Whistler Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Ann Patchett's Novel

Quiz Overview

This 20-question quiz spans the entire narrative of Whistler, including plot events, character motivations, major themes, and symbolic elements. Questions are a mix of multiple-choice and short-answer formats. Use the outline and your reading to select the best answer. For deeper analysis, see the book summary and discussion questions. The ending explained may also provide helpful context.

Questions

Q1. Where does Daphne first encounter Eddie after forty-five years?

A) At a raspberry farm
B) At the Metropolitan Museum of Art
C) At Leda’s apartment
D) At a hospital in Massachusetts

Q2. What object does Eddie identify as “Whistler” in Chapter 6?

A) A painting of a horse
B) A toy horse
C) A photograph of a horse
D) A rocking horse

Q3. In the January 1980 interstitial, what directly causes the car crash?

A) Ice on the road
B) Eddie looks at the sky while driving
C) A deer runs across the road
D) Another vehicle hits them

Q4. Whom does Eddie reveal he was in love with while married to Abigail?

A) Buddy Zabriskie
B) Skip Hotalling
C) Lucas Ekker
D) Jonathan Fuller

Q5. (Short answer) In Chapter 9, what request does Eddie make of Daphne regarding his own death?

Q6. On the train to Lucas’s funeral, how does Leda reframe their childhood?

A) As completely traumatic
B) As perfect and idyllic
C) As healthy because they were left resourceful
D) As lonely and neglected

Q7. What does Eddie use to bandage Daphne’s head wound after the 1980 crash?

A) His shirt sleeve
B) A tie and handkerchief
C) A space blanket
D) A scarf

Q8. (Short answer) What emergency item does Daphne retrieve from the back of the crashed car?

Q9. Why did Eddie marry Abigail?

A) He loved her deeply
B) To live a conventional life and hide his homosexuality
C) For financial security
D) To adopt her children

Q10. Why does Eddie tell the story of Mary Carter while they are trapped in the car?

A) To teach Daphne about horses
B) To take their minds off being trapped and freezing
C) To scare her into staying quiet
D) To explain why he left the family

Q11. (Short answer) Why does Daphne refuse to take the space blanket when she leaves to find help?

Q12. Why does Jonathan confess he left Candy alone during her chemotherapy?

A) He was exhausted from work
B) He was too afraid to watch her suffer
C) He had to care for their daughters
D) He didn’t love her

Q13. What primarily motivates Daphne to keep visiting Eddie despite the emotional difficulty?

A) Guilt over the car accident
B) Love and loyalty as his former stepdaughter
C) Hope of financial gain
D) Pressure from Leda

Q14. What does the horse Whistler most strongly symbolize in the novel?

A) Freedom and open spaces
B) Survival and the power of memory and storytelling
C) Wealth and status
D) Abandonment and betrayal

Q15. Which theme is introduced by the Jules Verne epigraph?

A) Adventure
B) Memory and longing
C) Betrayal
D) Scientific discovery

Q16. (Short answer) What does the space blanket come to symbolize over the course of the interstitial chapters?

Q17. The mushroom-casket company investment symbolizes what?

A) Wealth
B) Acceptance of death
C) Humor
D) Greed

Q18. (Short answer) How does the story of Mary Carter parallel Daphne’s own experience in the crashed car?

Q19. What theme connecting Eddie and Jonathan is highlighted by their handling of illness?

A) The importance of wealth
B) The struggle to be present in the face of mortality
C) The value of humor
D) The need for independence

Q20. (Short answer) In what way does Eddie’s request that Daphne call him her father to rescuers reflect his identity throughout the novel?

Answer Key

A1. B – In Chapter 2, Daphne is at the Met with her husband Jonathan when an elderly man follows her; it’s Eddie.
A2. B – In Chapter 6, Eddie sees a toy horse at Daphne’s house and identifies it as Whistler.
A3. B – The 1980 interstitial states Eddie drives off the road while looking at the sky to stargaze.
A4. B – In Chapter 4, Eddie confesses to Daphne that he and Skip were lovers and that he is gay.
A5. Eddie asks Daphne to promise to tell him he is dead when the time comes (based on their discussion of the Tibetan Book of the Dead).
A6. C – In Chapter 8, Leda argues their childhood was healthy because they were largely ignored, making them resourceful and brave.
A7. B – In the 1980 interstitial, Eddie uses his tie and a handkerchief to bandage Daphne’s head.
A8. Daphne retrieves Buddy’s emergency duffel bag, which contains a flashlight, medical supplies, and a space blanket.
A9. B – Eddie married Abigail to live a conventional life; he later reveals his closeted homosexuality.
A10. B – Eddie tells the story to give them both something to focus on besides the cold and fear.
A11. Daphne insists Eddie needs the blanket more because she has a warm coat, hat, and boots, while he only has a thin jacket.
A12. B – Jonathan admits he was too afraid to watch Candy suffer and often left her alone.
A13. B – Daphne’s visits are driven by genuine love and a sense of family obligation as his former stepdaughter.
A14. B – Whistler the horse returns to save Mary Carter, and Eddie keeps a picture of the horse as a symbol of hope and the power of stories.
A15. B – The epigraph from Jules Verne speaks of living to preserve a memory, introducing the themes of memory and longing.
A16. The space blanket symbolizes selflessness and protection; Eddie insists Daphne take it even though he needs it, and later in the interstitial it preserves their body heat.
A17. B – Lucas’s investment in a mushroom-casket company reflects a practical and quiet acceptance of death.
A18. Both involve a serious accident, waiting for rescue, and the presence of a loyal guide (Daphne goes for help like Whistler returned for Mary). The story gives Daphne hope that they will survive.
A19. B – Both Jonathan (with Candy) and Eddie (in his request regarding his death) struggle with being present when facing the mortality of a loved one or themselves.
A20. Throughout the novel, Eddie chooses a public identity as Daphne’s father despite not being her biological father, and this request reinforces his desire to be seen as her true parent, mirroring his lifelong concealment of his true sexual identity.