Think you’ve got your head wrapped around For Esmé with Love and Squalor? Put your knowledge to
the test. Good luck — the Stickman is counting on you!
Q. Why can’t the narrator attend the wedding to which he is invited?
Because he can’t bring himself to see the love of his life be married
Because he doesn’t have anything to wear and can’t afford a new suit
Because it’s in another country
Because of a rare condition he has that causes him to shout the words, “I object!” at random intervals
Q. Which war did the narrator serve as a soldier?
World War I
World War II
World War III
The War of the Roses
The War of the Worlds
Q. What gives the narrator pause as he is walking through the village?
A children’s choir practice
An elderly woman giving money to a homeless man
The realization that the village people are not as musical and sprightly as he had been led to believe
A murdered cat whose body is lying in the street
Q. What does the narrator notice Esmé is wearing?
Oscar de la Renta
A bloody scarf
A man’s watch
Different colored boots
Q. What does the narrator say is his profession in non-wartime?
Chef
Part-time lion-tamer
Veterinarian
Short story writer
Shmoop quiz writer
Q. Who kisses the narrator good-bye?
Esmé
Esmé’s little brother
Esmé’s governess
No one, but don’t feel too badly for him - he gets plenty of action back home
Q. In the second part of the story, the former narrator is referred to as which of the following?
Staff Sergeant X
Corporal Z
Second Lieutenant Q
Private P.P.
Q. Who wrote the book the former narrator is reading?
Benito Mussolini
Either Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins, not that there’s a difference
Karl Marx
Joseph Goebbels
Q. What does the former narrator’s brother ask him to pick up for the kids?
A few sets of junior-sized fatigues
Nazi mementos
Milk and eggs - and none of that silly, organic stuff
Q. What does the former narrator allow himself to do after receiving Esmé’s gift?
Die peacefully
Let her go
Sleep
Eat one more slice of pie, but then that’s it, seriously