Olga Dies Dreaming Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters & Themes
Olga Dies Dreaming Quiz
Test your knowledge of Xóchitl González's novel with these 20 questions covering plot, character motivation, themes, and big-picture synthesis. For multiple-choice questions, choose the best answer. For short-answer questions, write a concise response based on the novel's events and ideas.
Plot & Sequence (Questions 1–8)
1. What happens to Jan, the floor captain, in the early chapters?
- A) He quits to start his own catering company
- B) He dies by suicide after testing positive for HIV
- C) He moves to Poland to care for his mother
- D) He is fired for stealing from a client
2. What does Olga do with the unused custom napkins from Mrs. Henderson's wedding?
- A) She returns them to the client for a refund
- B) She donates them to a homeless shelter
- C) She keeps them for her cousin Mabel's wedding
- D) She sells them to a rival wedding planner
3. What is the outcome of Olga's reality TV pilot, "Spice It Up"?
- A) It becomes a hit and launches her career
- B) It is rejected by the network and airs once at 5 A.M.
- C) It wins an award for diversity in television
- D) It is canceled after Olga refuses to dance salsa
4. What does Prieto receive in the mail after voting for PROMESA?
- A) A letter from his mother praising his decision
- B) A box of worms sent by his mother
- C) A subpoena from a congressional committee
- D) A check from the Selby brothers
5. What happens at the Blumenthal party that draws attention to Olga?
- A) She gives a political speech
- B) A guest named Christian falls and she helps him up
- C) She argues with Dick in front of the crowd
- D) She spills champagne on the hostess
6. What does Olga do during her live segment on Good Morning, Later after Hurricane Maria?
- A) She promotes her wedding business
- B) She abandons the wedding segment to criticize the federal response
- C) She announces her engagement to Matteo
- D) She reads a poem by Pedro Pietri
7. What does Prieto reveal at his press conference in Sunset Park?
- A) He is retiring from politics
- B) He is gay and HIV-positive
- C) He is running for governor of Puerto Rico
- D) He is marrying his longtime partner
8. After Olga's business collapses, what job does Igor offer her?
- A) Planning a luxury wedding in the Hamptons
- B) Planning a first birthday party that appears to cost $500,000 but costs far less
- C) Managing a catering hall in Brighton Beach
- D) Organizing a fundraiser for the Selby brothers
Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)
9. Why does Olga take the extra napkins from Mrs. Henderson's wedding? (Short answer)
10. Why does Prieto cancel the PROMESA oversight hearing?
- A) He believes the board is doing a good job
- B) He is blackmailed by the Selby brothers with photos of him with men
- C) He wants to save money for his reelection campaign
- D) He is convinced by his mother's arguments
11. Why does Olga agree to help her mother purchase solar panels through Dick?
- A) She wants to make a profit from the deal
- B) She hopes to earn her mother's love and approval
- C) She is forced to by the Pañuelos Negros
- D) She wants to hurt Dick financially
12. Why does Dick slap Olga during their dinner?
- A) She refuses to cook for him
- B) He is enraged that she is seeing someone else and feels manipulated
- C) She insults his family
- D) He discovers she stole money from him
13. Why does Olga decide to confess everything to Matteo in the Christmas room? (Short answer)
Theme & Symbol (Questions 14–17)
