The Hunter by Tana French: Comprehensive Quiz (20 Questions)

How well do you know The Hunter?

This quiz spans the entire novel, from Trey's broken chair to the wildfire on the mountain. Answer 20 questions covering plot, character motivation, themes, and synthesis. Mix of multiple-choice and short-answer. After the quiz, check the answer key for explanations.

Questions

Part 1: Plot and Sequence (8 questions)

In Chapter One, what object does Trey Reddy carry over the mountain to Cal Hooper's house?
- (a) A broken chair
- (b) A bag of rabbit meat
- (c) A gold nugget
- (d) A stolen camera
Why has Johnny Reddy returned to Ardnakelty after four years? (Short answer)
What scheme does Johnny propose to the local farmers in Chapter Four?
- (a) Digging for gold on their land with a foreign investor
- (b) Salting the river with purchased gold to trick an English investor
- (c) Selling fake gold nuggets at the market
- (d) Renting their land to a mining company
How does Cal Hooper force his way into the gold scheme in Chapter Seven?
- (a) By threatening to involve the Gardaí
- (b) By offering to invest his own money
- (c) By challenging Johnny to a fight
- (d) By telling Trey to spy on her father
What does Trey film with Cal's camera in Chapter Eight? (Short answer)
In Chapter Nine, what does Rushborough give Trey after slapping her? (Short answer)
Who is found dead on the mountain in Chapter Thirteen?
- (a) Johnny Reddy
- (b) Mart Lavin
- (c) Cillian Rushborough
- (d) Brendan Reddy
At the end of the novel, how does Johnny escape? (Short answer)

Part 2: Character Motivation (5 questions)

Why does Trey decide to help her father with the gold scheme, even though she distrusts him?
- (a) She believes he will make money for the family
- (b) She wants to use the scam to get revenge for her brother Brendan's death
- (c) She feels sorry for him after he is threatened
- (d) She hopes to leave Ardnakelty with him
Why does Lena Dunne announce a fake engagement to Cal in Chapter Seventeen?
- (a) To make Johnny jealous
- (b) To shield Cal from community suspicion over Rushborough's murder
- (c) To convince Trey to trust her
- (d) To avoid her sister Noreen's questions
Why does Cal decide to expose the gold scam publicly at the pub celebration rather than privately?
- (a) He wants to humiliate Johnny in front of everyone
- (b) He wants to protect Trey from being blamed as an accomplice
- (c) He hopes to impress Lena with his boldness
- (d) He thinks the men will laugh at Johnny
Why does Trey show Rushborough the video of the men planting gold? (Short answer)
Why does Sheila Reddy confess to killing Rushborough in Chapter Twenty? (Short answer)

Part 3: Themes and Symbols (4 questions)

What does the gold nugget that Rushborough produces at the pub symbolize?
- (a) The value of hard work
- (b) False hope and temptation
- (c) The beauty of the Irish landscape
- (d) Johnny's honesty
How does the wildfire at the end of the novel function symbolically? (Short answer)
What does the "code of silence" among the townland in Chapter Sixteen represent?
- (a) Respect for outsiders
- (b) A deep-seated distrust of authority and loyalty to the community
- (c) Fear of the Gardaí
- (d) A desire to protect Johnny
What does the broken chair Trey brings to repair at the start symbolize? (Short answer)

Part 4: Synthesis (3 questions)

Compare Cal Hooper's approach to "law" with the community's own sense of justice. Use evidence from the novel. (Short answer)
Explain the significance of Trey's decision not to tell Cal about her false testimony to Detective Nealon. How does this affect their relationship? (Short answer)
How does the mountain function as more than just a setting in the novel? Provide two examples from the plot or themes. (Short answer)

Answer Key

1. (a) A broken chair.
Trey carries a broken chair from a neighbor to repair with Cal in Chapter One. This establishes their carpenter-student bond and the theme of mending.

2. Johnny returned because he owes dangerous people money (likely linked to Rushborough) and devised a gold scam to pay them off.
The outline shows Johnny's return is tied to a financial debt, and he partners with Rushborough to con locals.

3. (b) Salting the river with purchased gold to trick an English investor.
Johnny plans to have farmers fake gold samples so Rushborough will pay for access and later extract more money.

4. (a) By threatening to involve the Gardaí.
In Chapter Seven, Cal confronts Johnny and threatens police involvement unless he is allowed in as an investor.

5. Trey films the men – including Cal – burying gold dust from a Ziploc bag in the river at dawn.
She uses Cal's camera under the pretext of a wildlife project.

6. Rushborough gives Trey a fake gold nugget.
He orders her to show it around town to build credibility for the scam.

7. (c) Cillian Rushborough (real name Terence Blake).
Trey discovers his body at a fork in the mountain road in Chapter Thirteen.

8. Johnny escapes by running up the mountain fork after Cal gives him cash. He tosses his phone and the community will believe he died in the fire.
Cal and Trey help fabricate a story that Johnny lost in the fire while he flees.

9. (b) She wants to use the scam to get revenge for her brother Brendan's death.
Trey decides to "blood price" for Brendan, using the con as a weapon against the townland.

10. (b) To shield Cal from community suspicion over Rushborough's murder.
Lena invents the engagement to deflect suspicion from Cal, as local theories are blaming him.

11. (b) He wants to protect Trey from being blamed as an accomplice.
By exposing Johnny publicly, Cal ensures Trey is not seen as complicit, so she can live without harassment.

12. She tries to blackmail Rushborough into leaving, hoping to end the scam and drive her father away.
Trey's plan is to force Rushborough to leave, which would also make Johnny flee.

13. Sheila killed Rushborough with a hammer to protect Trey and secure Trey's future with Cal as a safe place.
She confesses her motive is motherhood and safeguarding her daughter.

14. (b) False hope and temptation.
The ring electrifies the men, turning a rumor into tangible desire, but it is a lie that leads to disaster.

15. The fire functions as cleansing and renewal – it burns evidence, destroys the Reddy house, and Trey sees it as Brendan's funeral bonfire.
Also brings rain and community justice.

16. (b) A deep-seated distrust of authority and loyalty to the community.
The townland keeps silent about the gold-salting scheme and protects its own, even withholding from the Garda.

17. The broken chair represents the broken family and community bonds that Trey hopes to mend, but also the damage inflicted by the past.
It also symbolizes Trey's relationship with Cal as a repairing force.

18. Cal, an ex-cop, initially tries to operate within the law (threatening Garda involvement, exposing the scam) but later participates in the cover-up. The community exercises its own justice through silence, forcing Johnny to flee, and accepting Sheila's act as protection. Cal ultimately prioritizes Trey's well-being over legal procedures.
This shows the novel's tension between formal law and communal loyalty.

19. Trey's decision to keep her false testimony secret from Cal signals her growing independence and her willingness to manipulate the investigation. It creates distance between them; Cal realizes he has lost control. This reflects Trey's moral code that diverges from Cal's protective, law-abiding instincts.
She chooses revenge over openness.

20. The mountain acts as a witness and a moral agent: it "absorbs" Rushborough's body (Chapter Fourteen), and ancient lore from the mountain tests Rushborough's authenticity. It also provides escape routes for Johnny. The mountain is a character in the sense that it shapes events and holds secrets (Brendan's death, the fairies).
Both plot and theme tie to the mountain's power.

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