The Stranger, Chapter 2 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why had Meursault's boss seemed annoyed about the two days off?

   • Correct answer: With the weekend, the leave gave Meursault four days away
   • Meursault had asked for the time off without any notice
   • The office was short of staff during the busy end of month
   • Meursault had already used up all of his vacation that year

   Waking on Saturday, Meursault realizes that the two days plus the weekend add up to four days' vacation.

   Read the passage
2. 2

   Question 2. Where does Meursault run into Marie Cardona?

   • At Céleste's restaurant during his usual lunch
   • On the streetcar on his way to the office
   • Correct answer: In the water at the public beach by the harbor
   • Outside the movie theater in the town center

   He takes the streetcar to the public beach at the harbor and meets her while swimming in the channel.

   Read the passage
3. 3

   Question 3. What makes Marie ask whether Meursault is in mourning?

   • He tells her about the vigil at the home
   • Correct answer: She notices the black tie he is wearing
   • She overhears him talking to his boss
   • He refuses to laugh at the funny movie

   Once they are dressed, she is surprised to see his black tie and asks if he is in mourning.

   Read the passage
4. 4

   Question 4. How does Meursault describe the Fernandel movie?

   • Sad enough to remind him of Maman's funeral
   • Too long, so he fell asleep before the end
   • Better than any movie he had seen that year
   • Correct answer: Funny in parts, but otherwise just too stupid

   He says the movie was funny in parts, but otherwise it was just too stupid.

   Read the passage
5. 5

   Question 5. Why doesn't Meursault eat lunch at Céleste's on Sunday?

   • Céleste's is always closed on Sundays
   • Marie asked him to stay home and wait
   • Correct answer: They would ask him questions he dislikes
   • He had no money left after the movies

   He expects people at Céleste's to ask questions, and he says he doesn't like that.

   Read the passage
6. 6

   Question 6. What does Meursault clip from an old newspaper and keep?

   • A notice about his mother's funeral
   • Correct answer: An advertisement for Kruschen Salts
   • A listing of the week's movie times
   • A report on the local soccer match

   He cuts out an advertisement for Kruschen Salts and sticks it in a notebook of things that interest him.

   Read the passage
7. 7

   Question 7. What does Meursault copy from the tobacconist across the street?

   • Correct answer: Straddling a turned-around chair
   • Smoking cigarettes on the doorstep
   • Waving at the passing soccer fans
   • Sweeping sawdust out of the café

   He turns his chair around like the tobacconist because he finds it more comfortable that way.

   Read the passage
8. 8

   Question 8. What conclusion does Meursault reach at the end of the chapter?

   • He should visit Maman's grave very soon
   • He needs to find a smaller apartment now
   • Marie will surely want to marry him now
   • Correct answer: Really, nothing in his life had changed

   He thinks that one more Sunday is over, Maman is buried, he is going back to work, and really, nothing had changed.

   Read the passage
9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events happen in Part One, Chapter 2?

   • Meursault rests his head on Marie's stomach on the float.

     Happened

   • Marie asks Meursault to take her to his mother's grave.

     Didn't happen

   • Marie leaves Sunday morning to go to her aunt's.

     Happened

   • Meursault eats lunch with his boss at Céleste's.

     Didn't happen

   • A soccer fan yells up to Meursault from a streetcar.

     Happened

   • Meursault writes a letter describing the funeral.

     Didn't happen

   Read the passage
10. 10

    Question 10. The neighborhood emptied out "almost imperceptibly." What does imperceptibly mean?

    • Suddenly and all at the same moment
    • Loudly, with a great deal of noise
    • Correct answer: So gradually it can hardly be noticed
    • Completely, leaving no one behind

    Imperceptibly means so slightly or gradually that the change can barely be seen.

    Read the passage
11. 11

    Question 11. Neighbors said the frail little man was "distinguished." What does distinguished mean here?

    • Correct answer: Dignified and refined in manner
    • Easy to tell apart from others
    • Famous for some past achievement
    • Nervous and eager to be noticed

    Here distinguished means having a dignified, respectable appearance.

    Read the passage
12. 12

    Question 12. The tobacconist "straddled" his chair. What does straddled mean?

    • Tipped it back on two legs
    • Correct answer: Sat with a leg on each side
    • Dragged it across the floor
    • Stood on it to see farther

    To straddle is to sit with one leg on each side of something, as he does with the chair turned backward.

    Read the passage