy taken in Salinas.

     Didn't happen

     It is Adam who brings out a picture, a faded daguerreotype of Charles; no picture of Cathy appears in the chapter.

   • Aron says he wants to put flowers on his uncle's grave.

     Happened

     Aron suggests they put flowers on his uncle's grave and says Abra would help them.

   Read the passage
10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these happen during Adam and Lee's private conversation?

    • Lee studies an old photograph of Charles under the lamp.

      Happened

      Adam brings out a faded brown daguerreotype of Charles, and Lee shifts it this way and that under the lamp to study it.

    • Adam admits that Charles once tried to kill him.

      Happened

      Asked whether Charles liked him, Adam says he sometimes thought Charles loved him, and that Charles tried to kill him once.

    • Lee refuses to offer any opinion at all about the will.

      Didn't happen

      Lee lays out the problem for Adam, noting that under the will Adam's wife inherits over fifty thousand dollars, and tells him his course is already drawn.

    • Adam decides on the spot to send his wife nothing.

      Didn't happen

      Adam insists he has not made up his mind what to do about the money, and Lee walks out on him.

    • Lee smokes a pipe filled with cheap Chinese tobacco.

      Happened

      Lee smokes a long ebony pipe of cheap Chinese tobacco, which he says he associates with clarity.

    Read the passage
11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'ingress' mean as used in: "inspected the envelope for a point of ingress, found none"?

    • A crease left by folding paper
    • Correct answer: A way in, or a point of entry
    • A hidden message written in code
    • A printed return address label

    Adam is hunting for somewhere to slip his knife blade in without cutting the letter inside.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'testator' mean in Lee's remark that "Courts always try to follow the wishes of the testator"?

    • The lawyer who drafted the will
    • The heir named first in a will
    • The judge who approves an estate
    • Correct answer: The person who made the will

    Lee is pointing out that the law tries to honor what the dead man himself intended, and Adam has just told him that Charles hated his wife.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'taw' mean in Cal's wager, "I bet you this-here taw against that deer's-leg whistle"?

    • A small pocket-sized knife
    • A strip of tanned rawhide
    • Correct answer: A boy's prized shooting marble
    • A homemade slingshot handle

    Cal puts up his best marble as his side of the bet with his brother.

    Read the passage