The Stranger, Chapter 3 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. How does Meursault answer when his boss asks Maman's age?

   • He admits he never knew her exact age
   • Correct answer: He says "About sixty" to avoid a mistake
   • He gives her exact age and birth date
   • He changes the subject to the invoices

   Meursault says "About sixty" so as not to make a mistake, and the boss seems relieved to consider the matter closed.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What do Meursault and Emmanuel do on the way to lunch?

   • Stop to watch a fight break out on the docks
   • Take a streetcar straight to Céleste's place
   • Correct answer: Chase a noisy truck and leap onto it
   • Help unload freight from a docked ship

   They run after a rattling truck on the quay and jump aboard; Meursault grabs hold first and helps Emmanuel up.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How long have Salamano and his spaniel lived together?

   • Correct answer: Eight years
   • Two years
   • Fifteen years
   • Since last winter

   Meursault says the two have been inseparable for eight years and have not changed their walking route in all that time.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Raymond say his job is?

   • A harbor dispatcher
   • A shipping clerk
   • A garage mechanic
   • Correct answer: A warehouse guard

   Raymond calls himself a warehouse guard, though the word around the neighborhood is that he lives off women.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Who is the man Raymond fought on the streetcar?

   • A coworker from the warehouse
   • Correct answer: His mistress's brother
   • One of his underworld friends
   • Salamano's grown son

   Meursault learns that the man Raymond fought was the brother of Raymond's mistress.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What finally convinces Raymond that his mistress is cheating on him?

   • A letter he found hidden in her room
   • A neighbor who saw her with another man
   • Correct answer: A pawn ticket for two bracelets she owned
   • A photograph tucked inside her purse

   Along with a lottery ticket she couldn't explain, he found a pawn ticket proving she had pawned two bracelets he never knew existed.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why does Meursault agree to write the letter?

   • Correct answer: He has no reason not to please Raymond
   • He wants revenge on the woman as well
   • He is afraid of Raymond's temper
   • Raymond offers to pay him for the job

   Meursault says he tried his best to please Raymond because he didn't have any reason not to please him.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What sound ends the chapter as Meursault stands on the landing?

   • A car passing in the empty street
   • The last streetcar leaving the stop
   • Raymond laughing behind his door
   • Correct answer: Salamano's dog whimpering softly

   In the quiet house Meursault hears the blood in his ears and, from Salamano's room, the dog whimpering softly.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events happen in Part One, Chapter 3?

   • Meursault eats lunch at Céleste's after running with Emmanuel.

     Happened

   • Marie visits Meursault at the office in the afternoon.

     Didn't happen

   • Salamano beats and curses his dog on the stairs.

     Happened

   • Raymond mails the letter before Meursault goes home.

     Didn't happen

   • Raymond fries blood sausage and serves wine.

     Happened

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these details about Raymond's evening with Meursault are true?

    • Raymond wraps a bandage around his right hand.

      Happened

    • Meursault tells Raymond the woman is surely innocent.

      Didn't happen

    • Raymond's underworld friends suggested "marking" the woman.

      Happened

    • Raymond says he heard about Maman's death.

      Happened

    • Meursault tells Raymond the plan is disgusting.

      Didn't happen

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'cowers' mean in: 'The dog cowers and trails behind.'?

    • Barks loudly to warn off
    • Runs ahead of its owner
    • Correct answer: Shrinks back in fear
    • Sniffs along the ground

    To cower is to crouch or shrink back in fear, as the beaten dog does behind Salamano.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'dubious' mean in: 'a pretty dubious-looking bandage'?

    • Brand-new and carefully sterile
    • Correct answer: Suspect and not to be trusted
    • Brightly colored and patterned
    • Tightly wound and professional

    Dubious means doubtful or suspect; Raymond's bandage looks far from clean or reliable.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'dank' mean in: 'a breath of dark, dank air wafted up from deep in the stairwell'?

    • Correct answer: Damp, cold and stale
    • Warm, dry and fresh
    • Sweet with perfume
    • Thick with cigarette smoke

    Dank describes unpleasantly damp, cold air, fitting the dark stairwell where the chapter ends.

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