The Emperor of Gladness Quiz

Plot & Sequence Questions

1. (Multiple Choice) At the beginning of the novel, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on which bridge intending to jump?

   • A) King Philip's Bridge
   • B) Gettysburg Bridge
   • C) Brooklyn Bridge
   • D) London Bridge

2. (Short Answer) What is the name of the elderly Lithuanian woman who intervenes when Hai is on the bridge?

3. (Multiple Choice) What ritual does Grazina perform in her backyard to dispel sorrow?

   • A) Crushing dinner rolls with her feet
   • B) Burning old photographs
   • C) Singing Lithuanian hymns
   • D) Throwing bread into the river

4. (Short Answer) What job does Hai get after moving in with Grazina?

5. (Multiple Choice) Who is the manager at HomeMarket who hires Hai?

   • A) Maureen
   • B) Sony
   • C) BJ (Big Jean)
   • D) Wayne

6. (Short Answer) What food item at HomeMarket moves Hai to tears when he tastes it?

7. (Multiple Choice) In Chapter 5, what is the name of the rehab center Hai checks into instead of going to medical school?

   • A) New Hope
   • B) Serenity Springs
   • C) Green Meadows
   • D) Ocean Vista

8. (Short Answer) At the end of the novel, what does Hai climb into after giving Sony money?

Character Motivation Questions

1. (Multiple Choice) Why does Hai initially accept Grazina's offer to stay?

   • A) He needs a place to hide his drugs
   • B) He feels guilty about her laundry
   • C) He has nowhere to go and she offers shelter
   • D) He wants to steal her owl collection

2. (Short Answer) Why does Hai lie to his mother about being in medical school?

3. (Multiple Choice) What motivates Sony to search for a diamond in Vermont?

   • A) He wants to sell it for money
   • B) He believes it can alter reality and his father left it
   • C) He is on a treasure hunt for Grazina
   • D) He wants to prove Hai wrong

4. (Short Answer) Why does Hai take Dilaudid from Grazina's house despite being in recovery?

5. (Multiple Choice) What is Grazina's stated reason for initially going outside when Hai was on the bridge?

   • A) To check on the laundry
   • B) To look for her owl
   • C) To gather herbs
   • D) To see the river

Theme & Symbol Questions

1. (Multiple Choice) What does the owl primarily symbolize in the novel?

   • A) Wisdom and learning
   • B) Comfort and protection
   • C) War and destruction
   • D) Sleep and dreams

2. (Short Answer) The epigraphs quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet and Wallace Stevens. What theme do they introduce together?

3. (Multiple Choice) What does the recurring bread-crushing ritual represent?

   • A) Anger and violence
   • B) Release of sorrow and resilience
   • C) Waste of food
   • D) Celebration of harvest

4. (Short Answer) Maureen wears her deceased son Paul's Star Wars watch and sleeps on her unheated kitchen floor. What does this behavior symbolize about grief?

Synthesis Questions

1. (Multiple Choice) Hai's lie to his mother about medical school most directly parallels which other character's deception?

   • A) Grazina pretending to be a WWII soldier
   • B) Maureen lying about the corn bread recipe
   • C) Aunt Kim hiding the truth about Uncle Minh's death from Sony
   • D) BJ competing in wrestling under a fake name

2. (Short Answer) How does the novel challenge the idea of an "emperor" as presented in the epigraphs?

3. (Multiple Choice) What do the salamander migration (Big Night) and the bread-crushing ritual have in common thematically?

   • A) Both are acts of destruction
   • B) Both involve nature imposing on human life
   • C) Both are moments of shared wonder and temporary reprieve from sorrow
   • D) Both are used to teach history

Answer Key

1. A) King Philip's Bridge -- The novel opens with Hai standing on King Philip's Bridge, about to jump (Chapter 2 outline).

2. Grazina (Grazina Vitkus) -- The elderly Lithuanian woman who calls him down from the bridge and renames him Labas (Chapter 2 outline).

3. A) Crushing dinner rolls with her feet -- Grazina takes Hai to the backyard to stomp on rolls, a ritual she uses to dispel sorrow (Chapter 2 outline and evidence).

4. Working at HomeMarket -- Hai is hired by manager BJ after interviewing at the grocery store (Chapter 3-4 outline).

5. C) BJ (Big Jean) -- BJ conducts the interview and hires Hai on the spot (Chapter 4 outline).

6. Corn bread -- Hai tastes the signature corn bread and is moved to tears (Chapter 4 outline).

7. A) New Hope -- Hai abandons the bus to Boston and checks into New Hope rehab (Chapter 5 outline).

8. A dumpster -- After giving Sony money from Grazina's tin and his savings, Hai climbs into a green Waste Management dumpster (Chapter 25 outline and evidence).

9. C) He has nowhere to go and she offers shelter -- Hai is a suicidal runaway; Grazina offers him a room in exchange for help (Chapter 2-3 outline).

10. To give his mother hope after his grandmother's death -- Hai reflects in rehab that he lied because his mother needed hope after Bà ngoại's passing (Chapter 5 outline).

11. B) He believes it can alter reality and his father left it -- Sony insists on finding the diamond in Vermont because he thinks it can change reality (Chapter 22 outline).

12. He relapses under stress -- Hai takes pills after 47 days of sobriety, triggered by Grazina's dementia episode and his own accumulated trauma (Chapter 6-7 outlines).

13. A) To check on the laundry -- Grazina reveals she saw Hai on the bridge months before and went outside under the pretense of doing laundry to check on him (Chapter 16 outline).

14. B) Comfort and protection -- Owls appear as Grazina's collection, comfort objects, and in the phrase "boys should be owls" (Chapter 20 evidence; multiple outlines).

15. Mortality and the contrast between appearance and reality -- The Hamlet epigraph speaks of worms as emperor of all flesh; the Stevens line urges "let be be finale of seem" (Epigraphs outline).

16. B) Release of sorrow and resilience -- Grazina explains the ritual as a way to feel better when her soul goes dim; it becomes a shared coping mechanism (Chapter 2 evidence and outline).

17. That grief can stagnate and prevent moving forward / the failure of meaning -- Maureen clings to her son's belongings and refuses comfort, suggesting grief that has not transformed (Chapter 7 outline).

18. C) Aunt Kim hiding the truth about Uncle Minh's death from Sony -- Both Hai and Aunt Kim lie to protect loved ones from painful truths (Chapter 5 and 18 outlines).

19. It inverts traditional power, showing that true authority lies in humble connections, care, and resilience rather than domination -- The epigraphs set up a reversal; the novel places value on small acts of kindness and survival (Epigraphs outline and themes throughout).

20. C) Both are moments of shared wonder and temporary reprieve from sorrow -- The salamander migration awes Hai and Grazina; the bread-crushing provides a joyful release. Both offer brief escapes from grief (Chapters 2 and 24 outlines).