Famous Literary Characters

Name these well-known literary characters, both modern and classic.
Quiz by CBTemple
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Last updated: January 1, 2020
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First submittedJune 2, 2012
Times taken31,083
Average score58.3%
Rating4.39
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Answer
Obsessed with the white whale
Captain Ahab
Peeta's partner in the Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen
Miserly curmudgeon visited by 4 spirits
Ebenezer Scrooge
Agent in her majesty's secret service
James Bond
Adventurous friend of Huck Finn
Tom Sawyer
Unrequited love for Daisy Buchanan
Jay Gatsby
Dr. Henry Jekyll's nocturnal alter ego
Mr. Edward Hyde
Wizard and advisor to Frodo Baggins
Gandalf
Observant & deductive British detective
Sherlock Holmes
Harry Potter's powerful nemesis
Lord Voldemort
Man with a most unusual portrait
Dorian Gray
Meets, marries,
and becomes a vampire
Bella Swan
The real lion king of Narnia
Aslan
The antebellum belle of Tara
Scarlett O'Hara
Mercutio's love-lorn best friend
Romeo
He hunted for the Red October
Jack Ryan
He embarked on an odyssey
Ulysses
The Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield
He had a deep crush on Lolita
Humbert Humbert
Transylvanian vampire
Dracula
Finder of codes in Da Vinci's art
Robert Langdon
Man of La Mancha
Don Quixote
Marooned on a deserted island
Robinson Crusoe
Eventually flew over the
cuckoo's nest
R.P. McMurphy
+1
Level 66
Jun 23, 2012
OMG Missed Sherlock Holmes!! :P
+3
Level 73
Jun 23, 2012
Too pop culture oriented. Great for those who think Harry Potter and Hunger Games are "literature."
+16
Level 65
Jun 23, 2012
Umm, they are dude. Just because they're not part of the collegiate canon doesn't mean they're not literature.
+5
Level 65
Jun 26, 2012
I second that durstand. My worth and intelligence are not defined by my selection of books. Some of us have other ways of obtaining knowledge.
+2
Level 85
Apr 22, 2020
@TheBigCheesy

On the other hand, we have definition 1a from Merriam-Webster: "writings in prose or verse, especially writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest."

