Trust by Hernan Diaz: Full-Book Quiz

This quiz spans the four sections of Hernan Diaz’s Trust—the fictional novel Bonds, Andrew Bevel’s autobiography My Life, Ida Partenza’s memoir A Memoir, Remembered, and Mildred Bevel’s Futures. Questions test plot recall, character motivation, thematic awareness, and your ability to connect the competing narratives. For more study help, visit our guide page, questions and answers, or ending explained.

Quiz

Plot and Sequence (8 questions)

(Multiple choice) What event first allows Benjamin Rask to amass a vast fortune in the Bonds section?
- A) The Panic of 1907, when he buys undervalued assets
- B) The Panic of 1837, when he trades currency fluctuations
- C) The 1929 crash, when he short‑sells stocks
- D) The Embargo of 1807, when he sells non‑perishable goods in Europe
(Multiple choice) Why does the public blame Benjamin Rask after the 1929 crash in Bonds?
- A) He publicly boasted about his profits
- B) He profited hugely while others were ruined, and the press accused him of orchestrating the crash
- C) He refused to testify before Congress
- D) He fled the country immediately after Black Tuesday
(Short answer) In Andrew Bevel’s autobiography My Life, what two major historical crises does he compare to his own actions?
- (Accept: the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1907, or the Embargo of 1807 and the Panic of 1907. Key: He likens his great‑grandfather’s actions during Jefferson’s 1807 embargo to his own during the Panic of 1907; he also references his father’s actions in 1873.)**
(Multiple choice) Who is the narrator of A Memoir, Remembered?
- A) Andrew Bevel
- B) Mildred Bevel
- C) Ida Partenza (alias Ida Prentice)
- D) Harold Vanner
(Short answer) What object does Ida find in Mildred’s room that becomes key evidence against Bevel’s official story?
- (Accept: blotting paper (covered in backward purple ink); also acceptable: a desk blotter with reversed writings.)
(Multiple choice) How does Andrew Bevel die in A Memoir, Remembered?
- A) In a car accident
- B) Of a heart attack
- C) He is murdered by a rival financier
- D) He dies by suicide
(Multiple choice) What happens to the novel Bonds as a result of Bevel’s interference?
- A) It becomes a bestseller because of the scandal
- B) Bevel buys the publishing house and has all copies pulped
- C) The author voluntarily withdraws it
- D) It is adapted into a successful film
(Short answer) In Ida’s encounter with the tieless man, what threat does the man use to pressure her into handing over Bevel’s documents?
- (Accept: reporting her father’s communist/anarchist activities to the FBI, leading to deportation.)

Character Motivation (5 questions)

(Multiple choice) Why does Helen Brevoort decide to marry Benjamin Rask in Bonds?
- A) She loves him deeply and thinks he is kind
- B) Her mother pressures her for social and financial gain
- C) She sees his solitude as a path to her own freedom and independence
- D) She fears being sent to an institution
(Short answer) Why does Ida Partenza apply for the secretarial job at Bevel Investments despite her father’s disapproval?
- (Accept: she needs money to pay the rent and help with their debts; also: she seeks economic independence.)
(Multiple choice) Why does Andrew Bevel hire Ida to ghostwrite his autobiography?
- A) He admires her writing skills and wants a professional biographer
- B) He wants to counteract the damage done by Harold Vanner’s novel Bonds
- C) He needs a secretary to answer his mail
- D) He hopes she will fall in love with him
(Short answer) Why does Ida’s father refuse to accept the pocketknife she buys for him as a gift, and instead buys it from her for a penny?
- (Accept: he says accepting a gift would sever their ties, so he insists on purchasing it to maintain a bond of obligation; or: he wants to reinforce their relationship through exchange rather than charity.)
(Multiple choice) What is Bevel’s stated reason for acquiring control of Harold Vanner’s publishing house and pulping every copy of Bonds?
- A) He wants to copyright the story for his own autobiography
- B) He believes the novel is libelous and must be erased so his own version of events is the only one that exists
- C) He hopes to profit by selling a revised edition
- D) He wishes to give Mildred’s family the royalties

Theme and Symbol (4 questions)

(Multiple choice) In Bonds, what does Benjamin Rask’s office containing only a stock ticker symbolize?
- A) His love of technology
- B) The emptiness of his personal life and his total absorption in finance
- C) His minimalism and efficiency
- D) His desire to stay connected to the market even at home
(Short answer) In A Memoir, Remembered, what does the blotting paper in Mildred’s room represent, according to Ida’s father’s concept?
- (Accept: inverted truth; the backward writing suggests that the official narrative (Bevel’s) is the reverse of reality.)
(Multiple choice) How does the novel’s structure—presenting the same story through four conflicting accounts—primarily serve the theme of narrative control?
- A) It shows that all autobiographies are lies
- B) It demonstrates how powerful individuals can shape public memory, and how hidden voices (Ida, Mildred) can reclaim truth
- C) It proves that fiction is more truthful than fact
- D) It argues that historical events cannot be known at all
(Short answer) What is the name of the pseudoscientific philosophy that Leopold Brevoort, Helen’s father, becomes obsessed with, leading to his mental decline?
- (Accept: Swedenborgianism.)