14. What does the black rosary from Abuelita's altar symbolize for Olga?
- A) Her desire to become a nun
- B) Her connection to her grandmother and her longing to feel loved
- C) Her fear of punishment for her sins
- D) Her rejection of religion
15. What does the box of worms sent to Prieto symbolize?
- A) The decay of his political career
- B) His mother's disapproval and the corruption of his ideals
- C) The spread of disease in his community
- D) His guilt over his father's death
16. In Olga's dream, what does the lion tamer (her mother) represent?
- A) Her mother's strength and courage
- B) Her mother as a consuming force that swallows her
- C) Her mother's love of the circus
- D) Her mother's desire to protect her
17. What does the Pañuelos Negros represent in the novel? (Short answer)
Synthesis (Questions 18–20)
18. How does the novel explore the theme of "double lives" through characters like Jan, Prieto, and Olga? (Short answer)
19. Compare Olga's and Prieto's relationships with their mother. How do their experiences differ? (Short answer)
20. What is the significance of the title Olga Dies Dreaming in relation to Olga's internal conflict? (Short answer)
Answer Key
1. B) Jan dies by suicide after testing positive for HIV. Christian reveals this at the wake, explaining that Jan withdrew and left a note. (Chapter 3)
2. C) Olga keeps the napkins for her cousin Mabel's wedding, justifying it as a redistribution of resources from a wealthy client to her family. (Chapter 2)
3. B) The network declines the show after focus testing found white audiences uncomfortable; it airs once at 5 A.M. (Chapter 8)
4. B) Prieto receives a box of worms, which he recognizes as a message from his mother after his PROMESA vote. (Chapter 21)
5. B) Christian falls, and Olga helps him up and directs staff to clean up, earning praise from Laurel and her daughter. (Chapter 24)
6. B) Olga abandons the wedding segment to deliver a scathing critique of the federal response to Hurricane Maria, ending with a pointed message to the president. (Chapter 39)
7. B) Prieto comes out as a Latino, HIV-positive gay man and announces his reelection campaign. (Chapter 50)
8. B) Igor offers Olga a job planning a first birthday party that appears to cost half a million dollars while actually spending far less, with clients expecting to recover $400,000. (Chapter 41)
9. Olga takes the napkins because she resents Mabel's engagement and promotion, and she sees the theft as an equalization of resources for her family. She also profits from the markup on the custom napkins. (Chapter 2)
10. B) Prieto is blackmailed by the Selby brothers with photos of him with men, forcing him to vote for redevelopment and later to block the PROMESA oversight hearing. (Chapter 16)
11. B) Olga agrees to help her mother because she hopes to earn her mother's love and approval, a longing that has shaped her life. (Chapter 44)
12. B) Dick slaps Olga when she tells him she is seeing someone else and he feels manipulated by her business proposition. (Chapter 46)
13. Olga confesses everything to Matteo because she wants to be honest with him, and she realizes she loves him and trusts him enough to share her shame and secrets. (Chapter 51)
14. B) The rosary connects Olga to her grandmother and represents her longing to feel loved again, as she prays for that feeling in the church. (Chapter 20)
15. B) The worms symbolize his mother's disapproval and the decay of his political integrity after he compromised his values by voting for PROMESA. (Chapter 21)
16. B) In the dream, the lion tamer (her mother) swallows Olga whole, representing her mother as a consuming force and Olga's fear of being devoured by her mother's demands and abandonment. (Chapter 37)
17. The Pañuelos Negros represent a decentralized Puerto Rican independence movement, a secret network that uses militant tactics and mutual aid to resist colonialism and demand self-determination. (Chapters 33, 43)
18. The novel shows how characters hide essential parts of themselves to survive: Jan lives a double life as a gay man hiding his HIV status; Prieto hides his sexuality and HIV from the public; Olga hides her family's revolutionary past and her own moral compromises. These double lives create isolation and fear, but also reveal the cost of secrecy and the possibility of liberation through truth-telling.
19. Olga and Prieto both crave their mother's love, but they respond differently. Olga seeks her approval through success and later through helping with the solar panels, while Prieto compromises his political values to win her favor, only to be rejected when he reveals his HIV status. Olga eventually chooses to "bury" her mother and move on, while Prieto comes out publicly and rebuilds his life with his daughter.
20. The title references Pedro Pietri's "Puerto Rican Obituary," which describes a person who dies dreaming of money and assimilation. Olga's mother worries she will become that Olga—ashamed of her identity and chasing material success. The title captures Olga's internal conflict between her revolutionary family legacy and her career serving wealthy clients, and her eventual awakening to a more meaningful life.