+2
Level 83
Nov 25, 2023
Also, what's considered 'canon' or 'classic' can be extremely problematic and is by no means objective
+1
Level 77
Jun 25, 2012
No complaints regarding Tom Clancy, Ian Fleming or Dan Brown?
+2
Level 60
Jun 10, 2015
There are no complaints about Ian Fleming because all his Bond novels are literature
+2
Level 61
Jan 1, 2013
I'm with you rgc, it's sad what passes for literature anymore.
+2
Level 45
Jul 21, 2014
Still a better love story than Twilight.
+2
Level 65
Jan 17, 2016
Harry Potter is children's literature, no question. The Hunger Games is teen fiction. They aren't in the same class.
+2
Level 72
Jun 1, 2017
I don't feel that the deathly hallows counts as children's literature. The harry potter books get much more mature as you read through them, which creates a feeling of actually growing up with harry and his friends, especially if, like me, you started reading them at around the same age harry is when he starts at Hogwarts. By the time the story is finished the books certainly don't read like children's literature.
+2
Level 46
Jun 23, 2012
What about 007 for James Bond?
+2
Level 23
Jun 23, 2012
I second that.
+2
Level 32
Mar 25, 2014
Third
+2
Level 75
Jul 1, 2014
Fourth.
+2
Level ∞
Feb 6, 2015
Okay
+2
Level 25
Jun 29, 2012
Add alternative spellings for Robinson Cruseo? Spent ages trying to spell the stupid name
+4
Level 61
Jan 1, 2013
Yeah what an idiot Daniel Defoe was spelling his name like that. He should have made it easier for you.
+1
Level 24
Jul 9, 2013
@clr231 you're a lad
+2
Level 45
Jul 21, 2014
That's because it's Crusoe.
+2
Level 77
Aug 19, 2013
Two problems with your quiz 1. It didn't accept "Sean Connery" for Red October. and 2. It didn't accept "Sean Connery" for the agent in her majesty's secret service. Please fix...
+3
Level 80
Aug 21, 2013
Uhhhh.....Sean Connery is not a literary character....problem solved!
+3
Level 77
Mar 7, 2015
It wasn't even Connery who hunted for the Red October, he played Marco Ramius, the captain of Red October. It was one of the Baldwins that was the hunter.
+1
Level 42
Mar 6, 2019
😂😂😂
+4
Level 75
Jul 1, 2014
Less than a third got Scarlett O'Hara? Bless my soul, I think I'm getting the vapors!
+1
Level 90
Mar 7, 2015
I kept thinking Scarlett O'Hara and I should have tried it. Yet I was sure that was the actress who was in a bunch of John Wayne movies... I'm going to watch "The Quiet Man" now
+4
Level 75
Mar 7, 2015
You're thinking Maureen O'Hara. Move over, I'm going to watch The Quiet Man with you.
+1
Level 44
Oct 31, 2014
Sad that so few got Randall Patrick Mc Murphy. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the best books (and movies) ever! Give it a try if you've never read it (or seen it).
+1
Level 77
Mar 7, 2015
Have seen. Several times. Great movie. Can't remember name. Same problem with that Da Vinci dude (not as great a movie though). Also forgot the catcher in the rye, but it really is YEARS since I read that one and never in English.
+1
Level 75
Mar 7, 2015
I had the same problem. For Hunt for Red October I tried Jack, but couldn't get the last name. For Da Vinci code I knew Robert but no Langdon. Strangely enough I only knew Bella but that was enough to get me the answer. Seems a bit inconsistent.
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2015
One of the worst books I ever tried to read in my life--One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Cringe. Finally gave up. It was such male-centric garbage. At least the Twilight books, Harry Potter, and Clancy books are fun to read. They aren't literature, but they ARE great entertainment. Most literature is also great entertainment--you put down a book by Dickens, Twain or Steinbeck and you can sit mesmerized by how they use language and convey concepts. There ought to be small "l" literature, to designate written entertainment, and capital "L" Literature for that which qualifies. Someday men will start reading female authors with an open fair mind-Rowling was a great start. I rarely have known any man who reads female authors, yet women read any author without prejudice as to gender! Why is that? Women enjoy Clancey and greats, male or female, but how many men even read Jane Austen or a Bronte unless mandatory for a class? And for entertainment? Ever? Count and compare, guys.
+3
Level 80
Mar 9, 2015
Are you seriously suggesting that people choose books to read based on the author's gender? That's a new concept to me. Are you being sensitive, or are there studies that corroborate your theory?
+3
Level 66
Jun 1, 2017
Certainly no male has ever read Mary Shelley, Laura Ingalls Wilder, S.E. Hinton, Harper Lee, Suzanne Collins, Ursula K. LeGuin, Alice Walker, Gillian Flynn, or Maya Angelou.
+1
Level 79
Jul 29, 2023
Life is easy with eyes closed.
+1
Level 67
Dec 16, 2021
I was so mad I forgot his name, it is one of my top 5 favorite books!
+1
Level 62
Mar 7, 2015
Scrooge was visited by four spirits, not three (Past, Present and Future + Jacob Marley). As well, the Aslan clue could be reworked - "untamed" Lion of Narnia might be better as I've never heard him referred to as a "real king".
+2
Level 83
Dec 5, 2015
Have you actually read the Chronicles of Narnia? He is referred to several times as the one true king.
+3
Level 51
Mar 7, 2015
But was it McMurphy who flew over the cuckoo's nest? Wasn't it Chief?
+1
Level 79
Jul 29, 2023
Completely agree with this. The title comes from a nursery rhyme that the Chief heard from his grandmother and has nothing to do with RPM. The Chief ends up smashing the window and escaping at the end, but RPM is in a vegetative state, having sacrificed his freedom. Should be fixed.
+1
Level 51
Mar 7, 2015
All this talk about what is literature and what isn't reminds me of my dad saying the Beatles wasn't proper music.
+1
Level 35
Mar 8, 2015
Just wondering why "He Who Shall Not Be Named" and "The Dark Lord" don't work for Voldemort, since first names work for most of them...."Scarlet?" Will Scarlet? "Dorian?" "Bella?" "Holden?" Or last names that could be something else, like "Ryan?" As for the pop culture complaint, I liked that you included it--when reading is more accessible, more people try it and then continue, willing to progressively try more difficult things. The more who read Twilight, and maybe find it too light, or who improve their reading skills or just confidence, go on to read the series, then another, then perhaps Margaret Atwood or Ann Rice, then the more who will read serious literature. Bridget Jones' Diary brought more women to actually read Jane Austen, as did the TV and movie versions of Austen books. They become more accessible, less daunting. And books in general get a better reputation with some. I got a friend to read The DaVinci Code who had never read a book in her adult life.
+1
Level 64
Mar 17, 2015
I'd really like to know why Margaret Atwood isn't considered serious literature...?
+1
Level 69
Mar 8, 2015
I'm really disappointed of myself for only having this to comment... But her full name is Isabella Swan
+1
Level 92
Mar 9, 2015
Curious as to why the displayed answer is Ulysses instead of Odysseus. @CBTemple, did you enjoy reading Joyce more than Homer?
+1
Level 83
Jun 10, 2015
Presumably "Odysseus" is too similar an answer to a question referring to the "Odyssey".
+1
Level 22
Mar 10, 2015
Should include "he who must not be named" for Harry Potter!!!
+1
Level 39
Mar 11, 2015
How many people like me missed Dracula because they said County Dracula? Or couldn't spell Don Quixotte? or Don Quioxtte? Or Don Q????
+1
Level 32
Jan 12, 2016
I enjoyed this one a lot, very few quizzes about books on this site. If people are interested then try by Literature by Opening Sentence quiz http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/171654/literature-by-opening-sentence
+1
Level 58
Dec 17, 2016
Rats. I miss more questions because I've never seen a Twilight or Hunger Games movie.
+1
Level 80
Feb 24, 2017
Can you accept Tom Riddle?
+1
Level 81
Oct 18, 2018
Just put the answer we all know. If you know Tom Riddle, you know the answer that is required. There are separate Potter quizzes for experts like yourself.
+1
Level 64
Apr 26, 2018
Take your literature knowledge, and see if you an ace the Five Most Literate Countries by Continent Quiz
+2
Level 61
Jul 30, 2019
I tried johnny english for her majesty’s secret service... The movie is still in my head
+2
Level 92
Jul 23, 2020
After the long run of Clancy novels and them being made into movies, I'm shocked that Jack Ryan is 2nd to last in the poll. Must be a generational thing.
+1
Level 60
Oct 8, 2020
Well, long run of movies, but exept for two, each of them had different actor portraying Jack and none of them did particulary great at the box office. Even the Red October, probably the most well known, is more known as "that movie with the submarine" rather than a Clancy's movie.
+1
Level 79
Feb 26, 2021
15/24, got all in the first column but the 'man with a most unusual portrait'.
+2
Level 63
Nov 5, 2022
I'd reword the hint to use a different word than "marooned" as the character was not.