East of Eden, Chapter 51 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Sheriff Quinn do with the photographs found in Joe Valery's pockets?

   • He mails one print to each man on his list.
   • He locks them in Kate's safe-deposit box for the inquest.
   • Correct answer: He burns the envelopes and negatives in his office stove.
   • He turns them over to the Salinas Morning Journal.

   Quinn drops the manila envelopes, negatives included, into the iron stove and pokes the sheets until they are powder. He then tells the lawyer to notify the men that the pictures are gone.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Who inherits under Kate's two-line will?

   • Correct answer: Aron Trask
   • Lee the cook
   • Adam Trask
   • Cal Trask

   The lawyer says the will is valid if Catherine Trask wrote it and Aron is her son. Adam says Cal already knows, then wonders why she made the will to Aron.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Besides money, what else does Quinn find in Kate's safe-deposit box?

   • A letter addressed to Faye
   • Joe Valery's missing gun
   • A second set of photographs
   • Correct answer: A marriage certificate

   Old Bob lets Quinn open the box without a court order. Quinn reports over a hundred thousand dollars in gold certificates, money in bales, and one other thing: a marriage certificate.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Adam first react when Quinn says Kate killed herself?

   • He demands that Quinn arrest the lawyer.
   • Correct answer: He weeps and offers to claim and bury her.
   • He immediately tears up the will.
   • He laughs and asks for a warrant.

   Adam's face contorts; he weeps and calls her his poor darling, then offers to claim her. Quinn advises against it unless Adam feels he must.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does Cal say when Adam asks where Aron has been for two nights?

   • Lee sent him to the draft board with a note.
   • He went back to college this morning.
   • He is sleeping off a drunk at the Abbot House.
   • Correct answer: How do I know? Am I supposed to look after him?

   Cal denies knowing and asks whether he is supposed to look after him. A tiny bright blue light then flashes behind Adam's eyes.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What name does Adam call Sheriff Quinn as the sheriff leaves?

   • Robert
   • Horace
   • Correct answer: George
   • Samuel

   After the blue flash, Adam thanks him as George. Quinn questions the wrong name, but Adam only thanks him again.

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7. 7

   Question 7. According to Lee, why did Cal take Aron to Kate's?

   • He wanted Kate's fortune written over to Aron.
   • Correct answer: He was mad because his father had hurt his feelings.
   • Quinn ordered him to come identify Kate's body.
   • He hoped Aron would enlist and leave town.

   Lee tells Cal not to make it complicated: he was mad at Aron because his father hurt his feelings, and he was just mean.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Lee read on the yellow government postcard?

   • Correct answer: Aron is in the army and said he was eighteen.
   • Aron asks Adam to tear up Kate's will.
   • Aron wants Cal to meet him at the roundhouse.
   • Aron has gone back to college for the term.

   Adam cannot keep the letters still. Lee reads that Aron is in the army, told them he was eighteen, and says not to worry.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in Chapter 51?

   • Quinn burns Kate's photographs and negatives in the iron stove.

     Happened

     Quinn crunches up a newspaper, lights it in his office stove, drops the manila envelopes on the flame, and tells his visitor the negatives were in there.

   • Adam weeps and offers to claim Kate's body.

     Happened

     When Quinn tells him she killed herself, Adam weeps, calls her his poor darling, and says, "I'll claim her. I'll bury her."

   • Quinn publishes the photographs in the Salinas Morning Journal.

     Didn't happen

     Quinn only crunches up the Salinas Morning Journal to start the fire in his stove, then burns the pictures in it.

   • Adam tears up Kate's will so Aron will never see it.

     Didn't happen

     Adam suggests tearing the will up, but Quinn tells him they can't, and Adam agrees to do what Quinn advises.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events actually occur in Chapter 51?

    • Cal burns the rejected bills in a porcelain pin tray.

      Happened

      In his room Cal lights the crisp bills one at a time and drops each charred chip in a porcelain pin tray until all are burned.

    • Lee reads a postcard saying Aron has enlisted.

      Happened

      Adam cannot read the yellow government postcard, so Lee reads it aloud: Aron writes that he is in the army and told them he was eighteen.

    • Cal confesses to Adam and Sheriff Quinn that he took Aron to Kate's.

      Didn't happen

      Cal knows he should tell his guilt to his father, but in front of Quinn he is surly and only says he does not know where Aron is.

    • Aron comes home and is told about Kate's will.

      Didn't happen

      Aron never comes home in this chapter; Lee says he is not back yet, and the only word from him is the postcard.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'intrepid' mean as used in: 'We knew he was intrepid, for he had held his own in various gunfights'?

    • Correct answer: Fearless in the face of danger
    • Secretive about official work
    • Quick to take a convenient bribe
    • Tired of holding public office

    Intrepid means bold or fearless. The narrator uses it of Quinn because he has held his own in gunfights.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'inscrutable' mean as used in: 'the expression that is called inscrutable'?

    • Openly angry and ready to shout
    • Tired from waiting in a chair
    • Ready to laugh at a private joke
    • Correct answer: Impossible to read or interpret

    Inscrutable means impossible to interpret. Lee smiles that way while refusing to start the lecture Cal wants.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'eminence' mean as used in: 'the eminence of being a murderer'?

    • A legal pardon from the court
    • Correct answer: High standing or distinction
    • A hidden or unproven crime
    • Physical exhaustion after work

    Eminence means high standing. Lee mocks Cal for wanting the distinction of being a murderer if Aron is harmed.

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