Our Share of Night Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes

Introduction to the Quiz

This quiz covers the full arc of Our Share of Night — from the epigraph to the final chapter — and tests your grasp of plot, character motivation, themes, and the novel’s larger synthesis. Each question is grounded in the book’s outline and key passages. For deeper context, see the book overview, questions and answers, and ending explained.

Plot and Sequence Questions (1–8)

What is the title of the opening chapter that contains only an epigraph?

(Short answer)

Who tells Rosario and Betty the history of the Order in Chapter 1?

A) Mercedes
B) Santiago
C) Jorge
D) Florence

What happens to Juan at Puerto Reyes in 1962?

A) He dies
B) He manifests the Darkness
C) He escapes
D) He becomes a leader

After the massacre in London, what happens to the Other Place?

A) It expands
B) It closes
C) It becomes a door
D) It disappears

In Chapter 3, what does the Darkness dictate about Juan’s consciousness?

A) It will be destroyed
B) It will transfer to Gaspar when he turns twelve
C) It will remain in Juan
D) It will be shared

What does Rosario find buried in the sand at the beach?

(Short answer)

What does Juan propose to do to Gaspar to hide him from the Order?

A) Send him to Brazil
B) Mark him with a seal
C) Kill him
D) Give him to Luis

In the chapter “Other Titles,” what are the three titles listed?

(Short answer)

Character Motivation Questions (9–13)

Why does Rosario leave Juan and go to London?

A) To escape his violence
B) To study and gain independence
C) To join the Order
D) To find a new medium

Why does Juan refuse to occupy Gaspar’s body?

A) He believes it is wrong
B) He wants to die
C) He does not trust the Order
D) He loves Gaspar too much

Why does Florence choose Pedro Margarall as her partner?

A) His wealth
B) His willpower
C) His family name
D) His magical abilities

Why does Eddie attack the group in London?

A) He was manipulated by the pregnant girl
B) He wanted revenge
C) He was insane
D) He was ordered by the Order

Why does Rosario want Gaspar to be part of the Order?

A) She believes he has a right
B) She wants power
C) She wants to protect him
D) Both A and B

Theme and Symbol Questions (14–17)

What does the epigraph from “The Waste Land” suggest about the novel’s themes?

(Short answer)

What does the “Other Place” symbolize?

A) A parallel dimension
B) A place of power
C) A mouth that consumes
D) All of the above

What does the “Darkness” represent in the novel?

A) A supernatural entity
B) The cult’s god
C) Evil
D) All of the above

What animal does Rosario compare herself to?

(Short answer)

Synthesis Questions (18–20)

How does the novel critique colonialism and exploitation?

(Short answer)

Compare the roles of Rosario and Juan in the Order.

(Short answer)

What is the significance of the title “Our Share of Night”?

(Short answer)

Answer Key

Epigraph — The opening chapter is titled “Epigraph” and contains only the T.S. Eliot quotation.
B) Santiago — Rosario’s grandfather Santiago tells her and Betty the Order’s history, including the Scottish youth and William Bradford’s son.
B) He manifests the Darkness — At Puerto Reyes in 1962, Juan manifests the Darkness before Rosario in the jungle.
B) It closes — After Eddie’s sacrifice, the passage to the Other Place closes; Juan finds it gone when he tries to open the door.
B) It will transfer to Gaspar when he turns twelve — The Darkness dictates that Juan’s consciousness will transfer into Gaspar’s body in ten years.
Tali’s knife — Rosario digs up a wooden handle in the wet sand and recognizes it as Tali’s knife.
B) Mark him with a seal — Juan proposes marking Gaspar with a seal from the Darkness to hide him from the Order.
Things We Lost in the Fire, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, Our Share of Night — These three titles appear in the chapter “Other Titles.”
B) To study and gain independence — Rosario leaves Juan to study in London, seeking independence and a separate life.
A) He believes it is wrong — Juan refuses to continue the slavery of the Order and explicitly says, “I will not occupy Gaspar’s body.”
B) His willpower — Florence fell in love with Pedro Margarall’s willpower, which ultimately destroyed him.
A) He was manipulated by the pregnant girl — Eddie tells Juan that the pregnant girl said Juan was in the first room, but she was mistaken; she had burned-out eyes.
D) Both A and B — Rosario believes Gaspar has the right to be part of the Order and also fantasizes about the power a powerful son could give her.
Unseen presence, mystery, unease, spiritual desolation — The epigraph’s question about a third figure walking beside the reader sets an ominous tone and introduces themes of hidden forces and existential dread.
D) All of the above — The Other Place is a parallel dimension, a place of power, and Laura describes it as a mouth.
D) All of the above — The Darkness is a supernatural entity, the cult’s god, and embodies evil.
Fox — Rosario thinks, “I’m a fox, I thought, and I know how to move better than him.”
Through the Order’s history, the Scottish youth, the Conquest of the Desert, and the treatment of mediums and caged ones — The novel links the Order’s wealth and power to colonial violence and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals.
Rosario is a custodian and mother, while Juan is the medium; both are trapped by the Order, but Rosario seeks power and agency, whereas Juan resists the Order’s demands.
It reflects the theme of shared darkness, the cult’s claim on the night, and the inheritance of trauma — The title evokes the novel’s exploration of how darkness, both literal and metaphorical, is passed down and collectively borne.