The Stranger, Chapter 2 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. According to Meursault, when did his time in prison really begin?

   • On the morning he was first questioned by the magistrate
   • Correct answer: After Marie's first and last visit and her letter
   • When he was moved into a cell by himself
   • The night he first felt bugs crawling on his face

   He says he was only waiting during the first days; it all started after Marie's visit and the letter saying she could no longer come.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why does Marie say she can no longer visit Meursault?

   • Her employer will not give her the time off to come
   • His lawyer has advised against further visits
   • Correct answer: She is not allowed because she is not his wife
   • Raymond has warned her to stay away from him

   Her letter explains that she will no longer be allowed to come because she is not his wife, a prison rule rather than her choice.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What makes the visiting room so hard for Meursault to bear?

   • Correct answer: The echoing shouts and harsh light make him dizzy
   • The guards listen closely to every word he says
   • Marie keeps asking him about the day of the crime
   • The room is so dark he can barely see her face

   The voices echoing off bare walls and the light pouring through the bay window bring on a kind of dizziness, and the noise becomes painful.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Meursault explain to himself why his cigarettes were taken away?

   • They were a fire risk in the crowded cells
   • He was being punished for a fight with a guard
   • Tobacco was reserved for prisoners who worked
   • Correct answer: Losing them was simply part of the punishment

   At first he cannot see why they were taken, since they hurt nobody; later he realizes that too was part of the punishment.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does Meursault conclude from mentally touring his old room?

   • That he had never really paid attention to his own life
   • That he should ask the guards for a few books to read
   • Correct answer: That a man who lived one day could last a hundred years in prison
   • That memory fades quickly once a man is behind bars

   Each tour turns up more forgotten details, so he decides a single day of life would supply enough memories to keep a prisoner from boredom for a century.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What is Meursault's verdict on the traveler in the Czech newspaper story?

   • Correct answer: He deserved what he got, since you should never play games
   • He was the innocent victim of a mother's greed
   • He should have brought his wife and child with him
   • His story proves that newspapers cannot be trusted

   Meursault thinks the traveler pretty much deserved his fate for hiding his identity as a joke, and says you should never play games.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Meursault realize when he hears his own voice at the end of the chapter?

   • That the guard has been listening at his door
   • That his voice has grown hoarse from disuse
   • That he is ready to speak at his own trial
   • Correct answer: That he has been talking to himself for days

   He recognizes the voice that has been ringing in his ears for many days and realizes he has been talking to himself all that time.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events happen during Marie's visit?

   • Marie tells Meursault that Raymond sends his regards.

     Happened

   • Marie tells Meursault he will be acquitted and they will go swimming again.

     Happened

   • Meursault asks Marie to bring him cigarettes on her next visit.

     Didn't happen

   • A young man says goodbye to his mother as a guard leads him out.

     Happened

   • Marie cries and turns away before Meursault leaves the room.

     Didn't happen

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these details appear in the Czech newspaper story Meursault finds?

   • The man returns to his village rich after twenty-five years away.

     Happened

   • His mother recognizes him but pretends not to.

     Didn't happen

   • The mother and sister kill him in the night to rob him.

     Happened

   • The police arrest the sister after she confesses.

     Didn't happen

   • The mother hangs herself after learning who he was.

     Happened

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'subdued' mean in: 'Their subdued murmuring, coming from lower down, formed a kind of bass accompaniment'?

    • Angry and full of resentment
    • Correct answer: Quiet and restrained
    • Rapid and nervous
    • Formal and polite

    The Arab families speak in very low voices, so their murmuring is quiet and restrained beneath the shouting.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'enumerating' mean in: 'I could spend hours just enumerating the things that were in my room'?

    • Rearranging in a new order
    • Imagining improvements to
    • Correct answer: Listing one by one
    • Longing to return to

    Enumerating means naming items one after another, which is exactly the inventory Meursault builds from memory.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'cortege' mean in: 'the sounds of evening would rise up from every floor of the prison in a cortege of silence'?

    • A sudden outburst
    • A long locked corridor
    • Correct answer: A solemn procession
    • A shared meal

    A cortege is a solemn procession, often a funeral one, which gives the evening hour its mournful feel.

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