The Stranger, Chapter 5 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Lying in his new cell, what does Meursault keep wondering about?

   • Correct answer: Whether any condemned man ever escaped the machinery
   • Whether Marie has hired a new lawyer to reopen his case
   • Whether Raymond will be called to testify at a new hearing
   • Whether the prison will let him visit Maman's grave

   He wonders whether condemned men have ever escaped the relentless machinery and blames himself for not reading accounts of executions.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What bothers Meursault about the guillotine once he remembers the newspaper photograph?

   • It is far larger and louder than he had imagined
   • It is usually set up in a public square at noon
   • Correct answer: It stands on the ground, so there is no scaffold to climb
   • It is operated by a crowd of soldiers in uniform

   He had pictured climbing stairs into the sky, but the machine sits on the same level as the man, so you are killed discreetly and with great precision.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Which saying of Maman's does Meursault find to be true in prison?

   • Bad news always comes at the end of a long day
   • Correct answer: You can always find something to be happy about
   • A man should always keep his troubles to himself
   • Hard work is the only real cure for any worry

   Each dawn that passes without footsteps means another twenty-four hours, which he counts as luck.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Meursault usually begin his reasoning about the appeal?

   • By imagining a pardon and the years it would give him
   • By rehearsing what he would say to a new jury
   • By counting the days since the sentence was read
   • Correct answer: By assuming the worst, that his appeal has been denied

   He always starts with the worst case, reasons that dying at thirty or seventy comes to the same thing, and only then lets himself imagine a pardon.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Why does the chaplain say he calls Meursault "my friend"?

   • Because they grew up in the same neighborhood of Algiers
   • Because Meursault's lawyer asked him to be kind to him
   • Correct answer: Because in his view all people are condemned to die
   • Because he has been assigned to him until the appeal ends

   The chaplain says it is not because Meursault is condemned; as he sees it, we are all condemned to die. Meursault replies that this is not the same thing.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What face does Meursault say he once looked for in the stones of his cell?

   • Correct answer: Marie's face, as bright as the sun and desire
   • Maman's face, as she looked at the old people's home
   • The face of the Arab he shot on the beach
   • A divine face, like the one the chaplain describes

   He says the face he searched for was as bright as the sun and the flame of desire and belonged to Marie, and that he never saw anything emerge from the stones.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does the novel's final sentence suggest about Meursault?

   • He hopes the crowd will pity him and ask for mercy
   • Correct answer: He has accepted his fate and wants no false forgiveness
   • He plans a last escape in the confusion of the crowd
   • He regrets the killing and wants to be publicly punished

   He wishes for spectators who greet him with cries of hate, which would confirm his refusal to pretend and make him feel less alone.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events happen in Part Two, Chapter 5?

   • Meursault grabs the chaplain by the collar of his cassock.

     Happened

   • The chaplain tells Meursault his appeal has been denied.

     Didn't happen

   • The chaplain asks if he can embrace Meursault, and Meursault says no.

     Happened

   • Marie visits Meursault one last time in his cell.

     Didn't happen

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these are part of Meursault's thoughts or experiences in this chapter?

   • He remembers his father coming home sick after watching an execution.

     Happened

   • He writes a letter to Marie asking her to forgive him.

     Didn't happen

   • He wakes under the stars after the chaplain leaves.

     Happened

   • He asks the chaplain to hear his confession before dawn.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'implacable' mean in: 'out of the implacable ritual'?

    • Performed in secret, away from the public
    • Old-fashioned and rarely used anymore
    • Correct answer: Unable to be stopped, softened, or changed
    • Confusing to anyone watching it from outside

    Implacable means relentless and unchangeable, fitting the fixed process that leads to execution.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'tacit' mean in: 'a tacit agreement that there was no question of going back on'?

    • Written into law and signed by officials
    • Correct answer: Understood without being stated out loud
    • Reached after a long and bitter argument
    • Temporary and likely to be changed later

    A tacit agreement is understood by everyone without being spoken, like the unspoken rule that the condemned man must die.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'respite' mean in: 'evening was a kind of wistful respite'?

    • Correct answer: A short rest or relief from something hard
    • A formal goodbye before a long journey
    • A feeling of guilt over past mistakes
    • A time of loud celebration, music, and dancing

    A respite is a pause from difficulty; for the old people in the home, evening brought a brief, wistful relief.

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