Eugene O’Neill's
Emperor Jones
1. Who is the central character in Eugene O’Neill’s play The Emperor Jones? (NET, PGTRB, TNPSC)
a) Lem
b) Emperor Jones
c) Smithers
d) Jeff
Answer: b) Emperor Jones
2. Who is Smithers in The Emperor Jones? (UPSC, NET, CUET)
a) An English trader
b) A missionary
c) A native rebel
d) A soldier
Answer: a) An English trader
3. What type of play is The Emperor Jones often classified as? (SET, NET, PGTRB)
a) Absurdist tragedy
b) Expressionist drama
c) Realist comedy
d) Naturalist drama
Answer: b) Expressionist drama
4. In which year was The Emperor Jones first performed? (UPSC, TNPSC, NET)
a) 1915
b) 1920
c) 1925
d) 1930
Answer: b) 1920
5. Who played the role of Emperor Jones in the original 1920 production? (NET, PGTRB)
a) Charles Gilpin
b) Paul Robeson
c) Orson Welles
d) James Earl Jones
Answer: a) Charles Gilpin
6. Who later replaced Charles Gilpin in the role of Emperor Jones? (UPSC, NET, CUET)
a) Orson Welles
b) Paul Robeson
c) Richard Wright
d) James Baldwin
Answer: b) Paul Robeson
7. What triggers Emperor Jones’s downfall in the play? (TNPSC, NET, PGTRB)
a) Betrayal by Smithers
b) Uprising of the natives
c) His own greed and fear
d) A colonial invasion
Answer: b) Uprising of the natives
8. What symbolic sound is heard repeatedly in the play as Emperor Jones moves through the forest? (NET, SET, CUET)
a) The beating of a drum
b) Gunshots
c) The cries of birds
d) The river flowing
Answer: a) The beating of a drum
9. What does the tom-tom (drumbeat) symbolize in The Emperor Jones? (NET, PGTRB, UPSC)
a) The approach of colonizers
b) The heartbeat of Jones
c) The rising rebellion and Jones’s inner fear
d) A religious ritual
Answer: c) The rising rebellion and Jones’s inner fear
10. Which weapon does Emperor Jones carry as he flees into the forest? (CUET, TNPSC, NET)
a) A sword
b) A revolver with silver bullets
c) A rifle
d) A spear
Answer: b) A revolver with silver bullets
11. Why does Emperor Jones keep a silver bullet? (PGTRB, NET, TNPSC)
a) To symbolize wealth
b) As protection against spirits
c) To kill himself if necessary
d) To kill wild animals
Answer: c) To kill himself if necessary
12. The play The Emperor Jones is set on— (UPSC, CUET, NET)
a) An unnamed West Indian island
b) An African tribal village
c) A Caribbean plantation
d) An American southern town
Answer: a) An unnamed West Indian island
13. What is the structure of The Emperor Jones? (NET, PGTRB, SET)
a) Two acts
b) Four acts
c) Eight scenes (with one in a palace, rest in forest)
d) One long monologue
Answer: c) Eight scenes (with one in a palace, rest in forest)
14. Which dramatic technique is central to The Emperor Jones? (NET, PGTRB, CUET)
a) Soliloquy
b) Expressionistic flashbacks and hallucinations
c) Brechtian alienation
d) Comedy of manners
Answer: b) Expressionistic flashbacks and hallucinations
15. Which past crime of Emperor Jones is revealed during his forest visions? (TNPSC, NET)
a) He murdered a fellow gambler, Jeff
b) He betrayed Smithers
c) He stole from the natives
d) He killed his wife
Answer: a) He murdered a fellow gambler, Jeff
16. Which natural element in the play represents Jones’s psychological breakdown? (NET, UPSC, PGTRB)
a) The river
b) The forest
c) The mountains
d) The fire
Answer: b) The forest
17. How does Emperor Jones die at the end of the play? (TNPSC, NET, CUET)
a) He shoots himself
b) He is stabbed by rebels
c) He is killed with a silver bullet
d) He drowns in the river
Answer: c) He is killed with a silver bullet
18. Who fires the silver bullet that kills Emperor Jones? (UPSC, NET, PGTRB)
a) Smithers
b) Lem (the rebel leader)
c) Jones himself
d) A tribal priest
Answer: b) Lem (the rebel leader)
19. Which theme is NOT central to The Emperor Jones? (NET, CUET, TNPSC)
a) Colonial exploitation
b) Psychological fear and guilt
c) The corrupting influence of power
d) Romantic love
Answer: d) Romantic love
20. Which stage innovation was notable in the first performance of The Emperor Jones? (SET, NET, PGTRB)
a) Use of masks
b) Heavy use of drums and lighting effects
c) Revolving stage
d) Shadow puppetry
Answer: b) Heavy use of drums and lighting effects
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