Synthesis (3 questions)

(Short answer) Compare Benjamin Rask’s account of the 1929 crash in Bonds with Andrew Bevel’s account in My Life. Identify one key difference in how each narrator frames his own actions.
- (Accept: In Bonds, Rask is portrayed as a calculating short‑seller who profits from the misery of others; in My Life, Bevel presents his short‑selling as a patriotic act to correct a corrupt market and protect the nation. Also acceptable: Bonds blames Rask, while My Life blames the Federal Reserve and margin speculators.)
(Multiple choice) How does Ida’s relationship with her father reflect the novel’s central theme of trust?
- A) They never trust each other, leading to a permanent rift
- B) Their bond is built on mutual secrets and selective revelation, mirroring the larger conflicts between truth and loyalty in the book
- C) Her father trusts her completely, and she betrays him by working for Bevel
- D) She trusts her father more than anyone, but he hides his anarchist past from her
(Short answer) The novel ends with a section titled Futures, narrated by Mildred Bevel. Considering the financial double meaning of “futures,” what does this title suggest about the book’s view of history and possibility?
- (Accept: It suggests that the future remains open, that Mildred’s story and perspective (previously silenced) can still be told, and that financial speculation (futures contracts) is analogous to the speculative nature of biography and memory. Also acceptable: the idea that the past is not fixed and that alternative histories (Mildred’s) can be reclaimed.)

Answer Key

A – In Chapter One of Bonds, Benjamin Rask profits during the Panic of 1907 by buying undervalued assets (outline chapter 1).
B – In Chapter Three of Bonds, the public and press blame Rask for engineering the crash after he profits from short‑selling (outline chapter 3; evidence chapter 3).
Embargo of 1807 and Panic of 1907 – In “III. In Business” (chapter 11 of My Life), Bevel draws a parallel between his great‑grandfather’s actions and his own (outline chapter 11).
C – The narrator of A Memoir, Remembered is Ida Partenza, who uses the alias Ida Prentice (outline chapters 21–47).
Blotting paper – Ida discovers blotting paper covered in backward purple ink in Mildred’s room, which undermines Bevel’s sanitized version (outline chapter 43; evidence chapter 43).
B – Andrew Bevel dies suddenly of a heart attack, as reported in Chapter 11 of A Memoir, Remembered (outline chapter 47).
B – Bevel acquires control of Vanner’s publishing house and has all copies of Bonds pulped (outline chapter 36; evidence chapter 36).
Reporting her father’s political activities to the FBI – The tieless man threatens to inform the FBI about her father’s communist press, which could lead to deportation (outline chapter 38).
C – Helen sees Benjamin’s solitude as a way to achieve her own freedom and independence (outline chapter 2; evidence chapter 2).
She needs money for rent and debts – Ida’s family is in debt, and she takes the job for financial survival (outline chapters 21–24).
B – Bevel hires Ida to write an authorized autobiography that will refute the portrait of him and Mildred in Harold Vanner’s novel Bonds (outline chapter 27; evidence chapter 27).
He claims a gift would sever their ties – Ida’s father insists on buying the knife for a penny to maintain a bond of exchange rather than charity (outline chapter 47).
B – Bevel wants Vanner’s novel erased so his own version of events becomes the only one that exists (outline chapter 36).
B – The office with only a ticker symbolizes Rask’s empty personal life and his total identification with finance (outline chapter 3).
Inverted truth – Ida’s father often spoke of “inverted truth,” and the backward writing on the blotting paper suggests the official narrative is the opposite of reality (outline chapter 43).
B – The multi‑perspective structure shows how the powerful (Bevel) can dominate the story, while hidden voices (Ida, Mildred) can later challenge that narrative (thematic analysis based on full outline).
Swedenborgianism – Leopold Brevoort becomes obsessed with Emanuel Swedenborg’s teachings, which combine religion and science (outline chapter 2; evidence chapter 2).
In Bonds, Rask is a villain who profits from disaster; in My Life, Bevel is a patriot who short‑sells to correct a corrupt market – This difference highlights how each narrator frames his own actions to serve a self‑justifying story (outline chapters 3 and 18; evidence chapters 3 and 18).
B – Ida and her father keep secrets and selectively reveal truths, reflecting the novel’s exploration of trust, loyalty, and the manipulation of narrative (synthesis based on outlines of parts III and IV).
It suggests that the future remains open and that Mildred’s silenced story can still be told, paralleling financial futures as speculative instruments – The title implies that history is not fixed and that alternative narratives (like Mildred’s) are possible (based on outline chapter 48 and thematic analysis).