Demon in the Wood Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes
Test your knowledge of Leigh Bardugo's Demon in the Wood with this 20-question quiz covering plot, character motivation, themes, and synthesis. Use the answer key at the bottom to check your work. For deeper analysis, see the book overview, questions and answers, and ending explained.
The quiz spans the entire story, from Eryk's arrival at the northern Grisha camp to his vow to create a haven for his kind.
Each question is grounded in the events and themes of the chapter, so you can test both recall and interpretation.
Good luck!
(Note: The second chapter of the book is a promotional teaser for Six of Crows and is not covered here.)
Plot and Sequence Questions
1. What name was Eryk originally supposed to have before his mother changed it?
2. Where do Eryk and his mother plan to stay until the thaw?
A. A southern city
B. A northern Grisha camp
C. A village near the border
D. A forest hut
3. Who bullies the sisters Annika and Sylvi by the stream?
4. What does Annika discover when she touches Eryk's hand?
A. He is a Heartrender
B. He is an amplifier
C. He is a drüskelle spy
D. He is afraid of water
5. How does Annika lure Eryk to the hot-spring pond?
6. What happens when Lev arrives at the pond?
A. Eryk escapes and hides
B. Eryk unleashes the Cut, killing both Annika and Lev
C. Annika kills Lev and blames Eryk
D. Lev kills Annika and wounds Eryk
7. How does Eryk make the deaths look like an otkazat'sya attack?
8. What do Eryk's mother and the camp do in retaliation?
A. They flee to another camp
B. They slaughter and burn a nearby village
C. They surrender to the drüskelle
D. They hold a funeral and leave
Character Motivation Questions
9. Why does Eryk's mother give him a new name?
10. Why does Annika plan to kill Eryk?
A. She is jealous of his power
B. She wants his bones as an amplifier
C. She is ordered by the Ulle
D. She fears he will betray the camp
11. Why does Lev come to the pond?
A. To rescue Annika
B. To claim Eryk's power for himself
C. To apologize for bullying
D. To warn Eryk about the drüskelle
12. Why does Eryk decide to go swimming with Annika despite his mother's caution?
13. Why does Eryk's mother say she would burn a thousand villages?
Theme and Symbol Questions
14. What does the Cut symbolize in the story?
A. Eryk's latent power and his first violent act
B. The unity of the Grisha camp
C. The power of the drüskelle
D. The bond between Eryk and his mother
15. How does the story use shadows as a symbol?
A. They represent the Grisha's need to hide and survive
B. They show the beauty of nature
C. They stand for the warmth of home
D. They indicate the coming of spring
16. What does the hot-spring pond symbolize?
A. A place of healing
B. A trap and false safety
C. A meeting point for friends
D. A symbol of the Grisha's freedom
17. Which theme is most central to the story?
Synthesis Questions
18. How does Eryk's experience at the camp shape his vow to create a safe place for Grisha?
19. Compare Annika's betrayal with Lev's greed. How do both reflect the theme of fear and greed as responses to power?
20. What does the story suggest about the cost of trust in a world where Grisha are hunted?
Answer Key
1. Arkady.
Eryk's mother tells him he was supposed to be Arkady, but she changes it to Eryk to fit the northern tongue.
2. B. A northern Grisha camp.
The story opens with Eryk and his mother arriving at a Grisha camp in the north, where they plan to stay until the thaw.
3. Lev.
Lev, the Ulle's son, bullies Annika and Sylvi by the stream, calling Sylvi a runt and threatening her.
4. B. He is an amplifier.
When Annika touches Eryk's hand, she senses that he is an amplifier, a rare and valuable Grisha trait.
5. She invites him swimming.
Annika suggests they go swimming at a pond fed by hot springs, which is the trap she sets for Eryk.
6. B. Eryk unleashes the Cut, killing both Annika and Lev.
In the struggle at the pond, Eryk uses the Cut for the first time, fatally wounding both Annika and Lev.
7. He wounds himself.
Eryk inflicts a serious wound on himself to make the deaths look like an attack by otkazat'sya, shifting blame away from him.
8. B. They slaughter and burn a nearby village.
Eryk's mother and the camp retaliate by killing all the villagers and burning their houses, as described in the chapter.
9. To hide his identity and protect him.
Eryk's mother gives him a false name to conceal who he really is, part of their survival strategy as Grisha.
10. B. She wants his bones as an amplifier.
Annika plans to kill Eryk and take his bones, which are valuable to Grisha who seek amplifiers.
11. B. To claim Eryk's power for himself.
Lev arrives at the pond intending to take Eryk's power, not to help Annika.
12. He wants to belong and have friends.
Eryk decides to go swimming because he hopes to fit in and make friends at the camp, despite his mother's warnings.
13. To keep him safe.
Eryk's mother declares she would burn a thousand villages and sacrifice a thousand lives to protect her son.
14. A. Eryk's latent power and his first violent act.
The Cut represents Eryk's hidden strength and the moment he uses it to kill, marking a turning point in his life.
15. A. They represent the Grisha's need to hide and survive.
Shadows symbolize the Grisha's existence—living in secrecy, forced to hide and change their shapes to avoid persecution.
16. B. A trap and false safety.
The hot-spring pond appears inviting but becomes the site of Annika's betrayal and Eryk's violent awakening.
17. No safe place for Grisha.
The story emphasizes that Grisha have no haven, as Eryk's mother and the Ulle both acknowledge, and Eryk vows to create one.
18. Eryk's experience at the camp—being betrayed by Annika, attacked by Lev, and witnessing the violent retaliation—convinces him that Grisha are never safe.
He promises to create a haven, a place where Grisha can live without fear.
19. Annika's betrayal stems from her desire to gain power through Eryk's bones, while Lev's greed drives him to claim Eryk's power for himself.
Both are responses to the desperation and fear that come from living as hunted Grisha, showing how power can corrupt even those who seem friendly.
20. The story suggests that trust is dangerous in a world where Grisha are hunted.
Eryk's trust in Annika leads to a deadly trap, and his mother's caution about revealing secrets is validated.
The cost of trust is betrayal and violence, reinforcing the theme that Grisha must rely on deception to survive.